No matter what you enjoy photographing, you’ll undoubtedly — at some point — make photographs on the street. Street photography is one of the most popular genres of photography, and it encapsulates everything from capturing people to capturing architectural details.
Having a compact zoom lens is a perfect option for street photography. It gives you the versatility to capture things close-up and from afar. And having a constant f/2.8 aperture lens is even better.
I recently took out the Tamron 17-70mm f/2.8 lens — available for Sony E and Fujifilm XF mounts — and tested it while walking around a few West Michigan towns. The lens features an f/2.8 aperture — making it great in low-light — and comes in with quick, accurate focusing in a compact footprint.
Evaluating wide, and diving in close
Wide angle photographs of buildings and intersections are some of my most frequent subjects to photograph. These allow me to really look back at a scene, and encapsulate everything I see in front of me.
While I love my wide angle images, taking a step back also lets me see all the details that I can then zoom in on, even without changing lenses. Having a lens like the 17-70mm really lets me work a scene without any extra effort on my end. I don’t even have to move my feet!
I can look up at the architecture, straight ahead of me with details and window views, and capture a different look each time.
Focusing on the light
Furthermore, being able to use a lens that can capture contrast and texture of buildings is great. The 17-70mm lens really shined when putting it through its paces on a few photowalks on sunny, clear days. While this can create challenges to capture a balanced scene, clear skies are wonderful for capturing drama.
I particularly enjoy capturing light shining on building, or harsh shadows. Like the photos above, these can work at a wide view, or close up.
No matter what you like capturing on the streets, having a versatile lens can make your experience that much better. It allows you to capture things afar, or directly in front of you, with both creating a unique look to the world around you.
