A short zoneplate series

Some of you will remember that I played with a homemade zone plate a couple of months ago. After a bit of thought I made a new plate up and have been working on a short series of images. These are now at a proof print stage, though some probably need some more work before being finalised. Anyway, I thought I show some here for your enjoyment (I hope!) and comment.

One of the key themes here is that the zoneplate has less resolution than a lens and reduces the subject towards it's essentials. Also, the resulting raw image tends to be very low contrast, with the highlights spreading into dark areas and so needs quite a lot of work in development. As a result the final images are all quite impressionistic (not used technically, but descriptively). One decision I made for this series was to shoot handheld with the 5D and so I have used fairly high iso - quite a lot at 3200 - in order to get manageable shutter speeds. Again, not seeking to freeze shake or anything, but to avoid the need to stand still for too long! The plate is around f45 and so night shooting is interesting.

Oh, quite a lot involve trees simply because that's been my environment for the last couple of months and I've always liked the interplay of evening light on trees and in the woods.








Anyway, I'll post a couple at a time over over the next few days.

Mike

Here's the second picture:





Enjoy!

Guiding the light coming from the subject to write differently for us.

Mike Shimwell said:

Some of you will remember that I played with a homemade zone plate a couple of months ago. After a bit of thought I made a new plate up and have been working on a short series of images. These are now at a proof print stage, though some probably need some more work before being finalised. Anyway, I thought I show some here for your enjoyment (I hope!) and comment.

Click to expand...

The advent of Digital DSLR camera really bring new possibilities to Zone plate and pinhole photography as one can test out ideas at essentially zero costs. Here, with your continuation of your dabbling in Zone plate imaging, you are setting a great example of how we should open up new possibilities in imagining how to present concept with the simplest tools possible.

This first image, Essentials 1, immediately pulls us into a strange new esthetic world of delicate rudiments of color, pattern and light.



There are several special features that draw my attention. First there's an horizontal landscape arrangement of levels of colors and shades traversing the image behind the trees. No detail makes us stop any particular place, just we get the gestalt of some geographical presence with some land mass giving us the sienna stripe.

The light glowing through the small branches of the trees reaches a crescendo of angles dusting between the large branches and even more so between the trees themselves. These effects do not give specifics just an ambience of countryside and tranquility.

I hope we see much more of this as it opens our eyes to ways of writing what the light approaching the camera carries to us.

Asher

Zoneplates, you say! Hmm, I have no idea what that is but I do like the results. I'm finding the first image here particularily appealing.

Searched for your earlier posts on 'zoneplates', still 'fuzzy' on what you are talking about (no time to learn more), but want to say I really like Hanna at the piano (here).

Zone plates: writing what one imagines in a soft photographic language.

Mike Shimwell said:

Here's the second picture: Enjoy!

Click to expand...

These colors of green and brown appear like water color washes, with only the broadest indications of the woods on either side of the curved road. Once again, we have no choice but to enter, between these two area on either side and venture forward and travel on to somewhere.

So what's the point of going the opposite direction to quality lenses and infinite detail. We lose a lot of specifics of the place, but what is it that we might gain? The answer is simple: real estate! The picture provides a safe playground for our imagination. We can use it as we wish. There are almost no restrictions. The indefiniteness gives back the picture to us to populate with our own ideas, fantasies and possible personal choices, waiting to be tested, without any risk.

One might approach this with one of Jim Galli's rather expensive soft focus lenses but then there would be an area of more sharp focus. Here there is not! BTW, IMHO, delicate images, such as this, require protection from anything but a soft environment. Here it's essential to view them with adequate surrounding white-space.

Thanks so much for sharing.

I hope you will also provide more details on making zone plates and links tro your previous efforts.

Asher

I'd love to see a little more of the woods on the right side to balance the strong impact of the two bright light units on the left. Alternatively, the outer bright area could be cropped away or it's fine, as it is, just being out of balance, electric, alive and disturbing!

Thanks Asher and Sandra

I'll put some information up on zoneplates later if I get chance. For now, this is Essentials 3.

Mike

And one more before bed. This is with a later plate that offers slightly more sharpness, though still not a lens.

