|
Snap Shots: The lens problem explained. Which lens? For what? And why...
by Harry Flashman
 Ever
wondered why the pros all walk around with special jackets full of
photogear and different lenses and three cameras slung around their necks?
Is this a kind of photographic masochism, or is there a good reason for
this? There is!
The reason is called “quality”. Pro shooters have
to return to their editor or client with a professional image, giving the
best interpretation of the subject and finally be pin sharp in its
definition. Something you can’t get with a point and shoot camera.
To illustrate this situation I thought I should give
you some ideas on the lenses I use, for what and why. Now if you own a
28-105 mm zoom or whatever, don’t despair, just adapt your thinking to
use the zoom at the wide angle when I mention wide angle lenses and the
other end of the scale when I mention telephoto lenses.
The three principal lenses are Wide, Standard and Long,
and for the purposes of this article I am not including “extreme”
examples. Consider Wide to be around 28 mm, Standard around 50 mm and Long
around 100 mm. So you can see, the average zoom lens will cover these
focal lengths.
Let’s begin with Wide lenses. These are the lenses
for 99.9% of landscapes. You get a wide angle of coverage, you get great
depth of field and as an added bonus you get blue skies! Even in Bangkok.
The reason is that you have a wide angle of sky “squashed” into a 35
mm negative, so the colour is denser than it would appear to the naked
eye. I have always said that photography is the art of telling lies with a
camera.
The Wide lens is also the one you should use in low
light situations, such as twilight, as most Wide lenses have larger
apertures which let more light in to the camera. This means that you can
get readings like 1/30 second at f 2.8, at which you can hand hold. With
the average Long lens (or zoom in the tele position) it would be 1/4
second at f 5.6, a shutter speed you cannot hand hold.
The Standard lens is actually one of the most neglected
lenses in your camera bag. This is the focal length that most closely
approximates what the human eye sees. Use this lens and you get the most
“life-like” image that people can immediately relate to. No strange
distortions in the foreground or on the edges either. For example, if you
want to photograph food, pull out the trusty Standard lens. Stand on a
chair and you get what the diner sees.
The Standard lens is also very good for getting either
full length portraits or waist up pictures. Again, it is the lack of
optical distortion which is important, and you can also use aperture
settings around f 4 to blur the background.
So to the Long lenses. The focal length of around 100
mm would be more accurately called a “short” telephoto, but this is a
common focal length and one that many of the zooms can cover. This is the
lens you use to do all portrait shots. This lens will give you flattering
views, without enlargement of the nose, and slightly compresses the image.
When combined with a wide aperture of say around f 4 to f 5.6 this blurs
the background enough to produce an uncluttered image.
The ability to compress the final image makes the Long
lens the ideal one to show traffic jams or parades. Use a high viewpoint
and look down the road when a parade is coming and you will get an image
that appears to show that the road is just crammed with floats, one almost
on top of another. Or better still try Sukhumvit Road Bangkok from the
overbridges.
Finally, it is important to remember that Long lenses
are not a substitute for walking in close, especially at night, when the
flash burst does not carry all that far.
Modern Medicine: Happy Birthday, Mum!
by Dr. Iain Corness, Consultant
My mother had her birthday the other day. She
is now 87 years old, or in Mum’s eyes, I would say she is 87 years young, a
very vibrant, alive and aware octogenarian! She has been a widow for 28 years,
living on her own and fending for herself in the cold climes of the north of
Scotland.
As opposed to the local Thai ‘model’ where grandparents
care for their grandchildren, while the parents go to work and supply the
financial needs for the family, my Mum has pursued a very independent life. Not
that we aren’t close, but we don’t need to live in each other’s pockets.
Mum delights in the visits of her children and grandchildren, and for me, it is
an annual event that my wife and I look forward to.
However, for the elderly in your family, the late life period
has to be one of transition and adjustment to loss. This includes retirement,
relocation, and bereavement. At a time where one would imagine everything would
nicely settled, it really is quite the reverse.
The first of these changes to be met is generally that of
retirement. One minute you are an important member of a work team and the next
day you are unwanted, sitting on the job scrap-heap, even if you now have a gold
watch to tell the time.
