This is just beautiful
so I'm shooting this at f/1.4
as wide as this lens can go
that is a big no-no in landscape photography
but it is a huge yes-yes in my photography
let me tell you why
okay, I think I've found one
I'm all set up here
I even have my tripod out and everything today
not because I need it
because I'm shooting at 1/1000th of a second
and the composition was actually better when I was holding the camera
the camera should be much higher
but it makes this, talking to you, and explaining what I'm doing much easier
and it also makes me look better, more professional
doesn't it?
so I was asked recently why I'm always shooting wide open
and it's a very good question
it is well known that lenses have a specific aperture,
a sweet spot, at which they perform the best
that aperture usually, generally speaking, should be
around 2-3 stops from the maximum aperture of the lens
so in this case, this lens is a f/1.4
so the sweet spot should be around f/2.8 or f/4
it's not all about sharpness
when we shoot wide open, there are more issues like vignetting, or softness,
lack of microcontrast, and kind of messy corners
and when we step down the lens too much, diffraction starts to creep in
so it's easy to understand why landscape photographers try to
shoot at apertures as close as possible to the lens' sweet spot
they are trying to use their tools in the best way to create what they want
so why don't I do the same?
why do I shoot wide open instead?
why do I have a full frame camera and then I use it in a way that creates
images that are softer, that lack contrast, that have vignetting and other defects?
to explain this, I'm going to use the words of someone who said it much better than I ever could
even though he was talking about poetry, and not photography
Ludwig...
it was...
it was Ludwig vegastime chef
Ludwig Wittgenstein who said about poetry
"do not forget that a poem,
although it is composed in the language of information,
it is not used in the language game of giving information"
this is beautifully said, and it is also the way I see photography
the way I try to do photography
and no, I'm not trying to compare my photography to poetry
but the approach is very similar to the way that Ludwig describes poetry
that's the best tree I've found so far
but walking through those weeds will mean getting ticks
and that's something I, I...
something I don't want
what a shame
Nice, I think that looks nice
but having to set up the tripod for these shots reminds me of how much I hate the tripod
it's really annoying to have to carry one of these
well, two, because... you know, I'm recording the video too
I just love shooting handheld
anyway, at this point of the video you might have already guessed where I'm trying to go
the point that I'm trying to make here
even though all photographers use a camera, we all use a lens
unless you're shooting a pinhole camera, I guess
but you know, even though we all use similar tools and we use the same language
the way we use that information is
what makes the difference between one style of photography and the others
whereas landscape photography is usually
about capturing as much detail as possible from stunning locations
so you can enjoy the detail of the grass on the foreground
and the detail of the mountain in the background
my photography is not about that, it's almost the opposite
I try to avoid excess visual information in my images as much as I can
I want them to be suggestive, and mysterious, and evocative
and not so much narrative
that's why I embrace the softness that comes from shooting a lens wide open
why I don't mind about messy corners or vignetting or all of the other imperfections
that shooting wide open might create on my images
I feel like that makes for a more organic photography, if you will, less perfect
in my opinion, this is a more gentle way of showing the same information
so instead of, I don't know, throwing all the details in your face
this way, because of the lack of details
because of the lack of sharpness
because the foreground is slightly out of focus
all of that creates gaps in the images
gaps that you're gonna have to fill with your imagination
so what the image means to you, what you are actually seeing when you look at the image
all of that is almost up to you
obviously, I'm not saying that this is the better way, the right way
this is just my way
when I look at a scene, I try to create something, instead of capturing the scene
I'm trying to make an image of that scene, instead of taking a photograph of it
but of course, I do appreciate a good landscape photograph
and I do enjoy getting lost in all the details of that landscape
I like that kind of photography, it's just not the kind of photography that I'm trying to do here
and this is the reason, among many other things I do to achieve this
why I shoot wide open all the time
anyway, I'm gonna keep walking around and try to make some more images on this beautiful morning
I hope I can
but yeah, I hope that what I had to say today was useful and helpful
thank you so much for watching again
see you in the next one!