Depth o' Field

Using a flower, Victoria's Secret dog, The Simpsons figurines, and an African Elephant; the depth of field was experimented with using the flower (close-up) setting and automatic without flash. The End result was a good example of depth of field: first is with all in focus, then focused close with deep blurry, and deep in focus and close blurry!

Depth of Field

Depth of field is: the distance between the closest and furthest objects that appear in sharp focus in a photograph. Depth of field ("DOF") can be consiered perfect in many different ways, it all depends on what the photographer's aiming for . It is all a matter of personal preference when you're trying to determine the DOF to enhance a photograph! A few factors have a direct effect with the depth of field, they are: 1) the aperture, 2) the focal length of the lens you use, 3) the image size (has to do with distance). Just remember, the bigger the lens opening (aperture), the narrower depth of field. The smaller the aperture, the deeper the depth of field. The shorter the lens focal length, the deeper the "dof". And finally, the greater the shooting distance, the deeper the depth of field.

Lights! Camera! Action!

The first photograph is depicting a blurred action shot, purposely set with a slower shutter speed so the motion is shown. The next is of Jessica Hanstad running outside, she is in focus as she is moving because my camera followed her movement: Panning. Notice how she is in focus but the surrounding ground and background are blurred. Finally is an example of stopped action. The car appears to be still but could also be moving, just taken with a fast shutter speed? Can you tell if it's moving?

Homecoming

The Homecoming Week for October of 2007 at La Conner High School. Notice the first picture with an 80's themed poster in the background, the second picture is of a teacher, Mr. Compton, with his eyeball face mask. Also notice the 8th photo as an example of stopped action.

Action

In taking action photos there are different methods and reasons why a picture of someone running can turn out blurred or as a perfectly still image.

Panning: A technique where the camera is moved to follow a moving subject, keeping it in the same position as shown in the viewfinder
-Panning is a helpful technique for action and once perfected, the main subject will appear sharp against a blurred background

An example of panning: the Camera was moving next to and in sync with the subject (the camera was in a car going somewhat close to the same speed) which helped the overall image not just a blurry mess but a fairly well focused image of a truck.

Truck with motion blur achieved by panning with a camera with a slow shutter speed

A good example of panning:


I found this description of a good way to practice panning:

Rotate at the hips for a smoother scroll.
Don't set your shutter speed to long.
Start from around 1/15 to 1/40 shutter speed and experiment.
Make sure you only go in one direction. left to right.. up to down.. don't try to go left to right and up to down at the same time!

Blurred action:
A camera's purpose is to "capture" a moment in time. This isn't exactly possible when an image is moving. The shutter speed determines the actual "timeline" of moments captured into one outcoming image whether it's blurred or in focus.


Stopped Action: a form of animation that allows otherwise lifeless objects to move and change positions. Or also a photo of an action going on without the blurred imagery. A photo of a seemed actual moment in time!

Exposure

For an image to be captured on film it must be exposed to light.
A camera needs two things to control the amount of incoming light: The shutter and aperture. The shutter of a camera blocks out all the light from exposing the film until you press the button to take the picture with. It quickly opens and then closes which gives the film a quick flash of light. To control the length of time the shutter remains open, go to settings and change the shutter speed. The aperture is the opening, after light passes thorugh a cameras lens, that lets in more light when it's open and less when it's small. It is similar to the pupil in a human's eye. You can control the aperture by going to settings and changing the "Aperture Opening", also known as an F-stop. Film has some input in how a picture turns out too. Film reacts to light and the more light you "expose" it to, the brighter the image will be. You are able to buy all types of film for your camera, and they 'll all have a film speed. "Fast" films are more sensitive to light than "slow" films. It goes with the names!

The faster the shutter speed, the less light that is able to enter through the lens and aperture. The bigger number F-stop the smaller the aperture opens.

Info found at: http://www.photonhead.com/exposure/

My Photo Assignment October 8th, 2007

A flower in late summer, at the peak of its season, in a yard in Northwest Washington.

2 Photos

This photo is a good example of: bordering/framing.
A swingset in a small town in Oregon. The black and white effect also seems to dramaticize the whole atmosphere too!
The border/frame around the photo allows the viewer to focus on the swing set.

This photo is a good example of the rule: Simplicity
A grasshopper on the top of a blue Subaru Outback taken in the Summer of 2007. See how the sky is reflecting onto the car's surface. This rule works for this picture because there isn't much to at besides the grasshopper. There isn't anything to distract the viewer by!

This was the first photo I took after leaving Oregon City over the summer of 2007. It's of the Columbia Falls and was a rainy cold day. It's a beautiful waterfall and I enjoyed taking pictures of it!