Back From the Brink

Just when it looked like I had disappeared from 52 Projects for good, something reached out and smacked me upside my creativity. My beloved discovered a new photo technique called ttv, or Through the Viewfinder. You can read about Jane's side of the story on 52 Projects.

The technique involves taking a picture through the view finder of a second camera. It works best with a Kodak Duaflex and they are selling like hotcakes on eBay. The trick is to block out extraneous light between the lenses. To accomplish this one must use a Contraption. That's right, a Contraption with a capital C because that is the proper name for this tool. They come in all shapes and sizes and making one (or more) has captured my imagination. So has shooting pictures through one.


Here's what the camera sees



Here's what the picture looks like




I found a template on the web but it didn't quite turn out like the pictures. First off, the template wasn't to scale but it didn't really indicate that. The guy has re-done it and this time, has noted that it is not to scale.






Anyway, I got really excited when I saw the template. We went out and bought foam board and I went to town. Unfortunately the foam board is a bit too thick and doesn't cut well with a razor knife. Then I taped the hell out of the thing and it looked really ghetto.




Undaunted, the next day we went out and got some heavy black card stock, I printed out the updated template, and I made a much nicer one. This one even has adjustable height. This comes in handy as you play with focus and zoom and macro and all that photographer stuff.





I have gotten so jazzed about this that I bought my own Duaflex on eBay and plan on experimenting with different materials and designs for making Contraptions. I am visualizing PCV.

So, here is some of what I've seen Through the Viewfinder........


My work space:


Under a bridge



Pipes in an alley




Other worldly



My muse





After tossing the ball




The hands that brought this all to you




A bench. I really like the ground level view



She walked away





Some things to note:

All images taken this way are reversed. There is debate in the ttv community whether or not one should flip the images. I think some look cool backwards, others look better flipped

The image is not always square in the frame so some post processing is necessary to straighten them out, unless you like them a bit crooked. Sometimes I do.

There is a lot of black around the images. The ones above have all been cropped but here's one that's not cropped, rotated or mirrored. Note the backwards writing.