I'm not quite sure why I never bought one but this week I managed to acquire a Sony 14mm f1.8 G Master lens. It was raining hard on the day I bought it and didn't get a chance to test it outdoors but the rain brought with it an opportunity to shoot Padley Gorge with the higher than usual water levels. Rather than waffle on about the lens and the Gorge, for this post I'll talk about the images instead!
Padley Gorge in full flow
I arrived early at Padley Gorge on Saturday morning to make sure I could grab a parking spot; Padley can get very busy with tourists so beating the rush was imperative.
The water levels were much higher yesterday but looked to have receded from the previous day's downpour. No problem for me though, this is still the highest I've ever seen it.
For this shot I had my new 14mm strapped to the camera and shot a series of exposure times ranging from 0.25 to 1 second. With this fast flowing water, I found 0.3 seconds to be the sweet spot. Just enough blur to show the motion but not too much.
I also focus stacked the image focussing on different parts of the frame to get the most out of the scene.
I met a famous YouTuber...
Stood on this very spot, a famous to me YouTuber shuffled next to me and as she removed her hood to say hello, I said, "mmmm.... that face looks familiar" We had a chat for 5 minutes and we parted ways but it turns out she was shooting more or less the same compositions as me. Confirmation maybe that I'm getting this stuff right.
Another shot focus stacked.
My obsession with one tree
This particular tree I keep revisiting and will eventually nail it. I got close here but it seems my camera had other ideas. I have no idea how but my camera switched itself in to crop sensor mode and this image is a much reduced resolution and 21mm focal length. I just spent a lot of money on a new lens and this happens! I only realised when I got home to process it but there's always the next time!
The placement of the leaves was deliberate; I literally rearranged the scene and the viewer's eye should fall towards the leaves.
Testing the 14mm close up capability
I shot wide open at f1.8 to see what the out of focus parts would look like. This lens gets close!
Deluge
This tree was in danger of being completely submerged. I preferred a square crop here:
All that water and I still shoot the trees
This is another focus stacked image where the 14mm perspective really floats my boat. Can't believe I didn't buy this lens till now!!
The bridge is clinging on for dear life
The day before I shot this, the bridge here was completely submerged. I crossed the bridge very carefully but it's still intact I'm pleased to say. I've crossed this bridge many times and I'd be sad to see it gone.
Same bridge, different view
The sky was a bit flat which I'm not keen on but I shot this to gauge how wide this lens would be. This has also given me an idea for a lightpainting shot next time I visit in the dark.
This lens is wiiiiiiide
Another test of the new lens to see how wide it looks. This is my dream wide angle!!
The Money Tree
I noticed online how people were talking about this dead tree stuffed full of coins. No idea why this is happening, maybe some sort of modern pagan ritual or whatever but if this tree wasn't already dead, this isn't going to help it survive!
A close up of the twisted remains:
About me:
I usually specialise in shooting lightpainting images but occasionally dabble in urbex, landscape and artistic model photography. I'm always on the lookout for someone to collaborate with; the social side of photography is always good!
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