Exercise 10 - Focal lengths and different viewpoints

For this exercise I’ve used the Nikon D300s with the Nikkor 18-200mm lens, set at 200 mm, 

then the Sigma 10 – 20 mm lens set at 10 mm.

The object in the exercise is one of the shelters at the top of the cliff in Whitby.

This image was taken with the lens at 200 mm from a distance of about 150 yards. I framed the image so that it just fitted in the frame vertically.

 

This version was taken with a setting of 10 mm from a distance of about 2 yards, so that the building again just fitted the frame. It’s worth noting that walking and looking through the viewfinder at this setting can be dangerous – I walked into the seat not realising I’d got that close to it!

The first image has shortened the perspective, so that there seems to be very little distance from the seat to the shelter or from the shelter to the cars behind. The verticals horizontals in this image are just as they should be, but the depth of the building seem shorter. The reduced depth of field at this lens length is also apparent, with the buildings and cars behind going quickly out of focus. The image feels ‘flat’

In the second image has much more depth to it. Distances seem much greater to the extent that the building now seems to be standing well away from any other.

The perspective lines are increased to such a degree that the shelter now seems much longer than it really is. The horizontal lines of the roof have become really angled, to the degree that they’ve warped the whole building. Apart from the front vertical of the shelter, all the others are bending towards the centre of the image – particularly noticeable with the lampposts.

There’s now more life in the sky, where the clouds are now zooming towards the centre of the image and they’re in better focus as the depth of field has increased with the wider lens.

On balance I prefer this image to the first, even though the vertical and horizontal lines aren’t true any more. It’s got more interest and it’s just got more life to it.

 So the choice of focal length depends on what you want from the image. Even staying at the safe 50 mm where there’s little distortion and not so much shortening or increasing of perspective may not give the effect you want to portray with the picture.