Our chief editor and M (one of the editors) are beginners at rangefinder and they want an article for beginners. However, rangefinder users are advanced shooters or genuine maniacs!? So, as I wasn't very positive in writing this article. But, at the same time, the mission of our website is to double the number of rangefinder shooters (!), so I decided to write. I don't wish to or can't sound authoritative saying "this is how you must shoot." Like the loose viewfinder of a rangefinder, I'd like to write something bogus yet stylish.
The part 1 is "Cheap tricks for more interesting photography." Ludic title? The point is in the photo above. How nice. The photographer appears to have no interest in what the person is talking about! This photo was taken by the chief editor soon after he got his first Leica M-type camera. Although the old man was explaining earnestly, our chief editor turned the lens all the way to the right to focus, and turned it back again to frame and shoot. This shot shows his unique point of view.
I think a photo like this is definitely interesting and this feeling "interesting" is extremely important. In Japanese, we say "interesting" "omoshiroi." Omo" and "shiroi" mean "face" and "white" respectively. So, interesting means face is white or blank. Say, you do something in public. You can do "Comaneci" by Takeshi Kitano. The public will, of course, be puzzled. So, "interesting" means to make people's face blank or puzzled. You can destroy the basic rules that have been piled up in the history, or you can make them forget the existing value. Anyway, you'll win if you reset their face. So, this time, I'll show you the basics to take "interesting" photos without relying on the complex rules for compositions etc. Yes, this is the very cheap trick, but it will make a difference. And it's something that even experienced photographers often forget. Now, let's get started.
If you want to be able to take great photos quickly, I recommend you to use a telephoto lens actively. To be honest, it's hard to use telephoto lenses on a rangefinder because it only shows a small brightline frame in the viewfinder. In terms of appearance, a rangefinder with a long lens doesn't look good and you refrain from using it. But, a telephoto lens is very effective for shooting by cheap tricks.
The trick is, it lets you organize the frame easily. People cannot grasp many things at a time. If you are to itemize things, you should keep the number of items up to what you can count by one hand because it helps people understand better. Similarly, I think fame organization is very important. Compared to lenses of other focal lengths, it's easier to get bokeh with a telephoto lens. This is wonderful because Leica users tend to shoot wide open to the extent that the shutter gives up and shoot around the minimum focus distance. So, if you have a 90mm, you can get enough bokeh before and behind the subject.
The picture on the top right shows the children were running toward the photographer (I don't know if the photographer asked them to run or not) and the bokeh helps us imagine that they were running toward the photographer. In the picture on the left, the photographer focused on the old priest behind rather than the young one standing in front. Because the younger priest is defocused, the old priest is emphasized. The compression effect is significant and it's something that 50mm cannot realize. I didn't check with the photographer about this, but maybe he focused on the old priest and had no other choice but to shoot wide open in the dark situation.
Advantages of telephoto lenses are large amount of bokeh and ease of frame organization because of compression effect. If you think you photography isn't very good, trust me and try a telephoto lens. There's no bokeh in human vision in the first place. So, bokeh is always fresh and the same goes for the compression effect. In short, fresh means interesting. Use it, or lose it. Incidentally, can you look around your monitor in good focus? It looks somewhat blurred, doesn't it? This is what I mean by frame organization. People become tired if they try to look at everything. In summery, organize frame by 1) mounting a telephoto lens and 2) shooting wide open. Is this new to you? Just give it a try.
In the similar fashion, an ultra wide angle lens is also "interesting." The extreme perspective lets you swallow all your vision. This is simply "interesting," I think and I recommend extremely wide 12mm/15mm/18mm/21mm rather than moderately wide lenses. The picture above was shot by 16mm of the TRI-ELMAR-M f4/16-18-21mm ASPH.. It was an inevitable choice to capture the vast ocean of Taketomijima. But, the location was too wide, so as long as it was shot parallel to horizontal and vertical lines (Still, this wideness is hard to realize with a 50mm). And, if you shoot disregarding perspective unlike the shot above, it becomes even more interesting.
This is what I meant. This is a shot in Vietnam and it's interesting because of the power lines kike a spider net, very pop blind cloth for construction, and the luminance difference caused by wide coverage. The woman with a mask looks as if she's executing some mission. Landscape shooters do care about the unnatural perspective due to disregarding horizontal and vertical lines (I'm one of them, too), it looks natural because he traced the lens to the direction the subject was walking to.
This is a shot in front of JR Akabane Station. An ultra wide angle lens captures so many things in one frame and it doesn't let you organize frame because everything wants to enter the frame. Then, just include everything. If you take a look at the same scene with the naked eye, you may focus on the statue of liberty in the center and you just remember that there were some shops although you don't remember their names. An ultra wide angle lens scans everything before the eye and this is already very "interesting." So, just forget about controlling and keep on shooting.
This is the first sunrise of the year 2011 at Kujukurihama and the lens is the NOCTILUX-M f0.95/50mm ASPH.. It's too unique to be used for a sample shot, but people want to shoot it wide open at the nearest focus distance. I can understand it because the amount of bokeh is hard to realize with other lenses. But, I recommend you to dare to shoot wide open at 10 meters away from the subject. Then you can take a mysterious shot realized by the gap between the tidy standard angle of view and the amount of bokeh realized by the unusual f0.95 brightness. So what? Tools are made for certain purposes, so it's best to use them according to their purposes. And, the best way of using the NOCTILUX is to shoot in the low light. But, think about other ways of using it and this gives birth to an "interesting" shot. You don't know about others, but at least you're having fun. Derailing is welcome, but derail slightly. Of course, you can be royal to the basics by being parallel to the horizontal and vertical lines with an ultra wide angle lens, or by stopping down and shoot at the minimum focus distance with a telephoto lens. Anyway, there're no rules and as long as you feel interesting, it's OK.
No matter what you do, you do it because you think it's "interesting." No matter how hard it is, you don't stop doing it as long as you think it's interesting. If you like to imitate others, go the whole way. If you aim for perfect composition, go for it. What I talked about here is very simple and easy, although it requires some practice. But, if you love photography, you should like it. This is my pet theory. If you don't think it's interesting, how can other people like it? Now, as long as you think it's interesting, will other people think so, too? That's a different story. However, if you don't plan to make your living by photography, it's best to do as you like. By the way, the more experienced you are in photography, the more boring it becomes when you boast about techniques. It's like young guitarists gathering to show off their techniques. But, there're more interesting things in music. Anyway, don't worry much about what others think and just play with photography.
Next time, I'll talk about composition. Have you already noticed the cheap smell? Come back again!
