Here's Saltaire as I have never quite shown it before on this blog - full of tourists and in wide-angle too. Last weekend's weather was gratifyingly pleasant so I was able to have a walk with my new camera and try it out. Inevitably, most of the rest of the world was out having a walk round Saltaire too but the village has a good feel when it's full of people enjoying themselves. As my house is not on one of the main tourist streets, I don't get people peeking in through my windows (just lots of cars parked outside) so I really don't mind living in a tourist hot-spot - and anyway there are plenty of times when it's quiet and still beautiful.
My new Nikon has an 18-55mm lens. 18mm is a wider angle than my other cameras and it makes quite a difference when shooting landscapes. Here, it puts the church in its context quite effectively. (My book says: 'using wide-angle lenses causes things that are closer to the lens to look disproportionately larger than things that are further away'. Yes, I would agree with that.) Victoria Road is a fairly steep hill up from the river and the lampost on the left is genuinely a bit drunken, though possibly not quite as much as it appears in my photo. (I did try a bit of Photoshop straightening but it affected the rest of the image too much so I left it alone.)
For those not yet familiar with my home village of Saltaire, the church is Saltaire United Reformed Church, a Victorian masterpiece commissioned by the founder of Saltaire, Sir Titus Salt and opened in 1859. Click the label 'Saltaire URC' below, for more photos and information.
Wide angle lenses will give 'converging verticals', which will be one reason for the drunken lamp post; this will be especially evident in city-scales like New York and other areas of buildings. It can be a great 'feature', don't be afraid of it.
ReplyDeleteI also live in a place where tourists come in summer. And luckily, I also live in a part of town where they have nothing to see..But it's hard to be in the center during juy and august..I'm longing for october! :o)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the acquisition of your smart new camera! I wish you many, many fun-filled hours of shooting! So glad to know you're revelling in pleasantly warm weather. Today's picture is delightful!
ReplyDeleteWide angle is great for city scapes. You can get all the building in the frame. I missed mine in USA. It broke just before I left and had to make do with P&S.
ReplyDeleteI agree with John... and I find that the leaning happens more when my camera is tilted upwards, even if slightly so. I make some adjustment by shooting straight, then cropping the unwanted foreground. Still a lovely shot, and people add a pleasant buzz to a place.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a beautiful church.
ReplyDeleteGreetings,
Filip
I use Lightroom which has settings to correct barrel distortion (Lens Correction section) for various lenses. It works great.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it would make the lamp post completely vertical but it sounds like it's not perfectly straight in real life.
I love the way some nice folk try to be helpful when a lady buys a new camera! FEMALES ! They don't know anything about things mechanical, they are scared of mice and spiders, and....by jingo they do read the instructions though!
ReplyDeleteI think that's a great view you've captured!
ReplyDeleteA fabulous wide angle!
ReplyDeleteThat is a neat wide angle shot! And it is fun to see the tourists. So funny that they peak in windows on the main street. People can be so funny.
ReplyDeleteWonderful church. But if you think that's a lot of tourists you should come to Cambridge some time!
ReplyDeleteIt looks great. For your every day photos, I wonder if the effort to sober up your lamp posts will be worth it.
ReplyDeleteHi again. I agree with Jack that in this case it's hardly worth the effort to fix the leaning lamp. I use Photoshop and found this tutorial very helpful to learn how to fix distortion: http://tv.adobe.com/watch/photoshop-with-matt/removing-distortion-from-wideangle-photos/ :-)
ReplyDeleteOooh congrats on your new camera, what a fun scene to behold with that wide angle! ~Lili
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