Oh definitely, and I miss tons, as I’m sure most of us do. But I still like to be prepared for wide angle, standard and telephoto if I’m out and about. There are times when I just go out with one prime, and I have enjoyed those sessions, but I still find it hard when I see something that requires a specific focal length, usually telephoto. As @elGordo says, I think it’s mostly to do with the fact that I’m not getting out as often as I would like, which is something I intend to change this year.
Edit: Also, there are times of the year when the conditions are very samey, often not great for photography. So when we get some spectacular conditions, there’s the added pressure of making the most of it. At least, that’s what I tell myself when I’m sitting on the couch, looking out of the window and thinking I should have got my ass in gear.
The way I see it, I’ll either miss shots because I don’t have the right focal length available, or because I’m not looking for shots with the right focal length in mind. Either way, I miss most shots. That’s just a fact of (my) life.
I notice that I see far more opportunities when I’m looking for a particular focal length, so that’s a definite advantage of a prime. But by being so focused, I obviously miss out on opportunities for other focal lengths.
Conversely, having too much focal length available tends to freak me out a bit, which pushes me to the widest or longest end out of desperation. With less variety available, I tend to relax into a fairly narrow band of 35-50mm, and stay there happily for most shots.
What freaks you out gives me peace of mind. When I know I’m in an interesting place, it can still sometimes be hard to find a great composition, and having lots of focal length choice helps me to find something. The beauty of telephoto is that it has a scene-simplifying effect, so it can help to cut out the chaos.
I’m definitely guilty of taking lots of shots of all focal lengths and then deciding when I’m back on my computer which work the best. I usually have an idea what will work, but I prefer to take some “safety” shots as well in case something works better than originally thought.
I don’t know if that’s a good strategy or a bad one making me a lazy photographer. Either way, I’m going to try new things this year.
That’s interesting, I tend not to think about focal length until I already have something framed up in my mind.
I try to always be looking, and if I see something interesting, I will usually walk towards it (if possible) and try and discern if it is actually interesting. I will usually pick the edges and look at the composition with whatever lens is on my camera (if the focal length is suitable), and if I like it, I shoot it. Before I shoot I usually think about the things that focal length changes, relation of foreground to background, and relation of things to each other in the frame. If I really like a subject or place I’m in, I usually start further away with a longer lens, and just start shooting, and change my lens if necessary as I get close.
I am mostly a prime shooter these days, but it is a practical decision: I get more good images that way. I am definitely not at peace during the process.
The other day I was shooting portraits under really cramped conditions with the Olympus 45mm f/1.8. I was cursing myself for not bringing a wider lens. But I managed to find some good angles and ended up with shots I really like. (During the process everyone thought I am an idiot because I was shooting people from odd corners of the room, instead of bravely facing them, like one does with a wide angle mobile phone. What is Tamás doing again? Don’t mind him, he is weird that way. Eventually they forgot about me and that’s when I got the shots.)
Memories of when I was in school performances as a kid and while all the other parents took a few photos sitting in their seats, my dad (a broadcast camera operator by trade) would be crawling around on the floor like some manic snake getting the optimum angle of me dressed as Shepherd No. 2 in the nativity.
That’s what I imagine people think whenever I use my camera in front of them
Especially when I’m taking more than 2 seconds for a shot as one might expect, but instead a single subject can keep me interested for 15 minutes trying different compositions, apertures, etc… but try to explain that without getting weird looks
Yeah, I find this too when walking with friends or family. I find that at least for me it’s hard to have an instant photographic eye most of the time. Unless you have scouted a place, scenes need to mature and take time to develop. Even if it means just 10 minutes standing around in the same area, compared to 1 minute when walking by with people, who often become impatient really quickly.
Exactly. What would be a 5 minute walk can be a 1+ hour long photography session walking around the place back and forth.
Guided museum visits are the prime example of this. You just hope the guide is going to talk long enough, so that you can figure out a few nice compositions
My approach is to make my photography unobtrusive. People get self-conscious when photographed, so I just look like I am just playing with my camera. I usually do not take out my camera within the hour or so. In these contexts I try to avoid EVF and use e-shutter. Long lenses (>85mm ff equiv) help in some contexts (but I prefer those anyway).
Small camera bodies also help. Clearly my Panasonic GX9 is just a toy, with its tiny lenses. No need to get concerned about it or even pay attention.
Z30 might be the closest equivalent to that setup and if Nikon releases an Expeed7 version, the improved eye-tracking AF could make this a great street/trip setup for “secretive photography”
Once you get used to a focal length, you can pre-visualize the field of view with a reasonable accuracy. Go a bit wider and crop. A lot of street photography is done this way (with zone focusing).
The whole ‘get the best capture’ thing is what has shaped my kit:
Wide-tele superzooms put all the focal lengths I need in my hands for immediate use.
Highlight-weighted matrix metering handles my exposures to preserve data in the high end. Every time I try ‘regular’ metering, I am reminded of how well HW metering works for me…
IBIS lets me leave the tripod at home.
Auto-focus: goes without saying…
All of this so I can devote my increasingly dim-witted attention to composition and framing. Also constrained by the subjects I find interesting, as one is usually limited with regard to where they can stand (sit, perch, etc.) My current kit, Nikon Z 6 w/ Nikkor 24-200mm zoom, supports all of the above, no more, no less.
I wish I had HW matrix metering as an option - not available on my D7200 … makes me think about getting a used D850 or taking the plunge to go Z, but that degree of GAS is easy to resist - the prohibitive cost!
