Re: [Leica] Grand Canyon lens?

["Steve Barbour" <kididdoc@home.com>]

Hi Ted...thanks for your very thoughtful (and delicate) answer, immensely
helpful for my next trip.  For now I did my  best, so I'll sit back and wait
for my finished images to return.... (maybe) more later...Steve


Subject: Re: [Leica] Grand Canyon lens?


> Steve Barbour wrote
> >>> > > I just returned from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon where
> > > > I used a number of lenses, the widest being a 24mm Elmarit
> > > > f 2.8...a lens that I love. Of course, the question I had
> > > > concerned the theroretical best ultra wide lens for such a
> > > > dramatic landscape.
> > > >
> > > > I'd appreciate your thoughts/experience about the "best"
> > > > ultra-wide angle for this terrain... with minimum distortion,
> > > > able to grasp the immensity and the perspective?<<<<<
>
> Dave responded:
> >>> Ooh, a big fat one down the middle of the plate. Swing away, Ted!
:-)<<<
>
> Steve wrote::  Uh oooooh... <<<< :-)
> >>Uh oooooh... do I sense  a line drive coming right back at the
> pitcher...?!<<<<
>
>  Man I love it when the door is opened so beautifully! ;-) Don't you just
> love it, thanks Steve. :-)
>
> Hi Steve, it's coming right back at you ! ;-0  However, nicely.:-)
>
> I tried to shoot the Grand Canyon last year and it's such an awe inspiring
> location I think it's impossible to do it justice to it's full extent in
one
> still photograph. Yep I've seen some nice overalls, lots of bits and
pieces
> of smaller canyons, rock faces, holes here there and everywhere.
>
> But I've never seen one that takes your breath away as viewing the
original
> item. I had the good fortune to be there in a snow storm which gave some
> completely different looks to the place which worked nicely because I used
> the snow covered trees in the foreground to frame the canyon below.
>
> My first reaction to the snow storm was depressing, I just wanted to get
out
> of there as it wasn't snow I came for, in effect, the snow was a blessing
in
> disguise. Otherwise I would probably have come away with the same old
> sunshine type images that looked like all the other Grand Canyon pictures
we
> see.
>
> What lens to use? I have to say that's a toughie simply because if you use
a
> wide or super wide you must have some strong compositional element in the
> foreground to add to the enormity of the what lies before you.
>
> When you first walk up to the edge and look out at this magnificent sight
I
> imagine you reacted as I did,  "Look at that, my God it's enormous!"
Camera
> comes up you go click! And if this is the case, trust me it ain't going to
> do anything but give you a happy snap of the biggest hole in the ground
> you'll ever see. :-) I did it a few times just like a tourist and they're
> fine as snap shots of the trip to the Canyon.
>
> But it ain't going to work as one of your all time 10 best photographs, as
> all you'll have is a picture of this big hole in the ground without
anything
> in the foreground to give it scale to it's immensity. It's easy to do
> magical awe inspiring images of the place that will grab family and
friends,
> but to blow an astute editor away and editors being what they are many of
> them have seen the a"ultimate Grand Canyon picture, or thye think they
have
> if they haven't stood there in awe.
>
> Yep you can shoot all kinds of  "wow" pictures, hell that's easy, simply
> because they are in your face everytime you look in a different direction.
> It's capturing them so they effect the viewer in the same manner you the
> photographer was effected standing right at the edge!
>
> I used my R15 for most of the better images due to the framing I like to
do
> in this kind of location to increase the depth look and scale for a more
> effective photo.
>
> So next time Steve it's a 15 for sure, besides if you're in the belly of
the
> Canyon the 15 will really work wonders down there.
>
> One thing Id like to do some day is have a helicopter at my disposal with
> all the National Park and FAA flying regulations put aside so we could go
> wherever we wanted within safety, being able to hang out there in the
middle
> somewhere between top and bottom of the canyon and just move along looking
> through the view finder for maximum impact pictures.
>
> A nice idea, never happen. So like everyone else I'll work off the top
edges
> with a super wide and strong foregrounds for extra impact. :-)  So there
you
> go Steve that wasn't too bad. ;-)
> ted.
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> Ted Grant Photography Limited
> www.islandnet.com/~tedgrant
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "" <kididdoc@home.com>
> To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
> Sent: Sunday, June 03, 2001 9:44 AM
> Subject: Re: [Leica] Grand Canyon lens?
>
>
> > Uh oooooh... do I sense  a line drive coming right back at the
> pitcher...?!
> > Steve
> >
> > > Steve Barbour <kididdoc@home.com> wrote:
> > >
> > >
> > > Ooh, a big fat one down the middle of the plate. Swing away, Ted! :-)
> > >
> > > -Dave-
> >
> >
> >
>