Japanorama.
One minute, I’m engrossed in the dreariness of paying bills. One second later, the word “japanorama” is the only thought in my head. It entered my consciousness as unexpectedly as a lightning bolt on a sunny day. I heard it as clearly as if someone had shouted it in my ear; I saw it as distinctly as a neon sign in the middle of a cornfield at midnight.
Fully cognizant that both Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla credited their ideas to a similar sort of otherworldly inspiration, I took the word as a sign. Since I would be travelling to Tokyo in a couple of months, “japanorama” must obviously be a suggestion — a sort of verbal shorthand instructing me to leave my small and sensible film cameras at home, and instead lug one of my big ass panoramic cameras across the Pacific. I’ll admit the idea did seem a bit daft, but who am I to argue with divine intervention?
Originally, I considered satisfying my commandment with the Hasselblad Xpan. After all, the Xpan sports impeccable fidelity, employs rangefinder focusing, and can be switched out of panoramic mode should the scene require. To a pragmatist, the Xpan would be the ideal choice to fulfill the japanorama mandate. Apparently, I ain’t no pragmatist.
Because, sensible choice that the Xpan might be, it just doesn’t put the “o-rama” in “pan-o-rama.” With its 45mm lens mounted, the Xpan has a 71 degree horizontal field of view. My Leica M, with its 21mm lens, shoots a wider horizon than that! Even if I won the lottery and secured enough capital to purchase a 30mm Xpan lens, the combination would record “only” a 94 degree width. But my Widelux F7? Now there’s a camera that can deliver the “o-rama” — 126 degrees worth! Surely this would please whichever god, martian or dissociative identity chose to plant the japanorama idea in my noggin.
But sadly, once I actually arrived on Japanese soil, I discovered that my taciturn source of divine inspiration was substantially less divine than either Einstein’s or Tesla’s. Each morning I would set out on foot, and by the end of the day, 20km would have passed beneath. Slinging a Widelux F7 around my neck, while carrying a Leica M Monochrom in hand, while shouldering a bag of lenses, film, a pocket wifi device, extra batteries, an iPhone, and various bits of flotsam and jetsam — well, it was simply too exhausting.
So the Widelux kept getting left behind. In fact, the only times I used it were when I knew I wouldn’t venture more than a couple kilometres from my room.
Curiously, in spite of its spartan use, I think the Widelux is an ideal camera for Tokyo. Had it been my only camera, I would likely have been completely satisfied. But since I was also packing several other cameras (which were digital, and thus necessary for publishing a daily travelogue), the Widelux was often odd “man” out.
So I’m rather certain I failed miserably at the task dictated by my divine guide. What’s more, I’m fearful that I might have misinterpreted it completely. After returning home from Japan, I chose to google “japanorama” and discovered that it’s the title of a BBC series about Japanese culture. Maybe I was meant to watch this series and not, as I originally believed, carry a Widelux around Tokyo? It’s not like divine intervention has a particularly intuitive user interface. So, in hopes of making amends (and possibly avoiding any cosmic smiting), I’ve decided to go ahead and publish a few of the Widelux shots, which I’ve combined into a small vBook. Hopefully, the next time I’m presented with a supernatural command, it’ll arrive in the form of a complete sentence, and not just a single word.
©2016 grEGORy simpson
ABOUT THE PHOTOS: All photos were shot with a Widelux F7 at ISO 400 on Kodak Tri-X, and developed in HC–110 (dilution H). Music was recorded in Ableton Live, using mostly an assortment of hardware synthesizers — a dab of Arturia MiniBrute, a touch of Dave Smith’s Pro 2, and a whole lot of eurorack modules (the bulk of which are Vancouver’s own Intellijel modules). The piano track is the lone software-based instrument, coming courtesy of Native Instruments’ Komplete. As always, the whole concoction was baked in Apple’s Final Cut Pro X oven.
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Nice images, but representative of hard it is to fill the frame and compose with this format/camera. Making a compelling image with my F7 was always a challenge (until, like a dope, I sold it). Do you compose thru the OVF or hold it at chest level and use the marking on the turret, as I have heard from others is actually more accurate?
John:
Yeah, I agree — filling a Widelux frame with wall-to-wall compelling imagery is a difficult task — not just for the shooter, but for the viewer as well! But it’s precisely for this reason that I’m constantly drawn to the Widelux. I enjoy the challenge, and nothing else looks like a Widelux shot. Whether it’s the way that the camera bows horizontal lines while keeping verticals intact, or the way a slow rotation distorts moving objects or messes with light — there’s just something about it that I love.
