THE TRUTH ABOUT DEPTH OF FIELD--SIZE DOES MATTER, PART II

Most of us have heard the stand-by idiom regarding f/stops and depth-of-field (DOF): For more depth-of-field, use a larger number f/stop (e.g. f/16, f/22, etc). That is true, and I follow that idiom myself. I always tell my students that when you want a lot of depth-of-field and are not sure what f/stop to use, when in doubt, f/22. And that is also true. I would rather get more DOF than I need, than not enough.

However, did you know that it is not only the f/stop used that gives us more depth of field? Among other factors, the size of the opening, or diaphragm in our lenses also gives us more, or less, depth-of-field. For example, wide angle lenses, by design, have smaller openings, at any equivalent f/stop setting, than non wide angle lenses.

Let's look at a comparison. These two photographs were taken from the exact same spot (about 3 feet from the closest subject), same perspective, and with the same f/stop (f/11). The only difference was focal length. One photo was made at a 17mm focal length setting; the other at 70mm. Now, keep in mind, the comparison was only 17 vs. 70. As you will see, a variance of only 53 mm can make a big difference.    

F/11 @70mm. Note the blurred background

 f/11 @17mm. Note the depth-of-field coverage.
(I cropped the wide angle shot to show the difference)

So, what does this mean in actual in-the-field application? For me, I do use the old stand-by rule of thumb. However, if I am in a situation where I want a lot of depth of field AND a fast enough shutter speed to get what I want (assuming I'm shooting at 17mm), I might sacrifice a little f/stop (say f/16 or f/18 vs. f/22), in order to get a faster shutter speed, knowing that I am still going to get the depth-of-field I need. By doing so, I will also get a faster shutter speed on top of that, without having to increase my ISO. I can have my cake and eat it too!! Where does that saying come from anyway?   

SURREALISM THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY

In my upcoming book, RIGHT BRAIN PHOTOGRAPHY (Be an artist first), I spend a lot of time on my 5-point photo art model. One of those points is surrealism. Just last year I made a slide presentation to a camera club entitled "Impressionism & Surrealism Through Photography," which was a precursor to my book. After my presentation, one of the club members came up to me and commented about my surrealistic images."You know," she said, "I've seen a lot of similar scenes like you showed, but I just kept walking. I'm going to slow down next time." 

I studied the Surrealists during my three years as an art major at Texas Tech University. Ever since I first picked up a camera, I have been incorporating the concepts and characteristics of surrealism into my photography. Like Salvador Dalí, I make the common uncommon and can turn the sane insane.

Here is but one example of my surrealistic photo art. The artist, Chula Walker-Griffith, called it "Rain Forest of Gabon." Unfortunately, that rain forest, and the restroom, no longer exist.    I call my interpretation, "It's A Jungle In There." I had to work fast with my tripod and 17mm lens, before people got suspicious and started knocking on the door.

So, go out there and try your hand at surrealistic photography. Look for unexpected juxtaposition of themes, people, animals, objects, and other stuff--you define "stuff."   

While you're exploring, visit me at www.elivega.net and on my Facebook.

ART FROM ART

I rarely photograph other people's art, unless I can create my own art from it. Such was the case when I attended this year's annual Breckenridge (Colorado) International Snow Sculpture competition. Even though I photographed several of the 12-ft sculptures, my favorite images were those where I "tightened up," or closed in tight to only a small portion of the large and ornate sculptures.

One particular sculpture got my attention: the Wisconsin team's sculpture titled "Wander," a story in a sculpture of the pilgrimage of the Monarch butterfly--did you know those little critters migrate between southern Canada and Mexico? It was a relatively warm sunny day in Breckenridge--something the artists don't like because their art begins to melt. Their disappointment served as fodder for my art. I tell my students that there's always a picture within a picture. After I photographed the detailed sculpture, I started scanning several parts of it, which led me to the swan-like shape on the upper left part of the sculpture. As I carefully inspected that piece, I noticed that the warming temperatures were creating a slow drip from the beak. I instinctively knew that was my shot.

After I got my composition, my next challenge was to catch a drop of melting cold water in mid air. I studied it first and mentally timed how long one single drop took to separate from the melting beak. In doing so I could also tell that when it did actually fall, it went very fast. So I knew I had to use a very fast shutter speed. I already had my ISO set 200, which is where I normally keep it. I chose f/8 because I didn't have much depth of field to play with. That combination gave me a shutter speed of 1/1600--more than fast enough to "freeze" those little drops in mid air. It took me eight tries to get what I wanted. 

