Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/12/07

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Intimacy with long lenses....
From: "Martin V. Howard" <marho@ida.liu.se>
Date: Mon, 07 Dec 1998 19:43:26 +0100

David Medley wrote:
>
> However, the intimacy that I was referring to is as much of an
> intangible feeling as one of equipment selection. When you use a long
> lens for that "intimate" view of another life or situation you are
> removing yourself from the close contact that makes the photograph 
> sing. 

Longer focal lenths can very effectively create great intimacy with the
subject, if used carefully.  I've seen a number of very successful
photographs taken with mid-range telephotos (100-200mm) that depict
someone who is slightly disconnected from their immidiate environment.
The slightly compressed "perspective" of the mid-telephoto lens can
highlight this further, creating an empathic bond between the viewer
of the photograph and the subject (although this will obviously be
unidirectional).

Sens moral 1: Apart from the physically impossible, there is nothing
that cannot be done with any particular (group of) lens(es).  This is
particularly true of the emotive aspects of photography.  It's up to
the photographer.

Sens moral 2: When you work in academia, you sooner or later develop
a style of writing impenetrable drivel ;-)


M.

- -- 
Martin V. Howard, Application Systems Laboratory,     | 
Dept. of Comp. & Info. Sci., Linkoping University,    | Just "DOHH" it!
SE-581 83 Linkoping, Sweden.  Tel +46 13 282 421,     +----------------+
Fax +46 13 142 231; marho@ida.liu.se; www.ida.liu.se/~marho