What you need to know to pick the perfect lenses for your digital camera

SOME PHOTOGRAPHERS still ask if they can use old 35mm-film lenses on new DSLRs. The answer is yes you can, but you probably won’t want to. Why? Because digital sensors handle light differently than film. Designed-for-digital lenses focus light differently to better register on the image sensor, and digital-specific coatings maximize color and sharpness. Plus, newer lenses often are sharper than old ones—and that’s increasingly important with high-res sensors.

Choosing the perfect lens means more than just buying the newest models, though. Fit a lens to your personal style and the things you photograph most often, as well as the features and budget that meet your needs. You don’t have to buy the most expensive glass to make the best lens choice. You just have to understand which features will provide what you’re looking for.

LENS FUNDAMENTALS

The focal length of a lens is the first thing most photographers look at when considering a lens. It’s the most apt broad definition of what a lens does—and that’s providing a field of view that’s normal, wide or telephoto. Normal lenses approximate the human eye, somewhere in the 40-60mm range. Wide-angles are shorter than 40mm (and most often somewhere in the 20s), while telephotos are 70mm or longer. 

Wide-angle lenses are great for cramped spaces or to make landscapes look even more vast. Short telephotos (in the 80-150mm area) are great portrait lenses, while longer glass (200mm, 300mm, 600mm, even 800mm) is ideal for getting close-ups of small and distant subjects, like sports and wildlife. Telephotos compress a scene greatly in the opposite way that wide-angles expand a view. 

All of these measurements are given in 35mm-film-equivalent terms. When working with sensors smaller than full frame, focal lengths will behave proportionally longer. Some lenses are designed exclusively for small APS or Four Thirds formats and will work only with those particular cameras. To make comparing lenses easier, though, manufacturers often refer to focal lengths in standard 35mm-equivalent terms.

If a lens is a fixed focal length—35mm, 50mm or 100mm, for instance—it’s known as a prime lens. If a lens covers a range of focal lengths, like 28-70mm, it’s a zoom. Choosing primes or zooms is largely a matter of personal preference. Would you like one lens that covers the range of three primes in order to travel light or work quickly? If you want one lens to do it all, an extreme zoom that covers everything from wide-angle to telephoto could be perfect. Or if you want a handful of lenses that are fast and do one thing really well, consider purchasing primes. 

Some lenses are designed to do very specific things. Macro lenses, for instance, focus very close, enabling photographers to greatly magnify tiny subjects beyond life-size. Macro lenses often are 50mm and 100mm primes, but many zooms also have moderate macro capabilities, too.

Fisheye lenses are extreme wide-angles (often with focal measurements in the teens) that deliver an angle of view greater than 100° and often as much as 180º. Not all superwides are fisheyes, but all fisheyes are superwide. Some fisheye lenses actually create a circular image in the center of the frame, making it possible to create circular, full-sky images. 

LENS SPEED
Lenses control how much light passes through by way of an aperture. Every lens has a range of these ƒ-stops, from maximum (as wide open as the lens can be, corresponding to a small number like ƒ/2) to minimum (as stopped down as a lens can close, with a large number like ƒ/32). 

The maximum aperture, known as the “speed” of a lens, is critical. Working in low-light situations in which a fast shutter speed is needed (stopping sports action, for instance), a larger maximum aperture is worth its weight in gold. Fast lenses—say, ƒ/2 or even ƒ/1.4—are more expensive than slower lenses because they’re more versatile. They’re also often larger because they require bigger elements. Consequently, many lens makers incorporate variable maximum apertures in their zoom lenses, from ƒ/3.5 at the wide end to ƒ/5.6 at the telephoto end, for instance. A variable-maximum-aperture zoom is usually lighter and less expensive than a fixed-aperture model. 

DECIPHERING THE CODES
When shopping for lenses, you’re bound to notice a variety of acronyms and cryptic codes appended to lens names. Codes like SD, ED and T* refer to optical characteristics and coatings that are designed to deliver better color, contrast and sharpness. Coatings on internal elements minimize lens flare, while front-element coatings make glass scratch- and dust-resistant.

