The Fisheye Lens - A Different Perspective

Back in January I purchased a fisheye lens, thinking it would give me a new way to look at the world, but it mostly sat in my camera bag for the first few months, waiting for me to take the plunge and start experimenting with my new toy...

This first shot was taken at Kachina Bridge in Natural Bridges National Monument in southern Utah, during a trip to the area last April.  I had brought my fisheye lens along for the hike down to the arches on a whim, and I was glad that I did.  In several instances the scene was so expansive that the only way I could include an arch in its entirety was to use the fisheye, with its sweeping 180 degree angle of view.  For this shot I walked through Kachina Bridge and looked back, pushing in tight to use the bridge as a natural frame for the photo.

This was taken at the Big Tesuque Campground in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains above Santa Fe last September, a great place to catch the trees as they begin the transition from vibrant summer green to the more colorful hues of autumn.  Normally a fisheye lens introduces too much curvature to a scene, unless held relatively level to the horizon, but it can also be useful in that when tilted it "warps" the scene and introduces excessive curvature which can lend an "artistic" look to the scene.  With this shot I was looking straight up, and I stopped down the lens to get a nice sunburst on the sun rising over the ridge in the background.  

I took this shot of Broken Arch in Arches National Park near Moab, Utah, last October.  I climbed up pretty close to the arch and simply "looked through" the arch when taking this shot.  Again, since the fisheye lens was tilted slightly upwards, it emphasized the curvature of the arch.

During that same trip to the Moab area last October I also did a morning shoot at Grand View Point in Canyonlands National Park.  After several minutes of shooting, once the sun had clearly broken the horizon, I switched out lenses to the fisheye and took a few shots.  I liked the look the fisheye lent to the scene, the slight curve of the horizon emphasizing the grand scale of the scene (and I'm always in love with the sunburst I get when using the fisheye).  Later, when processing the shot in Adobe Lightroom, I cropped the scene into a narrower landscape look since this fitted the feeling I was trying to convey, the broad expanse of the canyon lands.   

Last month I was on an assignment at Georgia O'Keefe's Ghost Ranch near Abiquiu, New Mexico: a morning shoot at the labyrinth.  After I got the shots I needed, I put my fisheye lens on and took a few more shots, getting close and kneeling down, trying to get a shot that took in the labyrinth in its entirely, emphasizing the circular patterns, incorporating a sunburst in the background.

A few weeks ago I went back to the Route 66 Auto Museum in Santa Rosa, New Mexico, specifically with the intent of using the fisheye lens.  For this shot I was literally two feet from the front of this old coupe, with the lens slightly tilted down to add a little "warped perspective" to the scene.  

It took a little while for me to explore the use of the fisheye lens, and it's not a look that suits every scene, but when the time is right, I love the aesthetic it gives a scene....

All photos taken with a Nikon D7000, Nikkor 10.5 DX Fisheye lens

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Looking For A Distinctive Gift?

Looking for a gift with a WOW! factor? How about a Ready-To-Hang Mounted Print?! Any photo on my website can be printed on Kodak Endura Professional Metallic paper for that rich distinctive metallic look, mounted on 3/16" black gatorboard for a lightweight alternative to framing. That and more are available at: www.kevinschafferphotography.com

This photo was taken at the Buck Canyon Overlook in Canyonlands National Park outside of Moab, Utah, in October 2014.  I was using a Nikon D7000 camera body with a Nikkor 10.5mm Fisheye lens.

2015 Calendar Preview

This year I'm selling a calendar with an Alaskan theme, featuring a baker's dozen of photographs (when you include the cover) that I've taken since I took up photography  (you can order yours here).  With today's post I thought I'd share a sampling of the images that are in the calendar - in no particular order - with a little background of where and when they were taken.

This is the photo I used for the cover.  This was taken at Crow Creek Mine in Girdwood.  In the 30 plus years I lived in Alaska, I never made it to Crow Creek Mine, but during my recent trip back to Alaska, I made the time to stop in and take a look.  While walking around the grounds I spotted this truck: a 1929 Model A Ford.  The  morning dew melting off the truck, the flower box under the front bumper, the shack in the background made for a nice composition... This was taken September 2014...

One morning during that same trip back to Alaska I drove to Seward, hoping to be in position to shoot before the sun rose.  A few miles outside of Seward I was driving past Bear Lake when I saw the reflection of the mountains in the water, and I quickly pulled over to take a few shots.  Normally, I don't compose a photo with the horizon line in the middle of the frame, but here I wanted to give equal weight to the mountains and their reflection.  This and the photo below were also taken in last September...

