Just about everything was different with tonight’s shoot. For whatever reason I hopped out of the car, scanned the scene, and decided today would be a good day for shooting with my 40mm. It’s not too often I shoot landscape with my 40mm pancake, and considering today’s results I’d do best to work it into the landscape/sunset rotation on the regular. Seriously, this is the work of three bracketed shots—handheld no less—on a prime lens that costs a little over $100! I can’t recommend it enough, especially for the full frame shooters out there.
The other departure from the norm, aside from ditching the tripod and bailing on my usual manual focusing with my 14mm, came from Mother Nature herself. More often than not—it unscientifically feels greater than 90% in my experience—the optimal color range occurs after the sun goes down. By the time I grabbed my tripod, switched to my 14mm, and waited for the sun to sink below horizontal, the best light had come and gone. It was my 40 and my bare hands that made it work tonight. Photography is never without surprises.
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