Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/01/20
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Didier Ludwig offered: > Swinging: > http://www.flickr.com/photos/40833360@N00/88346484/ > > Tree: > http://www.flickr.com/photos/40833360@N00/88346485/ > > Another tree: > http://www.flickr.com/photos/40833360@N00/88370952/ > > Some snow: > http://www.flickr.com/photos/40833360@N00/88372963/ Didier mon ami, What can I say but a very nice use of a 15mm lens as it's one of my all time favourites. > Swinging: > http://www.flickr.com/photos/40833360@N00/88346484/<<< The action here is referred to by many of my comrades in sport arms as >>>> "ted's Swishy Pans, because that's how he covers his ass from shaking the 400 or 560mm lens." ;-) Not true of course I still hold a long lens with great, well OK I think I do.... reasonable strength. ;-) I'd crop a slight bit off the right, maybe to the steel pole of the swing rigging frame. I realize this cuts down the swinging motion as seen, but it makes for a cleaner picture with more impact. Actually this Swishy Pan action is wonderful when shooting running or walking folks, children or adults, when they move left to right or reverse across your shooting path and you're panning the camera with them at... "EXACTLY" the same speed at about a 1/4 or 1/8th of a second. Blurs the background beautifully. But the moving object must still be recognizable, other wise it beomes a throw away picture because the blurr is too great and you can't understand what the photograph is. This is something one should try on any number of moving subjects but usually a fast walking human being will look quite interesting at 1/4 of a second. This is a kind of starting shutter speed, from there you work your method from this point. > Tree: > http://www.flickr.com/photos/40833360@N00/88346485<< OK a nice family happy snap. Nothing wrong with it as it's a nice photo for the family. > Another tree: > http://www.flickr.com/photos/40833360@N00/88370952/ I hate to say this with such an interesting photograph but you.... "TILTED the camera down!" You should've bent your knees for your required burying the sun behind a branch! Bad move with a super wide lens! Look at the building? Wall? Whatever on the right? Nit picking? Damn right, but that nit picking is what sorts out the great photographers from the also rans! And it doesn't take much to avoid it with a super wide lens. But you damn well have to concentrate on little bitty things like this when using a 15mm lens! Other wise you blow your efforts by a stupid little mistake not paying attention to the little things of tilting up or down! A suggestion.... when you work with a lens this wide and an external viewfinder, use the external to line everything up just as you want. Then lock your eye on the centre point and save it. Now look through the M, whatever body you are using, look at the identical centre spot, line up the internal edges vertically and horizontally with whatever lines you can find in the scene. It wont be as wide as the 15mm viewfinder with the internal M body viewfinder, then shoot! And it should be 100% perfect. ;-) Look, it isn't easy to square away a 15mm hand held, but after a bit, well OK a lot of shooting with it, it's a piece of cake! I love it as it gives the world a whole new visual meaning of beautiful images.... The whiners and bitchers will carry on as usual, pay them no never mind for they know not what they cry about, simply because they've never made the effort to learn how to make beautiful 15mm photographs! :-) Lets say, me? Since 1982-3? And that's on paid international assignments, so I had to make it work and it paid off, period. Even in the medical OR's ! ;-) I would keep it before most other lenses, other than my Noctilux! :-) ted