Choosing an ultra-wide lens can profoundly affect how you approach photography, forcing you to reconsider perspective and composition. Such lenses aren't for every situation, but when used correctly, they can offer dramatic, unique results.
Coming to you from Adrian Vila of aows, this insightful video examines the Venus Optics Laowa 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 lens and its specific use case photographing the Golden Gate Bridge. Vila highlights the practical reasons behind purchasing this lens, notably its extraordinary width at 10mm, ideal for capturing expansive scenes like the bridge. His exploration goes beyond mere specs, sharing personal experiences of how this lens uniquely altered his perspective and provided compositions that previously felt out of reach. The Laowa 10-18mm lens proves particularly engaging for capturing dynamic, broad scenes, yet Vila openly discusses its limitations, like manual focus and slower aperture, maintaining an honest and balanced viewpoint throughout.
Coming from a background where his photography was largely confined to standard focal lengths (28-150mm), Vila details the constraints and lessons learned from tighter compositions, and contrasts this with the liberating, though challenging, experience of shooting ultra-wide. His side-by-side comparisons of the same location shot at different focal lengths vividly illustrate how dramatically lenses shape your final image. Additionally, he highlights scenarios where the lens was indispensable, such as capturing an elusive fog bow at Twin Peaks—something unachievable with his other lenses. These examples offer valuable insights into the practical creative possibilities ultra-wide lenses can unlock.
Throughout the video, Vila emphasizes personal experimentation, advocating for photography as a continuous learning process rather than just gear accumulation. He openly acknowledges that such a wide lens often captures too much of the scene for his simpler compositional preferences, underscoring the reality that specialized lenses have very specific roles. He also candidly addresses the learning curve involved in using manual lenses with potentially quirky focus markings, providing useful tips for navigating these issues.
Vila's exploration underscores that ultra-wide lenses like the Laowa 10-18mm, while niche, can be uniquely valuable tools. Particularly compelling are his examples of photographing familiar scenes under special conditions such as heavy fog or dusk, achieving shots that are not only visually arresting but personally meaningful. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Vila.
