Very interesting! Thanks for posting. I like the appearance of the spiral in the "golden rectangle". I may try to use this as a compositional tool in my future images.
I think the film had been around, but someone had to decide which part of the image circle to record. If I were in charge it might have been round.
Pete D.
Posted by Doyle Thomas on March 24, 2007 at 3:45 PM
that is what Hasseblad did, he designed a camera with a sq aspect ratio (2 1/4) to optimize the use of the sweet spot. The original Kodak "you push the button, we do the rest" had a round format.
Posted by Jens Birch on March 25, 2007 at 10:35 AM
Although I am a big fan of compositions based on the golden mean, I doubt that Oskar Barnack had the so called "golden rectangle" in mind when designing the 35mm format. If he had, then why didn't he choose 8:5 or 13:8 as aspect ratio then? Both would be much better approximations to the "golden rectangle".
Cheers, Jens.
Posted by Frank Winters on March 28, 2007 at 9:12 AM
This is a wonderful article -- one I will use in my photography and thinking. Bringing the Nautilus and spiral together is quite elegant.
Now as far as who did this -- I believe Oscar Barnack adapted the 35mm format used in motion pictures to still photography when he designed the UR Leica. He was an engineer using an existing technique in a new way. So the genus of the golden rectangle might be someone else.
On another note -- I find it fascinating that in English we make a fuss over Cartier-Bresson's term "The Decisive Moment" making him sound like a hunter of perfect images. But in French the title of his famous book was 'Images a la Sauvette" translated this means "Images on The Run." Henri spoke of making snap shots a great deal. Makes his achievement seem that much more remarkable to me.
Discussion
5 repliesPete D.
Cheers, Jens.
Now as far as who did this -- I believe Oscar Barnack adapted the 35mm format used in motion pictures to still photography when he designed the UR Leica. He was an engineer using an existing technique in a new way. So the genus of the golden rectangle might be someone else.
On another note -- I find it fascinating that in English we make a fuss over Cartier-Bresson's term "The Decisive Moment" making him sound like a hunter of perfect images. But in French the title of his famous book was 'Images a la Sauvette" translated this means "Images on The Run." Henri spoke of making snap shots a great deal. Makes his achievement seem that much more remarkable to me.
Frank