Lens of the Month
Wide Open Opportunities with the Tamron SP 15-30mm F/2.8 lens
By Jeff Allen
Ever since I first picked up a camera, I have always loved shooting wide panoramas with wide lenses. Maybe it’s because growing up in the west, there were panoramas right outside my back door. I have had inspiration since I could walk.
The Tamron SP 15-30mm F/2.8 VC lens is almost always in my camera bag. It has an incredible wide angle zoom range, with rectilinear correction. It can fulfill my vision in one frame.
With a fast maximum aperture of f2.8, the 15-30 can provide shallow depth of field when needed and the fast aperture allows easier focusing in low light. This makes it a great lens for night skies, cityscapes and as shown in the first image – those “Cinemascope” blue skies with the bright white clouds.
Because I find scenes to photograph at various times of the day and night, the Tamron Vibration compensation (VC) allows me to shoot handheld in many conditions where others would need a tripod for sharp images as demonstrated in the rainbow image and the Gateway Arch shot. However, even with the amazing power of Tamron’s VC, a sturdy tripod is a tool you should use to ensure sharp photos whenever possible.
Except for the HDR composite of Horseshoe Bend, all these images are minimally processed for just levels and contrast.
The Tamron SP 15-30mm f2.8 VC. It’s that good and that versatile. That’s why it almost always goes in my bag.
Morning. As the classic WW-II Warbirds taxi past the crowd at an airshow. Shot at 15mm. Photographed low to the ground to emphasize the sky, where the planes are soon headed. This image was shot at 1/250 sec to show slight movement in the propellers. ISO 200 F16.
As the afternoon thunderstorm passes, 30mm gives me just enough crop to eliminate foreground clutter and show the warm afternoon light creating the rainbow and setting the autumn colors ablaze in the trees anchoring the bottom of the frame. ISO 400 F8 1/30sec hand-held.
Sunset at Horseshoe Bend, near Page Arizona. Shot at 15mm from the edge of the overlook. This is a very difficult exposure to get in a single shot because of the deep shadow in the canyon, the extremely bright clouds. This is a high dynamic range composite of three images shot on a tripod. One shot two stops underexposed, for cloud detail. One exposure at what the meter said was right, for the mid tones. The third shot is two stops overexposed to get the detail in the shadow areas. Merged in Photoshop.
The final shot is a reminder to always remember to look at subjects differently. We have all seen shots of the iconic Gateway Arch in St Louis. Usually a beautiful shot of the sweeping arch sometimes shot from downtown, sometimes from across the Mississippi river in Illinois. I have those shots. However I keep working the subject. Sometimes, from day into night. Sometimes, from unusual angles and perspectives. That’s what I did here. Over my head, looking nearly straight up resting my head against the structure at 15mm. ISO 800 F8 1/6sec hand-held.