Edition Seventy Six
The 24mm EF-S pancake lens.
Niche.
A "niche" (/niːʃ/ or /nɪtʃ/) generally refers to a specialized, specific, or highly suitable space, position, or market.
I don’t like using this word.
These days it is often followed by “down”. Sometimes it is preceded by “choose a”. Phrases used in hustle culture circles looking to force you into a single lane. You shoot only 50mm. You use only Canon. Limitations are good for being creative. But I see “niche down” and “choose a niche” as restrictions, not limitations.
When it comes to lenses, restrictions shouldn’t apply.
The 24mm isn’t only a landscape lens. The popular 50mm isn’t only a portrait lens. But what if your problem isn’t the subject. What if your problem is the photographer? Or more specifically how fast the photographer is moving.
I need to make a confession: my last few photos walks haven’t exactly been ‘walks’.
I have been out on my primary mode of transport - a bicycle. I wrote about taking things slower1, but I can only slow down so much on a bicycle. Going faster and then taking a photo yields more interesting results for me.
I have a kit lens (18-55mm) but it’s too ‘bulky’ for me on the bicycle. I have a 50mm but it doesn’t have such a wide angle. Fortunately there is another lens up my sleeve.
The gear.
Enter the 24mm EF-S.2
I bought this for shooting street photography. In hindsight it was perhaps not such a good idea. I needed to get closer to people to take their photos. It made me more anxious but I also started appreciating street scenes with buildings and no people a lot more.
For a walker, disguised as a cyclist looking to take photos while going at a leisurely pace, the 24mm works a treat. It’s fast and sharp. With the slow shutter speed I am getting blurry images choc-a-block full of camera shake. The 1300D finds focus a bit quicker than my XE-2 and the beep tells me I can snap away.
I’m looking forward to more outings with this lens but for my next excursion I’m going to raise the shutter speed for images which a little bit sharper and also a higher ISO to see if I can get brighter images.
There will be a trade off in terms of the noise in the images but it is part of the experimentation process. I just thought about continuous shooting as well — it will fill up the memory card but I can look for the best photo and get a few different angles.
The photos.
The following Saturday I went out and shot with the same approach but these images I left in color. In the black and white versions I noticed there are a lot of ‘lines’ in the darker parts of the images. This is due to the grainy film effect which I get from Snapseed. I like the effect but for time being I’m going to stick to a drop in saturation and some other ‘non-destructive’ edits.
In closing.
The more often I go out with zero expectations for a desired outcome the happier I am with my photos. Focusing on the time in the field and experimentation brings better results. It might not be the bright, crisp and sharp images I see online, but these images are mine. My style and part of my identity as a photographer.
Thanks for reading : )
That pancake is a nice lens! We still have it on our Canon 600D. I don't use it that often anymore as I have my Fuji system, but its a good backup to keep 🙂
…totally feel that zero expecations thought…the less i know what i’m looking for the more i find…