SOME people map out their lives based on the cities where they live, the cars they drive, or the arrival of their children. But those of us obsessed with photography can also do it in another way: by the particular cameras or lenses that exemplify the approach we’re taking at any given time. As I look back over the past three years since I started getting serious about photography, I realise that it divides into four eras, each of which is defined by a particular lens.
When I got started in late 2010 it was all about the bokeh. I had a zoom lens on my first proper camera that didn’t open very wide, but I soon realised that to get really shallow depth of field and epic bokeh I needed a wider aperture — as wide as possible! For my camera at the time (an Olympus E-P1) that meant one lens in particular: the Voigtlander 25mm f/0.95, which is equivalent to a 50mm on a full-frame camera. It was my favourite lens for at least six months, and it taught me a great deal. For one thing, it was a manual-focus lens, so I really learned how to focus accurately, especially with such a shallow depth of field. It also helped me get over my obsession with bokeh.
After a year or so I got an Olympus 45mm lens (90mm equivalent) for portraits, which I enjoyed using. But it wasn’t terribly sharp and the focusing was a bit slippery. So when I upgraded to a full-frame camera (Nikon D800) in early 2012 I invested in a Nikon 85mm f/1.8. Although it was initially for portraits, it soon became my main lens. I just loved the way it could pluck specific details from a scene, or isolate someone from the background in a portrait. And the autofocus was so fast, particularly compared with the manual focus of the Voigtlander! Once again, I thought I’d found the ultimate lens.
Then in the summer of 2012 I started shooting diptychs, combining an image of a scene with a detail or close-up. The 85mm was great for details, but not suitable for wider shots. I found that a Nikon 50mm f/1.8 gave me the best of both worlds: I could take both images in a diptych without having to change lenses. (I also bought a Nikon 50mm f/1.4, but I could never get the autofocus to work reliably.) Around the same time I also started shooting film, first on a Rollei and then with a Contax 645. Both cameras have lenses that are equivalent to 50mm (the Contax has a lovely 80mm f/2 lens) so I had the same field of view, whichever camera I picked up. I really came to appreciate the versatility of the 50mm focal length.
But then, a couple of months ago, I found myself using my Nikon 35mm f/2 lens more. I started using it because it was less jarring when switching from my iPhone 5 to my DSLR. The iPhone’s camera is equivalent to a 33mm lens, and I very often take the same picture with multiple cameras. The 35mm lens also has a very small minimum focusing distance, so for diptychs I can shoot both details and wider scenes with it, like I can with the 50mm; but the 35mm is more versatile because it goes wider, but not so wide that it distorts. I also like feeling part of the 35mm documentary-photography and street-photography traditions. It has now become my primary lens. (My husband finds this very amusing; for 20 years he has maintained that 35mm is the ideal focal length, because it approximates the human field of vision, or something.) At the moment I can’t imagine ever breaking up with my trusty 35mm lens — though actually, I can. There’s a legendary f/1.4 version of it that I now have my eye on!
Of course, I have several other cameras and other lenses: macro lenses, telephoto lenses, various Polaroid cameras, and so on. But I’ve realised that at any one time in the past three years there has always been one main lens that has encapsulated what I’ve been interested in, and what I’ve been trying to achieve, with my photography. It’s the lens that has spent the most time attached to my camera, and that I’ve used to take the most pictures. I’ve come to see that these four lenses are like milestones marking out my personal journey as a photographer, dividing it into distinct phases. What are the autobiographical lenses that do the same for you?
My 35 is also my favorite now. Seems as though we had a similar evolution. I loved learning more about your journey. What a great idea for a post too.
Thanks Cara. I’m saving my pennies for the f/1.4!
I recently got a 35mm 1.4 lens for my DSLR and I absolutely love it!! Lovely to read your journey kirstin 🙂
Thank you! I can’t wait to upgrade to the f/1.4!
The 35 is coincidentally my next purchase. Excellent read, Kirstin!
