Fisheye Lenses - Embrace the Bend
Many people I’ve talked with are pretty binary on fisheye lenses - they love them or they hate them. It is true that the distortion associated with fisheye lenses can be distracting and can easily become the subject of the shot, but fisheye lenses also have the power create a unique view on that subject.
I went to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival today with a goal - shoot only with the 100mm macro or 8-15mm fisheye lens. I figured I would probably do a lot of macro shots (and I did) but it turned out that my favorite shots from the day were fisheye shots and generally they were all close-ups. The fun part was both embracing the distortion and using the lenses ability to get REALLY close to the flowers while still getting sharp focus.
In the end, a fisheye lens is a great tool for forcing photographers to see things in a new way. Or as some of my throw away shots prove, a great tool for taking pictures of your own feet.
(Source: spindriftphoto.photoshelter.com)
