still life ~ matches # 2

Matchbox / matches • click to embiggenIn the first matches entry, I mentioned Irving Penn's cigarette butt / litter pictures and some of things he had / did, re: those pictures. One thing I didn't mention was the fact that Penn pictured his referents with a large format view camera - most likely an 8×10 VC (but it could have been an 11×14 VC - he used some esoteric equipment at times) - and I am picturing with a µ4/3 format camera.

On the face of it, there would seem to be something of a mismatch, IQ wise, between the 2 different formats. On the (sur)face of a print, there is not so much as one might expect. At least that is so up to the 24×24 inch prints I am making. However, there is no doubt that Penn's large format negatives would offer much more enlargement capabilities than my M4/3 files could.

That said, I am considering 36×36 inches as the ideal print size for this series. While I am not always a proponent of the adage "bigger is better", I do like the visual effect created by picturing small referents and printing the results large. In doing so, small details loom out-of-scale large in a manner not normally seen in real-time observation of the actual referents.

The looming large aspect of small details very often causes a viewer of such pictures to "move in" to the print for an even closer look at those details. It should be understood that, in this case, I'm not stating that this propensity is wrongheaded, as I invariably do in the case of most of my pictures wherein I am picturing the entirety of the moment as opposed to any specific details of that moment - pictures that are meant to be viewed whole cloth / all-of-a-piece.

While I am most certainly arranging and picturing my matches referents to be viewed whole cloth / all-of-a-piece, I can not deny that most viewers will be inclined to step closer to a print for a more closeup inspection of the details. While the 24×24 prints from my 12MP EP series cameras fill this bill quite well*, I am certain that the newer and improved 16MP sensor in the E-M5 would meet the demands of 36×36 inch print size in a much better fashion.

In light of this "move-in-closer" eventuality and considering the size I wish to print to, I am giving some thought to postponing serious in-depth attention to this series until I acquire an Oly OM-D E-M5. On the other hand, I will probably run a comparison test between the EP Olys and my little used Pentax K20D with its 14.6MP APS-C sensor. If the K20D fits the 36×36 inch print bill, I'll be able to avoid making the acquisition of the E-M5, a camera which, other than this picturing situation, I am not particularly eager to own.

All of that said, everyday, I still look longingly at my 8×10 Arca Swiss view camera as sits on a tripod in my photo workroom.

*the tiny printing around the center illustration is quite legible on the 24×24 inch size print.