Getting a lot Closer

My favourite style of photography is the majestic wide angle, usually panoramic, view, taking in the landscape with big skies, sweeping mountains, and long sandy shoreline.  However I also love getting in close and capturing the detail in a scene whether it is people, landscapes or automobiles.

The following shots were all taken using a telephoto zoom, invariably on my trusty Nikon 80-200mm f2.8, a lens I've owned since 1996 and is a must when packing my camera bag.  I've also used a Nikon 18-105mm f3.5/f5.6 and a Nikon 70mm-300mm f4/f5.6, both good lenses but not up to the same standard (or price) of the 80-200. 

The first shot was taken during the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run International Concours held in Regent Street, London.  The event celebrates a country of vehicle manufacture from the early 20th Century and this particular year the celebrated country was Belgium.  The Band of the Royal Forest St Hubert provided a colourful and tuneful centre piece to the event and I decided to focus on a close up of the hunting horn and the red jackets.  With all shiny objects the trick is to make sure you don't get your own reflection in the shot and standing further back with the 80-200 certainly makes this a lot easier.

The second shot from the same event is of a very colourful door on a pre 1905 veteran car. 

The next two shots are close ups of the buildings and kerbs at the Potrero de los Funes circuit near San Luis in Argentina.  After getting plenty of wide shots of the mountains and the lake, it was time to focus on the beautiful colours the buildings had been painted in.

The next shot is of the bow of a fishing boat moored in the harbour in Limoni on Lake Garda in Italy. Again I'd spent a lot of time getting wide angle views of this most beautiful part of Northern Italy and decided to concentrate on the closer views as well.

The final shot is of some oak leaves in the Lake District, a place the wide angle lens was made for.  However this shot works works just as well.

So the next time you are out and about have a look at the finer details when looking at the screen or through the view finder, you'll find some interesting compositions if you get in close and personal.

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