robert capa said “if your photos aren’t good enough its because you’re not close enough.”  capa’s remarks speak directly to the difficulty most novice photographers encounter most often- a visual disconnect between the viewer and the image.  most often this disconnect occurs because the camera acts as an psychological barrier between the picture-maker and the subject.

too often photographers hide behind their camera. the camera gives anonymity to the act of picture-making. at working level the camera hides the face, it obscures the act.  finding comfort in this, many-especially novice- photographers make copious use of long lenses to further psychologically remove themselves from the subject of their act of picture-making.  the result is too often a technically successful but ultimately emotionally disappointing result.

this is not to say that all long lens shots are bad and only wide angle shots are good. simply i mean to suggest that as a photographer you will find a new freedom in working with wide angle photography that does not and cannot happen with long lens approaches.

with that in mind we will explore the gamut of lenswork in this evenings class…

[brother]mark

© estate of dan eldon