Below is the entire sculpture. For a sense of scale, note the person to the left of the sculpture. As you can see, what I saw can be easily overlooked. That's why I like to slowly scan to see what else I can extract from the scene before me. This is part of my "I.S.E.E SOMETHING" model, which I discuss in my 3-day workshops in Rocky Mountain National Park, and which I will introduce in my upcoming book, RIGHT BRAIN PHOTOGRAPHY (Be an artist first). 

So, go out and see what you can extract from the big picture! Have fun.                                                                  

                                                                  www.elivega.net

         

DON'T BE SO SERIOUS--HAVE FUN WITH YOUR WINTER PHOTOGRAPHY!

Do I like snow on the mountains, iced-over lakes, colorful wildlife against white snow, and skiers on the mountains? You bet. However, don't limit yourself to the tried and true. Have fun with your winter shots, as in this image of dogs having fun in the snow. It might appear like a simple shot, but there are several ingredients that go into creating this type of fun photography.

Let me show you the image first, then I will explain what list I went through to maximize my chances of getting it "correct." Notice I put "correct" in quotation marks. As I have mentioned in earlier posts, there is no such thing as "correct." What I look for is what looks right  to me.

On this day, I had already photographed the snow sculptures during this year's annual International Snow Sculpture Competition held in Breckenridge, Colorado. I knew of this dog park in town and decided to check it out. Intuition, if you have it, can really come in handy in the field of photography. I wasn't disappointed. There were a lot of owners letting their dogs run free in the park. I saw dogs chasing, and catching, frisbees; some were chasing after colorful balls. It was just fun to watch. Here's that cute image of dogs playing in the snow. 

 Now, for the think-through list. First, the technical left brain stuff. Snow can fool the built-in light meter in the camera. I took a few test shots at different spots in the dog park, and made adjustments, using the exposure compensation dial in the camera. I decided that a +1/3 exposure was going to work pretty good. I didn't want to over-expose too much because I would lose the feel and texture of snow and end up with a lot of white in the photo. I knew I needed good depth of field (I couldn't predict where or how the dogs were going to be when I got my shots), yet fast shutter speeds because I had moving targets to photograph. So, shooting in aperture priority, I decided f/10 would get me enough depth-of-field regardless of where I got my shots, then decided on ISO 500 so I could have my cake and eat it too---get enough depth-of-field, yet get a fast shutter speed too! This image was at f/10 and a 1/2000th shutter speed. White Balance was on "daylight."

Now, for the none technical stuff. For these kind of shots you've got to be prepared. Have all the technical stuff set and ready to go, then watch the action for awhile to get a sense of what the challenges might be. Anticipation, speed (have your finger ready on the trigger), and continuous shooting (4-8 frames per second) are crucial. For this shot, I saw the guy throw the ball. I just followed the action, the dogs, and when they stopped all of a sudden, click-click-click!!! I was able to get the action of all three dogs, the frozen splatter of snow, and "freeze" the fast-moving dog on the right--the one with the green ball in his mouth. I got several good shots that day. This was one of my favorites because it gave me the essence of what the dogs were doing in the snow--having fun!

So, go out someday and, like these dogs, have some fun in the snow.....with your camera.

www.elivega.net

WHITE WINTER SCENES CAN KILL YOU
BUT, THERE IS A SOLUTION

I talked about this about four months ago, but it is worth repeating, especially since winter is upon us. 

All cameras have what's called a built-in light (or exposure) meter. The good news is that they usually do exactly what they are engineered to do. The bad news is that what they were engineered to do is often not what we want in our photographs. To keep it simple, if we photograph something dark or black, the meter will try to lighten it up as close as possible to gray. If we photograph something bright or white, it will try to darken it as close as possible to gray. That doesn't sound good, huh?

The good news is that there is a simple way to override your built-in meter. It's called the exposure compensation dial on your camera. Look for it in your camera manual. It will either show you something like -.3, -.6, -1 or +.3, +.6, +1, etc. On some cameras, you'll see a scale that looks like this: -3. . .-2. . .-1...0...+1. . .+2. . .+3, etc. What these numbers mean is that if you move your exposure compensation dial toward the minus side (from zero, or 0), your are underexposing your picture, or darkening it. If you move it toward the plus side (from zero, or 0), you are overexposing your picture, or lightening it. 

