>Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2001 12:51:06 +0000
>From: "John A. Lind" <jlind@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>Subject: RE: [OM] Re: Which wide angle?
. . . the
>entire AOV should be interesting, including foreground and sky, especially
>the foreground. It can be very difficult to compose a scene in which all
>of it is interesting when trying to use the 18mm or 21mm as they take in so
>much. When doing landscape(s) you might reach for the WA first. That's
>OK. After that, pull out a telephoto and compose something of interest
>with it too. There are some very powerful landscapes shot with medium to
>long telephotos. Had to discover this more by accident . . . and learned
>the focal length is more for controlling perspective than to keep from
>having to move closer or farther from a subject. Adams calls it "image
>management."
>
>This has been mentioned before . . . an excellent exercise for learning how
>to visualize an image is to take a prime lens and exclusively use it for a
>while . . . at least for an entire roll of film. For lenses other than a
>standard, it teaches the perspective the lens generates. It is just as
>applicable to a standard prime in forcing one to think of ways to make it
>work. Sometimes one must become ingenious to do so, and this includes
>finding a different point of view for the subject as the solution; an
>exellent exercise in itself.
>
>So, your assignment is to take out that least used, lonely lens that's been
>badly ignored, now suffering from low self esteem in a dark corner of your
>bag (or closet), and use it for an entire roll of film.
>
>- -- John
I agree entirely that the real challenge with a wide angle used for
landscape is to make the whole of the composition interesting. I also very
much agree that one of the best ways to achieve better photography in
general is to concentrate on the perspectives afforded by one lens at a
time. There's a heck of a lot to be learned using something like a 135mm
(or any fixed focal length) exclusively for awhile. I'd bet that most
photographer's could find something of interest in most outdoor scenes
irrespective of being limited to just one lens.
I'm going to take on John's assignment with my two least used lenses. I'm
thinking of shooting a small town here exclusively with a Vivitar 19mm and
then re-shooting it entirely with a Tokina 500/8 and two rolls of color
print film that I have basically abandoned in favor of B&W. I've done the
bit about frequently wandering around with just a 50, or just a 24 or just
a 135, but I've never tried to constrain myself to the really radical ends
of the spectrum. This should be interesting.
More later,
Mike Swaim
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