Tangle at 50mm

In a previous post I talked about fixed-focal length lenses and a favorite creative exercise: leaving the house with one lens, challenging myself to make interesting pictures with whatever’s in front of me. (It really helps you see the world from a new, or at least different, perspective.) The frame above was made that way, with a 50mm lens.

Unlike a wide-angle lens, a 50mm starts to really allow a shallow depth of field. I like to find a tangle of branches, set a good baseline exposure, and lock focus, then look around via the camera. With a shallow depth of field, it’s amazing how many patterns — unseeable to the naked eye — reveal themselves.