Lots of dogs

red, in many forms

I couldn't resist this sign painted on the house.  I pulled over the side of the road, lights blinking, hoping no one would come whizzing by and clip me or my car.

Red Wheels & Shallow Depth of Field

I don't really get a chance to go out and take photos with purpose on my own without my kids.  I usually have to capture images as they happen within my own home.  Here is an example of my daughter playing with her dolls, but what really caught my eye was the carriage in the foreground.

The situation was so cluttered I decided to use a shallow depth of field to give the impression of her play without having too much in focus to muddle your sense of what the photo is about. I was already up against the wall and using my wide angle lens to get as much into the shot as I could.  I also chose to keep the carriage front and center, breaking the rule of thirds.  What do you think about the choices I made?  Should I have included more in focus?

And more red...

Rosy Red Cheeks

I couldn't resist...just for fun!

Depth of Field and I Spy Red Through the Skylight

 

Cardinals in the Last Snowstorm

Red In My Daily Life

Iron Patriot Playing Connect Four

Candyland

Playing With Aperture: Valentine's Day

I had to take a photo of my daughter, watching TV in her Valentine's Day getup.  I was using my 35mm lens  since it was early morning indoors and had my aperture set to f/2.2 to minimize the distractions in the background.

Then I tried the same shot from a different perspective.

I increased my aperture to f/3.2 because otherwise you couldn't tell distinguish my daughter's face at all.  I thought the hearts on the bottom of the shoes really said Valentine's Day, plus her costume was so funny for 8 in the morning!  I love playing with depth of field!

Sign In The Snow

This morning at the Quechee Club I was struck by the way the early morning light was reflecting off the snow and contrasting with the red of this sign and water dispenser.  The river is in the background and there was steam rising off of it.  I had to put my hand up to block the sun.

It was -3 degrees, so I didn't spend too much time taking the shot or checking my settings, so I am glad that I was able to get any shot at all!

RED

Even though the red wasn't in the center or even in focus, my eye was drawn to it.

Sun flare...

I was trying out the aperture setting this morning and was able to capture sun flares through a lovely handmade quilt.

No work today, only playing with the camera.

 This was the golden light coming through my window this morning. 

 Spring is coming!

 

Working on depth of field.

Sony World Photography Awards

These are some fascinating and gorgeous photos!  Take five minutes of your day and leave your favorite in a comment below.  My favorites were the wildebeest migration, Iceland river delta, and the Hindu temple.

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2014/02/the-2014-sony-world-photography-awards/100674/

Amazing!

February 4th Meeting Recap

We are so excited to welcome Faith to our group!  Hopefully we will continue the trend and our numbers will increase every month.  The more the merrier! 

Everyone did an awesome job posting to the blog these past few weeks.  Keep commenting and encouraging each other; that's what will help us all grow as photographers.  We had a great time going over everyone's winter photos and discussing APERTURE.  The explanation from 3 Boybarians was particularly helpful.  I suggest looking over both of the 31 Days to the Better Photo series found on her site.

Our assignment for next month is to be cognizant of our use of aperture as well as to photograph the color RED.  With Valentine's Day just around the corner, there should be plenty of opportunity for that!

We will meet for a photo walk on Tuesday, February 18th at 4 pm at Artistree, as long as Mother Nature cooperates!  Feel free to bring a friend!

Happy photographing!

What Is Aperture?

Aperture is the size of the opening in the lens when a photo is taken, which is measured in f-stops.

Source: engadgenet.com

According to Digital Photography School...

A large aperture allows a lot more light to fall onto the sensor, and when this happens you have the freedom of using a faster shutter speed. This is especially handy in situations of low light and fast movement, such as indoor sports or a water fall at the end of the day. That’s why larger apertures and fast action shots indoors need to go hand in hand. By widening your aperture you have a better chance of the movement being “frozen” in time and the camera won’t have time to think about camera shake. If done right, you’ll find good sharp images of freeze frame shots without any blur at all.

In your digital photography you should also know that also a large aperture can give you a crisp depth of field. It gives you the opportunity to have your background out of focus giving you clearer focus for the subject close up. (You should always use macro lenses for very, very short depth of field because you get more clarity and sharpness. You can get in closer too, without the subject blurring as it would have without the macro lens.) Portrait photography works well this way.

On the other hand, a small aperture in your digital photography gives you the opportunity to get a slower shutter speed because once light is reduced onto the sensor, the shutter speed will respond.

To illustrate how aperture affects depth of field:

I had to change my ISO from 500 to 2000 to maintain the correct exposure.  My shutter speed went from 1/3200 of a sec to 1/60.

What depth of field is your comfort zone?  What types of shots do you love to take?

Winter photos

Tara's Top Five Photos "Winter" Theme