Originally dreamt up for cinema screens wider than your average living room wall, anamorphic lenses were invented to squeeze more picture into less film – a 1950s technique that gave birth to the wide, sweeping look of epic Hollywood. Think CinemaScope of old – if you’re that old. Although CinemaScope as a brand fell out of use in the 1960s the principle remains in modern cinema.
Anamorphic lenses compress the image horizontally when you shoot, and then you desqueeze it in post – or, in the case of films when it’s projected – by stretching it back out. In my case, the lens is a Sirui Saturn T2.9 50mm 1.6 , so stretching the width by 160%. It’s like unfolding a concertina to reveal the full tune. But it does rather make for an odd sight through the viewfinder as everything is tall and thin. As I can’t really see what the view is anyway it doesn’t seem to bother me, but I am still delighted when the image pops out “the other end” in widescreen glory.
While they were never designed with stills in mind, that’s half the fun. I can’t leave faff all alone – I just have to try new techniques out. These quirky, flare-happy lenses let me play with space in a whole new way. Everything looks a little more airy, a little stranger, and somehow a little more epic. Whether it’s a toilet block in full heroic widescreen or marsh grasses stretched into something cinematic, I’m fascinated by the wideness.
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Soft of Sight Photography 