More Fisheye Fun!!

I haven't had a lot of time to play with this lens since I got it, one trip to the state capitol principally, so I decided to take it with me on my Commute to my Extra Job downtown. This is the job that allows me to even dream of having enough money to buy lenses etc....

I have come to the tentative conclusion that there are really two uses for a fisheye. 1) to simply get it all in and make it look different in the process. Call it "Distort and Conquer" if you will, but the simply different perspective allows for some crazy ways to get different elements in a shot and make them look strange. 2) to isolate a smaller detail in the midst of a larger setting. This is like getting really close to a flower and then letting everything else fall back into the background and look smaller than it is in reality. So manipulating the viewpoint of the lens to accentuate some things and diminish others.

Here are a few more quick shots, most were in some part premeditated prior to starting the day. As in: I wanted to get something like this and looked for the opportunity to get it.

As always click on the photo for a larger version.

I deliberately panned this following the train. I would like to go for lower ISO and longer shutter speed the next time and see how well I can follow the aim point. As it is I still like the feeling of movement of the train, and the disorientation of being up that early around fast moving things.

This is a mild redux of a prior shot but completely different. Wildly different field of view than a 35mm lens.

I love the symmetry of architectural support structures, but often find myself disappointed in photographing them, yet another thing to master. In some ways I like the ability of this lens to change what I see into something new.

I spend a lot of time looking at this when I travel to this job. The parking on the University campus is just atrocious, and after awhile they start to track your license plate and get onto the fact that you are there regularly. They then out a flyer on your car asking you to tell them who you are visiting and or what clinic you have been going to. The parking folks are notorious for being.... persnickity about not paying them, some kind of a power trip thing I guess.

One of the things I love/hate about the urban slot canyons you get in a city, is the strips of sky that you have to look up to see. I generally prefer to have sky framed by Navajo Sandstone... but sometimes I like the city slots too. This is one shot I wanted to try for since I got this lens.

I liked the reflections of the clouds on this building, but wasn't able to really show them. Probably should have gone across the street and tried there too. One of the toughest things about this lens is getting it square to something when you need to. I had to straighten this a bit as the lens was rotated a little. Looked square in the viewfinder....

So far I regard this lens as a cheap gem. It is sharp, has really good Chromatic Aberration control, and is easy to use. I can set the focus at anywhere from 3ft to infinity and have most of the frame in focus. The only time I need to play with it is when I get close. Which I should have done in my stairwell shot. At closest focus and f5.6 or f8 you can have nearly infinite Depth of Focus, though the further away stuff will not be critically sharp. Loving it!

Thanks for looking in!