Through a Photographer’s Fisheye Lens: Eye-to-Eye with King Triton’s Carousel of the Sea at Disney California Adventure park

I have to admit I was looking forward to photographing the hand-carved marine creatures on King Triton’s Carousel with a 15mm fisheye lens. It just seemed like it would be great fun! I had photographed this colorful and beautiful carousel before with different lenses so I knew finding a subject was not going to be difficult. There are more than 50 whimsical depictions of marine life on the carousel that can be found along the California coastline. By using the fisheye lens and focusing up close, I was able to fill the photo with the subject and still see a lot of the carousel in the background. This made them appear even more playful than they normally look.

Here’s a fun bit of trivia : The term fisheye was coined in 1906 by American physicist and inventor Robert W. Woods. He based the term on how a fish would see an ultra-wide hemispherical view from beneath the water.