The essence of photography

[moktan]

Some art and artists who could help in developing "the photographer's eye"

Books like Camera Lucida by Roland Barthes, The Ways Of Seeing by John Berger, Sculpting In Time by Andrei Tarkovsky and Images by Ingmar Bergman.

The photographs of Alfred Steiglitz, Helmut Newton, Henri Cartier Bresson, Ansel Adams....

The films of Dziga Vertov, Sergei Eisenstein, Andrei Tarkovsky, Robert Bresson, Kenji Mizoguchi, Satyajit Ray, Bela Tarr, Lars Von Trier....

The paintings of Brueghel, Rembrandt, Goya, Van Gogh, Picasso, Munch....

WebMuseum: Bruegel, Pieter the Elder

But despite the presumption of veracity that gives all photographs authority, interest, seductiveness, the work that photographers do is no generic exception to the usually shady commerce between art and truth. Even when photographers are most concerned with mirroring reality, they are still haunted by tacit imperatives of taste and conscience.

From On Photography, Susan Sontag.

 

[jitubisht]

Ajay,

I am quite surprised that you haven't considered a AF-S 35mm f1.8 yet. For cropped bodies, I believe its better than a 50mm.

After reading your posts around your needs and option, following is what I would recommend:

1. 35mm 1.8 (for portraits, street/walkaround and for those evenings/night outs since you love to click in natural light. This is a DX lens, if you have an upgrade in mind.. 50mm is the way to go)
2. Tokina 11-16 or 12-24 (For landscape/nature photography, am not recommending primes here because 20mm/24mm is not wide enough on DX body, go for primes only if you have a move to FX body in mind)
3. Nikon 105mm / Tamron 90mm 2.8 (Tammy is supposed to be one of the best macro lenses out there, people have used it for portraits too. both are FX)

Above all else, please invest in a good tripod. It is often the most ignored equipment when it comes to photography. I own a Manfrotto and have never regretted buying it, its absolutely superb and would last a lifetime.

For everyone who has ever loved photography, please take some time out and watch The Genius of Photography, its simply a must-watch !

Regards
JB

 

[Sumanta]

Ajay,
What is wrong with a kit lens?
Have you tried photos with a kit and see it in a print?

Do not do pixel peeping. Look by the perspective of the end product. Which mostly is a print and sometimes a projected image.

If you keep your kit les aperture on its sweet spot, you can get wonderful photographs.

Is a UWA lens really necessary? Unless you are in the Everest base camp and want to capture the whole scene or be inside a church or temple or shrine and want to capture the whole architecture you do not need UWA. Some artist use the distortion of the UWA to thir benifit, but for that I believe you need to know use a semi wide angle lens.

Take any lens that fits your bill but know the lens in and out. Take tests, know its faults and positives, then just forget everything, carry on taking photographs.

See as many photographs as you can. I found photo.net and 500px is quite a good source for varied photo type. Quite intesnsed photographers are there. Luminous-lndscape, the onlinephotographer are some photo sites which I feel are worth surfing frequently. We guys are lucky now that information are available affluent over the net, books are not that much mandatory to have a look.
Edited to correct spelling.

 

[madhu_7]

@ Ajay: Congrats on Ur buy Ajay and nice pics in ur stream.....
Why dont u look at other lens like Tamron and Tokina...I am planning to pick one soon....

I started at the Age of 7 with Yashica full Manual SLR and fell in love with it immediately...(It helped me learn the basics of photograghy but was nt cost effective since had to wash the negatives every time)..
I was using a point and shoot Panasonic Lumix which was a gift from my grand ma for joining engineering...
Saved pocket money for almost 4 yrs (Engineering Days) and gifted myself a Canon 550D with basic Kit lens....and later added on Canon 50mm f1.8 prime lens...The joy of using prime is a thrill

I shoot entirely in Manual Mode since it offers me space to capture images as i visualize and the joy of capturing ur imagaination is fun..
I am against Auto Mode and also against On camera flash...
Recently bought Vivitar 285 HV manual flash, a tried and tested old school flash..and Yonguo RF triggers.....

Got on my eyes set on couple of lens and should probably buy em soon...(JBL Sub stole my lens )

Current Kit:
Canon 550D
Canon 18-55mm Kit lens
Canon 50mm f1.8mm
Canon 100-300mm
Vivitar 285 Flash
Triggers
Flash stand
Yashica Manual SLR
Lumix point and shoot

Here is a link to some of my works...

