Tag Archives: Lattie Smart

Anachronistic Couple

by Lattie

This handsome couple is doubly out of sync with both modern times, and the medieval/Renaissance revelers all around them.  They were sitting at the bar, near a grounded Pirate Ship boutique, at the PA Renfest last year. If you thought you were viewing some Victorian Costumer movie outake starring Jane Seymour and Gene Wilder, you’re not alone!

Small Light Stream

by Lattie

One more Bob V. tribute!

I took a series of close-up, Autumn stream shots just down from the Kilgore Falls pictured in my last entries. They turned out OK, but not too exciting. Then I remembered seeing how Bob improved a Bryce Canyon shot with a pan mask crop in the last folio. So I just scooted the smaller frame mount over the pics and arrived at this. I really utilized the 3D World mounting jig for the first time on this one, to try to save everyone too much eyestrain!  (and criticism) 🙂 

The DOF, of course,  suffers shooting at such a close and slanted angle.  But the shapes and colors remind me a bit of Klimt and other curvy,  Fin de Siècle paintings. So, I can just enjoy the pure abstraction of it, without worrying just how sharp or well exposed everything is.  I like looking at the floating, squiggly highlights and finding all the tiny, nearly invisible jets and drops of water poking out in depth. View this one with maximum lighting, if you can!

The Condor

by Lattie

This is another Bob V. inspiration!

Another time-exposed shot at Morey’s Pier at Wildwood, NJ, (using Bob’s suggested 4 sec. at f16, asa 100 method – saves a lot of guesswork!). This is the “Condor” ride, which looks  (and sounds) very strange – even without the added psychedelic exposure. I shot a series of them, but because the  spins and elevations constantly shift, it’s hard to predict the outcome. This was the best one, by far, and it won 1st place at my first visit to the Potomac DC Stereo Society monthly competiton. They joked it must be the first time a shot made by a Sputnik ever won anything!

I enjoy showing this to people and have them guess what they’re looking at. I’ve heard some strange answers (“guitar,” “bell striker”). The distance of the subject certainly cuts down on the parallax, but there is still a little bit of  depth left.  A wider pair of synced Hassies would have been the ticket here… (Right, Bob?) 🙂

Artscape #2

by Lattie

This was taken at Baltimore’s Artscape Festival in July – said to be the largest, free outdoor arts event in the country. I set out to do a series of slides to contribute to a  “Summer in the City” themed  gallery group show  last year. The gallery was enthused about the stereo format, but we still have a way to go in presentation ideas and executions for them.

This was shot at a performance by the frenetic “Baltimore Rock Opera Society” (BROS).  Think Ed Wood-meets-Bosch, set loose on the sweltering streets – but the music and singing was actually pretty decent. I just set up my tripod and TL-120 behind a stage, hoping not to get knocked over.

Tacky, silly, and so very Baltimore, Hon!

Fresh Fruit

by Lattie

I did another small series of MD Renn Fest  shots this Fall, but a freak Oct. snowfall prevented me from doing the PA one this year.

April, the confident, photogenic vendor shown here, was introduced to me by Tom, (another roving, middle-aged photographer who was toting an impressive lens and digicam). 🙂 He said he has a Realist camera and was into NSA and such a few years ago, and I invited him to jump back into the fold.

Anyway, I did a few shots of her and others that warm day. I waited until the later afternoon when the sun slanted thru the thick, forest canopy of the grounds. It really is a special time, and no, I didn’t usually bother with fill-flash or reflectors. I like the way the sharp lighting heightens the fabric textures of the costumes, even at the expense of harsher shadows on the skin. Check out the fine print detail on those bills she holds!  I got a whole, small series of various Renn Denizens, (including 1st attempts at Bob V. Style close-up portraits).  I’ll slip more into the folios to come.