Photo walk No.2 during Lockdown

Spring has sprung here in New Zealand. Yay!

On the West Coast, that often means wet weather - unfortunately. But, as luck would have it, the first week of Spring has instead brought some wonderful sunny days. And with it, comes a chance to get out and stretch the legs, in my local neigbourhood, during Lockdown.

'Spicy' revisted. OM-D E-M1 with Lumix 45-150mm f/4-5.6. f/5.6 @ 1/640th, ISO 400

We are very fortunate to have some rather picturesque places within walking distance of our home. These include; a beach, farms, an estuary/lagoon area and tiphead. So there is no shortage of interesting subjects to photograph.

Having said that, when you are confined to a reasonably local area - one that you've walked almost daily for several years - familiarity can breed a little contempt. To 'spice' things up (excuse the pun from the image above), I decided on my second night's walk around the same area, to just use my telephoto lens. I kept the Panasonic Lumix G Vario 45-150mm f/4-5.6 Asph Mega OIS lens when I sold all my others, because although I don't use one all that often, I do find a telephoto handy to have. It's also very small, and very light-weight for a telephoto, so takes up hardly any space in the camera bag.

Going around the same area, in the same evening light, you can't help but sometimes be attracted to the same images. I couldn't help myself as I walked past this public rest area again on the second evening. I just had to stop and take the exact same image as the previous night (see last post), but this time with the telephoto lens. If nothing else, I thought it would make for an interesting comparison between the two lenses.

And interesting it is! For while I gave a glowing review of the Lumix 12-35mm f2.8 and said how super sharp and clear the images were that I got from it - I actually think the image I took with the 45-150mm is actually sharper! 

Waiting for a Wave. OM-D E-M1 with Lumix 45-150mm. f/5.6 @ 1/200th, ISO 1600

My overall impression of this small, light, cheap telephoto zoom lens is that it is, indeed, very sharp - even wide open at f/5.6 and 150mm (300mm equivalent on full-frame). Just like its Olympus sibling (the M.Zuiko 40-150mm f/4-5.6) that I have raved about in the past, the Panasonic Lumix 45-150mm f/4-5.6 punches way above its weight, and has the capability of producing seriously great images.

Of course it doesn't compete with the truly pro glass of the Olympus 40-150mm f2.8 Pro or the Panasonic Lumix 35-100mm f2.8. But at a fraction of the weight, size and cost of these pro lenses, the Lumix 45-150mm f/4-5.6 is a no-brainer if you need a 'good' telephoto lens for the odd occasion when you need one. Pro wildlife or bird photographers look elsewhere. But for the rest of us, the Lumix or Olympus cheap telephotos are well worth owning.

Spring is in the air. OM-D E-M1 with Panasonic 45-150mm. f/5.6 @ 1/320th, ISO 800

Telephotos are great for getting a bit closer to the action if you're a sports and/or wildlife shooter. But they are also a great option for portraiture and landscapes. Their narrow field of view, compression of elements within an image, and their ability to 'isolate' a subject, are all helpful ways of telling a particular story. And they can also be used to zoom in on unsuspecting subjects if you are in 'stealth' mode. 😄

The photo above, of the couple watching the sea crashing against the rocks, was obviously taken from behind, but also from a fairly long distance away. They were completely unaware of my presence, allowing me to wait with my camera poised to capture just the right moment. I probably stayed for about 10 minutes taking a series of images, as the sea crashed around them and they enjoyed the view. The telephoto lens has compressed the elements within the image, to make it look like the sea is crashing around them a lot closer than it actually was. From the photo it looks like they are in serious danger of getting wet! But in reality, the waves were a good 15 to 20 meters away from them and well out of harms way.

Spring sunset silhouette. OM-D E-M1 with Lumix 45-150mm. f/8 @ 1/320th, ISO 800

The photo above was taken at exactly the same time as the photo of the couple watching the sea spray. Three young women turned up to also watch the sunset, and as they were getting ready to walk down along the rocks, I noticed that they made a prefect silhouette against the setting sun. I fired off two shots before they moved further down the rocks and the effect was gone.

Once again, the telephoto lens has allowed me to grab the shot from a good distance away, with my subjects completely unaware they were being photographed. I don't always shoot this way - I guess it feels a little bit 'creepy' or a bit paparazzi? But in both scenarios above, none of the people in the photos can be identified, none were photographed in a 'compromising' situation, and the final result is - I hope - very tastefully done. No one - as they say - was harmed in the making of these photos.

Heading out to fish. Olympus OM-D E-M1 with Lumix 40-150mm. f/8 @ 1/80th, ISO 1600

Many photographers who think of landscape images, think only in terms of wide angle lenses. But a telephoto lens is an invaluable part of every landscape photographers kit. As mentioned above, it can help isolate, compress, and simplify a scene - all exceptionally useful techniques when shooting landscapes. A wide-angle (or ultra-wide angle) that tries to include a massive vista can often lead to unimpressive images. Whereas if you isolate, frame, and capture a smaller portion - maybe just the one area of light as it caresses the peak of an impressive mountain - then you will often come away with a much stronger composition. Indeed there are many mountain landscape photographers who would say that their telephoto lens is their most used optic.

Blaketown Tiphead Shipwreck Monument. E-M1 with Lumix 45-150mm. f/5.6 @ 1/60th, ISO 800

Whether you use a telephoto lens a little, or a lot, it's always a good idea to have one in your camera bag. The Panasonic Lumix G Vario 45-150mm f/4-5.6 Asph Mega OIS (to give it its full name) is an excellent choice for someone on a budget, but who still wants a well made (metal mount), sharp and lightweight lens. When I was selling all my lenses to purchase the Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8, the Lumix 45-150mm was the only lens I decided to keep. And I'm very glad that I did.

As a landscape photographer, who wants to travel light, I don't need the heavier, more expensive 'pro' versions of this lens. I'd mostly shoot them at around f/5.6 to f/8 anyway. And at those apertures, the cheap, light and inexpensive (relatively speaking) Panansonic 40-150mm f/4-5.6 is probably about 95% as sharp as them anyway!

What I do occasionally wish for, however, is a little longer reach. Something like the Olympus 75-300mm f/4.8-6.7 or Panasonic 100-300mm f/4-5.6. At 300mm on the long end, that equates to a whopping 600mm angle-of-view on a full-frame system! If I was a bird or wildlife photographer on a budget, I'd definitely have one of those. But I'm not, so they will have to wait. My use-case for a lens with that sort of reach is even more limited than with the telephoto I already own! 

On the other hand, my sister-in-law actually owns the Olympus 75-300mm, so I may get to 'play' with it one day and do a quick review? Could be fun to take to a wildlife park - once we get out of Lockdown, of course.