Ari Takes Pictures » Through The Viewfinder

One Last Collage

kap0w — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:06:13 +0000

One last TtV Collage for everyone. This fence is also from the same set as before.

To be honest, I don’t think the subject itself is that great – I guess I can assure everyone I don’t have a fence fetish. The part I do like about this is the layering of the images. I’ve been messing around trying to figure out if it’s best to layer the pictures from one side to another, top to bottom, or what. As far as I can tell, it all depends on the picture. I think the symmetry of the layers works here, but then again I took it so of course I think it works. I’ve gotta say though – this stuff is pretty easy and fun. If you’re so inclined, it isn’t hard – try it!

One Last Collage is a post from: Ari Takes Pictures

Composite Tree

kap0w — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:04:22 +0000

Here is another TtV collage from the same set as this guy. I’m still thinking about the layout that I like best. Something linear with a slight curve like the last post looked really good to me, but there is something about the vertical and slightly haphazard orientation here that I like as well. Just like everything else, an interesting subject doesn’t hurt.

An improvement? I’m not sure. If you like this one I have another one of the fence in the background. Maybe I’ll post that next.

Composite Tree is a post from: Ari Takes Pictures

A Path With A Twist

kap0w — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 19:20:51 +0000

I think maybe, just maybe, I’m getting the hang of these Through the Viewfinder collages.

Last time I tried this I think it was sort of interesting but didn’t work for me. It seems that having one element moving through all of the pictures really helps. You’d think alignment would be easy, but the perspective quickly warps looking through these old cameras and everything gets fuzzy at the edge of each picture so even lining things up is hard. Also, just like with panoramas, having the same aperture throughout is pretty key. So what do you think? This is a nice quiet path, down in the arboretum.

A Path With A Twist is a post from: Ari Takes Pictures

Everyone Needs A Contraption

kap0w — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 04:04:49 +0000

Since I’ve been posting more of those Through the Viewfinder pictures (or at least thinking about them) again, I thought I’d finally get around to showing you the magic behind the pictures – the Contraption. I don’t exactly know why everyone calls them that, but there are a lot of these people, and “contraption” is what they all call it. Anyway, here it is.

Want more details and pictures? Click the link for more.

I was lucky enough to get plans to build this thing from someone with an identical camera online. I used black matte board (it’s important that it isn’t reflective and it blocks light) and black gaffer’s tape. The other things that matter are that it holds your camera tightly and that the overall length is just long enough so that you can focus your camera on the viewing screen of the camera below. Use whatever lens you have with the shortest focusing distance. A full-frame camera would really help out here, but alas, I have what I have. Anyway, the design I built fits nicely around the protrusions and over the lenses. The Kodak Duaflex won’t fall out even if I don’t hold any part of it. Just the same I don’t test it too much.

The best way to get the length right is to lay the camera you’re going to be shooting the viewfinder of down on its side and the camera you’re going to be shooting with about a foot away. Move it back and forth until you find the minimum distance between the two where you can focus on the viewfinder of the Duaflex (or whatever you’re using). The distance between the two is what you need to build.

Mine fits tightly around my 100mm macro lens and when pushed all the way up against the body of my Canon, sits just about right. Since you often have to make fine focus adjustments by pulling the camera up in the tube just a bit, it’s good that it’s all friction fit.

As you can see, it isn’t perfect. In actual life, it really doesn’t matter. You’re probably going to capture a bit more than the square of the viewfinder and crop back to that, so unless you’re shooting under equatorial noon-day sun, a little light leak or two isn’t going to kill anyone. When you pull both cameras out, this thing folds flat – still 2.5 feet long, but flat. Another great part of the process is the looks you get when you take it out in public. Luckily the attention has been pretty interesting and impressed so far.

It took me getting unemployed to get around to building my contraption but every time I post pictures, the response is great. If you’ve got the inclination, find something cheap on eBay and strap whatever camera you can to it (I think even a point and shoot will work with a little tinkering). Get going, and be sure to show me whatever you come up with!

Everyone Needs A Contraption is a post from: Ari Takes Pictures

Through The Viewfinder, Via Collage

kap0w — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 03:35:13 +0000

I stumbled upon a cool group on Flickr the other day – it’s all about Through The Viewfinder stuff, but with multiple shots pasted together into a collage. They’ve got some great stuff over there and eventually I got around to trying my hand. This was just the first effort. Trust me – I’ll get better at this, almost certainly because I can’t get worse.

