Thanks for the journey. My oldest conker is over 30 years old. I had big plans for it but it may never see battle. I’d best drill holes in it before it becomes fossilised and truly unbeatable.
Loved this. Thanks! for the video recommendations. Curious what characteristics of the 28mm lead you to use it when you don’t have a close foreground. Trying to learn
Choice of focal length can be influenced by various factors, mostly it's about the angle of view. Human vision is roughly equivalent to a 50mm lens, which is why that focal length is so popular. Images made with a 50mm lens will most closely resemble the angle of view we are familiar with.
A 28mm lens gives a much wider angle of view, so it's often the choice for landscape and street photographers who want to include a wider perspective. At the other end of the scale, 200mm and above are the focal lengths most often used by wildlife and sports photographers, because it allows them to "zoom" in on the action.
I would say it's less to do with having a close foreground, more about the spread/width of the angle of view.
Another way of looking at it might be to say that wider-angle lenses are a good choice when you want to show context and include the wider environment. When you want to show detail and remove the potentially distracting surroundings, a longer focal length, >50mm, might be your best option.
There are no hard and fast rules. Landscape photographers use long lenses sometimes, sports photographers use wide-angles. It all depends on the subject and what the photographer wants us to see.
I'm going out for an hour tomorrow so I'll take a selection of lenses with me and try to make some photos to illustrate the options and then share them in this week's paid newsletter. Then we'll have some examples to look at, which might be helpful.
Thanks for the journey. My oldest conker is over 30 years old. I had big plans for it but it may never see battle. I’d best drill holes in it before it becomes fossilised and truly unbeatable.
Such a venerable conker should not be subjected to battle. Perhaps it could become the head of a Conker worm? https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2019/09/conker-crafts/
That could work :-)
Loved this. Thanks! for the video recommendations. Curious what characteristics of the 28mm lead you to use it when you don’t have a close foreground. Trying to learn
Choice of focal length can be influenced by various factors, mostly it's about the angle of view. Human vision is roughly equivalent to a 50mm lens, which is why that focal length is so popular. Images made with a 50mm lens will most closely resemble the angle of view we are familiar with.
A 28mm lens gives a much wider angle of view, so it's often the choice for landscape and street photographers who want to include a wider perspective. At the other end of the scale, 200mm and above are the focal lengths most often used by wildlife and sports photographers, because it allows them to "zoom" in on the action.
I would say it's less to do with having a close foreground, more about the spread/width of the angle of view.
Another way of looking at it might be to say that wider-angle lenses are a good choice when you want to show context and include the wider environment. When you want to show detail and remove the potentially distracting surroundings, a longer focal length, >50mm, might be your best option.
There are no hard and fast rules. Landscape photographers use long lenses sometimes, sports photographers use wide-angles. It all depends on the subject and what the photographer wants us to see.
I'm going out for an hour tomorrow so I'll take a selection of lenses with me and try to make some photos to illustrate the options and then share them in this week's paid newsletter. Then we'll have some examples to look at, which might be helpful.
Excellent question. Thank you.
Lovely post! I've put Baato next on my list. Thank you for the recommendation!
Wonderful writing Gavin. Inspired me to take more photos when I’m out and about.
Thank you, Mahtab. If it’s inspired you to make more photos then I am delighted. 🙏🏼