Photo Board Monthly Assigment, March, 2010: Show us how you did that!

[Pea-n-Me]

Coming up with these monthly assignments is more challenging than I thought. :faint: (If you ever have any ideas, please PM me!)

I think we'll try something different this month for a change. I hope we'll have lots of PARTICPATION!!

This month's assignment was inspired by this post. (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2410327&referrerid=70088) Thank you, EeyoreEma. :)

Show a principle of photography. It can be anything, nothing will be too simple - but you must explain the principle behind it. Be creative!

Then others will post examples of how they tried this same thing.

[Pea-n-Me]

I'll start.

Is there any way you can blur what is in the foreground and keep what's in the back in sharp focus? Of course, I could "cheat" and just move around things around some so the statue I'm trying to get blurry is behind the flowers, but it just seems like it would be neat to have the statue blurry in the front.

You can do this by changing the focus point of whatever you're shooting. What does that mean? Well you can either change the focus point itself on your camera (if it can do that) for example, to the right, left, or middle, up, down, etc, or, you can move the camera itself a bit to change your focus.

Here's an example taken from essentially the same spot:

Focus in background
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y69/paulandlinda/P3261125.jpg

Focus in foreground
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y69/paulandlinda/P3261127.jpg

When I took these photos I was practicing the concept, and didn't know about changing focus points on the camera itself then, so I moved the camera a little bit in order to place the focus point where I wanted it.

This comes in handy for everyday photography!

[fan1080]

I enjoy shooting through objects in the foreground, have done it alot in the past, not so much lately.

Focus point here is pretty obvious, The Haunted Mansion.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b334/fan1080/DSC_0817-1.jpg

[emmabelle]

I'll start.



You can do this by changing the focus point of whatever you're shooting. What does that mean? Well you can either change the focus point itself on your camera (if it can do that) for example, to the right, left, or middle, up, down, etc, or, you can move the camera itself a bit to change your focus.

Here's an example taken from essentially the same spot:

When I took these photos I was practicing the concept, and didn't know about changing focus points on the camera itself then, so I moved the camera a little bit in order to place the focus point where I wanted it.

This comes in handy for everyday photography!



I'm just curious where around Boston were these taken? :)

[Pea-n-Me]

I'm just curious where around Boston were these taken? :)
I'll give you a hint. A historic event took place there last fall. Any guesses?

[spinetnglr]

Another great topic for the assignment of the month!!! I hope there is lots of participation. Could be a good thread for lots of inspiration.

[emmabelle]

I'll give you a hint. A historic event took place there last fall. Any guesses?

I'm going to guess something that could be stupid. The Statehouse? :confused::)

[mkel34]

Guessing it involves a police officer and a college professor.

[emmabelle]

Guessing it involves a police officer and a college professor.

Are you thinking Harvard? That's what I was thinking at first, but then I couldn't think of something historic happening there? :confused: My son goes to Harvard, he's coming home for the weekend, so I'm going to have to see the prospective of the Prudential from there.

[SrisonS]

My camera has multiple focus points; and I can have them all on (and the camera decides where the focus should be), or just have one on (and I decide). I find it much easier to keep the camera set at the center dot. Then when I go to take a shot, I lock the focus on a particular subject (shutter halfway down), then recompose the shot and press the shutter the rest of the way down (be sure not to change your zoom or anything though.... just slightly move the camera up, down, left, or right).

Without recomposing this, the focus would've mainly been on the lake.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2790/4391761751_b3d1ec73e3.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/11654579@N07/4391761751/)

[Pea-n-Me]

I'm going to guess something that could be stupid. The Statehouse? :confused::)

It was taken in front of the courtyard of the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in the Mission Hill section of Boston.

Senator Edward Kennedy's funeral was held there last year.

In the third picture down, you can see the fence.

http://www.cardinalseansblog.org/2009/09/02/on-senator-kennedys-funeral/

Here, in picture 35, you can see the whole church. The Pru is to the left in the picture (can't see it).