Kinda fun, yeah? Well I learned a few things too. You need a strong subject moving through the frame – coastline, fence, something linear to help align the pictures. It doesn’t help that the camera I shoot my TtV stuff with is pretty darn soft around the edges of the frame. Also, I really need to throw it into a bit more of a manual mode, so I can get exposures to match up a bit better. I like the oddness of it, but room to improve. Maybe I’ll drag it out again tomorrow. What do you think?

Through The Viewfinder, Via Collage is a post from: Ari Takes Pictures

R2-D2's Day Job, Through The Viewfinder

kap0w — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 22:46:30 +0000

Camera & Lens	Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT (Canon) & 100.0 mm	Shutter:	1/250 s
Creation Date:	2009:03:03 15:50:19	Aperture:	f/5.0
Artist:	Ari Brown	ISO:	200
Exposure Mode:	Normal program	Focal Length:	100 mm

It’s an old joke, but other than a place to toss my junk, this trashcan bears a striking resemblance to something familar… Another run-of-the-mill sighting in the Arboretum, but lots of colors, textures, and depth. One of the fun and challenging parts of TtV is getting the focus the way you want it. Your subject is through your camera lens, down a cardboard tube, and reflected in a ground glass prism, but then there is also the distance between the front of the prism and the subject, so focal distances are measured in several directions. It takes a lot of twisting and bending. You look funny. If security was around, they’d probably run you off. Make sure you look extra harmless.

R2-D2's Day Job, Through The Viewfinder is a post from: Ari Takes Pictures

Spring, As Requested

kap0w — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 01:23:19 +0000

Camera & Lens	Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT (Canon) & 100.0 mm	Shutter:	1/250 s
Creation Date:	2009:03:03 16:12:53	Aperture:	f/4.5
Artist:	Ari Brown	ISO:	200
Exposure Mode:	Normal program	Focal Length:	100 mm

The seasons are changing for real. Today I wore a light jacket and got hot – hot, I say! That means something around here. Also around here, there are flowers. I took this picture in the Arboretum – a great place for finding things like this. I’d tell you what kind it is, but this is a photography blog, not a botany blog. Also, we’re back to TtV (Through the Viewfinder) – something I have fun with but also something you requested back when I asked. Happy yet?

Spring, As Requested is a post from: Ari Takes Pictures

Payphone TtV

kap0w — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 01:45:08 +0000

Another one where the loose focus, rough edges, and distorted lens make you look for something old. When you see it, things make sense. When you see that it’s in our apartment, I guess that makes a little less sense. What – you don’t have a payphone? Who’s the weirdo now?

ApertureValue: f/2.8
DateTimeOriginal: 2008:12:04 15:03:17
ExposureTime: 1/4 sec
Flash: No Flash
FocalLength: 100 mm
ISOSpeedRatings: 400
Model: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT

Payphone TtV is a post from: Ari Takes Pictures

What You'd Expect

kap0w — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 23:17:17 +0000

When I started taking these TtV photos, something clicked. Usually I’m not a huge fan of the pictures I take in Seattle. I think it’s the light – they lack contrast and the colors don’t pop. When I looked at these pictures I realized, that’s just what you need. With an old cruddy camera, scratches and rust on the viewfinder, the square format with the visible prism edge, you expect muted colors and gray days. Shooting this Caddy (admittedly still a little modern for the technique) just seems to work. Compare it with another shot, on the same day, of something a little more modern - am I making this up or are you with me?

ApertureValue: f/3.5
DateTimeOriginal: 2008:12:05 11:49:16
ExposureTime: 1/160 sec
Flash: No Flash
FocalLength: 100 mm
ISOSpeedRatings: 400
Model: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT

What You'd Expect is a post from: Ari Takes Pictures

On A Winter's Day

kap0w — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 22:56:56 +0000

Alright – I’ll just say it. I’m a BIG fan of *stuff*. One of the things I’ve talked myself out of buying more than once is a LensBaby attachment for my camera. This trick lens lets you blur parts of the frame and leave focus in the middle. It just never made enough sense for me to buy, and that’s saying something. One of the great parts about the TtV style is that you get the quality of the viewfinder you’re shooting through and most of these old cameras have some issues. My particular copy has some pretty serious blur around the edges – I love it!

ApertureValue: f/5
DateTimeOriginal: 2008:12:04 15:05:48
ExposureTime: 1/320 sec
Flash: Off
FocalLength: 100 mm
ISOSpeedRatings: 4294902160
Model: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT

On A Winter's Day is a post from: Ari Takes Pictures