048

The Inclined Plane and Sharpness in Analog Photography

Toni Bover. La llum com metàfora del llenguatge. 1990-94
Toni Bover. La llum com metàfora del llenguatge. 1990-94

To take a photograph featuring a tilted plane perspective (1) while ensuring optimal sharpness in the object plane (2), a view camera (3) (enabling independent adjustments of the optical and image planes) was essential, along with the application of the Scheimpflug rule (4).

The project, Light as a Metaphor for Language, also involved capturing images from an elevated perspective, with the camera tilted to achieve optimal sharpness across the object plane while employing natural light.

Occasionally, still lifes were crafted outside the photographic studio, for instance, using a stack of wooden planks as the backdrop, just as they were stored. Ambient light was employed, and occasionally, a point light source was incorporated into the scene. As a visual metaphor, some images from the Memorare project or reproductions from Light as a Metaphor for Language were positioned on the planks, including cyanotypes and bromoils created in an antique techniques workshop with Cristina Zelich (5).

Keywords

Light as a metaphor for language Memorare Point of view Sharpness

References

Texts

  • 1. Villanueva, Ll. (1996). Perspectiva lineal: Su relación con la fotografía. Barcelona: Edicions UPC.
  • 2. 047 Geometria òptica, frontalitat i fotografia/ Optical Geometry, Frontality and Photography
  • 3. Stroebel, L. (1993). View Camera Technique. Boston: Focal Press.
  • 4. Stroebel, L; Zakia, R. (1993). Encyclopedia of Photography. Boston: Focal Press. P.198.
    “The Scheimpflug rule or condition is that an inclined subject plane is rendered sharp when the plane of the subject, the rear nodal (principal) plane of the lens, and the film plane, all extended into space as necessary, meet in a common line. The depth of field about the subject plane is inclined in the same direction as the plane”.
  • 5. Zelich, C. (1995) Manual de técnicas fotográficas del siglo XX. Sevilla: Photovision.

Images

  • The first and second images remind us that the planks were trees. The first shows photographic compositions of wooded areas in Castell de l'Areny, which were made while the Memorare project was being created.
  • The second shows a set of photographs taken in a snowy park in La Guixa, which were the beginning of Memorare.
  • In the third picture, images from the project Light as a metaphor for language, were utilised in a workshop aimed at learning ancient techniques. The bird skeleton had been employed by a colleague during the workshop for her exercises.