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/08/senator_ted_kennedy_19322009.html

[emmabelle]

It was taken in front of the courtyard of the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in the Mission Hill section of Boston.

Senator Edward Kennedy's funeral was held there last year.

In the third picture down, you can see the fence.

http://www.cardinalseansblog.org/2009/09/02/on-senator-kennedys-funeral/

Here, in picture 35, you can see the whole church. The Pru is to the left in the picture (can't see it).

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/08/senator_ted_kennedy_19322009.html


Ohhhh...my son and I were trying to figure it out when we were looking at the picture. I wouldn't have even thought of that. ;)

[ThurlFan]

Took this with my Canon XSi and 18-55mm kit lens. One day in January it was very cold out, and we were getting large intricate snowflakes. Some of them landed flat against the window and didn't melt. I set the lens to manual focus, adjusted till the snowflake was sharp (and in front of the deck rail so you could actually see it), and took the picture using P mode (1/160, f/8. ISO 100). This is a crop showing about 10% of the original image.

http://i883.photobucket.com/albums/ac34/thurlfan/snowflake.jpg

[Mckymousefn]

Took this with my Canon XSi and 18-55mm kit lens. One day in January it was very cold out, and we were getting large intricate snowflakes. Some of them landed flat against the window and didn't melt. I set the lens to manual focus, adjusted till the snowflake was sharp (and in front of the deck rail so you could actually see it), and took the picture using P mode (1/160, f/8. ISO 100). This is a crop showing about 10% of the original image.

http://i883.photobucket.com/albums/ac34/thurlfan/snowflake.jpg

Very cool! Nice job

[Pea-n-Me]

Love the snowflake, ThrulFan. Nice job!

Come on - I know people have lots of other things they've done. Time to share them here!

[Ashmanarion]

Here is my real first attempt and manual focus points. I just changed the focus points on my camera to adjust for the farther bird.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2789/4413280509_f92a34d489_b.jpg

[ThurlFan]

Love the snowflake, ThrulFan. Nice job!



Thanks! Wish the window had been a little cleaner though - but I wasn't about to go out there with the windex in single digit temperatures... :rotfl:

[Pea-n-Me]

Here is my real first attempt and manual focus points. I just changed the focus points on my camera to adjust for the farther bird.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2789/4413280509_f92a34d489_b.jpg

Great job!

[Pea-n-Me]

Here's another picture from the church.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y69/paulandlinda/P8166125.jpg

[boBQuincy]

Another example of selective focus:

http://www.suzieandbob.com/wdw/feb_09/rose_2008_6_7_tc2.jpg

I used A mode to get wide open aperture (f/4 was the widest I had but with one subject at very close range and another at a distance f/4 can do well with selective focus)

This is a HDR with 3 exposures @ 0, -2, +2, using the AEB setting to take the exposures. Few cameras can get the full range of brightnesses on one exposure and I didn't want to blow out the highlights of the rose. Even so, it is still on the edge or maybe a bit over. Here are the RAW frames:

http://www.suzieandbob.com/wdw/feb_09/roses.jpg

For the -2 exposure the shutter speed was maxed out at 1/4000. We could drop down to ISO 100 but it is a balance between max speed and 1/250 lowest speed. I only had a monopod so went for the higher speed, with a tripod (and a windless day) a lower shutter speed may work better.

[wenrob]

Still have a bit of work to do on this one, eventually the lamps will disappear and the walls will be "draped" with the same as the back round. Anyhoo it's just a rough edit.

This guy is pretty tall to begin with (my neck hurts from taking his pics!:lmao:) but he's promoting these amps and wanted to look huge. He bent over and I laid flat on the floor, ear to the ground, camera tilted up. The back round is actually about 5ft behind him and the amps. The ceiling is close to 9ft tall. Doing this had the effect of making him and the amps look huge and the room looked overflowing with them when we actually quite a bit of space.
http://wenrob.smugmug.com/Music/Seventh-Calling/S6674/804574856_Bybf7-L.jpg

This one we stacked them so that they looked similar in height. The guy in front is actually quite a bit shorter then the guy in the back. I focused right between the two middle guys. Just looking at it you would think the last guy is only slightly taller then rest.
http://wenrob.smugmug.com/Music/Seventh-Calling/6537/803722309_CaYkg-L.jpg

These are friends of DH by the way, just doing a favor for them.

