As I’ve said, I always look for ways to improve my photography and understand how cameras work. I’ve been taking classes in the winter and learning a lot. One of my teachers said it was time I explored the world of the ultra-wide lens, a new generation of lenses that helps my camera to take pictures that go wide and that include more than I’m used to.

I’m constantly bugging him for new things to try; he suggested an ultra-wide art lens.

He recommended a plastic attachment – an “ultra-wide” lens. Some of them cost a lot of money, but the one he recommended was surprisingly light and inexpensive, especially compared to the cost of Leica glass. Leica lenses are heavy, and Leica glass is impressive.

The small lens arrived today, and I took it outside on a cloudy/sunny afternoon to try it out. I’ve been asked not to name the lens; it is still being tested. My teacher works with the company that makes it. The idea is that this could be a revolutionary ultra-wide lens that is small, light, and very inexpensive.

The first photo was of one of our bathrooms, which gets beautiful afternoon light. For the first time, the shot was wide enough to capture the curtains, the bathtub, and the light on the floor. None of my other lenses could do that all at once. So I knew that ultra-wide meant wider, but I’ll have to do a lot more experimenting to determine just how wide and how useful.

This is the last flower from my garden bed that died last night in the freeze, the last living flower of the season. I used the ultra-wide lens to see if it would pick up the color, and it did. It also worked well up close; I was four or five inches away.

The ultra-wide lens I was drooling over online – a 1o-18 lens cost hundreds and thousands of dollars, but this will cost much less. I got it on trial, so I can return it within 60 days. I have to fill out a form explaining how I used it and how I like it (that could get me a rebate). I like it already.

This is wider than my current wide-angle lens.

Zip has driven our chickens out of the yard and into the barn and pasture; they seem happy and like the marsh. I like how this lens captured the three and the feel of the barn.

I felt the value of the ultra-wide with this photo; the shot captured the big sky, the hills and mountains, and all of the animals in front of me while I stood close. I’ll try more things – especially with brighter light – over the next few days. But this could be a good and valuable step forward for me. I love the Leica camera, but not the price of the Leica lenses.