Zeiss 21mm Distagon ZE Review

A detailed look at the Zeiss Distagon 21mm f/2.8 ZE lens

Well, it’s been a while since my review of the Zeiss 18mm ZE and since then, the good people at Zeiss Micro imaging graciously let me have a good, long-term extensive loan of the 21mm lens in EOS mount.

I will start out by cutting to the chase:  This is a brilliant piece of optical equipment.  It is capable of producing excellent images with today’s cameras under all sorts of different conditions and I do recommend it.   However, the $1700 price tag is steep, and with the versatile bargain-ish lenses out there today like Canon’s 17-40L producing pretty good results, we all want to know how this legendary 21mm lens stacks up…  People expect a lot out of Zeiss products, and they should.  Hopefully the following review can help you decide if this lens is for you.

When I reviewed the Zeiss 18mm, many people ended up pointing out the fact that the 21mm is Zeiss’ best ultra-wide lens and that if you truly wanted to give the 17mm TS-E a run for it’s money in the optics department, you’d have to use it, not the 18mm.   So, this ended up being a great opportunity for me to test the best against the best.   I personally like to be able to make extremely large prints of my landscape photos and although today’s DSLR sensors help me achieve that, the UWA lens lineup (especially for Canon) has been lacking in quality when the pixels are really pushed to the limit…   The TS-E 17mm has proved to be a real champion, but filters (even hand-held GNDs) are an impossibility, as I’ll show later in this review, and although it does a great job at reducing flare, that gigantic front bulb catches stray light from all angles.  Is there an alternative?

I know, I know, you’ve heard this from me before.  Well now is the time for all of us gear geeks to get our pixel-peeping on and decide what spend our hard-earned cash on.

Zeiss 21mm Distagon - 30 seconds @ F/8

Build Quality/ Construction/Functionality

Should I even bother to mention it?  Those of you who own a Zeiss already know.  Those who don’t should at least get your hands on one just once so you can tell the difference.  The 21mm ZE is just like the 18mm ZE, only heavier and with a longer barrel.  They are both equally the best-constructed wide angle lenses that I’ve ever used, period.  The hood that comes with it is metal and locks in place the way it’s supposed to.  The manual focus ring works with a level of precision that’s second-to-none, unlike most of the AF lenses out there who’s focus rings are loose and slide from end to end with so much as a finger-brush.   All-metal and glass, it’s built like a tank.  It’s heavy for a wide-angle at 23oz, but it’s still lighter than the TS-E, which is 29oz.  Honestly, if you’re one of those people who can’t handle a a few extra ounces on a wide-angle lens then you should probably just pick yourself up a point-and-shoot and call it a day…  (Sorry, but I have no sympathy for the weight-whiners.)

The front-filter thread is 82mm, same as the 18mm ZE.  Although the 82mm filters can be pricier and harder to find than the other sizes, this really helps with vignetting, as you’ll see…

Manual focusing only, like all Zeiss lenses.  One thing I like is the fact that infinity focus is achieved with the ring pulled all the way to the right.  If you know you are focusing at infinity, just turn it until it stops…      One thing to be aware of when dealing with a manual lens who’s optics are this incredibly sharp (just like the 17mm TS-E) is the fact that when you are dealing with anything closer than infinity focus, the in-camera focus confirmation may hit even when the lens hasn’t quite reached true focus.  Live-view, like on the 1Ds Mk III can be an essential part of getting your focus exact, rather than relying on your camera to beep or illuminate it’s focus point…

Bokeh & Close-up work

Many of the lenses in the Zeiss lineup are highly touted for their “3-D look” when used at wider apertures on nearby subjects.  The 21mm definitely brings that to the table…

@ F/2.8

100% crop of the above shot.

Of course, this isn’t a macro lens, and no photographer in their right mind should try to use it as such, but with a maximum aperture of f/2.8 and a minimum focusing distance of 0.22 meters (about 8.5 inches) you can get some great effects that other ultra wide angle lenses out there can never reproduce.

f/2.8

f/2.8

After shooting some with this lens close-up and seeing minimal distortion, I do think that some talented people could definitely utilize this lens for creative portraiture.    The bokeh is excellent for this focal range.  Close subjects can definitely be isolated when shooting wide-open.

f/2.8

100% crop

Colors and Contrast

After using this lens and testing it up to some others in my arsenal, I have to say that it reproduces by far the richest colors and contrast straight out of the camera.

Below are two shots of the same exact scene, shot at ISO 400, seconds apart under the same exact lighting conditions with the camera tripod mounted.  The first is with the Canon 17mm TS-E and the second below it is with the Zeiss 21mm.  They were both converted to jpegs with the same exact default raw settings (no sharpening, contrast, saturation or any other adjustments) and they both had the same white balance and tint….

Feel free to click on each photo to see the full sized jpeg as well…

17mm TS-E

Zeiss 21mm

As you can see, there is a huge difference in colors and contrast straight out of the camera.

