This is one of the images that I captured in Italy using the Nikon12-24mm DX lens. While I’m generally quite happy to shoot with the 24mmand 50mm primes, relying mostly on the 24mm. However I had been usingthe 24mm with my film Nikon (an N80) and I thought that I ought to beprepared with a true wide angle option. For the D80 the only realisticchoice is Nikon’s 12-24mm DX zoom, a digital only lense that provides anequivalent field of view to 18-36 on 35mm film. Since I had no filters for it, I really was limited to the early morningand late afternoon light. Â So at this point I see it as a special purpose lens, needed for the right situation since it’s so large and for now doesn’t correspond to how I see. The 24mm is faster and matches how I see the small views that I most often encounter.This was a site that I returned to several times during our stay. For some reason it has the feeling of a shrine, being elevated above theroad and being dominated by the central structure. As we were leaving Italy, I realized that photographing these smallpersonal gardens would be a worthwhile project. The use of foundmaterial fits with my photographic vision as does the small view thatthe garden creates. In Italy, and perhaps elsewhere, this way of lifeis becoming less common with the industrialization and globalization ofour food.
