When Chuck Close reached a level of proficiency in his brushwork, he realized he had also arrived at a plateau of creativity. And so in 1967, he made the decision to set restrictions for himself by abandoning the use of the paintbrush.
This is the very reason that from time to time I depart from the predictable, automated world of the auto-focus, auto-exposure lens in favor of a more thought-engaging process. And it’s at times like these when I actually appreciate the D90’s inability to meter with manual focus lenses.
This is an off-handed “feature” of the D90 over its higher-priced, more sophisticated brethren which allow you to enter lens information into an in-camera database which then permits metering. Lenses which do not possess a CPU “chip” (mainly “legacy” manual focus lenses) do not allow metering on the D90, and so force you to shoot in full manual mode using the histogram or an external meter of your choice. This is a whole other facet of photography that exploits its old world creative potential and teaches you to judge lighting conditions and set exposure intuitively all in one bold step.
Such lenses make up a stable of optics I like to call “alternative optics”. Here are some examples:
- Holga HL-N
- Lensbaby Composer with…
- Double-Glass Optic
- Single-Glass Optic
- Plastic Optic
- Pinhole/Zone Plate Optic
- SuperWide .42x Converter
- Loreo Lens in a Cap
- Nikon 28mm f/2.8 Series E
- Samyang/Phoenix 8mm f/3.5 Fisheye
- Samyang/ProOptic 500mm f/8.0 Catadioptric
Shooting manual is one of the many, but perhaps most important ways you can restrict yourself in digital photography to help foster creativity.
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