The photo below is one of the first I took using my new Nikkor 35mm f/2.0. Several people asked me why I wanted a fixed 35mm while my zoom set already covers that specific focal.
The first reason is that the maximum opening of f/2.0 allows me to use this lens in low light condition (my zoom will only open at f/4 or f/4.5 around35mm) and it allows to narrow the depth of field should I want to focus on a subject matter by making the foreground and background blurry.
The second reason (more important to me) is part of my “learning experience”. When using a zoom (a lens with variable focal), I have the tendency to work on my composition by moving on a single axis that is perpendicular to the line that separates me from my subject and to “zoom-in” and “zoom-out” in order to fit the subject in the composition. The comfort provided by the zoom prevents me from moving closer or farther from the subject matter. The distance from which the photo is taken from the subject not only impacts the relative size of the principal subject to the frame of the photo, but it also impact the perspective of the composition. The perspective allows to give more or less importance to the main subject by making the rest of the composition relatively bigger or smaller. Here is a light tutorial.
The choice of 35mm is simply because on a Digital Nikon, the 35mm is equivalent to the universal 50mm. That’s because the optical digital sensor is x1.5 smaller that the standard camera film. 50mm is also the closest focal to the human eye vision.
While wandering in a shopping center in Cupertino, California, I was attracted by the architectural details of a new AMC movie theater. Those are some of the pictures I took using the 35mm lens:
Depending on where I was standing, I could create interesting contrasts between the foreground pendent fixtures and the ceiling glass window bay. There was also a building in the background that I could use to balance the composition.
Here is one shot that I found interesting from a composition point of view.
Original image
Nikon D50 • Nikkor 35mm • 1/1000s • f/8.0
4.28.2006 10:35AM
I made a few edits to it:
- Cropped around the right hand pendent fixture
- Boosted a bit the density of the color of the back building to balance the fixture and create a solid bottom to the image
- Added a vignette effect to help focus on the fixture as well as to darken the sky, creating a more dramatic blue
Here is the final image:
Final image
The two dominant colors blue and orange are also one of the most used pair of complementary colors.
The composition is very simple and plays with some of the most basic rules of balance, contrast, lines, shapes, and subject location.
I submitted this picture to the Palo Alto Camera Club competition on 5.9.07 in the Pictorial category and the judge, Jo-Anne Ordano, awarded it the 3rd place.