[matthew]

The fact is that relatively few photographers ever master their medium. Instead they allow the medium to master them and go on an endless squirrel cage chase from new lens to new paper to new developer to new gadget, never staying with one piece of equipment long enough to learn its full capacities, becoming lost in a maze of technical information that is of little or no use since they don't know what to do with it.
- Edward Weston

Photography is an inherently technical pursuit, and the tools that we use influence what we create and how we perceive our craft. It's not unreasonable then that equipment is a major topic whenever photographers exchange ideas. And sometimes the enjoyment that we get from our hobbies is derived from the technical rather than expressive aspects, and there's nothing wrong with that, either. Vintage car enthusiasts don't always pursue their art because they enjoy driving.

But photographers, whether using today's "designed for digital" equipment or the 8x10 view cameras of a century ago, often look for some magic solution to a perceived limitation. We see barriers to overcome and capabilities to acquire, and think that the way to become a more capable photographer is to get more gear. We sacrifice depth by pursuing breadth.

For this assignment, limit yourself. I know you can think of things that would never occur to me, but here are some suggestions:

- choose one camera and one lens. Use it exclusively for a period of time, and the longer the better. Use this time to really learn one particular tool.

- make the wrong equipment choice and then make it work. If you only had a telephoto lens, how cold you still photograph a landscape?

Call this the anti-superzoom challenge. You don't need to be able to do everything if you can do something really well. Find a way to do it.

[Irma]

I had this experience last time I was in Mexico since I just took one lens with me, 24-105mm. I thought there wouldn't be much chance to take macro or birds but only landscapes and portrait so I decided for this lens. It was a great practice indeed, because I learned a lot about this lens and what I could do with it and I didn't know.

One day we saw this tarantula crossing a rural road we were driving. My brother stopped the car for me to take a picture, and I immediately thought, but how?? I don't have my macro or my zoom. I won't work! Anyway, I went near the spider and I started been a bit conservative with the distance, and I saw it was looking just a dot in the frame. I got closer and closer and I went down to the floor to get a better view. When I saw my pictures in the computer I was very happy I took these pictures, eventhough they were not taken with an appropiate lens...

I cropped them and this size is more or less 60% of the crop.









After I took my pictures, my brother told me... Good thing that it didn't jump. They used to do it when they feel threatened...
:|!!

[matthew]

After I took my pictures, my brother told me... Good thing that it didn't jump. They used to do it when they feel threatened...
:|!!

That's a bad way to increase the resale value of your photos... And I'm trying to imagine seeing a spider that's big enough to spot while you're driving. I've seen tarantulas in pet stores, but seeing one in the wild must be an experience.

I tried this experiment a few years ago, when I was thinking about moving from my Sony compact to an SLR. I kept my lens fixed at 100mm to see if I'd like that length for a prime, and used it for about a week. I did eventually buy the lens that I was imitating, and it's one of my favourites now. I probably still have some of the original photos.

I'm still not sure what I'll do for this assignment. I don't think I can stick with only one lens for the full two weeks, as I have class and a club outing coming up, but I may try to do as much of my 'recreational' photography with the 35-100 as possible. It seems odd that I've been neglecting my most expensive (but heaviest) lens, so it's time I really learn how to use it.

There's a fantastic photographer-centric comic strip called What the Duck, and I can't recommend it enough. This assignment made me think of this strip: http://web.mac.com/aaronandpatty/What_th..._3.html#59

[NT73]

Strangely I do not feel limited by the nifty fifty. I rather like it over the kit lens and the 70-300 Tamron.
The kit lens being a little unsharp and the 300 needing the tripod, or brilliant sunshine (f.4-f.5.6)
Inspiration is the limiting factor.
Gateway to the Dales. The title usually comes after the shot, in this case I wanted to make an old rusty gate look better. I don't know if I have succeeded.

[Irma]

Matt,
Thanks a lot for that link... I had very nice time reading all the strips there... things very funny but sometimes so true...
Look forward to seeing your pictures...

NT,
I like a lot the colors specially the orange of the rust!! Very vivid color... I would only sharpen it a bit to get more texture in the good? or maybe a bit of dodge and burn? Anyway as it is looks really nice.

[Wedding Shooter]

I like your picture NT - nice warm colours.

[matthew]

I really like the combination of the sharp foreground subject and the soft landscape in the background.

[matthew]

Yesterday I went to a park close to where I grew up. With this assignment in mind, I took only my E-1, 35-100, tripod, ND filter, white balance card, and hotshoe level. (Minimalist for me.) While the camera and lens alone weigh seven pounds, the total kit was still relatively manageable. I was more annoyed by carrying the tripod than the total weight.

There were some times that I wished for another lens and had to come up with other ideas about what photo to capture. One was with this guy:



I rarely see chipmunks, and would have loved to have my 560mm-e longest lens. A flash would have also been nice. Instead I tried slowly walking closer and cropping heavily in Lightroom. The results aren't great, and I especially noticed the lack of image stabilization. This is the only "miss" shot that I know I could have gotten with other equipment.

Other photos I took differently. Below is an old walkway that's been damaged by storms and is no longer used. The stairs and switch-backs have been replaced by an asphalt path that makes up in practicality what it lacks in character. I would have liked to use an ultra-wide lens to exaggerate the proportions of the stones and railings, but I'm still happy with the image I was able to take.



After that I went down to the river to play with my daylight long exposures. The image below is one that suited the telephoto lens perfectly, as it has turned the few scrawny trees along the riverbank into a forest.



...more to come, just as soon as I take them.

[Irma]

All very nice pictures Matt, but that last one!! It is like a perfect dream....
Love it!!

[matthew]

Thanks!

I blame my ND filter for any effectiveness in that last photo -- it has a warm tone that remains even after a neutral white balance.

[NT73]

Thanks Matt, Irma and Wedding Shooter.
Been a bit busy lately with Garden makeover/Day trips, and ennui.( Thats bone idleness)

[Keith Alan]

I remembered this Assignment on Saturday while shooting at Chalk It Up!.
This annual event sees a major downtown street closed to traffic and turned into a community art project.
Artists are invited to make huge murals, but anyone who wants to can also plop down and start making their own chalk art on the street and sidewalks.
There's food and music and lots of people to watch.

Anyway, the limitation I chose for myself was to forget about using the "correct" amount of zoom and to forget about getting level horizons by not looking at or through my camera at all.
I tried it three times, always with the camera held in a roughly vertical format at arm's length next to my leg and pointed at my intended subject with as little thought and care as possible.
Whatever my last zoom setting was, wherever my focus brackets were set previously--the ultimate in not caring and not trying, just getting an impulse and pushing the shutter button.

I rotated 90 degrees only, and cropped a little to "find" the photos within the frame.
It was a liberating exercise that reminded me to take a more casual approach to street photography--to look for the story and forget about the camera.