Mill Via Pinhole

I was looking over some of my older images and ran across this one, which is from a time when I was experimenting with pinhole photography using film. I could be wrong, but I don't believe I have posted it before.

McConnell's Mill
Pinhole Photo On Film
Copyright Howard Grill

I did enjoy photographing this way, but it became quite cumbersome to develop the film in my basement and then scan the film even before bringing the image into Photoshop. However, I became quite pleased a year or so ago when I found that I could once again do some pinhole imaging using the new LensBaby with drop in optics!

With the drop in pinhole / zone plate optic one can now do pinhole and zone plate imaging digitally, without film. Some might call this heresy.....but when you have limited time you do what is practical.

Infrared

OK....here is what a scene, any scene, would more or less look like to us as observers in 'infrared' if we eliminated the visible light wavelengths.

Infrared Scene

The point I am trying to make is that when most people talk about infrared photography they are often under the mistaken impression that it represents what we would see if we (humans) could see the infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. But, of course, we can't. So if we were relying on the infrared portion of the spectrum to see....well, we wouldn't see very much.

So what are we seeing when we look at infrared photographs? Well, we are looking at how the infrared film or the digital sensor reacts to the infrared portion of the spectrum. It is how the film or sensor 'sees' infrared because infrared can be detected by them. That is to say, both are sensitive to the infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Our eyes are not.

So when we look at an infrared photograph we are seeing the portion of the visible spectrum that the film or sensor has converted the infrared into. What we see is, by necessity, an interpretation. So what does infrared 'look like' to the several insects, snakes, and ferrets that can see this portion of the spectrum? Perhaps it gets philosophical, but I don't know and I'm not sure anyone truly can. These insects and animals were born with eyes that are sensitive to infrared so they probably don't think it is anything special! Perhaps it is like trying to explain to someone that has been blind from birth what 'yellow' is.

That said, here is an infrared digital image of Cucumber Falls at Ohiopyle State Park in Pennsylvania. At least this is how the digital sensor (with visible light filtered out) converts the scene to something that we can see.

Cucumber Falls In IR
Copyright Howard Grill

Zone Plate And High Pass Filtration

I don't usually write many blog posts about Photoshop techniques, but have been asked a few times about my "Dreamscape" images made using the Lensbaby zone plate optic. The "Dreamscapes" series can be seen here. At any rate, the question I have been asked pertains to the sharpness of the zone plate images, and, specifically, how the images are made to appear sharper than a typical zone plate shot.

First, for those that may not be familiar with the term, zone plate photography is ,in some ways, similar to pinhole imaging. However, instead of using a pinhole to allow light into the camera, a series of clear concentric circles spaced at mathematically determined distances are used for this purpose. What this effectively does is:

i) markedly decrease the shutter speed compared to pinhole imaging, as the zone plate lets in much more light than a pinhole per unit time

ii) impart a unique glowing appearance to the highlights in the image and

iii) make the focus of the image even softer than the same shot made with a pinhole.

For a little more information about zone plates see here.

I very much enjoy the 'dreamy' look that the zone plate imparts, at least for some types of images. However, I have to admit that the images sometime do appear too soft focused for my taste, but, yet, the same image made with a pinhole doesn't quite yield the same effect. For this reason I have often added a 'high pass sharpen' layer to the image in Photoshop.

Here is an example of what it can do to a zone plate photograph (the smallish imagesin the blog make it a bit difficult to see, but I think you can tell if you look carefully...it is much more apparent on a slightly larger image)

Dreamscapes #1....No High Pass Sharpening
Copyright Howard Grill

Dreamscapes #1...With High Pass Sharpening
Copyright Howard Grill

The method is started by flattening the image. Now the image consists of only a background layer. Duplicate this background layer twice and click the icons to turn these duplicate layers off, making them invisible. Now click back on the background layer to make it active and go to the Photoshop filters and choose High Pass (Filter>Other>High Pass). You get a dialogue box in which you can choose a radius. Choose 75 pixels to start, but this is obviously a ‘jump off’ point for experimentation.

