Tag Archives: Nik Collection by Google

Depth of Field for “Arty” Images

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My favorite style|technique relies on

Selective focus which in turn relies on

Depth of Field

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Not Your Typical Botany Text Daisy

Shot edge-on; focus on tip of nearest petal; wide open aperture

105mm macro lens + 1.4X teleconverter; tripod; natural light

Like most images that "break rules"

Don't just bend the rules a little; break them in half

You want the viewer to know it's on purpose, not operator error
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A lot of viewers (& many judges) don't care for this

And that's all right

Shoot for yourself and don't worry about it

Floral images were my 1st photographic love

It’s now twelve years later and they still are

The variety is endless

I could spend hours with a single flower

And still not exhaust the possibilities

With selective focus, you have lots of options –

1. Depth of field length which depends on

  • Aperture
  • Focal Length
  • Distance from subject

2. Focal point about which DOF is centered

Here are a few examples; focal point circled in red

Click for full screen

6-24-2013 12-16-06 PM

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Echoes

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High Key + Selective Focus = Soft “Echoes”

I don’t yearn to visit photo icons

Half Dome at Yosemite for example

Apart from checking the “been there, done that” box

There’s nothing new; all done millions of times

Fortunately, my tastes run to the simple side

Give me some flowers + my camera & I’m happy

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I’ve seen far fewer images like this next one than

Half Dome, Grand Tetons, NY Skyline,….

or – Yet another snow-capped mountain

reflected in a lake (they all look the same to me)

Of course, floral images aren’t everyone’s cup of tea 😉

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LOOK at ME!! and me, and me

To attract a viewer’s attention

If one abstract flower isn’t enough

How about an echo?

If one echo’s not enough, how about another?

I started without the lower lily

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Making this image –

Exposure – increased exposure compensation

Until the white background was blown out

Then a bit more until “blinkies” appeared on the flowers

Then – backed off 1/3 stop

Result was + 1.7 EV

Focus – Shot with a macro lens & 1.4X teleconverter

This combo gave a paper-thin depth of field

Distance from nearest flower (with water drop) to the

Farthest (upper left) was several inches

Wide open aperture made the upper just a colored blob

I shot this at f/11, 22, 32 & 45

Wanted to see the effect first hand

The above is the f/45 version

Composition – the key to the result IMO; I wanted

To fill the frame (no cropping, thanks)

More or less even spacing between the

Closest parts of each flower to the next

No overlap or touching

More or less equal distance from the frame and

Water drop from side & bottom

Upper flower from top

This took a lot of “fiddling” & reshooting

 Post-processing – almost none

A very little color contrast adjustment

Using Color Efex Pro’s Contrast Color Range filter

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Shot indoors

Natural light, tripod, circular polarizer, white background

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A preference ?

First one or this one?

I like the eye movement better on the 1st one

This one is how it was shot

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In and Out the Window

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Summary – Old abandoned farms are a great source of photo-ops. This is a small part of my windows-collection from just one farm.

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D300_140612_112705__DSC2006This is the scene of the crime

The farm-house & more out-buildings are behind me

Some are reflections

Some are inside looking out

Others are outside, looking in, and then out a window opposite

Click any image for a full screen slide show

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Wood Knot Fascination

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Summary – I’m fascinated by knots in really old wood. That said, Sleeping Bear Dunes is the place to be with its myriad of old abandoned farms. The barns are knot treasure-houses.

This is where it all begins

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Nikon D800E, 105mm macro lens, tripod.

Click any image for a full screen slide show

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A Dozen Wildflower Images

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Summary – A week ago, none of these had come into bloom yet. The cold winter put everything several weeks behind schedule, but worked out well for me. Here’s a collection of wildflowers all growing within short walking distance of each other.

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Nikon D800E, 105mm macro lens, tripod (& 25% DEET)

For the lady slippers – growing in a swampy roadside

Stood in Poison Ivy surrounded by 100’s of mosquitoes

Two out-of-state cars came by – one with “PHOTO” on its plate

They never saw me nor these flowers

After nearly 8 weeks spread over 4 summers

I know the territory.

Click any image for a full screen slide show

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It’s Twilight Time at Sleeping Bear Dunes

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Summary – Stopped at an abandoned farm on my way home (from another abandoned farm 😉 )  on a whim just at sunset (colorless). Since there was no color, I decided to have a go with my infrared camera. I liked what I got – hope that you do, too.

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Nikon D300 (IR conversion), 18-70 Nikkor lens (27-105 35mm equiv.), ISO 1600 (handheld)

Spent my time trying different compositions with the barn

It’s called working-the-subject 😉

Added the house at the end just to complete the story

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Click any image for a full screen slide show

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Poor Butterfly

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Summary – I was in an old abandoned barn when I spotted a butterfly caught in a spider-web. I tried freeing it, but was too late. The poor butterfly (male Tiger Swallowtail) wasn’t alive.

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Nikon D800E, 105mm macro lens, tripod

Each shot made moving closer & closer

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Click any image for a full screen slide show

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