The Photographer's Eye: Graphic Guide

COMPRESSING

I could as easily have put this in the Optics chapter, because it’s very much a feature of using a telephoto lens, and the longer the focal length, the better. This is London’s Millennium Bridge (better known as the “Wobbly Bridge” because it swayed with the heavy pedestrian traffic on its opening day and had to be closed until the engineers made it fit for purpose). From the south bank is the wide-angle view towards St Paul’s Cathedral favored by television crews. By contrast, the view from the north with a seriously long telephoto—600mm—gives a classic compression. You have to be nearly end-on for this to work, but see how the bridge appears to be steeper than it really is, and how the pedestrian figures appear nearly the same size. ...