Your image will now look totally disgusting. Don’t worry….just click on the duplicate background layer which is directly above the layer that was just filtered to make it active and then click on the icon to make it visible. The image now returns to the way it looked before starting this whole thing because it is a duplicate of the original at 100% opacity lying on top of the filtered image. Now the fun begins. Change the blending mode of this layer from normal to overlay (or try Soft Light or Hard Light) and the image undergoes an interesting change.

Perhaps the effect is too much? That is why I added the second duplicate layer (which is not visible at this point) on top of the others at the start of the technique. Click on that layer to now make it active and click on the icon to make it visible. The image now appears as it did before starting. But turn down the opacity of this topmost layer to let the filtered look come through and see how you like it.

In this example, I think the technique really 'tightens up' the look and puts the focus squarely on the person without losing that dreamy zone plate look. This works best on simple images with strong graphic lines. But I find that zone plate imaging works best on those types of compositions anyway.

The Best Camera

Perhaps you are familiar with Chase Jarvis and his iPhone app for taking and sharing images, as well as his book The Best Camera Is The One That's With You: iPhone Photography by Chase Jarvis (Voices That Matter). I personally wasn't until I heard Ibarionex Perello's interview with him on The Candid Frame.

What I find far more interesting (since, for one thing, I don't own an iPhone) is Chase's website The Best Camera, where one can see a live feed of images being posted from people using his application. The volume of images is amazing....and even more amazing is the creativity behind a very large percentage of them. I have to admit, I don't think I am 'into' the phenomena myself, but it is interesting to watch it all happen.

More Zone Plate

I have previously written about my initial experiments with the digital zone plate process using my Lensbaby with the zone plate 'Optic Swap' insert. I continue to 'play' with it, looking for more images to include in my 'Dreamscapes ' portfolio.

Copyright Howard Grill

I recently took this photograph using the zone plate at a Frabel glass exhibit at Phipps Conservatory. I was drawn to the surreal appearance the zone plate gave to the glass figures. This one may well make it into the series. For each one of these types of shots that seem to work for me, there are many more that end up 'in the bucket'.

More Dreamscapes

I recently finished processing and printing the sixth image in my Dreamscapes series. I particularly like the ghostlike image behind the boy (though it may not show up that well in this small image format), which was caused by the child suddenly walking through the scene during the long exposure. I guess you can tell that it isn't a 'real' ghost because it also casts a shadow!

Dreamscapes #6
Copyright Howard Grill

In addition, another image from this series is going to appear in a "Self-Portrait"(yes, that is me at the end of the tunnel) themed show at The Silver Eye Center For Photography. The exhibit celebrates Silver Eye's 30th anniversary.

Dreamscapes #3
Copyright Howard Grill

While having any image shown at The Silver Eye is an honor, I do have to admit that this particular show is non-juried, with all members of the gallery invited to display one image. The show runs from July 8th to September 12th. Given the intriguing theme, it should be a really creative, interesting and enjoyable exhibit.

Scripted Shots

In the past, other than for the family snapshot, I have never 'set up' or scripted a photograph. Lots of photographers do, but since my main focus has been nature photography there is generally not much opportunity to do so. However, my recent experimentation with a zone plate has me trying new things that I haven't done before.

I was using the zone plate at one of my favorite parks, but didn't seem able to really capture anything that had what I considered a 'special feel' to it. I realized that the zone plate images that I felt were my most successful ones to this point contained human figures in them. Being alone, I decided it was time for me to 'star' in my own photograph. There was a covered bridge that was dark inside with bright sunlight at the other end. Melting ice had generated puddles of water inside. I previsualized an ethereal type of image with bright light behind a figure that seemed to emerge from the 'ether'.

The only way to do this was with the 10 second self-timer on my camera. It was quite cold out and the covered bridge is in a relatively out of the way park.......but it still was a road and every 10 or 15 minutes or so a car would come down the curvy two lane street (at low speed by necessity, given the type of road it was).

