The Awkward Feeling

[clipper79]

Taken of Severin Koller's blog to illustrate why people should not use long lenses for street. The man uses an M6 + Leica Summicron 35 f2 for most of his shots. Thanks to Severin Koller, he has inspired me to shoot more street photography lately. 3 cheers to the man.

His comment that came with this photo is:
"i always get an awkward feeling when i see people shooting with such lenses in the streets."

[yoong]

i wonder does the photog get an awkward feeling. hehe.

[clipper79]

i wonder does the photog get an awkward feeling. hehe.

You mean the one in the picture? He looks like he is trying to disappear into the wall

[damak]

i remember when we had a film outing walking around Petaling Street, we bumped into a group of photogs also doing street shoot with long lens all over and here we are with the longest lens probably 40mm! hahahahaaaa... they looked at us with an awe and we smiled...

[red406]

if you use long lens, 85mm, 200mm and more...for street shooting, and you shoot across the street, wouldn't that be stalking?

[maxby]

I was thinking of getting a 600mm lens for street shoot.....not a good idea?.

[damak]

I was thinking of getting a 600mm lens for street shoot.....not a good idea?.

not a good idea on a full frame body, a splendid idea on a 1.0 crop factor body!

[clipper79]

i remember when we had a film outing walking around Petaling Street, we bumped into a group of photogs also doing street shoot with long lens all over and here we are with the longest lens probably 40mm! hahahahaaaa... they looked at us with an awe and we smiled...

Probably they will never grasp the concept of street shooting to begin with.

if you use long lens, 85mm, 200mm and more...for street shooting, and you shoot across the street, wouldn't that be stalking?

I guess. Maybe these question should be asked to someone who does use these kind of lenses for street shoots

I was thinking of getting a 600mm lens for street shoot.....not a good idea?.

How about this uncle max? Sigma green colour "tong sampah inspired" 1000mm monster. Check out those muscles.

[red406]

How about this uncle max? Sigma green colour "tong sampah inspired" 1000mm monster. Check out those muscles.

whoa... not even a monopod..!!

[clipper79]

whoa... not even a monopod..!!

LOL,... red,... monopods look like twigs on these. You'll probably need a tripod to support this monster. Or muscular arms

[clipper79]

May this inspire you guys as much as it did for me.
Another one which inspired me was Trent Parke. This is his portfolio.

[behhl]

... i guess it depends on one's intention what you want to get ... maybe the guy isn't shooting 'street'? we all seem to jump to that idea because he is standing in the public ...

street is so overused anyway ... many of the 'street' are passe and forgettable throwaways images ...

[pmbillyk]

... i guess it depends on one's intention what you want to get ... maybe the guy isn't shooting 'street'? we all seem to jump to that idea because he is standing in the public ...

street is so overused anyway ... many of the 'street' are passe and forgettable throwaways images ...

Agreed with you fully. Nothing odd about a photographer carrying or shooting with a tele-lens in the street. It all depends on what he is trying to shoot.

[clipper79]

... i guess it depends on one's intention what you want to get ... maybe the guy isn't shooting 'street'? we all seem to jump to that idea because he is standing in the public ...

street is so overused anyway ... many of the 'street' are passe and forgettable throwaways images ...

Agreed with you fully. Nothing odd about a photographer carrying or shooting with a tele-lens in the street. It all depends on what he is trying to shoot.

Thanks for offering your opinion guys. It is good to have this discussion too
It really does depends on what the photographer wants to shoot, and I am not doubting that. Urban birds maybe?

I will offer my 2 cents though on why I do not practice long lenses for street. Shorter focal lengths force you to be in the thick of the situation, forces you to interact with the surroundings of your subject. The aim for me is to work in harmony with this, and try to capture them without "stalking" them. It makes it feel more personal too. With longer lenses, you will often get distracting elements like people walking pass your field of view just as you click the shutter (as there is too much a gap between you and the subject). Often which I lose the "decisive moment" because of that. To avoid that, I prefer to rely on shorter focal lengths,... with the most being the 50mm (most preferred is the 40mm) lenses that I have.

[maxby]

How about this uncle max? Sigma green colour "tong sampah inspired" 1000mm monster. Check out those muscles.

PM me best price......

[jetfynn]

PM me best price......

[johntankarhow]

whoa... not even a monopod..!!

i'm afraid he would break his back if he lean further back??

[edng]

maybe he wants the bokeh ?

[choen]

telephoto for street scenes are the only option to compress perspective, but won't beat going up close to your subject using a wide(ish) lens for intimacy.
Doing it with basic simple gear is best.

[clipper79]

PM me best price......

Ask KK