A time machine and 3 hours on this street

[Richard S. (rich815)]

I'd take my M2 and 50/2 Summicron DR, a few rolls of Tri-X and only ask for 3 hours and then I'd come back.

Now just got to find the time machine:

 

[Colin Corneau]

I can only agree, even if we'd probably get beaten to death within 15 minutes.

 

[Slixtiesix]

I would use a view camera, which would be ostentatious but the least suspicious I think.
BTW: Where is this?

 

[cliveh]

What a great thought and if you went back far enough they wouldn't even know you were using a camera. By the way it would be a 1.4 Summilux and FP4.

 

[Richard S. (rich815)]

I can only agree, even if we'd probably get beaten to death within 15 minutes.

Thus the quiet shutter of the Leica.... ;-)

 

[Richard S. (rich815)]

BTW: Where is this?

Mulberry Street, NYC (c. 1900)

 

[E. von Hoegh]

Mulberry Street, NYC (c. 1900)

My Deardorff wouldn't get a second glance. Nor would my watch, unless someone saw the serial and deduced that it was negative 12 years old.

 

[E. von Hoegh]

What a great thought and if you went back far enough they wouldn't even know you were using a camera. By the way it would be a 1.4 Summilux and FP4.

They'd be erecting the stake and gathering dry brush for sure though.

 

[Richard S. (rich815)]

Here's the same street today:

http://nicolaciletti.it/immagini/02-Familiari/MulberrySt.111-big.jpg

 

[Bill Burk]

I get the feeling it is a composite photo, at the time I think photographers were struggling to stop movement and taking street scenes from upper balconies. This kind of shot was a daydream.

 

[rphenning]

My mamiya 7, all the portra 400 she can eat, and your time machine back to the mid 18th century colonies right before the war. Yup.

 

[summicron1]

I get the feeling it is a composite photo, at the time I think photographers were struggling to stop movement and taking street scenes from upper balconies. This kind of shot was a daydream.

box cameras with a 1/30 of a second were very common in 1900--plenty fast enough to stop this, and professional cameras had much better shutters and lenses.

 

[Ambar]

I've always wondered if the pictures we take now will be nearly as exotic and interesting in 100 years time..
My guess is maybe not simply because of the plethora of photographs being taken. But then again.. how many HDs will still be around to hold all the digital snapshotting that takes place??
Who knows.. In 100 years time it might be harder to get hold of an image from the beginning of the 21st century than it is for the beginning of the 20th!
ps:I do not want to start a long conversation about the archivability of digital images.. just food for thought!

 

[Bill Burk]

box cameras with a 1/30 of a second were very common in 1900--plenty fast enough to stop this, and professional cameras had much better shutters and lenses.

The multiple planes of sharp focus though, hadn't been invented yet.

 

[summicron1]

The multiple planes of sharp focus though, hadn't been invented yet.

no, but small lens openings had...this is obviously shot with a view camera -- notice how everyone is looking up at the camera? The guy set up, focused 1/3 of the way through the crowd (hyperfocal distance) hollered "OK!" and shot. On a large format camera the whole thing would look pretty sharp, and even 1/15th of a second or so would be fast enough because everyone is either standing still looking at him or -- horse and carriage -- moving in a line away/towards the camera, thus making a fast shutter speed less critical.

Are you suggesting he shot multiple takes and combined them? It doesn't look like the sort of picture worth that sort of trouble.Happy to be proven wrong, but Occam's razor applies here.

 

[Yashinoff]

I get the feeling it is a composite photo, at the time I think photographers were struggling to stop movement and taking street scenes from upper balconies. This kind of shot was a daydream.

I don't think so, there are a number of blurred people in the photo. Almost all of the people who are sharp are also looking at the camera, suggesting they knew the photographer was taking a photo. He might have even asked them to hold still a moment.

 

[Bill Burk]

I based my thoughts on just the photo alone, at small size, so I could easily be wrong...

But a small aperture would require a long exposure. My initial thought was three staged photos combined (foreground, parked cart on the right, background), but taking Occam's razor to it, maybe it's two shots (foreground and background shot without moving the camera except to focus it).

The biggest problem I see with making such a composite image is how to direct the people.

