The New Intimacy

Eden Photographers Club Meeting - Tuesday, May17th @ 7pm EDT

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Contributor: Vaccinium Vaccinium
Quote:
Originally posted by bongoboy529
For beginner photographers, especially those getting used to DSLRs, I always recommend a basic UV filter, mostly because it protects the lens a bit if it is dropped for any reason. But beyond that, I agree, the UV filter is pretty limited use in ... more
My circular polarizer is on my lens much of the time, so that helps protect my lenses. UV filters are also useful for smearing lube on to get a soft-focus effect (I'll talk about that technique in an article in a couple months).

Cheap UV lenses cause a lot of refraction and decreases the sharpness of the image, but if all you are doing is shooting for fun, it is definitely, as you said, a worthy investment.
05/17/2011
Contributor: Airen Wolf Airen Wolf
(EF Review Program Mentor)
Quote:
Originally posted by bongoboy529
For beginner photographers, especially those getting used to DSLRs, I always recommend a basic UV filter, mostly because it protects the lens a bit if it is dropped for any reason. But beyond that, I agree, the UV filter is pretty limited use in ... more
OMG I bet!
05/17/2011
Contributor: Vaccinium Vaccinium
Quote:
Originally posted by bongoboy529
Thanks everybody, I remembered it both from the blog article and because I picked one up the other day to try out using it!
The filter i mentioned in that article is an incredible bargain, btw. It routinely beats $200-300 CP filters in testing.
05/17/2011
Contributor: Jul!a Jul!a
Quote:
Originally posted by Vaccinium
My circular polarizer is on my lens much of the time, so that helps protect my lenses. UV filters are also useful for smearing lube on to get a soft-focus effect (I'll talk about that technique in an article in a couple months).

Cheap UV ... more
Smearing lube? Really now. I'm very intrigued to read about this one, lol
05/17/2011
Contributor: Noira Noira
Quote:
Originally posted by Vaccinium
OK. Whereas with macrophotography getting your entire subject in focus can be nearly impossible, with landscape photography is far simpler. As I mentioned earlier, as long as an object isn’t too close to your lens, making your focal point about 1/3 ... more
Things being blurry in the foreground almost always drives me crazy. I do like it when it's say, looking into a field of flowers... it can be a nice effect... or maybe with water. But otherwise, it almost always makes me twitch a bit.

Helpful post!
05/17/2011
Contributor: Vaccinium Vaccinium
Quote:
Originally posted by Jul!a
Smearing lube? Really now. I'm very intrigued to read about this one, lol
I thought that would garner some attention.
05/17/2011
Contributor: Vaccinium Vaccinium
Determining how to obtain your desired depth of field isn’t a simple task, and to make thing even more difficult, the focal length of your lens makes a big difference as well. In the following group of photos, I used three different lenses to photograph the same subject so that it appears to be about the same size in each photo. What you’ll see is at wide angles (low focal lengths) there is a fair amount of depth of field relative to increasing focal lengths. You should be able to tell this especially on the wall and the tulip leaf behind and to the left of the frog’s head. It’s not important to know why this is, but it is important to know that your choice of focal length and lens will affect your ability to get the amount of depth of field you desire. Do you want to limit the amount of depth of field to get an abstract shot? A wide angle lends or short focal length may not be your best choice, but rather a long focal length or a macro lens. Want to get as much depth of field as possible? Go for a wide angle lens or a short focal length.



By choosing the appropriate lens or focal length, you can influence the aperture (f-stop) , shutter speed, and ISO you use as well. Let’s say you are at a pond in your local park near sunset on an overcast day and you are feeding the tamed ducks that are there. If you want to get a group of ducks all in acceptable focus, you will need a small aperture (large f-stop). But wait, that means is will be a long shutter speed and the ducks will be a blur, even if you happen to have your camera mounted on a tripod. Well, you could adjust the ISO upward to get a better shutter speed, but will it be enough? Try choosing a wider angle (shorter focal length) and moving as close to the ducks as possible. The wider angle might just be enough to get your desired depth of field while making sure the ducks aren’t blurred. Of course, this isn’t always going to be an ideal solution, as there are simply going to be subject you can’t get as close to.
05/17/2011
Contributor: Vaccinium Vaccinium
BTW, the focal length in the middle pic is 70 mm. It's kinda hard to see.
05/17/2011
Contributor: Vaccinium Vaccinium
This last post of mine is definitely a more advanced concept. Did I explain it OK?
05/17/2011
Contributor: Noira Noira
Quote:
Originally posted by Vaccinium
This last post of mine is definitely a more advanced concept. Did I explain it OK?
Yeah, I think so.
05/17/2011
Contributor: Jul!a Jul!a
Quote:
Originally posted by Vaccinium
This last post of mine is definitely a more advanced concept. Did I explain it OK?
I'm a little confused. Mostly because when I picture a difference in focal points, I picture the photographs in the same positions but with different parts of them in/out of focus. I think I get it tho. Or at least the general concept of it.
05/17/2011
Contributor: Airen Wolf Airen Wolf
(EF Review Program Mentor)
Quote:
Originally posted by Vaccinium
Determining how to obtain your desired depth of field isn’t a simple task, and to make thing even more difficult, the focal length of your lens makes a big difference as well. In the following group of photos, I used three different lenses to ... more
Like that canoodling couple you are being paid to photograph....
05/17/2011
Contributor: Airen Wolf Airen Wolf
(EF Review Program Mentor)
Quote:
Originally posted by Vaccinium
This last post of mine is definitely a more advanced concept. Did I explain it OK?
perfectly so...my daughter understood it so it's cool!
05/17/2011
Contributor: Alys Alys
Quote:
Originally posted by Vaccinium
This last post of mine is definitely a more advanced concept. Did I explain it OK?
I think so, it's just been so long since I've been in control of those things that it's sometimes harder to imagine, sitting here.
05/17/2011
Contributor: Vaccinium Vaccinium
Quote:
Originally posted by Noira
Yeah, I think so.
You don't seem to confident about that.

