Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/12/17
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]This was something that a friend and I had been talking about recently. If you notice the composition of some of the most popular impresionists you find a lot of extreme wide angle prespectives. Take a look at Renoir or even VanGogh as mentioned and you see dramatic foreground and quickly diminishing background in many works. Could it be that this is just something that naturally pleases the human eye? It is as if these painters were looking through a 21MM lens. Certainly this same "wide angle" perspective is much more prevalent in photography today than it was just 25-30 years ago. Check out a National Geographic from then and now to really see a difference. This improved use of wide angle technique actually mirrors the changes in classic painting. Look at the great works of the 17th century or earlier and you many times see a "compressed" look, reminicent of what a telephoto lens does in photography. >From leica-users-admin@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us Thu Dec 17 15:01:23 1998 >Received: (from majordom@localhost) > by mejac.palo-alto.ca.us (8.9.1/8.9.1) id OAA04480; Thu, 17 Dec 1998 14:17:56 -0800 (PST) >Received: from mail.islandnet.com (mail.islandnet.com [199.175.106.4]) > by mejac.palo-alto.ca.us (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id OAA04475; Thu, 17 Dec 1998 14:17:54 -0800 (PST) >Received: from 139-142-113-209.islandnet.com [139.142.113.209] by mail.islandnet.com with smtp id m0zqlk1-000KvuC for <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>; Thu, 17 Dec 1998 14:17:53 -0800 (PST) >Message-Id: <v01540b10b29f319aac8b@[139.142.113.199]> >Mime-Version: 1.0 >Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1998 14:23:16 -0800 >To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us >From: tedgrant@islandnet.com (Ted Grant) >Subject: Re: [Leica] Lesson on Bokeh >Sender: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us >Precedence: bulk >Reply-To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us > >Isaac Crawford wrote > >>I just went to the Van Gogh exhibit in Washington DC and got a real lesson >>in bokeh... Most of his stuff showed that you don't necessarily need >>super-razor-sharp images to get the idea. Of course, in his case he did it >>rather well... >> >>Anyway, just thought I'd pass on the advice to not only check out other >>photographers, but painters as well... it can be a real eye opener!>>>>>> > >Hi Isaac, > >Studying the works of many old master painters is probably one of the >greatest eye openers for a photographer to learn about many things of use >in photography. Composition, the understanding of light and just plain >"feelings" that can be applied to one's photography. > >They didn't have strobes, flash on brushes or any fancy hot lighting, they >just understood the value of existing light that they saw by and how to >make it work most effectively in their painting. My favorite is Rembrandt >for the exquisite use of light with his paintings of people and scenes with >people. A true master of available light and making it work. >ted > >Ted Grant >This is Our Work. The Legacy of Sir William Osler. >http://www.islandnet.com/~tedgrant > > > ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com