On Thu, 20 September 2001, Tris Schuler wrote:
>
>
> >Since this topic is still going and is at least on topic, I'll add my
> >input. I would choose the OM-4Ti and the 35/2. I would really, really
> >miss the 100/2, but my experience is that you can more often than not get
> >closer, but it's sometimes impossible to get farther away. And, oh,
how I
> >would miss the macro capability of other lenses.
>
> Disagree. It's far more often the case that you can't get close enough.
>
> Tris
>
Depends on how bold you are. Ever had your back to a wall and still
couldn't include everything you wanted in the frame? Even if you can't
get as close as you want, you can always crop and enlarge. And the 35/2
is one helluva great lens, one of the best of the Zuikos. Getting closer,
unless physically impossible, is sometimes just a matter of cojones.
Well, first of all I don't consider the 35mm to be true wide-angle lens but
rather a lens of somewhat shorter focal length than the so-called normal
50mm but nonetheless normal in its own right. Wide angle for me starts at
28mm. If I have a building in mind than I'm usually thinking wider
still--though my kit only runs down to 24mm as architecture is not my
metier. I (I know precious little about this aspect of photography, Walt,
and sad to say my work in this area usually reflects same.)
Anyway, my experience (as a photojournalist and amateur) has been that the
primary problem with subjects is that they stand too far away, not too
close. It's possible to design a scenario where the opposite is the case,
sure, but the nature of photography and the world around us suggests otherwise.
Walt, you mention "bold." This came up back in July with regard to
documentation of street rarees, and one of our members stated that he went
so far as to actually pay these shows for the privilege of photographing
them. If I can get them scanned I'll share some pictures of these
activities which I took in August while I was in San Sebastian, depicting
street artists who were both happy to be photographed and (with one
gentleman particularly in mind) others who were less enthusiastic about the
idea. For myself, maybe I was a working reporter for too many years, or
perhaps it's just the way I am, I don't know, but my technique is to simply
go about my business and let the loose ends take care of themselves. I view
any public activity as being just that--something which belongs by
definition within the public domain and thus fair game for my lens. End of
story. Other photographers, I realize, have different points of view.
It's possible I take it to (and maybe beyond) the extreme. One evening
(still light out) as I strolled along the promenade above the beach
downtown called La Concha I came upon a couple of police officers who stood
over a man (he looked to be homeless, possibly drunk) lying on the pavement
(this was right in front of the main government building and near a park
where parents and children recreated). Almost as a reflex my 4T swung up
and I snapped off a frame through my 100mm. Just as I did an elderly man
(walking with his wife) rushed over to inform me (in no uncertain terms)
that I was undesirable sort of fellow, that I shouldn't take that sort of
picture as it reflected poorly on the city. "Nobody likes you!" he opined.
Not wishing to draw lots of attention to myself I decided to merely walk
on. (That shot didn't come out, by the way--out of focus, with no time,
barring a nasty scene, to better compose it.)
This reminds me of when I first started out in journalism. I was fairly
young, fresh out of grad school, and my initial assignment for a small
daily in northern Wisconsin was to shoot a high-school wrestling meet, held
in Minocqua as I recall. One of the kids injured himself and so right away
there I was hovering over the coaches and fathers and other wrestlers,
snapping dutifully away with my trusty Olympus. Soon enough one of the
onlookers took umbrage with this and he, too, remonstrated. On this
occasion cooler heads prevailed, one gentleman physically hauling the
protester away to explain that I worked for a local paper, I was only doing
my job . . . .
Everyone has his own notion on issues of privacy and decency and all that,
and common sense only gets you so far. I imagine at a certain juncture a
photographer must find the ground he is most comfortable to stand on with
these questions in mind.
Tris
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