The following is a direct copy and has been Pasted in for future reference from the People & Place coursework PDF Doc. (pasted in Maroon)
As in the previous two exercises, concentrate on shooting with one focal length. In this case, if you have a full-frame DSLR the focal length should be between 40mm and 50mm. If your SLR camera uses the more common, smaller sensor size, it will be in the focal length in the way described above – keep both eyes open and adjust the zoom until the size of things in the scene looks about the same in each eye.
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Equipment
Camera – Nikon D4
Lenses – 50mm – f1.4
Method & Approach
Please see pictures and captions below.
Note – all pictures have been compressed hence there might be a quality reduction when enlarging.
Picture 1 – Standard focal length (Salvation Army bandsman)
Camera Details
Camera Nikon D4 (camera handheld)
Speed 1/250th sec
Aperture f8.0
ISO 200
White Balance Setting Custom (5650°K)
Lens 50mm (prime)
Focal Length 50mm
Comments – There was a total of eight making up this group of Salvation Army bandsman but due to the characteristics of the 50mm focal length I was only able to capture to. I could have moved further back and captured all of them in the picture but this would render them very small and less of a focal point in the image. Unlike the wide-angle lens making people seem larger-than-life, the 50mm lens captures subjects more or less as we see them through our own eyes. What originally drew me towards capturing this picture was the two trombones … silver versus gold.
Picture 2 – Standard focal length (Have you seen my teeth)
Camera Details
Camera Nikon D4 (camera handheld)
Speed 1/400th sec
Aperture f5.6
ISO 200
White Balance Setting Custom (5650°K)
Lens 50mm (prime)
Focal Length 50mm
Comments – Again we see in this picture of a young girl about to slap the policeman statue, everything has been captured at a scale as if we were viewing the scene through our own eyes in true life rather than as a picture. This was a very quick camera reaction on my behalf, I saw the girl initially walk up to the statue and pose for a picture then she turned around and raised her hand and at that very point I took the picture she was about to slap his face.
Picture 3 – Standard focal length (I can’t read that without my glasses)
Camera Details
Camera Nikon D4 (camera handheld)
Speed 1/500th sec
Aperture f4.0
ISO 400
White Balance Setting Custom (5500°K)
Lens 50mm (prime)
Focal Length 50mm
Comments – This picture is in amongst the people and crowd, almost as if it were taken with a wide-angle. If I had of taken this picture with a wide-angle, we would see some sort of distortion at the outer edges of the frame and with very wide-angle lenses such as fish eye lenses there will be a tendency to seek vignetting.
Picture 4 – Standard focal length (this is no Tardis)
Camera Details
Camera Nikon D4 (camera handheld)
Speed 1/60th sec
Aperture f6.7
ISO 1100
White Balance Setting Custom (3250°K)
Lens 50mm (prime)
Focal Length 50mm
Comments – In a similar circumstance to the picture above, we see that the lens has put us right in amongst the lady and her working surroundings but without any of the distortion characteristics often seen when using a wide-angle lens. I was drawn to this picture of two women working side-by-side, where one is telling a joke and the other laughing. Once again it was a split-second decision on my behalf to capture this moment and by having the camera readily available by being primed and up close upon my chest, I was able to do so.
What have I learnt from this exercise
With this exercise I have learnt that using a 50mm focal length lens or setting is almost identical in practice to using say a 24 mm wide-angle lens. Both focal distances require you as the photographer to be close to the subject and with street photography it demands you to be ready and primed with the camera.
Thoughts and Reflection
The 50mm focal length lens is classed as a ‘standard’ lens in full frame format, where it is said that a really good quality 50mm lens offers no ‘perspective distortion’ characteristic like that of wide-angle or telephoto / zoom lenses. In relevance of the more popular crop sensor camera, the same 50mm lens would have a tendency to behave more like a short telephoto. Alternatively the same characteristics can be obtained by using a 30mm lens (50mm ÷ 1.5 = 33.333) on a crop sensor camera.
Summary
Again I did not enjoy this exercise as I find close proximity photography … or put another way ‘in your face’ photography invading for the person and somewhat forceful bordering on paparazzi approach and technique.
stingray493 