If you see codes like IS, OS and VR, you’re looking at a lens with image stabilization. The manufacturers’ terms are different, but the functions are the same—to reduce the effects of camera shake for sharper images when handholding, sometimes by as much as two full stops of steadying power (so instead of seeing camera shake at 1/60 sec., you can hold steady even at 1/15 sec.). Everything comes with a price, though, and stabilization is often paid for in the heft and cost of a lens. 

HSM and USM refer to autofocus motors. The hypersonic and ultrasonic designations are designed to be, clearly, really fast. If focusing speed is critical, say, for sports or fast-moving wildlife, look to these lenses.The term ASPH is short for aspherical. Instead of a wide-angle image focused correctly in the center and distorted at the edges, aspherical elements help keep sharpness constant. Wide-angle lenses tend to distort straight lines into curves, and for that, rectilinear designs intervene to keep straight lines straight, as well. 

A NEW LENS FOR EVERY NEED
Since we can’t possibly cover all of the terrific lens options from each manufacturer, here are some new lenses worth noting to give you an idea of what’s available. 

SUPERWIDE PRIME
At the shortest end of the spectrum are lenses that provide superwide angles of view great for landscape and interior photography. The Zeiss Distagon T* 3.5/18 prime is a high-quality manual-focus lens available for Pentax, Nikon and now Canon mounts. The ƒ/3.5 lens is compact and light, making it a great choice for those who value portability and performance. The CPU included in ZF.2 and ZE versions for Nikon’s F and Canon’s EF mounts also enable communication between lens and camera for controlling aperture and transferring lens data in the EXIF file. Estimated Street Price: $1,395.

WIDE PRIME
For shooters who want a wide prime that’s not so extreme, consider the Pentax DA 15mm ED lens. How can a shorter lens have a narrower field of view? Because this ƒ/4 prime is made for smaller APS-C sensors—making it the equivalent of a 23mm lens. Machined from high-grade aluminum, this Pentax Limited Series lens fits the wide format prized by photojournalists for providing context in environmental portraits and documentary photography without perspective distortion. Estimated Street Price: $649.


ULTRAWIDE ZOOM
For a wide-angle lens with more built-in flexibility, consider a really wide zoom like Tokina’s newly announced AT-X 16-28mm PRO FX lens. The zoom is fast with a constant ƒ/2.8 maximum aperture, and on a full-frame camera, it’ll provide a superwide angle of view at the 16mm end. At the 28mm setting, the lens is ideal for Nikon and Canon shooters who want a wide view from a more “normal” perspective. List Price: $1,499.

WIDE-TO-NORMAL ZOOM
Sigma’s brand-new 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM zoom offers a fast, constant ƒ/2.8 maximum aperture. The speed, compact size and variable wide-to-normal focal range make it an ideal lens for those who want to carry only a single versatile lens, and advanced optical stabilization offers up to four stops of added handholding stability. Available in Sigma, Sony, Nikon, Canon and Pentax mounts, the lens is less expensive than many equally fast full-frame zooms. Estimated Street Price: $669.

EXTREME SUPERZOOM
The Zuiko Digital ED 14-150mm is an extreme Olympus lens with a 10x zoom range. This superzoom was built for the Micro Four Thirds system, giving it an equivalent focal range of 28-300mm. A variable maximum aperture of ƒ/4-5.6 makes the lens lighter and more compact, so it’s a versatile and easy-to-carry compact lens for the PEN interchangeable-lens camera system. From wide-angle to long telephoto, this single versatile lens covers a huge focal range. Estimated Street Price: $599.

TELE-ZOOM
Sony Alpha shooters with a penchant for portraits will appreciate the long focal range of the 70-200mm G-series telephoto zoom. A really fast ƒ/2.8 maximum aperture remains constant, making it ideal for low-light shooting of action, as well. Smart features like focus-stop buttons on the barrel (which can be assigned to functions such as depth-of-field preview) improve usability. Built for full-frame cameras, the lens also can be used with the APS-C format on which it performs like a long 105-300mm telephoto. 
Estimated Street Price: $1,799. 