Around one third of all retirees show difficulty in adapting
to this change in their circumstances. That change includes not only having no
regular daily work, but reduced income and differences in the way the retiree is
perceived in his or her society. The once power broker is now powerless!
Relocation is another of the stresses of later years. The
family home is sold as the children have left. Smaller quarters are settled into
until it becomes obvious to those around the elderly person that household
chores are too much and so the next relocation occurs to the Retirement Village,
that veritable Disneyland of fun and frivolity for the aged. This is, however,
the precursor for the final move - to the Nursing Home.
All moves are traumatic (remember moving to Thailand for
example?) and for the elderly, it is no exception. However, this can be reduced
by making the elderly persons feel they have some say, some control, over the
move. Retirement Villages should be chosen in consultation with the elderly
themselves. While we “know” what is best, we should not take away all of the
decision making processes. Just because someone has lived a long time doesn’t
mean that they don’t know what they want.
Finally, bereavement. The complex phenomenon of bereavement
becomes an integral part of an elderly person’s life. The death of their
spouse produces a loss of companionship which in turn produces a decline in
social interaction. These may precipitate acute illness and in fact men have a
high mortality rate in the two years after losing their spouses. (See, men do
depend more on women!) But not only do spouses die, but also siblings, friends
and the people next door. Old age can become a never ending trip to the
cemeteries.
No, whilst we think we care and look after our elderly
relatives, there are many times when we forget to put ourselves in their shoes,
and expect an immediate agreement on the future placement, instead discussing
options with them. Our Mums will always be people we are indebted to. Happy
birthday, Mum!
 Heart to Heart with Hillary
Dear Hillary,
I have often considered becoming an ‘Agony Aunt’ as the benefits of doing
so appear to be positively outrageous. Gifts of chocolate and champagne, red
carpet treatment and adoring readers to name but a few. ‘Cheek to Cheek with
Cherry’ or ‘Knock Knock with Nok’ would suit me admirably. Wee Nit,
however, is concerned that I might have to lose some tackle. Please advise me
if amputation is an essential requirement to fulfil the functions of an Aunty.
Mistersingha
Dear Mistersingha,
In your case, since ‘Misters’ are male and ‘Aunties’ are female, you
would indeed have to tackle this tackle problem head on. However, the benefits
you assume that we Aunties receive are not quite so cut and dried. We have many
correspondents who promise us “gifts of chocolate and champagne” but never
deliver, and you are a prime example of this. The “positively outrageous”
benefits are sullied by the positively outrageous offers from the “adoring
readers” as you put it. Offers and promises that are broken more often than a
politician’s pre-electoral promises. The balls in your court I believe,
Mistersingha. While the waiting is mine, I hope the “agony” will be yours.
Dear Hillary,
Although I really enjoy your column each week (it’s the first one I turn to)
I am left wondering whether the letters you receive are real. Surely some of
your writers are not that silly? Or is it me that is so silly? If the letters
are real, do you pick the pen names for the correspondents, or do they? I am
interested to know.
Enquiring Mind
Dear Enquiring Mind,
Like you, I also wonder if some of the writers are “that silly” (why does
the name Mistersingha come to mind, I wonder?), but you only have to look back
a few issues and you can see that many of the correspondents are very regular
with their tales of woe. I can assure you that all the letters I receive are
real, whether arriving by email or per the hard-working postie. The Nom de
Plumes are often picked by the writers, but if not, I will choose something
suitable. There you are, feel better now, Poppet? Were you happy with your Nom
de Plume?
Dear Hillary,
Thank you for belatedly publishing my corrections to a letter I sent you some
weeks ago. As one of literally dozens of readers who enjoy your weekly column,
I feel I should tell you a story about my former secretary who was also fond of
chocolates. Over time her body began to fill out to where she could barely
squeeze between the armrests on her office chair. One day she came to work with
a huge box of chocolates and sqeezed (sic) into her chair. At day’s end,
after polishing off the entire box, she stood up and the chair went with her.
Despite the efforts of my entire staff, we could not remove the chair, and she
began to panic. We rushed her to the hospital where she was wheeled directly
into the OR. A while later a surgeon came out and told me I would have to make
a decision - my secretary or a perfectly good office chair. Long story short -
my new secretary fits easily into that chair, and snacks on nothing but granola
bars. So you can see my concern that you might also be eating too much
chocolate with potentially disastrous results. Therefore to help you get over
your addiction I am sending my chauffeur to your office with a box of granola
bars and some Gatorade.
