PLAY January - Nikon 50mm f/1.4G: Occasional Fence-Post 14
Something old, something new...
For those who have been wondering what would be my follow-up to my OCOLOY project (new readers - see my profile), I can now satisfy your curiosity - this year's project is PLAY... which stands for Prime Lenses All Year.
Last year I used one fixed lens camera for the whole year, this year I'm going to use a different fixed focal length each month. I learned a lot from the discipline of always photographing with the same focal length so this year I am hoping to expand my comfort zone to other focal lengths. Where better to start I thought than the ubiquitous 'Nifty 50' that we all shot with in the days of 35mm film so all images in this album in January will be taken with that focal length.
Not everything changes though, so my first image is another in my Occasional Fence-Post series!
And again, no change - it will probably be best viewed on black.
Oh, I've also restarted my 'regular' 365 album but whether I will manage to post to that everyday as well as to here is, for the moment, a matter of conjecture!
Great plan. As a curiosity, I've chosen something similar for this year. If I can ask: do you own all these prime lenses or you plan to borrow it? My best wishes to your new adventure
@jborrases Thank you JB, I shall be keeping an eye on your progress too. I own 10 prime lenses I think so I need to save up and buy two more before the end of the year ;-))
I liked your fencepost shots in the past. I will look forward to your images since I just got my first prime lens (1.8/35mm). First photos were today. It's going to take some getting used to.
Very nice! It's always a good lens to play around with and perhaps you'll inspire me to pull out my old one from film days, though I'm not sure I can still focus it like I used to.
You certainly have some determination Richard and your OCOLOY project was a real success. Look forward to seeing how this one works out. This is a splendid start: love the composition and the detail. I always prefer to use prime lenses but don't have so many that I could use a different a month for a year!
PLAY is an excellent development of OCOLOY. I shall be following with interest. I'm glad you've returned to RAW shooting. Will you ever crop your images, I wonder?
@jasperc Thank you Jasper - I actually cropped this one a bit so that the fence wire exited in the corner of the frame but I don't crop much and even less so after 15000 Ocoloy shots which taught me to get it right in camera!
@yrhenwr Thank you David - I do have 12 prime lenses but they are for different camera systems - Nikon, Sony or Fuji - so there will be another 'nifty-fifty' month later on using a 35mm on an APS-C sensor camera which gives a different result. Also, a using a 56mm on a crop sensor camera is very different to using a manual focus 85mm on a full-frame camera. I should know my lenses and cameras rather better by the end of the year.
Can never have enough primes, especially on full frame, and there's always rationalisation for another couple or three, as you say. And they are all different. Look forward to seeing what you'll be doing for 2017.
Fav for fab first fence shot for the New Year! (I love my 50mm lens but I think it's not quite the same focal length on a mirrorless camera as on a dslr.)
Happy New Year, Richard! Fab shot and I really admire your commitment and enthusiasm for using only one prime lens and stretching yourself. PLAY well and have fun :)
Marvelous textures and tones. Also a great follow up from your ocoloy. I was given a book from my sons- "The Visual Toolbox, 60 lessons for stronger photographs" by David Duchemin, which will give me needed structure for the year. I look forward to your PLAY work.
Happy New Year Richard, looking forward to your photos in 2017!