Stepping Back

My vision seems to be evolving these days. I find myself stepping back to get a broader view more often than I have in the past. Shooting wide. While so much can be discovered in close range... like delicate lashes, luscious pores, and tiny insects tip-toeing on petals... shooting wide sets the scene and gives you space for stories to unfold. As I consider the potential opportunity Jen and I have to lead our Shutter Sisters Picture Hope Dream Assignment, I'm beginning to think through visual approaches for capturing stories in still image form and I'm convinced that a wide angle lens will play a critical role in the journey.

Can you recommend a wide angle lens you love?

Share an image with a good sense of place and tell us the secret to your still image storytelling.

Comments

[kaytee]

i tend to like zooming in more -- to focus on EXACTLY what i want to, but i love the perspective in your photo! maybe i should rethink my approach =)

here's some of my shots from easter today:
http://missredphotos.blogspot.com/2009/04/youre-never-too-old-to-easter-egg-hunt.html

[kosenrufu mama]

here my wide shots, all day long walking, running, smiling, feeling happy...
http://esterdaphne.blogspot.com/2008/11/aria-fresca-in-compagnia.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23206424@N07/3054960905/

[Marcie]

I too have a tendency to focus in on the details..and not to take in the big picture. Here are a couple where I've actually stepped back and looked:

http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=734
http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=731

[Sue Henry]

Very rarely do I "shoot wide." I did experiment a few times and try to force myself to think wide --

http://suehenryphotography.wordpress.com/2009/03/18/bald-knob-cross/

http://suehenryphotography.wordpress.com/2009/03/18/spring-comes/

I probably need to dust off the wide angle lens and give it a workout one of these days! Thanks for giving us inspiration and food for thought!

[sebrina]

I recently for the sigma 30mm 1.4 and I love it. I don't have very many wide shots yet as I just got it and haven't been out much with it. But it's a beautiful lens!!

[Elizabeth Harper]

Thanks for the inspriation this morning....

http://giftsofthejourney.wordpress.com/2009/04/13/from-a-distance/

[Elizabeth Harper]

Oops! What happened to my spelling above..inspiration! FIngers were moving too fast....

[Kathleen O./ko2008]

Confessions of a close-cropper...I have to force myself to shoot wide! Yet I am always drawn to broad spaces in the photos of others. So I put on my widest lens recently (which really isn't that wide: Canon 28-80) and made it a point to try and capture more of what I see. I realize that, when viewing my own pictures, I can remember the setting and how it naturally looked. But that doesn't always translate to others who weren't there! Shooting wide helps to capture more of the setting and tell a bigger story, sometimes. I'll keep trying...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ko2008/3355416980/

[camerashymomma]

wow, that is a beautiful photo. what a scene! so many stories come to mind. you are so right. and i often get too close, so focus away from all the surroundings. sometimes things look cleaner or prettier when you remove the background (depending on if you're in my messy house!)

this night i got the full picture and it's a new favorite photo of the city where i live
http://www.flickr.com/photos/camerashymomma/3430979762/

[Mrs. E]

I tend to zoom in to tighten the shot. This weekend I was trying to get a shot of my childhood swimming hole and had to pull back. I guess we need both choices! Focusing in on details is good, but sometimes we need to see the big picture.
http://erickfam.blogspot.com/2009/04/swimming-hole-long-pond.html

[Puna]

The wide angle aspect of my SLR was the one thing I was fascinated with. It makes me want to go even wider. Some day. In the meantime, I continue to play with the widest angle I can get with my kit lens. I love it! Thank you for asking...

http://lifesignatures.wordpress.com/2009/04/13/i-love-my-camera/

[Alicia]

Sometimes, I think the places we are in make us want to step back and take in all of the picture!

http://aliandsethinthecity.blogspot.com/2009/04/day-at-beach.html

[maya | springtree road]

i really want a wide angle lens. a good one, that is. i have a kit lens but it's not that good. one day...

[Jen]

I tried the Sigma 10-20mm and was amazed by it, so I highly recommend that for some great shots!

[shelli]

I love, love, love shooting wide. It's one of my favorite perspectives. I WISH I could afford the wide angle lens I want. (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/520635-GREY/Nikon_2163_AF_S_Zoom_Nikkor_14_24mm.html) In my dreams, huh?!

The widest I can go now is 18mm with my kit lens. I will happy with that for now:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/spabis/3016915378/in/set-72157607622594351/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/spabis/3115892924/in/set-72157605050278706/

Not sure if I have any secrets to share. I'm still learning. I just shoot at whatever catches my eye.

[Ginger]

I recently found your site and I love seeing everyone's pictures. I have grand dreams of developing my photography skills. It is inspiring to see how others take pictures. I don't have a wide angle lens yet and most of my pictures are up close to capture the faces of my twin boys. But at the end of last week I took some pictures of them in the bluebonnets. A week or so before that I took a picture of the same field as I was driving past it on my way home.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8591798@N06/3438173576/in/set-72157616616710705/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8591798@N06/3437363269/

[Leslie]

I don't currently own a wide angle other than my canon kit 18-55 but I am looking into investing into one very soon for a trip to Puerto Rico. I have my eye on the sigma 10-20mm.

http://lesliephoto.blogspot.com/

[daniela]

Guilty as charged :-) I mostly shoot with my telephoto lens too. But there are moments when a wide lense is the only chance to get 'everything' in:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27879764@N07/2747381532

As for you asking for a recommendation: I'm a Canon shooter, so I'm not very informed about Nikon lenses, but I think the two cameras you work with have a crop sensor size of 1.5 similar to my EOS 40D. I use a Canon EF-S 10-22mm as a wide angle lens (works like a 16-35mm on a full frame sensor camera) and I really love it, especially for landscape photography! And working with a zoom lens makes the bag a little bit lighter too :-) Hope that helps...

