Translating an interior space into a two dimensional rendering presents the photographer with unique challenges… furnishings arrangement, lighting and not least among them, keeping the vertical walls parallel. Historically the latter was controlled by shooting the scene with a view camera. The back was positioned parallel with the vertical plane of the walls. Then the lens was shifted up to fill the frame. Simple. Sort of. Modern tilt-shift lenses mimic the moves of a view camera allowing the verticals to remain straight from top to bottom. Rooms whose walls are falling away isn’t attractive. Funhouse maybe. Compelling? No way.

©2012 Kevin Ames

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Brian Coffey's Super Moon 2012

Sigma’s Fan Photo of the Week (May 14-18) was made by photographer Brian Coffey with his 70-200mm F2.8 EX DG OS lens and Nikon D2x. Here is what he tell us:

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Eye Scene: Photographer, Ryuichi Oshimoto Travels with Sigma Camera & Lenses

A couple stands on a rock and overlooks the desert. Designated as a National Natural Landmark in 1967, the Trona Pinnacles, consisting of more than 500 tufa spires, is situated 10 miles south of Trona, a small town in California. Camera: SD1 Lens: APO 50-500mm F4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM, Exposure mode: Manual, ISO: 200, White balance: daylight, Shutter speed: 1/1250 sec,Aperture: f8.0, Focal length: 413mm

Proceeding on State Highway 178 from Ridgecrest, I roughly parked the car by a T-shaped road formed by Trona Road. A few pickup trucks passed by and a highway police car zoomed by. Moments later, a pickup truck coming from the east stopped in front of me. The driver started talking about his bad luck this morning and said, “After an interview at Trona, I lost my wallet and my gas tank is almost on empty! The highway cops won’t help me either!” He spoke very quickly and turned his ignition key to try to convince me that the engine wouldn’t start. When I said, “I’m in the middle of a job right now, so I can’t help you.” He lightly replied, “Sorry to bother you!” and stepped on the gas and disappeared in the western direction. In that man’s eyes, he probably thought that I was a tourist heading toward Death Valley National Park.

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Have you ever seen a beautiful sunrise or sunset building but can’t figure out where to go to photograph it? Rest easy: a great Android App comes to the rescue!

Astroid App on a Galaxy Nexus, Sunrise, Key Biscayne, Florida, USA. Sigma SD1 camera, Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM lens. F5.6, 1/200 sec., ISO 400. Using GPS technology, Astroid tells you the times for sunrise and sunset and plots their positions on a Google Maps. East of Miami on Key Biscayne, Astroid indicated precisely where the sun will rise before me. Photo copyright David FitzSimmons 2012. All rights reserved.

Astroid, an app for Android, is just the ticket. Sophisticated algorithms developed by Kazimierz Borkowski of the Centre for Astronomy have been programmed by Tomasz Kaczmarek to create a super-handy app for landscape photographers.

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Our Fan Photo of the Week (May 7-11) was captured by photographer Matt Casagrande.

He tells us:

My friend and I were decided to squeeze in an afternoon hike before the sun went down in Zion National Park in November 2011.  At the top of the Watchman trail we were greeted by a spectacular view of the Watchman looming over the town of Springdale.  As the sun made its way towards opposing mountains, and the light began to change, I knew that it was going to a great shot.  When it finally disappeared behind them, the streaming light lit up the mountain.

I took out the DP2 (my constant hiking companion), locked the exposure on the mountain face and took 4 sequential portrait shots.  My friend was tugging at my pack straps because we still had a 1.5 mile hike back down, so back in the pocket for the camera and we were off.  It was dark my the time we were down, but it was well worth it.  I stitched the shots together in Hugin, adjusted a little in Sigma Photo Pro and that was all it took.

about me: I’m a 35 year old amateur photographer living in Somerville, MA who grew up reading books just for the pictures. I purchased a DP2 a couple years ago and I love it – I and find that I reach for it more often then my fancy DSLR.

To see more of Matt’s work, check out his Flickr page!

And here’s how we choose our Fan Photo of the Week.

The May 2012 issues of Parenting and Popular Photography magazines feature our new advertisement for the Sigma 18-250 F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM all-in-one lens featuring a lovely shot of a mother and daughter sitting together on a footbridge above a waterfall and creek in the woods. This versatile lens is a great addition to the camera kit of family photographers as it is compact, lightweight covers a great focal range, and has Optical Stabilizer for making sharp shots in low light without a tripod.

The Sigma 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM is available in many popular lens mounts for APS-C DSLRs.

This 13.8X zoom is designed specifically for Digital SLR cameras with APS-C sized sensors–Canon’s Rebel series, Nikon’s D3000, D90, all current Pentax DSLRs, and Sony A-Mount APS-C cameras such as the A77, A65 and A35. (Click here for the full chart of compatible cameras in the various lens mounts.)

To help you learn more about this nimble lens that’s as comfortable shooting wide angle landscapes and big group portraits at 18mm as well as distant birds and your little superstars in sports action, we’ve put together a cool package of blog postings to show you what this lens is all about. And if you’ve still got any questions or need more information, leave a comment here (or on any of the related stories) and we’ll try to respond as soon as we can.

