Practice - 50mm
To practice is to practice. It is to try new things. It is to take yourself seriously with none expecting anything from you. It is your ability to be truly you, with no judgement, because you’re just practicing.
I use the concept of practice in several fields of myself. First of all, movement. To practice is to expand oneself for the sake of experimentation and learning. To practice is to find new ground, repeat knowledge, loosen knots.
To have a practice means that you become a practitioner. You find the details of your craft and your ability to express freely through repetition and discovery.
To practice in photography, in my case, is to go out with my camera. That is the first step. The second step is to start taking photos and believe that you will go on a journey after that first or second shutter click, you really never know what you are going to get.
I decided to get out my xf 35mm lens, a 50mm equivalent, and try it out. I purchased this thinking it was only for a couple weeks, but I was impressed with its small size and great image, so I kept it. With my growth as a photographer I am finding that I am capable of seeing the different lenses as different wands. Each lens has its superpower or its own capability. I am sure each photographer will have their special lens that they can depend on — mine so far is the xf 14mm, a wide angle lens. The 50 offers me the ability to get closer, to look at details, and to organize things nicely in a frame.
I was inspired by the work of Rinko Kawauchi - her work is considered to be poetic, taking photos of mundane things but allowing each photo to express something not very expressable in words. I took what I understood from her and walked around the city to see what I could find.
I think I am still reflecting on the meaning of “poetic photography”. She’s made more than 3 -4 large works spanning many years, and she is a robust figure in photography.
