Comments on: Why you Need a Telephoto Zoom Lens for Landscape Photography

By: Cedric

Cedric — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:55:20 +0000

Interesting note about the movies -I will definitely put some thoughts into that. I have posted whatever came out from that day I mentioned in my previous comment. It’s on my website -ads free: http://cedricfrancois.com/2009/10/17/telephoto-landscape-photography-on-film/ if you care to have a look!

By: Walter Minton

Walter Minton — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:39:53 +0000

If you are trying to show the affects of one feature like the effects of “where you put the camera” on perspective then you should change only that feature between shots and nothing else. There is another effect that confuses this issue in that a long focus lens will magnify a distant object more than it will a near one if everything else is the same including the FRAMEING of the near object and that of course changes “where you put the camera” but only a little. I have tested this very carefully and it’s a trick used by cinema photographers in old western movies like Shane and the way you think about it gives more control over the results.

Also Zooms are not the best for landscape photography even if somewhat better than they were in the past.

Now go back to Lone Pine and do it all over again:)

Walter Minton

By: Cedric

Cedric — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 01:30:50 +0000

Thanks for that and reminding us of ‘The Camera’ by Ansel Adams -I’m not much of a landscape photographer myself but I’m off to the mountains tomorrow. I’m definitely taking my SLR + 200mm along. But still, I can’t leave my Zorki and 35mm lens behind…

By: bbjames_perfection

bbjames_perfection — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 01:48:32 +0000

I prefer to see both pictures in terms of the first word that came to mind on seeing them. Power. The first thunders with ‘overwhelming’ power, the second with ‘passive’ non-chalant power.

It’s a wonder how a little change in view point can change the picture’s effect so much. I’m an amateur photographer. I wouldn’t even call myself photographer as I don’t do it to earn money. I just collect pictures, mostly of nature and put them in my private collection album. With my album, I take vacations anytime I want, anywhere.

By: Scott Campbell

Scott Campbell — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 17:46:22 +0000

Nice article. Well written, informative, understandable. The humor was suttle but made me LOL. Thanks

By: Don Reeves

Don Reeves — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 03:14:01 +0000

Excellent article about perspective and camera placement, as well as always having a zoom lens when doing landscape shots.

Another issue that really needs to be included is how one can frame a landscape shot for taking several images and stitching them together to make a panorama.
If you have a fixed wide angle lens, good luck in stitching multiple images together to create a panorama shot because the shorter the focal length, the higher the perspective distortion.

With a zoom lens say @ 12~60mm, you have the instant choice of weather you want a single wide angle shot or zoom in to say 40mm and take several images for a panorama of the same landscape

Thanks for posting.

By: Jennifer Moroe

Jennifer Moroe — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 21:30:38 +0000

This is really awesome advice to a budding, self-taught photog like myself! Thank you!

This will definitely change my lens-buying priorities. I tend to like my photos to be full of drama, whether they are shots of flowers or highways or buildings…etc.

Great stuff!
Jennifer More
JenniferLynn Productions, LLC

By: Fernando Tavares

Fernando Tavares — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:06:30 +0000

Dont get me wrong. I like both pictures, the sun whs rising, and you took them 40minutes apart. I prefer the colors of the second, but i think i would love the colors of the one you took in between aroung 15 after the first one. Not so yellow yet, but not so red anymore.
What i miss on both, is the feeling of whats in the midle, between the boulders and the mountain.
Again, it is onother picture.

By: Fernando Tavares

Fernando Tavares — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:45:17 +0000

I’m sorry, but the images yo presented aren’t a good example for what you are taling about.
In the first one, the boulders are under the line of the mountains. In the second, they are above the line of the mountains. This is, in fact, the gratest change you’ve made. On the place where you took the second one, in a very low angle probably on your knees or lower, if you stand up, it will look almost like the first one. And the dramatic diference will not be that much. It will be just a meter of taste to chosse one or the othe.
One other big chage from the first to the second one, is the “zoom2 to simplify it. On the first one you work with an close angle, and in the second one you’re using a wider angle. And this realy makes a diference in prespective. The closer the angle, more compact and glued together the planes are. The wider the angle, the most thing are separated from each other.
Just one other major diference in those pictures, framing. The sides of the pictures don’t show the same thing. You have cut of the smal rocks on the right, and on the left, you cut the boulder.
And on the second one, you have a lot of floor.
If it is a tutorial, you should also give the information about the angle – focal distance- you have used.
I’m sorry, but these are not two diferent pictures of the same thing, but just two diferent pictures.

And last, but defenetly not least, this is realy not truth – “There’s a common misconception that perspective is determined by focal length, but in reality, the only thing that determines perspective is where you put the camera.”

If in doubt, try this – put the camera on a tripod. After framing lock it.
1 -put yourself at 10meters of two birds that are apart 2 meters. One is 10m from you, the other 12m. Take a shot with your 70-200mm at 200mm. f value big so you have deep of field.

2 – Stay here you are, dont tuch the tripod, and simply pull back the zoom and take another shot at 70mm.
3- Go to photoshop and put the first over the second, and resize this one until the birds are the same size, meaning, overlaping almost perfectly. Crop, print, put side by side.

Then come back to this coments if you still think the same way.
Best
Fernando.

By: Evelyn S

Evelyn S — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 18:52:11 +0000

I love seeing photos that make me go, “Omigosh!” ;-) These two are certainly in that category. Great reminder of the things we need to consider.