Mike

Mike, I am moving away from sharpness. before I comment on your pictures, what exactly is a zoneplate?
I honestly thought it was zone V territory !!

Best.

Hi Fahim

A zoneplate is a circular diffraction grating that focuses an image - i.e. it works using diffraction rather than refraction. You can make them by printing a suitable target (source) and photographing it from the appropriate distance with microfilm (high contrast and resolution) and a sharp lens. The focal length needs to be appropriate for the distance the mounted plate will be from the film/sensor plane. For my aftermarket body cap on Canon eos that equates to a 48mm focal length as being optimum for infinity focus. Interestingly they are used to focus x-rays.

In terms of the projected image they tend to be low contrast and also when you drill the hole in the body cap the smaller the better consistent with avoiding vignetting as the film isn't totally opaque, so further reducing contrast. Also highlights tend to spread into surrounding areas.

As the effective f-stop is fairly high, around 45-50, framing with an slr can be challenging. I've also got a 28mm focal length plate for the Ikon, which is fun and easier to frame (obviously).

Here's number 5 from the series.

Mike

I'd love to see the 28mm zone plate with the same subjects. sort of feel I'm looking for a wider view. Misty for landscape might need being far enough away for 48mm or else that 28mm could be ideal. Is there any reason why 28 mm zone plate can't be made for the Canon DSLR?

Also, how good are the ready made zone plates?

Asher

No1 and 5 are eye catchers
Like this kind of photography, it lets the viewer free to make a story with it

Hi Asher

I haven't tried the commercial zoneplates yet. I may get one simply because the build is better than taping the plate to an old body cap. It's not possible to make a 28mm plate for an slr as the mirror would be fouled by the plate and inset carrier - they're not retro focus. You can get a wider angle plate on an LTM or M Mount rangefinder though. The commercial ones are 24mm, reversable to 30mm.

Hans, thanks for your comment. Yes, I think 1 and 5 stand well, but the others are better in print than on the screen.

In the next image I have obtained more resolution and it's a bit chocolate box, but actually I still like it.

Mike

Hello Mike

I'm enjoying your Zoneplate series, interesting to see something so different.....

Out of these I prefer No's 1 & 4, it seems to work well in the forest giving a very different mood to that which a sharp shot would produce.

Thanks for showing us these.

Thanks Janet, Yes, I like the way the zoneplate works with trees. this is another (that needs reprocessing as the noise is sustained even into a small jpeg), which really caought the feel of the light that morning.

Mike

Bravo Mike. These are lovely. I think #4 was my favorite. I'm in the middle of a photo workshop this week so cannot take the time to spend on these that I would like, but wanted to say something quickly. I'll give them a proper study soon.

Hi Jim

Thanks. I hope you have a good week - teaching or receiving?

Here's another variant on the vertical composition from a different day.

Mike

and a detail

Mike

Mike Shimwell said:

and a detail

Mike

Essentials 10 - Mike Shimwell

Click to expand...

Now this is a new experience. I'm really enjoying this. I hope others comment. I have to prepare for an early shoot.

Asher

Asher Kelman said:

Now this is a new experience. I'm really enjoying this. I hope others comment. I have to prepare for an early shoot.

Asher

Click to expand...

Thanks Asher,

One more 'in your face' image and then I'll put up the last couple of gentle pictures later.

Mike

Mike,

can you explain the high sat? Is that just under-exposure?

Asher

Asher Kelman said:

Mike,

can you explain the high sat? Is that just under-exposure?

Asher

Click to expand...

Hi Asher,

It was a bit underexposed (at iso3200), but it's really (mostly) the result of the low contrast image from the zone plate having contrast increased in Lightroom - that leads to increased saturation compared to the base image. In fact, I've also had similar sky's from other night shots in the past and am also of the view that another factor is that because luminosity is low we tend not to see much colour in night skies, but of course it's there and just after sunset the sjy is actually quite blue because of scattering away from the sun.

Mike

Ok, last one and probably my favourite at the moment. (you all sigh in relief). In print the noise is nicely visible, but smaller. Something to do with photoshop resizing automatically and not very well. In fact, one thing puting these on screen has demonstrated to me is how much poorer the small jpgs are than the prints.

Mike