Homemade Lenses, Anyone?

Wednesday March 3rd, 2010

Fred Licht makes his own lenses (a lot of work!) , and some of his images appear in an LA show opening tomorrow at Affinity Galleries, running through April.

Licht discusses why he decided to take on this technical endeavor in the first place :

At my website, you will notice a portfolio entitled “Proprietary Optics”. These are images created with lenses that I have designed and built myself. Some of these images are from assignments where I have been hired specifically because of these lenses. Other images are personal work or personal exploration with these lenses.

My desire to explore optics as a creative tool began with my longstanding interest in 19th century photography. Many of the images from that period have a distinct “look” (as well as other sensibilities) and I began by purchasing lenses from that period of time. I quickly realized that this was not giving me the look that I wanted and I began to research the field of photographic optics. It turns out that nearly all of the lenses that we use today (with the exception of zoom lenses and a few other formulas) were designed in the 19th century and have not really changed. I came to understand that the optical designers of the 19th century, the leading physicists of their time, had been given the task to create lenses that were, technically speaking, as perfect as possible.

Interestingly, many of the leading photographers of the 19th and early 20th Centuries then sought to counteract this “perfection” and devised techniques to make their images less technically accurate and more emotionally grounded. They did this, primarily, through printing techniques, breaking down the image after it was created in the camera, though some did this through optical means as well. I decided to take a more radical approach and alter the optics themselves. I decided to start from scratch, did a great deal of research, and began to create optics that had a more emotional appeal without concern for technical “perfection”.

I have since built four optics, all designed to work on a 4X5 camera, where each has a particular signature. The image is created in the camera, and none of the “effects” are done in postproduction. If I had more time to work with this, I would build more lenses (and use the ones that I have already made!), but this remains an ongoing interest for me.

Here’s one of his lenses:

Fred also shoots with “normal” lenses to capture his architectural and travel subjects:

You can see more on his website.

-Neil Binkley

10,000 Photos Of Pearl Jam

Wednesday November 18th, 2009

Austin City Limits (ACL), PBS’ signature tv show showcasing live rock performances, recently tapped photographer Jonathan Jackson to shoot a time-lapse video of Pearl Jam’s show. The band’s performance commemorates the 35th anniversary of  ACL, which also boasts itself as the longest running music series in American television history.

The show airs live on November 21st, and Pearl Jam recently posted Jonathan’s time-lapse video to their website. It’s generated 12,000 views of Jonathan’s video in only a few days:

To create the time lapse, Jackson shot one photograph every 6 seconds. This took place over an hour and a half, covering the setup of the show and the performance.

Jonathan considers Austin City Limits to be “one of Austin’s greatest assets,” and feels that helping “celebrate ACL’s 35th year is a thrill beyond words.”

35 years ago, the show focused on performances by the best Texas bands, and they’ve since gone on to feature the likes of Bob Dylan, Coldplay, Arcade Fire, R.E.M, and too many others to mention here. Their site lists almost everyone who’s performed on the show, and includes long excerpts of performances by many of the artists, worth a view if you like the band.

Newshour with Jim Lehrer also used some of Jackson’s footage in a story about ACL’s anniversary. Which was great for Jonathan to hear, because it’s the only news show that he watches.

In addition to his music work, Jonathan shoots architectural interior and exterior photography, including a recent project covering every architecturally-significant structure featured in the 2009 AIA Austin’s home tour.

On a side note: I just found out that his daughter’s first birthday is Dec. 5th, only four days before my son’s! And if you weren’t aware, Jonathan Jackson is an Austin-based photographer with Wonderful Machine.

-Neil Binkley