BUDDHA | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

 

[ajay124]

jitubisht

I was going through a 'confused' phase from Jan-March 2012 wondering which camera and lenses to settle on. During these months I bought and subsequently sold a D5100 + 35mm f/1.8G, 55-200 VR and the 40mm micro. Out of all these I miss the 35mm as it was an affordable, light weight and extremely sharp lens offering 52mm 'normal' vision on a cropped sensor camera.

I don't want to buy it again because it is a DX format lens and I am only buying FX format lenses because I plan to shift to a full frame in 2013. The Tokina's you have mentioned are both DX format lenses and it would be difficult to sell them once I moved to a full frame body. I could get the 35mm f/2D FX lens but the focal length would be too close to my 50mm. I would rather buy the 24mm 2.8D ( since it is substantially cheaper than the 20mm 2.8D) because I feel it would be a usable focal length with a DX body and a great focal length with an FX one.

 

[Sumanta]

Hi Madhu,
What are the lenses you have for your Yashica body?
Can you list them and tell me if you are interested to sell them?

I used to have some Yashica lenses and one body, they are quite compact and wonderful product.
Sumanta

 

[jitubisht]

jitubisht

I was going through a 'confused' phase from Jan-March 2012 wondering which camera and lenses to settle on. During these months I bought and subsequently sold a D5100 + 35mm f/1.8G, 55-200 VR and the 40mm micro. Out of all these I miss the 35mm as it was an affordable, light weight and extremely sharp lens offering 52mm 'normal' vision on a cropped sensor camera.

I don't want to buy it again because it is a DX format lens and I am only buying FX format lenses because I plan to shift to a full frame in 2013. The Tokina's you have mentioned are both DX format lenses and it would be difficult to sell them once I moved to a full frame body. I could get the 35mm f/2D FX lens but the focal length would be too close to my 50mm. I would rather buy the 24mm 2.8D ( since it is substantially cheaper than the 20mm 2.8D) because I feel it would be a usable focal length with a DX body and a great focal length with an FX one.

If you do plan to upgrade, then I'd recommend you to go with the original choice..
Nikon 20/24mm - wideangle
Nikon 50mm 1.4/1.8 - general purpose
Tamron 90mm/Nikon 105mm - Macro

 

[jitubisht]

As far as modes are concerned, I don't prefer being on any mode all the time. When time is of essence, Manual is definitely a no-no. If I were shooting landscapes, and have time to compose/recompose meter/re-meter, I'd do it only in Manual! Aperture and Shutter priority are great when I am shooting kids/portraits/weddings. Any miss in exposure can be later 'adjusted' in LR. I am not a macro/wildlife guy, so the only three lenses I own are:

Nikon 20-35 f2.8
Nikon AF-S 50mm f1.4
Nikon AF-S 70-300mm VR

I am planning to get another body with a Nikon 135mm f2 as I plan to start wedding photography on the side. I am currently using a D700 and another body I'd buy would again be a D700.

 

[madhu_7]

Hi Madhu,
What are the lenses you have for your Yashica body?
Can you list them and tell me if you are interested to sell them?

I used to have some Yashica lenses and one body, they are quite compact and wonderful product.
Sumanta

I have Yashica 18-35mm lens...
No plans of sellin em bro...
My childhood companion attached to it emotionally..On the lookout for lens as well

 

[Sumanta]

I have Yashica 18-35mm lens...
No plans of sellin em bro...
My childhood companion attached to it emotionally..On the lookout for lens as well

That's understandable.
You can get Yashica lenses from ebay and photoforums for cheap.

By the way you can use that 18-35 with your dSLR body with an adapter.
18-35 is a good walkaround lens.

 

[madhu_7]

That's understandable.
You can get Yashica lenses from ebay and photoforums for cheap.

By the way you can use that 18-35 with your dSLR body with an adapter.
18-35 is a good walkaround lens.

On the HUNT for it bro
Please do let me know if u come across some sweet deals...

