holy trinity

A photographer's holy trinity is the three lenses they will be buried with. You can cover a lot of ground with three lenses from a focal length perspective, or choose to completely disregard reason and become a bokeh whore while making some tough financial decisions. With that in mind, my weapon of choice is the Sony A7, which I won't be getting into for this article. If you know, you know.

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Sony Sonnar T* FE 55mm f/1.8 ZA

After suffering some time with the kit lens, I slowly began to understand what it takes to impress other photographers. f/3.5? No. Zoom? Absolutely disgusting. And this Zeiss 55mm was my first purchase into a more respectable setup. I would describe it as an incredible all-arounder and a great stepping stone.

This lens offers teachable moments while still being forgiving. You learn to move to your shot because of the locked focal length. You learn beautiful shallow depth of field comes with a risk of missing focus. You learn low light can be conquered with a steady hand. It gives you a taste of street style and portrait. And if you're forward thinking enough, you begin to understand that lenses will quickly cost more than the camera they're attached to. All very important aspects to photography.

The other notable mention is the build quality. It is solid without being noticeably heavy. The controls are minimal while providing the necessary. No rattles, no plastic flex. As a new photographer, your gear will take hits. It will get bumped and banged as you learn your limits. I have thrown this in many cheap backpacks and traveled all over. With all the scratches and chips I have never questioned the integrity of the materials. As a bonus if you become stranded in your adventures, you absolutely could take out a small animal with it.

Longevity is the last word I'll use to describe the 55mm. I did a lot of growing with this lens. It has been with me from a novice to a novice who knows why their photos are bad. It is as capable as the shooter holding it. And it will stay in my bag, even when I'm packing pro-level glass. Because it’s good. Because it reminds me why I picked up a camera in the first place.

Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 GM

Where do we go from the 55mm? How do we round out what's missing? Well shooting wide open is how you set yourself apart from the iphone riff-raff when you have to match their pixel count on instagram, so obviously it's time to go wider. 24mm? Sure I can deal with that. Eventually you'll wonder when that razor sharp depth of field is more of a liability than bleeding edge.

Having so much in frame takes some adjustment when you've spent your time blasting targets with as much object isolation as possible. A blessing and a curse. Composition obviously becomes a lot more important with the Sony 24mm GM and can add a lot to the story of your photo. Surveying your environment and waiting for your opportunities can give you a small sense of what dedication to the shot must look like to the truly skilled. Where the 55mm gave you a spot light, the 24mm gives you a stage. A compliment worth its place in your bag.

Something the 55mm and the 24mm share, which is a must for your trinity, is versatility. Photography comes in different forms, and my interests in concert and street photography was satiated with this purchase, but the 24mm had more to offer. Another trick up its sleeve is in the world of astrophotography. Where skills in timing and instinct are replaced by preparation and post production. A hobby that seems like it only reluctantly has similarities to photography. The learning curve and certainly mastery takes an incredible amount of time and practice. In a bag of three, I am happy to have the opportunity to scratch the itch, even if that itch was just mosquito bites, well past midnight under the stars.

Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II

The everything else lens. From 70mm to borderline intrusive, this lens covers the gamut. About the only acceptable time to pack a zoom is in the telephoto category. It will be difficult to distance yourself correctly with a large prime, so when you need a bit more flexibility that focal adjustment ring can be a shot savior. The Sony 70-200mm GMII also has a great sized aperture, all things considered. And if you’ve started checking lab results, ultra-clear glass.

This beast of a lens will turn your backyard into an african safari with the opportunities you'll have. You also have the option to slap a 2x or 4x magnifier on the back for more reach. This should handle most of your long range needs until someone in your family dies and you can blow the inheritance on Sony's 400mm and 600mm primes. Financial mistakes come with two day shipping.

The only major down side to the GMII is the voice in the back of your head suggesting you submit your life to the calling of the birders. How am I supposed to spend hours waiting for something to show up that flaps its wings at 100 miles per hour. No no, I'll focus on sports of course. But a shot of that beautiful eagle would look great.

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Why are we still here? Just to suffer?