When I’m out taking pictures I tend to depend on two cameras–either my trusty and ever-present iPhone 6s or my mirrorless Sony a6000.  And although I have more than one lens for that Sony, I mostly use my 16-55mm lens.  So on Sunday, I broke out of my usual and put my zoom lens on as we headed out onto the beach for a walk.

I noticed right away that I was looking at things differently.  The change in focal length meant that I had to look into the distance for my subject.  As I walked down the ramp from the parking lot, this kite caught my eye.  I was able to zoom in on the single image…a butterfly on a string!

And sometimes it’s just about timing.  I looked up and this seagull flew right into my line of sight.  Just one bird on the edge of the frame.

Later on my walk, I spied this pink bucket sitting solo.  There was something about this bucket, alone that had me zoom in and focus.

But as I looked at this week’s photos, I realized that I didn’t need my zoom lens to focus on one.  As we stopped by the botanic gardens to enjoy the sunny afternoon, I found myself mesmerized by this swallowtail butterfly.  It’s hard to take pictures of butterflies. In my experience, they seem to want to fly away as I am trying to get them into focus.  But this guy seemed to want to pose.  He let me come closer and closer as I snapped away–so I could see the intricacies of his wings as he sipped nectar.

Geoff and I decided to visit a new outlet mall on Saturday evening–one some distance away from home.  As sunset grew close, we grabbed a coffee and headed to a nearby beach.  He walked the rocks, searching for sea glass and picking up trash and I snapped photos of the sunset.  Here I captured a single lifeguard tower silhouetted in the setting sun.

And Tuesday’s foray away from the most traveled path took me to the Mt. Soledad park.  There’s a veteran’s memorial, a controversial cross, and amazingly breathtaking views of the coast and the city.  I noticed this one American flag fluttering against the puffy white clouds.

So…what one subject will you capture in your photo(s) this week?

You can post your photo alone or along with some words: commentary, a story, a poem…maybe even a song! I love to study the photographs that others’ take and think about how I can use a technique, an angle, or their inspiration to try something new in my own photography. (I love a great mentor text…or mentor photo, in this case!) I share my photography and writing on social media. You can find me on Instagram and Twitter using @kd0602. If you share your photos and writing on social media too, please let me know so I can follow and see what you are doing. To help our Weekly Photo community find each other, use the hashtag #one for this week and include @nwpianthology in your post.

Head out with your camera and look for one…and capture it in a photo (or two or three…).  What one will you choose?