Today a visitor to my shop asked what I thought would be the best lens for her to take along on excursions in the nearby backcountry to photograph landscapes?
Although I am not sure if there is an overall “best” lens, I do think that was a good question, especially from those new to photography that are spending hard earned money on pricey modern lenses.
There are great zoom lenses available giving us excellent versatility. And before I get started I will admit to those dedicated “prime” users, that I prefer multifocal length (zoom) lenses like, 18-35mm, or 18-200mm to fixed focal length (prime) on my cropped frame and 24-70mm on my full frame camera.
There are many more in that range that are lightweight and easy to carry and are very versatile in focal length choices. But, instead of just recommending a particular lens for scenic photography, I want to begin by thinking about perspective.
A wide-angle lens has a curved front surface allowing for a wider view. The distance between the foreground and background subjects will seem extended; objects closer to the lens will look much bigger in relation to all other objects.
For example, using a 18mm focal length lens photographing along a fence will make the first post big and the succeeding posts smaller and smaller. Whereas, a 200mm focal length will give a tightly compressed view, and distances between the first fence post in the foreground and those further back will not look as distant as with the wider 18mm focal length.
In a more practical example, if I were photographing a landscape that included a lake and a boat on the shore, I could first try a long focal length like the 200mm. That lens would compress all the elements in my image with no subject gaining significance over another.
However, if I fitted my camera with a 18mm or 24mm lens the boat will be large, and those features in the background small and seem distant. Both could be good landscape photographs, but my interpretation of the subjects would be different interpretations. Larger, closer subjects would become more important by using the wide-angle lens.
Therefore, the most appropriate lens depends on the perspective, or how the photographer wants to interpret subjects in the final image, and because the focal length adjusts the visual relationships of the objects within the picture, one must think about the image foreground to background. It comes down to the personal vision of the photographer and what he or she wants to visually say about the landscape being photographed. Famous photographer, Ansel Adams said, “problem solve for the final photograph”.
Like Adams proposes, photographers should be thinking about how the final photograph will be used and how to accomplish that.
If one thinks of a photograph as a series of problems to be solved there will be a smooth transition from initial idea to final print. For example one could begin by thinking about the subject and its environment.
What is the background and how will that affect the subject? What is in the foreground that will interfere with that subject?
If one considers depth of field, a decision could be made as to how much is to be “in focus” to grab viewer’s attention. However, most landscape photographers usually prefer everything from the foreground to the far off distance to be crystal clear.
There is no one lens that can be termed a “landscape” lens.
Any lens might be used as long as it meets the photographer’s vision. That might be to include a wide vista with a wide-angle lens, or on the other hand, a tighter cropped image created with a telephoto lens might be visually more powerful.
The choice of lens for landscapes comes down to what the photographer wants the viewer to feel and see.
These are my thoughts for this week. Contact me at www.enmanscamera.com or emcam@telus.net. Stop by Enman’s Camera at 423 Tranquille Road in Kamloops. I sell an interesting selection of used photographic equipment.
Don’t hesitate to call me at 250-371-3069.