 

[ajay124]

jitubisht

Sooner or later when I buy a full frame I will have a difficult choice to make. I would not mind a D700, except that it does not have a 100% viewfinder which is available on D7000/D300S/D800. I am hoping that the rumor of a new full frame Nikon with a 100% viewfinder, multicam 4800FX AF system, 24 mgp sensor and a price tag of 1500$ comes true If Nikon does launch it during Photokina 2012, it would potentially destroy the competition and possibly steal a lot of D800's thunder. At 75K it would become the world's first full frame DSLR which many DX users would want to switch to. It definitely sounds more attractive than buying D700/D300S/D7000 at current prices. This is the reason I bought a D90 as a stop gap camera. But I am getting so hooked to the D90 that it would be difficult to part with it in the future. Unfortunately this rumor also mentions that the D600 may come without a focusing motor so that Nikon can sell more of it's new generation G series AFS lenses :sad:
More Nikon D600 specs | Nikon Rumors

My dream Nikon kit:
D800+
24mm 2.8D
50mm 1.8D
50mm 1.4D
85mm 1.8D
105mm 2.8D
135mm f/2 DC
70-200mm f/2.8 VR
24-70mm f/2.8

I would have to sell my entire hi-fi system to fulfill this dream

 

[ajay124]

photographers are most concerned with mirroring reality

moktan

I presume that most film makers and photographer fondly believe they are capturing reality on film. But "reality" is like the body in Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro which Sudhir and Vinod accidentally shoot with their camera. When they return to 'Antonioni Park' in the clear light of the next morning, the 'reality' they captured on film has disappeared. I am not sure what the murder in the park signifies in JBDY or in the original Antonioni film (Blow Up). But in the films of Michelangelo Antonioni there seems to be an awareness that 'reality' is an elusive bird which may be occasionally glimpsed, but can never be captured or comprehended.

Cinema exerts a powerful influence on the way we behave and the way we look at the world. There is a subtle process at work when we watch films or television, or even when we are reading a book or a newspaper. Young people are supposed to be more easily influenced by stars, sportsmen and celebrities. They consciously and unconsciously mimic the mannerisms, clothes and movements of their favorite icons. But even older people mimic the opinions and 'reality' fashioned by newspapers, television channels, cinema and fiction.

Over the past hundred years the reality fashioned by radio, newspapers, magazines, mainstream cinema, music and fiction has progressively become more extraordinary, sensational and spectacular. Mainstream cinema and television in particular have shed all notions of trying to represent ordinary or credible life. They have fashioned a new planet inhabited by super sexy and super violent men and women constantly seeking the next high or thrill. Ordinary life and ordinary pleasures have been relegated to the status of things which needs to be shed in our pursuit of the extraordinary and the spectacular.

What do all these ramblings have to do with photography? I believe that when we look through the viewfinder of a camera (most of the time) we will be viewing and capturing a 'reality' fashioned for us by the art and media we have imbibed. Armed with a camera shooters seek extraordinary and spectacular vistas, landscapes, human beings, birds and animals. The ordinary or static environment which we inhabit in our everyday lives is deemed unfit as a subject for our photography. But perhaps a good photograph in not about capturing a spectacular 'reality' but about capturing and 'exposing' the extraordinary beauty which lies hidden in our ordinary lives.

 

[anm]

anm

D90>18-105>50 1.8D>Tokina 11-16>70-200 2.8....

My humble opinion

Too many transitions in too short a time.

I don't see this part of the sequence as a transition, rather complementary set of lenses/ focal lengths. 18-105 was something I couldn't help with.

I definitely need a lightweight, quick to pull out but very good camera - that could either be P&S or 4/3 or something else. Yet to research.

 

[ajay124]

anm

I was not referring to your choice of lenses but to your planned transition from DX to FX and buying an additional camera for holidays. I merely wanted to convey that a D90+50mm is light enough to be carried on a holiday and that your present kit of D90+18-105+50mm+Tokina 11-16 offers immense potential, which could be explored before moving on to something else.

Finally, of course, it depends on your budget and inclinations. Sony's NEX cameras definitely offer a lot of things which DSLR's don't. I have deliberately limited myself to the D90+50mm+85mm as I feel that it is an easygoing trio with which I can do a bit of everything-portraits, macro, street and landscapes. Have a great time during your holiday and please post some pics!

 

[Shivam]

I have a similar dream but with Zeiss ZF2 lenses instead, on a New FX body.

 

[ajay124]

shivam

Great dream. I would love to try out the Zeiss Nikon mounts. But the prices :sad:

Distagon T* 2,8/15

 

[Shivam]

shivam

Great dream. I would love to try out the Zeiss Nikon mounts. But the prices :sad:

Distagon T* 2,8/15

Same as you said, I'll have to sell off my music system.
So for now, music system stays !!!

 

[ajay124]

Ajay,
What is wrong with a kit lens?
Have you tried photos with a kit and see it in a print?

Do not do pixel peeping. Look by the perspective of the end product. Which mostly is a print and sometimes a projected image.

If you keep your kit les aperture on its sweet spot, you can get wonderful photographs.

