Canon EOS 5D
1/200
640

When shooting a distant object in telephoto, the perceived distance between objects in the frame compresses.

This is a dramatic example, with the San Francisco Bay bridge and boat on the left and the Stanford Dish on the right. These structures are actually 30 miles apart (and I am 4 miles away from the Dish). The San Mateo bridge is in the middle.

The photo is not particularly sharp as I am shooting though a lot of Silicon Valley atmosphere at dusk. (2300mm zoom lens, f18)

18 responses to “Perspective Compression”

  1. angry shock Avatar
    angry shock

    hey, point South, maybe you catch me!

    a.ma.zing.

    Reply
  2. sprklg Avatar
    sprklg

    f = 2300mm zoom lens? I wonder what this looks like? Also what’s the shortest focal length possible with this lens?

    There must be lots of light or it’s a long exposure.

    Reply
  3. Snorri Thor Avatar
    Snorri Thor

    2300 mm??? that thing must be the size of an average cannon!

    Reply
  4. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    But not your average Canon. 😉

    I’ll have to post a photo of the setup…Mondo-Zoom Lens

    Reply
  5. goofy comparison Avatar
    goofy comparison

    A Wish Ye Would. LoL. Who’s In this ? LoL

    Reply
  6. Peter Kaminski Avatar
    Peter Kaminski

    Dude! That’s totally cool!

    It comes pretty close to shooting right over my house in Foster City, too. 🙂

    Reply
  7. drona Avatar
    drona

    Nice pic, Steve…love it.

    Reply
  8. benjiman Avatar
    benjiman

    DAMN. If you actually own that lens then you get 10 bonus points.

    Thats a rather large lens, just to state the obvious.

    Reply
  9. nikhilji Avatar
    nikhilji

    wish the same concept of "perspective compression" applied to my commute time from sf to pa 🙂

    Reply
  10. aefitzhugh Avatar
    aefitzhugh

    Contest: using only information from this photo and Google Earth, calculate the actual location of the camera.

    Reply
  11. Simply Shot Photography Avatar
    Simply Shot Photography

    this is great! and thanks for the explanation b/c it makes the pic even better! xoxo

    Reply
  12. zenera Avatar
    zenera

    Skylining~~~~~~ love the boat;)

    Reply
  13. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    thanks y’all.

    I did post the lens photo

    Reply
  14. shoothead Avatar
    shoothead

    Wow!!

    -lee

    Reply
  15. Josh Thompson Avatar
    Josh Thompson

    Every time I follow a link you post to one of your older photos I am amazed. Very nice picture.

    Reply
  16. Duncan Rawlinson - Duncan.co Avatar
    Duncan Rawlinson – Duncan.co

    Interesting effect. I’ll be sure to take advantage of this in my photography!

    Reply
  17. sunset_man Avatar
    sunset_man

    Very cool effect, I think this one falls into the same category: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rkroenert/2265196488/

    Reply
  18. drona Avatar
    drona

    Spectacular pointer sashakasha…

    Reply

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