Using filters:

I ended up being pretty impressed with the Zeiss’ ability to avoid strong vignetting with a polarizer attached.  Below are a few examples of using a polarizer outdoors:

Example 1:

Zeiss 21mm without filter

Zeiss 21mm with B+W Polarizer

Example 2:

Zeiss 21mm - no filters

Zeiss 21mm with B+W Polarizer

In comparison to the 17mm TS-E, an aspect that is appealing to me about the Zeiss is the ability to use graduated neutral density filters.   The Zeiss takes front filters very well.  When I try to use GNDs handheld with the TSE, despite my best efforts, there always ends up being a certain amount of glare on one side of the frame, due to the bulging front element of the TSE.  It ends up looking like I’m shooting from inside a car with the windows up… Not the case with the Zeiss, which has a normal front element.    Below are examples of this, and I did my very best to position the TSE’s filter in a way which wouldn’t produce glare, but still, flat glass on an extremely convex front element doesn’t give good results…

Zeiss 21mm with handheld 3-stop Singh Ray GND

17mm TS-E with handheld 3-stop Singh Ray GND

100% crop of the TSE shot w/ GND

So, you can see that until some kind of convex filter system is developed to go with the TSE (which I’m sure would end up being very expensive), it’s best to just not worry about using any front filters with it…

Sharpness tests and 100% crops

So here we are where all of the finite details get scrutinized…  I will be the first to admit, I went a little bit overboard with all the tests here, but it’s better to have too much information than not enough IMO.

The three lenses that I tested the Zeiss 21mm with in these comparisons are 1) a very good copy of the Canon 17-40 F/4 L,  2) a Canon 24mm F/1.4 L (first version), and 3) the reigning wide-angle champion, Canon’s TS-E 17mm F/4 L.     Now, some people may feel that these are unfair comparisons, since the 17-40 isn’t a prime and the other two are of different focal lengths… But in my opinion, apples and oranges they are not.   If you are trying to get the very best detail out of your expensive camera body doing wide angle work, then there is a good chance you’ll consider one of these…

Left to right: Canon 17mm TS-E, Zeiss 21mm, Canon 24mm f1.4 L I

I did my best to physically move and “foot zoom” slightly during the making of these test shots to help make the 100% crops a little bit closer in reproduced size, but in all of them you should notice a difference in the focal lengths, even if only slight…

As always, all shots are tripod mounted, using mirror lock-up, remote shutter and are unprocessed jpegs, straight out of the RAW converter.

For the most part, I’ll let the following exhaustive series of test shots and 100% crops speak for themselves…  After all, if you’ve read this far and you are going to spend time looking at all of these, you probably know what to look for and understand the differences and variances.

So without further ado, here they are.  The first groups of crops are taken from the following indoor scene at the train station in downtown Los Angeles.

Test shot reference

**wordpress resizes the files for the blog format, so please click on the pictures to see the full size.**

Center of frame:

Try to not mistake a difference in focal length with a lack of detail or sharpness…

Top Left of frame:

Far Right side of frame:

Right side of frame:

Chromatic Aberration crops, Left side of frame:

We can see right here that CA is much better handled by the Zeiss and the TSE than the other lenses…

Outdoor tests:

Reference test shot for crops below

Center of Frame:

I told you I had a good copy of the 17-40… at least in the center 

Left side of frame:

I chose this part of the left side because of the high contrast and tendency for CA.   As you can see, the 17-40 falters away from the center, which is pretty normal for a wide zoom.    The Zeiss is right in second place behind the TSE for sharpness and CA control.

The above set of crops are all at f/8.  The Zeiss and 24L seem to have the best color rendition…

F/8

These ones are just for posterity…  I happened to see this Heron in the scene in a “Where’s Waldo” sort of way and figured I’d show my bird photography prowess off…

By now it’s pretty obvious that the 24L and 17-40 aren’t in the same league, so here’s the Zeiss head to head with Canon’s TS-E:

Reference test shot

On a dreary, overcast day the optics speak for themselves much better and the lighting stays consistent…

Center of frame:

I don’t see much of a difference in sharpness, maybe the TSE wins by half of a hair…  I do see a difference in color straight out of camera, in favor of the Zeiss…

Left Center:

Middle right side of frame:

Far right edge of frame:

The Zeiss doesn’t perform at it’s best until f 5.6 and smaller.  Even when taken down one stop to f/4, the TS-E beats it in edge sharpness wide-open, which isn’t that big of a deal when you consider the fact that there’s not much else out there that has sharpness across the frame like the TS-E…

Conclusion:

Overall, I’d say I’m still very impressed with the Zeiss.   The $2,500.00 17mm Tilt-Shift still out-performs it in the sharpness category, but not by a huge margin.  Color rendition is where the Zeiss wins big.  Microcontrast too.  Does this make my wide-angle lens decision any easier?  Nope.  Truth is, most people (myself included) can’t afford to own both the Zeiss 21 and the Canon 17 TSE.  It just doesn’t make practical sense in these times.   I would rather spend that extra money on a great photography trip.  But if I were a big-timer then yes, I’d own both of these and I’d use the Zeiss whenever a polarizer or GND was required.

