P3D Viewing Aid (was Re: P3D Re: What did I learn last night...)

[Brian Reynolds <reynolds@xxxxxxxxx>]

Oleg Vorobyoff wrote:
> George Themelis wrote:
> 
> >Wth a little experience or training you move the camera around,
> >studying the various elements via the viewfinder.
> 
> This is where I think 2d and 3d diverge.  2d is sensitive to things
> around the border, so moving the camera up, down, left, right makes
> sense.  But 3d is sculptural, so the composition is sensitive to
> camera location.  I tend to keep the subject in the center and move
> my body around until the composition clicks.  But not while looking
> though the viewfinder - I cup my hands in front of my face to
> approximate a stereo window.  I tried building a blinder box to
> facilitate composition, but found that it would need to be too large
> to be practical.

Some large format photographers use a piece of scrap matte board as a
viewing aid.  You cut an aperture in the board the same size as your
film format and then hold it in front of your eye the same distance as
the focal length of your lens.

The problem with 35mm film is that the aperture would be pretty small,
and the board very close to your eye.  You could enlarge the aperture
by a constant amount (keeping the aspect ratio the same) and then hold
it that much further from your eye based on your enlargement ratio.
Punch a hole in one corner and tie a loop of string through it so that
you can hang it from your neck.  The string should be just long enough
so that the board is at the correct distance when the string is fully
extended.

-- 
Brian Reynolds                  | "Dee Dee!  Don't touch that button!"
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