I celebrated a birthday last month and, to my surprise, received a precious 35mm Nikon f/1.4 lens for my present. I’ve been eyeing the 35mm lens for a few months. In fact, I had even started to use my 24-120mm lens at a 35mm fixed zoom.

The Internet sings the praise of certain lenses like the 50mm, but after just 2 weeks of shooting exclusively with the Nikon 35mm, it’s quickly become my go-to lens of choice, replacing the 50mm in my camera bag. Here are 7 reasons why I believe the 35mm f/1.4 lens is great for travel photography.

1. Versatility

A travel photographer shoots portraits, landscapes, food, and street photography. The 35mm is great for dealing with variety of situations. I’ve seen street photographers, fashion, food photographers, and wedding photographers use it alike.  It’s just wide enough to capture environmental shots like landscapes, and the have the depth of field needed for portraits. At such a versatile distance, the 35mm replaces the need for carrying many more lenses in the camera bag, and I’m always happy to have lighter gear.

2. In the action 

Unlike a telephoto that allows you the luxury of staying afar while shooting, the 35mm demands that you get into the action to capture the shot. For travel photographers shooting in cities and on streets, this is a great habit to get into. Practice getting closer to the action and getting over the fear of photographing strangers will generate better images. Why use a telephoto when you can use your able body?

3. Performance in low light situations

With a f/1.4 aperture, the 35mm lens performs well in low light while keeping the images sharp. The challenges of shooting in low light is deserving of another blog post in itself, so any lens that can hold its own in low light is high on my list.

4. Subject in the environment

Unlike the 50mm which, for me, always ends up being too tight in most situations, the 35mm is the perfect combination of capturing the subject and the environment. More and more, environmental portraits are becoming integral to my travel portfolio and I find that the 35mm delivers the environmental context without sacrificing the intimacy with the subject.

5. No distortion 

The other day, a friend was complaining that shooting with her 16-35mm distorted people’s faces around the edge of the photograph and asked me if I experienced the same with my 35mm. Unfortunately, anything wider than a 20mm will show distortion on people and she was shooting at a 16mm, but luckily for me, the 35mm gives me no problems - it’s just wide enough without being too wide.

6. Sweet bokeh

When you push the lens to anything wider that f/1.8, you get the lovely bokeh effect that most people love. At aperture f/1.4, the 35mm gives you bokeh off the hooks.

7. Better than zoom

In recent months, I’ve come to realize that prime lenses are better than zoom for crafting your photography skills. In most instances, zoom lenses just make us lazy. Just like I mentioned in #2, we no longer have to move our bodies with a zoom lens. But at one fixed distance, a prime lens  forces the photographer to be creative, to truly understand the lens, and to think about how to make great images at a set distance.

As the van in front of us pulls over on the otherwise empty highway, I noticed a black fur ball bounce down the short hill to our right. The black shape slowly made its way across the highway, not paying the stopped vehicles or its passengers any attention. I grab Alex’s arm and shake him awake in the passenger seat, “Look, a bear!”

On the road through the Canadian rockies, I’m anxiously searching for the wildlife that I’ve heard so much about: bears, deers, goat, and even cougars. Four days ago, we left Vancouver and drove across the border to Alberta. Conquering 600 kms each day, we raced under the open sky, surrounded by mountains.

Summer in the rockies promises of beautiful lakes, great camp grounds, and plenty of wildlife. We shared the road with bikers and motorcyclists, families spending their vacation in a RV, and nomads searching for the next adventure. Despite the 20+ C weather, on mountain tops covered with snow and glacier, winter was still in sight.


By the second day, we had already seen a handful of deers, a couple of goats, and one bear. The weather in the mountains hastily switched between sunny and stormy. Only stopping to see lakes, waterfalls, and for meals, Alex and I quickly grew sick of being cooped up in the car.  When Lake Louise welcomed us with clear skies, we made a 11km roundtrip hike to a teahouse tucked away in the mountains behind the lake. The Plains of Six Glaciers teahouse sits at 2100 meters high, right below where a large glacier breaks off.

There was no electricity at the teahouse. The staff that worked there lived in cabins near the teahouse to save themselves from the 5.5km uphill hike every morning. From there, I had a clear view of the glacier above me and the lake below. Something about that moment made me desperately want to live in the mountains, at a cabin that mirrored the same view I had now. I would unplug and live without electricity.

Back in the car, I explained all of this to Alex. “Could we live in a place like that?”

“OK, but only if I can also fish in the lake”.

The Grouse Grind is a local's favorite hike in Vancouver. On any summer weekend, its paths are always packed. But on this particular morning, an over-stuffed me was not enjoying the scenic route. Although the Grind is only 3kms in length, don't underestimate its difficulty with a 800m elevation. Even if it only takes1 hour to reach the summit, it's as if you are on the stair master with the resistance turned all the way up for the entire hour.

Lucky for me, I had some great hiking companions. Alex even brought a compass and binoculars for the hike. Although I was not allowed to challenge him on why he thought we would ever need directions on a well-marked trail.

One of my favorite pass times in Vancouver is to enjoy the city's numerous trails. I started off easy with a 2 hour hike to Quarry Rock lookout in Deep Cove. This North Vancouver trail is roughly 3.8km long and only 100 meters in elevation. It also provides a scenic view of the Deep Cove. I sat there for a long time just watching the boats go by.

I've been home in Vancouver for 1 week now and every day, I wake up to the natural beauty of the west coast in the glorious summer sun and can't imagine being anywhere else. I'm surrounded by nature and old friends; I couldn't be happier.

I was in Vancouver recently and took a day trip to Seattle with Alex. The typically rainy city smiled down at us with some beautiful sun. This was the first time I'd ever seen Seattle in the sun and I was pretty thrilled that summer does also exist in the city.

This 1 day road-trip has become a must-do every time I visit Vancouver. We had brunch at an old diner, kayaked on the water, stopped by Remedy Teas, and checked out Ballard Locks and Kerry Park. The sun brought out a great energy through the city, and Mt. Baker smiled in the distance.

I was hanging out with Patty of BHH - a lovely food photo blog - when she brought out her film camera. I've been reminiscing over my film photography days for a long time. Feeling encouraged, I decided to edit some recent images with a distinct film look. At a time when it seems that most people are making super sharp images in high contrast, I find myself drawn towards the soft and grainy look of film.

Pictured: Kinfolk magazine, Union on Ossington, Academy of Lions.