Now, here is where this really becomes meaningful and useful, especially this time of year. Let's say you are photographing a winter event where most of what you see in your viewfinder is snow! Well, snow is white; the built-in meter will give you gray, just what it was engineered to do. The solution is your exposure compensation dial. By just adjusting it to a +1-2 stops, you will negate that nasty meter. The meter cannot think; it does not know that you want that snow to look as it does to your eye--white. 

How much over-exposure you will need depends on how much whiteness or brightness there is in the scene. Look at these two images. Since the scene was not 100% covered with white snow, an adjustment of just +1 stop was needed to lighten the gray look. Notice the added detail on the horses when given just a 1-stop more exposure. 

Maybe this will help to further explain what happens when we overexpose. When I overexposed the first image by 1-stop, I didn't add more whiteness to white snow, I added more whiteness to an image which my built-in meter had rendered gray.   

                                        No adjustment to the built-in meter result

+1-stop overexposure (from gray)

So, when you are out shooting this winter, just take one shot at a +2/3, another at +1.3 and compare the two. Then, just make one more adjustment, depending on your results.

Happy winter shooting. Shoot me an e-mail if you have any questions.             

 

ROI And Photography

We've heard the term: Return On Investment, an economic term that has direct 
application to photography. The investment is in time, dedication, commitment, and 
tenacity. The return is in the quality of images we come home with. I look for places 
that have great potential for those images that are absolute "keepers." I will revisit 
certain places, either on a periodic or annual basis, depending on when I am most 
likely to get the highest ROI.

One of those places is Mapleton Avenue in Boulder, Colorado, in October. I have 
had such success there that I go back annually, like clock work. It's like going on an
Easter egg hunt. I look high and low until I find the right combination of compositions,
shapes, texture, and colors. My favorite timing is right after a snowfall. This is what 
I found this  past October.

I got several shots of leaves against snow, which I liked. But, it was this particular
grouping really got my attention. The combination of color, texture, melting snow, and
nature's arrangement was just too good to resist. My job was to create order out of 
chaos. There were so many of these leaves, covering a large area, most covered by
snow and ice. It took me a few minutes to carefully scan the area, ensuring that I did
not disturb the leaves. What I was looking for was the best composition that would 
give me the strongest impact, interest, and design. 

 

After getting several good images on the ground, I decided it was time to see what was above me as well. I saw this great combination of yellows, reds, and greens against the

blue sky. I liked the diagonal lines created by the thin branches, which I knew would 

come out dark (I know how that built-in meter works!). As luck would have it, I saw the

sun peaking behind some leaves. I knew instinctively that I just had to include a sun 

burst as part of my composition. I also knew that if I hid it behind some leaves, it would

not be overpowering. In order to get the sunburst, I chose a small aperture (f/22). I've

used this technique in similar situations with great success. Careful with your your exposures though--these situations can give you ugly, dark results because of the bright  light. You will need to overexpose as needed.   

So, next time you visit a place and go home with a collection of "keepers," revisit 

that area again. You might get a good return on your investment.

www.elivega.net

 

NOT EVERYTHING HAS TO BE "SHARP" IN PHOTOGRAPHY

Based on a lot of photography I see today, there seems to be an obsession with everything having to be absolutely, totally sharp. For a lot of images, doing just the opposite can produce some of the best, most intriguing images--especially when they're done intentionally. Here is but one example.

I was in the middle of a festive, colorful, and fun-filled Mexican celebration in Boulder, Colorado.There was a lot of dancing. This particular event was an Aztec dance. There was a lot of color and movement. I could have tried to freeze the action, in order to photograph the dancers. But, I decided to do just the opposite--to depict, not the dancers, but their dancing, and the movement of their dancing. 

You'll need a relatively slow shutter speed to get the blurred interpretation of any scene. 
The exact shutter speed depends on how fast the action or movements are, regardless of the subject. With my photo art, I don't ask, "What shutter speed should I use?" I ask, "What do I want this to look like?" In this case, I wanted it to be blurred, to reflect the movement of the event, not the event itself. My shutter speed for this image was around 1/60th of a second-- slow enough to give me that nice blur, but fast enough to give me some detail.

I call this piece, "Cara En Sueño," or "Face In A Dream."

So, go out and experiment photographing movement at different shutter speeds. 

For more samples of my photo art visit me at www.elivega.net