70%-80% of my photographs are taken with this simple setup. My Nifty Fifty has been my go-to lens ever since college, where I spent my first two years working almost exclusively with a Pentax K1000 that came with a 50mm lens which has never been switched out. I grew to learn that framing by heart. The only other lens I own for my 5DIII is an 85mm f/1.8, used mostly when photographing concerts or BTS on a film set.

I like working with prime lenses because they force me to do the work and the physically move around the environment. If I want a wide shot, I have to run the distance across the field, or if I want an intimate portrait, I have to get so close the model’s breath will fog up the lens. This doesn’t just create better images than if I was able to shift from wide to telephoto at the twist of a lens, but it create a stronger connection between me and the subject. It fosters an intimacy and trust. Forcing myself to physically move around three dimensional space also opens me up to possibilities that I otherwise wouldn’t discover.

My high school art teacher was a sculptor and that truly has informed so much of my philosophy and approach to shooting. When I’m working I’m almost always moving and shifting, changing angles and approaches and planes of focus, almost as if I am chipping away at stone, revealing to myself what lies within.