In a world where technology is continuously supplanting outdated goods and services with more modern innovations, Atlanta photographer David Akoubian has recently turned his focus on a few of the remnants of yesteryear. “I’m working on a project called ‘Urban Explorations,’ in which I go out and discover old, abandoned houses, factories, and even cars to photograph,” he explains. “It amazes me seeing the quality of these buildings and automobiles and how they’ve lasted over the years. Some of them can stand for 80 years without any sign of real wear and tear.”

Akoubian has been using the new Tamron 18-270mm VC PZD lens (model B008) to maximize his attempts to document these antiquated artifacts. He’s been impressed with the versatility and image quality that accompany the 18-270’s compact package. “The 18-270 works for me as a do-it-all lens,” he says. “A point-and-shoot is often more convenient when you’re out on the road, as I often am for this project. But you don’t get the same quality as you do with a DSLR. The 18-270 is so small and light that you get professional quality and the convenience of a more compact unit.”

Akoubian notes that, in addition to its noticeably lighter weight, the new 18-270 also boasts a faster, quieter autofocus. “It’s so quick and quiet that you don’t even realize it’s doing ‘its thing,’” he says. “I do a lot of manual focus, but I also often rely on the camera — between the 18-270’s autofocusing abilities and its Vibration Compensation (VC) technology, I’m impressed with the quality I get.”

The light weight and blur-eliminating capability of the 18-270 can be partly attributed to the enhanced, three-coil VC system that replaces the older moving-magnet mechanism: Instead of heavy magnets situated near the moving VC lens elements, the VC elements are attached to lightweight moving coils that reduce the total load on the drive. The rapid-fire autofocus Akoubian touts is thanks to Tamron’s new PZD (Piezo Drive) technology, which uses high-frequency voltage to extend and turn the entire piezoelectric lens element in a “standing wave” movement. The result: silent, high-speed autofocus in a compact unit.

The versatility of the 15X zoom lens has proved invaluable to Akoubian during his expeditions to junkyards and dilapidated institutions of industry. One venue he’s been spending a lot of time at in particular is an old car yard nearby, where he and his photography students bear witness to the elaborate hood ornaments and horsecollar grilles of rusted-out Edsels, Model T’s, and Oldsmobiles. “They’ve got thousands of cars up here dating back to the early 1900s, all rotting away,” he says. “We don’t know what they’re planning on doing with these cars, but for now, a lot of groups go up there to photograph. You see people using a wide-angle lens to capture the interiors of the cars, then a telephoto lens to get some of the details from further away, then a macro lens to get that close focus. That’s why the 18-270 PZD lens is absolutely perfect for this type of situation — I can do all of that with just one lens. The lens helps cut down on my gear for another important reason: I have to be careful when I’m on the grounds so we don’t destroy the environment. There are ant hills all over the place, for example — I don’t want to be dragging a lot of equipment all around.”

Akoubian taps into the VC feature of the 18-270 in the car yard and is “blown away” by the sharpness of his resulting images. “There are many instances where I need to shoot the interiors of the cars — I can’t put a tripod in there,” he explains. “The Vibration Compensation is great and helps me get really sharp detail shots of the insides of the cars. The majority of my car pictures are done with the VC on. You can get that clarity without having to use a tripod and don’t sacrifice quality.”

Passing by an old B.F. Goodrich plant presented another “urban exploration” photographic opportunity for Akoubian. “I was on my way to give a lecture and drove by this factory that was built in the 1920s,” he says. “They’re in the process of starting to demolish it, however, so it’s not going to be around for long.” The versatility of the lens allowed Akoubian to show the remaining edifices on the premises from a variety of perspectives without having to change lenses. “There were so many interesting things to shoot there,” he says. “I liked for one shot, for example, how I was able to show the dilapidated water tower in the background and the bricks and debris in the foreground. It really gives a sense of feel for the atmosphere there.”

Here again, Akoubian was thankful for the 18-270’s VC capabilities. “I do a lot of HDR photography, so I’m really big on using tripods,” he says. “With this factory shoot, however, I didn’t have much time to get my shots. I just happened to be driving by and, as I was trying to get in, I ran into these workers who told me I had five minutes to take pictures. I ran in there, found a good spot to set up, and started shooting — I didn’t have time to bring and set up a tripod. Because of the HDR I was planning on doing and my handholding of the camera, I was really worried about the movement. But this lens with the Vibration Compensation actually makes HDR without a tripod possible.”

Akoubian makes his aperture selection based on the subject in front of his lens and the conditions he’s shooting in. “When photographing details in cars, I prefer cloudy days, but with the buildings, I like a little ‘drama’ in the skies, with clouds mixed with blue,” he says. “I tend to shoot the hood ornaments at a wider aperture, typically f/5.6 or f/6.3. With the buildings and cars, when I’m doing HDR, I tend to shoot at f/8 to get slightly higher shutter speeds. And when I’m photographing a wider shot of the cars or the buildings, I use apertures of f/11 or f/16.”

For more of David Akoubian’s work, go to www.bearwoodsphoto.com.