This week I moved on from shooting at only 27mm to shooting at only 35mm (which is moving on from 18mm to 23mm in the mirrorless APSC-C camera world.)
Of all the photos I’ve shared on this blog since I got my new camera in December last year, only 5% have had a focal length of around 35mm. So as expected, shooting at only this focal length was a lot more challenging for me!
For example, there were a bunch of things I wanted to photograph that were just too big to accommodate within the frame. Like Seafarers Bridge across the Yarra River and the historic Polly Woodside ship.
Collage of two photos. One of a bridge with large, white metal arches and one of a large, historic sailing ship moored to side of an urban river. The arches on the bridge are very close to the edge of photo frame. And the tops of the ship’s sails have been cut off by the top of the photo frame.
In both those cases I wasn’t able to step back (or to the side) to get the whole-object-in-context composition that I wanted. At least not without falling into the Yarra River or standing in the middle of a busy bike path! And obviously I wasn’t able to zoom in to focus on any particular detail either.
What I’ve learnt from this experience is that the skill I need to develop the most is the ability to focus on just one part of a larger object, and then to tell a good story with this composition. Like I do with the Melbourne Aquarium sign photo below. Or the photo in which I juxtapose the scar trees with the skyscraper (also below).
Even though I struggled a bit on this photo walk, I was still able to get at least a couple of nice shots.
Pigeon outside the Crown complex
Close up photo of a pigeon standing on a wide concrete wall along a suburban river.
Old Melbourne Aquarium sign
Photo of a large, blue neon sign in the shape of two stylised fish. The sign is held above the top of a building via two tall white poles.
Scar trees in Enterprize Park
Photo of the Scar Project artwork installation in Enterprize Park in Melbourne. The installation consists of 24 vertical timber poles, somewhat like trees, that have artwork on them by eight Indigenous Australian artists. This photo is taken from inside a brick archway that's next to the installation.
Scar trees vs Eureka Tower
Photo looking up at several scar trees that make up the Scar Project artwork installation in Melbourne. In the background of the photo, and seen between the scar trees, is the 91-storey Eureka Tower building.
Eureka Tower reflection
Photo of a large puddle of water underneath an elevated train line that reflects the Melbourne skyline, with the Eureka Tower building being centered in the puddle.
The Best Banh Mi at Flinders Street station
Photo of an open store front with a large glass counter and several food preparation and storage machines. A large orange neon sign above the store front reads, in all capital letters, “The Best Banh Mi” and “Vietnamese Hot Bread”.
To get the most out of this one-focal-length-at-a-time exercise, I am alternating the spaces in which take my weekly photo walks: in the first week I take photos in a wider-open space, in the second week I take photos in a relatively narrower space.
Which means next week I’ll be walking through the city centre once again. And with things closer by, it should be easier for me to isolate my subjects within the frame at 35mm. I look forward to seeing how that goes.