Shooting Wide Open

[Paul J]

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Agreed.

 

Though more often than not, in my opinion, context adds interest to a subject, and so subject isolation is not often desirable.

 

I can see that in some cases it can be necessary, certainly in some commercial or illustrative applications. And there are creative opportunities too, of course.  But to me, an isolated subject generally feels like a lost opportunity or a failure of sorts to get to grips with the visual reality of what confronts us. But I accept it's no more than a personal preference, and an interpretation of what constitutes reality too I suppose!

 

 

 

Me too.

 

Directing a viewers eye like that is a very obvious expression of subject isolation that I don't find that interesting.

Edited February 8, 2018 by Paul J

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[thedirektor]

There is one technical aspect of the Noctilux that stops me shooting with it wide open. £ 8000 !!

 

But I do have The Dream Lens. Canon 50mm f0.95. But not converted to M as I don't have live view on my 262.

Edited February 8, 2018 by thedirektor

[Lonescapes]

There is one technical aspect of the Noctilux that stops me shooting with it wide open. £ 8000 !!

 

Clearly, you don't understand the science behind cash-to-pixel ratios. Maybe if you enrolled in a Leica Akademie course?

[Jeff S]

No, I don't share your need to drag someone Jeff.

 

I know what Thorsten is saying and it relates to his work and style, that is all.

Nonsense. He and I have had some cordial and agreeable exchanges. I fully respect his, or anyone else’s, choices. The difference is that I prefer to discuss with the person directly.

 

Jeff

[adli]

When I use the Noctilux, I usually use it at f/1.0. If I don't need f/1.0 I bring an other lens which is not so heavy.

[M11 for me]

Nonsense. He and I have had some cordial and agreeable exchanges. I fully respect his, or anyone else’s, choices. The difference is that I prefer to discuss with the person directly.

Jeff

And why is that now a nonsense?

[M11 for me]

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When I use the Noctilux, I usually use it at f/1.0. If I don't need f/1.0 I bring an other lens which is not so heavy.

Makes sense!

[Jeff S]

And why is that now a nonsense?

I was refuting Paul’s comment that I was dragging Thorsten down. Quite the contrary; I respect his work and his personal choices just as Paul does, and have commented about that in Thorsten’s own posts.

 

Jeff

[jeff_m]

You shoot at the aperture that enhances the creative look that you are after based on the available exposure combinations. Yes the repetition of the same look in the right hands can produce a “style”. But to advise all to use a certain setting is just ones opinion, nothing more or less.

[pico]

I cannot put my finger on why, but I cannot help but feel something is wrong with defeating the brightness of daylight with ND filters or anything that deceives our eyes, diminishes the presence of daylight. 

Edited February 8, 2018 by pico

[ianman]

But the same could be said of any filter, and having done quite a bit of IR photography in the past, I would disagree with your finger.

Edited February 8, 2018 by ianman

[pico]

But the same could be said of any filter, and having done quite a bit of IR photography in the past, I would disagree with your finger.

 

What does IR really contribute but a special effect.?

 

Permit one picture in IR that was made according to its great benefit - seeing through haze. This view is pointed to my home city from across the Mississippi River. Under any circumstances, any season the opposite bank, the bluffs are invisible to the eye due to haze.  IR with a purpose. The picture here.

 

BTW. This is part of what is called the Driftless Zone.

Edited February 8, 2018 by pico

[ianman]

What does IR really contribute but a special effect.?

 

I was merely trying to make the point that any filter "diminishes the presence of daylight.", not just ND.

[Tailwagger]

I suspect Thorsten's statement might be more succinct than the reasoning behind it. I can imagine if I owned an APO, Summilux and a Noctilux and I was always at f2 and up, I might find myself wondering why on earth I owned anything other than the APO.  Perhaps the subtler point is that there are sharper tools than the Noct and 'lux. If your not shooting them wide open, why have them? Thats fine, but its got nothing to do with my situation.  I decided a while ago, I wanted the fastest lenses I could afford, as despite the drawback of greater size, weight and marginally less performance at smaller aperture, they simply provide more flexibility for more shooting situations.

 

Regardless, taking this advice literally is a recipe for making any number of unsatisfying photographs. The subject, scene and vision of the photographer dictate the camera's settings, not the other way around. The character and capability of a lens can influence aspects of those decisions, but it should never be allowed to mandate them.

Edited February 8, 2018 by Tailwagger

[Gelatino]

I cannot put my finger on why, but I cannot help but feel something is wrong with defeating the brightness of daylight with ND filters or anything that deceives our eyes, diminishes the presence of daylight. 

I read T.Overgaard from top to bottom several times,( appreciated not all but lot of his photos), and my understanding of his use of ND filters with high aperture lenses is not to "diminishe the presence of daylight" in quality but in quantity.

[jaapv]

You shoot at the aperture that enhances the creative look that you are after based on the available exposure combinations. Yes the repetition of the same look in the right hands can produce a “style”. But to advise all to use a certain setting is just ones opinion, nothing more or less.

Not really an opinion but advocating a mannerism.

[evikne]

I use all of my lenses wide open most of the time. Not to justify their expensive prices, but because I love the out of focus areas, which I often think are the most interesting parts of an image. I think the genuine rendering of a lens is best shown here. Sharpness looks more or less equal with all lenses.

[Ernstk]

I met Peter Karbe in Wetzlar and he said, more than once, that all modern Leica lenses are designed to be used wide open without any reduced image quality.

 

Ernst

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[pico]

I met Peter Karbe in Wetzlar and he said, more than once, that all modern Leica lenses are designed to be used wide open without any reduced image quality.

 

Ernst

 

Did he men only his lenses, not those of Walter Mandler?

[jaapv]

I met Peter Karbe in Wetzlar and he said, more than once, that all modern Leica lenses are designed to be used wide open without any reduced image quality.

 

Ernst

Well, actually that goes for old Leica lenses equally, seen within the context of their time. However, the fact that one CAN shoot a lens wide open does not imply that one HAS TO shoot it wide open all the time. The subject is the deciding factor.