After returning from a photography trip, I like to analyze how often I use each lens. During my last trip through South Dakota, I used longer focal lengths more often than in my previous trips through the various capitol cities. I tend to use the wider focal lengths offered by my Nikon 14-24 more often when shooting architectural subjects. In South Dakota, I used the longer focal lengths of the Nikon 70-200 quite frequently while shooting landscapes. I like the compressed look that the telephoto lens creates for many of the landscapes. Of course, wildlife shots often call for the longest lenses that I own.

On a typical day, the following lenses were placed in my backpack: (1) Nikon 14-24; (2) Nikon 24-70; (3) Nikon 70-200 VRII; (4) Nikon 105 VR; and (5) Sigma 15mm Fisheye. The first three lenses are often referred to as the "Holy Trinity". That trio of lenses covers the focal lengths from wide to narrow (14mm through 200mm). All three lenses are fast (f/2.8) and sharp.

During the road trip, I considered 314 images to be keepers. Those are the images that I processed. The Holy Trinity of lenses accounted for 76% of these photographs. The 500 VR was used extensively on the last day of the trip for capturing animal portraits at Bear Country, USA in Rapid City. It also came in handy for some close up shots of Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial. I probably shouldn't have bothered carrying the Nikon 105VR in my bag as I didn't capture a single picture with it this time.