ABSTRACT
The language of the lens encompasses how the lens mediates and interprets the physical world; how it “renders” the image in different ways that can be used for effective visual storytelling. With a wider than normal lens, depth perception is exaggerated: objects appear to be farther apart than they are in reality. With a longer than normal lens, the camera will be much farther back to achieve the same image size. With careful camera placement and a long lens, a speeding bus can seem to miss a child on a bicycle by inches, when in fact, there is a comfortably safe distance between them, a trick frequently used to enhance stunt shots and action sequences. Soft lenses can give a slightly greater apparent depth-of-field. This is because the fall-off from critical sharpness is somewhat masked by the softness.
