Blue Tower Shoot: Help!

[Darryl Roberts]

Hi,

I'm new to 4x5 architecture.

To properly shoot this tower so it's not like the one in Pisa. What movements would I have to use? I know to rise the front standard but it's the lean that's concerning me.

The attached photo was taken with my cellphone.

Thank you.

 

[reddesert]

You will need to level the tripod, then level the camera. The camera back should be perpendicular to the ground. Assuming the tower is straight, it will then be straight on the image. Because the camera is pointing straight ahead, the top of the tower will likely be cut off.You then use front rise to bring the field of view up so the tower is in the field of view.

One could take a straight image of a building with any camera with a wide angle lens by leveling the camera, but the bottom half of the image would be below the horizon and not very useful, so that's why a camera with front rise is traditionally used.

A book like Steve Simmons' "Using the View Camera" is helpful to understand positioning the camera and using movements.

 

[Darryl Roberts]

You will need to level the tripod, then level the camera. The camera back should be perpendicular to the ground. Assuming the tower is straight, it will then be straight on the image. Because the camera is pointing straight ahead, the top of the tower will likely be cut off.You then use front rise to bring the field of view up so the tower is in the field of view.

One could take a straight image of a building with any camera with a wide angle lens by leveling the camera, but the bottom half of the image would be below the horizon and not very useful, so that's why a camera with front rise is traditionally used.

A book like Steve Simmons' "Using the View Camera" is helpful to understand positioning the camera and using movements.

Thank you very much. I have that book and will review it later.

 

[Ariston]

I live in the Atlanta area and never heard of the blue tower. It looks like a great subject - have fun!

 

[Darryl Roberts]

I live in the Atlanta area and never heard of the blue tower. It looks like a great subject - have fun!

Thank you sir, I will and hopefully will have a nice picture to share.

 

[Roger Thoms]

Camera needs to be level and the film plane need to be plumb. Really pay attention to the image on the ground glass that’s the final word. It's helpful to have a gridded ground glass.

Looks like a cool building!

Roger

 

[Darryl Roberts]

Camera needs to be level and the film plane need to be plumb. Really pay attention to the image on the ground glass that’s the final word. It's helpful to have a gridded ground glass.

Looks like a cool building!

Roger

Thank you. Yes it does, Sinar Norma

 

[pentaxuser]

Just a piece of trivia really but I am curious. Why is it called the Blue Tower? On my screen and compared with the blue sky background the tower looks to be much more green than blue?

Thanks

pentaxuser

 

[Ariston]

Just a piece of trivia really but I am curious. Why is it called the Blue Tower? On my screen and compared with the blue sky background the tower looks to be much more green than blue?

Thanks

pentaxuser

Because it is sad.

 

[pentaxuser]

Because it is sad.

Pity it looks to be more green with envy than blue with sadness. What colour is it on your screen compared to the blue sky?

pentaxuser

 

[MattKing]

Pity it looks to be more green with envy than blue with sadness.

Are you sure?

 

[pentaxuser]

Yours look a very pale blue from the middle downwards but still has a strong hint of green( turquoise may be more accurate in terms of what I see on your picture) the higher up the tower you go and certainly from the top ring( dividing the tower into three big rings) a kind of a turquoise colour whereas the OP's original picture looks greenish as in turquoise all the way down.

pentaxuser

 

[KenS]

I live in the Atlanta area and never heard of the blue tower. It looks like a great subject - have fun!

On my ''screen" it seems to be more green than blue.. perhaps the 'yellow' from the setting sun is the reason...
Think primary colours [Brit spelling ] .... yellow +blue IS green.

Ken

 

[jtk]

Photoshop has long been easily able to correct for the "lean" if you're willing to lose a lot of real estate when the image shifts from rectangular to trapezoid. What are you looking to accomplish ?

 

[Roger Thoms]

Photoshop has long been easily able to correct for the "lean" if you're willing to lose a lot of real estate when the image shifts from rectangular to trapezoid. What are you looking to accomplish ?

