So, I got it into my head that I wanted to mess around with some different focal lengths for a project. It was all about seeing how different lenses would change the perspective of my shots. I had a 10mm and a 40mm lying around, figured those would give me a pretty good range to play with.
Setting Things Up
First, I grabbed my camera and the two lenses. I made sure everything was clean – dust is the enemy, you know? Then I picked a spot in my backyard. I wanted something with a mix of foreground and background elements, so I went with the old oak tree with the garden fence behind it.
The 10mm Wide Angle
- I slapped the 10mm lens on the camera.
- I looked through the viewfinder and, whoa, it’s wide! You could see the whole tree, a bunch of the fence, and even some of the sky.
- I played around with getting real close to the tree. The 10mm really exaggerated the size of the trunk, making it look huge compared to the fence in the background.
- I took a few shots from different angles, low to the ground, up high – the whole deal.
The 40mm – Getting Closer
- Now, I switched to the 40mm.
- Immediately, the view was much tighter. I could only get a portion of the tree in the frame.
- I focused on details, like the texture of the bark, or a single branch with leaves.
- The background was way more blurred out with the 40mm. It really isolated the part of the tree I was focusing on.
- I snapped some more shots, again trying different positions.
Comparing the Results
After I was done shooting, I dumped all the photos onto my computer. It was super interesting to see the same scene shot with two very different lenses. The 10mm shots were dramatic and expansive, while the 40mm shots were intimate and detail-oriented.
It really drove home the point that the lens you choose has a massive impact on the final image. It’s not just about “zooming in” or “zooming out.” It’s about changing the whole relationship between the subject and its surroundings. I learned a ton just messing around like this, and it definitely gave me some ideas for future shots!
