On shooting with one lens

In September I left the zoom at home and carried a single 35mm prime. It was not a principled decision so much as a lazy one: it is the smallest lens I own and it fits in a jacket pocket.

The first week was frustrating. I kept seeing pictures that needed to be tighter or wider, and kept walking past them. By the second week I had stopped seeing those pictures at all and started noticing the ones that fit the frame I had.

What I gained was attention. Without the option to zoom, I moved more, waited more and spent less time deciding. What I missed was the long end on misty mornings, when distant layers of hills stack up beautifully and a 35mm makes them small and far away.

I will keep the habit for walks around town. For the hills, the zoom is coming back.