One of the things I have always liked about photography is that you don’t necessarily need the newest camera or the newest lens to make an interesting photograph.
Years ago, I bought my Sony NEX-3 and paired it with the little Sony 16mm lens. I also bought the fisheye converter that attaches to the front of the 16mm lens. That combination opened up a completely different way of looking at Toronto.
The fisheye became a fun lens for my photo walks. Instead of standing back and taking a normal photograph, I could get right down close to something and exaggerate the shapes, curves and perspective. Ordinary objects suddenly became much more interesting.
Later, I bought my Sony a5000. The great thing was that I didn't have to throw my old equipment into a drawer and forget about it. I could still use that 16mm lens and my fisheye converter on the a5000.
The photo here is a good example of why I still enjoy using it.
I got the camera down low and photographed through these big circular metal rings. With the fisheye, the circles seem to keep getting smaller and smaller until they disappear down the street. The buildings bend around the edges, and the whole photograph pulls your eye toward the centre.
It almost looks like I discovered a tunnel through downtown Toronto.
That is what I like about the fisheye. It isn't about making everything look normal. It is about taking something you might walk past every day and finding a completely different way of seeing it.
My Sony NEX-3 is old. My Sony a5000 isn't exactly the newest camera on the block either. The 16mm lens and fisheye converter have been around for years.
But they can still take a good photograph.
Photography doesn't always improve because you bought a newer camera. Sometimes it improves because you learn how to get more out of the equipment you already own.
And as long as that old fisheye keeps showing me Toronto in a different way, it still has a place in my camera bag.
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