last week i had a photography project. it was indoors at my friend laura’s retail shop and i knew i would need a wider angle lens. but it also had to be a lens with a fairly large aperture so that i could shoot without a flash. and because i do not own such a lens, i went to borrowlenses.com and rented a canon 24-70 mm 2.8 for the week.
well so for the past several days i’ve been shooting with this lens. and let’s just say that if i had an extra $2500 or so, i’d be owning it rather than renting it.
actually, i’ve been contemplating a news lens for a while… i’ve been shooting 50mm for a couple of years now. which has been great. i read somewhere once that 50mm is about the same as our natural visual range (in terms of the amount of view we take in). and my canon 50mm 2.8 macro has just been so awesome for the type of ‘lifestyle’ photography that i do the most. but lately i’ve been itching to do something a little different…expand my horizons a bit.
you all probably know by now how much i love taking pictures of flowers. any my first inclination was to look into a 100mm macro. to get up close and personal with the details. several of my friends have this lens and they all rave about it. and their photos are spectacular.
but more often than not, lately i find myself pulling back. moving back away from my subjects. not filling the frame. but trying to get a little more white space into my photographs.
as a sidenote, i am taking kim klassen’s be still 52 class. and one of her first lessons was about creating space in our photos. giving our subjects room to breathe.
after i took that first shot, it was like a huge lightbulb moment for me. and that was my need for space. breathing room. in my photography yes…but equally so in my life.
it’s funny how my photography seems to be driven by my innermost (subconscious?) needs.
or is it the other way around?
at any rate, this past week, exploring this idea of breathing room in photos has had a huge impact of my state of mind. and so now, just like in my photos, i am intentionally looking to create a little whitespace in my life. some breathing room. and it feels so, so good.
i don’t know if i’ve said it lately, but i am so grateful for this gift of photography. thank you so much for letting me share it with you.
love, kelly
Oh my word, everything makes me cry today. These shots are amazing. I want to get us BOTH that lens. Like, now. Right this second. Like you, the 50mm is on almost all the time. I got the 100mm macro but I dunno, it’s great but it’s a bit too something. I don’t know. I can’t figure out yet. But these shots? Whoa. Wish I could rent one and come and play. Gonna go online and see if you can rent lens in this neck of the woods. From this neck of the woods to your neck of the woods, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your blog. Each post. Crying again. Sheesh. Love, Pam
big huge hug my friend. xoxo
Great post. I’ve been feeling the need to experiment a bit more with my photography too – great idea to hire a lens. I love all your images here but the peonies on the window sill are my absolute favourite. Love the colour and the space works beautifully. I’m doing Be Still too – I must do this lesson. You have inspired a need for space!
i highly recommend renting a lens! thank you so much for stopping by to say hi today.
I love the peonies on the window sill
Kelly, I simply love your writing and thoughts! So true to heart….explaining what motivates and moves you! Kim’s Be Still class is so full of great thoughts to help us be more mindful of our work. I have a Nikon version of 24-70 and I love it too. I love your ‘lifestyle’ photography! Beautiful photos, and a lovely post today!!!
So many beautiful images! Hard to pick a favorite- but I love the 4th especially with the shallow depth of field. I love the 24-70 too. I also rented one recently to use for a friend’s party. Wish the Lens Fairy would drop one in my lap- fabulous lens!!!! Breathing room- interesting challenge! I enjoyed reading your thoughts.
Your images are very lovely. I had forgotten about renting a lens and that’s just the one I’d love to try myself!
Wow!! This post hit home!!! 🙂 I am trying to create that space in my life too…..funny how we have to consciously make time. If we let it just be, people will fill up all our time and then we have no time to recharge……I am looking to find my recharge time and enjoy some quiet time and by that I don’t mean catching up on household things that have been put off! I mean quiet time!! 🙂
We are kind of on the same wave length here with your comment that photography seems to be driven by our innermost needs. I’ve been needing to have a lot of white space in my life right now, more than normal. And big huge sigh . . . I wish I had a few extra thousand too – what a great lens.
Hmmmm. There seems to be a movement going on here. I, too, have been finding my 50mm’s a bit more confining than I used to and would like to go wider. I do have a Tamron 28-75 2.8 but I wish I’d gotten the pricier Tamron 24-70, I think, if I remember correctly that it’s a faster lens. Deanna has it and gets awesome photos with it. I’ve been pondering a 35mm … but I dunno. I’ve shied away from the 100mm macro because it’s heavy; I like t0 travel light. I have fallen in love with prime lenses, though. I used my 85mm 1.8 to shoot my granddaughter’s birthday party and have loved what I got with it. Maybe we should have a lens swap in Galveston? xo
I love todays post, you’re a gifted writer and photographer! It’s a wonderful lens, but my purse will not allow me to own one.
Wow! Your images are amazing! I love the idea of renting a lens – I need to check that out 🙂
Lovely images.
now see, kelly, if you only shot nikon, i could give you my tamron 18-270mm that i barely use. i’m wanting really badly the nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 mm myself but i have to choose between sending my girl back to college in the fall or then lens….. tough choice. 😉
lovely images as usual!
I love your thoughts and I’m so glad to know you are in Kim’s class too. I am learning so much already.
Your photo of the flowers on the window sill is just perfect. Your commentary was right on about creating space. And, remember that space can be not just the wide open space, but it can also be the space between things. That can also be very interesting.
Wonderful post, Kelly! I love your use of white space. That’s a hard one for me. I’ve always loved macro, but I have been trying to pull back a little. There is a bigger world out there that I’ve been missing!