Ha ha! I can’t wait to see your adventures with it, Jordan! x
Wonderful post!!!! I am in love with my 50mm 1.4–both canon and Zeiss but I have been looking at the 35–you may have nudged me closer sweetie!!!! xxxooo
I see that you bought it! Hurrah! Can’t wait to see your pics with it. x
Love this post, Kirstin. I love thinking about what lens (or camera) has shaped the milestones in my photography journey. Need to think more on this one!
Thank you Meghan! x
Love this, Kirstin! It’s gotten me thinking about my own lens evolution. On my Canon I keep coming back to the 50mm. I had loved it on my crop sensor camera but then set it aside in favour of the 24-70mm f2.4 but now that I’ve gone to full-frame I’ve gotten a lovely Sigma 50mm f1.4 and that stays on my camera full-time. Other cameral give me the 35mm experience – the iPhone and (I think) the Polaroids, and also my X100s – so I don’t need to put it on the Canon. Friends are raving about the joy that is the 135mm but I have yet to decide if I want something long… It’s all fun to think about though!
Your lens evolution sounds fun too, Debra! I think you should definitely try the 135mm! x
i so love to hear about all your photography adventures. this couldn’t be more perfect. i was shopping lenses last night 🙂
You make me smile, sweet Sam. x
Even though I no longer have my GF1 and the 20 mm lens it came with, it still is my favourite. Funnily, since it is equivalent to a 35mm! I bounce back and forth between loving a 35 or a 50 on my current camera, but I’m considering buying a fixed full-frame this week that is 35 and 35 only! What will be next? Who knows.
Love hearing this “autobiography”, since I have watched your photography closely almost since you started. x
I’m looking forward to meeting you this week, complete with new camera and lens!
x
Funny — I’ve been going through archives and thinking along similar lines.
My favorite lens for years was a 35mm f/1.8 (Nikon), but on a cropped sensor camera, so it’s more equivalent to a 50mm on full frame. I like how it can focus on something but give you lots of context. I still love it but have been shooting mostly with a 60mm f/2.8 macro lens, not just for macros, for the past year, maybe. I suppose it’s equivalent to an 85mm on a full frame camera. The one thing I know is really important to me is the ability to get close up. I don’t need to shoot macro, but my 50mm f/1.8 lens drives me insane because I can’t get close enough to my subject. I just bought my first zoom that opens wide (Tamron 24-75mm f/2.8), mostly with performances in mind, and I am curious to see what role it ends up taking in my daily shooting routine.
That’s really interesting to hear, Deirdre. One of my other friends has just been given a 60mm and she adores it. I suspect I will end up giving this lens a try at sometime in the future too!
Now I might have to write my own little story up about my journey! What a magical and wonderful way to look at your growth and learning experience!
Thank you Vanessa.
What a great way to think about lenses. I wonder where I would put my lensbaby? I do know that it taught me how to shoot in manual.
Ah! Lensbabies! Yes, definitely good for focusing manually! lol! x
Another great post, Kirstin! Like you, I often take the same photo with multiple cameras especially going between mobile and film. I mostly shoot with my 35mm and 50mm lenses right now and move the camera in proximity to the subject.
Thank you Nikki. I do so love comparing the same image in different media.
Love this post. I keep coming back to the 50. It was the first I ever shot with on my old film camera. There was a Nikon 18-200 DX zoom when I first went digital. I loved it at the time but now realize that was because I didn’t know what I was doing. I’ve got an 85 which takes the most amazing close up portraits. And I too covet the 35 1.4. I’ve actually just rented it a couple times now, so good to get more of the scene in. Time to start saving!
Thank you. I’ve thought about renting it too, but think I should just keep putting the pennies towards the lens. Good to know that you love it!
I recently went back to using my 24-175 on my Mark2 because of its range and I think my heavy iPhone usage has everything to do with how I have retrained my eye. I still have my 50 1.2 but I think I would rather have a 35 that just stays put. These primes are so heavy at times I feel like I just cant grab and go. I saw an ad for a new phone with a 44 megapixel camera, can you imagine?
Yes, I’ve been hearing how crazy some of those new mobile cameras are getting. Some of them even have decent zooms, so I hear!
Great post Kirstin! I love my 50mm but recently got the 35mm f/2 and love it!