TTV in Architecture
By Dirk HR Spennemann
22 Jan 2009
Is TTV (through-the-viewfinder) photography a fad? Many have asked this, ever since a group of people started taking images through the viewfinder of older cameras. Part of this movement was a rebellion against the sterility of many images created by digital technology. The grime and dust, as well as the distortions of the old bubble-shaped viewfinder exert a charm. The square framing also forces the photographer to compose the image differently.
Not surprisingly, TTV has gained a reasonable following among art(istic) photographers as is evidenced by the active TTV groups on sites such as flickr.
But TTV can also be seen as a serious tool -- a special use lens in the tool kit of a photographer.
A TTV set up is comprised of a bottom camera that 'sees' the image and shows it in its viewfinder, and a top camera that records that image. The focal length of the top camera determines how far top and bottom camera have to be apart and thus the size of the resulting 'camera' design.
The key element in TTV is that the viewfinders of old pseudo TLRs (such as a Kodak Duaflex, an Argus 75, an Ensign Ful-Vue or an Ansco Rediflex) have a convex glass lens as viewfinder. These viewfinder lenses have a gradual, and what is really important, smooth distortion away from the center.
A by-product of photographing a viewfinder is that the focal length of the taking camera remains the same, while the focal length of the 'seeing' lens is fixed. This allows to shoot images from extreme macro to entire buildings with the same lens.
I my set-up I use a French Olbia 6x6 pseudoTLR as the bottom camera and a Nikon D300 with 105mm macro lens at the top camera. There are many combinations possible. Many TTV addicts use digital point and shoot cameras. While light and small, they often lack manual overrides. If you plan on using your TTV system as a lens that reliably produces replicable images, then it is imperative to be able to focus manually and to adjust aperture.
Both is crucial, as with any other camera, since the adjustment of the aperture determines the depth of field. In the case of TTV, it determines the extent of the distortion gradient. At f16 most of the image is in focus and you loose much what's special about TTV. At f4.5 the drop off is quite dramatic.
TTV can be very effectively used in photographing architecture. The dramatic focus drop off in a TTV image draws the eye to a (usually) central focal point. From there the image gets increasingly blurry, exuding a magical charm. It tends to work best with the ornate nineteenth century (and older) buildings), but can also be used to good effect with modern structures. The use of monochrome can remove the distractions of colour and emphasise the architectural design elements.
Given the distortions TTV is obviously not a tool to document architecture, but its a tool to create very evocative, romanticised images. Images that unashamedly pull on people's heart strings.
9 responses
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David Eastham gave props (23 Jan 2009):
My vote. I simply love TTV,
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Michael Adams gave props (23 Jan 2009):
Very nice job presenting this here! You have my vote!
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Dirk HR Spennemann gave props (23 Jan 2009):
Thanks for comments, David & Michael. Much appreciated!
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Edward Tsui gave props (24 Jan 2009):
I learned something new today. Thanks for the post!
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Dirk HR Spennemann gave props (24 Jan 2009):
Thank you. I really appreciate this praise!
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Marco Tortato gave props (31 Jan 2009):
Great story man!!!! thanks a lot for sharing this treasurable knowledge!
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Dirk HR Spennemann gave props (1 Feb 2009):
Thanks for the praise, Marco. Delighted!
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Natalia Presztolanszky gave props (3 Feb 2009):
Voted!! :-) Great work!
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Dirk HR Spennemann gave props (3 Feb 2009):
Thanks Natalia!
