civilized ku # 388-89 ~ all together now
Friday, February 12, 2010 at 11:03AM 
Street scene ~ Old Montreal, CA • click to embiggen
Another street scene ~ Old Montreal, CA • click to embiggenWith apologies for a bit of repetition - I have previously mentioned how much little intense spots of color seem to jump out at one in Old Montreal. An effect that is due to the fact that all of the buildings in Old Montreal are so unremittingly and color-neutrally grey. This color-splash effect is never more obvious than it is on "grey" day.
On one of our ubiquitous winter grey days, I'm going to have to jump in the car, being careful not to hurt myself in the process, and get my lazy winter-ass up to Old Montreal for the expressed purpose of walking the length of Rue St. Paul Est and picturing all of the many glimpses / splashes of color that present themselves at the end of so many streets and alleys that face the park / port - the place where all the color resides.
That said, and relative to yesterday's primarily primes entry, I will deliberately limit my lens selection to either the 17mm Zuiko or the 20mm Lumix. Whichever I decide upon, I will take the other along as an insurance policy just in case the lens of choice has a major malfunction. FYI, the above pictures where made with the 20mm Lumix (40mm, 35mm equiv.).
A big part of the joy of picturing with primes is the fact that a single focal length lens, when used in the making of a series or body of work, has 2 major benefits:
1). You don't even think about it. You just (kinda/sorta) point and shoot, albeit with a little 2-3 step shuffle, side-to-side / fore-and-aft, thrown in for good measure and, quite obviously, for good selection ...
... and, 2) By using a prime, all of the pictures in a series or body of work have the same sense of perspective - something that goes a long way in helping pull a body of work together, both visually and cognitively. It gives the pictures an all-of-a-piece look and feel.
For those of you who do not have a prime and have never known the joy of picturing with one, I would suggest getting a small strip of duct tape, taping your "normal" zoom lens to one place on the dial, and then get out there, pick a subject and go to town.
Trust me, it's a very liberating experience. And, if you really like it, you should then use super-glue instead of duct tape - viola, just like that, you've got yourself a single focal length lens.
Reader Comments (5)
Mark you are so right about this. When I was younger I had/still have a Nikon FTN with the Photomic finder. I had the 50mm f1.4 lens and carried only two others a 28mm and a 135mm. That was it, I was happy.
Now I am older, a little lazy but also have had one knee replaced, need the other done and the right hip is now acting up. Sometimes it is tough for me to get around, it really pisses me off.
As you would say, "all that said", I now use a 18-135 on my D90. I make the best of it but I miss the getting in close walking around.
Just for fun, and your information, the area appearing in the pictures was included, centuries ago, into the fortifications of the city build at the very beginning of the montreal history.
It's certainly one of the rare fortified city in north america.
While studying Photography (early heighties)at College Du Vieux Montreal (wich is curiously, not situated in the old city) I had a summer job at GRBPGM (Groupe de Recherche sur les Batiments en Pierre Grise de Montréal---Research group on the greystone-montreal buildings)
Years later I started to work for the Canadian Centre for Architecture wich is an institution closely related to the above mentionned Group.
CCA published a book on this.(french or english version available...Opening the gates of eighteenth-century Montréal)
http://img.amazon.ca/images/I/41ZFKBFKGQL._SS500_.jpg
Very serious(boring) stuff.
Maybe that's why it's so grey in old Montreal
mleg
Do the names on the signs "Jacques" and "Marché" mean anything to you?
"Do the names on the signs "Jacques" and "Marché" mean anything to you?"
As in "Marché St-Jacques" or is there something else to your question?
http://marchest-jacques.com/accueil.htm
I've got to admit that I'm pretty much made for shooting primes. Even before I started to work primarily with primes I used my zooms as 2 or 3 position primes. My 14-54 is at 14mm or 54mm if it's being used, I only adjust framing with the zoom when working close in, although I will occasionally use the mid-point of a wide-range zoom as well. If I've got a couple primes in the bag, the zoom will rarely come out.
A lot of it comes down to how you see, when I'm shooting I tend to frame based on the view I see, rather than adjusting the view. Shuffling about is something I do before starting to frame the shot as I've usually got a shot in mind by the time the camera reaches my eye.