Jaspal Jandu Photography

What is 'panoramic photography'?

Historically, the term ‘panoramic’ was normally reserved for images with aspect ratios in excess of 2:1 (i.e. the long side being twice the length of the short side).  However, the problem with this approach is that it does not take field-of-view truly into account.

Field of view is important because it dictates the amount of ‘sweep’ and ‘swoosh’ you get in a panoramic frame (try cropping a picture taken with a wide-angle lens down to 3:1 and then compare it with exactly the same crop of an image taken with a telephoto lens).

In fact, the reason I love the 90mm lens on the Linhof 617 is precisely because of its unique combination of aspect ratio and field-of-view (both of which, by the way, resemble almost exactly our human stereoscopic vision).

 

You can imagine my head-scratching, therefore, when I was recently sent a link of a ‘panoramic photo’ of Prague.  You see, this one is an incredibly well-executed, completely immersive ‘virtual world’ in which aspect ratios and field-of-views are completely redundant.  Additionally, it’s presented in such hi-definition, that one can literally zoom all the way to the horizon and still make out discernable details such as window frames and people!

Although I am not sure where this leaves the humble ‘panorama’ (and I am not sure how you would sell something like this in a commercial environment), I am certain that such visualizations are going to push panoramic photography to the limit in the coming years...

The Wisdom of the Photographic Crowd - Part I

Please find below the first instalment of a two-part piece which was inspired after receiving some jaw-dropping photographic books this Xmas….

I am looking through the photographic books which I received over the festive period and am having mixed feelings because whilst they are all undeniably stunning, they may also be heralding the end of the ‘one-author-one-book’ tradition.

You see, the books in question are all ‘compilation works’ (i.e. assembled from pictures submitted by various photographers and/or contest entrants) and the images themselves are stunning. They have truly captured Mother Nature at her finest, in every location, in every season and in every light imaginable.


  
I believe that the cornerstone of this photographic renaissance is the digital camera – a tool which has liberated us from the shackles of the darkroom. (Whilst this may seem a slightly contrarian things for a commercial photographer to say, I love landscapes more than I do photography and the thought that someone is around to record and share Nature’s incredibly fleeting moments more than outweighs the envy of not capturing something myself.)

In many ways, it reminds me of James Surowiecki’s The Wisdom of the Crowds, only in this medium the ‘wisdom’ is not information or knowledge, but the 24/7 omnipresence of the masses. With camera and Flickr in hand, we can all now contribute to the real-time documentary of Nature simultaneously around the world.

However, I am increasingly feeling that the downside of this photographic democratisation is the complete lack of visual narrative.

To demonstrate this point, I just conducted a rather unscientific experiment of my most favoured photographic books in the library. Top of the Pops were works from Joe Cornish, Peter Dombrovskis and Zhang Liping (amongst others). Books from such ‘storytellers’ lead us through a world - be it Scotland, Tasmania or Guilin respectively - with a consistent artistic eye and a clear visual narrative. I particularly enjoy looking out for deft visual touches (for example, charting not only the development of the landscape during the course of a book but also of the photographer) and I don’t feel I receive the same level of enjoyment from compilation works.

What does this mean for us photographers still plodding away by ourselves?? Well, you can read about that and thoughts on my next journey in part two of this article which I shall post shortly after further reflection…

Jaspal Jandu Photography - Seasons Greetings and Year in Review

The festive season is in full swing in Europe, with dollops of snow everywhere.  As you enjoy this time with your loved ones, please spare a thought for all those faithful friends who have to lovingly accompany photographers on random trips to the Italian Alps :-)

 

On a more relevant note, here’s a review of an exciting year and a glimpse at our plans for 2010.  It’s been a fantastic 2009 and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

All the very best
Jaspal

Life Begins With Three

Having becoming a happy father for the first time over the weekend, I will spare you gushing pictures of the new bundle of joy.  However, I will let you know how she has forced me to brush up on some rusty skills. 

You see, a Linhof panoramic camera is useless when it comes to close-ups, particularly those involving hyperactive babies.  Instead, I have rummaged through the camera cupboard and have unearthed the superb 50mm f/1.4 and 100mm f/4 macro lenses.  Combined with a Speedlight flash and a suitably silly looking Lightsphere, and I have assembled the perfect setup for the task at hand.

And what a task it is. 

