It is easy to avoid. Telephotos, particularly long ones, can be heavy and bulky. They often require the use of a tripod. For street photographers, they are anathema. They must be light and quick and move in accordance with the context of the life being observed. It is also not a common tool for studio work. It is not a necessary tool to have on hand for wedding coverage.
Although I’m generalizing, there are always exceptions. This is photography. Just when you think you have your camera set up and organized, you suddenly find yourself looking across the valley to see the dust trails left by wild ponies. You might be placed behind a barricade just three blocks away from the perp walk. You start to think about the 400. Oder, as in the case with the Chrysler Building, an 800mm.
It’s tedious, it’s long glass. The truth is that you often make up for what you lose in context with impact. You can make a huge graphic impact. Photographic impact was huge in my childhood. Long glass was the norm. Walter Iooss and Bill Frakes were masterful photographers. They used manual focus radars to overcome the limitations of the clunky tools that were available, as the glass was not as sleek and quick as it is today. Internal focusing lenses were a new technology. It was hard work and practice. (And I can assure you, even after all my practice, Heinz still wanted to be there, not me.
Long glass lets you be a surgeon using a lens to cut out the graphical parts of a scene. I have taken thousands to thousands of photos of the Statue of Liberty. Below is my favorite view of her. Nikon D750 equipped with an 800mm lens.
As cumbersome as the long lens is, it allows you to be more expressive in the field, depending on the situation. The Nikkor 200-525mm was used to create the banner picture above. It costs 500mil.
Below was taken with the same lens at 340mm in a different light quality, the same morning.
Even though it wasn’t always practical, I have carried long glass around with me. Below is 600 from the Huey’s open door. Pax River NAS when the V-22 Osprey went through test rotation. It was an old school six and was difficult to manage from the oscillating platform.
The new long glass is made of light materials and is super weather-sealed (a problem that has been a problem with older telephotos). It is sharp and easy to focus. This allows you to focus on framing, holding, and deciphering what part of the scene you will slice.
There are many questions I receive about tips and techniques. It takes a lot practice. There are some basic principles that have remained the same. As much of your body (the center of gravity), as possible under the lens. My left-eyed self, as I am left-eyed, puts my left foot forward almost in a boxing stance. My left elbow is kept in contact with my stomach and chest. It is not out like a chicken wings. I shot at a high frame rate. I recommend long glass when you are operating from a unstable platform such as a helicopter.
Yes, long glasses can be costly. There are so many options nowadays that it isn’t like it was. There were three options: a fixed 300, 400 or 600. There are now the 80-400, 400, and 600 teleconverters. A veritable buffet of telephotos. ….Long glass is not limited in the mirrorless world. My Z9 has a lens like this 100–400 f4.5–5.6 that is insanely sharp and matches up perfectly with my eye detect AF.