The Right Wrong Camera
I was out on the pier with the Monochrom + 75mm, the usual combination as of late. There was a bigger pod of surfers than usual out on the water.
“Get any good shots?” another random surf spectator asked me, as I lowered the camera down to review the playback.
The original Monochrom shoots 2 frames per second, which isn’t as much FPS as practically SPF. 75mm isn’t quite long enough for the distances involved. And while there wasn’t too much focus fine tuning needed, this is still a manual focus lens + longer focal length to handle.
Standing on the beach rather than on the pier, facing the water head on, with a 100–400mm lens is probably the correct move here. I had the wrong gear at the wrong spot.
But maybe this would magically transform into a cliché “the best camera is the one you have with you” moment?
I wasn’t on the beach, but was right over the water on the pier!
Some surfers were very helpfully closer than others.
I had on an orange filter, so the blues of the water would darken and could make the subjects pop.
And cropping is a thing if your focal length is too short but you have the megapickles to spare.
“A few good ones, I think,” I replied as I showed him the screen, still in playback mode.
We talked about black & white, and tones, and contrast, and how I might crop and reframe a few of the shots. All in all, a good day on the pier.
