Re: [Leica] "Normal" perspective

[Dan Cardish <dcardish@microtec.net>]

At 09:57 AM 03-05-98 +0200, Alf wrote:

>Dan, I have some problems with your description/ definition of 
>the "wideangle look".
>
>If a picture is small -  do you call it "wideangle look (of the 
>observer)", when he/she sees i.e. parts of the wall, or because
>the in-objects are in size below "naturalness" ?
>
>If a picture is large, and the observer cannot move far enough 
>to see the total picture (no matter of the object size) - do you 
>call this "wideangle look" also ?

I guess I should have been more careful about using that term.  Wide-angle
look means different things to different people.  If I photograph a
building by standing in front of it and pointing up with my 20mm lens
mounted 35mm camera, the building will show severe keystoning, which most
people will say gives it a 'wide-angle look'.  If I mounted a 500mm lens on
the camera, and aimed towards the same point, all I would see on the 35mm
negative would be a few bricks or windows in the middle of the building,
the 'wide-angle' look would be gone.  But, if the 500mm lens could produce
a large enough image circle, and I used it to expose a large enough piece
of film, the keystoning would still be there, just like the 20mm lens. 

My meaning of wide-angle is just how the image the you look at compares to
the original scene.  If I look at you from a distance of 10 feet, I
perceive you to be, say, 5" tall.  If the photograph I took of you also
shows you to be 5" tall when viewed at a given distance, I define the
perspective of the photograph to be *normal*.  If you are smaller on the
photograph than in real life, then the perspective is *wide-angle*.  

Of course, and this is just to minimize the flames  ;), the wide-angle look
would be enhanced if the smaller photo of you also included a wide expanse
of the surrounding room, so that even though the image of you looks
un-naturally small, the photograph itself is of a larger than normal size
(I'm not sure if that is precise, but I think you know what I mean).  But
the perspective itself won't be changed just because I include more of the
surroundings in the photograph, and print on larger paper.

Dan C.