Zeiss 21mm Distagon with 1Ds MkII - 30 sec - F10 - ISO 100

100% Crop - Far left edge... There's no way my 17-40 or 16-35 could ever give me the sharpness and distortion control at 21mm from corner to corner like this...

I still think it’s pretty cool that Zeiss has kept the same exact design on their lenses for so long..  Instead of trying to come up with a new superficial “modern” design, they’ve maintained the ability to produce a solid piece of optics in a rugged metal housing.  If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Hopefully this review has helped you decide whether or not this lens is for you.  But, if you’re anything like me, it only complicates matters.  We must realize that there will never be the ‘perfect’ piece of camera equipment.  As artists and perfectionists, some of us find it our duty to search for the flaws so that we can eliminate them.

In the end, if you’re willing to pay for it, you can get pretty damn close to ‘perfect’ in the UWA range with either the TSE or the Zeiss…  You need to decide which one fits your needs best.

Now, quit all this pixel peeping and go shoot! 

thanks for reading

-Mac

PS:  If you’ve decided to that the Zeiss 21mm 2.8 is for you, buying it through This Link will help support the site a little…   In addition, if you feel like showing your support, anything at all no matter how big or small you purchase after clicking through the Adorama link on the right column near the top of the blog helps out.   Thanks!

Broad-Tailed Hummingbirds in Southern Nevada

© Mac Danzig

I was fortunate enough to live near an area of the Southwest this summer that many migrating Broad-Tailed Hummingbirds passed through.    During a two-week period, I was able to capture a few keepers that I’d like to share.

A few of these were handheld, but most were tripod mounted.  All were taken with the Canon 1Ds MkII and 300mm 2.8 IS lens.  Some were also taken with a 1.4 Extender attached.  As a normal practice for me, I chose not to use flash for any of these and only use natural light, waiting patiently for the right combination of bird position and sunlight.  (that’s fancy talk for “I suck at using a flash, so I usually don’t bother with it”)

Post-processing was minimal and included normal color and levels adjustments and occasional cropping.   Please click each photo for a larger view.

© Mac Danzig

I actually had quite a hard time identifying these as Broad-Tailed due to the fact that many birds in the Selasphorus genus look similar, including Calliope, Broad-Tailed and Roufus.   Add to that, the fact that these particular birds are all either female or juveniles, they are also easily mistaken for Black-Chinned Hummingbirds, due mostly to the many non-distinct features.

© Mac Danzig

The trees in which many hummingbirds prefer to rest in are thick with foliage, which makes it easy for them to hide from predators.  Since I don’t believe in pruning (especially if nests are present) it was extra difficult to obtain the proper angles for some of these shots since most of the time, the birds try to position themselves out-of-sight, with leaves and branches obstructing my view.  For the same reasons, good lighting also proved difficult to obtain at times…

© Mac Danzig

A particular pair of birds (a mother and juvenile) spent a good amount of time feeding and resting in a particular area and one afternoon I captured a great series of behavioral shots where the mother continually returned to her calling juvenile to feed it insects she had caught…   Here are some of those shots:

© Mac Danzig

© Mac Danzig

© Mac Danzig

© Mac Danzig

One aspect that proved frustrating was the lack of a rich background during many of these shots…  I often found many times that the birds were backlit, despite my best attempts at capturing the sun’s best angle.  One thing that helps a great deal is using in-camera Spot Metering.   This is why the vast majority of professionals who shoot hummingbirds often utilize multiple off-camera flashes…

© Mac Danzig

© Mac Danzig

Thanks for looking

-Mac

Lower Antelope Canyon

© Mac Danzig

Tucked into a convenient location just outside of Page, Arizona and less than 5 minutes from Horseshoe Bend, is the popular Antelope Canyon.  It is broken up into two areas (Upper and Lower) and is governed by the local Navajo Tribal Council.

Both Upper and Lower Antelope Canyon see a good amount of tourism during the busy seasons (Spring and Fall) and although breathtakingly beautiful, they are not spots known for complete solitude.   However this should not stop you from visiting and seeing the amazing formations in the slots that have been carved over millions of years as water cut through sandstone.   The town of Page is an excellent place to stay during a trip to the National and Tribal parks of the Southwest.   I often use it as a halfway point to lodge between trips to Coyote Buttes and Monument Valley.  You may also find yourself here if you visit Grand Staircase Escalante.

These slot canyons can be extremely hard to expose for, depending on the time of day you decide to go, but well worth the challenge.  Antelope Canyon is one of the few photographic locations that is usually best in mid-day light when the sun is high, making it a perfect place to shoot in between the normal landscape spots of the area which require morning and/or evening light.    The following shots were all taken with the Canon 5D and the 17-40 L.   I recommend changing lenses as seldom as possible here, due to the high content of sand and dust on the slot canyon floor.   Strong winds can kick up a small sandstorm without warning.

