Working with Depth of Field...

One of the first things you learn in a basic photography class, after exposure and shutter speed, is depth of field. It doesn't matter if you learned it 50 years ago or 50 days ago. Depth of Field is Depth of Field, analog or digital it is still the same. It is still achieved the same way, we open or close the aperture of the lens to allow the proper amount of light in to the camera to achieve the proper exposure and it also determines how much of the field will be in focus in fron and behind the actual point at which the camera is in focus.

Many folks have lost touch with what it's like to shoot with a shallow depth of field or blur out the foreground and background. The lenses on Point & Shoot Cameras of today are made to get almost everything in focus and Cell Phone cameras all have a fixed aperture so everything is in focus from about 2' to infinity.

I have used many types of cameras in my photographic life, 8x10 & 4x5 cameras, Rapid-Omega, Twin Lens Reflex Cameras, Hasselblad and Mamiya 120 cameras, 120 & 35mm SLR and range finders, 70mm Aerial Cameras, Arriflex 16 & 35mm Motion Picture Cameras, DSLR Cameras and yes I have used a Point and Shoot. On each one of the cameras,, even some of the higher end P & S, you have to use the aperture to set exposure.

Knowing the depth of field is important so you will know how much will be in focus at a given distance. In the past it was more important to know exactly how much DOF you had because we had to wait to see the results. Today the results are immediate, and you can make changes as necessary.

The closer you get to the lens and the wider the aperture, the less DOF you have. The more you move away from the lens and the higher the aperture the more DOF. Simple right...

The photo above of my 15 year old cat, Edy, was taken with a Canon 5D and a Canon 50mm F/1.2L lens wide open at its closest focus point. There is probably .5 cm of the image that is in focus. The Telecaster Guitar was also shot with my Canon 5D and the 50mm f/1.2 @ f/1.8. I lit the guitar with a metallic umbrella and a Canon 580 EX strobe 1/128th power.

A great place to check out your Depth of Field is http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

It has a calculator so you can plug in the information and it will calculate the DOF. It also tells you the Hyper Focal Distance... That is a story for another day.

Never work with Kids or Animals...

A famous Hollywood Director once said, "If you want to keep your career, never work with kids or animals..."

Well... I've just done a shoot with both. 3 kids and a small dog... The kids were great and the dog, I swear, is a union dog. After 4-5 shot the dog would get up and walk away. He would come back, 4-5 shots and he would get up and walk away. This went on for the entire shoot. It's hard for the kids to stay focused and just look at the camera. So I tried to keep reminding them to don't worry about Louie (the dog) I'll shoot when he's ready...

Veterans Day 2009:

I am reminded on a daily basis of my service. I have a shadow box in my office with all the "Stuff" I collected as a Sailor and Photographer. The shadow box was a gift from my wife and my daughters. All my stuff was in boxes and they thought it should be on display.

Ribbons, medals, stripes from my dress uniforms, patches from my flight suits, my dog tags and even a photo of me when I made Petty Officer Second Class all displayed on the wall in my office at home. I even have one of my original hats from when I arrived on the ship in 1983.

For years I never really felt proud of my time in the Navy, until people I hardly knew would come up to me and thank me for my service and ask me a million questions on what it was like and where I've been. After hearing this a few dozen times and telling the stories, over the course of about 10 years, I began to feel more and more proud of what I had accomplished. I'm wasn't a hero, just a kid who wanted to learn and travel.

Along with the shadow box, I have some great memories of my youth, serving my country, learning and honing my photographic skills, traveling the world and working with some great guys.

Happy Veterans Day, and "Thank you for your Service!"

Local Politics...

Politics2009-3
Originally uploaded by John Meore

Tuxedo residents went to the polls and voted in 3 residents of the Maple Brook neighborhood. Cliff Loncar ran unopposed for a vacant seat on the Town Board. Shawn Brown beat out the incumbent for the seat on the bench as Town Justice and Dan Castricone (R) beat Noel Spencer (D) for the 8th District of the Orange County Legislature.
Also returning are Town Supervisor Peter Dolan, Town Board Member Lisa Spivak and Edward Pfizenmaier was elected as Supervisor of Highways. Also voted in by residents was an increase in funding to the town library.