That same morning in Seward I started out by walking the docks of the boat harbor.  As the light filled the sky, its reflection began to fall across the early morning's water, and soon the sun broke the horizon.  I stopped to take this photo, crouching down to emphasize the metallic reflection in the water.  

This photo was taken at Independence Mine at Hatcher's Pass north of Palmer.   When we arrived, the whole area was cloaked in a shroud of fog which started to lift as the sun rose higher in the sky.  I've always liked the moodiness of this shot.  Mining was so integral to the exploration and settling of Alaska that I wanted to include a photo that represented this part of the state's history.  Taken August 2012...

Autumn, often fleeting in Alaska, but magnificent while it lasts...  This was taken while walking along the shore at Eklutha Lake north of Anchorage.  I consider this to be one of my first successful attempts at composition, a shot where I took the time to carefully frame the scene and actually had an end result in mind.  Taken September 2008...

Last, but certainly not least, Mount McKinley.  Denali, the Great One...  This photo was taken at the first pullout on the road that winds through Denali National Park where Mt. McKinley - weather permitting - can typically be seen.  A great vantage point, if a bit crowded...  September 2014... 

With a subject as beautiful and expansive and varied as Alaska, trying to narrow it down to a dozen selections was a task filled with much internal debate, but that's a good dilemma to have...

You can purchase a calendar here

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Route 66 - Holbrook to Williams

Route 66.  The Mother Road.  Main Street of America.  Immortalized in movies, television, and song, stretching from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California, the mention of Route 66 conjures thoughts of Americana, nostalgia, the good 'ole days, the open road, and the great American road trip.  Once the road West, now bypassed and chopped up and alternately decaying or reinventing itself depending on where you cross its path, Route 66 remains a photographer's dream, presenting images of communities clinging to the past or frozen in time in an attempt to profit off of an enduring sense of nostalgia for yesterday, or broken dreams that couldn't survive the upheaval of changing patterns of traffic and life that the Interstate highway system brought to the land.   

This past week my wife and I had the chance to drive along or near a large stretch of Route 66, from Santa Fe into much of Arizona.  I knew that given the constraints of time I wouldn't be able to stop and take photos of everything that caught my eye, but I did make an effort to capture a few images.  All of this was done in a relatively short span from Holbrook to Williams, 127 miles of mostly open road through northern Arizona.

First stop was Holbrook, home of the Wigwam Motel, which is listing on the National Register of Historic Places and still open for business.  In addition to the "unique" accommodations, the parking lot is littered with numerous classic cars in various states of repair.  

One of the challenges of photographing the cars at the Wigwam Motel is the cluttered background.  In addition to the classic cars and wigwams are the hotel that sits at the rear of the property, numerous power lines, and other distractions.  One approach I took to work around this was to go with a shallow of depth of field (blurring the background a bit) and concentrating on photographing details like this hood ornament on a 1954 Pontiac Star Chief.

Next stop was Winslow.  This is a wide shot of Standin' on the Corner Park,  commemorating the Eagles song "Take It Easy" (which famously mentions Winslow).  The sun was behind me so I couldn't avoid getting the shadow of the light pole in the shot, but I still enjoyed checking out this landmark.

About 15 miles west of Winslow is the Meteor City Trading Post, which sits on a strip of frontage road (which is actually an old stretch of Route 66).  Once known as the home of the "World's Largest Map of Route 66" (now gone) and the "World's Largest Dream Catcher," the trading post consists of a large geodesic dome sporting a Mohawk, the dream catcher, several "teepees," and numerous large pieces of petrified wood which line the parking area.  Unfortunately the trading post closed in December 2012 and is quickly falling into disarray from the elements and the vandals.

About 20 miles further west sits the Twin Arrows Trading Post and cafe.  Despite having been given its own exit off of Interstate 40, this piece of Americana was last in operation in 1995.  Another place that's slowly falling into disarray...

Last stop, Williams.  In Williams lies the last stretch of Route 66 to be bypassed by the Interstate highway system (in October 1984).  This town has successfully reinvented itself as a keeper of the memories of Route 66 - no doubt helped by its location as the terminus of the Grand Canyon Railway (which takes travelers by train to the south rim of the Grand Canyon), making Williams the "Gateway to the Grand Canyon."  Driving down Route 66 in town, the pink and white Ford Fairlane sitting outside of Twisters 50's Soda Fountain caught my eye...

Route 66.  A fading memory.  But still there if you look...

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 10-24 DX (Holbrook photos), Nikkor 16-85 DX VR (all others)
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