So imagine this bizarre and rather funny scenario. I set my tripod and camera up at one end of the covered bridge, check to make sure there are no cars coming (you can see a good way down the road), hit the self timer, run as fast as possible down towards the other end of the covered bridge while counting off the seconds, turn around, pose for the shot, and run back as fast as possible to ensure that no cars are on the way to demolish the camera and tripod.

For those concerned that I posed a danger, I should add that I would never do this on a 'real' road. This was a very low speed curvy road where people stop before going onto the bridge because it is dark inside. In addition, one can see a good distance down the road in both directions. The entire process could be completed before any visible car could possibly make it to the bridge. No one was in danger, save my camera. And even that was more likely to be toppled by my rushing around running back and forth than by anything else.

And the results (after innumerable tries to get it right)..........

Dreamscapes#4
Copyright Howard Grill

Zone Plate II

Dreamscapes #2
Copyright Howard Grill

I would like to solicit some opinions on this one. I personally enjoy this image as much as the prior zone plate shot. However, when I have shown this to an admittedly small number of people they seem to strongly prefer the previous one. The interesting thing is the reason. They all seem to say that this one appears much more abstract and that it is more difficult to tell 'what it is a picture of'. I was a bit surprised as it seems pretty clear to me that it was two children at the water's edge.....but then again, I took it, so perhaps it is a bit more clear to me. What do folks that might be reading this think? Is it too abstract? Is it not clear what it is a picture of? Perhaps in some ways it doesn't really matter, but I would like to get a feel or understanding of what the viewer's experience is like when looking at images like these.

By the way, if anyone is interested in some resources that explain the technical aspects of zone plates, here and here are good places to start. However, I have to admit that at this point I haven't really tried to undertake a scientific understanding of the process in order to manipulate it....I have just been shooting to see what I get and trying to see what types of subjects seem to 'work' well from an artistic standpoint.

Zone Plate

Dreamscape #1
Copyright Howard Grill

In my last post entitled "Process", I wrote about using the LensBaby Optic Swap system with a Zone Plate and mentioned that I would post some photos. This image is the first that I have processed from a series I took about two weeks ago. Some people I have shown it to have found it 'interesting' and some have called it 'creepy'. Personally, I really like the ethereal feel.

I usually title my images, but this series is one that I feel should be left without titles so as not to influence the viewer's interpretation.

Process

Over the years there has been considerable debate on the issue of photographic process and the role it plays in artwork. Most recently this has been exemplified by the now old and very tired question “Is digital photography really photography?”. Several years back this question engendered serious debate….now it is hard to understand why, as nearly every photographer would answer “yes, it is….it is just that some fine art photographers choose to use film and others a digital sensor as their method of ‘capturing the light”.

I recently discovered the new LensBaby Composer with the “Optic Swap System” that allows one to swap different optical components in and out of the basic LensBaby format, which is basically a tilt/shift type of apparatus. One of the very neat swappable components is a ‘lens’ that lets you place a pinhole or zone plate on the camera instead of a glass or plastic lens. I have found experimenting with the zone plate to be quite enthralling.

However, I hesitate to post images made with it on forums that specialize in this sort of imaging. Why? The reason is that the tired debate about digital vs film does not yet seem to be dead when it comes to ‘alternative’ processes such as pinhole and zone plate imaging.

In the past I had written about such processes, which I had found quite intriguing (see here and scroll down to the pinhole posts). However, I have had limited opportunity to pursue pinhole photography because of limitations in time, and time is what is required to process film and scan negatives. However, with the advent of the LensBaby Optic Swap System I see an opportunity to explore this type of imaging. I am particularly intrigued in utilizing the zone plate, as it is something completely new to me, something very fresh.

Personally, I don’t think it should matter if the zone plate image was made on film or a digital sensor. But that’s just me, and a lot of people seem to disagree.

Photographing With Flatbed Scanners

Lately, I've been reading about and have become fascinated by the use of flatbed scanners for photography. I am not talking about using them to scan film, but rather to produce primary images by placing objects on the glass and scanning them. Using this technique with today's scanners, one can make extremely detailed high resolution images.

