What's In My Bag?

By Tim Farmer

When I was a photojournalism student in the 1980s, my Domke camera bag bulged with lenses and not one was a zoom. I had 24, 35, 50, 85, 135, 200, and 300mm Canon lenses. For a starving college student, my choice of primes over zooms was all about economics: High quality zooms are more expensive than comparable primes.

So I learned to alter my composition by either changing lenses or moving closer to or farther from the subject. I also learned my preference of lenses for portraits (85mm) or street shooting (24mm or wider). I became keenly familiar with each lens and its advantages and drawbacks.

Today I carry three zoom lenses but just one prime, my beloved Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro. My zooms include Canon’s 17-40mm f/4L, 24-105mm f/4L IS, and 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lenses. A Canon 1.4x Teleconverter extends my 70-200 to 320mm, and if I switch from my full-frame Canon 5D Mark II to my Canon 50D or a similar camera like the newer Canon 7D, the smaller sensor with its 1.6x crop factor turns that 320 into nearly 450mm.

With all those choices and that range of focal lengths, which would I choose for that one focal length workshop? I’d set my 17-40 to 17mm and attach it to the 5D Mark II for the widest focal length available to me. It’s purely a personal decision based on my own shooting style, but I love to get in close with a wide angle lens. I can fill the frame with my subject yet still include the surrounding environment.

If you want a challenge and an education at the same time, try shooting for a day with just one focal length. Better yet, watch for the next one focal length workshop with Blue Ridge Workshops and join us for a real learning experience. You may be challenged, but the reward will be a better understanding of composition, your equipment, and your own shooting style.

© Copyright 2011 by Tim Farmer