Fun With Cameras XXIII
the 20mm prime lens
The concept I explored with the last three Fun With Cameras posts is simplicity in photography. I used a string of walks and bike rides to spend time with one camera body paired with one prime lens, nothing more. The classic 105mm started me off on a misty morning, and my favorite 35mm followed at the same location for the second post. I exchanged the autofocus comfort of my two most used lenses for a smaller and lighter vintage manual focus 50mm lens in the last post.
I enjoy wider lenses. Today, I’m going wide. 35mm is a nice sweet spot. So is 28mm (though I’ve only had access to that three times while enjoying some rentals).
Going wider than those introduces unique opportunities and challenges. The lens of choice for me is a 20mm. It possesses magical powers when photographing in confined spaces, but it can also be used for unique perspectives outdoors.
I also enjoy my time with it because it’s again an old manual focus lens. It’s simple, slow, and a reminder to think more. It has its flaws. Modern lenses deliver better quality, but that’s mostly relevant if you care to pixel-peep. I don’t.
The time I spend with this lens is time I cherish. A focal length this wide exaggerates the importance of getting close and filling the frame exactly with what you want as part of your composition.
Too far away or too much stuff in the frame isn’t helping your picture.
At the same time, you have to be mindful of when close becomes too close.
There are two dangers connected to being close: physical closeness and distortion.
If you’re photographing people, a minimum focus distance of about 30 centimeters or 1 foot (in the case of my 20mm) equates to being within arms-length of the person in front of the camera. That closeness requires an effort so to speak. The photographer and subject need to become comfortable with that proximity.
Distortion is important for people photography and framing up inanimate objects. The closer you place a person or object to the edges of the frame, the more exaggerated its features become. One of the more prominent examples in recent history is the picture of the Carters and the Bidens.
As with the other prime lens posts, I brought my 20mm on casual walks around the neighborhood. Sadly, I couldn’t squeeze in a bike ride I had planned.
As a bonus, I’ve added a few of my favorite images I made with this lens in the past above and below.
The first pictures were chance findings on a late afternoon stroll on a hot and sunny day. I planned to go on a bike ride that morning. The hot night before made me push it to the evening. The day itself made me opt for a relaxing walk instead.
The conditions weren’t ideal, but I brought the camera along anyway. Photography time with bad light is still better than no photography. Sometimes it is as simple as that.
The location I had in mind for the bike ride still has to wait a bit longer. Instead of going on a bike ride for additional photographs, I decided to help myself to an additional hour of sleep and stay closer to home. I still enjoyed a two-hour walkabout around sunrise.
The wide field of view was restrictive. There wasn’t much I could do to exclude the visual clutter around me at times. So I searched for ways to make it part of the composition. I was more often unsuccessful than successful. And I did wish I had brought a longer lens. But that’s part of the experience.
On the other hand, it’s easier with a short focal length to achieve sharp pictures with longer shutter speeds and without any support beyond your own body. That’s quite helpful in low-light situations.
I also reckon even a 35 would have been too restricting for the protest crosses — unless I wanted to risk standing on the street for the first shot, and I had maxed out the available space on the bridge for the second image of the crosses.
I had envisioned better frames of the church. But either I was too far away for a wide-angle picture, or the view from close enough was obstructed in some way. I liked the view from the bridge (picture 11), but sadly the safety railing was too high. Can’t exclude an element? Try to make it part of it. That’s what I did. Not sure if I like it, but there you go. It’s all about experimenting.
I’ll also post some outtakes on Instagram between August 19 and 24. These include different approaches to composition and the impact of moving closer to or farther away from a scene. They also hint at the restrictions of the locations.
In the end, I enjoyed a beautifully calm morning with a decent sunrise, lots of walking, and quality photography time. Because even if you don’t make pictures that turn any heads, what’s happening in your mind is what really counts long-term.
I hope you’ll find something of interest in today’s Fun With Cameras. I’ve added basic captions for each image, and if you want to view a photograph full-screen, click on it.
Next week, you’ll find more reading recommendations and the first in a series of posts on journalism. Until then, enjoy the pictures below.