SUPER-TELE-ZOOM
Sports and wildlife photographers often seek out longer telephoto lenses, and the SP 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di VC zoom from Tamron is usually what they’re looking for. Short enough at 70mm to be useful in a variety of situations, yet long enough at 300mm to create great close-ups, the versatile lens fills a frequently used telephoto range in a compact frame. The lens has built-in vibration compensation to help keep it steady when handholding—crucial for optimum sharpness when working with a long lens. The Ultrasonic Silent Drive motor ensures fast and quiet autofocusing. Available in Canon, Nikon and Sony mounts. Estimated Street Price: $449. 

TELE PRIME
For pro photographers, speed is key. That’s why Nikon has added another superfast prime to its pro lineup. The brand-new AF-S Nikkor 85mm ƒ/1.4G is an internal focusing 85mm prime lens—perfect for portrait and wedding photographers or even nature photographers and photojournalists who value wide apertures. Nano Crystal Coat helps minimize internal flare, and the M/A mode switch on the barrel makes instantly changing to manual focus a snap. Blazing speed and high quality, however, don’t come cheap. Estimated Street Price: $1,649. 
MACRO PRIME
Canon’s 100mm macros have long been a favorite of detail shooters who value their sharpness and ideal medium-telephoto focal length. The company’s newest version of the lens makes improvements with the addition of image stabilization for easier handholding—crucial when working with microscopic subjects mere millimeters from the lens. The new hybrid IS in the EF 100mm ƒ/2.8L Macro IS USM lens addresses the unique challenges of stabilizing lens optics at close focusing distances. Canon claims up to two stops of added stabilization at close focus and a whopping four stops of steadiness at longer distances. Estimated Street Price: $949.

Model: Gisele Bündchen

Gisele Caroline Bündchen, born 20 July 1980 is a Brazilian fashion model and occasional film actress. She is the goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme. In the late 1990s, Bündchen became the first in a wave of Brazilian models to find international success. In 1999, Vogue magazine dubbed her “The Return of the Sexy Model” and she was credited with ending the “heroin chic” era of modeling. Bündchen was one of Victoria’s Secret Angels from 2000 until mid-2007. Since 2004, she has been the highest-paid model in the world and the sixteenth richest woman in the entertainment industry (as of 2007) with an estimated $150 million fortune.

Models Claudia Schiffer and Naomi Campbell have stated that Bündchen is the only true remaining “supermodel” and according to Forbes she may become the world’s first ever billionaire supermodel. In June 2011, Forbes magazine estimated that Bundchen’s total earnings over the last 10 years have passed the $250 million mark. As an occasional actress, she had supporting roles in Taxi (2004) and The Devil Wears Prada (2006). From 2000 to 2005, Bündchen was in a much-publicized relationship with American actor Leonardo DiCaprio. She married New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in 2009.

Gisele Bündchen whirls through her West Village brownstone — a tornado in skinny black jeans, tank top, filmy cardigan, and hausfrau slippers. Devoid of makeup, her mane of tawny hair slightly mussed, she speaks in a rapid-fire, throaty Brazilian accent. “I’m a very hyper person,” she says, rummaging through imaginary piles of clutter in her sparely decorated home away from home. (She splits her time among New York, Los Angeles, and Boston, where she lives with Tom Brady.) Indeed, while the 28-year-old could easily rest on her laurels given her enormous supermodular success, stillness just isn’t part of her repertoire.

Though Gisele clocks in at nearly six feet and has a bod that stops traffic (but is a mere size 4), it’s the one-two punch of her significant physical assets and her wham-bam personality that has not only catapulted her to the top of the modeling world but also kept her firmly at its apex for a decade and counting. “She is even better in the flesh,” says Dior designer John Galliano. “I think it was her first season in Paris when she came to do a fitting. I had heard about Gisele, but when she walked in the room I felt like my fingers had been put into the electrical socket, like, pwoah! Pure electricity.”

“What I love about her is her sensuality and energy,” seconds designer Donatella Versace. “Gisele is one of a kind.”

In her ascendancy after the waif era, Gisele recalled the supermodels of the early ‘90s: Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, and Tatjana Patitz. Of course, Gisele doesn’t think of herself as a supermodel at all. “I really don’t feel like that word. It doesn’t resonate for me. It doesn’t define me,” she says, hands flapping about as she reclines on a linen-covered overstuffed sofa. “As long as I’m a good person and I do things from the heart, that’s all that matters.”

