Through the Viewfinder photography
Encyclopedia
Through the Viewfinder photography (TtV) is a photographic technique in which a photograph
is shot with one camera
through the viewfinder
of a second camera. The viewfinder thus acts as a kind of lens filter. The most popular method involves using a digital camera
as the image taking camera and an intact twin-lens reflex camera
(TLR) or pseudo-TLR as the "viewfinder" camera. TLRs typically have square waist-level viewfinders
, with the viewfinder plane at 90 degrees to the image plane. The image in a TLR viewfinder is laterally reversed, i.e. it is a mirror image.
Most photographers use a cardboard tube or similar 'contraption' to connect the two cameras. This serves to eliminate stray light and prevent reflections appearing on the viewfinder glass or on the lens of the imaging camera.
Depending on the model of TLR
, the resulting image may have an old-fashioned feel to it, often with vignetting
, blurred edges, distortion and dust.
TLR models popular among TtV photographers have a brilliant type ('bubble glass') viewfinder. They include the Ansco Anscoflex, Argus 75, Kodak Duaflex and Kodak Brownie.
TLR and pseudo TLR cameras such as the Rolleiflex
and the Voigtländer Brillant
. Similar large, clear square viewfinders were popluar in TLRs and pseudo TLRs until the mid-1960s. These medium format cameras became less popular with the advent of 35mm SLRs and compact cameras in the 1960s and 1970s.
The idea of photographing an image through the viewfinder of such a camera is relatively new, and ttv photography has only really taken off since the advent of digital cameras. Before the advent of digital photography it was necessary to use extension tubes to photograph a close-up object such as a viewfinder, and it was difficult to judge focusing precisely. Both compact digital cameras and digital SLRs are able to focus on close objects without the need for extension tubes, and their autofocus function and digital viewing screen make it easy to focus and judge framing and exposure. They are thus much better suited to this type of photography than most non-digital cameras.
In addition, the popularity of digital photography and of on-line auction sites has led to a big increase in the number lot of older medium format TLRs and pseudo TLRs on the second hand market. Many people find it more convenient to use these cameras for TtV photography than to use them with film.
1 A "bottom camera" through the viewfinder of which the photograph will be taken. Typically this is a medium formal TLR or pseudo TLR.
2 A "top camera" which will be used to take the photograph. Typically this is a digital SLR or digital compact camera with a macro lens or macro function.
3 A "contraption" to link the two cameras and block out any excess light.
The contraption may be a simple cardboard tube, or an open ended box that fits around the bottom camera.
Additionally some photographers prefer to 'flip' the TtV image so that it is no longer a mirror image, especially if the image contains lettering.
Color and saturation adjustments depend on the taste of the photographer, some photographers prefer to keep such adjustments to a minimum while others prefer more radical adjustments, such as the "Urban Acid" action for the image editing programs Adobe Photoshop
or GIMP
.
Photograph
A photograph is an image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are created using a camera, which uses a lens to focus the scene's visible wavelengths of light into a reproduction of...
is shot with one camera
Camera
A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
through the viewfinder
Viewfinder
In photography, a viewfinder is what the photographer looks through to compose, and in many cases to focus, the picture. Most viewfinders are separate, and suffer parallax, while the single-lens reflex camera lets the viewfinder use the main optical system. Viewfinders are used in many cameras of...
of a second camera. The viewfinder thus acts as a kind of lens filter. The most popular method involves using a digital camera
Digital camera
A digital camera is a camera that takes video or still photographs, or both, digitally by recording images via an electronic image sensor. It is the main device used in the field of digital photography...
as the image taking camera and an intact twin-lens reflex camera
Twin-lens reflex camera
A twin-lens reflex camera is a type of camera with two objective lenses of the same focal length. One of the lenses is the photographic objective or "taking lens" , while the other is used for the viewfinder system, which is usually viewed from above at waist level...
(TLR) or pseudo-TLR as the "viewfinder" camera. TLRs typically have square waist-level viewfinders
Waist-level finder
The waist-level finder is a type of viewfinder that can be used on twin lens and single lens reflex cameras. While it is typically found on older medium format cameras, some newer and/or 35 mm cameras have this type of finder ....
, with the viewfinder plane at 90 degrees to the image plane. The image in a TLR viewfinder is laterally reversed, i.e. it is a mirror image.
