50mm- First day

OK, I made a pact with myself. Shoot prime for awhile, to see what it's like.

I am starting off with 50mm lens on my pentax, and will leave it on, for at least 2 months; well, this might be just a little difficult, since I just ordered a 40mm DA pancake lens, I guess the 2 months ordeal with the 50mm will last until, hmm, when the new lens arrives, :), but it's still a prime, so I guess that's ok.... The objective of this experiment is to see for myself, why all the hooplas about primes, why some people swear by them (or could be just nostalgia).

With temperature in the 60s, but a little windy, I ventured out to a local park with my camera, to see if I can find interesting subject in my view finder. The park was mushy from all the snow melt, and very muddy in some area. After a quick survey, the first thing I thought was that I should've brought a longer lens, hmm, this might be harder than I thought to get used to. Ok, stay focused, look around, walk around some more. Finally, a scraggly tree, all alone, waiting for Spring to arrive.

As soon as I have the tree in view finder, I noticed right away that I am actually taking a little more time studying the subject and its surroundings, OK. I am, in a sense, more aware of what I have to do to take this picture. If the object is too far, I have to move closer to it, which is both mental (am I too far, can I get closer?) and physical (I need to walk in order to get closer to or farther from it). Any distracting objects in the background? What's that sign? I need move to another side so the sign is hidden behind the tree.

This is very interesting, but I am only now putting my thoughts together after I sat down and think about this. I have a tendency to pick up my camera and snap away. From time to time, I will remember to frame the shot, think about composition, check the surroundings for distracting objects, but I really have to force myself to do that. If I can get into a habit, I think I'll benefit a great deal- study, frame, learn to see, don't rush, think about the rules , etc..

Let's see how I'll do, hopefully I won't get a "zoom lens withdraw", :)