Tuscany and Moravia Through a Telephoto Lens

Spot Cool Stuff is sometimes asked for advice on what camera lenses to bring on a trip. The short answer is: It depends^†. Different camera types, different travel styles and different destinations require different lenses.

If you are going on a nature trek to somewhere with rolling hills and sweeping vistas, for example, a medium telephoto might make an outstanding choice. Want proof? Look no further than the photography of Marcin Sobas. In particular, we love his shots of the countryside in Tuscany and the Moravia region of the Czech Republic.

Sobas is a master of zooming in with a telephoto on a scene while preserving a sense of vastness one might get from a wide angle. Like in the photo below —the tight cropping reveals a lot of detail but, because it was taken from a distance through a telephoto, the smallness of the shrubs makes the surrounding countryside look enormous. You can somehow imagine these fields roll on forever. And in photography, as in much else in life, imagination is more powerful than reality:

In case you are interested, the specific lens Sobas used for these shots is a Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L. It’s one of the lenses in the L-series, a Spot Cool Stuff favorite. Canon’s L lenses feature professional-quality glass. But they are also very solidly built, meaning they can take the knocks and bumps that are inevitable when traveling.

Sadly, Canon L lenses also tend to be pricey. Happily, it happens that, at least at the time of writing, Amazon.com is selling the US$1,200 EF 70-200mm f/4L at the steeply discounted price of $629.

As for his camera, Sobas used a Canon 40D. Check out our detailed review of the Canon 40D versus it’s sister model, the 50D for more info on that. But not before you see some of Sobas’s other telephoto shots from Tuscany and Moravia below. Kind of makes you want to hop on a plane to Tuscany, don’t they?

^†  A longer, and hopefully more satisfying answer, will be the subject as a future Spot Cool Stuff post. Follow us on Facebook and/or Twitter to see an update on when that’s published.

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Related posts on Spot Cool Stuff:

Reviews of the Best Cameras for Travel
8 Amazing Gifts for Photographers (Under $50)
3 Creative Ways To Share Your Photos WHILE You Travel
5 Cool Photoblogs

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