We’re on the final stage of my ‘one focal length at a time’ exercise. That means this fortnight I am shooting only at 85mm (which is 55mm on my mirrorless, APS-C camera).
I like shooting at 85mm because part of what I enjoy doing is capturing specific aspects of the world around me, and this focal length lets me zoom in to isolate the thing I want to highlight.
In this particular photo walk I focused on both people and a building details. The advantage of this focal length, of course, is that you can take photos of people from further away without ‘bruising the scene’ (ie without them noticing you and stopping doing whatever interesting thing they were doing that made you want to take their photo in the first place). Is taking photos like this somewhat voyeuristic? Yes, it is. But as long as you’re not being a creep or an asshole about it, I think it’s okay. I, for example, only take photos of people doing things that I wouldn’t mind being photographed doing myself. Most of the time this is just standing around in a public place.
Here are the photos I took.
Early dinner while stuck in traffic on Collins Street, Docklands
Photo of a man wearing a yellow high visibility vest and an orange turban sitting the the drivers seat of a large, white panel (delivery) van. The van is stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic and so the man is using a fork to eat something out of a glass storage bowl on his lap.
Grey building reflecting a grey sky
Photo looking up to the top of a very tall, blue-glass covered building. Because the sky is grey and overcast, however, the windows are looking blue-grey instead. The building has rounded edges and two large curves along its length, making it look like a fancy water bottle.
Taking the time to smoke before heading into Southern Cross Railway Station
Photo of a man with pale blonde hair and a long, white beard sitting on a concrete bench outside on the footpath outside a large building. The man, who is wearing dark clothes and shoes, is holding a cigarette up in his right hand. In the background a woman is walking down the footpath.
Tram line inspectors heading to a job along Collins Street
Photo of two people in safety work wear (blue pants with reflective stripes, orange high visibility top with reflective stripes, white hard hats, and safety glasses) standing on top of a retracted scissor lift that’s been built on to the back a large truck. The truck is white and is covered in a Yarra Trams decal. The truck has just crossed an intersection and is proceeding along a tram track running down the centre of a road.
Triple denim, waiting on a bench
Photo of a young woman wearing blue denim jeans, a grey denim jacket, and a grey denim cap sitting on a long wooden bench outside a large building. She has a metal water bottle lying next to her. She is wearing wireless earbuds and is looking down at her phone.
It’s been a long week
Photo of a man wearing blue pants, yellow hoodie, and grey cloth cap who is sitting on a long wooden bench outside a large building. The man has a duffel back by his side and is leaning forward, head down and elbows on his thighs, looking very tired.
Heading out for Friday evening social event
Photo of four people waiting at the pedestrian crossing at an urban intersection. The two men are dressed in dark pants and untucked casual, button-up shirts. One woman is in a long, checkered dress in shades of brown. The other woman stands out because she is in a shorter, frilly, flower-patterned, blue dress.
Waiting for someone while while wearing the Melbourne uniform
Photo of a woman wearing the Melbourne uniform: black boots, black pants, black shirt, and black puffer jacket. The woman is looking down at her phone while waiting outside the steps leading up to an office building.
Keeping physiotherapists employed
Photo of a young man wearing sneakers, blue jeans, and a cream coloured t-shirt sitting on a large, black-painted concrete block outside a building complex. The man is hunched over as he looks at the smartphone he is holding in his hand.
Happy couple heading out for an evening in Melbourne
A woman and a man are walking down a footpath in a city centre with their arms on each others’ backs. They are wearing matching rings on their right ring fingers. In the background of the photo is a flower shop on the wide sidewalk.
Tourists checking out Melbourne's office-building architecture
Photo of a couple standing on the other side of the road from the photographer. They have their arms around each other and are looking up at the top of a building across the street from them. A green-and-white tram is about to cross in front of them.
Stained glass window of the 'Gothic Bank' in Melbourne
Photo of a round stained glass window with an interior seven-petal shape carved out of brownstone. The front façade and spire of this ornate, gothic-revival style, brownstone building is being seen through a gap in the trees across the street.
Front façade of the 'Gothic Bank' in Melbourne
Photo of the front façade and spire of an ornate, gothic-revival style, brownstone building that is being seen through a gap in the trees across the street. The year 1890 is carved into a shield at the top of the central spire.
Taking a selfie in front of Flinders Street Station in Melbourne
Photo of a man and a woman standing in the crowd in front of the steps of a train station. The man has is hand raised as if he has just taken a selfie of the two of them.
Next week I’ll continue shooting at 85mm, and after that I’ll probably repeat a couple of earlier focal lengths.
Since I’m doing all this to potentially buy myself a compact prime lens in this year’s Boxing Day sales, I think I’ll spend the last two weeks before Christmas back at 27mm and 40mm. Those are the two focal lengths at which Fujifilm sells compact primes.
Happily, I really enjoyed shooting at those focal lengths. So if I am going to buy one of those lenses this year – assuming the sale price is good enough or I can get them second-hand – then I should repeat those two to see which one I should go for first.