Not that there's anything wrong with Yellowstone—it's just that sometimes a photographer has to find another way of picturing it. 

Not long ago, Tom Bol, who shoots landscapes, wildlife and lifestyle adventure, began thinking about a new angle on the park's natural wonders. "I've been there a lot," Tom says, "and while I'm not tired of it by any means, I was looking for a new creative way to approach it."

His idea: the new perspective control lenses Nikon had introduced, lenses with tilt/shift capability that would allow him to keep the straight lines of architectural subjects straight, maximize depth of field in landscapes and—here comes the Yellowstone connection—employ selective image blur. 

And so, armed with the PC-E NIKKOR 45mm f/2.8D ED, he went forth, not only to Yellowstone, but to the Galapagos Islands, the Denver Zoo, a ghost town in Nevada and a couple of locations in his home state of Colorado.

The technique is direct and easy: the lens is a normal 45mm in everyday use, but when a subject that Tom feels is suitable for selective blur presents itself, it's a simple matter to achieve sharp focus on that subject, then tilt the lens forward or back, or by rotating the lens, left or right, to introduce an area of blur to the image. 

"I'll set up—most of the time the camera's on a tripod—and look through the viewfinder, decide on the focus I want, put the subject left or right, bottom or top in the frame, then turn the adjustment knobs." And how he combines f/stop and the degree of lens swing will determine the amount of blur. "The degree of sharpness and blur I choose is based on what I think is the right feel for the subject."

Of course, PC lenses are manual focus only, but focusing the 45mm NIKKOR is a swift and sure affair. "That lens has the silkiest focusing of any lens I've ever used," Tom says.

Generally, introducing an area of blur to an image serves to direct the viewer's attention to the specific area the photographer deems most important, but Tom's use of selective focus often serves another purpose. "For me, the soft areas of the frame add a sense of mystery and intrigue," he says. "That sense fits in very well with the Galapagos and all the fascinating and strange wildlife there. The 45mm PC lens was a benefit to my concept of the images I took there." It also worked well for images of the thermals of Yellowstone, a ghost town in Nevada, wildlife at the Denver Zoo and some outdoor adventuring in Colorado. 

The PC-E Micro NIKKOR 45mm f/2.8D ED now has a permanent place in Tom's camera bag, and it will soon be called on for even more work. When we spoke to Tom, a just-purchased D3S was on its way to him. "I can't wait to check out the 45mm on a camera capable of HD video," he says. "I'm already imagining the possibilities."

Visit Tom's website for a look at a variety of his landscape, outdoor and adventure images.  

Next Steps
Find out more about Nikon's trio of PC Nikkors—the PC-E NIKKOR 24mm f/3.5D ED, PC-E NIKKOR 45mm f/2.8D ED and PC-E-Micro-NIKKOR-85mm-f/2.8D.

For a fascinating look at how nature photographer Rod Planck uses his PC NIKKOR to create images, read his article The Intimate Landscape.