bdk Loc: Sanibel Fl.

My summer home is in Lehigh Valley, well actually panther Valley which is pretty much the sameplace.
I have taken a prime into the woods and shot hundreds of photos of streams and waterfalls. its aa great experiment.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

Exactly. "Because I want it" is a good enough reason for any amateur.

Hal Masover Loc: Iowa and Florida

A long time ago a friend of mine referred to prime lenses as an workout program for photographers. "Zoom in Hal, zoom out Hal." she said. I hear her saying that everytime I decide to shoot with a prime for awhile. I mostly do it because I have some primes that are sub f2.0 and I don't have any zooms that fast. But really, the only reason I'm going to compose differently with a prime is either because I can't, such as not being able to get a wide shot with a telephoto, or I'm just tired of moving back and forth using my feet to zoom. Creativity? Maybe zooms make some people lazy. For me this is an exercise in restriction to see if anything gets forced out. A lot of photography for me has always been that I see something and do I have the skill and/or equipment to realize that vision. So restricting myself to only certain tools would be taking a step backwards in that process.

MJPerini

Anything that gets us out taking pictures, is probably good for us.
If you need a 'challenge' to do that fine.
Re limitations: The reason we hear about this so much as an 'exercise' or challenge, is that working within limitations pushes creative thinking. The famous OCOLOY exercise (One camera, one lens , one year) is perhaps the most famous of them, and anyone who has done it will tell you it was a good thing to refine their photographic vision.
It is the limitations that cause us to learn, and become more deeply engaged.
There are many examples of great photographers who did essentially that for their whole lives.

But the point of these exercises is not that it is the "Right Way" to practice Photography , but that doing it makes you better able to make good pictures with whatever lenses and cameras you choose.
It is a completely voluntary thing that no one should do unless they want to.

I did it a Long time ago, I bought a Leica M3 / 50mm Sumicron and went at it, (Why that combo? it was what HCB used .....I was young, and no HCB) and in retrospect I am happy I did so. I absolutely did get better and faster. I also learned that Rangefinder cameras were not for me, and I like many other lenses better than 50mm.

When I was a Professional I quickly learned that I needed lots of lenses and lots of cameras if I wanted to bee able to get hired to do different kinds of jobs.
Going back to being an AMATEUR (someone who does it for the love of it) I have lots of stuff gathering dust and use mostly a couple of really good zooms, but interestingly I tend to use them most like dual focal length lenses.... so 80% of pictures taken with my 24-70 are taken at 24 OR 70..... like 2 primes, I know what 24mm looks like and what 70 looks like. I really compose the picture without looking through the camera and while I bring the camera to my eye a quick flick of the finger pushes the zoom ring to one extreme or the other.
I still like visualizing the frame without the camera, and I like the discipline of having either 'wide' or 'tight' frames.
Clearly I do not do that ALL the time, just most of the time. The frames have a distinct look that I like.

I am NOT suggesting that this is somehow better than what other people do , it is just what I do and it comes from that exercise I did so many years ago "in an effort to get better"

That exercise had value for me, I learned from it, it got me work from big name clients, it helped me develop a style that I am comfortable with.
I no longer do "Exercises" , I just shoot, because for better or worse, I have a style and outlook that I am comfortable with, and my main challenge is overcoming the creaky knees and getting out there.

Hal Masover Loc: Iowa and Florida

In regards to your last sentence, I'll have you know I resemble that remark!

rlscholl Loc: California

Choosing a single lens for an “all-day shoot”, for me would depend on circumstances. For general walk-around or travel photography, a 40mm lens on a ff camera would be my most frequent selection. When anticipating mostly subjects where perspective is important (e.g., architecture or other similar subjects where access opportunities might be problems, sometimes I choose a 35mm shift lens. For motor sports, something longer, but relatively light (100 or 200mm).

TheShoe Loc: Lacey, WA

I love your math.

RetCapt Loc: NorCal mountains

I underwent that training very long ago.

From my start in photography (mid - late 60s) until I switched to digital in 2009-2010, my main system was Leica/Canon thread mount (LTM) cameras and lenses. Since this was a rangefinder system, the lenses were all primes. Since I was/am a minimalist photographer I was very often out with just whatever lens was on the camera. I varied in this between 35 and 50mm focal lengths. We were doing a lot of backpacking then, and at the most I would have a 35mm lens on the camera, and carry an 85-90mm lens.

My lens selection at the peak of all this was 28,35, 50, 85, 90, 100, 135mm, plus 280mm using a Visoflex reflex viewer. That would be a lot of gear to carry, so I just chose carefully depending on what my photographic objective was on any given safari.

In 1985 I bought a then-new Nikonos 5. This was the 'tough' camera of the era, and I wanted that ruggedness. I could carry this camera cross country skiing and know it would survive. I bought the three above-water Nikkor lenses to go with the body, 28, 35 and 80mm. For backpacking I carried just the 35 and 80mm lenses. Wonderful system. This was my first ever brand new film system, and it was worth every penny.

So it would appear that I was accepting this challenge all those decades, but I was not aware of it. It was just how I made my photographs. I never felt limited in this approach because it was all I knew.

I had never even looked through a zoom lens.

With the transition to digital, which was immediate once I tried it, came my first exposure to zoom lenses.

I quickly realized how restricted I had been with primes given how light I wanted to travel. Zoom lenses were a revelation in 2009-2010 to one who had never before experienced them.

I do not now own any digital prime lenses. Once I tried zoom lenses, there was no going back.

User ID

Perhaps part of the suggested exercise is to simply not lose any sleep over potential "good shots" that would have required gear thaz not on hand. That in itself is a verrrrrry useful and rewarding exercise. The title asks "Are you up to it ?". Anyone is free to "just say no !". Its clearly not for everyone.

It hubris to feel that if you carry suitable gear to assure that nearly no opportunities fall out of reach that your "success" means anything to anyone.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

I guess at 74 and retired as a pro, I have settled on what I want to do with photography and what equipment it takes to accomplish it. I do flower closeups and color infrared landscapes, with a camera and lens for each. I can't manage to carry both any more, so I already miss shots I could have gotten with the other camera. I feel it is plenty challenging to do both, but very satisfying. I already use a prime macro lens, and my lens for IR is a 12-24 DX lens which I almost always use at 12. But there are times I need up to the 24 if I can't get close enough, and I'd hate to miss those. Someone in this thread said that he pretends he has 24 exposure ISO 400 film in his camera. No thanks. I am challenged enough just doing the work.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

It seems odd how a suggestion for an exercise to stimulate creativity has turned into an argument over gear.

mffox Loc: Avon, CT

Good Idea: I'm with you.
Mark

frankraney Loc: Clovis, Ca.

Thomas
Why do you suggest "book clients" ? Nothing was said about doing photography as a business, but instead, shooting with one lens to get the photo, that shows what you see in your head.

frankraney Loc: Clovis, Ca.

frankraney Loc: Clovis, Ca.

I think that is part of the exercise. With a fixed lens, you may have to move in (, zoom in) or move back (zoom out), to get what you want to show.