The Best Street photography lens is the one on your camera!
I’ll start this with the back story and end with photography wisdom. Here we go. I was washing dishes in our apartment while listening to a podcast for beginning French when my wife came up to me and said I should check out the band in the square right outside our window. I finished the last dish (if there were more I may have left them for later) and walked over to have a listen. They were really good. I asked my wife to join me for a glass of wine in the square so I could enjoy the music with my favorite person over a nice glass of wine and of course do a little street photography. This is one of the reasons we moved here in the first place. Live music is common all over town. In our square it’s not only daily, it can be multiple times a day. It is one of the things lacking back in Phoenix.
On to the photography. I almost always walk around with a single camera and a single focal length lens. This time was no exception. I thought about it for a half second and decided that I’d use a 50mm. My go to is often a 35 but I thought I’d go for a little extra reach. That plan was perfect until we got downstairs. As happens, I second guessed myself and thought I should have gone a bit wider with the 35mm. I live less than a minute away.
I could have easily changed but I didn’t. Why? First, I would have missed everything that happened while I was gone and I didn’t like that thought. Second, I firmly believe you can make just about anything work if you try. I have a built in zoom of course. My feet. I walk back and forth as needed. If I can’t get as wide as I want then I just adjust to a different view and get a tighter shot.
The more you learn to use what you have, improvise and adjust, the less likely you are to miss things due to not having what you wish you had. Keeping your gear simple, especially on the street keeps you tuned into what’s going on and I makes you better in a pinch.
If you always have an assortment of gear then what happens when you don’t? Do you just not take the shot and describe the scene that got away? I hope not.
Walking around on the street with a lot of gear has other drawbacks too. One is that (in my personal experience) I feel like I constantly have the wrong lens mounted. I keep wondering if I should change it. That nagging doubt gets in the way of my mental clarity.
Another is changing lenses. If something happens during a lens change then it’s better if you hadn’t seen it because its gone. You also lose the anonymity if you are walking around with a big bag full of gear and a big camera around your neck.
Lastly, you stick out as a mark for the nefarious street based camera traders. The kind that take your gear off of you for free and find someone else willing to pay for it.
Remember, this is based on my experience and observations. You may feel completely different. Cool. Get outside and don’t forget your camera!
