Exercise 3: Focus with different apertures 3 photos

For this exercise I had to find a similar subject as excercise 2, a scene that would show the results clearly.  I set up the scene at home utilising some pop bottles, I set my camera on it's tripod and used my 50mm F/1.8 prime lens. I had to take 3 photos the first at the widest aperture (F/1.8), the second at a mid point of the scale of apertures (F/8) and the third at the smallest aperture (F/22).
I focused on the closest bottle, I have used a red square to highlight the area of sharp focus in the image.

Photo 1:

                                                    ISO-200 F/1.8 - 1/250s at 50mm


Photo 2:

                                                    ISO-200 F/8 - 1/13s AT 50mm


Photo 3:

                                                    ISO-200 F/22 - 0.62s at 50mm



From performing this exercise I can see that the aperture can have a dramatic effect on my image. Using the widest aperture (F/1.8) it has given  a shallow depth of field with the background out of focus. This would be great for portraits, The mid point aperture (F/8) has given me a lot more of the image in focus but not all, this would be good for street photography, The smallest aperture (F/22) has given a deep depth of field with lots of detail from front to back of the image, all the image is in focus and would be great for landscapes.

Exercise 2: Focus with a set aperture 2-3 photos

For this exercise I was asked to find a scene which has depth and, as the weather hasn't been the best, the fence in my garden was used to show this exercise.  My Nikon D90 was placed on a tripod and set to an angle that would show the panels running into the distance. I used a 50mm f/1.8 lense which would give me my largest aperture, 3 photos were taken each focused on somthing at a different distance.

Photo 1:

Near picket focus point

Photo 2:

Middle picket focus point

Photo 3:

Far picket focus point

From this exercise it is plain to see that the focus point draws your attention to the position of sharpness  and by changing the position of focus it changes the way, not only how the photo looks but also how it draws you into that photo. The first photo with it's front focus point seems to keep you focused in the left bottom corner and keeps you there. The second photo with its middle focus point,which I think is better than the first photo, keeps you focused on the centre of the image and I sort of scroll from front to back, not really knowing which way to look at it. The final photo with its rear focus point seems to draw me in to the photo giving it lots of depth and feeling to the image, personally this is my favourite focus point.

Exercise 1: Focal length and angle of view 1-3 photographs

In this exercise I was asked to point my camera at any scene. I chose a lovely area of Coalbrookdale then I had to look at the scene through the viewfinder and keep both eyes open. As my lens is a 18-105 F/3.5-5.6G I had to adjust the lens until the two images  (through the viewfinder and unaided) appear equal and once the images became equal I noted the focal length scale and it gave a reading of 50mm. This is what is known as the Standard. I then took a photograpth.


Photo 1: Standard view

  ISO 200 F/11-1/80s at 50mm

I know had to set my lens to its widest view which is 18mm, this made the object in my scene appear smaller to my unaided eye, I took a photograpth.

                                                       
 Photo 2: Widest view

ISO 200 F/11-1/100s at 18mm

 My lens was now adjusted to its furthest telephoto setting which is 105mm, this made my object in my scene seem larger to my unaided eye. I took a photograpth




Photo 3: Telephoto view

ISO 200  F/11 - 1/80s at 105mm

These photograpths will now be printed onto A4 paper to do the next part of this exersise, results to follow.

Project: Getting to know your camera

I must be honest I have never read the manual for my Nikon D90, just flicked through the quick guide when I purchased my camera last June and read D90 for Dummies which helped me a lot.
On reading my manual for the first time, with my D90 at hand, to try all the settings and functions, I found it easier to understand the manual. There are a couple of areas that I will have to work through again and practice to get a better understanding of. It also helped having a photographer friend who has helped explain certain  bits I was unsure of. Overall the manual is well worth reading. 

Getting started.

Well my package from the OCA arrived yesterday, it was like having an early birthday present, I couldn't wait to get started on it. I decided to have a quick look at it yesterday and then start it today while it was quiet and the children were at school . I went through my check list to make sure it was all there, ticking them off one by one, the materials for the course were great and even included a notebook and  a pen! Bonus, I can never ever find a pen in my house. I have spent a good couple hours reading the Student handbook and typing my student profile to send to my tutor. Overall a good start, considering I was up 'til 3am trying to set up this blog.