Nothing but a Prime
Friday, July 23, 2010 at 15:42 ;)
Window Burst │ GF1 + Lumix 20mm F1.7 │ 20mm F4.0 1/2000s ISO100I often make the claim that a single prime is versatile enough for much of my shooting needs. It's a way of keeping my kit as light and unobtrusive as possible. So I left the house this morning with just my 20mm F1.7 prime (40mm equivalent). I was happily shooting when I noticed an interesting window shape in the distance. As an architect, I can't help but notice these things. It turned out to be a new synagogue with a very progressive design. The light was great and I started kicking myself for not having my wide angle zoom along.
I tried it with the not so wide prime anyway, using a construction vehicle to crop the building into a portion that would fit within the frame. That's not too bad as far as the photo goes. But it doesn't show the essence of the building: that the unusual window shape actually describes the volume of the Sjoel behind it. For that I would've needed to take the photo from the other side of the building where you could see the light streaming through the open space. But on the other side I couldn't find a way to take the photo without a wide angle. So a single prime is not always versatile enough. I'd suggest taking an LX5 along. Or even the lovely 7-14mm wide angle zoom which was sitting around at home doing nothing.
Amsterdam, Panasonic GF1, prime lens, synagogue
Reader Comments (3)
That is the easy escape of course. Use wider lenses and all. Using a single prime lens really trains you to become more creative. Don't come back to the building with your 7-14mm lens. Instead take your 20mm again and work as hard as possible. And there is more then just the architectural eye. Try to think out if the box.
That sounds like a worthy challenge, Wouter. I will take you up on it. Restrictions usually force you to think outside the box.
In a hitch, stitch.
Or get a NEX and sweep.