PHOTOGRAPHY- 4

 PHOTOGRAPHY- 4

LENSES

Having reviewed certain aspects of ‘picture making’ with some essential basics of aesthetics, it is appropriate to recognize the relative merits of lenses. From the caption, it can be understood that a variety of lenses is available to suit specific tasks on hand.

Broadly, lenses belong to different classes named ‘Normal’ ‘Tele’ and ‘Wide’ based on the angle of view/ vision  that each version  serves to. Curiously , only those of the wide view capability are called |”Wide Angle lenses” while the others donot carry the ‘tag’ ‘angle’ as a part of the nomenclature.

It can be inferred that “Normal” lenses register images as ‘seen’ by human vision.

‘Tele’ lenses manage to register image details from reasonably far off locations. As for instance reistering a a bird of colourful plumage sitting atop a coconut tree or the fine details of fur on a squirrel nibbling some fruits on a tall tree without our having to climb the tree.

Every class of lens has a defined limit termed ‘focal length’

The longer the focal length the more the ‘tele effect’.

The shorter the focal lebgth the wider the coverage angle and so has ‘wide angle perspective’.

Those of optimal focal length limits are ‘normal lenses’ matching the perspective of the human eye.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION[ in mm]

Focal lengths in the range of 70 -200 are TELEPHOTO LENSES

Low limit lenses [85mm] are condidered ideal for portraiture – as they have right range of extending over human physical dimensional needs in a portrait.Long tele lenses [600 mm OR ABOVE] are of value in Wild life photography –[securing a safe distance from Wild animals.

Invariably tele lenses are ideal to capture details from distant objects without the risk of treading the ‘sensitive zone’. By 1980s there used to be a prominent claim that read “ It was our tele lens that cost Henry Kissinger –his place from the White House.

The purported impact was ascribed to a brand of Tele photo lens that could lay bare details of some deal between the then political bigwigs and HK was fixed for that lapse in guarding a secret from public gaze.

To continue

Prof. K.Raman