Photography at Lenth



Photography at Length
The Authentic History of Panoramic Cameras

By Brian Polden A.R.P.S.

August 2019, hardback, 544 pp.
ISBN: 978-1-905622-55-9

NO LONGER AVAILABLE

 

PHOTOGRAPHY AT LENGTH is written by an enthusiast who devoted half his lifetime to its research. Inspired to discover how the painted Panorama of yesteryear evolved into photography, Brian Polden gradually traced a wealth of previously unrelated information about inventors and their amazing cameras and then, for the first time, systematically categorised them into an inter-connected context. Spanning more than 150 years, they encompass a fascinatingly diverse progression from Earth-bound joined-up Daguerreotypes to dramatic curvilinear imaging beyond our planet.

Far from being dry, the 24 chapters reveal some extraordinary human stories, detailed designs and profuse illustrations, many never before having been published. The author�s perception and ability to clarify technicalities combine to portray an illuminating insight into an otherwise complex subject that has often been misunderstood and consequently neglected. Photography at Length is a richly resourced multi-faceted presentation that is recognised as the international reference work essential for those wanting to explore the unique story of panoramic picture-making from its inception up to the onset of the digital revolution.

About the Author:

After serving an engineering apprenticeship in the Royal Air Force Brian Polden joined the family business, Opticrafts Ltd. His first venture in to widened horizons was with an 8 mm cine camera and projector fitted with an anamorphic lens. This led to the co-founding of the Widescreen Association in 1964 for whom he set up its Technical Advisory Service and later its Archive and Collection.

Brian was involved with �The Panoramic Image� exhibition at the John Hansard Gallery, Southampton University in 1981. Three years later under the auspices of the Victoria & Albert Museum, in 1984 he founded the International Panorama & Diorama Society and edited its IPaDS Journal. In 1986 he joined the Advisory Committee for the hugely successful 1988�89 Panoramania! Exhibition at the Barbican.

He is a member of the Photographic Collectors� Club of Great Britain and an overseas member of the International Association of Panorama Photographers, U.S.A. He is also a long-standing member of the Royal Photographic Society who, in recognition of his extensive research work into the history of panoramic imaging, awarded him an Associateship in 2004.

Contents:

Foreword by the Rt. Hon. The Earl of Lichfield, F.B.I.P.P., F.R.P.S.
The Author
Introduction

PART ONE: ADJOINING IMAGES�SEPARATE GLANCES

CHAPTER ONE: Taking a Series of Related Pictures and Then Joining Them Together

PART TWO: ROTATIONAL LENSES� MOVING The EYES

CHAPTER TWO: First Generation Rotational Lens Cameras, 1843�1860s
CHAPTER THREE: First Generation Rotational Lens Cameras (continued), 1884�1904
CHAPTER FOUR: Second Generation �Compact� Cameras, 1890�1904
CHAPTER FIVE: Second Generation �Compact� Cameras (continued), 1898�1980s
CHAPTER SIX: Second Generation (continued): Special Purpose Cameras, 1914�1931/1950s
CHAPTER SEVEN: The Pivotal Lens: 1930s Onwards
CHAPTER EIGHT: The Pivotal Lens: 1948 Onwards

PART THREE: ROTATIONAL CAMERAS�MOVING THE HEAD

CHAPTER NINE: Curved Images on Flat Plates
CHAPTER TEN: The Roll-Up (Set-Scale) Panorama
CHAPTER ELEVEN: The Roll-Up (Variable-Scale) Panorama
CHAPTER TWELVE: Cirkut Style Variations
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Rotational Cameras From 1945

PART FOUR: OTHER ROTATIONAL SYSTEMS

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Periscopic Cameras
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Perimeter Cameras
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Radial Cameras, 1856�1991

PART FIVE: NON-ROTATIONAL SYSTEMS

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: Panoramic Lenses, 1858�1980
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: Cylindrical Lenses

PART SIX: NON-CONFORMISTS

CHAPTER NINETEEN: Non-Conformists
CHAPTER TWENTY: The Alternative Optic

PART SEVEN: SPECIAL APPLICATIONS

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: Panoramic Radiography
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: Panorama in the Air
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: Panorama in Space
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: Shinichi Yamamoto�s Award-Winning Panoramas
APPENDIX I: �Extended Field� Cameras and Perspective
APPENDIX II: Michael Westmoreland�Cirkutmaster

INDEX

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