Light Field Photography

So what is light field photography, and why do you need a plenoptic camera?

Look carefully at the three pictures above. They are not three different pictures. They are the same image, refocussed after the picture had been taken.

Yes, after.

So that's why you need a plenoptic camera. Or at least why you want one - they are just at the research stage at the moment and a bit low-resolution. Put it on your Christmas list for 2010.

As to what light field photography is, I'll leave that to the experts at Standford University. They've got technical explanations, and more photos and movies taken with their prototype plenoptic camera - some are really astounding!

The Compulsive Lemming

Yesterday Croxley Camera Club was graced with the presence of Vic Attfield FRPS MPAGB BPE5* of the London Salon and Amersham PS.

The rather odd title comes from an unfavourable review of Vic's work. Through his prints he illustrated that yes, perhaps he is a little compulsive, like any good photographer, but certainly not one of the lemmings that compulsively follows "the rules."

So how might his work be described. Well, an unusual title deserves an unusual metaphor, so we shall rank Vic according to the omelette continuum. Ask someone who doesn't cook for an omelette and they will crack a couple of eggs into a pan, swirl it round a bit and present you with an unpalatable excuse for scrambled eggs. Beyond that lies the work-a-day ham and cheese, the throw-everything-in approach of the spanish omelette, the ornate complexity of the souffle omelette and the exotic desert omelette.

But ask the best of chefs for an omelette and they will crack a couple of eggs into a pan, swirl it round a bit and present you with the best darn omelette you ever had!

Vic's work is fair and square in the "crack a couple of eggs..." zone, and I am pleased to report that the results are more that palatable.


There was a straight-forwardness and simplicity to the work that we saw that belied the artistry involved. "I took this one because it reminded me of a face." Well, once he said this of a particular picture then, yes, I could see how it could be a face, but subtly so. Just enough hint of a face to key into the recongnition centres of the brain and make it feel comfortable and familiar without any hint of the "Oh, funny-ha-ha, it looks like a face!" reaction that would reduce it to little more than jokey snapshot. Very subtle.

Photographers come with a wide variety of personalities, and their pictures reflect that, and from each we can learn something. From this week's speaker I learned - "You have to watch out for the quiet ones." A good photo does not have to be in-your-face, popping-out-of-the-frame dramatic with fireworks and cannons. A little well-crafted chamber music can be far more satisfying in the long run.