© Mac Danzig

Rather than writing a long-winded essay on this well-known geological attraction (there is plenty of info throughout the internet),  I’ve decided to share some of my favorite shots from Lower Antelope Canyon, which sees less visitors than it’s Upper counterpart and is just as full of limitless photographic potential….

Enjoy.

© Mac Danzig

© Mac Danzig

© Mac Danzig

© Mac Danzig

© Mac Danzig

© Mac Danzig

Thanks for looking

-Mac

Featured Photo – Powder on Red Rock

© Mac Danzig

Technical Data:

Camera:  Canon 1Ds Mk II

Lens:  Canon 100mm f2.8 Macro

Exposure:  1/2500 sec

Aperture:  f/5.6

ISO:   200

About the photo:

It may be January but in Los Angeles lately it hasn’t felt much like the cold, snowy winter I know and love from my days  growing up in the northeast.  My affinity for the winter months made me remember a rare photo from last year that I wanted to share.

Rarely does it ever snow in the greater Las Vegas area, but last year around this time while I was living in West Las Vegas, we were treated to 2 days of actual, real snowfall.    Luckily at the time, I lived less than ten minutes from Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.  I woke up the morning after the snow day and the light was beautiful and the sky clear.   I had to be at the gym for training at 8am, so I left early, took a detour and drove into the mountains heading for the large group rock formations in Red Rock Canyon, which are the major feature of the Keystone Thrust Fault.

What I found was a seldom-seen view of these normally dry, sun-baked desert mountains, completely covered with a dusting of snow, and a group of low, slow-moving clouds hovering at the peaks.  The light was still good at 7:30 and I used my 100mm prime lens (handheld) to get the shot.

Online, I don’t post the full-resolution version of any of my photos for obvious reasons and this web-size does the original 4900×3300 pixel image zero justice , but if you look closely at the larger version, you can see just a small amount of the detailed captured in this shot.  Yes, those are trees in the upper middle part of the mountain.  That can give you a sense of scale to the size of this giant fault.

Thanks for looking

-Mac

Zeiss 18mm Distagon Review

A first look at the Zeiss Distagon T* 3.5/18 ZE.   Along with tests vs the TSE 17mm and the 17-40 F/4 L

*(Updated 1/11/10 – added vignetting & distortion test)*

In a quest for the best possible optical quality in an ultra-wide-angle lens to accompany the high megapixels of today’s Canon DSLRs, I immediately became interested when Zeiss announced that it was finally going to release it’s legendary lens series in EOS mount.  This announcement came well over a year ago and a lot Canon photographers (myself included) have been waiting patiently.

As I have written before, the 17-40 L is a great lens and a great value, but the softness in the corners and edges is so apparent, especially with higher-megapixel bodies, that if one wishes to make large prints (the kind these bodies were designed for) they will be disappointed in the corner-to-corner sharpness…    This is what brought me to the TS-E 17mm and although that lens has proven to be quite possibly the answer in optical quality, it has a few inherent downfalls – most notably the lack of ability to use any front or rear filters.    This brings us to the Zeiss line.

Zeiss has been making high-quality manual focus lenses for quite some time, and Nikon users have been able to benefit from this, as Ziess has manufactured Nikon-mount glass for a while now… Nikon and Pentax users may be familiar with it, but Canon users often aren’t.  People with Canon bodies have had to use a third party adapter, often with inconsistent results.  Now with a full line of legendary Zeiss lenses in EOS mount, a lot of photographers who don’t need autofocus are going to be very happy.

Build and construction

Without a doubt, this lens has the best physical quality of any wide angle lens I have ever used.  The precision of the focus ring along with the weight and balance when mounted is second to none.  Nothing Nikon, Canon or Sigma makes in this focal range is in the same league.  If you are particular about your gear and the way it handles, you won’t be disappointed here.  This is a precision instrument.

One of the first things you’ll notice upon opening the box is the Zeiss hand-signed and checked inspection list.   I don’t consider myself as much of a gear fiend as many other photographers out there, but I’ll admit, I was very impressed at this lens fresh out of the box…  As pictured above, the 18mm comes with a well made lens hood that locks firmly into place.  Also included is a center-pinch front lens cap that makes removing and installing pretty easy with the hood attached.

The front thread for filters is 82mm, which can be a little more expensive and harder to find than the norm, which is 77mm.  But the 82mm filter size serves an important purpose: it controls vignetting when front filters are used.  Notice the picture below and you’ll see how the barrel dramatically widens at the front.

Short and compact, it weighs in at 470 grams (16.5 oz), which is about the same as the 17-40 L and much less than the TS-E 17mm which weighs 820 grams (28.9 oz).

From left to right: 17-40 F/4 L, Zeiss 18mm Distagon, TS-E 17mm F/4 L

Tests:

This is why we all came…  How does it perform optically against some other major players in the UWA range for Canon?

