For about 10 months, I’ve been using a variety of film cameras, all with so called ‘normal’ lenses mounted on them. Normal, meaning having about the equivalent angle of view that we see while looking straight ahead. For a 35 mm camera, that would be a 50 mm lens. On the Mamiya 645e, that is an 80 mm lens. On my D300, considering the crop factor, that comes out to about 32 mm, give or take. The nearest focal length being a 35 mm lens. I don’t own one of those, but I do have a 50 mm that I’ve been using, or a focal equivalent and field of view of a 75 mm lens.
For this shot, which is a different view of yesterday’s shot, I had in mind what it would look like through a 50 mm, backed up, looked, and it was nowhere near what I thought it would look like. I was really feeling the red and white stripes of the railroad crossing arm against the color of the sky as well has the blossoms in the background.
Looking through the 50 mm/75 mm equivalent, it was very much cropped. I had to back up quite a bit to get what I wanted … though I wish that the fence wasn’t there, but what can you do other than go with it? To get this shot, I had to almost walk into the street. It’s a pretty busy street in both directions, so better to stay on the sidewalk.
I had been using my film cameras for B & W exclusively, mainly for convenience and to keep costs down. Now, maybe I’ll have to borrow a move from the Chris Klug handbook and shoot Fujichrome or something. It has been dozens of years since I’ve done that. It could be quite satisfying!
I think that to keep things on level playing ground, it’s time to get a 35 mm lens, which is much, much less expensive than getting a D700 unless someone wants to sell me one the same price as the lens. If so, contact me via e-mail and I’ll send the check right away! 
Well, at the rate that we are burning through money in my family this year, it ain’t gonna happen! No part of it! Now, if some rich blog reader would like to donate these items … well, how could I say no?
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