Hi, Monday, December 9, 2002, 12:19:15 PM, you wrote:
> I am not sure I totally agree with the paragraph: > "Any kind of specialist photographer will immediately recoil from the > suggestion that photographers could benefit from having only one or two > lenses. Lenses can allow access - to tiny things or to far-away things, > and to exotic angles of view. More lenses are usually needed for more > specialized work or for different kinds of specialties, which is why > pros tend to own the most." > Surely pros and specialists are more likely that amateurs to only need a > small number of focal lengths as their requirements tend to be more > clearly defined. Whereas an amateur shoots all manner of subjects and > specialities and thus wants a lens for EVERY purpose? I think it might be more accurate to say that professionals have access to a greater number of lenses (and other items). Mainly because they will rent rather than buy the exotics, few being able to cost-justify the capital expense. And professionals such as agency photographers and staffers on newspapers draw from a pool that their employee maintains. Remember that just because some professional specialise, it doesn't mean they're not also hobbyists in some other area of photography! Elliott Erwitt says he's a professional photographer whose hobby happens to be photography. People become professionals because they're good at it and like it, and tend to be very good generalists. > Mike does actually seem to agree with this himself to a degree and I am > not sure if he actually contradicts his earlier statement when he says: > "Anyone who uses a view camera or a rangefinder Leica almost by > definition uses only a few focal lengths, although as wealthy hobbyists > have invaded the domain more and more people are found amassing large > collections of lenses even for those devices. I think the point is that there aren't many lenses for RF Leicas (and presumably view cameras). > I wholeheartedly agree when he says: > "the exercise of picking one prime lens and shooting with it exclusively > until you've forgotten what other lenses feel like is a learning > experience that you will carry with you for the rest of your life" I half-heartedly agree. The purpose of the exercise is to train your 'seeing'. Reducing the number of variables is likely to help concentrate on the image rather than the technology. But the way it's normally phrased you'd think that just using one lens was sufficient and necessary, but it's neither. I would think that a great many people - including me - could improve their photography as much or more by studying the underlying principles of composition, and by deeper understanding of their preferred subject matter. --- Bob "Our heads are round so that our thoughts can fly in any direction" Francis Picabia
