It doesn\u2019t help my photography one bit, but I like to collect stats on things that occur during the business day, week, year and decade because, well, I just love trivia. I don\u2019t count how many paperclips we use at WRP (which, with the advent of digital we hardly use them anymore) but I do count how many times certain questions are asked. I\u2019ve written and spoken many times that the #2 email question I receive is, \u201cWhat is the best f\/stop?\u201d With that trivia thrown out there, I\u2019ve never been asked what\u2019s the number one question. Looking over the stats for 2009, I was surprised that one question had eked its way up into the #10 spot.<\/p>\n
[swf]http:\/\/www.moosepeterson.com\/swf_imgs\/_BMP2142.swf, 585, 444 [\/swf]
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\u201cIf you only had one lens to use, what would it be?\u201d Now you might think this question is a sign of the times, budgets are thin, or a photographer just starting out, trying to make the most of the dollar they have. But I\u2019ve been asked this question since 1991 when the 1st<\/sup> edition of Nikon System Handbook was released. What always gets me is, typically folks preface the if only question with, \u201cI just read over the contents of your camera bag\u201d which to me kinda indicates that I feel that I need more than one lens for my photography. Of course when I point this out, that I have many lenses, each one filling a particular notch in my visual quest, they still repeat the if only question.<\/p>\n This leads me to a much bigger question and one much more important to photography then my stats. Why do photographers tend to limit themselves? Doesn\u2019t life do that enough without our seeking such limits? My 600VR, my baby, went in for its annual check-up in December. That was the longest 8 days when it wasn\u2019t sitting next to me at my desk. Birds were coming in but I couldn\u2019t do a thing without the 600mm. At least that was my first reaction. I had two choices, not take any photographs or, push the imagination and try some other lens on some other subject. You\u2019d think at first that the only lens I did own was the 600mm during those 8 days by my mobbing but it was quite obvious very quickly the only limitation was my imagination and not my lens selection.<\/p>\n [swf]http:\/\/www.moosepeterson.com\/swf_imgs\/_bmp8419.swf, 585, 444 [\/swf] \u201cIf you could only go one place this year to shoot, where would you go?\u201d Another if only question I receive (doesn\u2019t make the countdown) also seems to be a self-defeating question. I am incredibly fortunate and I will go to many places this year, all places I want to go to. With that said, just because I want to go to them and plan to go to them, will they produce great images just because I\u2019m there? About half the time, no, I\u2019ll get skunked and that\u2019s with all my contacts and expertise. If only it weren\u2019t so bloody hot here in Yellowstone where I am right now I could make some incredible images (it\u2019s +40 hotter than normal). But it is that hot and it\u2019s still Yellowstone, and as my good friend just said so well, wouldn\u2019t want to be anywhere else right now. I understand folks have vacations they want to plan and often they are shooting vacations. But why limit yourself to some place I might want to go. Hell, I spend time in smelly sumps in Bakersfield for fun, you sure you want to follow me?<\/p>\n [swf]http:\/\/www.moosepeterson.com\/swf_imgs\/_bmp7576.swf, 585, 444 [\/swf] If only it was our imaginations we were pushing and not the gear. If only great light were present every time we ventured out with our lens. If only the critters would come to play on our schedule and not theirs. If only there weren\u2019t clocks and rules and work and all that horrible stuff that comes to us on the news. If only\u2026<\/p>\n [swf]http:\/\/www.moosepeterson.com\/swf_imgs\/_BMP0948.swf, 585, 444 [\/swf] There is no one magical lens, no one magical body, no one magical Photoshop trick or magical computer. There is no one right photographic teacher. What is magical is the spirit in each and every photographer to take the sensory input they receive and turn it into a photograph that can grab the world. There\u2019s no if only in this, it is a limitless \u201cif\u201d, if the imagination and heart are permitted to do what they do best. Wander! You need a bag of gear (I don\u2019t want any calls from spouses from that one), a calendar of time and an area the size of the planet to fill that wandering. And when you start on that quest, then you\u2019ll know firsthand that there is no \u201cif only\u201d. As soon as you put your right foot in front of your left foot, you\u2019ll have the answer and the best part is, you\u2019ll have the answer for yourself. Sheyrl Crow sings it best and what I remind myself daily. \u201cIt\u2019s not having what you want, it\u2019s wanting what you\u2019ve got\u201d<\/p>\n Oh, and what\u2019s the #1 question I get asked? What\u2019s the B. in my name stand for? My answer is one that was provided me in a phone call we received once. An elderly lady called and asked if the B. stood for Bull. I like that answer!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It doesn\u2019t help my photography one bit, but I like to collect stats on things that occur during the business day, week, year and decade because, well, I just love trivia. I don\u2019t count how many paperclips we use at WRP (which, with the advent of digital we hardly use them anymore) but I do count how many times certain questions are asked. I\u2019ve written and spoken many times that the #2 email question I receive is, \u201cWhat is the best f\/stop?\u201d With that trivia thrown out there, I\u2019ve never been asked what\u2019s the number one question. Looking over the stats for 2009, I was surprised that one question had eked its way up into the #10 spot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[120],"tags":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-11815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-moose-adventures"],"episode_featured_image":false,"episode_player_image":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.moosepeterson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Podcast.jpg?fit=1500%2C1500&quality=100&ssl=1","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"amazon":{"key":"amazon","url":"https:\/\/www.audible.com\/pd\/Podcast\/B08JJQC1GR?ref=a_pd_item-n_c0_bc&pf_rd_p=1da7ab30-c785-4a0e-a160-4a7e7077b353&pf_rd_r=EEDMYHQM3DZ05FPRTHMJ","label":"Amazon","class":"amazon","icon":"amazon.png"},"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"rss":{"key":"rss","url":"","label":"RSS","class":"rss","icon":"rss.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/2fRA9VaVfSdQMKf1ipxr0tipxr0t","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"itunes":{"key":"itunes","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/moose-podcast\/id1107405746","label":"iTunes","class":"itunes","icon":"itunes.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/www.moosepeterson.com\/blog\/feed\/podcast\/moose-podcast","embedCode":"
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<\/p>\nIf Only…<\/a><\/blockquote>