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With the Tamron 28-300mm XR Di lens, Ken Pamatat is able to break free of the usual photographic limitations for stunning travel photography. |
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| AF28-300mm
F/3.5-6.3 XR Di by Jennifer Gidman Zumpano |
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Ken Pamatat has been shooting since 1968, everything from clients he met on the PGA Golf Tour to autoracing exhibitions. But when he had the opportunity to meet up in Spain last summer with his son and daughter (the family is spread around the globe and doesn’t get much of a chance to get together every year), Pamatat jumped at the chance to expand his travel photography portfolio. |
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He also jumped at the chance to bring along his digital camera and Tamron 28-300mm XR Di lens on this late June/early July expedition. “I really wanted to do a single-lens trip, and this was the lens to use,” he says. “I could go from a wide lens to a very good telephoto in a snap. It’s 28-300mm, but if you interpolate, it’s more like 43-420mm. Plus, it’s very light and portable, doesn’t take up a lot of space, and it’s easy to use. That’s important in the world of travel, because you’re trying to carry a lot of things. It’s not a luxury to travel light anymore.” |
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On the Plains of Spain… |
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Pamatat and family traversed the urban splendor of Barcelona and the outlying coastal areas on their European vacation. Immediately, the quality of the 28-300mm was made apparent. “I do pull many of my images through Photoshop for some touchup work,” he says. “But many of the images I took on this trip didn’t need to go through sharpening—they were so sharp just the way they were.” |
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A jaunt along the rocky coast of Tossa De Mar, a seaside town about 60 miles outside Barcelona, showed that the 28-300mm could live up to Pamatat’s wide-angle expectations. “This image along the Mediterranean proves this was the right lens,” he says. “I shot this at the full 28mm end. The rest was just composition: The 28mm enabled me to get a very beautiful view of the coastal area and of the beach town.” |
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The 28-300’s versatility also came into play in the more urban areas of Barcelona, where Pamatat was able to zoom in and out on the city’s buildings and verdant parks. Shooting architecture isn’t always the easiest endeavor, but the 28-300mm kept Pamatat’s images (literally) in line. “Part of my work back home is shooting multimillion-dollar homes, and I have to keep it square.” He shot the steps leading up to the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya one afternoon, trying to capture the magnificence of the edifice that houses some of the best Catalan art in Spain. “It’s almost like the Epcot of Barcelona,” he says. “I shot it around 50mm.” |
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The zoom came in handy for shooting La Pedrera (Casa Mila) as well. “This was built by Antoni Gaudi, a turn-of-the-century architect who built a number of buildings in Barcelona,” explains Pamatat. |
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From the old town streets of Morella to the tourist-packed Placa Reial, Pamatat put the 28-300 to the test. It was the city’s plethora of magnificent fountains, however, that allowed the roving photographer to really showcase the lens’s abilities. His most famous stop was the Font Magica (Magic Fountain) on the Hill of Montjuic, one of the highest points in the city. During the summer, the fountain, which was restores for the 1992 Olympic Games, is the center of a light, water, and music show that takes place every 15 minutes. “It was late in the day when I shot this, near sunset, so I bumped up the speed a little bit to be able to pick it up and get good depth-of-field,” says Pamatat. “Thousands of people go here every night, just to watch the fountain.” |
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Tip Box Spread It Out You may feel compelled to shoot just one style of photo, but don’t limit yourself while using the 28-300, says Pamatat. “The lens has a wide range—use it all! Don’t get hung up on telephoto: It’s a light lens, and you get a lot of value for your money. So use it and enjoy every aspect of it.” |
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