Last week when discussing self-assignments, Bob (Wallyspop) suggested that maybe we should limit ourselves to a 50 mm lens for a day. So I accepted -- I actually love shooting with my 50 -- and used it for the weekend. Here are a few images from my weekend excursions.

One of the things I use my 50 for a lot are portraits, especially head & shoulders with diffuse OOF backgrounds. Here's a shot of my main model, Rowdy, taken on a small jetty at Lake Toho in Kissimmee.

If you're in the right place at the right time, you can even capture wildlife with it. Again, from Lake Toho.


Primarily, however, the 50 is a great walk-around lens because it's so small and light. Here I used it on the beach in Cocoa to capture a pile of flotsam.



And, when scouting out some abandoned buildings for possible portrait locations.



And, finally, for full-body portraits where you want to include more of the background. A shot of Rowdy at a Gazebo near the Lake.



Using a light, fast, sharp lens like the 50 makes you appreciate not only the qualities of a prime but also the way it makes you look at your subject matter more critically because you can't just zoom and crop. It was a fun exercise and I'd love to do something like this again.

Jim