Gotta get out of my Comfort Zone

Sometimes I feel like I've been cruising on autopilot. Just doing things the way I always do them, getting the exact same results, not really pushing, not really stretching. Sometimes, it's just because I'm way to busy, with way to many commitments, other times, it's due to laziness. When that happens, it's time to give myself a challenge.

For those of you that are familiar with this blog, you know I am a huge fan of David duChemin, and of course his $5 ebooks, which are available here. His first 2 ebooks, "Ten" & "Ten More", are still my favorites. He provides exercises in them to stretch your skills without buying gear. And one of those exercises is to shoot for a day with only 1 lens, at 1 focal length.

In a rut?

I am often asked what I do when I get in a rut creatively, or when I get bored with my images/processing/etc. I am a huge believer in many of the exercises that David duChemin talks about in his eBooks "10" and "10 More" where David's whole premise is based on ways to improve your craft without buying gear. With that in mind, I did 3 things this weekend that I haven't done in a while.
For our Faded & Blurred photo walk in Hollywood, I took 3 rarely used lenses, my 17-40mm f/4L, my 35mm f1.4, and my 100mm f/2.8 macro. Those are the only 3 lenses I used, not my comfortable, well loved 70-200mm or 24-105mm. I didn't even pack them in the bag. And I still shot with 2 bodies, but 1 of them was loaded with film. Ilford 400 HP5 B&W or Kodak 100 Ektar. We'll see how that turned out soon...
Then on Sunday, I took my favorite model (my daughter) out to my favorite spot (the Arboretum), and I only brought my 135mm f/2. I love this lens, I just don't get to use it enough. But by limiting myself to just 1 focal length, it forces me to get creative, and MOVE, to get the framing, composition, and focus that I want.
Don't have a prime? Then tape down your zoom to a particular focal length. If all you have is the 18-55 kit lens, and you are always at 18 or 55, tape it down at 28. My buddy Corey over at Last Minute Photo Studios mentioned grabbing a friend or family member and shooting off 400 images. Just get out, go shoot for 2 hours. And come join me at Vasquez Rocks on 3/27. Have fun. Remember why you fell in love with this in the 1st place