Photo Club of Davis - Meetings & Speakers

Truman is a retired Biology, Human Anatomy/Physiology teacher. He taught the last 20 years at Sacramento High School. Truman got into photography through bird watching around 1980. He started his own photography business, "A Beautiful Image" in 2001. He is the past presidents of Sacramento Audubon Society, the Sierra Camera Club and the Gold Rush Chapter of the Photographic Society of America. Truman retired in 2001 and lives in Fair Oaks California. Many of his images can be seen at: www.otruman.com

The meeting was well attended by members of the public and club. Truman set up his presentation using two slide projectors and a sound system presenting over 400 slides demonstrating the attributes of a wide-angle lens. The following handout was used throughout his slide presentation as each topic was demonstrated by the slide being shown.

Truman's Handout for the Meeting

Truman's definition of a wide angle lens:

Full frame: 20mm or greater (Smaller number)

APS sensor 13mm or greater (Smaller number)

The Good!

1. Yours will be different than most others. e.g. How many people use the wide angle?

2. Extreme depth of field. e.g. 9 inches to infinity, WOW!

3. Prime lenses (not Zooms) Smaller and lighter lenses. e.g. 10 oz "Vs" 28 oz

4. Small areas or things can be made to appear very large. e.g. A living room or a flower

5. Can include large amounts of information in one image. e.g. Grand Canyon

6. Can greatly change Perspectives. e.g. Close objects may appear to be far away.

7. Can cause creative and/or interesting distortions. e.g.. Capitol Street Bridge.

8. You can take pictures in very tight places. e.g. In a car.

9. Can heavily accentuate a foreground. e.g.. A face or wood texture.

10. Wide angles come in many different sizes; Primes & Zooms. e.g. 10mm-17mm.

11. Excellent for scenics. e.g. Zion Nat'l Park

12. Excellent for many nature shots. e.g. Tree frog and its habitat.

13. Shadows can be fun. e.g. Your 100ft shadow on a sand dune in your picture.

The Bad and Ugly

1. Distortions can be disturbing and distracting. e.g. BIG nose and/or ears

2. You need to be very close to your foreground subject. e.g. No Rattlesnakes!

3. Tilted horizons are very obvious. e.g. Ocean horizon.

4. Vignetting can be a serious problem. e.g. Filters and sunshades.

5. Polarizers will give greatly varied colors. e.g. Broad skylines.

6. Often requires getting down on the ground, "ouch!". e.g. Flowers

7. Unwanted objects sneak into your picture. e.g. Leg, tripod or yours.

8. Any tilting up or down causes serious keystoning. e.g. Tall buildings.

9. Shadows can be hard to deal with. e.g. Sun at your back.

10. Most flashes do not cover the wide angle area. e.g. Fades quickly into black.

11. Wide angle "Specialty Lenses"(Tilt/Shift) are very $$$. e.g. Canon 17mm T/S $2,400!

12. Uneven lighting can be a serious problem. e.g. Redwood forest on a sunny day.

After Truman's presentation, several club members shared their wide-angle photos for critique and comment.