Do you conform or mix it up? I need some inspiration

[pop]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Heavy metal is the best example. To some, it is noise. Cacophony. ....

There are rules for making cacophony as well.

[pico]

What a wonderful thread! Reading this thread my opinions were pushed in many directions which is good. Above all in criticism I find ambivalence the most important characteristic. In ambivalence we can find our own vision rather than following rules. The image speaks to itself, and sideways to contradiction. I maintain a sense of insecurity concerning judgement for that reason; when I make photos there is no literal dialog in my mind. Insecurity is a path to originality. Literate rationalization, the rule set, is not a path except to more of the same.

Edited April 8, 2017 by pico

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[adli]

.

Edited April 10, 2017 by adli

[Herr Barnack]

There is of course nothing to state specifically, a 35mm should be used for street photography/reportage, a 135mm for portraits and so on, but obviously these focal lengths are so suitable for certain purposes, it seems almost a given that you will buy a lens for such specific purposes in mind.

 

So I ask the following as I'm looking for some inspiration with an upcoming trip, where I will take an 18mm, a 35mm and a 50mm.

 

I like "out of the box" thinking sometimes and wondered, do you always conform to an Ultra Wide for landscapes and a 75+mm for portraits etc, or do you mix it up? A UWA for portraits perhaps? A 75mm for everything you shoot? Do you just take one lens or several when you're out with your camera?

 

My friend, for example, doesn't own a wide angle so he stitches his 50mm images in Photoshop after the fact to create a more compressed, wide angle effect. Myself, sometimes, I find 50mm too long for the crowded streets of Manchester where I live, but I'll still take just that one lens to teach myself how to use it in scenarios when there's a better option. Of course, for paid work, I may not take such risks, but I'm mainly referring to general usage here.

 

There is something to be said for experimenting with your lenses to see what kind of results you will get. 

 

I have used my 21/3.4 for reportage and gotten nice results.  Try some street photography with your 18mm; see what it will do.  You will need to get very close to your subjects to avoid having them appear as dots in a vast urban landscape.  This may force you out of your comfort zone and into uncharted terrain.  

 

Uncharted terrain is where learning and growth happen.

Edited April 10, 2017 by Carlos Danger