In these days of digital photography it’s so easy to get snap happy and find ourselves taking too many photos. I’m as guilty of this as the next person on occasions - when each frame doesn’t cost you directly it’s too easy to shoot without thought. Today I decided to take a more considered approach and do some ‘slow photography’. The best way I’ve found for this is to pick a single prime lens to shoot with. I often feel I take better photos when using a prime lens. It makes me think more carefully about how to frame pictures and use my feet to zoom.
My weapon of choice this morning was the tiny, jewel like, Olympus 45mm f1.8 lens. I’ve had this little gem in my kit almost since I first started exploring mirrorless cameras, but its effective focal length of 90mm isn’t one I use a lot. This sort of lens is a more natural habitat for portrait photographers and, as you know, I’m no portrait photographer!
My location for my slow photography was Thaxted. I’ve been to this beautiful village many, many times but I always find something new to aim my camera at. This morning I simply meandered through the streets, stopping off in the voluminous church, and photographed whatever took my fancy. All the while I considered my compositions with care and only took photos that really worked in the viewfinder. The result is a varied mix of subjects but one I thoroughly enjoyed exploring.
There's a tiny little garden beside the churchyard which was already thronging with snowdrops. Perhaps spring is on the way....
As an added bonus I also found my photo for this week’s ‘thoughtful’ theme over on the Photoblog forum during my walk this morning. If you like the idea of participating in the weekly theme do pop over to the forum and take a look here.