“The great thing about her is that she grew up from the ‘supermodel Gisele’ into this responsible, amazing woman with an extraordinary and positive energy, ready to help anyone who needs it,” says Peter Lindbergh. At Bazaar’s shoot, she is friendly to everyone (down to the last production assistant), raids the cookie plate herself, and chats nonstop. She manages to keep it real despite the maelstrom of press reports chronicling her engagement and nuptials to Brady, the New England Patriots quarterback and her beau of two years. “Gossip is poison,” she says bluntly.

“Tom is a good guy,” she continues tentatively. “He has a very pure heart. He’s very naive, almost like a child. That is my favorite quality about him. One thing that I thought was so amazing when I first met him is that he is innocent. He sees the world with colored glasses.” (While Gisele speaks several languages, occasionally some charming malapropisms escape her.) “It’s beautiful, but I think that is rare. I love that about him. No one else sees that. He’s very strong and focused in his job, but he’s so sensitive, it’s amazing.”

Gisele’s earnest approach harkens back to what she proudly admits are her humble beginnings and close-knit family. Raised in Horizontina, Brazil, then a town of about 10,000, she’s one of six girls (one of whom is her fraternal twin).

“There were no traffic lights in my city, no movie theater — one hotel, and one bank,” she says affectionately of her hometown. Her father and mother raised their six daughters while working, respectively, as a teacher and a bank cashier. “We didn’t have a housekeeper, so we all cleaned the house.” 

The prematurely willowy Gisele was tapped at just 13 by an Elite agent at a shopping mall. “I looked like a mosquito then,” she says, laughing and bugging her eyes, but by the following year she was living on her own and making a living as a model. “Maybe if my family had been wealthy, I wouldn’t have done it, but because they weren’t, I decided to go,” she says. “I didn’t want to leave my whole family, but my parents were working and I had five sisters, so things were challenging. I figured I could be independent and work. I thought I could take care of myself and it would be one less child for them to worry about.”

It took her several years to make her mark, and she endured the typical gasp-inducing criticisms that plague most modeling careers. “I’ll never forget the day when a woman came up to me and said, ‘No, you could never be on a magazine cover. Your face features don’t work; your eyes are small, you have a small face but a big nose.’ I was only 14 and I had never noticed any of that stuff, you know?” Luckily, Gisele’s father supplied a snappy comeback for her. “He said to me, ‘Next time that happens, you tell the person that you have a big nose and a big personality to match.’ Ha!”

But such tales of woe were, all told, relatively short-lived. Gisele was shot for Bazaar by Patrick Demarchelier in 1998 and was landing covers in the ensuing months. And what a heady string of years it’s been since. She stars in the current Dior and Versace ad campaigns, but she’s also added contemporary brands like True Religion and Rampage to her résumé and is being touted by industry advertisers as a brand savior. “She devours the camera,” says Galliano. “Gisele is very much a part of the creative process and always pushes herself and us to create a strong, sexy icon. She has really helped redefine who the Dior character is and taken it to the next level.” 

She also recently took her love life to the next level. Gisele and Brady reportedly walked down the aisle in February in Santa Monica. Designers and close pals Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana designed a strapless ivory confection for her replete with a scalloped hem and a sweeping train.

The bombshell confesses to Bazaar, prior to the media circus, that she’s ready to move into the role of wife and mother. “I want to have a big family,” she says. “My parents have been together for 36 years, and that is what I want. I am in that place. It’s all good in that part of my life. It’s one part of my life that I’m learning about every day. I’ve been challenged a lot by it, but it’s the most rewarding part.” 

The challenges presumably date back to the drama surrounding the inception of her relationship with Brady. Just weeks after news of their courtship broke, it was revealed that Brady’s very recent ex, actress Bridget Moynahan, was pregnant with his child. Naturally, Brady and Gisele were trounced by the tabloids, which charted every change in Moynahan’s bump. But Gisele is said to have neutralized the situation by sending a peace-offering gift basket to Moynahan, and she is mad about Brady’s one-year-old son, John Edward. “I love kids,” she says, smiling, her eyes lighting up. “It’s amazing that I have the opportunity to hang out with my stepson all the time.”

