Luminous landscape

byMichael ThompsonWhile I was in the middle of taking an extended series of black and white street portraits, over a period of several months with a 400 Takumar often combined with 1.4 or 2.0 extender that people I focused on saw me more often than not, before I could get a shot off. It started to frustrate me to be robbed again and again at the last moment of the naturalness of someone unaware. I wanted to capture that magic moment before they realized their picture was being taken – or better yet – not at all. So what were my alternatives? Up to now I had been doing all my work hand held. I knew that using a larger lens would mean having to use a tripod. This I had to accept. The question was how much larger was I willing to go. I first checked out the specs on the 500mm and 600mm. The 500mm I felt would not to be powerful enough. And the 600m – what a weighy monster that one is. See Michael Reichmann's reviewhere.There had to be lens that would give me that reach ...