P#20 Q3B: Avoiding Wide Angle Zoom Lens Mishaps When Photographing Mountains

Where Are You?

Bryan Peterson: When you're shooting mountain photography, if the mountains look small to begin with from where you're standing, they're going to get ridiculously smaller when you shoot them with a wide angle zoom lens. I don't care how much of a foreground you have.

If you have the most beautiful wildflower meadow in the foreground and if those mountains are small to begin with, they're going to be so darn small in the picture people are going to wonder why you didn't just shoot the flowers. The mountains will be so small, that psychologically they'll be recognized as mountains, but they'll look like little more than a whisper. You either want the mountains there or you don't want them there.

If you want the mountains in the frame, you have to, first of all, get closer to those mountains. We've all seen the pictures where we have the alpine lake in the foreground along with the flowers blooming and then there are these huge mountains in the background. We think, "How do you do that?"

People don't realize the photographer hiked seven miles to get to that lake. Once he did, he was standing in awe of these huge mountain peaks because they were almost just a stone's throw away.

The reason it doesn't appear to be so is because of the use of the wide angle zoom lens. You put on your super wide, you're at the edge of that lake, and guess what? It pushed those huge mountains back out of the way to make room for the wildflowers.

Lo and behold, the perspective, the depth, it's all happening there. You think, "How come I can't do that?" Honestly, it's because you didn't hike seven miles. That's why. You've got to get to the right location. That's number one.

In Summary

How do you avoid making a mess of your picture when using a wide angle lens for mountain scenes? You make sure you use it properly. Get right up there to the heart of the scene, and use your equipment accordingly. As Bryan points out, you can't take great mountain pictures with a wide angle zoom lens if you're standing on the sidelines.