That could open whole areas of exploration in and of itself. However, what I find even potentially more interesting is the ability to scan objects that could be used as background textures to be blended with camera generated images. These would be things that are easy to scan. Think about it....old, weathered paper, cloth, wood, metal etc.

So how many of these types of scans have I made. None! I did say that I was merely at the reading and learning stage. But it does seem to me that there could be a great deal of potential here and it is something I plan to experiment with.

I thought there might be some interest in the background information I have been reading, as well as in seeing some of the artwork that has been produced by others using this technique. Therefore, I thought it might be useful to post some links to resources about using flatbed scanners for photography, much as I did for experimenting with Holgas and pinhole cameras.

So here we go:

1) This article by Vincent de Groot is perhaps the best general article on the subject I have come across.

2) Another source of general information can be found here.

3) Flowers may or may not be your thing, but prepare yourself for what may be the most three dimensional appearing images you have ever seen by photographer (yes, I do think that 'scanographers' should be categorized as photographers) Katinka Matson.

4) Marsha Tudor has also made some beautiful images, I just wish her website would allow one to view them at a larger size.

If anyone reading this has had the opportunity to do this type of imaging, please comment, as I would love to hear what your experience has been!

Holga Resources

I previously mentioned that I would like to have a post or two devoted to resources for Holga and toy cameras, as well as for pinhole photography.

Lets start with Holga and toy cameras.



Despite the fact that it was just published in 2006, Michelle Bates' book "Plastic Cameras Toying With Creativity" has become the bible of toy camera information. If you have any interest in this type of photography at all, don't even waste time thinking about it, simply get this book. Here is a link to Michelle Bates' website that has multiple sources for purchasing the book.

Here is a great interview with Michelle. Here we have another, though I haven't quite had the time to listen to this second one yet.




Here is another book that looks quite interesting. I purchased it, but can't say much about it yet, as I have not yet received it. It looks like it will be quite good and I'm looking forward to reading it. More information about its contents and how to purchase it can be found here.

Freestyle Photographic Supplies also put out a very nice Holga manual available for free download.

In addition, Toycamera.com is a great resource for toy cameras including forums, articles and galleries. The folks that run that website also put out a terrific magazine (and I am not sure there are any others out there) devoted solely to toy and alternative cameras called Light Leaks. I recently subscribed and received my first issue and was really blown away by the quality. If I were to try to make a comparison, I would say it is like the JPG Magazine of toy cameras. Definitely worth a subscription if this type of imaging appeals to you.

OK, so let's say you are interested....where do you go to buy your Holga. There is always e-bay. Another alternative is Freestyle Photographic Supplies who, I believe, may be the actual importers of Holgas into the USA (I think I remember reading that, but can't remember where, so I am not entirely certain it is true).

However, those would be second choices for me. I can, without any hesitation whatsoever, suggest that you should purchase your Holga from Randy at Holgamods.com. Randy can, at an extremely reasonable price, sell you a brand new Holga which has been modified in any number of different ways, including the ability to have two functional apertures, velcro to make sure the back stays on etc....all really useful stuff (see more at his website). More importantly, he provides customer service unlike anything I have seen before. I only purchased two Holgas from him, so it isn't like I am a megacustomer. I had a few questions and e-mailed him and in all instances he responded within minutes. Not only that, on two occasions I e-mailed him questions and he said the answer required some explanation and asked if it would be OK to call....needless to say, after sending him my number, I received a call within minutes providing a detailed answer to my question. You just can't find service like that anywhere else.

Anyway, I hope this is a good starting point for resources about toy cameras for anyone that might be interested. Though they are called 'toy cameras', they have a very appealing aesthetic all their own with many artists choosing to work with them exclusively, so don't be put off by the word 'toy'. There have been entire shows devoted to work done only with these types of cameras. Recently, there has been absolutely wonderful work done by Perry Dilbeck that was shot entirely with a Holga and was published not too long ago in LensWork. That work has recently been released in a book entitled "The Last Harvest: Truck Farmers In The Deep South", seen here, and available on Amazon.com or directly from the photographer:



For my next post, I will talk about some resources for pinhole camera photography.