Basically, all things being equal, a shorter focal length (small number) means you'll get greater depth of field at the same f-stop than a longer focal length (larger number).
05/17/2011
Contributor: Vaccinium Vaccinium
Quote:
Originally posted by Airen Wolf
Like that canoodling couple you are being paid to photograph....
For example, yes.

Unless you seriously flood them with light.
05/17/2011
Contributor: dv8 dv8
Quote:
Originally posted by Vaccinium
This last post of mine is definitely a more advanced concept. Did I explain it OK?
Well, the bigger factor in that example is that light falls off with distance squared so moving closer to a subject helps when you don't have enough light.
05/17/2011
Contributor: Airen Wolf Airen Wolf
(EF Review Program Mentor)
Quote:
Originally posted by Vaccinium
For example, yes.

Unless you seriously flood them with light.
kind of frowned on by the cuckolding couple but yes it does help providing you can run away fast enough...
05/17/2011
Contributor: Noira Noira
Quote:
Originally posted by Vaccinium
You don't seem to confident about that.

Basically, all things being equal, a shorter focal length (small number) means you'll get greater depth of field at the same f-stop than a longer focal length (larger number).
That helps, yes. Thanks.
05/17/2011
Contributor: Vaccinium Vaccinium
Quote:
Originally posted by Jul!a
I'm a little confused. Mostly because when I picture a difference in focal points, I picture the photographs in the same positions but with different parts of them in/out of focus. I think I get it tho. Or at least the general concept of it.
Not focal points, focal lengths. A P & S camera has a range of focal lengths (say, 24-300 mm) and on an SLR, you choose a lens with a specific focal length(s) (e.g., a 50 mm lens, a 24-70 mm lens, etc.). The smaller the number, the more depth of field, even at the same f-stop.

Did that help?
05/17/2011
Contributor: Noira Noira
Quote:
Originally posted by Airen Wolf
kind of frowned on by the cuckolding couple but yes it does help providing you can run away fast enough...
Bwahahaha.

I think that's even more scandalous than the lube on the lenses!
05/17/2011
Contributor: Jul!a Jul!a
Quote:
Originally posted by Vaccinium
Not focal points, focal lengths. A P & S camera has a range of focal lengths (say, 24-300 mm) and on an SLR, you choose a lens with a specific focal length(s) (e.g., a 50 mm lens, a 24-70 mm lens, etc.). The smaller the number, the more depth ... more
Yes. That makes more sense now
05/17/2011
Contributor: Vaccinium Vaccinium
Quote:
Originally posted by dv8
Well, the bigger factor in that example is that light falls off with distance squared so moving closer to a subject helps when you don't have enough light.
Also true. I just used the twilight example to illustrate that the ducks will be a blur rather than to show how the diff. focal lengths work with light.
05/17/2011
Contributor: Vaccinium Vaccinium
Quote:
Originally posted by Noira
Bwahahaha.

I think that's even more scandalous than the lube on the lenses!
The lube on the lens trick is a lot cooler than you guys are giving it credit for...
05/17/2011
Contributor: dv8 dv8
Quote:
Originally posted by Vaccinium
Not focal points, focal lengths. A P & S camera has a range of focal lengths (say, 24-300 mm) and on an SLR, you choose a lens with a specific focal length(s) (e.g., a 50 mm lens, a 24-70 mm lens, etc.). The smaller the number, the more depth ... more
The size of the camera sensor also plays a major role.
05/17/2011
Contributor: Vaccinium Vaccinium
That’s it for the discussion on depth of field. If you have any other questions, now is definitely the time to ask them. Anybody?
05/17/2011
Contributor: Jul!a Jul!a
Quote:
Originally posted by Vaccinium
That’s it for the discussion on depth of field. If you have any other questions, now is definitely the time to ask them. Anybody?
I think I'm good for now
05/17/2011
Contributor: Alys Alys
Quote:
Originally posted by Vaccinium
That’s it for the discussion on depth of field. If you have any other questions, now is definitely the time to ask them. Anybody?
No questions at this point!
05/17/2011
Contributor: dv8 dv8
Quote:
Originally posted by Vaccinium
My circular polarizer is on my lens much of the time, so that helps protect my lenses. UV filters are also useful for smearing lube on to get a soft-focus effect (I'll talk about that technique in an article in a couple months).

Cheap UV ... more
I don't use a CP filter unless necessary because it reduces the exposure a couple of stops.

As for lube-smearing, why a UV filter? Cokin filters and knockoffs are cheap on eBay.
05/17/2011
Contributor: Vaccinium Vaccinium
Quote:
Originally posted by dv8
The size of the camera sensor also plays a major role.
Since these folks presumably won't be switching between cameras while shooting, I think we can keep it simple for them here. But yes, that is why professional photographers tend to prefer large and medium-format cameras for certain photography over SLRs. (among other reasons)
05/17/2011