Stepping Back

If you peek in the small backpack that has become my day-to-day purse, you'll find my Nikon D80, the kit 18-55mm lens and my lens of choice, the 55-200mm. I'm attracted to detail, so I often find myself zooming in close with my 55-200mm lens wide open to inspect natural objects here on our farm – like an artsy scientist of some sort.  I trace the intricate paths of veins on leaves. I stop the car short to shoot thorny thistle. And I don't mind wasting time watching threads of cow tail hair wave in the breeze on a barbed wire fence.  

But this weekend offered a new view and a chance to shift my perspective.  We traveled north with friends we love to a stunning lake site tucked within the Georgia mountains. The cozy home has remained in our friends' family for many years, and my husband has held fond memories of this special place close to his heart since childhood...leaping off the top of the boathouse...exploring the edges of the 20,000-acre lake by boat... and skiing until his legs turned to jelly.  

So when he plopped in the water and squeezed on his ski, I grabbed my camera and realized that I had accidentally left my zoom lens up at the house, leaving me with my ho-hum kit lens. Bummer. How can I get in close from the top of this boathouse? I thought. But when I put the viewfinder up to my eye, it suddenly clicked.  How could I NOT go wide. So I stepped back and gave it a little tilt, then proceeded to give my kit lens a full weekend workout to really capture a sense of space.

What about you? Do you shoot wide? Please share your lens of choice for shooting wide and any tricks that help you capture a sense of place. And naturally, I'd love to see your shots.

Comments

[mika]

i have an 18-55mm kit lens also for my Nikon d40 and i find that i like shooting closer to 18 than 55 when i'm using this lens. i find that shooting wide gives often captures the essence of a particular location more fully, while longer focal lengths tend to focus in more on the subject. i like playing with empty space and and somewhat assigning co-subjects...i.e. the sky and the mural in this photo...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/msquid/2568995553/

:)

[laura - dolcepics]

No way! I'm gearing up to write my article on focal lengths and perspective using wide vs. long and just posted a warm up post to it! I guess we think along the same wavelengths! I LOVE your shot and the tilt is just right. How did you take it from so high up above? That is one gorgeous lake!

Here are a couple of mine:
http://www.dolcepics.com/dailypic/clouds-and-rainbows/

I also like shooting kids up close for an interesting effect. Wide is also useful in small indoor spaces where you just need a little bit more room. I need to use my wide a lot more!

[Marcie]

This isn't exactly wide...but it isn't a zoomed-in close-up either. I know exactly how easy it is to get caught up in the details..and then lose the big picture.
Love your photo of the lake. Beautiful setting!

http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=434

[e.darcy]

I am absolutely addicted to my 100mm Macro. When I first got it-I wasn't happy, we didn't understand each other. I thought about sending it back. But oh...my god.
It's so hard for me to not zoom in, to not get so close up and catch all those tiny details...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/edarcy/2569574839/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/edarcy/2570878000/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/edarcy/2381875544/in/set-72157600746384155/

[intensity_too]

I hardly shoot wide. I'm usually using my nifty fifty or my new 105mm macro lens for super close up shoots.

This photo might not be wide to some, but it sure is to me!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/intensity_too/52795739/in/set-1146101/

[giggletwig]

I almost always have my 50mm on my camera, but I was doing some family photos for a friend, and when we got to this location (a neighbor's yard), the 50mm just didn't do it justice. So, I pulled out my kit 18-70mm lens and was able to capture the beautful surroundings -- which I think add to the feeling of the photo.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/giggletwig/2603226745/

But I took a lot of photos with my 50mm that day, too.

[Kacey]

I recently got the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 for my Canon 40D. I used it on two recent road trips.

Here to a canyon in Texas. I wasn't impressed by the colors here, but it was my first time using it.

http://www.wineonthekeyboard.com/2008/06/07/more-road-trip/

Then here to the gorgeous horse farms in Kentucky. I need to work with this lens more. Still not feeling the love.

http://www.wineonthekeyboard.com/2008/06/12/kentucky-road-trip/

[psumommy]

I like to shoot in close and tight...it's rare that I go wide. My options are severely limited with my Canon Powershot, though...but when I had my Nikon D70, I only used the kit lens and did my best!

http://photos1.blogger.com/img/123/1348/640/DSC_00203.jpg

This is about wide as I got: http://photos1.blogger.com/img/123/1348/640/DSC_0063.jpg

I miss my D70...