Babies like to move, yawn, cry and dribble at the drop of a hat and this provides very little leeway to get that life-defining image.  In addition, one has to cope with the incredibly shallow (yet pleasing) depth of field at f/1.4 and also the tricky problem of white balance.

Shooting indoors with either fluorescent or incandescent light sources will mess up a camera’s view of ‘white’.  Therefore, a grey card and a custom white balance has to be used (I use a gel filter to get the flash to match the ambient light and then set the white balance accordingly).

It’s obvious that I’m reacquainting myself with a lot of old tricks and techniques at the moment and although landscape duty will be resumed soon, there is no doubt that the joy and frustration will continue for some time yet…   :-)

Size shouldn't matter...

I went to the captivating new Anish Kapoor exhibition at the Royal Academy today.  Like most of the public, I was absorbed by the form, texture, and most importantly, pigment of the works.

 

As I was leaving, a small niggle began to form inside my head; namely, that some of the works derived their impact from primarily their size alone.  For example, there is no doubt that ‘Hive’ – with its rusted steel and inspired vaginal opening – is a captivating piece.  However, as it stands well over 7 meters tall, I couldn’t help but wonder how many people were principally knocked out by its size than anything else.

This led to me to think how much impact a large photographic print delivers from size alone. Surely, a great image is a great image and this is independent of print size, no?

Well, not really.  As large prints begin to fill one’s field of view (particularly panoramics), they require the eye to scan from side-to-side and this creates a sense of immersion even when the subject matter is not that compelling.  In short, if a large, well composed print is at the top of the ‘wow’ scale, and a small, poorly composed print at the bottom, then unfortunately there does exist a ‘mid-sized wow’ for artistically deficient yet large prints.

I can only hope that I’m not guilty of catering to this sin (all of my limited editions are accepted or rejected at a transparency stage, so the maximum size I ever see them is only 17cm across). However, with the advent of ever-larger exhibits and the growing public appetite for larger, better, faster art, we should never forget the basic foundations (i.e. timing, light, composition - TLC) that underpin a great photograph, no matter what the print size…
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Anyway, the exhibition is great and go along and let me know what you think (click for website, details and video)…

Forbidden Australia

Please make time to read the following article (and the follow up) from friend and fellow landscape photographer Ken Duncan.  His words centre on the increasing restrictions in landscape photography; especially those in Australia.  The concluding thought regarding the impossibility of a young, new photographer emulating his first book ‘The Last Frontier: Australia Wide’ is particularly damning…

Outside the Zone

A quick post to let you know that although I’m busy with two new projects, I’ve also been experimenting outside my photographic comfort zone.

 

A full explanation and a sneak-peek of the new West Coast pictures soon...

A Few Updates...

Having been personally stopped for taking photos in London many times over, I have lent my support to the British Journal of Photography’s 'Not A Crime' campaign.  The initiative - which launched last month - aims to raise awareness of the increasing restrictions on shooting in public.  Here you can find the source article, official website, flickr group and external article.

 

Also, I’ve just signed a limited number of Natural Wonders books for Stanfords in Covent Garden, London.  The store is one of my favourites in the UK, so if you’re passing by and would like a signed book either for yourself or as a gift, then please speak to one of the ever-helpful members of staff.

Lastly, after a few weeks of catching up with life, I’m off doing what I enjoy most tomorrow.  Starting in San Fran, I’m taking a lazy few weeks up the Californian / Oregonian coastline for the completion of a project on the American West.

Happy travels to you all and watch out for the next update from on the road…!

Jaspal

An Icy Inspiration

Have just returned from New York and spent most of the last few days finalizing an exhibition later on this year and a rather large one early next.

 

In short, too much time away from the camera makes Jack a dull boy….I need some icy inspiration!

Desktop Photography

I am often fond of saying that the Internet is the best camera accessory known to Man.

 

To this end, I was researching a few locations in North America recently and thought it would be fun to ‘re-visit’ a few places via Google Earth.  In a quite remarkable display of modern technology, I was able to view the very cover of Natural Wonders with an incredible degree of detail and clarity.

I am not sure if we should worry about this or not because as soon as we start to incorporate things like the weather and lighting, we may end up taking pictures from behind our computer instead of behind the lens!

(Download Google Earth, Natural Wonders Cover File, Complete Natural Wonders File)