[dcg0317]

Shot this today, it's the crescent moon over Big River, even though I focus on the moon using the top focus point the moon still came out of focus because it was a 4 sec exposure and the earth rotation blurred the moon.
Shot with Canon 10-22mm lens @ 16mm, 4s, tripod with mirror lock up and shutter release, also shot ISO 800, tried ISO 100 but exposure was 30 sec and moon blur was too great.
http://amtphoto.smugmug.com/2010-Photos/Strafford-NH/Big-River-03-08-01cr/805664221_5NWcY-X2.jpg
I forgot to add this shot to show using a faster shuter speed got the moon in focus but everything else was totally dark.
TV mode, 1/200 sec, f/4, ISO 800, 16mm
http://amtphoto.smugmug.com/2010-Photos/Strafford-NH/Crescent-Moon-03-08-02a/806191025_MYxFy-X2.jpg

[JoeDif]

http://joedif.smugmug.com/Landscapes/Alapocas-Run-State-Park/03061001/805831582_gdGaK-L.jpg

I positioned myself so that I could get a strong backlit subject and opened up the aperture to F/3.2 to achieve the shallow DOF which produced the background spotlight effect.

[emmabelle]

http://joedif.smugmug.com/Landscapes/Alapocas-Run-State-Park/03061001/805831582_gdGaK-L.jpg

I positioned myself so that I could get a strong backlit subject and opened up the aperture to F/3.2 to achieve the shallow DOF which produced the background spotlight effect.


I don't know what bokeh is? Is the background in this picture considered bokeh?

Nice picture by the way. :thumbsup2

[emmabelle]

Shot this today, it's the crescent moon over Big River, even though I focus on the moon using the top focus point the moon still came out of focus because it was a 4 sec exposure and the earth rotation blurred the moon.
Shot with Canon 10-22mm lens @ 16mm, 4s, tripod with mirror lock up and shutter release, also shot ISO 800, tried ISO 100 but exposure was 30 sec and moon blur was too great.


I'm impressed that you were out that early taking pictures! :thumbsup2

I'm assuming it was sunrise, since it wouldn't be that dark in NH at 4pm-ish?

[dcg0317]

I'm impressed that you were out that early taking pictures! :thumbsup2

I'm assuming it was sunrise, since it wouldn't be that dark in NH at 4pm-ish?

Thanks, yes it was 5:30am, I work nights and it was my night off, so I'm up pretty early.

[JoeDif]

I don't know what bokeh is? Is the background in this picture considered bokeh?

Nice picture by the way. :thumbsup2


Thanks!!

Yes, the out of focus background area would be considered bokeh.

[dcg0317]

Here's another shot of the crescent moon, this time because of the distance between the trees and the moon and the aperture I used the moon is in focus but the trees in the foreground are blurry.
Canon 300mm f/4 IS lens with 1.4 tele converter, focal length 420mm, ISO 800, f/5.6, 1/125 sec. Not cropped just resized.
http://amtphoto.smugmug.com/2010-Photos/Strafford-NH/Crescent-Moon-03-08-03cr/806904876_A2vEP-X2.jpg

[dcg0317]

Here are a couple links about DOF that some might find helpful.
http://www.dpmag.com/how-to/shooting/master-depth-of-field.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DPeNewsMar1_030810
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/depth-of-field.htm

[dcg0317]

Here are 3 shots of a pine cone I shot, in these I did not change focal point but changed the aperture to show how it would affect the background and even the foreground. Shot with Canon 180 mm macro lens on a tripod with remote shutter release and mirror lockup, ISO 100.
#1 - 1/10 sec @ f/16
http://amtphoto.smugmug.com/2010-Photos/Rochester-NH/Pine-Cone-03-10-01cr/808124279_eVd6Q-X2.jpg

