[ Ultra Wideangle Photography]
The wider - the better ! Many Photographers chose their lenses according to that motto …
C I T Y S C A P E S - Cityscapes refer to the visual appearance or representation of a city, often capturing the skyline, architecture, and overall urban environment. It's like a snapshot of the city's unique character and features.
FUJINON XF 8 / 3.5
While my XF10-24 is probably my most often used lens for all architecture and cityscapes work, I rarely use it at the widest focal length. In most shooting scenarios I do not aim for largely distorted perspectives. Therefore, the mid- to ‘tele’-end of the lens gives the aspired field of view. But in not so rare cases this ‘little bit’ more when going all the way down to 10mm rounds of the composition or is even a must when shooting indoors in order not no cut off essential parts of the composition.
To break certain rules on the other hand often is the ‘icing on the cake’ - Some type of architecture screams for extreme perspectives. In those cases ultra-wide angle glass comes in handy. While I am not a big fan of fisheye-lenses (most often creating very strong distortions or even leaving a circular dark vignette), lenses like the here discussed FUJINON XF 8 / 3.5 are super nice to have in ones kit. Superb sharpness all the way into the corners. Very pleasing color rendition and already sharp wide-open.
Precise framing, placing only relevant details in the corners and very precisely controlling for a perfectly straight horizon most often require the use of a tripod. After a little practice this small and super lightweight lens is a lot of fun. If not used over-extensively, especially if ‘huge empty foregrounds’ are already visible in the viewfinder, some of those special panoramic shots can spice up and portfolio. I encourage all of you to give it a try. If still unsure if you want to invest in a lens like this, the best way to test it out is one of our Architecture workshops (Feel free to check them out here).
Let me know in the comments (here or on our Social Media channels) what your favourite lenses are when it comes to architecture & cityscapes.
