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Ultra-wide angle lenses can be used
to create unique and unusual perspectives. Ultra-wides
reside in the very lowest end of the lens millimeter range,
sometimes even dipping into single digit numbers. For
full-frame digital SLRs, any lens wider than 24mm can lay
claim to the title of ultra-wide, though I like to think of
lenses in the 12mm-17mm range as being where the real ultra-wide
fun begins. For APS (crop)-sized sensors, ultra-wide lenses
start at around 10mm, which is the equivalent of about 16mm
on a full frame sensor. There are also some extra super-wide
fisheye lenses out there, starting as wide as 4.5mm lenses for crop
sensor cameras and 8mm lenses for full frame cameras—now
that's wide!
Ultra-wides come
in two different flavors: rectilinear and fisheye.
Rectilinear lenses are corrected to render all straight lines in a scene as
straight lines; however, the result of this correction is
that objects at the edges of a rectilinear lens often appear
distorted or "stretched." Fisheye lenses, on the other hand,
render all
straight lines that do not travel through the center of the
image as curved. As a result, horizon lines, trees, and just
about anything else that should be straight gets rendered as
curvy. Fisheye lenses actually have a greater field of view
than their millimeter rating suggests; for example, a 15mm
fisheye has a field of view similar to a 12mm rectilinear
lens. For this reason, fisheye lenses are considered
specialty lenses, typically only used when fisheye
distortion is needed for artistic effect, or where
straight-line distortion isn't really an issue. So it should
come as no surprise that fisheyes aren't often used in
nature photography, which is a real shame because they can
yield some very interesting results. We will touch briefly
on fisheyes in this article, and save a more detailed look
at these remarkable lenses for a later date.
Because of the distortion inherent when
using either a
rectilinear or a fisheye lens, ultra-wides can be
challenging to work with. In the hands of a skilled photographer,
however, such distortion can be used to great advantage. Proper use of ultra-wides
takes practice and patience, but the results can be
stunning. Here are a few tips to get the most out of your
ultra-wide angle lens:
Big-sky lens
Ultra-wides can be most
effective when there is a lot going on in the sky. For
example, I love to take out my ultra-wide when I have big
storm clouds lit up at sunset or sunrise. Just make sure you
pay close attention to the amount of foreground you include,
and how foreground elements relate to the shapes and
patterns of the clouds in the sky. One challenge of working
with ultra-wides is their tendency to include too much in the scene,
thus diffusing the impact of the image. One must be very
careful when using an ultra-wide, selecting a composition
that includes only what is needed to make the image
powerful. In the image below, I selected a composition that
included diagonal lines coming in from the four corners of
the scene, all leading the eye to the center of attention in
the image, the tall sandstone hoodoos lit by the setting
sun.
Chimney Bluffs, Lake
Ontario, New York
Canon EOS 5D, Sigma 12-24mm
lens @ 12mm
Get up close and personal!
Ultra-wides have huge amounts
of depth of field. Take advantage of this by getting in as
close to your foreground or subject-matter as possible.
You will be able to achieve near-far focus with an
ultra-wide to a degree that is not possible with other
lenses. Remember that ultra-wides also make everything in
the image look smaller unless they are very close to the
lens. This effect can be used to emphasize your subject.
With the
image below of two hungry young brown pelicans, the camera was
very close to the nearest pelican, probably less than a
foot. As a result, the pelican is rendered as looming quite
large in the image, especially its beak which is closest to
the lens. Elements of the scene that are progressively
farther away from the lens get progressively smaller. Using
this technique, you can have a prominent foreground object
and still include wide expanses of background.
Pelicans, Outer Banks, North
Carolina
Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II, Sigma 12-24mm lens @ 12mm
Give yourself some elbow
room
Ultra-wides can also be useful
when shooting in cramped conditions, such as in an ice cave,
or in a small grotto beneath a waterfall. Put an ultra-wide
lens on your camera, and suddenly everything looks a whole
lot roomier! Take a close look at architecture or car
interior shots, and you will see some very good examples of
this effect. Of course, as mentioned above, the down side
of ultra-wides is that they make objects appear much smaller
than they really are, so be careful not to diffuse interest
in critical elements of your scene by making them too small
to notice.
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Ice cave, Adirondack State Park, New York
Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II, Sigma 12-24mm
lens @ 12mm
Use distortion to your advantage
Although photographers often
try to avoid distortion of lines and objects in their
images, sometimes distortion can be a good thing. Nothing
distorts quite like an ultra-wide, especially if the lens is
a fisheye. Extra care must be used when using fisheyes, as
horizons, trees trunks, and other straight lines go crazy. But in the right
circumstances, the distortion of an ultra-wide,
whether fisheye or not, can make for some beautiful results.
The image below was taken with a fisheye lens, which not
only helped to create the illusion of more space in what was
an otherwise cramped slot canyon, but also gave some
extra curve and definition to the already wavy lines in the sandstone
walls.
Zebra Canyon, Grand
Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah
Canon EOS 5D, Sigma 15mm
fisheye lens |
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