Ever since I started getting into photography, (aside from my periods of infatuation with the iPhone and my Harinezumi) I’ve almost exclusively used only one lens: a 35mm on the D300. It’s pretty versatile, and while it has its limits, it could do most of what I needed it to, and I liked the challenge of working within limitations: it pushed me to focus on composition, lighting, framing, depth of field, etc., all within a short range of parameters, and still try to find a decent shot.
No matter what surprises life in Thailand threw at me.
Or what delights.
I stretched the parameters as near and as far as I could go, given my (amateur) abilities.
And refused to blame my tools. (ahem, mostly)
This weekend, it occurred to me there’s another way to stretch and grow. So I decided, this year, I will switch to using a 17-50mm lens, a wide angle lens, which allows more room for play, more space, and more subjects…and also more chance for distortion, weirdness, and error.
Weird can be good though. And sometimes errors are happy ones.
There will be growing pains – not the least of which, learning to adjust to the physical size of a longer lens so I don’t whack innocent bystanders upside the head when I go around town, like I did to that poor woman just yesterday.
As I ponder this, the metaphor is not lost on me: there is growth when you learn to shoot life with a wider lens.
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In other news: Dot’s mother gave birth to a whole new litter of puppies (again). The puppies are starting to wander about the neighborhood, and this morning, one stumbled, lost and terrified, into our yard (why do all the neighborhood dogs find their way to our house??). The poor critter was yowling, and Dot’s mom, instead of coming to get him, ran away and left him behind. We tried to get him back to his mother and siblings, but he sure can run fast and hide, so we don’t know if they ever did get reunited. There sure was a whole lot of yipping and howling though – and cute, fuzzy puppies! – and I think Toby feared I would push for another adoption. But no, there is plenty of drama at the Keller household; there’s no need to beg for more.
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Also linking up with Communal Global and Just Write
