Joshua Tree National Forest is simply beautiful but not easy to photograph landscapes. It's pretty flat for the most part. The mid day sun creates shadows making it impossible to shoot. With the short window of good light, you really only get one spot so you better choose it well. That means waiting for the right light and I really don't have much patience that, that's why I shoot in HDR. I'm very happy with this Bower 8mm fisheye lens. The clerk at the camera store told me not to buy it, the Nikon is only $300 more, it's much better quality and it's has Auto Focus. I say bull....this lens is super clean...not one chromatic aberration, at f5.6 the edges are a little soft but not at f8. As for manual vs. auto focus. I leave it at infinity and everything up to 6 inches is in focus...no need for focusing. Seriously, the best $300 camera purchase I've made. For another example click HERE