The Point

4

Know this: I continue to photograph with plastic lenses, so don’t take this article as a condemnation of Holgas, Dianas, La Sardinas, etc. They have their unique qualities. What I will reiterate is what I feel should be an 11th principle of Lomography: Know what your camera can do.

This is what a Petzval lens mounted to a Canon EOS 3 can do:

Credits: duffman

Tip your hats to @duffman.

escrito por emperornorton en 2014-11-30

4 Comentarios

  1. alienmeatsack
    alienmeatsack ·

    I think the fun of film photography is the lenses. Every lens, even 5 of the same exact lens, all can make different results. I've seen some mind blowing shots taking with cheap plastic lens cameras and I've seen some real duds taken with $10,000 Leica lenses.

    I think this shot works because the subject has a visually distinctive personality. I don't know if the lens would have made a difference. It was subject and timing. I would not have even known what lens it was if you didn't say it was a Petzval. I was too busy looking at the man and his interesting face, wondering what his story is and why he is who he is. :D

    I always think it's funny when people have to have the most expensive bodies, but then argue and complain about how expensive the lenses are. The lens is literally what makes the shot come from subject to the sensor or film. It's everything in a shot once you have a good subject.

  2. why-yu
    why-yu ·

    i agree with @alienmeatsack good portrait..but it could be any lens :)

  3. avola
    avola ·

    nicely commented @alienmeatsack! I couldn't agree more or I'd add the famous Newton quotation about the cameras that make a good photographer or the great pans that make a good cook;-)

  4. emperornorton
    emperornorton ·

    @alienmeatsack Well said.

    @why-yu @avola The relationship between the camera and the photographer is complicated. You couldn't take this photo with a Diana and have it come out like this. Even a cheap glass lens will not possess the sharpness that is the hallmark of this image. Use a Nikon or a Canon or my Bronica, etc. and a different effect will be achieved. The Petzval possesses a mystical quality that my 18mm-200mm zoom on my digital does not have. It's all in the engineering.

    The photographer, as I contend, needs to know her/his camera and her/his lens. These are central along with the type of film you use and your own brain. We must tip our hat to @duffman because he was the one who combined these things along with the model to achieve this image. Not only would it be different if a Nikon or a Diana was used, but a different photographer would have undoubtedly turned out a unique product that only superficially resembled this.

    A photograph is a product of decisions that begin with the choice of camera and film and end with the choice of what to publish.