38 38 DIGITAL CAMERA DIGITAL CAMERA^ MARCH 2021 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com
Alistair^ Campbellou’ll always find
people asking “What’s
the best lens for the
job?” Often you’ll be
met with conflicting
opinions. Although there are
definitely lenses made with certain
jobs in mind (long lenses for wildlife,
wider lenses for landscapes), it
doesn’t mean you always have to
stick to them. As primarily a street
and portrait photographer, if I’m
heading out, I’ll often just grab
my 16-55mm f/2.8, safe in the
knowledge that I’m well-equipped
for almost any scenario.
With recent rolling lockdowns
in place, however, I took the chance
to head out into the empty streets
with my portrait lens, a Fujinon
56mm f/1.2 (equivalent to around
85mm on a full-frame sensor). It was
great to have a new fixed perspective
on the surrounding architecture,
and the extra stops of light gave me
a touch of extra blurred foreground
around my main focal point. It’s great
to try something new as often as
possible, or you might end up
bored of your own work.Y
An empty
canvas
Alistair Campbell
takes a portrait lens
to the empty streets10 | STREETf/1.2 1/400sec 400 ISOPerspective
Having a slightly more punched-in frame
than normal allows you to focus in more on
a single element or area within your image.
I chose the building at the far end of the
alleyway; the adjacent walls made for a
pleasing natural frame. This also creates
a cleaner-feeling image: if this was shot at
16mm, there would be too much to take in.Using shallow focus
Shallow-focused images seem to be
subconsciously the most pleasing to us.
A lot of this comes from watching old
movies shot on large-format film, creating
that familiar look we’re so used to. If you
don’t have a fast lens, you can also
achieve a shallow look by zooming in
or moving closer to the foreground.Get on the move
Using any prime lens will get you on the
move physically and mentally. Losing
the ability to zoom in and out forces you
to move your body closer or further
from your subject to get the desired
shot you want. Shooting with primes
does sometimes limit being able to
shoot what you have in mind, though.