[Katy]

This one was shot with a regular kit lens (on film), but I would love to have a wide angle lens for my DSLR.
My friend is up the tree, in pink. I love how he stands out against all the green and the way the pathways come from different directions and lead to new places:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29536663@N04/3120262853/

[sharon]

I am finding that my wide angle zoom makes me happy when I see the results.

http://sharonlinnefaulk.com/photo/2009/04/13/stepping-back/

[Heather]

I would love to have a 12-24mm in my bag, but I find I can go wide with the simple lightweight 18-55 nikkor kit lens and get the results I'm looking for. Half the time, I also get the wide/inclusive shots by just hanging back from the action. I love wide and wide plus b+w for storytelling. For me, it's all about the arrangement of objects in relation to each other that you can't really accomplish by cropping or other editing tricks that work with closer images.

This shot here was our first day at our beach house rental and for me, knowing the story of the place, it captures all of the anticipation and the feel of just that short walk up to the beach that just makes this place what we look forward to all year as a family. The fence up ahead marks the beginning of the sandy path through the grass and just at the top edge of the grass...the beach.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/heather_kennedy/3438290004/
(larger http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3554/3438290004_f9924c353c_o.jpg )

I think the advantage of a true wide shot is that you can be closer to the story and still capture the details you might otherwise miss on the periphery.

[Leah]

Typically, I am a close-up-crop-in-camera gal, but I do have one wide angle that I actually love, and use lots. (Especially indoors for family documentation stuff.) It's the Sigma 28 1.8 Macro. Wonderful prime lens; and the macro is like a little bonus for me, allowing some close work without switching lenses. It's a little heavier, but lovely just the same.

[Karyn]

the better to see allllll the presents with!

http://www.mundanedetails.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/dsc_0986.jpg

[Martha M.]

My current absolute favorite lens is this Nikon 17-35 f/2.8mm. I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/186250-USA/Nikon_1960_AF_S_Zoom_Nikkor_17_35mm.html

I got stuck in a rut of shooting very close and this one has made me step back and look at the bigger picture!

[Jean M Fogle]

For years I have concentrated on the closeups, but at the end of the shoot I like to step back to see the big picture. They are often my favorites from the shoot.
The garden shoot started up close then moved back for the big picture that places the garden in its whole setting.
http://pixels-n-pen.blogspot.com

[Bethany]

If you have a Nikon DX camera I would check out the 17-55 2.8. If you have an FX version then the 17-35 2.8 is great. I would rent them first and see how you like them....as both are on the pricey side. Fisheye's are pretty fun too for getting a really wide look.

[Wanda]

I don't shoot wide very often. Part of the reason is that it is hard to get a wide shot that isn't full of overhead wires around here...and I don't get away much. Maybe this coming week I can get some wider shots when I get out of town.

[Tracey Clark]

that photo is amazing steph!!! and i love your thoughts here. i can already imagine the shots you can capture on your assignment!!!! it makes me giddy!

[Kelly]

This wasn't a cheap lens, but it's awesome - it lets in so much light!
http://imaging.nikon.com/products/imaging/lineup/lens/af/dx/af-s_dx_zoom17-55mmf_28g_if/index.htm"

[jody]

Lovely storytelling photo. Thats what I've heard it called . Love it.
I don't have a true wide angle lens yet, but I use my 28-135mm canon lens when I want the whole scene ♥

[Belinda]

...And so they came upon a mysterious land, untouched and unseen by humanity. The woodland rolled on without end, so they paused, firmly pushed their sticks into the ground and continued to walk into the mist.


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3325/3438263005_783c9763ef_b.jpg


[Thought I would write my own story there. I took this pic this afternoon on a walk - for some reason the view at this wide angle looked very Thoreau-esque to me!]

[Liz W]

Shooting wide does make way for stories to unfold. I tend to shoot close-up but the other day I took this shot of my son chasing a neighbors cat and I love how this image tells a story.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ewhitaker/3428502871/

[Sarah - Ji]

Love that photo! It seems like an idyllic scenario, and that person observing off to the right makes you want to know what's going on here.

I find wide angle indispensable for events photography, but I seem to still get by w/ my Sigma 30mm f/1.4 on my camera 99% of the time.

My kit lens (18mm-55mm) is wide enough most of the time, but I did recently purchase a ultra wide lens, the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8: http://www.adorama.com/TN1116NK.html

It adds an interesting perspective: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sierraromeo/3396596640/

[Jamie M.]

I love wide angle shooting. I like it for environmental portraits, especially. I know some are down on using wide angles for portraits, but it's one of my favorites. (Unless we're talking head shots.)

I have a trusty Sigma f/1.8 24mm. I think they make them for Nikon and Canon mounts, too.

I think it's this one, though I don't remember the whole macro thing. ha ha:

http://www.adorama.com/SG2418MAX.html?searchinfo=sigma+24mm+1.8

[Melissa]

I don't have any recommendations on lenses, but I wanted to say how much I love the photo. It is beautiful and so peaceful...it makes me wish I was there on the swing.

[emily]

That scenario is so inviting. I think I'll be checking all giant trees for swings for the rest of my life. What a lovely story this shot tells.

[Joscie]

I recently picked up a 10-22 for my 40D. I love it!

[summer]

this is definitely my style. I like up close but most of the pictures I take and walk away from actually liking have a wider view and always tell a story. that is my goal...to always set the stage for a story.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sufferingsummer/3437187466/