Re: 5p vs. 7p and Golden Ratio

[P3D Larry Berlin <lberlin@xxxxxxxxx>]

> Dr. George A. Themelis writes:
..................... snip .........................
>And Parthenon is not photography and every 3d picture is not a classic
>work of art.  That's the diversity in photography I talked about in my 
>posting.  Seriously, this argument is used by Jess Powell (apparently, a 
>high school geometry teacher) to propagate the superiority of the 7p 
>format.  His book on the Realist devotes over 10 pages discussing the 
>golden ratio, a bit too much for such a small book.  This argument fails 
>to take into account the subject matter.  7p is more pleasing to the
>eye than 5p.  How about the subject?  What if the subject is square, 
>circular or can be better framed in a portrait configuration?
>
>I am afraid there are too many exceptions from the "Golden Ratio" in 
>stereo photography....


There are NO exceptions to the "Golden Ratio" principle in stereo
photography. The ratio is still the most pleasing of ratios. Even in a
square image, it can be used to compose your subject matter. The Golden
Ratio is a ratio of relationship which can be applied to the image sides or
it can be the comparative size and placement of elements within the image.
When it comes to competition, I'll bet a squarish image that uses the Golden
Ratio in it's composition will generally win out over other images that
don't have the ratio in evidence. (even if the judges don't know a thing
about the "Golden Ratio" )

When it comes to viewing 3D images, I always prefer the wider format images,
the wider the better. It allows the eyes to scan from side to side without
bumping into that "window" edge. I would agree with Jess Powell in general
but you use whatever camera/s you have. 

One of the advantages that stereograms helped to make apparent is that
stereo images don't need to stop just because a stereo pair has been
established. If the pairs are repeated to the sides, a wider image is
created that allows you to stay in stereo mode with your eyes and gain
greater satisfaction from the experience. In other words, I will look
through small windows but prefer the panoramic view of much wider ones.

Larry Berlin

Email: lberlin@xxxxxxxxx
http://www.sonic.net/~lberlin/
http://3dzine.simplenet.com/


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