Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Bokeh

Bokeh is the use of depth of field so that different parts of the photo in focus. Typically, foreground is sharp and background is blurry. Changing aperture (f stop) on the camera allows you to make a large aperture (low number, e.g. 2.5) which gives you more bokeh or vice versa. In this shot, the center bird is sharply in focus and the farther back you go, the less sharp/more blurry the birds become. In this photo, Bird Bokah, depth can be conveyed by relative sizes (the farther birds appear smaller) and by selective focus (bokeh). Some photographers use Lens Babies to artificially create bokeh, but I prefer to not manipulate bokeh.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

212 Steps Down a Cliff

Breaking in my new D300 while at a conference in California. This photo, Autumn Surf is from Torrey Pines State Natural Preserve just up the coast from San Diego. To get down to this beach required hiking down and back up the Beach Trail, including the 212 steps and a fairly rigorous incline. It was worth the trip though as the day was beautiful and the beach was busy with both people and seagulls. The shot looks fuzzy because it was quite foggy.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

The Night of the Show - The Nova Crew

Thanks to the Nova crew for a wonderful evening at the combined grand opening and photography show.