I just read James’s article on “Do I really need a wide angle lens?” And… yes… while you should have one in your kit (especially if you want to shoot landscapes!), I feel the answer to the question in his title could be “no!”
I was in a similar boat earlier… my beloved 17-55mm was in Virginia getting serviced (again) but I was still itching to shoot landscapes… and I decided to make it work with my 70-200mm. Now, this wouldn’t be my go-to lens for landscape photography. It’s a long lens, and I’m shooting on a crop sensor to boot (making it effectively a 112-320mm lens…). But I did it anyway, and while I’m not sharing the photos here (they weren’t amazing… and I haven’t edited them yet), it was a fantastic exercise and great practice and I had a lot of fun.
So here is my challenge to you all. Go shoot something with the “wrong lens”. Maybe you’ve got an arsenal of lenses… maybe you just have one. Doesn’t matter, as this challenge is pretty accessible. Try shooting a portrait with an ultra-wide angle. Go on a hike to shoot a landscape with a telephoto lens. Try to shoot birds on a wide angle (this is possible by the way. You’ll just have to get creative)! Shoot something on your phone (and try to make it look like it came out of your DSLR! Good composition, lighting, and a quality edit are your friends). Embrace the limitations of your gear… and even lean into them. (I have a lens that isn’t particularly sharp… and so once I shot an image that was intentionally out of focus. No, not everyone liked it. But I had one person who really really loved it). If you want a REAL challenge… leave your other lenses at home, go out with the wrong lens, and see what you can come up with! The goal here is not to get an award-winning composition… it’s to see everything that piece of equipment is capable of and to get your creative juices flowing.
Attached is one of my favorite landscapes… which I happened to shoot on my 70-200mm. 🙂 Yes, the particular day I shot this I happened to have my wide-angle with me. Yes, I was in a mountain range with beautiful vistas all the way around. But this was my favorite shot of the day… and it was intentionally shot on the “wrong lens.” Have fun!
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