I am in love...with my 50mm f/1.8 lens. I have lenses for any kind of photography I want. I have lenses for portraits, lenses for landscapes, and lenses for macro/micro photography but had forgotten how much I appreciate my 50mm lenses. 25 years ago when I was in school we were told to always have a camera with a 50mm lens on it. It was a great lens for all kinds of photography and especially for street. When I looked through the view finder the world looked similar to what my eye saw and that made it easy to understand composition. If i needed to zoom or out I had my feet. If I wanted my subject to stand out I would open the aperture all the way and the world around would soften and only show my subject. If I wanted the world to be in focus I simply close down the aperture and everyone and everything was in focus.
As I have gotten older and have cameras and lenses for every kind of photography imaginable I forgot about my 50mm lenses. A few weeks ago I decided to get back to the kid photographer in me and I committed to having the 50mm on a camera almost all the time in the new year. Since then I have shot countless images with a 50mm. I had forgotten how great that lens can be. I especially like it for around the house and on the street. It is a small non-threatening lens and I can really get up close to people with it and not make them too uncomfortable.
Don't get me wrong I still have a wide angle lens when I shoot architecture, and an 85 or 105mm when I am shooting portraits, and I love my Macro lenses for food photography but if you stopped me on the street and asked what I had with me, it will probably be a 50mm f/1.8 lens. If you have been a photographer for a long time and are trying to get inspiration for the new year or rekindle your love of photography, try putting a 50mm on your camera and head out into the world and see what happens. if you are new to photography, I always say you should have a 50mm or a 35mm with a wide aperture. Pick one up and see how your world looks through one of these. I think you will be surprised.
I would love to see your 50mm photos. Please feel free to post them here or on my flickr page at DavePopephoto.
