Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Miniature Zurich




I borrowed a tilt-shift lens a few days ago for an on-going project because I wanted to capture Zurich in an unique way. Usually you use this lens to get a bigger depth of field while maintaining a large aperture, but this wasn't my intention. So how come that a city suddenly looks like a model making?
When we see things from afar, we are used to see everything sharp and in focus. Now when suddenly there is such a narrow depth of field, our brain tricks us into thinking that these photographs were taken with a macro lens and that we are looking at a miniature model. There is no Photoshop involved except for adjusting the contrast and saturation. These two photographs are just a preview and you can see some more on my visual diary.

43 comments:

  1. gosh, i really thought they were models! amazing photographs :)

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  2. It really got me. Great photographs.

    o-o-owl.blogspot.com

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  3. I love tilt-shift pictures! I really want to buy one to my own camera. But while i save up there's a lot of websites that can make fake ones.

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  4. I know these types of cameras! they r so f*cking fantastic!!! and take really good photos! The photos look like miniatures haha! amazing!

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  5. these kinds of photos have always really fascinated me. thanks for the explanation - I often wondered...

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  6. It reminds me to a programme this summer on the Belgian television, it called Villa Vanthilt and there were little fragments of the city where they has that day a talkshow. This is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WedN6w3tuY&feature=related It isn't made whit little miniatures, but it is really filmed.

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  7. BRILLIANT! You don't know how much impressed I am.

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  8. I thought it was fake. amazing !

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  9. This is amazing. Well done!

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  10. amazing photos!

    www.mode-damour.blogspot.com

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  11. completely thought that was a model city.

    impressive!

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  12. I love tilt-shift photos. :) I should try using a tilt-shift lens sometime too..

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  13. That's so phenomenal!! I had to really examine these photos for a while before I could convince myself they weren't models. Great job, and great shots!! You really have a deeper talent, Pascal.

    love,rudi
    yousmellofapples.blogspot.com

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  14. this is really cool. you take really great photos. i found your blog through lookbook.nu.

    check out mine

    http://phashionphile.blogspot.com

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  15. i dared at them for such a long time and cnocluded to myself that they were models. lol

    how amazing they are!

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  16. nice. very cool.

    - www.theclothingproject.com

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  17. this is awesome, i know this view of zurich by heart although i don't live there but i love the city and i've taken lots of photos of it but this is so so cool.

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  18. tilt-shift lenses are so strange... there's a whole website of some guy that jsut does tiltshift landscapes of famous scenes in major cities but i can't for the life of me remember what it is.

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  19. oh-wow,
    I really love this picture,

    it is like a small people's world in a doll house or something,
    come out of a juvenile story :)

    so pretty!

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  20. these are really stunning. totally thought they were models. amazing.

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  21. These are amazing!
    I was thinking "wow. those are some realistic models"

    -Melodie
    http://gorgeonus.blogspot.com

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  22. love your photos, but this is kinda overdone

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  23. minature or what, the photo is still amazing

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  24. i´ve allready discovered your blog!
    and it´s amazing!!!
    great photos ;)
    see you soon, i´m follow you on facebbok!

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  25. You should go and look at the uniqlo calendar, they have done some stuff really like this

    http://www.uniqlo.com/calendar/?cID=US&aID=NYK

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  26. At first I read the post and thought 'my eyes won't get tricked, I bet it doesn't look a half like what you described it'. while looking at the pictures I was astonished, especially the first one, a beautiful view btw, it looks like a perfectionistic miniature model with tons of details! could have never imagined that the simple changing of a lens can give the picture a whole new 'dimension'. great work, it's good to see that there's no lack of ideas when it comes to photgraphy!

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  27. Whoa really cool idea before I read the type thought "what are great model maker!"

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  28. Whoa really cool idea before I read the type thought "what are great model maker!"

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  29. that's just insanely cool

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  30. amazing lens - actually does look like a miniature city.
    stop by some time
    xx

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  31. Ein toller Effekt, der mich immer wieder hingucken macht. Ich glaube, dass die Telekom ein paar ihrer Spots in der Optik gemacht hat.

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  32. This is really cool, love it.

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  33. Such an awesome effect. I thought it was a model until I read the text!

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  34. This is awesome, and just a little bit creepy :-)

    Where did you take the photos from? Judging from the photo of Manor... Is it the top floor restaurant on Uraniastrasse? I've never been there, it's on my to-do list.

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  35. Elisa: Yes, it's the top-floor restaurant of Jelmoli!

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  36. That's freaking cool :) I thought: "Oh, he took some pictures of some miniature model.. wait, no, what?". Really like the idea :)

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  37. i totally thought this is a model!


    xo E.

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