This is an example of perspective distortion. it basically means that when u use a wide lens, objects close to the camera appears very near, and objects further from the lens appears really far away.
when u use a zoom lens, the perspection is "compressed" the far away things appear to be really near.
have a look at the photos for clarification:
clock taken at wide angle (35mm)
clock taken at telephoto (280mm)
as u can see the clock is the same clock and it's about the same "size" in the frame. however the background is totally different. at the wide setting, u can see many buildings in the background suggesting that they are very far away. at the tele setting, u can only see a few windows of one building, suggesting that the building is really close to the lens.
my cigarettes taken at wide angle (35mm)
my cigarettes taken at telephoto (280mm)
this is another practical application of perspective distortion. the marlboro word is basically the same size, except in the wide setting the box seems to be really "long" and the "slant" of the box is really obvious. in the tele setting it seems the box is really short and fat (just like kopiosatu, on a good day). this "phenomenon" explains why buildings often seem to "disappear" into the sky when taken at wide angles from ground up, esp if the building is really tall and narrow.
hope u all find this article informative...
a good question is to ask is wat do our EYES see at? at wat focal length..?
the answer that's generally accepted as the focal length that our eyes see at is around 50mm. that is why a 50mm prime lens is called a "normal" lens... becos that's the "normal" perspective as we see objects.