#2 - 1/30 sec @ f/8
http://amtphoto.smugmug.com/2010-Photos/Rochester-NH/Pine-Cone-03-10-02cr/812462508_j3nM2-X2.jpg

#3 - 1/125 sec @ f/4.5
http://amtphoto.smugmug.com/2010-Photos/Rochester-NH/Pine-Cone-03-10-03cr/812462602_DLdoC-X2.jpg

[momonlongisland]

Can this effect be obtained using a P & S camera??? I'd love to be able to change up a bit and have great shots like this? Thanks

[dcg0317]

What is your camera make and model number, with that info I will be able to answer your question.

Can this effect be obtained using a P & S camera??? I'd love to be able to change up a bit and have great shots like this? Thanks

[ColleenG]

I got the idea for this from someone here on the Dis. I think it was Jeff. I used my 50mm lens at f/1.8, ISO 800, 1/60 sec. I cut out a circle of black paper and punched it with a Mickey punch and put it on the inside of the lens. I played around a bit with the size of the Mickey head. The smaller one seemed to give a chrisper shape to the lights.

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh15/jettabrain/Photography%20Fun/January_2010_007.jpg

[momonlongisland]

Hi I have a Nikon SD 630 P & S....can this be done ??? TIA

[ColleenG]

I don't think so. The shape has to go between the lens and the camera body so the lens needs to be removable.

[momonlongisland]

Sorry I think we're misunderstanding each other...with the Nikon P & S can what the original poster did be done-- the focus on object/blurr backround, etc?? Thanks

[Pea-n-Me]

Sorry I think we're misunderstanding each other...with the Nikon P & S can what the original poster did be done-- the focus on object/blurr backround, etc?? Thanks
You can change your focus point by focusing on something and depressing the shutter halfway. Try it on two different, but related things (like in the OP) and see what happens. Make sure you post your results.

As for the blurred background, aka bokeh, you can get that effect to a degree with a point and shoot. The concept is called Depth of Field. Use the Aperture Priority setting and open the aperture to it's widest point (smallest f number, which won't generally be too, too wide on a pns). Then focus on your subject and the background should be somewhat blurred. (I believe you can get a similar effect if you have a Portrait setting on your pns which will pick the settings for you.)

Here are a couple I took several years ago for a DOF assignment here using my bridge camera (essentially the same as a point and shoot).

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y69/paulandlinda/IMG_8666.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y69/paulandlinda/IMG_8681.jpg

Google the terms I listed and you can find lots more information. Here's one article to start http://www.azuswebworks.com/photography/dof.html

The book Understanding Exposure also goes over this concept and many other essential to know for good photographs no matter what camera you use.

[ColleenG]

Sorry I think we're misunderstanding each other...with the Nikon P & S can what the original poster did be done-- the focus on object/blurr backround, etc?? Thanks

Oopps. Sorry.:)

[dcg0317]

What Pea-n-Me said should work for you.
Your camera doesn't have any manual adjustment for aperture and shutter speed, but you can use appropriate scene mode on the camera to get this affect, with some practice too.
Decreased depth of field
Macro mode - Uses a larger aperture. The amount of depth of field can be controlled by how close you hold the camera lens to the subject and by zooming in or out.

Portrait mode - Control depth of field by zooming in and out and by changing the distance the subject stands from the background. Depth of field decreases the closer a subject is to the background.

You can also achieve some of these effects by changing the focal length or the distance the camera lens is from a subject. The best thing to do is practice and experiment.

[LoriH91]

Wow! Very cool. I'm not that advanced...yet. Just learning, really, but isn't this the best way? :)


[QUOTE=ColleenG;35910785]I got the idea for this from someone here on the Dis. I think it was Jeff. I used my 50mm lens at f/1.8, ISO 800, 1/60 sec. I cut out a circle of black paper and punched it with a Mickey punch and put it on the inside of the lens. I played around a bit with the size of the Mickey head. The smaller one seemed to give a chrisper shape to the lights.