Week 4
All about focussing and depth of field. Boy have I encountered problems with focussing. I could manage lighting, and composition but the photos were all blurry...almost all of them. I was taking twenty shots for every in focus one.
I had friends and their children round one day and took oodles of photos. Barely any of them were in focus but my friend kindly observed that they were 'beautifully lit and composed' (I knew I liked her for a reason!). It wasn't as though I was using long exposure times either...even at 1/250 and 1/400 I couldn't guarantee being in focus.
First I thought it was me. I had a colleague test my eyes just in case. I changed my contact lenses and still everything was blurry. I thought it might be the camera but my husband could manage clear shots on the same settings so the camera was fine. It was only when my Rheumatology appointment card landed on the doormat that the light dawned. My arthritic wrists and arms simply can't hold a camera still enough even under conditions other photographers have no trouble with.
I dragged out my tripod and tried again...BINGO...perfect focus. But my tripod is a huge and hefty beast and not easy for a gal with dodgy joints to lug around...much less manipulate, so the search was on for a lightweight 'handbag-sized' and foolproof model for everyday use.
I asked around in Dartmouth and a couple of people recommended the London Camera Exchange in Paignton. Two very helpful chaps sorted me out with a Manfrotto tripod which retails under the National Geographic name. It's lightweight but robust; clips and unclips easily; has a quick release button for the camera and while not being completely handbag sized is certainly no trouble to carry around...it does fit into a large tote bag. It is also completely Debbie-proof...so far. I'm thrilled with it and it has transformed my photography. I use it all the time.
Something else I'm thrilled with is a book by Bryan Peterson called 'Creative Exposure'. Mr. Peterson writes in an accessible and entertaining way about all aspects of exposure which is at the heart of good, creative photography. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. I've learned loads and it supplements the course info very well. He explains how he took each shot: what settings etc and better still, explains why he made those choices. I couldn't put it down, nor could I wait to try his techniques. Buy it, you will not be disappointed.
I was particularly fascinated by his section on 'story-telling photos'. In essence, a story has a beginning, middle and end and a story-telling photo has a beginning (foreground), a middle (mid ground) and an end (far horizon). The essence of a good story-telling shot is that it should be in focus from about two feet in front of you to the far horizon. He uses a wide angle lens for his story-telling shots but I don't have this (though Santa has been informed that I've been a very good girl this year) so I've done my best to replicate the idea using my SIGMA 17-70mm set as wide as it will go.
The assignment reads:
Capture and share five images demonstrating your ability to control depth of field to achieve desired photographic effects.
The important point is that you should have a go at testing the theory and practise controlling depth of field as appropriate in your own images. You may wish to try some of these ideas:
- Close-up macro shots showing extremely narrow depths of field to pleasing effect.
- Portrait or still-life shots with very narrow depths of field (it is fashionable in portrait photography to have, say, just the eyes in focus and the hair out of focus. This requires a large aperture.
- Landscape shots where you have maximised depth of field.
- Sports action or wildlife shots with a narrow depth of field on the subject to give a pleasing composition.
- Replicating some of the images in the interactive camera.
So I opted to try some story telling shots...using maximum depth of field and some macro shots with a very narrow depth of field.
Having looked around on open studio I now have some more ideas for demonstrating narrow depth of field. I'll try them out over the next few days and post them here.
Breezy Brixham
This was my first attempt at a story telling shot. It's reasonably successful but the horizon could be lower (or higher) and the horizon could be better focussed, though it was windy and the boats were bobbing around like mad!
Across the Dart at Twilight
This is only partially successful though I do like it. The foreground dinghies really need to be closer to add to the depth of field effect. I do rather like the fact that the background boats are still while the foreground one is rocking like crazy due to the fact that about twenty seagulls are jostling for position!
Choc Box Boats
Possibly a cliche and it wouldn't look out of place on a box of Devon fudge but this is the most successful of my story telling shots because the three dinghies are very close and there is a good depth of field. The rich hues of the foreground boats against the more muted background also help to add to the the sense of perspective.
Stranded Sea Snail
He's a sweet chap and quite large (about 4 inches across). He was washed up on Blackpool Sands (bit of a misnomer as it's neither in Blackpool nor sandy!). I immediately pressganged him into a modelling career and exploited him mercilessly though to be fair he was very obliging. We did remove him to the safety of a rockpool afterwards.
Seed Head
I had this idea that I'd like to main part of the seedhead to be in focus but that I'd prefer the edges to be softer. Needless to say, once I had decided this I had pin sharp image after pin sharp image...why can't I do this when I need to! Eventually I managed to achieve what I'd set out to do and I'm pretty pleased with the result.
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