Learning How to Visualize
The only reason not to shoot with a zoom lens is this: a zoom lens has no point of view. A fixed-focal length (a.k.a. "prime") lens imposes its point of view on you, and, consequently, you can learn to impose its point of view on the world. If you routinely photograph with a fixed-focal-length lens, sooner or later you will not need to look through your camera to know what the lens will see—your eyes will know, your mind will know. You won't even need to have your camera with you to organize pictures out of the visual chaos of the world. Your eyes and your brain will be able to visualize without aid from the viewfinder. A zoom is a crutch to aid visualization, but, ironically, it is an impediment to learning how to visualize. If one wants to learn how a camera sees, the best and easiest way is to deal with a lens you can learn, instead of a lens that's a chameleon.
Monday, September 01, 2008
Zooms versus Primes
I believe Mike Johnston:
This doesn't make much sense to me. but then I'm not a serious photographer. Would you be a better musician if you only had one string on your violin?
ReplyDeleteIt is a matter of internalizing what the world looks like at 50mm or 85mm. One has to master that at each focal length.
ReplyDeleteThe musical analogue for this would be if you could develop the ability to 'see' a musical piece, its nuance and ramifications, without first trying it out on your violin.
ReplyDelete