Exercise: Focal lengths

Take a sequence of photographs, all aimed in the same direction, at different focal lengths.

These photographs were taken in Hyde Park of a sculpture by Anish Kapoor. It was a miserable, wet, dull day - quite dark, despite being only one o'clock in the afternoon.

Focal length 18.0mm, f/3.5, shutter speed 1/125s.
In this photograph the foreground is emphasised, the line of trees shows the depth in the scene and leads the eye down to the sculpture. The tree line in the background is quite thin - it highlights the sculpture.

Focal length 63.0mm, f/5.0, shutter speed 1/125s
As the focal length increases it seems natural to move the horizon further up the picture to create some depth. The perspective in the line of trees on the right has become quite compressed.




Focal length 250.0mm, f/6.3, shutter speed 1/125s.
At this length the different elements in the landscape - the foreground, the lake, the trees in the background, have become almost like flat strips - almost abstract. There is very little impression of depth compared with the same scene shot at 18.0mm.