She picks up a recent picture of the tot from her shelf, which is lined with photos of family and friends all crowded together in mismatched frames. “He is so kind. He loves blueberries, and every now and then my dog, Vida, tries to get some food from him. He is so nice that he will give her the blueberries first. He is so cute and has such a sweet demeanor.”

There was a time, however, about five or six years ago, when Gisele wasn’t ready for love and marriage and babies. The pace of her career, her lifestyle, and her one-name fame were getting the best of her. 

“I was drinking a lot of red wine, smoking a pack and a half of cigarettes a day, and eating cheeseburgers all day. I was treating my body, which is my temple and my best friend, as my worst enemy,” she says. “I was almost punishing myself. I was so tired. I was working so much, and I was numb.” She saved herself from being yet another washed-up model by taking half a year off, during which she went home to Brazil and then traveled through Africa.

She also became an avid reader of self-help books, and their truisms are part of her everyday vernacular. “If you are happy, you can give happiness,” she says with all sincerity. “If you don’t love yourself and if you are unhappy with yourself, you can’t give anything else but that.”

For Bazaar, Gisele interpreted a host of famous muses through the ages. She clearly relates to those models who share her physicality and strong sexuality. Of Veruschka, she says, “She knew how to move and had a really strong face. Not too perfect, but gorgeous, and she made it look effortless.” So too did Gisele, who transformed herself, with the help of a power hair-and-makeup team led by Jimmy Paul and Pati Dubroff, into Veruschka, Lauren Hutton, Jerry Hall, Penelope Tree, Brooke Shields  — and, of course, herself. She did everything from primping her hair (“This looks great,” she said of her cover look, “but it’s too glamorous, too chic. It needs to be more bitchy!”) to moving the heavy industrial lights around the set, Bionic Woman–style.

Of Lauren Hutton, Gisele says, “She’s one of my favorite people in the industry. I don’t know anyone who is more authentic than her. She’s not just beautiful, she’s got a soul.” And Jerry Hall? “I always think of her as Jessica Rabbit. She’s sexy, she’s beautiful, but very doll-like — very perfect features but with big hair like Rapunzel.”

The androgyny central to Penelope Tree’s persona is more difficult for her. “She looked like she was hiding, like she was shy. She gave the minimum and didn’t open herself up. There was a distance, but maybe that was the era; maybe that’s how women felt.” As for Shields, she observes that the 1981 Calvin Klein ad (shot by Richard Avedon the year after Gisele was born) is one of her favorite pictures ever. “She looks so innocent, but she is doing sexy poses. Her face says one thing, but her body says something else.”

In front of the camera, Gisele is something else too. “She brought sexy back way before Justin Timberlake,” says Galliano. Gabbana and Dolce, ever fond of a power femme, add, “We love her attitude. She’s self-confident, conscious of her beauty, independent. She is what a woman should be.”

After a long day of shooting, Gisele was also a woman who was ready to go. She stood at the mirror scraping the layers of makeup off her face, tearing off fake lashes, patting down her teased-up hair, and lamenting her irritated skin, worked over for the multiple transformations. “I haven’t seen Tom in 10 days and now I’m going to show up like this?” she wailed. But of course Gisele, red face and all, is still Gisele.

website: www.giselebundchen.com

facebook: www.facebook.com/Gisele

Photographer: Helmut Newton

Helmut Newton (born Helmut Neustädter; 31 October 1920 – 23 January 2004) was a German-Australian photographer. He was a “prolific, widely imitated fashion photographer whose provocative, erotically charged black-and-white photos were a mainstay of Vogue and other publications.”

Each photo by Helmut Newton is immediately recognizable by his signature setup, decor and atmosphere. Each series (for Vogue, Oui, Playboy, Marie-Claire or Nova) from this artist, who is German by birth , Australian by necessity and French by adoption, is a celebration of the imagination and the soul. Helmut Newton is currently the undisputed master of fashion and beauty photography.

You always take pictures of the same type of girl, the “society girl” stylish, ambiguous and perverse...

