GK PHOTOGRAPHY 2014: Shooting With A 35mm: From Hate To Love

35mm, in full frame's term, is a focal length liked by many, but at the same time, hated by many. People back then regard 50mm as their standard focal length, and yes it is. However, many streetographers regard 50mm as something too tight to frame at times when the subject is just right in front of you. In most of the cases, our eyes often pay attention towards interesting subjects in front of us, not something that is very far away from us. Hence, die-hard streetographers often prefer a focal length that ranges from 35mm to 42mm as their walk-around lens, and trust me, they will defend till the end that it is the best focal length ever.

Side note: The focal lengths discussed in this entry are based on full-frame terms, that is, there will be no focal length multipliers to them, a 35mm is a 35mm, a 50mm is a 50mm. The photos created in this entry are shot entirely with Olympus OM-D E-M5 and ZD 17mm f/1.8 lens (35mm equivalent).

The amazing thing is, this frame doesn't feel like a 35mm at all. But it is!!

Random alignment. Spot my name, they're framed within. Haha.

Roadside artist. I love this shot so much, if it isn't this wider field-of-view, I wouldn't be able to frame the moving bikers and cars into this shot, and there will be lesser "wow factor".

From Hate To Love

In the streets, I used to shoot mostly with a 24-70mm zoom. To me, that range is so versatile, from framing wide to capturing tele candids, it was simply fun in shooting anything that came into my interest. However, lugging around a full frame D700 DSLR on the street, and a hefty 24-70 around my neck, is simply a pain in the ass. I do not own primes on my D700, but my E-M5 does, and it's a 35mm equivalent prime on it. At first, I enjoy the f/1.8, the background simply blurs away in a very pleasing and creamy way, but the focal length is simply painful to use at. I can't do dramatic wide shots with it, because it's the end of the wide-angle range. I can't do tele candids or head crops anymore, because it simply doesn't reach that far. Sticking a lens in front of a stranger randomly is something weird to do, although the form factor of the E-M5 is less intimidating then a DSLR. However, this not-long-not-wide range is uncomfortable to me, that was what I told myself, and boy, how wrong I was.

Warmth vs cool. Particularly love this composition, color contrast makes depth in a fairly plain photo. Take a look at the bokeh too, it's in f/2.0.

Shy to show. Shot at f/1.8, close focus examples.

I spent a lot of time with this camera, because it simply is something amazing to shoot at, the form factor is welcoming for me to bring it anywhere I go. Since then, I started practice framing with the 35. That was when photography become fun once again, and yes, it should have been fun. I started think before I shoot, and discovered the love behind this range. I hated it before, but she made me fell in love once again... Yes, it's that good, only after I know this lens well.

Say hi to grandpa. Old-school shooter, Joey with her film AE-1. What a legend!

I fall in love. With the ZD17/1.8... :)

Candle light. 35mm is capable of being creamy with backgrounds too. Again, at f/1.8.

The oldest tree in Kuching, they said.

The element missing in this focal length, is the pure understanding on how to use it. Since it is the ending point of what generally regard as a wide-angle, it loses up the properties of a wide-angle lens and its perspective distortion. But it is not long enough to be crowned as a candid telephoto lens. Between these two extremes, lies a sweet spot: A standard focal length perspective with a relatively wide field-of-view. Make full use of this feature, and the 35 has become my all around streetography lens. This range allows me to find any interesting subject and frame it with a little bit of what is going on around this subject, interesting! I used to frame a scene with my subject, or point of focus. But with a 35, I rethink my composition a lot, and frame my subject to the scene.