Time to bond

I don't particularly like wide angle lenses. Anything below a 50mm lens is classified as wide angle. In my view 35mm is, however, a very handy lens to have for interior shots or certain landscape images for example but anything below that really begins to distort an image.

Of course one can get very effective results using a wide angle lens and every serious photographer is bound to have a wide angle lens in his/her camera bag.

I own a very good Canon 17 - 35mm f 2.8L lens but hardly use it for the above mentioned reasons. I always enjoy getting in close to a subject and for that purpose prefer telephoto lenses (anything above 50mm).

But as of late I have been getting on very well with my Canon 50mm f.1.4 lens. I started using it more and more because it is so handy. It's not imposing and people seems to hardly notice it. How often have I worked with my Canon 70-200mm f.2.8L (quite a beast of a lens-heavy and fairly large) and caught the eye of many ...

I usually get approached with a friendly "great camera" to which I smile - it's not the camera they are attracted to, it's the lens ... but anyway bottom line is, attracted they are and I can't move around taking shots as unnoticed as I'd like to :)

Today, however I wanted to choose a location where I could bond a bit with my wide angle zoom.

I decided to go the the city and try my luck on some of the imposing buildings around Bank tube station. As soon as I reached street level I felt overwhelmed. One financial building next to the other and one bigger and more grand than the other. The streets seemed positively narrow compared to the heights (and widths) of the surrounding constructions.

Where to begin? I take a look through my lens and really don't like what I see. If you want to get the height you inevitably get too much foreground as well as the surroundings ... often coupled with an unpleasant dis figuration.

But hey, I'm here to make friends with my lens and to get to forge a greater understanding for its qualities ;)

So I get on with it and start pointing it at everything in sight ;) my first subject is the Royal Exchange. (Founded in 1565 and first opened by Queen Elizabeth I)

I'm not quite sure what the second encounter represents - but you may have a clue?!

On I went down to The Monument- There, I played around more freely and started to get a feel for what I can do with the lens. The surrounding buildings helped enhance the effect.

Then I moved on to more strange looking buildings - sorry don't know what they are called ... main thing is that I'm still having fun with the lens!

Finally I spot "The Cucumber" from a distance and make my way to it - It has become such a landmark and I have always wanted to see it up close and personal! Pretty impressive to say the least!

Getting technical

Today I stuck to my original plan. I went out specifically to shoot some still life with the beautiful 135mm f.2L lens and the 1.4 converter. The combination worked a treat yesterday.

So, let's continue and see what it's made of! I was keen to test it with a fully opened aperture. What that means is that almost everything behind the point of focus and a bit in font of the point of focus will be thrown out of focus. Depending on what the photographer wants to achieve, this effect can add drama to the picture. Throwing the backgrounds out is particularly effective in portraiture. The last thing you want to see when taking a portrait is something "growing" out of your subjects head or shoulder :)

Just another quick point. The longer the focal lens, the less depth of field can be achieved. If you wondered what a telephoto lens is, any focal length above 50mm is called a telephoto lens and anything shorter than 50mm is a wide angle lens. As we are on the important topic of depth of field, a wide angle lens will have better depth of field than a telephoto lens.

Why is knowing the subtleties of depth of field important? Well, quite simply because you will want to know before seeing the photo in print (or on the computer screen) what you would like to have sharp (in focus) and what part of the image you want to have more or less blurred (out of focus). All these nuances play a big part when it comes to your creativity.

But enough technical explanation. Let's get creative!

Back to my lens. Remember, it originally has its widest opening at f2 and using it with the 1.4 converter, I loose one f stop (aperture) which brings the lens down to f2.8 wide open.

To make the most out of bringing my subject to life I set my camera to aperture priority mode - this means the photographer chooses the aperture and the camera finds the right shutter speed combination to get a correctly exposed image. I chose f2.8 - the available light was good so I set the ISA to 200.

Out I went.

I actually had to kill two birds in one go today because I was asked to think of an image that would work for a therapist who helps people to stop smoking. Putting my thinking hat on and my eyes wide open I strolled the streets of South West London .. yet again ... in search of something suitable. I found an image that I think works well. It contains a subtle yet very strong message.

But, I hadn't found my shot of the day yet.

Continuing along a lovely avenue flanked by gorgeous houses I saw a paper cup resting on the edge of a wall. I was attracted to its colours and the fact that the background worked well too. A bit further a way, still on the same white wall, sat a dead leaf. To illustrate my point, I moved the dead leaf onto the same focal plane as the cup. I composed the shot and went for it.

Looking at the image very carefully you will see exactly where the focus was aimed at. The centre of the leaf that folds inwards is already less sharp than the stalk of the leaf which is where I set my point of focus. The centre of the cup is on the same plane and therefore sharp too. This lens is truly pin sharp which I love in a lens!