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Using different aperture sizes to vary depth of field

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Using different aperture sizes to vary depth of field

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Depth of field - deep [f/20 1/25 ISO 200]] struggled with camera shake!

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Depth of field - shallow [f/5.3 1/200 ISO 200]

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Editing images and shortlisting for portfolio

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Editing images and shortlisting for portfolio

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Refining editing and selection for portfolio

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Refining editing and selection for portfolio

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Nikon D40 with 18-55mm lens, an SD card, and rechargeable removable battery.

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Removing the battery of my Nikon D40 to charge. Battery charge status is shown on the display screen.

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Understanding the display screen on my Nikon D40

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Familiarising myself with the controls on my Nikon D40

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Image sensor: Different sizes available (to read around to better understand).

ISO: The sensitivity of the image sensor. Helps control exposure along with f-number and shutter speed. Set to 200.

F-number = focal length/aperture diameter.

Shutter speed: How fast the shutter closes. Short shutter speeds create short exposure - letting less light in and freezing movement. Long shutter speeds create longer exposure - letting more light in (good in low light conditions) and capture movement as a blur.

Focal length: Standard focal length is around 35-50mm depending on the size of the sensor and gives a field of view similar tothe human eye. Focal lengths above standard are called "telephoto" and those below standard are called "wide angle". Longer focal lengths lenses flatten images by making the background appear closer to the foreground - distances look compressed, which is flattering for portraits. Shorter focal length lenses capture lots of detail and make things look more spread out, which is good for landscapes but can distort the image at the edges.

Manual mode: In manual mode, f-number and shutter speed need to be adjusted and balanced so the scale in the viewfinder/screen is at zero.

Image quality: Set to "raw" for maximum flexibility on processing.

Recording media: Options include: SD - Secure Digital; SDXC - Secure Digital Extra Capacity; Micro SD - a smaller SD card; XQD / CFExpress - a high end, fast card; Compact Flash - an older format still used for some high end cameras; CFast 2.0 - a newer compact flash card; Sony Memory Stick. Formatting the memory card empties it.

Holding the camera: Support under the lens and focus with left hand, use right hand for shutter release etc. Stand in a stable position and tuck in elbows, or kneel resting elbow.

Health and Safety: Be mindful of surroundings when taking photographs. When using computers, set up workstation to support good posture and take regular breaks from screen use.

Legal and ethical considerations: It is legal to photos in any public space but it is polite to ask and respect others' right to privacy.

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Low light, slow shutter, tripod. Focal length 18mm.

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Low light, slow shutter, tripod. Focal length 35mm.

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Low light, slow shutter, tripod. Focal length 55mm.

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Depth of field - shallower [f/5.3 1/400 ISO 400]. Used manual focus to focus on the bull through the branches.

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Depth of field - deep [f/16 1/50 ISO 200]

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Depth of field - shallower [f/8 1/200 ISO 200]

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Using different shutter speeds to capture movement

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Using different shutter speeds to capture movement

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Shutter speed - fast [f/7.1 1/4000 ISO 800]. Movement frozen.

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Shutter speed - fast [f/7.1 1/4000 ISO 800]. Movement frozen.

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Shutter speed - slow [f/20 1/80 ISO 800]. Movement blurred.

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Shutter speed - slow [f/11 1/40 ISO 800]. Leaf in water 1 with movement blurred.

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Shutter speed - fast [f/4 1/200 ISO 800]. Leaf in water 1 with movement frozen.

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Shutter speed - slow [f/13 1/40 ISO 800]. Leaf in water 2 with movement blurred.

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Shutter speed - fast [f/5.6 1/250 ISO 800]. Leaf in water 1 with movement frozen.

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[f/4 1/200 ISO 800] Some movement frozen, some blurred.

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Depth of field - deep, shutter speed - slow [f/18 1/20 ISO 800]. Still brick contrasting blurred movement of water.

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Depth of field - shallower, shutter speed - faster [f/6.3 1/160 ISO 800]. Still brick with frozen movement of water.

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Thirds [f/8 1/500 ISO 200]. Contrast increased in Lightroom

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Import photographs, assess quality including exposure and adjust as needed. Use heal tool to remove any spots. Use crop tool with guides to straighten the image and refine the composition. Reduce highlights and bring up shadows to maximise visible detail. Adjust contrast, saturation, and clarity as needed. Add masks or vignette to balance brighter areas against darker areas.

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Repetition, leading line [f/16 1/100 ISO 200] Tried to bring out flags in Lightroom.

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Framing, leading line [f/10 1/60 ISO 800]

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Week 3 photo enhanced in Lightroom [f/4.2 1/80 ISO 200]

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Why I like this photo: The leaves are marked and imperfect, with coarse texture and intense green. The deep shadows between the leaves add contrast.

