22 21 September 2019I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113
LeeFrost
Leeis oneoftheUK’sbest-knowntraveland
landscapephotographers,sellinghisimages
internationallythroughleadingpicture
libraries.Heis alsoa prolificauthorontheart
andcraftofphotographyandleadssell-out
photoworkshopsandtoursaround the world.
Visitwww.leefrost.co.uk.M
yfirstSLRcamewitha screw-mount
50mmf/2lens.Nokitzoomlikeyouget
thesedays,justa goodoldfixedfocal-
length,manual-focus50mm.Atthe
timeI feltshort-changed.It didn’tbendandstretchthe
worldlikea wideangleormagnifyit likea telephoto.It
justsawwhatI saw,prettymuch.Aftera whilethough,
I begantoseethebenefitsofthatlens,andevenwhen
zoomlensesstartedtotakeovertheworld,I stillmade
suretherewasspaceinmybagfora 50mm.
Fastforwardalmost 35 yearsandit’sstillthecase.
WhenI travel,myCanon50mmprimetravelswith
me.Obviously,I havea 24-70mmzoomthatcoversthe
samefocallength,butthetwolensesarelikechalkand
cheese.Theyservecompletelydifferentpurposes,and
theprime50mmhasgotmeoutofmore sticky
situations than I care to remember.
TravelWhentravelling,it’simportanttokeep
camerageartotheminimum.LeeFrost
tells us how he does it with a 50mm lens
Keepitlight
Photographerstendtocarryfarmore
geararoundthantheyactuallyneed,
whichcanbetiringwhenyou’reonyour
feetallday.Theperfectantidotetothis
is toleaveeverythingbehindexcepta
camerabodyandonelens– andwhat
betterlensthanthe50mmprime,for
all the reasons discussed earlier.Moveyourfeet
Zoomscanmakeyoulazy.Insteadof usingyour
feetandphysicallymovingclosertoorfurther
awayfromthesubject,youtendtoflickyour
wrist and the lens does that for you. Sometimes,though,it’sbettertomoveyourself.A fixed-
focal-lengthlenslikethe50mmgivesyouno
choice,soaswellasproducinggreatimages,it
can make you a more considered photographer.Shoothandheld
Thewidemaximumapertureof a
50mmlensnotonlymeansyou
havea nice,brightviewfinder
image,butit alsoallowsyouto
shoothandheldat decentshutter
speedsin low-lightsituationswhere
slowerzoomswouldletyoudown.
Forexample,if youweregettinga
shutterspeedof 1/30secat f/1.8
withyour50mm,in thesame
situationa 24-70mmf/4zoom
wideopenat f/4couldonlymanage
a shutter speed of 1/6sec.
Looksharp
Theopticaldesignof primelenses
is simplecomparedtozooms,
whichultimatelymeanssharper
images.Eventhecheapest50mm
primesaresuper-sharpand
producecrisp,contrastyimages
throughouttheaperturerange,
whilethemoreexoticoptionsare
thesharpestlensesontheplanet.
If imagequalityis highonyourlist
of priorities,youreally need to buy
a 50mm lens.Technique MAKING THE MOST OF 50MMALL PICTURES ON PAGES 22-23 © LEE FROST