Focus on the details and from afar, with a compact, fast street zoom

No matter what you enjoy photographing, you’ll undoubtedly — at some point — make photographs on the street. Street photography is one of the most popular genres of photography, and it encapsulates everything from capturing people to capturing architectural details.

Having a compact zoom lens is a perfect option for street photography. It gives you the versatility to capture things close-up and from afar. And having a constant f/2.8 aperture lens is even better.

I recently took out the Tamron 17-70mm f/2.8 lens — available for Sony E and Fujifilm XF mounts — and tested it while walking around a few West Michigan towns. The lens features an f/2.8 aperture — making it great in low-light — and comes in with quick, accurate focusing in a compact footprint.

Evaluating wide, and diving in close

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Wide angle photographs of buildings and intersections are some of my most frequent subjects to photograph. These allow me to really look back at a scene, and encapsulate everything I see in front of me.

While I love my wide angle images, taking a step back also lets me see all the details that I can then zoom in on, even without changing lenses. Having a lens like the 17-70mm really lets me work a scene without any extra effort on my end. I don’t even have to move my feet!

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I can look up at the architecture, straight ahead of me with details and window views, and capture a different look each time.

Focusing on the light

Furthermore, being able to use a lens that can capture contrast and texture of buildings is great. The 17-70mm lens really shined when putting it through its paces on a few photowalks on sunny, clear days. While this can create challenges to capture a balanced scene, clear skies are wonderful for capturing drama.

I particularly enjoy capturing light shining on building, or harsh shadows. Like the photos above, these can work at a wide view, or close up.

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No matter what you like capturing on the streets, having a versatile lens can make your experience that much better. It allows you to capture things afar, or directly in front of you, with both creating a unique look to the world around you.