Last weekend, my friend, Tom loaned me his Sigma 10mm Fisheye lens. So we decided to take a trip out to Ohiopyle.

I have always found trees to be very intriguing - yet almost impossible - subjects. There is just something about photographing trees that I struggle with, but I keep trying. In fact, I have some specifically tree photo projects simmering on the back burner, so hopefully some day they'll see the light of day and I can share them here.

In the meantime, let's look at this tree through a fisheye lens...

Technical Data Canon EOS 7D, Sigma 10mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM Fisheye (borrowed), 1/12 sec at f/22.6. ISO 200. No post production. Ohiopyle, Fayette County, PA.

Why This Photo: As I said, I am intrigued by photography of trees, and I like this perspective giving the full feeling of the size of the tree. Also, using the fisheye lens, gives a very interesting perspective with the surrounding trees. When I saw this tree off the side of the trail, I knew it was worth trying to shoot.

What Works: Despite ignoring the rule of thirds and placing the trunk of the tree dead center, I like this layout composition. Also, though the distortion of the fisheye is constant in the frame, the placement of the surrounding trees actually does a good job of making it appear offset slightly to the top of the frame.

What Doesn't Work: The lighting was tough with fairly quick moving clouds shifting the brightness of the scene repeatedly and with little warning - thus the frame is not evenly lit and the colors are not as nice as they could be. Also, I wish there was more variety in the colors in the leaves, but then again, I guess I don't get much control over that.

Unfortunately, I had another shot I really wanted to get on this trip with this lens. I don't want to give away the details because I have a whole project I want to try and start up that is related, so I'm going to be a little vague here. But there is what I would call an iconic subject out on Route 51 that I wanted to photograph only to find it was covered with some very offensive graffiti. I knew there was graffiti, and that was part of the attraction to it - I was hoping that it would help to make the photo more engaging, so you can imagine my disappointment. I am still hopeful to eventually figure out a way to get the photo I planned without the offensive elements, and then I'll have to borrow that fisheye lens again.

- Bill