I think he took the first shot to capture the foreground. Carefully arranged to leave visible street pavement (room to cut and paste). Then he'd only need to shoo some people out of the foreground - street side. This way he has a natural place to cut his outline. The fruit boxes don't move, so he can take the outline there. The street side is the only place where there would be a challenge. Nothing a little negative retouching couldn't remedy in case a blurry head stuck out.

Of course even Occam's razor dictates that he had to have an assistant and bullhorn yelling at people and telling them to look natural and stand still.

Photographer clearly wanted to demonstrate mastery of taking pictures of large groups of people. Probably has some darkroom mastery as well. He wanted a photograph nobody else could easily copy.

 

[Bob Carnie]

I spent some time looking at both pictures on the screen to see if indeed it was the same street.
its funny how the first image has better verticals so I suspect it was a large format camera.
I saw a couple of buildings that could be the same ... I like the scene even thought though the colouring was a bit over the top. Looks like a single
image to me as well.

no, but small lens openings had...this is obviously shot with a view camera -- notice how everyone is looking up at the camera? The guy set up, focused 1/3 of the way through the crowd (hyperfocal distance) hollered "OK!" and shot. On a large format camera the whole thing would look pretty sharp, and even 1/15th of a second or so would be fast enough because everyone is either standing still looking at him or -- horse and carriage -- moving in a line away/towards the camera, thus making a fast shutter speed less critical.

Are you suggesting he shot multiple takes and combined them? It doesn't look like the sort of picture worth that sort of trouble.Happy to be proven wrong, but Occam's razor applies here.

 

[StoneNYC]

Remember folks, ASA25 was a fast speed back then lol, however perhaps it was also pushed? I don't know it looks too good to be true.


~Stone

The Important Ones - Mamiya: 7 II, RZ67 Pro II / Canon: 1V, AE-1 / Kodak: No 1 Pocket Autographic, No 1A Pocket Autographic

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Richard S. (rich815)]

I spent some time looking at both pictures on the screen to see if indeed it was the same street.
its funny how the first image has better verticals so I suspect it was a large format camera.
I saw a couple of buildings that could be the same ... I like the scene even thought though the colouring was a bit over the top. Looks like a single
image to me as well.

The second or so taller building on the right I'm pretty sure is the same building.

 

[Richard S. (rich815)]

Remember folks, ASA25 was a fast speed back then lol, however perhaps it was also pushed? I don't know it looks too good to be true.


~Stone

The Important Ones - Mamiya: 7 II, RZ67 Pro II / Canon: 1V, AE-1 / Kodak: No 1 Pocket Autographic, No 1A Pocket Autographic

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I think it was a setup photo as many are looking at the camera. Obviously LF as not too many smaller formats then and the quality of the image. People were used to staying still for photographs then due to the films being slow. I think it's a single shot in a bright day taken stopped down.

 

[Bob Carnie]

I thought so too.

The second or so taller building on the right I'm pretty sure is the same building.

 

[E. von Hoegh]

Remember folks, ASA25 was a fast speed back then lol, however perhaps it was also pushed? I don't know it looks too good to be true.


~Stone

The Important Ones - Mamiya: 7 II, RZ67 Pro II / Canon: 1V, AE-1 / Kodak: No 1 Pocket Autographic, No 1A Pocket Autographic

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Asa 25, broad daylight, f:8 @ 1/100 second. How is that "too good to be true"?

 

[StoneNYC]

Asa 25, broad daylight, f:8 @ 1/100 second. How is that "too good to be true"?

Point taken, but change that to 1/50 a second haha, 1/100 was pretty advanced haha and certainly more like f/22

I have a shot like this on my old 1910-1920's folder and that sucker was at f/45 at 15 seconds but not broad daylight hehe... But I just mean there is a large DOF so it has to be more like 22 for a LF image.

Either way I guess we have proven it is POSSIBLE this is a real image. Where did the OP get it?


~Stone

The Noteworthy Ones - Mamiya: 7 II, RZ67 Pro II / Canon: 1V, AE-1 / Kodak: No 1 Pocket Autographic, No 1A Pocket Autographic

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Bill Burk]

Either way I guess we have proven it is POSSIBLE this is a real image. Where did the OP get it?

I'll concede it's possibly one single shot... But my gut still feels it may be a composite... Would like to learn more about this photographer's work.