Using the 35mm Summicron V. IV In Marrakech

[johnbuckley]

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14 minutes ago, rho said:

Thanks for the explanation and article. I read it, I recommend it. One thing to consider is that the humanists that you admire are all around 70 years old and did their defining, active work in a time that has passed in a specific aspect: A subject's perception of photography today must be seen in the context of the pervasiveness of cameras and mass tourism. The first I feel like sometimes helps us to vanish, but not in a main stream touristic destination. Long story short, I think you won't find the same photogapher-subject relationship anymore unless you go crazy remote. But the good news is, we can go new routes...

Anyway, what I wanted to actually say about the aperture is something that I am often facing, too. Assuming, that you would prefer the 2.0-look of some of the scenes shot from the hip: Do you prefer five pictures at hyperfocal or one nailed and four trashed at 2.0? I feel like with 35mm there is a chance if your subject is 2m to 5m away that you hit the focus by guestimating the distance. Closer is quite hard, for further I don't think it matters...

 

You ask good questions. I think the honest answer is I’d prefer being able to take a picture that isolates the subject by being shot wide open. But pictures - especially with a lens like the 35mm Summicron - can be shot at 5.6, isolate the subject, while still conveying the atmosphere. And I really do enjoy shooting at the hyper focal distance and seeing the tableau effect - street photography that conveys people assembled randomly like a painting from the 18th century. Is it okay to want both - four nailed at f/8, plus that one beauty at f/2? 

[f8low]

3 hours ago, johnbuckley said:

 Is it okay to want both - four nailed at f/8, plus that one beauty at f/2? 

Absolutely 🙂 And I should add, there is nothing worse than developing a roll (in my case) and finding out that all five are out of focus - zero is just so much less than one...