HN: To me, bourgeois women are more erotic than a hairdresser or a secretary. Nothing in these words is meant to be negative, it’s an observation. Class, elegance, education and sociological environments are factors I believe in. I sometimes feel guilty about it, but that’s the way it is. A bourgeois woman is naturally sexy. I hate when everything is exhibited in the window - it feels cheap. On the contrary, I love when you have to dig inside. I love communicating the idea that the women I show are accessible. They are actually. Their accessibility only depends on the time and money you want to spend...

You place your fantasies in your images.

HN: Exactly. I did a series of photos for Oui. A series of photos that showed a woman walking naked under a fur coat in places as diverse as the subway, an art gallery, the Ile Saint-Louis , a car on the Champs-Elysees and a street in Paris. I know where these images come from: from a childhood fantasy. When I was 14-years-old, I read a novel by Arthur Schitzler called “Fraulein Else.” This is the story of a banker who just went bankrupt and has a beautiful 17-year-old daughter. A man offered to bail out her father if she agreed to walk down the hallway of a hotel naked under a fur coat. She hesitates but decides to do it. One night, she came down from her room and walked around the man opening her coat. The man didn’t touch her and saved her father. I love this novel, which was written in 1910 and is incredibly audacious for that period. This is where these images come from. With that said, the process of making this series was really dangerous. It’s forbidden to shoot in the subway without permission and I think for these types of photos, the RATP wouldn’t even have bothered replying. I also wanted to photograph on a riverboat. When I expressed this idea to the press manager of the company, he almost fainted, so I did everything secretly. We started the series in a sumptuous car, driven by a chauffer and parked at the corner between Rue de Berri and the Champs-Elysees on a Thursday at 1pm. The girl was naked and her only clothing was a veil. The onlookers were flabbergasted.

You love shocking people and there is a touch of vulgarity in your images.

HN: A touch? You are modest. My photos are marked with vulgarity. Creativity comes from bad taste and vulgarity. In 1957, when I worked in Europe for the first time for UK Vogue, the editor-in-chief gave me an extremely long list of things to avoid. There were no photos possible anymore. For another magazine, which I still collaborate with today, there are two editors who have the same state-of-mind. With incredible ingenuity, they keep looking for accessories such as scarves, chic handbags, ballet flats and flowing garments that hide the body and make me drunk with anger. They systematically choose all the things that a normal man would consider anti-sexual. Would I make love with a girl dressed in such a way? This is the first question I ask myself when I shoot fashion photos. These two editors don’t understand that. Their mothers were like that and they are perpetuating the tradition. Good taste is anti-fashion, anti-photo, anti-girl, anti-eroticism! Vulgarity is life, amusement, desire, extreme reactions!

Though you are extremely distant from the model in your voyeurism.

HN: Yes, voyeurism in photography is a necessary and professional sickness. Look at, capture, observe, frame, target. These are the laws of our field. The world is totally different when I look at it through the viewfinder. I always take a step back from what I see through my camera. I use it as a screen.

You often use swimming pools and hotel rooms as décor...

HN: Because I’m lazy. When I travel, I hate looking for outdoor places. I never go further than 2 or 3 km from the hotel. Plus, I love the hotels. This again,is a childhood fantasy. I love all the hotels, from the sumptuous old palaces, such as The Ritz, to the depressing, prison-like, cold, modern buildings. This is convenient, a hotel. There is room service and it’s less expensive than renting a studio. I even did two shoots in a brothel. The owner was reluctant, as he was not looking for publicity, but finally, he agreed. He loaned me a room on a slow day – Sunday, naturally. The second time, he saw me coming with the model, my assistant, the hairdresser and her assistant and he exclaimed, “Are you coming for an orgy or to take photos?!”

How do your images come to life?

HN: They come from a student notebook. In it, I write down everything I’m interested in and it is divided into three sections: ideas, girls and locations. If I don’t write, I forget. All my notes are first in a standby mode, then they start on their way, ferment and finally take shape. Last year I saw on a beach in St. Tropez, two boys and a girl who were happy being together. A perfect harmonious trio. I reproduced this situation recently for a fashion series I did for Italian Vogue. 

What was your childhood like?