[camerashymomma]

great photo! it's like i can feel the lake, and i feel so small! funny timing for this post, since I just set up a new set for my wide angle photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/camerashymomma/sets/72157605767658110/

i often forget to go wide and needed a set to remind myself that it's a good look for some situations.

here is my latest favorite: The edge of the world in wide angle.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/camerashymomma/2574212549/

[Jen]

This is very timely for me! I have a 10-person family shoot this weekend and my widest lens is a 28-105. I am thinking of renting a wider one so I can be sure to capture a bit of the surroundings as well as the whole group.

I am such a zoom girl. I always get in close,but I really need to challenge myself to step back and take in more of the shot.

Thanks for the reminder. Great shot, by the way!

[Mrs. Eaves]

I also tend to shoot close, and usually feel really uncomfortable when I try to get a wide/tall shot. I liked this one, though:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrs-eaves/2604499260/

[Janine]

playing in Grandma and Pepa's backyard

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25744047@N03/2604538904/

[brittany]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/britspit/2524246570/

This has been a huge challenge for me in Europe this summer. We're a one-camera family with two photographers. My husband lives his wide angle and wide shots, where I'm the macro queen. We actually even switch lenses when passing off the camera sometimes. So I'm learning the wide... not the best shot, but one of the few I actually took myself!

[Kirsten]

Widest shot I have...Central Park. I have to say as a new photographer, I love this sight! Everyone has such great photos and the challenges are a great excuse to keep taking pictures every day...anyway, here it is.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/somethingcheeky/2543601330/sizes/l/in/set-72157605415603220/

[Christina]

I used to almost excusively take closeups. Now I am learning to step back and capture more of the scene. I love prime lesnes and my 50mm almost never leaves my camera...but I am yearning for a wider angle prime!

[mary]

Love your photos, closeups and wide. I am also much more drawn to closeups, but here is something a little wider than usual for me:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9068078@N05/2440910932/

[Stacy]

Oh yes, summertime is the time for the wide angle lenses! A must for landscapes. The 18-200mm VR Nikkor lens is a good one for full range of shooting.

[Michelle]

I only have the one lense. Would this be wide? I'm still figuring this stuff out.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26029966@N02/2606385212/

[Lyn]

I just spent four days on vacation in Maine, and my regular zoom lens is sooo heavy that I was hesitant to bring it along when hiking up mountains. So I put on my 20mm stationary lens and liked what I saw. I viewed it as a challenge (I'm usually a macro fiend) and some of the results are posted on my blog over the last four days. Lots of fun!

http://lynlepre.typepad.com

[Tanya]

shot of a ferris wheel I took this afternoon with my new wide angle lens. thanks for the inspiration.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tanyamills/2605991689/

[Sugar]

I love the intimacy in the up-close shots that I take of moms with their kids. There's something right in there that is missed when I open up and fill it with all the rest of the stuff... But seeing the greatness of the beach in a wide angle shot with a family walking just inside the frame gives me a sense of intimacy, too. Like they are all together in this huge world.

I absolutely love my macro shots of flowers. But then I love to shoot our rose garden filled with thousands of blooms surrounding a small fountain. I guess I'll just going to have to keep switching out those lenses!

My rose garden: http://asksugarjones.blogspot.com/2008/05/stop.html

[Jackie]

I was snapping pics of my dog, trying out setting on my camera and captured this photo. It was a happy accident and one of my favorites!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaclyndenise33/2545676961/

[Rachel Parton]

Love the pic of the cow tail hair on the fence.

One of my most recent wide shots:
http://partonpics.blogspot.com/2008/06/soar.html

[Kellie H]

ooh is that Lake Burton? I haven't been water skiing in yeeears. Love the photo!

my attempt:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27403442@N05/2615384136/