Zeiss 18mm vs 17-40 L vs 17mm TS-E

Above is the test shot where the 100% crops below came from.   All photos were taken with a 1Ds Mk III which is Canon’s highest megapixel camera body to date (tied with the 5D2) and really exposes the weaknesses of a lens’s optics, which helps for this test.  All shots were tripod mounted, with mirror lock-up enabled and cable release used.  They were all taken at ISO 100 and each shot at the same shutter speed per aperture down the line.  No sharpening or post processing was applied.    The 17mm TS-E was (obviously) shot with no tilt or shift applied.

You will notice at the extreme corners, the difference in focal length.  The 17-40 has enough distortion at 17mm to make it slightly wider than the 17mm TS-E, which is in turn just slightly wider than the Zeiss 18mm.

Note that the 100% test crops below may be slightly resized for the blog page.  In this case, click the photo for the full size if you wish…

Center

As you can see- in the center frame the playing field is very even, and although diffraction at F22 hinders all of the lenses, one could easily draw the conclusion that the 17-40 L is just as good as the other two much more expensive lenses in the center…   But the other areas are a different story as you’ll see…

Center-left

The main factor that becomes apparent with the above shots is the 17mm TS-E’s ability to not only retain better detail than the other lenses, but completely control (if not eliminate) chromatic aberrations.  The red/purple fringe is nowhere to be seen on the TSE crops, and seems worst with the Zeiss than even the 17-40, although that may simply be due to the softness of the 17-40…

Center-right

Both Canon lenses slightly out-perform the Zeiss in sharpness on this side of the frame…   Trust me when I say that human error in focus is not the factor here, as I thoroughly checked the center point focus with live-view on all three lenses, even after in camera focus confirmation.    One must also remember that with lenses there is always copy variation, and when dealing with floating glass elements like in the Zeiss, a tiny fraction of difference can cause some slight softness…

Extreme left corner

(click on each photo group for full size)

This is where the Zeiss performs the best, and as you can see, it’s also where the 17-40 is at it’s worst…  Both Canon lenses clean themselves up with smaller apertures, but the Distagon still wins the corner sharpness test.  I’m not sure if it’s noticeable on these smaller crops, but I did once again notice a large amount of CA from both the Zeiss and the 17-40 on the edges of some of the mulch here.  The TS-E had no CA to speak of.

Extreme right corner

Once again the Zeiss performs the best.  Too bad it can’t keep the sharpness across the entire frame…

Another set of 100% Crops (from a different scene)

These are right side of the frame crops from the flare test shots below.   All lenses were focused to infinity.

Flare Control

The following shots are unsharpened full frames shot toward the sun at f8.  In fairness to the TS-E, I did not use the lens hoods on either the Zeiss or 17-40.

You will have to click on each thumbnail photo to see the full size image and do some zooming-in to see the flare spots (they are there) throughout each photo due to the dark scene.   The conclusion is that even with it’s bulging front element, the 17mm TS-E controls flare slightly better than the Zeiss, which is in turn, far better at flare control than the 17-40 L.

17mm TS-E

Zeiss 18mm

17-40

Vignetting / Distortion

All three photos shot tripod mounted with the same exact exposure at F/4

Shots were leveled with both a hot-shoe bubble leveler and tripod base-leveler.  I take no responsibility for the masonry. 

(click on each photo to view full size)

Canon 17mm TS-E

Zeiss 18mm Distagon

Canon 17-40 L

It’s obvious the TS-E once again out-performs both of the other lenses in vignetting as well as barrel distortion, with the Zeiss in second place for distortion and third place for vignetting, depending on how you interpret the light fall-off…  I’ll let you draw your own conclusions from the images…

Below are some more 100% crops.  These are from the bottom left of the frame in the above test.

Conclusions

I’ll be the first to admit I’m a just slightly disappointed in the Zeiss 18mm Distagon.    Not doubt it’s a great lens and a finely crafted piece of optical equipment, but I was hoping it could possibly replace my Canon 17mm TS-E for normal prime UWA use.   It will, however most likely replace my 17-40 L as the lens I’ll use when I need something that can take a front filter mounted on it.  (I rarely use the 17-40 at anything other than 17mm)

In almost all of the tests, it scores right in the middle, between the two Canons respectively.   Coming in second to a $2,500 lens is nothing to be ashamed of.

Zeiss 18mm @ F/8 - Handheld

If you are considering buying this lens, I’d weigh the options first…   Remember that Zeiss does not make an autofocus lens, so you’re stuck with manual, which shouldn’t be that big of a deal for most people since lenses in this focal length are not usually used for subjects that require quick autofocus and when dialing in an exact focal length, one usually does this manually anyway.   The 82mm filter thread can prove frustrating at times due to the fact that many manufacturers charge much more for this size and retailers are often out of stock as well.   The Zeiss won’t blow you away in optical ability, but it is still a decent step up from both the 17-40 L and 16-35 L, in my opinion.

