We struggle to accept and deal with them. Whether its an unexpected illness or simply getting older, having limits imposed on us is not nice. We struggle to accept that we cannot do what we used to do either for a while or for the foreseeable future.
The same is true when it comes to photography. We buy a new camera and within days we’re looking for a new lens because the kit lens it came with is considered a limitation to our artistic abilities. Or even if we are happy with our kit there is always something better that might just help us to improve our abilities to take a good photo. All the while we feel this limitation, we are not happy, maybe even frustrated.
I recently found myself with an unexpected limitation and actually found it stimulating, even enjoyable.
On a recent photographic trip with a new film camera I decided to impose a limitation of just one lens. I normally go out with at least three lenses but to focus (pun intended) on how the camera performed, I decided to go out with a 50mm lens.
All went well for the first few shots. Then to my horror, the camera locked up indicating that the batteries didn’t have enough power to drive the shutter. However, not all was lost because the camera had one mechanical speed of 1/90th second.
This meant that I could continue using the camera but the only control I had was over the aperture of the lens to get the right exposure. So now I had not one but two limitations to deal with! Admittedly one was self imposed but the other unexpected.
Once I accepted what I could not do anything about and work with what I could control, I was able to continue to enjoy the day out. My photographic choices had been reduced but in so doing they had actually been made more simple – what aperture do I choose to get the right exposure for the subject.
Here are a few of the days efforts.
What was the take away from this experience. Rather than getting frustrated at what I have no control over, I was able to concentrate on the things I could do something about and still come away feeling satisfied.
arhphotographic 