“Read all about it…Meghan Flees To Canada!…Man Buys Lens Shock!” Yeah, whatever Meghan…hang on a minute, hold the front page, what’s this?, John Harper has bought a new lens! As is often the case with newspapers that last headline is being economical with the truth. A decision has almost been made, however, the buy button hasn’t been pushed quite yet, I’m being economical too!.
As I write I’m sat in my local BMW Motorrad dealer on the outskirts of Bristol waiting for my bike to be repaired. Long story short; Discovered that the rear suspension had failed. BMW want £1,700 to replace. I’ve argued that the bike is only three years old, yes it’s out of warranty, but has only been On Road, never Off Road, which (allegedly) is what the BMW designers built it for and let’s not forget BMW bill it as an ‘Adventure' Bike. After much deliberation they’ve decided to complete the job for £100, BMW will be paying the rest of the bill. My thanks go to Matt at BMW Motorrad in Bristol for his part in achieving the impossible, my bank manager also send his regards and appreciation. This is all crucially important because I need a 28mm lens, I don't want to waste money on a rear ‘shock’… see what I did with that blog title? In fairness for that to work or make sense it’d need to read “Man buys lens not shock”! It would have been perfect if I’d had a ‘gear’ problem with the bike, that would have led nicely to my photographic ‘gear’ conundrum. Oh well, let’s ramble on for a bit more, this blog is sometimes like a stream of consciousness, who knows what direction it’ll take. That’s me with the glasses, a confused reader and another reader who’s fallen asleep:
I’ve been asked a few times by various ‘what’s in your bag’ type organisations, ‘Shotkit’ is one that springs to mind, to declare what exactly is in my bag. 20 Marlboro and a pack of condoms is my stock answer! I’ve declined to enter into any discussion, chiefly because I see gear as relatively unimportant and although it’s an obvious necessity for any photographer it doesn’t necessarily equate to making someone a good photographer. In fact it has nothing to do with the quality of a photograph, it what we see that counts. That hasn’t stopped me looking at a 28mm lens for the last two years.
I swapped to Leica just over four years ago. All of my Canon gear was sold, that money along with the sale of a kidney allowed me to purchase: a Leica M, with Summicron 35mm and 90mm lenses. That 90mm was a misjudgment to be fair, a beautiful lens that I thought I’d need for my portrait photography. In the end it’s hardly been used. I’m not a collector, that said I’m reluctant to get rid of it. When the Brexit referendum result was announced three and a half years ago I purchased a Noctilux 50mm f/0.95, that very same day to be precise. I had a feeling the value of the Pound would collapse and a weak Pound was going to make anything imported from Europe even more expensive. As my wife will happily confirm, I’m never right, this time I was...who knew?! Well, we all do really, we know that photography gear rarely comes down in price. It really is a case of stop looking and just buy it, next year it’ll be even more expensive. Naturally you should actually need it, not just want it. There is a difference. So, now I had my portrait lens, unexpectedly a 50mm after years of using a Canon 85mm. I’ve shown examples from this lens before and it is capable of making wonderful portraits, surreal almost and although that’s often what we want from photography, indeed photographs are rarely real, I’m leaning more towards realism. The thing is this, with my passion for Street Photography I find it difficult now to take a shot unless I can include something more. Essentially I want to go wider, I want everything in focus. Obviously with portraiture the focus has to be on the subject and blurring draws our attention to that. Here’s a couple from a Client Shoot I did at the weekend near to Lacock Abbey using the Noctilux 50mm at f/0.95, the third shot was with the trusty 35mm wide open at f/2::
My justification with the 50mm Noctilux is that it does at least pay for itself, as does the rest of my gear. Any how, back to the intended purchase of this Summicron 28mm and the exception to my justification; It’s for Street Photography and I don’t earn any money from Street or on the street for that matter! As a side note, when I was in Las Vegas in November I was stood outside a casino and someone came up and asked if I was hungry…lord knows what I must have looked like to prompt that question! Street is simply something I want to do, I love photography, but Street Photography even more so. Having said that isn’t it all just photography? We’ll leave that question hanging. I want to improve and the belief, which might be misguided, is that the 28mm is a focal length that will allow me to do what sometimes the 35mm doesn’t. I need to be closer, I want everything to be in focus. Just being close doesn’t cut it, I know that. If I can involve more in the frame there maybe the opportunity for some better layers which ultimately is what I’m after. We’ll see once I actually buy it. So far I’ve bought a B&W UV filter for it, hopefully that’ll push me to push the buy button.
The photos here, apart from the ones from the client shoot, were all taken on my only Street session so far this year and with the 35mm. That lens is glued to the camera, I wonder if the same will happen with a 28mm, or will it gather dust like my 90mm and to some extent the 50mm. It’s a dilemma, admittedly not a very important one compared with ‘Life, the Universe and Everything’, if I leave it another year it will be even more costly. I might have to just bite the bullet. I’ve always said that you only need one lens, now it’s looking as though I’ll have four. I could have taken a shot like this next one with any lens and it’s the kind of photo I’m desperate to get away from. It’s just light and shadow, no story, no expression, no humanity, no layers, devoid of anything and some call it Street, I don’t think it is. Let’s not get embroiled with the whole Street definition, there isn’t one, it’s subjective.
Right, I’m waffling here, no conclusion has been made, the bike is repaired and I’m off home. What’s clear is that I need to get out more, continual shooting is the key. I’ll come back with a review of the 28mm, if I buy it.
After this short Street session, the results you’ve just seen, i walked up to meet my wife. Sam’s office is in Bath, right next to the Royal Crescent. A beautiful location, hey, a beautiful wife…may as well grab a couple of shots on our way to collect the car.
***Stop Press***
This just in…
Pushed the 28mm buy button STOP Tested bike with trip to Wales yesterday STOP Everything okay STOP Stopped in Penarth 30 Minutes STOP Writing as though it’s a telegram doesn’t make sense STOP Should I stop STOP Last shots with 35mm for a while in slideshow below STOP
As always my sincere thanks go to anyone taking the time to read this blog.
All images can be opened by clicking on the thumbnails and are taken using a Leica M with Summicron 35mm Lens fitted.
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