If you find yourself dealing with subjects that produce a lot of chromatic aberration, you won’t find the Distagon to solve your problems there.  It is a great performer in corner to corner sharpness and flare, but not in CA control.

All in all, it’s a great lens and definitely lives up to the Zeiss reputation, but one should weigh the options before deciding.  If you are posting mostly on the web and rarely print your photos past 10×15, the 17-40 is a much better value and will save you some money…   But for my uses, it’s definitely worth keeping and although it can’t replace my 17mm TS-E as my main ultra-wide-angle prime, it does cost just over half of what the TS-E costs, weighs just over half as much, handles better and can hold it’s own in the sharpness department.

Thanks for reading

-Mac

Featured Photo – Home… (again)

Technical Data:

Camera:  Canon 1Ds Mk II

Lens:  TS-E 17mm f/4 L

Exposure:  30 seconds

Aperture:  F/8

ISO:  100

Post Processing:  Lightroom 2, PTGui

About:

Los Angeles at dusk….

I always wanted to do a sequel to an older daytime shot of the same scene that I had taken a while back when I first started shooting.
I always felt that the original one was over-processed, (although it is one of my most popular photos among clients) so I wanted to do something a little bit different. It’s really hard to photograph here because of the pollution and smog, but the visibility was pretty good on thanksgiving day, so I hiked up and this time, I decided to go directly above the sign, so that there was no chain-link fence in front of the letters. They patrol this with a helicopter every hour since there have been vandals in the past trying to take advantage of such a high-profile landmark. Fortunately for me, they must have had the evening off or something, cause I wasn’t bothered by any helicopters.

There is something about the perspective of shooting from behind the sign that I really like.  When you’re up at this spot, you can see almost all of greater Los Angeles, and on a good day, you can even see to Catalina Island.  It’s a surreal feeling to be right where so many tourists up to a few miles away are pointing their cameras at any given time.  It’s fairly silent up here, except for the hum of the city that you can tune in on if the wind is low…
I used my 17mm TS-E to stitch a two-shot panorama together. (One shot shifted to the left, another to the right.) This helped me get the entire sign in the frame even though I was so close…

I still need to come up here during the day sometime when it’s clear out and do a better day shot than the original.

Also, here’ a link to a zoomable panorama I made of the city that same night from this spot: www.gigapan.org/gigapans/37968/

Thanks for looking

-Mac

Featured Photo – “Astral Expedition”

© Mac Danzig

Technical Data:

Camera:  Canon 1Ds Mk II

Lens:  Sigma 15mm Fisheye

Exposure:  382 seconds

Aperture:  f/5.6

ISO:  100

Story Behind the Photo:

This shot is part of an idea I had for quite some time. I can’t say it came out the way I planned, but just being here at the Racetrack Playa in Death Valley National Park is an incredible experience in itself.   It was only mid-October when this was taken and the wind chill at night was pretty harsh, even for a cold weather lover like myself.   There was so much fine sand and dust being kicked around, you had to change lenses under your coat, unless you wanted a sensor full of dust spots.

We purposely camped here during a full moon and it was a little too bright for my taste… I usually only shoot star trails during a new moon.  Normally I like to get at least 20 minutes on a star trail shot, but 5 to 6 minutes was just about maximum for an exposure here, considering the desert floor reflects quite a bit of moonlight… On top of that, the sky was quick to wash out, so the exposure had to be watched closely.   One positive regarding the full moon was the exceptional visibility we had while searching for foreground subjects in the middle of the night.
I would love to come here some time during a half moon and get the proper illumination of the entire landscape, while still opening up for over twenty minutes.
This is one of those fairly-remote, magical places that really deserves a few trips a year, considering I live only a few hours away…

enjoy…

Featured Photographer – Darwin Wiggett

An interview with photographer Darwin Wiggett

Horseshoe Lake, Jasper NP © Darwin Wiggett

Recently, I had the opportunity to have a brief Q&A session with Darwin Wiggett.   Darwin is one of the most notable photographers out there today.  Not only because of his incredible body of work, but also his many written articles online and in photography magazines, giving insight into the way he views the art.  If you aren’t familiar with his work, please have a look at this page, which links to a few of the online articles he has written.

When I started this blog, I had many ideas on articles I wanted to write.  These included essays on photography as an art form, where the boundaries lie between digital image enhancement and image manipulation, how to expand your creativity, and the philosophy of photography (just to name a few).  After reading a few of Darwin’s articles, I realized that not only did he cover all the ground I wanted to cover in a more articulate way than I could have, but I also learned some things and gained more understanding on these subjects.

Although his photos are awe-inspiring and world-class, I think one of the main reasons for Darwin’s success is his personality, which shows through his images and writings.  Let’s face it, a lot of photographers out there don’t offer much insight into their artistic side beyond their actual image portfolio.  That’s where Darwin separates himself from the pack.  And even without his writings, the plethora of diverse photographs in his galleries express themselves ten-fold.  If a picture speaks a thousand words, Darwin’s pics are in the 6-digit range…

Darwin shooting in Banff ©Bill Smith

MD: So, it’s December right now… What’s the weather been like up there in your neck of the woods?

