An ultra-wide angle lens wouldn't normally be my choice of optic for photographing a pretty young woman. However, when she is performing in a stunning space which lends itself to the ultra-wide perspective, it's hard to resist the temptation.
I've waxed lyrical about the Block Arcade before.The central domed atrium is a great place to shoot and, in my book at least, the wider the better. Camille Hermans was performing there on a Saturday afternoon when I was on a walk with some visiting photographers from Echuca. She has a wonderful voice and great presence, and immediately drew our attention. Despite the distorted perspective offered by an ultra-wide lens when it is tilted away from the horizontal, I fired away. It's not necessarily the most flattering perspective for Camille, but it gives a great sense of the space she was performing in.
If you're reading this Camille, I promise to use a more flattering lens if I ever have the chance to photograph you again.
Tech Talk
I really can't praise the Zuiko Digital 7-14mm f4 enough.With a 14-28mm equivalent field of view, it has a focal length shorter than many fisheyes. Despite this, it offers a rectilinear perspective -straight lines stay straight. You get the usual wide angle stretching in the corners, and some edge chromatic aberration on high contrast transitions, but it's wonderfully sharp and well corrected for distortion. The downside is it's big and heavy with a bulging front element, and can flare in direct sunlight, but I wouldn't trade it for anything - except perhaps the equivalent Micro Four-Thirds lens id I ever switch to that format.
Olympus E-5, Zuiko Digital 7-14mm f4 .