To answer your question: I never look through the viewfinder when shooting the Widelux. As you mentioned, it’s not really all that accurate. So, yeah, I look down at the top plate when shooting. That way I can see exactly how wide the image will be (and, more importantly, whether or not my fingers are in the frame). I can also see the bubble level, which is probably the most important feature on the Widelux, since even the slightest tilt will increase image distortion dramatically — which is sometimes what you want, and sometimes not — but at least the bubble level gives you a good way to “dial in” that distortion to your liking. I’ll readily admit I have too many film cameras, several of which are rather redundant — but I have nothing else like the Widelux. It would be one of the last one or two cameras I would ever choose to sell.
Egor, I think that the weight of the Widelux was a benefit on your trip. You didn’t shoot much with it, but what you shot was/is compelling. Perhaps a limitation that helped you be selective when shooting.
Also, outstanding job keeping the shots level and minimizing distortion. Oh, and keeping your fingers out of the frame!
Don
Don:
Thanks for the kind comments — hopefully they’ll hold some sway with whomever or whatever issued the “japanorama” command.
And, though I appreciate the compliment, I must admit that it’s actually fairly easy to minimize distortion with the Widelux. Verticals are always fine due to the cylindrical nature of the film “plane” (as long as you don’t tilt the camera). Horizontal bowing can easily be hidden by avoiding any edge-to-edge horizontals. That’s how come a lot of shots down streets look almost “normal.” Shots of walls are, of course, greatly distorted. But that’s a look I rather like — in this case I use the Widelux distortion the way some people use bokeh to isolate their subject. I put the “subject” in the middle of the frame, where it’s big and bold — then, on either side of centre, the photo seems to fall away toward some imaginary points of perspective, diminishing the significance of the frame edges.
The sort of Widelux “distortion” I like the most though, is one I didn’t make a lot of use of. That’s the distortion of a subject moving through the field of view as the lens rotates. If a subject moves from left-to-right across the field of view, they look super fat (because the rotation of the lens is tracking their motion). If a subject moves from right-to-left across the field of view, they look super skinny (because they’re moving counter to the rotation of the lens). The photo shown at 1:26 in the video is a good example. Those aren’t posts on the right of the frame — they’re women walking across the frame. Timing shots like this is difficult, because it takes several seconds for the lens to rotate left-to-right across the scene, so I have to “guess” when the subjects will enter the frame on the right — I almost missed one of the girls. The closing shot of Shibuya crossing is another one where I used the slow left-to-right pan to my advantage — giving me lots of people with only “one leg” as well as horizontally stretching headlights in a (to me) pleasing manner.
Beyond the divine command and the constraints/pleasure in relation to using this camera, what I am fascinated by is simply the vBook which leaves a very strange feeling once it is over.
Thanks to the pictures, thanks to the music and thanks to the way everything is chained and arranged, it is a 2’38” piece of pleasure and of I don’t know what…
Thank you Egor
Christophe
Christophe:
Thanks for the encouraging comment!
I’ve always felt photography (at least the sort of photography I admire and enjoy) is best presented in book form. That’s because a carefully curated collection sequenced into a meaningful order has an emotional impact far greater than the individual photos — much like a song is greater than the sum of its notes.
Alas I simply don’t have enough capital to self-publish any “real” books, and I find print-on-demand books to be lacking the quality I desire. So that’s why I keep messing with the vBook idea. It lets me sequence the photos just like a book does. It also lets me pace the sequence much like a book allows when you decide how many photos to publish on a page — giving space to some photos, while allowing others to work together.
Because of the additional element of sound, vBooks also let me dictate the “proper” mood for viewing the photos — though a good graphic designer can have a similar impact with the actual design of a book. The biggest advantage of the vBook is that it puts the material into a format most people now prefer — a video display.
You mentioned that this vBook “leaves a very strange feeling once it is over.” Believe it or not, that’s semi-intentional. I thought the collection of Widelux photos seemed unresolved — they took you down some path which, though “scenic,” didn’t lead to any real destination. So I tried to compose music in a similar vein — a sort of pulsing, evolving bed of sound that seemed to be leading to something, without ever actually arriving.
Thanks again. The vBooks take a fair bit of work for me to create, so I’m pleased to know there are those who appreciate them!
But please try to make it a bit longer. It’s over before I’m comfortably seated (not to mention grabbing a bowl of popcorn).
Wojtek:
I’ll definitely take it under advisement. However, given that the average human attention span has dropped to 8 seconds (down from 12 seconds in 2000 and now 1 second shorter than the attention span of a goldfish), I think publishing a movie nearly 3 minutes in length already constitutes “playing with fire.”
Great photos! I discovered this camera a few months ago and i fall in love with it. Im looking for one in Europe but they are pretty hard to find! Great article. What scanner did you use? The photos look so sharp!
Regards,
Fran
Fran:
Thanks for commenting. The Widelux is definitely a fun camera. I don’t think I’ve ever run a roll of film through it that hasn’t resulted in at least one or two compelling shots.