View cameras have been able to easily correct for lean for about a 100 years longer the photoshop and not lose any real estate at all.

Roger (who has certainly correct verticals in Photoshop)

 

[jtk]

View cameras have been able to easily correct for lean for about a 100 years longer the photoshop and not lose any real estate at all.

Roger (who has certainly correct verticals in Photoshop)

I'm guessing that you mean Roger has "certainly corrected verticals in Photoshop".

Not worth arguing except to point out that the OT refers to the image he shared (that file) ...correcting that would result in a tremendous lot of loss of visual real estate using Photoshop.

If the photographer wanted to return to the subject he'd have a very hard time correcting the intended image without #1 a more appropriate lens and #2 without rethinking the intended image.

Ideally he'd ask the local fire department help him with a hook-and-ladder truck...then photograph from a substantial distance with a long lens. That'd be fun!

My experience with wide lenses on view cameras maxed out with a 58 Grandagon on 4X5.

 

[pentaxuser]

On my ''screen" it seems to be more green than blue.. perhaps the 'yellow' from the setting sun is the reason...
Think primary colours [Brit spelling ] .... yellow +blue IS green.

Ken

Thanks Ken and thank goodness it isn't just me. Before reading your post I had another look at the original and Matt King's picture and I now notice that Matt's blue sky is considerably deeper than the sky in the original which may help explain why what Matt sees and you and I see is subtly different

pentaxuser

 

[MattKing]

Thanks Ken and thank goodness it isn't just me. Before reading your post I had another look at the original and Matt King's picture and I now notice that Matt's blue sky is considerably deeper than the sky in the original which may help explain why what Matt sees and you and I see is subtly different

pentaxuser

For clarity, what I posted reflects some quick digital colour correction toward the blue.
I've no idea which, if any of the versions is more accurate to real life, I don't know.
I do know that the original cel phone photo could be anywhere from accurate to fanciful, when it comes to colour, and only the OP would know which.

 

[pentaxuser]

For clarity, what I posted reflects some quick digital colour correction toward the blue.
I've no idea which, if any of the versions is more accurate to real life, I don't know.
I do know that the original cel phone photo could be anywhere from accurate to fanciful, when it comes to colour, and only the OP would know which.

Yes it is the old story, Matt, how do we produce a scan that accurately reflects the actual print which in turn accurately reflects the actual colour of the tower, the "real" colour of which we still haven't been told. You'd think that as it is called the blue tower it will actually be blue but apart from me and your's and Ken's attempt to help, my question would appear to be of little interest to the OP. Pity

pentaxuser

 

[reddesert]

Hi everybody,
The poor OP just wanted some advice about how to square perspective with his new-to-him view camera. I don't think he anticipated an interrogation about the color balance of a cell phone photograph. Now the thread is totally cluttered up. If you simply google "Atlanta blue tower" you can satisfy curiosity about the purpose of the tower and even see some more images.

 

[Ariston]

Hi everybody,
The poor OP just wanted some advice about how to square perspective with his new-to-him view camera. I don't think he anticipated an interrogation about the color balance of a cell phone photograph. Now the thread is totally cluttered up. If you simply google "Atlanta blue tower" you can satisfy curiosity about the purpose of the tower and even see some more images.

I guess those who are "helping" simply don't realize that the OP didn't name the tower. Or program the color balance for smart phones, for that matter. But reddessert actually answered his question up top, so all's good.

 

[pentaxuser]

Thanks reddesert but all I was looking for was a one line answer from the OP or indeed anyone here on Photrio that had knowledge of the tower who could have said that it was in fact blue or not as the case may be and if his picture appears to show a green or greenish tower on my screen then this should be ignored.

I have now looked up Blue Tower, Atlanta and it is indeed a pale blue tower.

I'll try and curb my curiosity in the future

pentaxuser