The dreamy hyperfocal look...

[FrankS]

Duh. Here is the obvious rebuttal: If the dreamy look was contrived by using hyperfocusing and extremely small f stop which causes diffraction, surely not all photographers were utilizing this technique all the time. Where are the examples of modern looking images without the dreamy look of vintage photography?

ebino, are you being sincere or are you just tugging our legs?

 

[charjohncarter]

I knew this was going to be a good thread.😉 I also knew I should just watch. Good so far😛

I'm watching too, Venchka gave an example, but I would like to see some more of the dreamy look. I went to the SFMOMA yesterday and there was a lot of out of focus stuff (but I wouldn't call it dreamy) by HCB and the sexism, surveillance and voyeur exhibitors.

 

[FrankS]

Pic of the proud boy carrying wine bottles is one of my favourites. Definitely vintage looking but definitely not using hyper focusing. Check the sharpness of distant objects.

http://www.laurencemillergallery.com/Images/hcb_sbs2.jpg

 

[Alpacaman]

but isn't this cheating and dishonest and whatnot? as opposed to the honourable way of focusing through the viewfinder.
... 🙄

😀😀😀 I burst out laughing when I read that.

Also, Ebino, I can't recognize you anymore! What happened to the umbrella man?

Anyways, couldn't the whole hyperfocal = softness be a lens by lens thing? On most of my Nikon glass the image gets sharper when I stop down and go hyperfocal. P'rhaps what you see is simply a result of your modern Leica glass, which is designed to be used wide open, diffracting when stopped down?

 

[ebino]

I think the problem is the "dreamy" word in the title. I'll change it.

 

[PMCC]

I think the problem is the "dreamy" word in the title. I'll change it to soft.

Yeah, word change in the title. Then it would all make perfect sense.

Edit: Not.

 

[ebino]

Yeah, word change in the title. Then it would all make perfect sense.

I tried it but it didn't work.


So people, please ignore the "dreamy" word in the title.

 

[FrankS]

What shall we insert in its place?

 

[dyao]

 

[dyao]

Blown highlights may have a lot to do with the "dreamy look" as well.

If anyone else on the palnet had made this photograph it would be in the circular file bin right now.

One of my favorite Winogrands

 

[dyao]

 

[Jack Conrad]

What shall we insert in its place?

I vote for "blurry." 🙂

 

[Mark Schretlen]

I think the look is easy to achieve - just put a tiny umbrella in your hot-shoe and shoot only on rainy days. 🙂

I am also of the opinion that this is a lens thing. Didn't Winogrand use a Canon 28/2.8 LTM? It's got a unique character at all f-stops.

 

[filmfan]

One of my favorite Winogrands

Same here.

 

[venchka]

For the record, I too like the Winogrand photo of the Albuquerque G.I. Bill 'Burbs. I'm not sure why. I just do. It certainly falls short on technical levels. On the other hand, Garry wasn't about technical stuff. Perhaps we all should take note of that.

 

[PMCC]

What shall we insert in its place?

"Half-baked"? 🙂

 

[Thardy]

Duh. Here is the obvious rebuttal: If the dreamy look was contrived by using hyperfocusing and extremely small f stop which causes diffraction, surely not all photographers were utilizing this technique all the time. Where are the examples of modern looking images without the dreamy look of vintage photography?

ebino, are you being sincere or are you just tugging our legs?

What if the opposite is happening? Looks like these are shot at a large aperture and focus is missed. I went out a few days ago using ISO 400 film and still had to use f/1.4, not much was in focus. Yeah, I thought the images were quite dreamy.

 

[venchka]

Spontaneous. Candid. Dark & Brooding. Poor light-either too much or not enough. Rapid fire. Slow shutter speeds. Slow lenses. Slow film. All the street shooters of the 40s-50s-60s had to deal with these shortcomings. We are lucky they got any photos at all. By comparison, we are all spoiled by modern technology.
More Winogrand...

Awesome!

Color even.

I'm going to set up Bigfoot and the 28 for "the Winogrand style." Actually, I'm half kidding.

 

[dyao]

For the record, I too like the Winogrand photo of the Albuquerque G.I. Bill 'Burbs. I'm not sure why. I just do. It certainly falls short on technical levels. On the other hand, Garry wasn't about technical stuff. Perhaps we all should take note of that.

It's a pretty trenchant criticism of America - there is a tension between the built environment (the house) and its surroundings (a desert wasteland), the lone toddler with no parent in sight, the overturned tricycle, the darkness of the garage...

 

[Taynt3d]

I don't know about anyone else, but I regularly shoot in the 1/30 to 1/60 range -- even in broad daylight -- just to get a little bit of that slow shutter blur.