Regarding scanning: For the last few years I’ve been photographing my negatives with an Olympus OMD-EM1 and a 60mm Macro lens. I shoot the negs in RAW, then use a Photoshop Plugin called “Color Perfect” (Don’t let the name fool you) to convert the negs into positives. In the case of the Widelux (or my XPan), I have to shoot two side-by-side frames per negative, then stitch the two frames together in Photoshop.
Regarding “sharpness”: The Widelux has a reasonably sharp lens and, given that it rotates, doesn’t suffer from corner softness like you might see in “normal” panoramic shots. That said, don’t be fooled — these are web-sized photos, and EVERYTHING looks sharp when down-sampled to internet sizes. Were I to up-sample them to a print that was 1 meter wide, you’d be much less likely to call them “sharp.” 🙂
Thank you for the answer. Wow! That a coincidence! I’m also scanning with an Olympus camera and the same Zuiko lens (60mm). I use the Olympus EM5 II in high resolution mode getting an image of 64mpx, I’m very happy with the results. For colour film I also use Color Perfect, It makes a great job keeping the right colours. I haven’t done a print yet with this scanning method but i guess would be fine for normal sizes.
Regarding Widelux there is an effect I think you haven’t talk about in the article: the possibility of getting your subject twice in a single frame. I guess you know Jeff Bridges work with this camera, he did some portraits using this technique. Have a look of the portrait on the right side http://www.jeffbridges.com/true_grit_book/true_grit_book_06.html I haven’t tried this before and I’m not sure how is he doing it, any idea? 🙂
Fran: Well, there you go. Great minds scan alike.
Regarding the “two portraits in one frame” technique. It’s quite simple:
1. use the 1/15s shutter speed. At this setting, the lens takes several seconds to rotate from left to right, which makes the process much easier.
2. Since the Widelux shoots a frame sequentially from left-to-right, point the camera to the right of your subject. Although the camera doesn’t look like it’s pointing at your subject, the shutter slot should be pointing directly at them.
3. Release the shutter. The turret starts rotating. In about a second, after it’s rotated past the point where it’s recorded your subject, quickly swing the camera all the way to the left, so that it’s now pointing to the left of your subject. As the turret continues to rotate, it will capture your subject a second time on the right-edge of the frame.
Thank you so much for your detailed answer!! I will try it soon! Keep up the good work with the blog, great stuff here!
Regards,
Fran
Hi Egor,
Hello, my name is Shuji and I’m a panorama/widescreen addict.
Your posts on the Widelux was like,… like you were inside my head for the past couple of years while I’ve been cropping medium format at the same time as looking for a panoramic camera that wouldnt require me to sell a kidney or two.
So I just wanted to say thank you for everything you’ve written about the Widelux, it has been most helpful. There’s been one sat in my local camera shop for a while now,…. it calls to me every damn time I’m in there. I might just have to pop in there tomorrow to say hello to her and give her a once over.
I do have a couple of questions if you dont mind,… I mostly shoot people, and the one last thing that is keeping me from running to the Widelux downtown is the time it takes for the swing to finish. I’ve seen Jeff Bridges work and heard him talk about it and it seems like I am just worrying too much.
When you shoot people, in a portrait-ish way, like the guy with the massive didgeridoo/horn thing, how is it?
Because of the swinging lens do you take any extra steps/precautions or do you do anything differently?
Lovely vBook as well and your reason for doing it as opposed to putting the pictures together any other way is spot on, very nicely done.
Cheers Egor 🙂
Hi Shuji: Thanks for writing!
The day I bought my Widelux was the day it become one of my favourite 2 or 3 cameras of all time. Five and a half years later, that’s still true. It has so many wonderful quirks and nuances that distinguish it from other cameras — quirks that you can either embrace and love, or reject and hate. I’m in the “love” camp.
Regarding portraits — no problem. There are three shutter speeds: 1/15s 1/125 and 1/250 — so there’s really no more issue with blurring the motion of semi-static subjects (people) than there would be with a normal camera. The issues with motion blur come into play either when something passes quickly in front of the rotating lens, or when you use 1/15s. That’s when you get all the interesting Widelux-specific blur artifacts. Distortion is no worse than a wide-angle — just much different. With a standard wide angle lens, there’s horizontal stretching of objects that appear to the left/right of the frame, meaning people would get oblong heads. The Widelux gives you NONE of this type of distortion, so people at the edge of the frame appear proportionally correct. It does, however, bow horizontal lines (an effect I used to my advantage on several shots in the Japanorama video). This can have the effect of making people in the centre of the frame appear closer than people on the edge of the frame, even though they might be standing in a straight line.
So ultimately, I don’t take any additional steps or precautions when photographing people — just different ones. 🙂
thank you very much for the reply Egor!
Yes, the super skinny or super fat moving person thing is one reason I lusted hard. I played with the iphone panorama and it was just too much fun. That and the option of not loading the film properly so I get to play with the areas in focus a bit.
I gave in today,… and I’m so glad that I did,… it looks and feels nice!
Thanks again!