Sometimes you need a special lens like the Fish-Eye

Waco YMF Biplane

Years ago I was finding myself in some pretty small areas. I was photographing what felt like inside of closet when I was photographing research labs.  Finally, I bought a fish eye 16mm Nikon f/2.8 lens.  It gives me a 180 degree view.

Example of using the super wide angle to capture research in a very tight space.

If you look closely you can see the glass wall to my far left in the photo.  I am less than a foot from the subject when making this photo.  Thank goodness for the super wide-angle lens.

Nikon 16mm ƒ/2.8

This past weekend it came in really handy to help capture what it was like to ride in a biplane for my wife and I.

Stanley and Dorie before our flight.

Any other normal wide angle lens would be giving me a portrait at best and not capture the environment. So if you have very little space this lens will help you capture the small space.

In a really small cockpit the 16mm lens helps get both of us into the photo.

Sometimes you have a big sky and you want to capture the things close to the camera and the expanse around it.  Here shooting out of the cockpit I captured the feeling I had being in the cockpit and looking out.  What did I want the photo to do for you--I wanted you to get a really good feel for flying.  How did I do?

Shooting with a wing below is difficult if doing aerial photography but to show where you are the 16mm captures the view from the cockpit.

The 16mm gives you a 180 degree view of the front of the plane.

When you are in tight spaces like a room the size of a closet then the 16mm helps you get wide enough.  What was surprising to me is how often in the big open spaces the 16mm can work and give you a unique and intimate view.

What are some ways you have used a fish eye lens? Let me hear from you in the comments below.