Saturday, August 21, 2010

Taking My Own Advice – Commitment to 50mm

Deer in the Fog
When posting recommendations to improve your photography, I feel compelled to follow my own advice.  Following one’s own advice is not always as easy as it sounds; there is often room for a notable gap between what we intellectually know to be true and our actions.  When it comes to photography, I try to keep my practice and advice closely aligned.  Either offering the benefit of my experience, or setting out to practice what I believe to be a sound approach.
Barn in the Fog
In my last post “Improving Your Photography Through a Committed Relationship” I recommended snapping on a fixed focal length (prime) lens, and challenge yourself to develop a committed relationship to that lens.  Don’t “cheat” on that lens.  In other words, leave it on your camera, resist the temptation to use another lens, and fully explore the capabilities of that lens before returning to your normal practice.
Road in the Woods
Upon posting my last entry, I remained true to my advice and attached my 50mm f/1.8 II lens to my Canon 5D and committed to leaving it there until I am comfortable that I have fully explored this lens.  This morning I continued to put this into practice and made some landscape photography with the 50mm.  This was a useful exercise, because the 50mm is not my normal choice for landscape photography.  I would normally use a much shorter focal length (i.e. 24mm or less).
Hay Bails in a Foggy field
I am happy with the resulting photographs featured in this post.  The 50mm is a super sharp lens and even though I was generally shooting landscape scenes with plenty of fog, the sharpness is clear and offers some nice contrast with the softness introduced by the fog.
Each of the photographs featured here are from Saint Mary’s County Maryland and are three shot HDR images.
Have fun, and enjoy your committed relationship.
Craig

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