Most photographers use a cardboard tube or similar 'contraption' to connect the two cameras. This serves to eliminate stray light and prevent reflections appearing on the viewfinder glass or on the lens of the imaging camera.
Depending on the model of TLR
Twin-lens reflex camera
A twin-lens reflex camera is a type of camera with two objective lenses of the same focal length. One of the lenses is the photographic objective or "taking lens" , while the other is used for the viewfinder system, which is usually viewed from above at waist level...
, the resulting image may have an old-fashioned feel to it, often with vignetting
Vignetting
In photography and optics, vignetting is a reduction of an image's brightness or saturation at the periphery compared to the image center. The word vignette, from the same root as vine, originally referred to a decorative border in a book. Later, the word came to be used for a photographic...
, blurred edges, distortion and dust.
TLR models popular among TtV photographers have a brilliant type ('bubble glass') viewfinder. They include the Ansco Anscoflex, Argus 75, Kodak Duaflex and Kodak Brownie.
History
While waist-level viewfinders have been common in box cameras since the beginning of the 20th Century, large viewfinders of the sort that are suitable for ttv photography became popular in the late 1920s and 1930s with medium formatMedium format
Medium format has traditionally referred to a film format in still photography and the related cameras and equipment that use that film. Generally, the term applies to film and digital cameras that record images on media larger than 24 by 36 mm , but smaller than 4 by 5 inches .In digital...
TLR and pseudo TLR cameras such as the Rolleiflex
Rolleiflex
Rolleiflex is the name of a long-running and diverse line of high-end cameras originally made by the German company Franke & Heidecke, and later Rollei-Werk. The "Rolleiflex" name is most commonly used to refer to Rollei's premier line of medium format twin lens reflex cameras...
and the Voigtländer Brillant
Voigtländer Brillant
The Voigtländer Brillant is a range of pseudo-TLR cameras, and later true TLR cameras, taking 6×6cm exposures on 120 film, made by Voigtländer from 1932.Famed Hungarian-Dutch photographer Eva Besnyö used a Brillant for her early work.-Introduction:...
. Similar large, clear square viewfinders were popluar in TLRs and pseudo TLRs until the mid-1960s. These medium format cameras became less popular with the advent of 35mm SLRs and compact cameras in the 1960s and 1970s.
The idea of photographing an image through the viewfinder of such a camera is relatively new, and ttv photography has only really taken off since the advent of digital cameras. Before the advent of digital photography it was necessary to use extension tubes to photograph a close-up object such as a viewfinder, and it was difficult to judge focusing precisely. Both compact digital cameras and digital SLRs are able to focus on close objects without the need for extension tubes, and their autofocus function and digital viewing screen make it easy to focus and judge framing and exposure. They are thus much better suited to this type of photography than most non-digital cameras.
In addition, the popularity of digital photography and of on-line auction sites has led to a big increase in the number lot of older medium format TLRs and pseudo TLRs on the second hand market. Many people find it more convenient to use these cameras for TtV photography than to use them with film.
Equipment and practicalities
The following equipment is required.1 A "bottom camera" through the viewfinder of which the photograph will be taken. Typically this is a medium formal TLR or pseudo TLR.
2 A "top camera" which will be used to take the photograph. Typically this is a digital SLR or digital compact camera with a macro lens or macro function.
3 A "contraption" to link the two cameras and block out any excess light.
The contraption may be a simple cardboard tube, or an open ended box that fits around the bottom camera.
Post-processing
Post-processing can be done with image editing software. This normally involves cropping the image to a square and straightening it. The cropping is necessary because in most cases the (normally square) viewfinder image covers only about 25- 50% of the area of the (normally rectangular) digital picture.Additionally some photographers prefer to 'flip' the TtV image so that it is no longer a mirror image, especially if the image contains lettering.
Color and saturation adjustments depend on the taste of the photographer, some photographers prefer to keep such adjustments to a minimum while others prefer more radical adjustments, such as the "Urban Acid" action for the image editing programs Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a graphics editing program developed and published by Adobe Systems Incorporated.Adobe's 2003 "Creative Suite" rebranding led to Adobe Photoshop 8's renaming to Adobe Photoshop CS. Thus, Adobe Photoshop CS5 is the 12th major release of Adobe Photoshop...
or GIMP
GIMP
GIMP is a free software raster graphics editor. It is primarily employed as an image retouching and editing tool and is freely available in versions tailored for most popular operating systems including Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OS X, and Linux.In addition to detailed image retouching and...
.