On a fine Fall day last October, I was out taking photographs and enjoying the sunshine when a gentleman who was obviously leading a class from the local school approached me and asked if I would say a few words to his art class which was out taking photographs. He had noticed my camera and was hoping that anyone with such a fine camera would know a thing or two about photography. I think he made a few suggestions about topics, and I agreed to give it my best.
Mercifully, I don’t remember too much of what I said. I think I tried to simplify the topic of focal lengths and compared the telephoto lens I had with the lens on a cell phone, using my arms to demonstrate field of view. If any of the class was wondering whether to take up photography as a hobby or profession, I probably turned them right off.
For the rest of my walk, I mentally revised my presentation and decided that I should have engaged them right at the start with a question: “What is the best camera in all the world?” After I entertained a few guesses, I might have mentioned the Hubble telescope (or not) but then I would have admitted that it was a trick question. The best camera in the world is the camera you have in your hands when a photo opportunity appears.
Then I might have told them a bit about the camera equipment I have and why I might choose to take one piece or another on a particular outing. I would certainly have told them about the time the heron was standing on the handrail of the bridge, and how all I had was my phone. I would have explained that what makes a good photograph is not primarily the camera, it’s the person who decides to capture the moment, and how that decision leads to a bunch more decisions on how to get the best result with the gear in hand.
Only then would I get into telephoto lenses, and point out that if you see ducklings paddling in the shallows on the far bank of the pond (under an impenetrable tangle of reeds) – that’s when a long lens is going to get a photograph of ducklings when a cell phone (or even a small camera) is going to get a few smudgy dots under a landscape photo of the aforesaid reeds.
And had I said that, or something like it, I think I might have reassured the budding photographers that they could get good photos on their cell phones, while inspiring a few to investigate the larger world of photography. To heck with field of view.