Tully
My Dear Tully,
May I say just how touched I am that you would worry about my figure, that
might end up suffering from balloonism, as opposed to bulimia, occasioned by a
surfeit of chocolates. Alas, if that were really only the case! You only have
to look at the unfulfilled promises such as those I receive (or more correctly,
don’t receive) from Mistersingha, and to quote just one example, “I have
assembled an Amphibious Tuk-Tuk Squadron to safely convey your chocs and
bubbly.” Needless to say the squadron must have sunk. Or this one from In
Love and Broke, “By the way Hillary now that we have the Champagne and
Chocolates out of the way 30,000 is available to you.” Nothing received.
Nothing! Even you, Tully my Petal, have joined the ranks of the “bag wan”
(sweet mouth) with your “spending money that he could be buying chocolate’s
and champaign (sic) for you.” And now, with an amazing display of largesse,
you are offering to send round chauffeur driven Granola bars and a bottle of
Gatorade. More than likely, these won’t turn up either. Finally Tully, my
keeper of the dictionary, both you and your efficient (and slim) secretary are
still unable to pick up your spelling boo-boos. The word “squeezed” has a
“u” in it after the “q”. Rather than sending the slim secretary to
Hawaii or wherever for creative accounting classes, investment in a
spell-checker for your word processor might be a better proposition. And since
the chauffeur is obviously underemployed delivering mythical goodies, there’s
savings there for you too. Tully, the things I do for you!
A Slice of Thai History: The Abbe de Choisy, priest and transvestite
Part 2
by Duncan steam
The Abbe proved to be a perceptive
traveller and wrote about Ayutthaya in glowing terms. ‘I stood
frequently in admiration of the strong great city, seated upon an island
round which flowed a river three times the size of the Seine. There rode
ships from France, England, Holland, China and Japan, while innumerable
boats and gilded barges rowed by sixty men plied to and fro. No less
extraordinary were the camps of villages outside the walls inhabited by
the different nations who came trading there, with all the wooden houses
standing on posts over the water, the bulls, cows, and pigs on dry land.
The streets, stretching out of sight, are alleys of clear running water.
Under the great green trees and in the little houses crowd the people.
Beyond these camps of the nations are the wide rice fields. The horizon is
tall trees, above which are visible the sparkling towers and pyramids of
the pagodas. I do not know whether I have conveyed to you the impression
of a beautiful view, but certainly I myself have never seen a lovelier.’
The Abbe also wrote details concerning the daily life
of the city and, along with the even more intricate accounts penned by
Simon de la Loubure, who accompanied a later French mission, constitute
the bulk of knowledge about the inner workings of Ayutthaya from that
period.
On his return from Thailand, de Choisy was admitted to
the French Academy and settled into a life of writing, publishing a number
of historical and religious works, one being a five volume History of
France. He is also said to have collaborated on a story with Charles
Perrault, the man who wrote stories such as ‘Cinderella’, ‘Little
Red Riding Hood’ and ‘Sleeping Beauty’.
He died in Paris on 2 October 1724, at the venerable
age of 80. In 1737 his Memoirs were published. As one might expect, de
Choisy is said to have burnt a number of his more revealing and indiscreet
correspondence before his death, but his Memoirs proved to be a
tantalising account of French society in the late seventeenth century.
Social Commentary by Khai Khem:
You don’t need TV when you’re living the script
Most of the time my days go by without
incident except for the pesky problems of everyday life such as computer
breakdowns, telephone lines out of order, toilets backing up, flat tires, maids
who bleach my colored shirts snowy white, or a nipped ankle from the
neighbor’s neurotic poodle. Lately I’ve just happened onto some incidents
that are straight out of ‘reality TV’.
A couple of weeks ago I witnessed a high-speed chase down
Sukhumvit Highway by a motorcycle cop who was in hot pursuit of a man on a
motorbike. The rider wove through noon-time traffic and sped past me like the
Devil himself was at his heels. Since he wasn’t wearing a helmet I got a good
look at him - scruffy, dirty and wild-eyed, he raced and ripped around every car
in all lanes. My first thought was that he must be very late for an appointment.
