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I’ve been working on my manual focus skills with the 50mm f/1.8 lens. I found that trusting the focus indicator light in the view finder is the key to proper focus. The subject will appear to be in focus across a range of settings, but it’s only in perfect focus when the indicator lights up. In order for it to work properly, it’s necessary for the subject to be in the proper focus area (which has a red indicator when you press the shutter halfway).
Dragonflies seem to be swarming since yesterday. Luckily this one remained still long enough that I was able to get a few good shots of it.
Paulo Jordao is planning a photo walk in Fort Lauderdale some time next month. The details haven’t been finalized, but most likely it will be on June 21 or 22. The location is yet to be determined, possibly around Las Olas.
This is an old family photo I found and scanned. I have no idea who any of these people are but I know it’s from my mother’s family. It could have been taken either in New York or Odessa.
One of the best things about DLSR cameras is that they give you a lot of control over focus, exposure, and depth of field, allowing you to choose exactly how you want your picture to look.
When I photograph flowers or plants, I usually like to use a very narrow depth of field to emphasize the subject. By shooting in Aperture Priority mode on my D40x, I have full control over the depth of field. Large apertures give a narrow depth of field, while smaller apertures put more of the picture in focus. In Aperture Priority mode, you can lock in a particular aperture setting while the camera chooses the appropriate shutter speed for the proper exposure. With most zoom lenses, the maximum aperture depends on the zoom settings. In that case, if changing the zoom level reduces the maximum aperture, it will reduce the aperture automatically to the maximum setting at that level.
For maximum aperture size, nothing beats a 50mm f/1.8 or f/1.4 prime lens. The zoom lenses I own only go up to f3.5 or f4.5, so I usually use my 50mm f1.8 if I want to work with depth of field.
After the break are some pictures I shot today illustrating different aperture settings.
Creaceed has released a new version of Hydra, which includes a new HDR plugin for Aperture 2.1.
It doesn’t offer as many options as Photomatix, but the results are very nice. These were created with the same source images I had previously processed with Photoshop and the Photomatix plugin. The results look very natural, although it can’t produce some of the more extreme effects.
Thanks to Thomas Hawk, I found lots of great photography links and subscribed to several photography related blogs. One of my new favorites is Stuck in Customs. They do some really amazing HDR photos. I had previously seen their HDR tutorial.
Dean Allen writes about his experience of switching to a Nikon DSLR after using point & shoot cameras for a long time:
I feel like someone handed a slice of hot toast spread with cultured butter after a lifetime breakfasting on Skittles and government cheese.
I can definitely relate. Using a D40x changed the way I think about photography. It feels so much more satisfying than using a point & shoot camera and it isn’t really any more difficult to use. In fact using it in full automatic mode is very similar to using a point & shoot.
Before I got the D40x, I took lots of photos, but I never really thought about the composition or technical details; I just wanted to capture the moment & memories. With a DSLR I think more about the quality and composition of the shot since I have a lot more control over it. I can still take a quick shot in auto mode or have someone who’s never used a DSLR take a picture as easily as they can with a point & shoot.
However, using full automatic mode doesn’t give you full control. The next step up from auto is the programmed automatic (P) mode, which also lets you adjust the white balance, ISO sensitivity, and change the exposure, yet it isn’t really any more difficult than full automatic.
I find that I prefer using Aperture Priority mode, since it lets me control the depth of field by specifying the aperture setting. Even this mode isn’t any more difficult, since it still produces the correct exposure by adjusting the shutter speed & ISO setting to match the chosen aperture setting.
The big win for a DSLR is the availability of raw format for photos, which allows a lot more adjustment to be done in Aperture or Photoshop to compensate for incorrect exposure and fix other problems to salvage a shot that isn’t quite perfect.
I haven’t done one of these for a while, but the dark clouds inspired me to make an HDR image.
I spent most of the weekend (when I wasn’t working around the house & garden) writing some Cocoa code for FriendFeed. So far I only support the features that don’t require authentication.
I’ve never seen a caladium flower before, so I had to take a picture of it. I didn’t have my D40x with me, so I took this with my iPhone.