Depth of Field

Poppy Pods
Originally uploaded by argusmaniac.

One of the harder things to teach new photographers is depth of field (DOF) and out of focus (OOF) considerations when making a photograph. DOF is controlled largely by the aperture, however, the exposure characteristics must be taken into account. Good DOF depends on a small aperture, hence a slower shutter speed. The focal length of the lens determines how much of the background will be in focus. Obviously, if you want foreground and background to be in focus, you go for a wide-angle lens. If you want a great OOF background, then opt for a telephoto. In this case, I used my Tamron 80-200mm zoom with a 2x diopter to get these poppy seed capsules close-up, yet rendering the background soft and OOF. Aperture was probably f16. I used a tripod and a lens shade, too. Image was made on Fuji Astia.

What we see

If you want to try a fun exercise (not the calorie-burning kind) -- take one room in your house, one camera, one lens, and ask yourself what do you see that's interesting and can shoot in 15 minutes? Look at things close-up, down low, whatever. The point is for you to try and see things that you never noticed before. See things. Feel them in your brain. Look through the viewfinder and don't have a specific object in mind. You might just surprise yourself.

A bit of a clock, photographed with my Minolta S-1 APS and 50mm macro (yes, that's correct, an APS camera!)

My wife's keys for her workplace

You'll be amazed at how different things look when you really do look at them.

Wonderful Morning

pinefrost
Originally uploaded by argusmaniac.

On Wednesday (Feb. 2), we had ideal condditions for the formation of thick hoarfrost. Ice fog which quickly coalesced onto anything that was cold. I took the bus into work as usual, hopped off at my usual stop, and spent 30 minutes shooting things with my Fuji FinePix S7000. Anything that was stationary and cold, became an anchor point for a multitude of ice crystals. This pine could be anywhere - Yosemite, Yellowstone, Isle Royale, or just somewhere in the middle of nowhere. But it wasn't - it was right in front of the UM Museum of Zoology, where I work. It just goes to show you that nature's beauty can surprise you, even right outside your door.

snow shadows

snow shadows
Originally uploaded by argusmaniac.

Winter is not my favorite time of year for photography -- when its cold, my glasses fog up while trying to compose in the viewfinder, the cold air sucks the life out of batteries, and everything becomes more difficult. Snow gets frozen in the tripod sections, and of course, in a sunny day, the white snow presents its own challenges.

Having said that, I finally took out my Fuji Finepix S7000 on Sunday, as well as my Nikon FM and my Ricoh Six - a folding 6 x 4.5 camera. It was cold and the snow was certainly pretty, and gave me a good workout trudging through it for a couple of hours.

This photo, taken with the digi, is perhaps my favorite of the day. The long, deeper shadows from the trees contrasts with the tiny, thin shadows cast by the twigs poking out of the snow, and the sun's low position gives the scene a nice dimensionality. I took the same shot with the Nikon FM on Ilford FP4+. Can't wait to see how those print...

of summers past

pinkslippers
Originally uploaded by argusmaniac.

It's only mid-January, and the weather has been cold the past few days. What better way to warm up than rekindle memories of summer photo shoots by scanning in some slides? Iwas looking for this specific image for a friend, and at first I was skeptical that it was any good. After I scanned it and tweaked it a bit in PS, I am much more pleased with it. It was not ideal conditions for shooting a flower with delicate pink shades, and the Pink ladies' Slipper has pink shades allright. I was on a dragonfly trip, so this was purely a serendipitous find, and I did not have all my gear. Nonetheless, it's okay. Not great, but okay. And it reminds me of a wonderful day with a bunch of fellow dragonfly enthusiasts as we traipsed about the Rifle River State Rec. Area in Ogemaw Co., MI, in July, 2002.