Then I saw the cop fly past me and realized the young man was
fleeing from a crime worse than not wearing a helmet or running a red light. I
crossed myself and prayed for the police officer. He was risking his own life to
catch the ‘perp’. I pulled over so he could get around me and saw other
drivers do the same to clear the way. I don’t know how the chase ended, but it
was obvious to all of us on the highway that the policeman was not giving up.
Two days later I was shopping with a friend in a well-known
Pattaya market. When she went to pay for her chosen items, her handbag had been
slit open and her wallet and money were gone. Ooops! There are signs in this
market to be careful of valuables and police are stationed there to aid theft
victims. Details were taken and officers found the wallet in a trash bin, minus
the cash, but she recovered her ID documents and credit cards. Quick action by
police officers had saved her a lot of trouble, even though she’d been robbed
of a small amount of money. She was grateful and I was impressed.
Last week as I was grabbing a snack in a noodle stand on
Second Road I heard screeching and when I looked up I saw a motorcycle with two
men grab a tourist’s bag out of his motorcycle which was parked on the street.
He was chasing the pair down the road on foot and yelling in German. Two very
quick-thinking Thais in a pickup truck moved over and blocked the pair of
ride-by thugs and slowed them down just enough to force them to move over on the
sidewalk. A shopkeeper and two of his staff blocked the footpath and thwarted
the getaway. Officers on patrol just happened to be passing and made the arrest.
The tourist retrieved his valuables and the bad guys were hauled away.
I’ve lived in Pattaya a very long time and certainly
don’t see this sort of thing very often although, like my readers, I do read
about it in the news. I was so intent on watching this incident go down that I
jumped up and ran down the street to follow the action.
Then I felt a pull on my arm and turned to find a very angry
noodle shop owner shouting at me that I had ran off without paying for my meal.
He was livid! All eyes were now on me. The ride-by theft and the German tourist
incident were now forgotten as a crowd gathered to gape at the well dressed
‘food thief’ who was receiving an angry scolding for being a deadbeat. I
lowered my eyes and patiently accepted the insults and threats, knowing the
angry food seller would eventually have to take a breath. And when he did I made
my apologies and gave my explanation.
A little wary, but now ready to listen, my irate accuser
agreed to walk back with me so I could pay up and go home. I had left some books
and a shopping bag next to my chair at the shop, which apparently attested to my
innocent lapse of memory. I paid my bill and he treated me to a cold beer and we
had a good laugh at the absurdity of human nature.
Two days later I had lunch at a well-known Italian restaurant
in Jomtien. My meal was interrupted a number of times by calls on my cell phone.
Food cold, appetite gone, I got up and left and went to my car which was parked
in front of the venue.
Just as I started the ignition, I heard a rap on the car
window. A waiter was frantically waving a piece of paper at me and as I rolled
down the window I saw it was the cashier’s bill. “You forgot to pay your
bill,” said the waiter, with a smile. I’d been eating there for years and
the staff knew me, so there was no confrontation, just smiles and gracious
understanding that I had been ‘distracted’.
I reentered the restaurant to pay the bill with a
well-rehearsed apology. Just as we were giggling about my forgetfulness, a
frantic customer ran in and said his motorbike had just been stolen while he was
eating lunch. I bolted before the cops arrived to avoid the commotion. I had to
come back the next day. Sidetracked by the pandemonium that broke out over the
stolen bike, I had STILL not paid the bill. Word to the wise: if you want to
skip out on a bill, always patronize business establishments with whom you have
a personal relationship!
That evening as I was getting ready to go to a birthday
dinner, I received a phone call from the host. The party was called off. In the
wee hours of the morning his house was robbed. A window in the bathroom had been
broken and a small child crawled through the tiny opening and unlocked the main
door so the older thieves could enter. The owners were fast asleep in the
upstairs master bedroom and heard nothing. The burglars took their time and
managed to get away with everything of value on the lower floors, including the
stock of wines and liquors, the birthday gifts, and even ate the party food
before departing.
Next morning I received an email from a friend in California.
Heavy rains and high surf had washed away her beachside home. Nothing left.
Thank goodness I live in Pattaya!
|
