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Re: [OM] YAB on 9-10-14

Subject: Re: [OM] YAB on 9-10-14
From: Moose <olymoose@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 12 Oct 2014 21:36:13 -0700
On 10/12/2014 8:17 PM, Chuck Norcutt wrote:
If you're going to make landscape books I don't know why you'd need to use a 6x17 camera. An E-M5 or E-M1 has plenty of resolution to make prints of suitable size for a book and it's a lot cheaper and easier to use.

Yup. Although not published publicly, I have three photo books in existence. Image size is 8.5x10.5". The only comments I've ever had about sharpness/detail have been about how good it is. Bob and MikeG have seen them, and may have their own comments. Mine is that 4/3 is more than adequate.

The Obsession 6x17 isn't really all that wide. The standard lens for that format is 90 mm, giving a calculated horizontal AOV of 86.7°. 9 mm on 4/3 gives 87.7°. In the real world of manufacturing tolerances, that's a wash. However, because his chosen 90 mm lens wasn't a Schneider, and wouldn't fit in the housing, Brian settled for a 115 mm lens = 72.9° AOV.

Given that 4/3 is good for a photo book, the 9-18 is actually wider.

And then, panorama stitching is my friend, and could be yours. My latest book has a couple of panoramas. The lay flat pages make them almost seamless. Both are stitched, one from the 5D, 35 mm lens, 7 landscape format shots and the other with E-M5, 35 mm (70 mm eq.), 9 portrait format shots. A 21 in. wide panorama in your lap has quite a bit of impact. :-)

Properly made 6x17 film images should make wonderful book pages. But the time and effort is at least an order of magnitude greater, likely more. And for me, knowing when I take 'em that they are what I need is worth gold.

As to the exposure meter, you already have the best exposure meter around... it's called the histogram on your digital camera. The only exposure meter I've used in the last several years is a flash meter for fill flash. Any other use of flash usually bows to the histogram as well.

Yup again. A histogram has oodles more useful information that any exposure 
meter reading.

On 10/12/2014 5:28 AM, bj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
I have another card up my sleeve.

I still have the Obsession 6 x 17 film camera which I
bought custom made some years ago. It has been
languishing unused for quite some time.

I happen to know that Andris Apse used Linhof
Technorama 6 x 17 and 6 x 12 cameras and I am sure
that some of the photos in his latest book include 6 x 17
shots because they were also used in calendars I have
some of which he produced for private companies ages
before digital cameras existed / had that quality potential.
And the image quality is excellent.

Ask him if he is using it today and when he took the last shot with it that he 
used in a book.

...
In reply to part of Jez's response about what I need to do,
I have to say that I have given a LOT of thought to what
the market here requires in order to get print sales (
based on my (lack of) success, and the different reasons
I can see that have resulted in other photographer
competitor friends selling much more than me.

In general, people buying images to hang on their walls
want images with strong visual impact. It doesn't matter
overall if this is obtained by the photographer managing to
get a suitable combination of lighting, cloud, etc; or
manipulation by computer software.

That's what I'm seeing, too. Images that are, to my eye, somewhat to wildly 
over processed seem to be selling.

For landscape books of the type I have in mind, it seems
to me that good colour saturation, probably side lighting
from early morning or late afternoon

The low angle of lighting is a mixed bag, "making" some images and making others more difficult. It's all about the color/quality of early/late light for me.

, subject interest derived from content

Critical! Other than those buying by size and colour to fit over the sofa, mantlepiece, etc., it's the interior shift felt by the viewer that is most important it creating a sale.

The problem is that the affect that drives someone to want a piece of art seems to occur almost exclusively in response to work created with some inner passion/drive/whatever on the part of the artist. Art created either with the aim of technical perfection or adjusting one's standards to what is perceived to be wanted, tends not to sell.

There has been a lot written about this, by many kinds of artists. Friday's TOP may be of interest. <http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2014/10/top-classic-creative-livings.html> I've also been reading "The Creative Life in Photography", by Brooks Jensen, editor of LensWork. He has several books, which are compilations of podcasts. The podcasts are free, but not my cuppa for this kind of stuff. I'm reading it on my Nook.

Anyway, there's some good thoughts and information on this subject in there. His information about what prints sell for and those from which photographers sell for the most are enlightening, although I find the less specific experience and opinions of more use.

, and fidelity,

Well, yes and no. See above about processing.

are required. Sharp = good.

For conventional landscapes. There's a lot of soft/moody/mostly/etc. out there, too. How it may be selling, I don't know. For your intended use, yes.

I was amused when a friend was enthusing about the camera in her iPhone 5, and I was demurring, saying sure, it's fine for snaps, and always better than nothing, but ... Then when she was going through my latest book, she commented about how much detail is visible is in the images, how sharp and clear they are. But she couldn't see the connection! Oh well.

Bookish Moose

--
What if the Hokey Pokey *IS* what it's all about?
--
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