DW: Well… it has been between -30 and -40 degrees celcius for the last five days and I feel like a hibernating bear. All I want to do is eat and sleep. But it may rise above freezing in the next few days as a Chinook rolls in. I am itching to get out and shoot after being stuck in the office for awhile.

MD: Alright, you come from a Biology background. That’s something a lot of outdoor/nature photographers including myself can identify with.  Did you always have an interest in nature, or did it come later in life?

DW: When I was really young, I wanted to be Grizzly Adams and live in a log cabin with my pet grizzly bear and a couple of wolves. Later I wanted to be Jane Goodall and live with the Chimpanzees. As long as I can remember all I wanted to do was hang out with animals. As a young boy around 5 or 6 I would just go out by myself and walk in the woods and sit down and just look around at everything. I remember a bird landing on my shoulder after I sat still for a long time. I was thrilled and wanted experiences like that everyday. When I was in high school I was an expert in Black Powder guns, I did Taxidermy and was a wilderness survivalist–I wanted to be a modern day mountain man (I was not too popular with the girls as you can imagine!). My hunting days ended the day I shot my first big game (an antelope). I just felt really bad for the animal. I was a confirmed bleeding heart after that and I put away my gun and picked up binoculars instead.

Big Hill Springs Provincial Park © Darwin Wiggett

MD: When did you decide that you’d rather pursue photography than continue on with a career in Biology?

DW: When I got a camera in 1986 to take photos of my research, I instantly realized that making images was an easier way to share my experiences than was talking or writing or doing biological research. I was insanely shy but a photo could speak for me when I couldn’t. Plus there were no jobs in boilogy when I graduated in 1989 so I naively thought I might as well try to sell nature photos. If I really knew what it took to do this full time, I probably would not have chosen the occupation.

MD: A lot of pros out there still have another line of work they supplement their photography-related income with… What was the most difficult part of the process in establishing yourself as a professional?

DW: The most difficult part for me was (and is) learning to be a business man and marketer– the two things that do not interest me at all but the two things that are critical to make a living at photograph. In fact you can be an average photographer but make a great living if you are talented at marketing. But if you are a creative genius of a photographer but a crappy marketer, you likely die of starvation.

Namibia, Africa © Darwin Wiggett

MD: You have really established yourself as an authority on photographing the Canadian Rockies.  Are there any other locations out there that you know as well, or mean as much to you as the Rockies?

DW: the badlands and prairies of Alberta I know as intimately as the mountains. I am as much a prairie boy as I am a mountain man. I love the priaires for the big sky and sense of space.

Water Valley, Alberta © Darwin Wiggett

MD: What separates your method of running photo workshops from the way a lot of other pros run theirs?

DW: Most photo tours have a set itinerary, with planned stops and a planned agenda. My tours are based out of a centrally located wilderness lodge in an area less frequented by photographers but also close to Banff and Jasper National Parks. I take people to spots they probably would not find on their own. I know the area so well that no matter what the light or the weather I know a place that will look great given the conditions. There is no agenda except to get photographers in the best spots in the right light. We go hard and focus on spending time all our time in the field making the best photos possible. These tours are like a boot camp for photographers. Although not politically correct, one lady dubbed the tours “the go hard, retard photo tours”

MD: Of all the places you’ve traveled for photography, what is your absolute favorite?

DW: I am happy no matter where I am as long as I have a camera in my hand.There is stuff to be found anywhere as long as you are open to seeing Many photographers are surprisingly closed about the beauty around them). I have been as excited shooting trash in a  parking lot as I have been photographing grizzly bears in the wild. It is all about being open and leaving your expectations behind. Too many photographers think in terms of subjects and their subjective relationships with this subjects. We need to see without bias and without labels to really begin to transform into artists.

Snow @ Big Hill Springs © Darwin Wiggett

MD: What places on earth that you haven’t yet been to are on your “to-photograph” life list?

DW: I am no longer a trophy hunter with a life-list of places to go. There is great beauty in my own backyard and I think learning to photograph the everyday and the ‘mundane’ will make you a better photographer than constantly trying to go to new and exotic locals. Depth comes from immersion and not from a shallow two week whirlwind tour. The best photographs I see are from people that immerse themselves into a location they love. I love Canada, I live in Canada and so I plan to photograph my country. Canada excites me as much as any foreign local I have been to. Why not know your homeland?

Kathmandu, Nepal © Darwin Wiggett

MD: You use grad ND filters quite a bit in your landscape work.  Many serious landscape photographers out there have adopted digital layer blending of two exposures (not necessarily HDR) as opposed to using a filter system.  Do you use digital blending in place of GNDs at times?   What do you think the advantages and disadvantages of each method are?

