Patience Maria, this too shall pass, and we will be on our way to summer again! Ahhhh...SUMMER. The sound of the waves as they hit the sand....the wind in my face as I am cruising on my bike.... beaches...bikes....smiles.....
Wake up Maria! You've got an assignment to do! Sorry, I started daydreaming there for a minute. I tend to do that sometime. Anyway, so in my last assignment I was in Rogers Park. http://spanos311.blogspot.com/2014/02/shutter-speed-in-rogers-park.html While I was there, I had taken some pictures of Yodit the owner of Royal Coffee cafe. The other day, I decided to stop in and give her the copy I promised her. She loved it! She thanked me and said that she will put it right next to her Guadalupe icon on her wall. Remember we talked about the Guadalupe in my first blog? We now know her story too. :) Here is a picture of Yodit right next to her own picture.
So I have some good news this week. My photography assignment can be done outside OR inside! Wait, what? Inside? Oh yeah baby! You heard right...INSIDE. This weeks assignment is on DEPTH OF FIELD. We have to take 18 photos with a shallow/lower depth of field and 18 photos with an extended/greater depth of field. You may wonder what depth of field is. I am going to explain it my way so you can understand. (Remember: this is how I understand it) Creating a depth of field helps put the focus on WHAT THE PHOTOGRAPHER WANTS YOU TO SEE in the picture. Let me show you, so you can understand better. Here's my lil rap for ya....;)
Higher depth of field: Everything is in focus: The whole song is clear and visible.
Lower depth of field: The photographer puts the focus ONLY on
what he/she wants you to see: "you want Maria"
You want ME? Well I'd say.......... ;) Silly little rap song huh? BUT you are getting it a little more now....maybe? Hopefully:)
Anyway, I hope you guys have a very basic understanding of depth of field. It gets WAY more complicated than that, but I will not get into it for this blogs sake. I want to keep it simple for us beginners. So with which function on the camera can you create the depth of field? ANSWER: APERTURE!
Aperture is the SIZE of your camera's hole (lens opening). It controls the AMOUNT of light that is let in. In the past, the aperture was adjusted by placing cards with different sized holes cut in them behind the lens. These holes were referred to as "stops." This word "stop" is still used in photography today. We've came a long way since then. Now, instead of using cards with holes in them, all we have to do is click the wheel to change the aperture (size of the hole). Here is a chart so you can see:
Your Camera Lens at different f-stops. (f: focal number)
the lower the f-stop : The bigger the hole(aperture): The more light is let in.
the higher the f-stop : The smaller the hole(aperture): The less light is let in.
If you are confused right now look for yourself. Grab your camera and look for the wheel that controls aperture: You can turn the wheel left or right to change the f-stop. Try taking the same picture with different f-stops and see what happens. You will notice that with LOWER f-stop the depth of field decreases, and with HIGHER f-stop the depth of field increases!
Since I can do my assignment inside or outside this week, your's truly waits till the VERY last minute and STILL goes outside. Yeah you can say my @$$ is itching for the ice. Honestly, I figured there is more light outside and it might make it easier for me. After taking a few shots, and I mean only A FEW shots, I run back to my car. F-this! It's freezing out here!
Shallow depth of field: f 1.8 (F.....this cold!)
So now that I am nice and warm in my car, I've got an idea! Why don't I just take pictures in the car? It's kinda like marrying the two elements together: Inside environment and outside light! Why din't I think of that sooner? There are so many cool things in my car that I can focus my viewers attention on, like the cross, and this St. John icon by my dashboard. Jesus will be HAPPY! :) Hey look....it works!
After a couple pictures I am done. I learned my lesson. I can reduce the depth of field with a smaller f-stop to bring something small and specific into focus, OR I can increase the depth of field by using a larger f-stop to bring the whole picture into focus. Let's just get up early tomorrow and finish this before lab.
I wake up this morning a little earlier than usual, I get dressed, grab my bag, and head out the door. I am feeling dissapointed with myself that I waited till the last minute for this assignment. I know what will cheer me up a right now...COFFEE!
I start driving to my usual "pick me up" stop Dunkin Donuts on the corner of 16th and Michigan in the South Loop neighborhood. I park the car and run inside with my camera. I feel like this might be my last chance of capturing some photos. I ask one of the customers that was sitting down sipping on his coffee if I could take some photos of him, and he straight up says, "NO! I can't help you. Sorry." Wow, this might be harder than I thought. I was under the assumption that people loved getting their photos taken. NO Maria! Not everyone is like you. You photo doto! I go up to the counter to ask for my coffee and the girl that greets me has this BEAUTIFUL smile. She is very friendly and happy. I am loving this girls attitude! I ask her for her name and she tells me Eunice. You know what I am bout to do right? I ask Eunice, and she says, "Yes! I'd love to help you! SWEET! Lets do this! Here is the GORGEOUS Eunice.
f 1.8
I din't had enough time to do a greater depth of field picture, but I still like the way these turned out. Notice, they are both of shallow depth of field. In the second one, I gave the cup a relationship with Eunice simply by moving it next to her, instead of in front of her, and going to a higher f-stop!
I will post some greater depth of field ones for you in the future. :)
So even though I felt kind of crappy this morning, Eunice and her beautiful smile brighten my day! See, it doesn't take much people. You never know what person's day you can make better just by simply SMILING!
With this I am off to Lab. Wish me luck...I NEED IT! Till next time friends! And remember to.....
xoxoxo
loved it. I'm also an amateur photographer and I would like to add that there is something else that affects that the Depth of field....I'll keep you guessing...or...I can just tell you its how close you are to the subject you can make something have a very shallow depth of field at a high aperture if you are close to the subject. ;) I love your blog
ReplyDeleteYou are RIGHT Ernie! Like I said in my blog it can get more complicated that that. Thank you for that information you are right. Isn't photography AWESOME!!! Thank you so much for your comment:)
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