“To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”
…and by that token, to a photographer with SketchUp, everything looks like a prospect for Match Photo.
This is no doubt my strangest use of SketchUp’s Match Photo because I’m not even going to model anything. I just want to know: Can I determine conclusively what lens I used to take this picture 40 years ago?
Looking at the background, I see just enough of a building to create a Match Photo scene.
There are a couple potential pitfalls to watch out for though, and that’s the teaching moment here:
- I reported before and in my 3D Basecamp talk that what SketchUp reports for focal length under normal conditions is incorrect. It’s off by a factor of 1.5.
- On the other hand, like the adage that “even a broken clock is right twice a day,” what SketchUp reports as a focal length is correct for a vertically formatted 35mm photo, which happens to be what we have here. Because this is vertical and not horizontal, the 1.5 factor doesn’t apply.
SketchUp reports a focal length of 40mm, but it’s a scan from a mounted slide and is slightly cropped. (Cropping is OK if it’s symetrical) That means the actual lens is slightly wider and points conclusively to what I suspected: The 35mm f/2 AIS Nikkor that I had back then. So, with that, I can pull out and dust off the complete setup used to take that picture 40 years ago complete with the original boxes.
OK, ok, enough geeky distraction, back to real work with SketchUp.
TLDR Photo Backstory
The picture is one I took of my sister, Martha, just prior to the release of her first commercial Hollywood feature film, Valley Girl, on April 29th, 1983 - 40 years ago this Saturday. This picture has found it’s way on the internet, and I see it spread around now without credit, of course like this:
For a good telling of her career, the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame made a nice little tribute film on YouTube. I’m interviewed in it, but don’t blink, I’m only on for a few seconds. A bunch of my stills are used in it though.
BTW, besides Matchphoto, that background building combined with my foggy memory and Google Maps helped me pin down the exact location as well: 8225 Sunset Blvd now Pink Taco restaurant. The building in the background is in fact Chateau Marmont. This is right where the long straight stretch of Sunset in Hollywood makes it’s first turn heading west.
