Vadim Sherbakov "Ultra-wide angle photography - See more, get more"

Vadim Sherbakov is an independent art director with over fifteen years of experience, as well as being a passionate travel photographer and videographer, specialising in cityscapes, landscapes, aerial fields & time blending photography. He is also an Irix brand Ambassador. Here, he discusses his work with the Irix 11mm lens, or as he calls it, the ‘See more, get more’.

Casa-Ballto

When I used this lens for the first time, I found myself comparing it to a drone.

Thinking about it, this does seem certainly an odd comparison to make. But when affordable drones first came onto the market, photographers were quick to adapt and make use of the opportunities provided by these machines in order to get new angles and new perspectives. Now we can get a different view of the same places. So the same happened to me with this lens: I shot a few places that I’d shot before, but this time I got more. And it’s like discovering a whole new perspective for old locations.

Paris Ceiling

Paris Ceiling

Paris Ceiling

Barcelona Post office

Barcelona Old Hospital ceiling

La Sagrada Familia

Paris Ceiling

Paris Ceiling

Paris Ceiling

As you can see in these pictures, sometimes such places get a ‘new life’ with such a wide angle of view.

I like very much that new ‘see more, get more’ angle of the Irix 11mm f/4.0 lens. But it’s not only for getting everything into a picture. It’s also helping me in more challenging situations as well. We’ve all experienced situations where sometimes we’re not allowed to shoot with a tripod set-up and therefore it’s difficult to shoot multiple images in order to stitch together a panorama for that bigger perspective. So one shot can capture all, or most, of what you need instead of having to take multiple shots if you have a shorter range lens. So it certainly helps in those tricky situations.

Moscow City

Paris Louvre Piramide

VDNH Moscow

In addition you can always zoom in and crop the exact proportions such as in those shots.

As with other lenses you shoot carefully considered composition, even more so with this lens. The Irix 11mm, with its 126° field of view, is not very forgiving when it comes to tilting. That’s why, for me, this lens is a bit more suitable for architecture and nature photography rather than animal or portraiture. But when you do, it’s very rewarding.

One of the great benefits of this lens is that you can shoot in tight spaces. We all get into those situations when you can’t move yourself any further back but you want to capture the entire scene. Now that’s what this unique lens is excellent for: interior shots of great architecture, ceilings, staircases, portals, and so on.

Alexborg Staircase

Barcelona Staircase

Københavns staircase

But what about exteriors? Well, when it comes to exterior shots this lens also doesn’t disappoint. Its ability to capture so much more is also beneficial for exterior architecture. Not everyone has an expensive tilt-shift lens, so the wider 126° angle of the Irix 11mm f/4.0 is such a saver for those situations when you just had to capture everything in the one frame but aren’t able to do it any other way.

And so, after almost a year of using this Irix lens, I can safely say that it’s my go-to lens for those unique angles both for exterior and interior shots.

Madrid staircase

Moscow Staircase

Paris staircase 

The unique feature of the “infinity focus click” lets you nail sharp images every time without even having to check the focus at the back of your screen. Imagine a situation when your ability to see the back camera screen is limited by circumstances beyond your control; with the Irix you can rotate the zoom ring until it fixes itself into a groove, telling you that you have perfect infinity focus. This feature allows you to focus more on composition and not worry about getting the incorrect focus. You can even lock it down further should you desire.

Barcelona well

Savinskoye podvorye

Sienna well

Now, my photography processes are heavily dependent on post-processing the images I like, and working with the 11mm helps in that area too. Irix has released a good, lightroom lens correction profile that fixes any vignetting and distortion of the lens. The lens is awesomely sharp even at the edges considering it being an ultra-wide angle.

All this is designed for us to stop making excuses and take more awesome shots.

Thanks for reading!
You can find more of my works here:
Portfolio – www.vadimsherbakov.com
Instagram – http://instagram.com/madebyvadim/