Going ultra-wide
Understanding the Field of View Crop Factor in Digital SLR Cameras
Because the sensor in a digital SLR camera is typically smaller than the 35 mm film it replaced, the physics of the lens's focal point changes. This phenomenon is known as the "Field of View Crop Factor" or "Focal Length Multiplier." The result is that your long lens becomes longer, and your wide lens becomes narrower.
Wildlife photographers appreciate the Focal Length Multiplier because their 200 mm telephoto lens effectively becomes a 320 mm lens. However, creative photographers find it frustrating because a 24 mm lens becomes a 38 mm lens, making it challenging to achieve a truly wide angle.
My personal lens investment dates back to the pre-digital era, so I never had the chance to compensate for this effect. Consequently, all my lenses became too long for many of my purposes. To satisfy my need for wide shots, I occasionally rent a 14 mm ultra-wide lens (with an effective focal length of 22 mm), which reminds me of the good old days when a wide lens was truly a wide lens.
Wide-angle photography is a lot of fun and allows me to keep the social media header imagery fresh.
Penumbra
The Captivating Penumbra: A Photograph of Jake's Strip Club
The definition of penumbra is 'almost shadow' or 'almost dark' (or light). Penumbra is typically used to describe events in astronomy, such as when an eclipse occurs.
In photography, penumbra provides a unique opportunity to capture texture and atmosphere in an almost occult-like light. A strip club has always struck me as kind of sad and desperate. I have been meaning to take this photo for years, but the highway has been re-routed, making it tricky to get to. This isn't exactly the effect I was looking for (drizzle and water puddles would have been ideal), but I liked the emotion the headlights provided.
Jake's strip club is located in Coates, Minnesota. It had a litigious relationship with the community, and for years the town continually passed laws to close it down. In 2002, the Minnesota Supreme Court finally ruled that the town was within its authority to close Jake's. In an unwise effort to vote the local politicians out of office, Jake's owner had 92 patrons (sometimes called rummies) fill out voter registration cards, using the strip club as their home address.
You don't mess with the feds. It is never a good idea to break federal voting fraud laws, especially in such a foolish manner. Several hundred thousand dollars later, the case was finally settled. The bar never reopened, and it has been vacant ever since. No doubt it will be torn down, and the opportunity to capture Jake's in penumbra light will be gone forever.
The missing piece
The Lost Puzzle Piece
Many years ago, a very good framing customer brought in a beautiful antique jigsaw puzzle to be framed. It was from the turn of the 19th century, and the construction itself is a work of art. The pieces are scroll sawed, and several pieces themselves are shaped as children's toys (monkeys, toy soldiers, etc.). It is a remarkable example of craftsmanship.
The only problem was that a single piece of the puzzle was missing. This seemed very tragic, and because of the depth of the puzzle, it was as obvious as a missing tooth on a beautiful model in a toothpaste ad. But, it is what it is, and since it had been in her family for many years, it was decided to frame it up as is.
Jump ahead several years to the present... the customer removes a drawer from a dresser, and lo and behold, the missing puzzle piece reappears from behind the drawer.
There is something very therapeutic in knowing that the missing puzzle piece will soon be reunited with its brothers and sisters, and now the picture is complete.
The Lord works in mysterious ways.
Upon further review
The Creative and Real Estate Legacy of 312 West Avenue
By going backwards through telephone directories (this is known as 'doing a Jim Rockford') and speaking with Barb Tittle (the previous building owner), it was possible to stitch together a more complete history of this building. It has a very significant creative and real estate lineage.
312 West Avenue Chronology:
1894 - 1902: Lidberg Studio (original location)
1902 - 1920: Lidberg Studio (new location)
1920 - 1936: E. H. Lidberg Real Estate
1937 - 1947: Davison Studio
1948 - 1949: Wood's Studio
1950 - 1952: Hodge Studio
1953 - 1979: Chalet Studio
1980 - 2004: InComm Realty and Maas Realty (later Coldwell-Banker)
2005 - 2007: Gary-Donald Arts, a private art dealer
2008 - Present: Red Wing Framing Gallery
For 73 out of 115 years, this building has been home to six different creative studios. For 40 out of those same 115 years, it has been home to at least three real estate companies.
The story arc of the Marc Chagall project
Rescuing a Marc Chagall Linoleum Lithograph
Just to refresh... a customer had rescued this original Marc Chagall linoleum lithograph from slowly being destroyed by the mounting and the framing (please see: "How to commit art murder," or, "I ruined a masterpiece, but saved on the framing"...). The mats were leeching acid into the art paper, the non-UV glass was allowing the sun to fade the art, and the MDF frame was slowly dissolving the art with formaldehyde out-gassing.
The rescued piece will be picked up by the customer today, and a ceremony will take place to present the art back to the public library. I thought I would share the design details of this project:
It features a double rag mat design (100% acid-free) with a filet. The bottom mat has a 1" reveal (this is a museum standard for a design with a filet) and the top mat has a 3.25" reveal. The art paper had some waviness, and it is loosely held in place with archival corners on the backside. This allows the art to breathe and respond to the ambient temperature. The outside moulding is called an Amante design, which is a classic moulding style. The glazing is a museum-quality UV glass, which is almost imperceptible. It was decided not to conceal the staining from the previous mats and to incorporate the flawed feature into the overall design.
It looks very classy and is totally reversible for future framers in the event of a re-design.
Respect the art. Protect, preserve, and present the art.
Red Wing Central Park Band Shell: A Follow-Up
Does this guy ever stop talking about the new bandshell?
Apparently not.
It's time for an update on the Red Wing Central Park Band Shell.
This time last year, the park was a mess. Frozen and snow-covered dirt piles were scattered all over the site, making it look like a project that was going to miss the July 4th deadline. However, Red Wing Construction is a very professional company, proud of the product they deliver. They met the July 4th deadline with days to spare.
After the project was completed, Red Wing Construction presented The Jones Family Foundation (the benefactors of the band shell to the City) with a beautifully framed memento. It is a 36"x32" multi-opening custom framed piece showcasing the band shell from different angles and during the very first performance. It also includes a custom embossed mat of the Red Wing Construction logo.
We were proud to provide all of the photographs, the printing, and the framing, and we have since created a few more of these pieces for Red Wing Construction.
How to commit art murder, or, "I ruined a masterpiece, but saved on the framing"
A Close Call for a Marc Chagall Masterpiece
This is a tragic tale, but thank goodness a good samaritan rescued the art.
An original Marc Chagall lithograph had been donated to the local library. Many years ago, someone decided to frame this irreplaceable piece using the cheapest solution available. This included a low-quality MDF frame with standard glass and paper mats. To further insult the art, it was glued to the back of the mat.
Let's summarize how this art was nearly ruined:
The frame was made from a cheap MDF material that out-gasses formaldehyde, effectively dissolving the art over time.
The glass provided no UV protection, making fading inevitable.
The mat was a cheap paper mat with acids that leeched into the art, and foxing (bacteria) was growing on the paper.
The glue—oh, the glue. Don't even get me started on the glue.
A biological, chemical, and radioactive attack on the art—a true WMD from an art standpoint.
Friends don't let friends frame drunk.
Despite all this, the artwork itself is a stunning piece of creativity. Chagall, a Jewish Russian-French artist who lived from 1887 to 1985, was a giant in the art world and an early innovator of Modernism. His work is truly inspiring to examine.
We are now working on a new and completely archival frame design for this piece. I will post updates when the project is finished.