Have you ever heard of the KISS principle? Keep It Simple Stupid! As an engineer on my day job, I put this principle to use daily. I’ve found this principle works great for photography as well. In my estimation, keeping things simple in photography means one camera, one lens and no tripod. To take it one step further, the one lens is a prime lens.
Less kit equates to more freedom. You are free from quibbling about gear. What lens? What camera? Do I need by tripod? You are free to trek further with less bulk and weight. Minimal gear might mean gaining access to venues where a lot of camera gear might prevent you otherwise. One camera and one lens can also give you the freedom to keep a low profile. This is a plus for street photographers. The virtues of a small kit is a long list! Ultimately, venturing out with one camera and one lens forces you to be creative, and developing your eye is a good thing!
For this walkabout, I decided to use my 25mm f1.8 lens. For those of you into the “equivalence thing,” my 25mm lens is the equivalent of a 50mm lens on a 35mm format camera. The 50mm focal length in the 35mm format is also called the “Nifty Fifty.” It earned its nickname because of its versatility. The 50mm focal length on a 35mm camera is great for just about all genres of photography. These lenses usually have a maximum aperture of f1.4 or f1.8. The large apertures give you more range in creating shallower depth of field for subject isolation and these apertures are great for shooting in low light. I bought my first SLR along with a 50mm f1.8. I shoot a variety of subjects with the nifty fifty. Well, let’s take a look at what the 25mm captured on my late night walk on and off the beaten path.
Walk, observe, compose, shoot and repeat. It doesn’t get much simpler than that! Not only was this a good exercise in creativity, it was a great exercise for technique. My longest shutter speed was just over 1 second and I extended my depth of field up to f8 on some shots. This really tested my ability to hold the camera steady. Superb image stabilization played a huge role in capturing these shots as I was keeping my ISO as low as possible. Well, time flies when you’re having fun. Exif data shows my very first shot was captured at 23:30 and my last at 03:30. It didn’t seem like I was walking around for 4 hours! I love shooting late at night. I love the solitude! I can almost hear myself think as I trek through the streets. The bustling streets of the day become my personal canvas at night. I hope you’ve enjoyed the photos. Like and Follow me at Shuttering Thru Life. Thanks for reading!
No responses yet