HN: I was born more than forty years ago, in Berlin to a respectable, bourgeois family. I had a childhood without any problems and I adored my parents. When I turned 12, my father gave me my first camera. I did my first seven pictures in the subway. Naturally, we couldn’t see anything. The eighth image is from the radio tower in Berlin. My grades were deplorable. I was the biggest dunce of them all. When I turned 14, because at that time, school finished at 1pm, I got a job in the afternoon as a photographer’s assistant but didn’t tell my parents. This lasted for 6 months. My grades continued to get dramatically worse and my father took away my camera and locked me inside the house. At 16, my parents had lost all hope. I began as an apprentice for a portrait photographer named Yva, who was famous at the time. I’ve always wanted to be a photographer. When I was 13, I imagined I was in a raincoat, running around the world on the arm of a dreamlike creature and driving huge cars. At 14, I took photos of my friends in the streets wearing my mother’s dresses and hats. It’s during this time I promised myself that I would become a fashion photographer for Vogue. With Yva, I learned how to use a large-format camera, especially the 13x18. Yva had a really wonderful one with color slides. It was an enormous, heavy mahogany box that required a one-second exposure in the full sun at noon. At 18 years old, I left Germany to go to Australia.

Technically, you are a jack-of-all-trades. There is no camera you haven’t tried.

HN: Yes, I’m searching, I’m trying, I’m experimenting, but this is a common practice. The range of amateur cameras is wider than professional. Why wouldn’t I be interested by it? The miniaturization of the bodies and the flashes can be really helpful. All my material today is composed of four bodies, five lenses, one flash, one Polaroid and everything fits in luggage that weighs 17 kilos, which allows me to take any type of photo, anywhere, in any condition.

How did you evolve technically?

HN: I started with a large-format Graflex, 4x5 inches, Super D, then I turned to Rolleiflex. I don’t like the Hasselblad, as it’s too heavy and too noisy. Afterwards, I consecutively used Nikon (in 1962, following the advice of Frank Horvat), Konica, Olympus and Instamatic. Today, my definitive choice is Nikon and Pentax. I recently got a Leica CL in my hands. This is a wonderful object, but I can’t use it. I don’t feel my images through this viewfinder. It took me a while to get used to the 24x36. From the Rolleiflex that you wear at your belly to the Nikon that you wear at eye-level, this is a very different vision and perspective.

Are you a fanatic of Kodachrome II?

HN: Yes, but this emulsion lacks sensitivity and it’s still too slow. I sometimes use Ektachrome X in certain conditions.

What are your favorite lenses?

HN: The longest possible one that still enables me to not lose the contact with the subject I’m shooting. When I shoot in a hotel or a studio, I always have my ass touching the wall. I don’t like the studio. I hate backgrounds and only feel at ease outside. I’m not a good technician. I was really bad. I’ve made some progress. The automatic system helped me a lot in that field. I built myself a technique based on simple means and, if possible, not requiring the help of an assistant. A large part of my work lies on the use of flash.

Which photographers have inspired you?

HN: Penn, Avedon, Baron de Meyer, Steichen, Honeighen Hune, William Klein, Weegee, Sander, Brassai and Lartigue.

We could say a few young photographers are shooting “some Newton.” What do you think about this?

HN: This amuses me enormously but I’m quite happy about it. In the beginning, one should always be inspired by someone you admire. I did the same thing when I was young. We always mimic someone at one point or another in our life, but then, we need to follow our own path.

What do you hate about photography?

HN: Dishonesty. The disgusting image shot in the name of an artistic principle. Blurry images. Grainy images. Bad technique.

To young boys who would love to become a photographer, what advice would you give them?

HN: Ideally, to be the assistant of the photographer of your choice, but not even 1 in 10,000 would get that opportunity. I think that a young photographer should be hired in a big, commercial studio in order to get familiarized and to learn the ABC’s of the technique. In the meantime, he should take photos whenever he has a free moment. When one wants to be a photographer, you should live exclusively towards achieving this goal.

Would you like to teach?

HN: Yes, this would captivate me. Jeanloup Sieff, Peter Knapp and I have imagined a project that we may achieve one day. This would consist of limited courses that would imitate real photo shoots. Maybe one day?

website: www.helmutnewton.com

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You can see the full documentary right here: http://youtu.be/comaEaE2Qaw