Scenery of all kinds, from traditional landscapes and seascapes, to cityscapes and nature shots. Trees, mountains, dawns and sunsets, bridges or monuments: if I capture a pretty or intriguing view, I’ll put it here.
For landscape shots, I usually use a prime lens, or a short zoom that ranges from wide-angle to short telephoto (18-140mm), and whenever possible I try to shoot in the early morning or late afternoon/evening.
Birds and animals, from herons to horses, ducks to turtles. I spend a lot of time in fields and woods and marshes, tramping out to where critters live, and observing how they behave, watching and waiting for a chance to capture them with a lens.
My usual birding lens is a 75-300mm zoom, though I also use a 200-400mm under the right conditions. I typically have the lens mounted on a monopod, but sometimes go hand-held. In special circumstances I might use a tripod, but find it’s usually not convenient in the locations I go hunting for wildlife.
Buildings, monuments, bridges, tourist attractions. The man-made environment I see around me, at home or in my travels. This is where you’ll find the Colosseum, Eiffel Tower, cathedrals and other examples of architectural splendor.
In city or tourist environments, I typically carry minimal gear: just the camera body with a zoom lens that gives me wide-angle to short-telephoto (18-140mm). In my pack, I might also have a 50mm prime lens. It would be rare that I’d need a long zoom, so for mobility and simplicity, I usually leave the rest of the gear behind.
Candid scenes of people living their lives, posed portraits, paintings, sculptures, and other shots that reveal humanity’s emotional expressions and efforts to proclaim their unity and their uniqueness.
For candid street photography, I use a relatively unobtrusive lens, such as a small 50mm prime or my trusty 18-140mm short zoom, because long lenses call attention to themselves and tend to intimidate people. Shooting inside art museums or galleries, when permitted at all, pretty much always has to be done without flash or tripod, so I use a lens that works well hand-held in low light at wide aperture and slow shutter speed.
Shots that are specifically staged, for artistic or esthetic effect, or as a way of trying out techniques and processes. Composed still lifes, water-drop photography, trials to see the effect of various exposure variations, experiments in perspective, and things of that sort.
Because these shots involve a broad variety of techniques and intended results, there can be many different types of lenses and gear involved. Set-ups can at times become quite elaborate, as anything goes.
Motion and speed can be among the more challenging, and more interesting, subjects to shoot. Panning, planning, setup, anticipation, and preparation all come into play for sports and action shots.
Many action subjects are best shot with a medium or long telephoto zoom, because you’re often not able to get close to the action. Fast shutter speeds are typical, although you’ll sometimes want to slow things down just enough to get a touch of blur, to show the subject’s motion.