Clunes Town Hall

Mick Fagan
Posts: 412
Joined: 24 Sep 2015, 21:20
Location: Melbourne

Clunes Town Hall

Postby Mick Fagan » 13 Aug 2018, 17:03

This is one building I have wished to return to, ever since taking this photograph. I took this in November 2011 at 1122hrs according to my notes; although the town hall clock suggests 1120hrs. :D

I had at the time a 90mm but it just covered the 4x5" format, so no movements outside about 5mm in any direction. I really wished to take this in landscape, but was restricted to portrait format just to get the height of the building in. Even then, I couldn't get the whole of the flagpole in.

Using my 150, which has massive movement possibilities, I was able to get correct verticals. I needed 34mm of front rise though, which is massive. Plus I used 7mm of rear shift to centre the building, as the tripod/camera was right up against a pole. Not to mention I had already tilted the camera bed upwards and realigned both front and rear to vertical before I started fiddling. Left to right you are seeing the entire negative, the foreground road has been cropped slightly.

It was this struggle that made me decide to get a wider coverage 90mm lens, I have done that and am now wishing to visit Clunes again to have another crack.

Weather was crappy, but I managed to have everything ready and hoped to get a window of light. I didn't get bright light, but I think the cloudy bright light I did have, was better than really bright.

Shen Hao HZX-IIA 4x5" wooden folder, Fujinon 150 f/22 at 1/8, orange filter Ilford FP4+

Mick.

110001_Clunes_Town_Hall_FP4_150_Orange_Filter_1-8_f22_004_web.jpg

Walter Glover
Posts: 1270
Joined: 31 Jul 2012, 22:31
Location: Leichhardt, NSW

Re: Clunes Town Hall

Postby Walter Glover » 14 Aug 2018, 07:57

What a treasure, Mick. I agree with your comments in the text and wish you every success to get back to have another crack at it. Just got to hope hard that you also get this staggering light next time.
Walter Glover

"We see things not as they are. We see them as we are."
Emanuel Kant

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Maris
Posts: 882
Joined: 27 Jul 2012, 16:02
Location: Noosa

Re: Clunes Town Hall

Postby Maris » 14 Aug 2018, 09:04

Mick, your 65mm + CF lens would eat this scene very nicely. And the flagpole would fit in too. It may be heresy but I've shot architecture with lenses wider than strictly necessary and then cropped heavily. No one notices. A 4x5 negative is very generous and even if three quarters of it is thrown away what remains is bigger than the negative out of a Hasselblad!

Mick Fagan
Posts: 412
Joined: 24 Sep 2015, 21:20
Location: Melbourne

Re: Clunes Town Hall

Postby Mick Fagan » 14 Aug 2018, 14:08

Walter, I somehow don't think I'll get the same kind of light, it was quite stormy, windy and all of that kind of stuff. When I exposed the film, that was probably after a 15' or so wait; about when I was wondering if I would ever get anything bright.

You can see the dark clouds in the sky behind the town hall; getting them again, well....

I mentioned to the better half that I would like to go back to Clunes for just this reason, anything else would be a bonus; she thought it was a wonderful excuse to go back there again.

Mick.

Mick Fagan
Posts: 412
Joined: 24 Sep 2015, 21:20
Location: Melbourne

Re: Clunes Town Hall

Postby Mick Fagan » 14 Aug 2018, 14:46

Maris, you are correct, using the 65mm lens would have been fantastic; except I didn't own one when I shot this.

I was running a standard basic kit, 90mm Angulon (Linhof branded) which was good and is still good, but coverage is just there in 4x5". I then had the Fujinon 150mm which is an excellent lens as it has massive coverage, is small and light and certainly good enough for what I do. I also had a Fujinon 210mm which although slightly longer and has excellent coverage, was mainly too short for my desires. As for longer lengths, I had then and still do, a Komura 400T, which is alright, but not something I have never had great affinity for; not sure why as it does work well.

Shortly after this trip I made a bit of a wish list of where I wished to head with regard to my 4x5" format system. I was very happy, in fact I cannot find any other wooden folder camera as capable as my little Shen Hoa HZX II-A for anywhere near the same cost base. The camera body is first rate and I love using it, plus, I pretty much know how I can extract what I am trying to do with it.

