Photography.ca » landscape photography

90 — Tilt shift lenses for landscape photography — Interview w/ Darwin Wiggett

Marko Kulik — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 17:21:21 +0000

Photography podcast #90 features an interview with Canadian landscape photographer Darwin Wiggett. It was recorded on a photo tour in the Alberta Rockies led by Darwin. In the interview Darwin discusses why he often uses a tilt shift lens in landscape photography. For those that have never heard of a tilt shift lens, it’s a lens that has the ability to tilt and/or shift while attached to your camera. The tilting aspect of the lens allows you to get amazing depth of field (REGARDLESS‚ of aperture) because the lens can tilt in the same direction as the plane of focus. The shift aspect of the lens allows you to correct non parallel lines in camera when photographing a building for example. It also allows for easy panoramas. Darwin is a fabulous teacher so take a listen and it will all make even more sense. We also talk a bit about testing your lenses, resolution, aperture, depth of field and image circles.

An example of a tilt shift lens

Note how the image on the right has SUPERB depth of field because the tilt shift lens was TILTED into the plane of focus. Image at left uses a regular wide angle lens. ‚©D. Wiggett

Note how the lighthouse is straight in the shot at right due to the SHIFT correction on a tilt shift lens. Image at left uses a regular wide angle lens. ‚© D. Wiggett

Links /resources mentioned in this podcast:
Workshops and photo tours with Darwin Wiggett
Jay Maisel Documentary for inspiration
Show us where you live is the regular assignment this month on our photography forum
Time (No clocks) is the level 2 assignment this month on our photography forum
Nikon’s 24mm tilt shift lens at B&H
Canon’s 24mm tilt shift lens at B&H

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Thanks to IceCreamMan and Benny who posted a blog comment about our last podcast. Thanks as always to everyone that sent comments by email about our last podcast. Although ALL comments are appreciated, commenting directly in this blog is preferred. Thanks as well to all the new members of the bulletin board. Most of the links to actual the products are affiliate links that help support this site. Thanks in advance if you purchase through those links.

If you are looking at this material on any other site except Photography.ca — Please hop on over to the Photography.ca blog and podcast and get this and other photography info directly from the source. |Subscribe with iTunes |Subscribe via RSS feed |Subscribe with Google Reader |Subscribe for free to the Photography podcast — Photography.ca and get all the posts/podcasts by Email
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Freeman Patterson exhibition — Montreal till Nov.15/09

Marko Kulik — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:52:18 +0000

If you live in or near Montreal and love artistic landscape photography you OWE it to yourself to take a drive to Dollard Des Ormeaux to see the Freeman Patterson photography exhibition.

This exhibition is AWESOME. Freeman Patterson has been shooting landscapes around the world and teaching workshops for many decades. I’ve been a major fan of his for a good twenty years and I consider him to be a modern master landscape photography artist. Everything about this exhibition screams quality. The images themselves are gorgeous and I spent a good seventy minutes looking at each and every one. The composition of each photograph is very well thought out as you would expect. Freeman is a teacher and expert at visual design and you’ll note the attention he has paid to the foreground midground and background. There’s exciting stuff going on in all 3 of those zones.‚ But everything else in the photographs work too; exposure, colour and the printing. Gorgeous printing on heavy watercolour paper that reveals great tonality from pure white to deep black with excellent shadow detail in most prints.

Freeman exhibits about 18 large sized photographs that are around 20 X 30 inches. All the prints are for sale in small limited editions. The Gallery is located in the Dollard Civic Center (across the street from Marche de L’Ouest) 12001, boulevard De Salaberry, Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Qc. H9B 2A7 (General Tel. # (514) 684‑1011).‚ Look for the LIBRARY, the gallery is in the basement of the library building. Tues.-Wed. 12–4 PM, Thurs.-Fri. 2-5PM, Sat.-Sun. 1–4 PM and there are guided tours available. The gallery is closed on Nov. 11th for rememberance day.

I have seen NO publicity for this show…which is a travesty as this work is aching to be seen by photography lovers. So take a drive to the West Island and you won’t be disappointed!

73 — Landscape photography tips — improving boring landscapes

Marko Kulik — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:29:29 +0000

Photography podcast #73 is all about landscape photography and how to improve your landscape photography. Many newbies and advanced amateurs consistently wonder if their landscape photography is any good. This podcast offers up a fair pile of tips to help get your landscape photography to the next level. Some of the things we talk about include; lighting for landscapes, the background and the foreground, what makes landscapes interesting, exposure and landscape photography, filters in landscape photography, tripods and post production.

Yosemite Valley, Winter 1940 by Ansel Adams

Note the points of interest in the foreground, background and midground, note the full range of tones and note how skillfully our eyes are being guided. This is no accident, it’s the result of great planning (the light) execution (exposure/filters/composition) and finishing touches (darkroom post-processing — done these days using a graphics program).

Fishing spot by Kat

Kat has a great handle on the range of tones, exposure and composition here and I really like this shot. It’s missing just a little something of interest IMO to get the big “WOW!” Perhaps if a large rock was dropped in the midground with moving ripples that would have done it.… this shot is so close it just needs a hint of something “extra”.

Fly with me…across Australia (part of a series) by Mad Aussie

This one contains the “Wow!” factor for me. Great colour, range of tones, exposure and composition. Note the reflections in the foreground, the rocks in the midground and that awesome sky in the background. I love how the midground and background seem to meld into one another.

Links /resources mentioned in this podcast:

The Ansel Adams gallery
Darwin Wiggett — Fabulous landscapes
Rule of thirds podcast
Histogram podcast
October’s “Scary-Mysterious-Halloween”‚assignment on the Photography.ca forum
Please join the Photography.ca fan page on Facebook
My Facebook profile — Feel free to “friend” me
My Twitter page — I will follow you if you follow me (Hey that’s a Gabriel lyric) — Let’s connect

If you are still lurking on our forum,
feel free to join our friendly Photography forum

Thanks to‚ jacklabel, and Kent Wilson who posted a blog comment about our last podcast. Thanks as always to everyone that sent comments by email about our last podcast. Although ALL comments are appreciated, commenting directly in this blog is preferred. Thanks as well to all the new members of the bulletin board.

If you are looking at this material on any other site except Photography.ca — Please hop on over to the Photography.ca blog and podcast and get this and other photography info directly from the source. I Subscribe with iTunes I Subscribe via RSS feed I Subscribe with Google Reader I Subscribe for free to the Photography podcast — Photography.ca and get all the posts/podcasts by Email
You can download this photography podcast directly by clicking the preceding link or listen to it almost immediately with the embedded player below.