Is a UWA lens really necessary? Unless you are in the Everest base camp and want to capture the whole scene or be inside a church or temple or shrine and want to capture the whole architecture you do not need UWA. Some artist use the distortion of the UWA to thir benifit, but for that I believe you need to know use a semi wide angle lens.

Take any lens that fits your bill but know the lens in and out. Take tests, know its faults and positives, then just forget everything, carry on taking photographs.

See as many photographs as you can. I found photo.net and 500px is quite a good source for varied photo type. Quite intesnsed photographers are there. Luminous-lndscape, the onlinephotographer are some photo sites which I feel are worth surfing frequently. We guys are lucky now that information are available affluent over the net...

Sumanta

What is wrong with a kit lens?

There is nothing wrong with kit lenses like 18-55 or 18-105. Both provide the convenience of a fairly broad focal range and good IQ. But I find the IQ and build quality of primes like 50mm 1.8D or 1.4D a lot better. Ultimately it is a trade off between the convenience of a zoom or the simplicity, wider apertures and better IQ of a prime. Nikon's 50mm 1.8D and 18-55mm VR are both in the 5.5-6K price range. I feel anyone looking for a DSLR+one lens should hold, feel and use both before deciding which one to buy. For casual point and shooting of different subjects the 18-55 may be a better choice. But for a beginner who is more serious about photography the 50mm may be a better choice. It would be a harder task master demanding more dedication and knowledge from it's owner, but it would also yield better and more lasting images. A hifi analogy: Vinyl heads feel analogue sound is more organic, real and pure than digital sound. I am a prime head who feels that the IQ of a prime is far more organic, real and pure than the 'digital' look of photo's shot with a zoom

Is a UWA lens really necessary?

I want to buy an ultra wide angle because I do want to shoot entire monuments, architecture, landscapes. During normal city use I would like to experiment with 'creative' distortions. Nikon 10-24 or Tokina 12-24 or 11-16 fit the bill. On a DX camera Nikon 20mm 2.8D and 24mm 2.8D would be interesting semi wides, which would become decent wide angle's when I upgrade to FX.

Take any lens that fits your bill but learn that lens inside out.

A dictum which both amateurs and pros should follow! A good reason for going slow and spacing out our lens purchases.

See as many photographs as you can.

There are two kinds of photographers whose photographs I like to view in detail. Creative masters like Stieglitz, Newton, Bresson and Adams whose images speak a universal and timeless visual language. And the technically perfect pros and semi pros, whose images exude good composition, choice of subjects, lighting, technique, equipment and processing.

 

[Sumanta]

There is nothing wrong with kit lenses like 18-55 or 18-105. Both provide the convenience of a fairly broad focal range and good IQ. But I find the IQ and build quality of primes like 50mm 1.8D or 1.4D a lot better. Ultimately it is a trade off between the convenience of a zoom or the simplicity, wider apertures and better IQ of a prime. Nikon's 50mm 1.8D and 18-55mm VR are both in the 5.5-6K price range. I feel anyone looking for a DSLR+one lens should hold, feel and use both before deciding which one to buy. For casual point and shooting of different subjects the 18-55 may be a better choice. But for a beginner who is more serious about photography the 50mm may be a better choice. It would be a harder task master demanding more dedication and knowledge from it's owner, but it would also yield better and more lasting images. A hifi analogy: Vinyl heads feel analogue sound is more organic, real and pure than digital sound. I am a prime head who feels that the IQ of a prime is far more organic, real and pure than the 'digital' look of photo's shot with a zoom

You are mixing 18mm focal length with its 3 times longer brother, the 50mm. I was trying to say that even if one (a beginner for say) has a kit lens, it is good for landscape where you do not mostly need to shoot wide open, and at sweet aperture kit lens perform very good. Pentax's kit lens infact is actually a very good kit lens.

50mm in full frame is quite close to human eye perspective. Infact it is 42 or 43mm which is close to normal, not 50mm. For APS-C sensor, it is the 28mm which gives lose to normal eye perspective. A focal length equal to digonal of a sensor or any light recording media gives normal perspective.
35mm became popular by HCB and others because it allows you to be close to human being, is a bit smaller than 50mm, has wider angle of view. It also can give effect of a wider perspective in expert hand.
If you want my suggestion, it will be a 28mm for your use for normal view, not a 50mm. A 50mm will be more close towards portrait shot or macro with extension ring. You can get an used 28mm (MF lens) for cheap. You need to set it for hyperfocal distance with f8 or so and shoot street if you want. Or else go by full manual mode as you prefer.