Within the Frame: The Journey of Photographic Vision

Choose Your Lens Based on Behavior

My youth was spent in pursuit of the longest lens possible. This occurred for several reasons, not the least of which was the lack of a social life. Another reason was the status of a longer lens. It was as though there was an unspoken understanding that the longer your lens, the more serious you must be as a photographer, ergo the better you must be. And another reason, the only one I’d be likely to say out loud, was to “bring far things close” or “to make small things big.” Likewise, a wide-angle lens was for “getting as much big stuff into my tiny little frame as possible.”

When I look back now, I wonder why I was never taught anything more nuanced about the behavior of optics. I mean, the choice of lens ...