Architecture 497d - Architectural Photography
| Field Assignment 2 | Fall Semester 2004 |
| Due September 28, 2004 | Professor Gary L. Catchen |
Photographing buildings from several vantage points
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The purpose of this assignment is to photograph two buildings from several vantage points. Specifically, I have selected the Leonhard Building, located on the University Park campus, and the Post Office, located in Bellefonte. Because these buildings are not tall, you should not have any difficulty avoiding distortions caused by converging vertical lines. For this assignment, I recommend that you use a 35-mm single-lens-reflex camera and a 28-mm or shorter focal-length lens. To avoid distortions caused by converging vertical lines, maintain the film plane parallel to the face of the building. The vantage points are the following. For both buildings, record a straight view of the facade in which the film plane lies roughly parallel to the facade of the building. This view is a one-point perspective. For both buildings, record an oblique view of the (front of the) building in which the film plane makes a relatively small angle with the plane of the facade. This view is a two-point perspective. For the Post Office, record an oblique view of the (front of the) building in which the film plane makes approximately a 45° -angle with the plane of the facade. This view is also a two-point perspective. For the Leonhard Building, record an oblique view of the rear of the building in which the film plane makes a relatively small angle with the plane of the facade. Some additional considerations are the following. You should record the photographs while standing on the ground (as opposed to standing on the roof of another building). For this assignment, the choice of lighting is open. That is, you may record the photographs either on a sunny or on a cloudy day. If you choose a sunny day, you need to select a time of day when the sun is relatively high in the sky to avoid high-contrast lighting and possible lens flare. The facade of the Leonard Building faces roughly northwest. As such, you may not find a time when the facade is completely front lit. For this assignment, the choice of color or black-and-white is open. If you are using film, you should use a slow film speed, e. g., ISO 100. If you are using a digital camera, you should select the slowest "film speed." For the oblique shots, avoid cutting off parts of either side of the building. You should crop the original photographs appropriately to remove excessive amounts of foreground and extraneous information. If you record the images using a 35-mm SLR, make sure that the final photographs do not show excessive graininess. If you record photographs in color, make sure that the color balance is aethetically acceptible. If you record the images using a digital camera or if you scan conventional photographs to produce a final digital image, make sure that the final photographs do not show the effects of degraded sharpness that the lack of resolution, i. e., the lack of pixels, can cause. If you record the images using a digital camera or a 35-mm SLR, make sure that the final photographs do not show degradation of image sharpness caused by poor optics or poor focus. To complete the assignment, submit six nominally 8- x 10-inch or 8- x 12-inch enlargements that correspond to the aforementioned vantage points. If the final photographs are digital representations, print them onto photograph-quality paper using a high-quality ink-jet printer. With the photographs, submit a brief statement in which you present the technical details. Make and model of camera and lens. Recording medium either film and film speed or CCD resolution in pixels. Procedure for producing the final photographs.
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