{"id":307853,"date":"2017-08-31T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-08-31T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lightstalking.com\/?p=307853"},"modified":"2020-04-07T04:25:37","modified_gmt":"2020-04-07T08:25:37","slug":"quick-look-philosophy-f8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lightstalking.com\/quick-look-philosophy-f8\/","title":{"rendered":"A Quick Look At The Philosophy Of “f8 And Be There”"},"content":{"rendered":"

I suspect that just about everyone reading this has heard the phrase \u201cf\/8 and be there\u201d bandied about at some point, most likely in the context of photojournalism, documentary photography<\/a> or street photography. Like the Sunny 16 rule, \u201cf\/8 and be there\u201d is a ideological holdover from the film era that remains relevant in the digital age because, simply, it works. But if you\u2019ve ever wondered about the origins of this principle and its real world efficacy, wonder no more as we take a quick look at a guideline that could play a consequential role in your own work.<\/p>\n

As the story goes, when New York based photographer Arthur \u201cWeegee\u201d Fellig was asked how he captured amazing photos at such a consistent clip his reply was, \u201cSimple. f\/8 and be there.\u201d Fellig\u2019s answer may sound a bit cryptic at first, but once dissected it makes perfect sense.<\/p>\n

\"Canon<\/a>
\nPhoto by s58y<\/a><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cf\/8\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

Arthur Fellig\u2019s most enduring work was produced in the 1930s and 1940s, so that gives you a good idea of the kinds of cameras he would have been using. 35mm was a commonly used focal length for documentary type work, as it allowed the photographer to easily include enough of the background to provide environmental context. Given that shutter priority and aperture priority didn\u2019t exist yet, photographers of Fellig\u2019s day had to account for variables and make calculations that modern cameras are capable of doing for us. Fellig wisely set his lens to the \u201csweet spot\u201d<\/a> of f\/8; this middle-ground f-stop provides enough depth of field to keep everything in reasonably sharp focus, while also gathering enough light to use shutter speeds fast enough to avoid motion blur.<\/p>\n

Of course, setting an aperture of f\/8 only accounts for part of the technical process known as zone focusing or scale focusing. Zone focusing revolves around the idea that when you take a lens of a given focal length, set it to a specific aperture and focus it to a specific distance, everything that falls within that zone<\/i> will be in acceptably sharp focus. So, if Fellig set his 35mm lens to f\/8 and focused it to a point 17 feet away, everything between 9 feet and infinity would be in focus.<\/p>\n

One can easily see how this technique liberates the photographer from having to think about settings while in the field. Zone focusing at f\/8 essentially put a point-and-shoot camera in your hands in an era before there was any automation to speak of.<\/p>\n

\"Speed<\/a>
\nPhoto by Gerry Lauzon<\/a><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Be There\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

While the first part of Fellig\u2019s catchphrase is technical in nature, the second part of it is philosophical and isn\u2019t difficult to decipher. You have to do whatever it takes to get the shots you want. If you\u2019re a street photographer you have to be on the streets among the people and you have to get close. If you\u2019re a photojournalist you have to be willing to go where the action is (Fellig was known to keep a police radio in his car). It really boils down to a matter of knowing what interests you and putting yourself in a position to capture moments that you care about.<\/p>\n

\"Unknown<\/a>
\nPhoto by r\u00e9gine debatty<\/a><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cf\/8 And Be There\u201d: Final Thoughts<\/b><\/p>\n

Some might wonder why any photographer today would rely on zone focusing when we have autofocus lenses. Well, autofocus lenses don\u2019t always focus as quickly or accurately as we need them to. In rapidly changing environments where simply getting the shot is of primary concern, the tried and true technique embraced by Fellig and his contemporaries is just as useful now. If you\u2019re in any way skeptical, all you\u2019ve got to do is try it for yourself. This link<\/a> will take you to an easy to understand zone focusing tutorial<\/a>; in a matter of minutes you will be ready to follow in the footsteps of the great \u201cWeegee.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I suspect that just about everyone reading this has heard the phrase \u201cf\/8 and be there\u201d bandied about at some point, most likely in the context of photojournalism, documentary photography or street photography. Like the Sunny 16 rule, \u201cf\/8 and be there\u201d is a ideological holdover from the film era that remains relevant in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13817,"featured_media":307990,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[59133],"yoast_head":"\nA Quick Look At The Philosophy Of "f8 And Be There" | Light Stalking<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I suspect that just about everyone reading this has heard the phrase \u201cf\/8 and be there\u201d bandied about at some point, most likely in the context of .\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lightstalking.com\/quick-look-philosophy-f8\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Quick Look At The Philosophy Of "f8 And Be There"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I suspect that just about everyone reading this has heard the phrase \u201cf\/8 and be there\u201d bandied about at some point, most likely in the context of\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.lightstalking.com\/quick-look-philosophy-f8\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Light Stalking\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LightStalking\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jDevaunPhotography\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-08-31T12:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-04-07T08:25:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lightstalking.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/gerry.jpg?fit=474%2C640&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"474\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jason D. 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