September 28, 2006
LIVING LARGE FORMAT
Gothamist was sponsoring a show last night down on Pier 17 (South Street Seaport), so I headed over there because a a possible bad night on the waterfront beats a boring night listening to myself breathe.
Whoa! Downtown on the Lower LOWER East Side has really come a long way. What used to basically be an impound lot and neighborhood for mobsters to kill guys and dump them in the East River is actually getting pretty nice. Yeah yeah, South Street Seaport has been around for a decade or so, but 10am-to-7pm tourists bumbling around a few streets doesn't make a neighborhood. I don't know who's responsible, but Pier 17 allowed the installation of Spiegel Tent, "The World's Most Beautiful Travelling Venue." It's a semi-permanent structure ringed with booths and tables, a wide-open floorspace, a stage in front, and covered by a circus tent. Looking at the schedule I picked up, there was a show almost every day in September and apparently the place has been open all summer. Outside of the tent, one can simply sit on the outdoor pier and enjoy glittering views of the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Williamsburg Bridges. I literally sat and watched the tide come in, as water rushed northwards from the harbor.
But I digress. After getting off the train at Whitehall, I walked up South Street. When I got to Governeur's St. I saw a guy with a camera on a tripod. It wasn't one of those SLRs, it was a crazy old-school camera with one of those accordian bodies. Of course I had to go back and talk to him, although I was on a tight schedule (there's fashionably late and then just plain rude.)
He was a student--I'm guessing with either NYU or the School of Visual Arts--trying out a camera loaned to him by his school. It was large format, with 4"x5" film, and he said it was a Toyo, which I've never even heard of, so I'm guessing it must be good. He hadn't composed his shot yet, but I asked if I could look through the viewfinder, which in retrospect was pretty stupid as there wasn't a viewfinder, but simply the display on the back of the camera showing the light passing through the camera's body. He said sure and pulled a dark cloth(?) or drape(?) out of his bag to cover my head, shoulders, and the camera while I looked through the display.
I have to tell you, it was pretty Goddamn cool. For about 20 seconds, I felt like the Ansel Adams of Manhattan. I now understand why that guy hauled his ass all over the West to take those pictures. I always feel like a complete jackass when I pull my digital point-and-shoot out of my bag to catch something. This was completely different. This was art.
Special thanks to the kid that let me goof around with his stuff. Best of luck to you.
Posted by Lexiphane at September 28, 2006 2:25 PM
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Comments
Toyo Views are fantastic, relatively inexpensive 4x5 view cameras. Unfortunately, as far as I know they require film. The benefit of the bellow design is that you can achieve tilt and shift effects that neutralize perspective shift when shooting large buildings or set creative focus fields.(Not to mention the extra resolution of 4x5 inches of film) Special lenses by both Nikon and Canon have begun to provide the same functionality now that Digital Capture has started to overwhelm many aspects of photography. And what can't be accomplished in the camera can be completed in Photoshop CS2.(Just ask me for a demo some time) I'm not saying that digital capture is bad but that special moment under the cape viewing through ground glass is something that will definitely be missed.
Tom
Posted by: TomHogarty ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.lexiphane.com/mt/nav-commenters.gif)
at September 30, 2006 3:01 PM