> From: Moose <bylzbbfr@xxxxxxxxx>
>
> First, long lenses and good IQ at high ISOs offer the ability to
> photograph people from outside their vigilant zone, at least in many
> parts of the world.
There is something to be said about photographing people *inside*
their "vigilant zone" -- with their knowledge and approval, of course.
One might separate all photography into two general categories:
objective and subjective. In objective photography, long lenses are
key -- you need to support the illusion that the photograph is merely
a recording of reality. Yea, it has its place, and I do a lot of this
sort of photography. (Especially when someone pays me to. :-) But
lately, I find it increasingly boring.
Subjective photography is "in your face." The photographer is clearly
(although not directly visibly) a compositional element of the
photograph. The subject is interacting with the photographer, and
thus, the viewer. Whenever you ask someone to look at the camera and
smile, you are doing subjective photography. But this also happens
when you shove a super-wide right in the middle of some activity, so
the viewer feels immersed in the activity. Subjective photography
blatantly acknowledges that there really is no such thing as objective
photography -- when you observe something, you change that thing.
I find I'm increasingly drawn to this technique. Perhaps it's merely
re-discovering what HC-B pioneered long ago, but as a viewer, I want
to identify with the subject, and feel what the subject is feeling,
rather than feeling detached from the subject, as though they were
some insect on a microscope slide.
Someone recently poked fun about my selling "pretty pictures in art
festivals" vs having to perform commercially viable photography. But
the pictures I make the most money from are those that are subjective,
those that establish a relationship between the subject and the
viewer. When I shoot an event, and the client looks over the
portfolio, the images they choose invariably are the tightest, widest
shots, and *not* the long, detached, "outside vigilant zone" shots.
Wikipedia defines "candid photography" (in part) as "photography that
focuses on... the immersion of a camera within events..." To me, that
suggests sticking a wide angle lens in someone's face, rather than
shooting them from across the room with a long lens.
:::: Production from local resources for local needs is the most
rational way of economic life. -- EF Schumacher ::::
:::: Jan Steinman http://www.EcoReality.org::::
--
_________________________________________________________________
Options: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/listinfo/olympus
Archives: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/private/olympus/
Themed Olympus Photo Exhibition: http://www.tope.nl/
|