Rangefinder Magazine
August 2005

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Problems and Solutions

Please accompany your questions with a self-addressed stamped envelope if you wish an immediate reply. Alternatively, you can email me at: bhurter@rfpublishing.com.

From: Marc H. Boucher
Studio Digiphoto
Is there a time when it is OK to crop a picture very tightly (arms or elbows)? It seems that sometimes the picture is better without showing hands.

Hands can sometimes be a real problem in posing, particularly in group portraits with many hands to keep track of.

The rule of thumb in cropping the human form is never crop at a joint—knee, elbow or wrist—as this produces a disquieting feeling in the viewer. If making a three-quarter length portrait, for example, crop the image mid-calf or mid-thigh. The same is true for hands and arms—either show the full hand or eliminate it. Remember to show the flat outside portion of the hand, as this produces a more graceful line and truer perspective. Hands photographed head-on, facing the lens, tend to look dimensionless.

From: Richard Schlesinger
rjs91941@yahoo.com
As a long-time reader of Rangefinder I have repeatedly been impressed with your ability to come up with solutions in the “Problems and Solutions” column.

Now I need your help and expertise. I am looking for a device called E-Z-Focus. It was made by Carson Industries in La Conner, Washington. E-Z-Focus is a “precise fine-focusing device” easily and quickly installed on Beseler 45MX series enlargers.

It provides a 7.8:1 reduction ratio to the focusing knob to produce sharper prints with easier, more accurate focus control.”

I have seen pictures—it has a series of gears—and I’ve been told it works like a charm. But I can’t find Carson Industries, except one that makes an attachment for Meade telescopes. Can you help? I would dearly love to get hold of one.

Thanks for the kind words. Unfortunately, I can’t unearth a single positive thing for Carson Industries or E-Z-Focus. There are plenty of message strings on the Internet about trying to find both the product and the company, but as far back as four years ago, no one was able to find either. They are apparently long gone. However, someone reading this might have an EZ Focus they would part with, so we’ll put it out there and see if anyone responds.

From: Jacques Henry
jacques.henry@infonie.be
I’m looking for a my cousin, John Schnoerr, born in Lowell, MA, in June 1944. He was photographer in the U.S. Army based in Germany in 1964/65 and has a son named Johnatan. Could you please tell me if you know this man?

We ran an article about a young man named Randy Schnoerr in August 2004. He could be related to the man you mention. Here’s the link: www.rangefindermag.com/magazine/aug04/hotshot.tml