My wish list was for something longer than 210mm; I picked up a beautiful Linhof Schneider Kreuznach Tele-Arton f/5.6 250mm. This was an excellent lens, I still have it, but the limiting factor of the telephoto design (coverage) dissuaded me from having a long term relationship with it. But using this, told me that a 250mm lens with coverage was going to happen.

My quest for different lenses was on, took me about 5-6 years to get there. The first I picked up was quite funny; a friend of long standing rang me one Sunday morning (he lives in Canberra) to mention that he was at their camera fair, "was there anything I was interested in." My reply was along the lines of not really, but if you find a 250mm f6.3 Fujinon, I really would like it. Less than 5 minutes later he telephoned back, "found one, pristine condition". I secured it and had it on Tuesday; loved it from the get go.

The search for a 90mm went on, but an ad for a Fujinon SWD f/5.6 65mm lens with a 105º angle of coverage in Japan caught my eye, picked it up and tested it and found there was rather massive fall-off in the corners; so much that even with reasonable diligence in the darkroom, things were difficult. Literally 1 week after getting the 65mm lens, an ad for a 67mm Heliopan graduated centre filter turned up in Sydney one week prior to a 3 month 4WD camping trip to most of outback QLD; best thing I did was to pick filter that up.

The 90mm was a longer wait as I had thought a SWD version would be the go, really silly prices for average lenses from around the world, as for Australian prices; out of my league. Eventually found the SW f/8 90mm lens with a 100º angle of coverage in Japan, works a treat and if the desire for almost dead even exposure across the long side of the negative is required, I use the graduated centre filter. Not quite right for that focal length, or maybe something like that, but it certainly makes some architecture photography better, not all. Sometimes the slight fall-off is nice, fall-off is around 1/3 and a smidge right in the corners.

Meanwhile back to where I started, the 65mm lens. Yes, it would eat that building up and spit it out. As a darkroom worker, working almost exclusively cropping negatives for around the last 40+ years, I certainly agree with you.

I would though, think the 90mm is about the right lens for that building, I'll let you know. :mrgreen:

Mick.

Walter Glover
Posts: 1270
Joined: 31 Jul 2012, 22:31
Location: Leichhardt, NSW

Re: Clunes Town Hall

Postby Walter Glover » 29 Aug 2018, 10:00

Back in my commercial architecture days, like many, I used 90mm a lot. But then Schneider released the 72mm Super-Angulon XL and from that day forward I hardly ever reached for the 90mm. These days my single wide angle lens is the Nikkor SW 75mm. It is a perfect match to my vision and affords comparatively generous movements. You might find it worthy of investigation. Of course, there are other brands if you don't care for Nikkors.
Walter Glover

"We see things not as they are. We see them as we are."
Emanuel Kant

Mick Fagan
Posts: 412
Joined: 24 Sep 2015, 21:20
Location: Melbourne

Re: Clunes Town Hall

Postby Mick Fagan » 29 Aug 2018, 17:29

Walter Glover wrote:Back in my commercial architecture days, like many, I used 90mm a lot. But then Schneider released the 72mm Super-Angulon XL and from that day forward I hardly ever reached for the 90mm. These days my single wide angle lens is the Nikkor SW 75mm. It is a perfect match to my vision and affords comparatively generous movements. You might find it worthy of investigation. Of course, there are other brands if you don't care for Nikkors.


Walter, I think you are correct, 75mm is very handy, something I have looked at and have made a decision if what I would like at the right price came up.

The Fujinon SWD 75mm f/5.6 with the same 105º angle of coverage, but 196mm image circle at f/22 compared to the Fujinon SWD 65mm f/5.6 105º angle of coverage, but 169mm image circle at f/22.

They both use the same type of graduated centre filter, which is, among others around, my Heliopan graduated centre filter. I know someone with that 75mm Fujinon lens, met up with him last year and I tried his 75mm while he tried my 65mm, both of us using my Heliopan centre filter. He is on the market for a centre filter, will think about a SWD 65mm if one turns up, but it isn't a priority.

They can both be used on my Shen Hao with standard bellows, but I use bag bellows always for my 65mm lens.

Commercial architecture eh; Linhof Technikardan?

Mick.


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