Taking the long view

Hello Folks! A very happy new year to you, and thank you so much for stopping by. My words are taking a bit of a backseat for this ride, with my images doing most of the talking.

Throughout 2023, I found myself moving away from the standard, expected focal lengths used by a lot of street photographers.

I still shoot at those focal lengths, typically 18mm to 50mm (or 28-70mm if you’re full frame inclined), but it felt like I’d been there, done that, you know. Instead, I’ve found a lot of enjoyment shooting from slightly further away.

I’ve discussed at length in previous posts my love for using vintage lenses. The Soviet-era Helios 58mm f2 and the torpedo like Pentax SMC 135mm f3.5 have become particular favourites.

At the end of last year, I started playing with a Cosina 100mm f3.5 lens. It’s a vintage macro lens from the late 1980s that was sold as a budget alternative to higher end lenses.

It turns out the little Cosina is pretty great for street work, it’s a real plastic fantastic! It’s sharp, with excellent contrast, colour rendering and quite beautiful bokeh.

Shooting longer focal lengths like this is a challenge and takes time. I love that, actually. It forces me to really think about composition, colours, and what I want to focus on in the image.

Longer focal lengths tend to compress and flatten elements in an image together, like collage 😍. I won’t hide that I take a lot of inspiration from the work of Saul Leiter.

With a wider focal length, you’d have to crop a lot out for a similar effect, but with a longer view, you can have fun arranging the compositions into more artful scenes.

Rather than my usual mingling with the masses and drifting through crowds. I’m stood just off centre, looking through holes in street signs, peering through misty window displays. Yeah.