Taking Just One Lens
We went for a drive to Llanrwst in North Wales, recently. It’s a small town near to Betws-y-Coed, on the edges of the Snowdonia National Park. The River Clywd runs through the town, which was our main destination. It was a hot and sunny afternoon, so we thought that a bit of relaxing by the river would be a welcome way to spend some time.
I took the camera along with me but, since it was hot (and I didn’t intend to spend the time looking for pictures) I decided to just take my Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 lens, since it is the smallest and lightest of the lenses I own. It can be an interesting challenge to restrict yourself to a single, fixed focus lens, when out and about with the camera.
Looking along the river from my position on the bank
This was the first image that I took, whilst I was sitting on the grassy bank of the river. I was mainly concerned with the position of building in the frame and then the position of the river and sky. Even though I was restricted in what I could frame from my static position, I could still use the available elements to determine the composition.
The Pen-y-Bont Inn and reflection
From my location on the bank, I noticed that the building opposite was casting a reflection on the still water in front of me.
I used this for the next image but found that I couldn’t frame it how I wanted from my current position. This illustrates one of the first things you have to do when using a fixed focal length lens - you can still zoom, but you zoom with your feet.
I chose a portrait orientation to make it easier to fit both the building and it’s reflection in the same image. Shifting my location a bit got me the composition that I wanted.
As I was heading back to my spot on the bank, I decided on my next subject - Becky! She was sitting on the bank, enjoying the sunshine and the view so I took the opportunity to capture a couple of sunny portraits.
The large aperture of the 50mm lens is great for portrait images, the shallow depth of field allows you to really concentrate the focus of the image on the face of the subject. On my Canon 20D, the APS-C sized sensor gives the 50mm lens a similar view to a short telephoto lens, which is a more common choice for portraits.
My favorite of the images is below.
Becky enjoying the sunshine
My next shot was thanks to the close focusing distance of the 50mm lens. I took advantage of this characteristic to grab an abstract detail shot of the texture in Becky’s skirt. I liked the way the sun was catching the pattern in the fabric, giving it a bit of a sheen, as well as bringing out the turquoise colour. I based the composition around the folds and edges of the material.
Detail shot of Becky's skirt
The last shot of the day was spotted while I was down by the river, skimming some stones.
A view under the bridge
The bridge across the river is one of the main landmarks in Llanrwst, but it also does a good job of framing the landscape beyond it. I picked a building out to use as the main focal point of the image but, because of my fixed focal length lens, I had to find a position where I could frame the image as I wanted.
In the shot of the Pen-y-Bont Inn, above, you can see a line of dry stones in middle of the river. This is where I was standing to take the shot. Fortunately, I managed to pick out a path in the shallow water to get to this area without getting my feet wet or ending up on my backside in the middle of a river.
If you fancy a bit of a challenge, next time you are out with the camera, restrict yourself to the one lens and see how it changes the way you think about your shots.
If you are ever in the Snowdonia area, try to visit Llanwrst (or the nearby Betws-y-Coed). I can highly recommend the cream teas at the Tu Hwnt i’r Bont (Beyond The Bridge) tea rooms, just next to the bridge 
