I got a wide angle lens a couple of months ago pretty much for a road trip last month. I did some reading and experimenting and like it, but there were times on the trip when it didn't quite do what I intended.
Case in point - I'm finding that you have to get really close to what you're shooting. For safety reasons there is only so close you can get to the Grand Canyon. Hiking down in the Canyon, things are a bit different but from the rim it was tricky.
I agree - I got one about 6 weeks ago and have found the same. If I'm not falling off something during a shoot because I get to close I'm having to climb up something to get what I want! Tricky things to use, and I've managed to get my finger in shot a couple of times, but I'm slowly getting better!
The wide angle lens for landscape comes into its own if you have uninterrupted views typically above all of the major detail that you are shooting. Or you are below most of the detail and the subjects tower over you.
I think also you will find the composition works better with either no (or very minimal foreground, or just the opposite, wide and ample foreground that can form a lot of interest.
I'm glad you started this discussion!I bought my Sigma 10-20 mm a year ago and still feel guilty for not putting it in a good use...My landscape imgs look like being taken with a point and shoot camera(: I found composing in vertical aspect working a bit easier but still not what I was expecting from the lens.Finding the ideal front pov is always a big challenge for me.They say that WA lens would not let you make an img without a fight ,so I'll keep trying...
Here are some of my wa images http://365project.org/my_photofun/tags/wa
I would appreciate any comments and suggestions how to improve in wa.
I love my wide-angle (Nikon 10-24 mm) lens, though I use the wider end more for architecture than for landscape. Getting down low, and, as @frankhymus suggests, having minimal foreground can work well. This is one of the wide-angle shots I've taken with it that I've posted as part of my project.
@dolphin I love your shot above with the huge foreground leading back in a structured way to the building/monument/memorial at the back.
@aponi@my_photofun With my Sigma f/3.5 10-20 (I find it is a great lens, and the N Photo magazine rated it the "best wide angle for Nikon APS-C" beating out even the native Nikkor lenses) I look for images where the foreground and especially the mid range are just begging to be gobbled up and included in the frame. "Up Shots" especially, but even more standard angles and not necessarily landscapes or architecture. Here are two with this lens.
This one at 17mm with careful vertical perspective correction.
This one at 12mm.
Not an accident that they are both (dual toned) black and white, one "warm" and one "cool."
Sometimes you can use that bendy perspective to your advantage especially if you over play the bendyness. My wide angled lens is a fisheye so it shoots 180ยบ and really has some bend to it.
I have stopped it a little by adding a 2x converter and making it a 16mm less fisheye.
Wide angle is lots of fun to experiment with! Try different angles without moving your feet and notice the difference it makes. But yes, my general rule is get low, get close, and try to put the horizon in the middle and then work from there.
Getting close is pretty important. I was only about a foot away from the ball in this shot. I recommend you don't walk with the camera up to your eye, you'll walk into/off something for sure.
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I think also you will find the composition works better with either no (or very minimal foreground, or just the opposite, wide and ample foreground that can form a lot of interest.
Wide angles are wonderful when at the bottom of the GC and you want to show the grandeur from the bottom up.
Here are some of my wa images http://365project.org/my_photofun/tags/wa
I would appreciate any comments and suggestions how to improve in wa.
@aponi @my_photofun With my Sigma f/3.5 10-20 (I find it is a great lens, and the N Photo magazine rated it the "best wide angle for Nikon APS-C" beating out even the native Nikkor lenses) I look for images where the foreground and especially the mid range are just begging to be gobbled up and included in the frame. "Up Shots" especially, but even more standard angles and not necessarily landscapes or architecture. Here are two with this lens.
This one at 17mm with careful vertical perspective correction.
This one at 12mm.
Not an accident that they are both (dual toned) black and white, one "warm" and one "cool."
I should put more practice and hope for a better result to come...
I have stopped it a little by adding a 2x converter and making it a 16mm less fisheye.
Here's a massive tree in the jungle.
Getting close is pretty important. I was only about a foot away from the ball in this shot. I recommend you don't walk with the camera up to your eye, you'll walk into/off something for sure.