Family Photo Tips with the Sigma 18-250mm from Walter Arnold

This photo shoot was a family affair for photographer Walter Arnold, as his models are his wife, Amanda, and stepdaughter, Brianna.

Walter Arnold, the photographer who made the lovely image of his wife and stepdaughter  in our recent advertisement for the Sigma 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM 13.8X zoom lens featured in Parenting and Popular Photography magazines spent a few minutes talking with us about his hands-on experiences with this versatile all-in-one zoom lens. He also shares great advice for making your own amazing family memories.

Traveling Light with the Sigma 18-250mm lens

Sigma’s resident blogger, author and pro photographer, Jack Howard, gives a run down of the features and functions that make this lens a winner when traveling light when maximizing versatility really matters.

The compact and lightweight 18-250mm was easy to carry inside the tight spiral staircase inside the Sandy Hook Lighthouse. Optical Stabilizer helped keep this shot sharp at a very slow shutter speed in the low light. And from the top of the tower, we were able to take in both sweeping vistas as well as zoom in for closer details without having to swap lenses in the tight quarters of the Light Room.

“This lens is an impressive combination of reach, range and versatility in a single multi-tasking piece of glass that can do just about everything from wide landscapes, to telephoto wildlife, close-ups (1:3.4 max magnification), short tele portraiture, and help make a strong shot of most situations you’ll want to shoot on your adventures, without ever having to swap lenses.  And it does all this at a very attractive street price, I might add!”

Hands-on Video Demo of the 18-250mm

And finally, here is a brief hands-on video demonstrating many of the key features and functions of the Sigma 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM, a 13.8X zoom lens that is ready for making great family photo memories wherever your photo adventures take you.

Click the screenshot above to view the video demo blog posting.

Any other questions about this lens? Leave a comment below or visit us on Facebook!

Here is a brief hands-on video demonstrating many of the key features and functions of the Sigma 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM, a 13.8X zoom lens that is ready for making great family photo memories wherever your photo adventures take you.

And be sure to visit these pages for more information on the Sigma 18-250mm F3.5-5.6 DC OS HSM lens:

• Behind the scenes interview and family photography tips with Walter Arnold about the ad appearing in Parenting, Popular Photography and Popular Science.
• Traveling Light with the Sigma 18-250mm. A deeper look at the features and functions of this great all-in-one lens.
• Our product page for the Sigma 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM lens.

Any questions? Post a comment either via Facebook or directly to our blog below!

Walter Arnold, the photographer who made the lovely image of his wife and stepdaughter  in our recent advertisement for the Sigma 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM 13.8X zoom lens featured in Parenting and Popular Photography magazines spent a few minutes talking with us about his experiences with this versatile all-in-one zoom lens. He also shares great advice for making your own amazing family memories.

The image in this advertisement is especially meaningful to photographer Walter Arnold, as the models are his new wife and stepdaughter.

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©2012 Loralea Kirby

The Fan Photo of the Week for April 30th was captured by Loralea Kirby with a Sigma 50-500mm on a Canon EOS 7D at the Cape May Zoo. She tells us:

This photo was captured at the Cape May Zoo here in New Jersey. I was wearing a skirt that this gorgeous male thought was quite attractive, and he was intent on letting me know that he was the most beautiful Peacock at the zoo. Every time I thought I had taken enough photos and went to leave, he would strut in front of me and display for yet another shot. Needless to say with the combination of the size of the Sigma lens I was shooting and his displays, we drew quite the crowd!
I did very little post processing on this photo. The afternoon light filtered through the trees hitting the plumage at just the right angle to show off the shimmer without making it too harsh. The awesome focal range of the lens allowed me to stand back far enough to capture the shot without shadowing the subject or losing the catchlight in the eye, then zoom in further to capture the intricate details of the feathering.

I have been shooting for about five years now, two of those years have been with a DSLR. My focus is mostly nature photography, with a deep passion for capturing birds in their natural habitat. Visit Loralea Kirby’s website for more great shots made with Sigma lenses!

And here’s how we choose our Fan Photo of the Week.

© 2011 John Miner

Sigma’s Fan Photo of the Week for April 23-30 was made by photographer John Miner with his Nikon D3100 and Sigma 18-250mm multi-zoom lens. He tells us:

This Image was taken in October of 2011 on Folly Beach SC. I was on a dock that extends about 1000 feet into the Folly river trying to capture pictures of the Terns in flight when I looked toward the lighthouse and saw this view. The repetition of the long docks and the line of Terns caught my eye. Tech specs: Nikon D3100, Sigma 18-250mm, 250mm, 1/500s, f/11, ISO 200.

I have recently gotten back into serious (no more point and shoot) photography after a 32 year +/- hiatus. Photography is still only a hobby for me. I have found that since I’ve picked it back up I tend to look at things differently.

I have been involved with creative imagery pretty much my entire life. I was a watercolor artist in my teenage years, graduated college with a BFA, and have worked in the woodworking industry as a designer ever since.

I purchased my first DSLR (Nikon D3100) in January of 2011 and quickly grew bored with the 18-55mm kit lens that came with it. The search was on for an all-purpose lens with more reach. After much research I selected the Sigma
18-250mm and was instantly pleased with my decision.

And here’s how we choose our Fan Photo of the Week.