Electric House

Gallery: POP PhotosPosted December 30, 2013262 views2 comments

A couple of months ago I bought a Petzval lens, made by Andrew Ross in 1845. It's the oldest lens I have. It seems to be for quarter plate but I use it on my Chamonix 045n (4x5.) Since I shoot at night a lot, it doesn't matter if the corners darken. The lens is f2.8, believe it or not! On 4x5 this gives very narrow DoF.

Here's a photo I took of the old electrical generating company in my town. Focus point was on the door of the building. I aligned the camera to look down the railing of a bridge across the river. Film was Efke 25, and I think exposure was about 2 seconds. I've been out shooting with this lens the past couple of weeks but don't yet have any other shots back.

Kent in SD

Comments

2 comments

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on January 3, 2014 at 6:08 PM

I am liking the shallow DOF from the Petzval. I would have expected a bit more swirl. Isn't that what these lenses are known for?

Registered on November 19, 2003, 586 Posts, 11271 Comments

Comment posted by Kent Staubus on January 4, 2014 at 10:23 AM

Yes, the bokeh on most Petzvals generally do swirl. Keep in mind though that this is a first generation one, made five years after they were invented. They don't swirl as much. Second thing is most of what would be "bokeh" is black in this shot. I have some more shots coming back from processing.

Kent in SD

Registered on November 11, 2003, 121 Posts, 2098 Comments