G'day Russell,
The main thing I'd recommend is enjoy your trip, and as an owner with the K-1 and the 15-30 I reckon once you get the hang of the wide FoV it should allow you to start seeing the big picture images that such a lens can capture.
I have some K-1 and 15-30 images on Flickr and the forum, as well as many more captured with the 10-20 and the 15/4 LTD. For the K-1 I also have a Zeiss 21/2.8 that competes for attention with the 15-30 but the principles I use for all of these lenses are the same, so I'd like to add my 2c worth if I may. The advice provided already covers the main points so hopefully anything I include will add to those.
I'm glad to see you're taking long lenses on your trip. I'm a big fan of telephoto landscapes, and there's a thread on this style here:
Post your Telephoto Landscapes! - PentaxForums.com The look of these landscapes is completely different to those captured with the 15-30, and it might be interesting to find some telephoto landscapes you like and compare them with some landscapes captured with the 15-30 that you like from here:
HD Pentax D FA 1:2.8 15-30mm ED SDM WR lens club! - PentaxForums.com
The strong images other than being well exposed are likely using strong compositional elements based around the rule of thirds or have some other element to draw you in. For me telephoto landscapes are best at distance compression to create something special. They enable you to see a particular element within the landscape and highlight it. And I mention this as I regularly see something when I've got a wide angle on and decide to swap that and get right into something in particular.
The 15-30 on the other hand is going to reach out to everything in view and make it small whilst making the sky look massive, which can be really cool. It creates more of an explosion of scenery than a precision sniper shot of a part of the landscape. What you need is something to anchor the image, or draw people in as this will provide context for the backdrop of mountains, sky, ocean or whatever.
And that really wide view is the part that can be really exciting, especially when there's drama in the sky. With an UWA if the sky is full of drama your mission should be to find a subject to place in the scene to allow you to capture the sky. The horizon shouldn't be too high, but the important part is to allow your foreground subject be the anchor for the drama behind. This image was captured using the K5 and the Sigma 10-20 which provides an equivalent FoV.
The positioning of the horizon is a bit high, but hey, rules are for breaking if it means there's more balance in the image, and there was more symmetry with the horizon around the centre. I don't think I quite got it right but the sky and other parts of the scene are anchored by three elements being the sun, trees and the rock with the highlights. I wonder whether I should have been lower and closer to the rock, but if I was I may have lost some of the balance. I could be wrong, but what do you think?
So I don't think I got that image quite right but I was really fixated on the rock so I went with trying to create an image with more of an 'other-worldly' look. To do this I needed to get the lens as close to my foreground subject as possible to create the distorted look where the rock seems larger than it's surroundings. I did this as it reminded me of an asteroid, hence I came up with the alien planet concept. And that's one of the really cool things about UWA lenses, they have the ability to close focus allowing you to get close to a subject and also capture their surroundings like this.
This is the same rock BTW.
Each image has sky, landscape elements and something in the foreground. The balance of the sky and therefore placement of the horizon can be led by what's happening in the sky. If there's lots to capture on the ground then the sky is just a backdrop, however it can be a powerful element to exploit with an UWA.
Some final points on using an UWA:
- Look for the scenery and work out how much of the sky will be needed.
- Look for a strong foreground element and decide whether it will just be an anchor for the broader vista or be the primary element of your scene.
- Look for leading lines like roads, fences, rivers or a line of hills as these can be strong compositional tools to lead a person into the image.
- Look for variable light. Crepuscular rays, shafts of light through cloud or spotting of the landscaped through gaps in clouds can present themselves when the sky is dull and cloudy.
- Get up early and be out when the sun goes down, face the sun but don't forget to look over your shoulder.
- Be patient, Mother Nature does what she does in her own sweet time.
Apologies for the novel.
Tas