After a long planned trip, I finally set off, and this time I chose the Northeast and West Sichuan, and the time node will also span the Lunar New Year. For me, an ultra-wide-angle lens plays an important role in landscape photography, and the NISI 15mmf4 was made even more handy for this trip shoot due to its excellent optical quality, light size, and reliable handling. From the snowfields of the northeast at minus 28 degrees Celsius to the Tibetan Plateau at an altitude of 4,800 meters, I have seen countless evenings and sunrises, cities and starry skies with the Nisi 15mm lens.
01 Ultra-wide viewing angle
In the Tohoku in winter, the river is always hidden under huge ice, and everything is quiet under heavy snow. But here it is different, a small river that winds from the depths of the waterfall, and although it is small, it can flow strong through the cracks of snow and ice. I explored the site for a while and found that the best position was not suitable for the stability of a tripod due to the slippery ice, so I chose to shoot handheld with a Nisi 15mmf4. Due to the wide angle of view of the lens, the safety shutter was able to be very slow, which was enough for me to convey the movement of the water while preserving the details of the ice.
nisi 15mm f4+true color cpl
Blues moment, shoot the whole picture of the waterfall, ultra-wide viewing angle, accommodate more pictures. Shooting near the waterfall for a long time, water splashing is an inevitable factor, through the actual experience, I have more trust in the excellent sealing of the lens, with the Nisi True Color CPL filter, so that the underwater details are clearly visible, unnecessary reflections are eliminated, and the color of the picture is more pure.
The journey continued, and before the New Year I came to the completely frozen Songhua River. The ice surface squeezes out a crack with a beautiful posture, and through the Nisi 15mmF4 vertical shot, the ultra-wide extension brings a strong impact. The clouds on the horizon took on a gradual change of color, and the houses in the distance faded into the twilight. Here, I shot with a hyperfocal length, and I got enough sharp detail in a single frame, both in the long and close shots.
nisi true color cpl
02Good dispersion control
As time passed, night fell, and the reflection of the setting sun fell on the treetops. With the gentle flow of water in my ears and the light slowly receding from the sky, I enjoyed the moment when I pressed the shutter. Dispersion has always been a problem in photography in images with strong contrasts, such as tree branches and sky, and when shooting with Nisi 15mmf4, it benefits from good dispersion control, saving time and effort in post-production.
03Smooth focus damping
How can you not set off fireworks in the New Year, even if it is minus 30 degrees in the Northeast, you can't stop the enthusiasm of the festival. On the premise of ensuring safety and compliance, the splendor on the Songhua River was officially staged. Here, I chose to use the cracked ice spine as the foreground, firstly, to increase the level of the picture, and secondly, to reflect the light of the fireworks, making the picture more dreamy. I have to sigh that under extremely cold conditions, the NISI 15mmf4 focus damping is still smooth.
Live footage.
The twilight is getting thicker and the colors of the fireworks are getting more and more dazzling. Through the technique of time-lapse shooting, I recorded the entire process of the fireworks, and merged the trajectories of the fireworks into a single ** through the post-stacking method. The excellent image quality of the NISI 15mmF4 not only shows the splendor and enthusiasm of the fireworks, but also retains the texture of the clouds and the luster of the ice spine. This moment will forever be fixed in my memory.
04 Glare, distortion, vignetting control
Bidding farewell to the Northeast, flying nearly 3,000 kilometers, from extreme cold to extremely high, I came to western Sichuan to start the New Year's journey, starting from a pass at an altitude of 4,600 meters. A crescent moon sets from Qi'er Mountain, starlight fills the sky, and the town not far away is lit up. The last light of the sky shines through the lines of the earth, outlining rich layers, and the gradient colors make the snow-capped mountains more mysterious, making the moonlight and lights like a dream. Glare control and distortion suppression have reached a very high level.
At the next stop, I came to Batang under the moonlight, on the third day of the Lunar New Year, still on the road late at night. For the night scene of the integration of natural scenery and urban buildings, I adopted a multi-** approach, using sufficient ** for the natural part, retaining the details of plants and mountains, reducing the overall ** for the urban part, so that the buildings and lights are clearly visible, and finally merging the two ** to get such a picture.
05 Unique 10-needle starlight
The heavy snow that was the highlight changed the itinerary, and there were many planned shooting spots that could not be reached, which was the norm for winter travel, but Moshi Park surprised me. It was snowy and windy the night before, but it cleared up completely the next day. The gray-toned inkstone landform is composed of mylonite formed by fault activity, which has been subjected to weathering effects such as flowing water, wind and snow carving, and gravity collapse, forming today's peculiar landform landscape. The features of the NISI 15mmf4 lens are fully utilized. Facing the noon sun, the unique ten-needle starlight makes the snow-capped mountains more dazzling.
Live footage.
06Excellent performance in detail
The blues at dawn are not to be missed, as the darkness of the night recedes quickly and the colors of the morning sun gradually infect the earth. In such a scene with large changes in light, the excellent optical quality of the NISI 15mmF4 is reflected, with vignetting control, edge image quality, and a wide viewing angle, and every detail is satisfying.
The last day of the New Year's journey is the sunset over Yara. I shot from a lower angle, reflecting the frozen lake in Yara, and the golden sunset shrouded the silent snow-capped mountains. The gradient of glow blurred the boundary between heaven and earth, and the temperature was dropping dramatically as the sun set, and I saw a layer of frost on the surface of the Nisi 15mmf4 lens and the ice on the surface of the lake extending a few points forward. In the end, I got this picture - a clear, pure snow-capped mountain sunset in the extreme cold.
07 Summary
From Tohoku to Western Sichuan, the Nisi 15mmf4 wide-angle lens has helped me capture countless memories. Whether it is a forest and snow field, a winter waterfall, a sunset over a snow-capped mountain, or a night in the city, this lens can achieve the shooting plan in the extreme environment of minus 30 degrees and above 4,600 meters above sea level. Combined with the light weight of NISI 15mmF4, excellent optical quality, extremely wide viewing angle impact, combined with the lens's signature ten-needle starlight, it brings a distinctive ** style, and at the same time gives more possibilities for creation.
During this month-and-a-half-long shooting experience, I was deeply impressed by the NISI 15mmF4, which was a reliable companion for this trip, accompanying me to appreciate the richness of China's scenery and capture the only moment. Not only has it become a part of my memory, but I will continue to accompany me on my future journey as a photography partner to experience the wonders of nature together.
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A core member of the Seeker Light Chaser.
Starlink CSVA Photographer.
Mipai contracted photographer.
Contracted photographer of Visual China.
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