Using the Tilt-Shift (Architecture) Lens For Environmental Services Photography

Tilt-shift lenses come to the rescue when shooting a stream gaging site in a wooded environment. While I typically use them to keep building lines parallel, here, the busy background of trees along a tributary of the Hop Brook in Belchertown, Massachusetts, competed with my focus for the day. The tilt-shift lens throw these distractions out of focus, so the eye travels to where you want it to go — in this case, the field staff for the Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration. It’s an indispensable part of the environmental services photographer’s toolbox.

For collecting this data, two people handled the flow meter, while one recorded the creek width, depths, and velocity. I wanted to capture the way they work together, and their friendship in the field. Both were super people to spend the day with.

BELCHERTOWN, MA — June 19, 2019: Streamflow data collecting in a tributary of Hop Brook, Belchertown, Massachusetts on Wednesday, June 19, 2019.