Charles Henry 12/13/25 Charles Henry 12/13/25

Taken Seriously

By all standard metrics, I’m a lousy photographer, and that’s fine. 50mm might be the best focal length, and 35 mm the best lens — simply crop in a little.

Charles Henry 11/16/25 Charles Henry 11/16/25

Aspect Ratios

Focal lengths and aspect ratios correlate. A 50mm needs a narrower 4:5 to emphasize relationships between foregrounds and back grounds, and on the other side, a 28mm focal length does better with a wider 3:2 because it emphasizes side-to-side relationships that share a focal distance. A 35mm equivalent lens screams 16:9 cinema.

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Layered

A 50mm lens is more front-to-back than side-to-side and compresses things together, perfect for layering foregrounds over backgrounds — more deadpan than a 35.

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Complaining, a how to guide

Live a great life. From wherever to whatever, I love taking pictures with my camera. It’s an obsession, a small footprint. It’s prints, posts, and film resting inside a trusty binder.

Charles Henry 8/9/25 Charles Henry 8/9/25

Film Emulation

It’s fine to digitally emulate analog. A box of monochrome 8x10 sells for $250 — a $150 rise from a decade ago, and some 35mm rolls fetch $15. Analog was once the primary photographic method.

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Wooden Tripod

I serviced the tripod today. I repaired a loose hinge, polished the head plate, and applied mineral oil to the wood.

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Experiment

Many people know that we have more to learn, and from the moment we realize that we’re not the center of everything, it gets better.

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Clipped Corners

A ground glass will have missing corners so you can see if the lens is projecting from edge to edge. If you can see the lens, it’s giving full coverage.

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f/8 and be there

F/8 is typically the most optimal aperture for everyday lenses.

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Faithful

A faithful rendering is accurate to the scene and subject as viewed through the eye.

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A Home in the Monochrome

In every color image I take, I see a black-and-white photographer trying to escape. It’s black-and-white or bust. Mine are pictures of rust, dents, and dust.

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Harsh Daylight

I’ve tried to photograph harsh light for years. Unlike film, digital has less latitude in bright light, which is why you must find techniques to elevate consistency.

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35, 50

Wide and telephoto touch somewhere between 35 and 50, which means every lens over 50 is called a telephoto and every one below 35 is considered wide, making 35 the longest wide-angle and 50 the widest telephoto.

Charles Henry 2/12/25 Charles Henry 2/12/25

Auxiliary Viewfinders

Forget new lenses and camera specs. One of the most freeing things we can add to our photography is an auxiliary viewfinder because it removes precision.

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35 is a lonesome focal length

A 35mm pushes backgrounds away and magnifies foregrounds.

Charles Henry 11/16/24 Charles Henry 11/16/24

Wildly kind and kindly wild

How do we remember a place?

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Studio

A note is a few words in a sentence or two; a picture is an individual frame, and a finding blends text with imagery.

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The Rule of Thirds

View something, then around and past it.

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Compression and Separation

Lens selection is a creative choice made before stepping outside. A 50mm is how a photographer sees; a 35mm is how one thinks, and a 135mm is how one sees and thinks while driving.