DW: I use whatever tool I need to get the shot I want whether that requires a grad, a hand blend or an HDR composite. Sometimes I use a combo of all three. I use whatever method gives me the result I like best but in the shortest amount of time. I prefer to capture in-camera whenever I can so I often reach for a grad first. If they won’t work a hand blend is my second choice, HDR is my last choice.

MD: Do you you still occasionally use medium and large format film cameras?

DW: I still own and use a Linhoff 6×12 roll film camera. Nothing beats seeing a fine Fujichrome Velvia pano slide on the light table.

Cold Lake, Saskatchewan © Darwin Wiggett

MD: You have written articles and been very outspoken on your philosophy of photography as an art form and how post-processing techniques can be an important part of the image.  Why do you think so-called ‘purists’ still condemn the idea of working on images in post-processing?

DW: Purists, especially nature photographers, think of photography not as art but as a document. Post-processing to them seems like blasphemy, like they are altering reality. Post-processing gets my image closer to the way I saw and experienced the scene, it helps me present what I FELT when I took the photo. My photos document how I see the world… not how the world is… none of us can present that ‘truth, so why fight it? Art is expression, the means we use to express what we see is with the camera; any tool that lets you be true to your expression is a good tool to use.

Vermillion Lakes, Banff © Darwin Wiggett

MD: Who’s photography has impressed or inspired you recently?

DW: The web is full of great photography, I am really impressed by the stuff I see submitted to my blog photo contest and the stuff I see on photo forums. It is often too bad that some photographers get in ruts where they reject others work if it is not like theirs. The more open we are to all genres of art and photography, the more we will grow as artists. As soon as you develop a style that is recognizable, you’ll think you have arrived. But if you just repeat past successes, you’ll stagnate. The best artists constantly evolve. Always try new ideas, new techniques, new equipment, break the rules, stop judging others, push yourself. Life is a journey, enjoy the trip, it a great ride.

Featured Photo – “The Truck Stops Here”

Technical Info

Camera:  Canon 5D

Lens:  17-40mm f/4 L @ 17mm

Exposure:  1/1000

Aperture: f/4

ISO:  400

Software:  Adobe Lightroom, Adobe CS2

About the Photo

The “Ghost Town” of Nelson, Nevada is not a far drive from greater Las Vegas.  I’m always interested in this type of place, so naturally with me living in Vegas for almost 2 years, I had to visit at least once.

I wouldn’t call it a true Ghost Town.  It still has inhabitants, and is located along a route that leads to an area of the Colorado River just south of Lake Mead that sees a decent amount of recreational traffic.    So, this place full of old remnants, doesn’t have the isolated, enchanting feeling that a lot of real ghost towns have, but if you’re in Southern Nevada, it’s worth a stop.

This disused and abandoned truck was in a gravel lot which included some antique gas pumps, an old out-house, and some other dead vehicles.  (You can see an old water reservoir in the background)…   Of all the stuff I looked at here, this truck seemed the most photogenic.  The sun had just set behind the hills in the distance when I took this, so the backlighting was not that big of an issue.  I exposed for the sky and then pulled the shadows back out in Camera Raw.   Even though there were some great colors in the scene, especially with the truck’s many colorful peeling layers of paint, I finally decided on Black and White for this one and I feel it suits the mood best.

Thanks for looking

-Mac

Snake River Sunset in Autumn

Technical Info:

Camera:  Canon 1Ds MkII

Lens:  17-40 F/4 L @ 28mm

Aperture:  f/8

ISO:  100

Filter(s):  B+W #502 graduated ND filter

Processing:  Blend of 3 exposures, each bracketed 2 stops apart.

About the Photo:

This was from my very first visit to Grand Teton National Park.  If it’s your first time photographing here, I suppose an iconic shot like this is somewhat obligatory.  I found myself here due to it’s accessibility.

That evening, there were dozens of photographers at Oxbow Bend, and if you know me,  I am always opting for an area with as few people as possible.  So I decided to stay at this spot for my first attempt at photographing the Tetons at sunset.

There were 5 or 6 other photographers at this location and they were all complaining about the trees that were “in the way” of the river, which I don’t quite understand… Seems as though alot of people just want to re-create the same exact Ansel Adams shot for some reason, and their idea of how the shot “should look” is based upon Adams’ work.  One lady repeatedly complained and even suggested that the park service should cut down the trees, thus rendering the scene more similar to the famous shot from decades ago…   (This one of the many reasons I usually stay away from “touristy” locations, but Grand Teton is such a beautiful place, I’m willing to compromise.)

I really like all the trees, I just wish I could have avoided the sun-spots/ lens flare, but with the angle of the sun, and the fact that I was using a grad ND filter in front of my lens, they were probably unavoidable…  Even with the grad ND filter, I doubt I could have achieved this look without bracketing exposures.  The sun was far too bright.

Autumn is a great time to visit the Tetons and Wyoming in general because of the foliage. alone.

Thanks for looking

-Mac