Sunday, 8 April 2012

Focal lengths and different viewpoints - for cameras with variable focal lengths (with a zoom or interchangeable lens)

Still at my viewpoint of Seatoller House in Cumbria, I shot one photo with the telephoto lens, and one with the wide-angle, with the same focal points (the window just to the right of the old phone box).  For the telephoto I tried to get as much of the house as possible to fill the frame; for the wide-angle I had to walk forwards as far as I could, but could not get the house entirely in full frame.  The raindrops on the lens in the wide-angle shot add a touch of Lake District authenticity!

Telephoto

Wide-angle
What is interesting about these two shots is the way that the perspective on the foreground changes.  The telephoto captures more of the foreground but it is squashed up, so you lose a sense of depth.  With the wide-angle shot, the foreground is stretched out, so although less is included in the shot, it looks deeper.  Also, in the wide angle shot, although I walked forward in a straight line, and focussed on the same point, the house now seems to be set at a slight angle.  I could not get any closer to the house to take the shot as the fence got in the way.

I really like the effect of the wide-angle, particularly for landscape photography; on a cloudy day the sky appears to be like a ceiling and you can get the effect of convergence between the ground and the sky at the horizon line.


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