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Texture, limited colours [f/4.5 1/100 ISO 800]

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Why I like this photo: Brushy sprigs disappearing into dark shadows with colour change along their length from warmer to cooler green - like a graduated wash interrupted by the texture of the leaves/needles. .

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Thirds, complimentary colours [f/5.6 1/160 ISO 200]

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Leading lines, thirds [f/20 1/160 ISO 400]

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Monochrome, repetition [f/4.2 1/80 ISO 200]

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Why I like this photo: The texture of the bee's furry coat. Its yellow band contrasting the purples of the sage flowers.

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Why I like this photo: The clean white petals seem like fine porcelain with low light shining through. The long shadows cutting across the lily pads. The darkness of the water. Unusual crop - like a cinema screen.

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Why I like this photo: The colour texture of the fleece, the feeling the sheep is looking at you.

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Why I like this photo: Watching them watching me. The texture of the fur on the sheep in the foreground.

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Thirds, leading line [f/11 1/60 ISO 200]

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Why I like this photo: The colour and texture of the coarse windswept grass. The empty road with it's snow poles and bright white broken line contrasting with and cutting through the natural landscape. The emptiness.
Over-exposed sky detracts from the image.

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Why I like this photo: The cool silvery tomes and unexpectedly course texture and uniform direction of the rabbit's fur, contrasting with the warmer green of the grass.  Daisies flowering around death. Seems cyclical and peaceful.

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Why I like this photo: The ram's ear flopping over the gate that frames him. The various textures of his coat (soft on his ear, coarser on his face, wiry on his body) and his horns. His closed eye and the feeling he is enjoying a pleasant moment scratching an itch.

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Why I like this photo: The perculiar perspective (taken from a crouched position in the middle of a road that was crumbling into the reservoir). The layers of the road's construction. The harsh and sharply focused black and white of the road materials in the foreground contrasting with the soft hazy blues and greys of the water and sky beyond.
To improve: The sky is overexposed.

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Why I like this photo: Difficult to place the scale at first glance. The deep crack winding through the rock like a canyon. The crinkles and nobbles reminiscent of skin under a microscope. Cool mottled colours on the surface and dark shadows in the cracks.

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Week 3 photo enhanced in Lightroom. Viewpoint [f/5.6 1/60 ISO 200]

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Why I like this photo: The unusual perspective and the detail I wouldn't usually be able to see. The texture of the skin on her wet nose, her white whiskers, the folded shape of her upper lip, and the dribble, captured by chance, catching the light just before it dripped.

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Why I like this photo: The sharpness of the focus and the rocks with stark highlights and shadows. The visible layers of the rock formation - maybe thousands of years old - with plants (whose fresh green leaves might be only a few weeks or months old) somehow managing to take root.

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Single saturated colour [f/11 1/125 ISO 200]

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Why I like this photo: The colour contrast between the wall and the emergency telephone is obvious but the contrasts in the workmanship are interesting to me too. The person who laid the rough natural stones worked with their shape, finding a way to fit them together using thick uneven mortar. This contrasts with the intentional, manufactured shape and polished finish of the emergency telephone cover and with the black trunking neatly pinned in a rectilinear path. All man made but with different attitudes.

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Why I like this photo: The big heavy sky with clouds forming a ceiling. The huge scale of the modern, highly engineered turbine towering over the old dry stone wall. Both serving their purpose as intended. The straight lines and uniform colour of the turbine against the unevenness of everything around it.

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Week 2 photo enhanced in Lightroom [f/7.1 1/4000 ISO 800]

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Why I like this photo: Captures a four thousandth of a second in a short kerfuffle, which was just a blur of quacking and flapping to the observer. Without the camera, I would never have seen the drama in this moment. I left ISO at 800 by accident, but I like the that this made the drake's feathers look like an oil painting. With his rich colours and wild eye reminded me of the victim in one of Caravaggio's violent scenes.

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Week 3 photo enhanced in Lightroom [f/5.6 1/80 ISO 800]

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Why I like this photo: It was sad to see this baby bird. Camouflaged with the twigs and leaf litter, people had missed him and he was trodden into the footpath. Stopping to look I noticed all the detail and texture in the path. Added a vignette to spotlight him.

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Why I like this photo: An unusual and grisly subject with so much detail visible in the fleece and rocks and lichens. The brightness and soft texture of the fleece - different above and below the surface; contrasting with the darkness of the still water and treacherous rocks. The gentle curve the sheep's body against the angular boulders. The lanolin seeping out and forming a film on the water.

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Why I like this photo: Same pylon shape repeating into the distance. Cables running over the observer towards the horizon. The graduated sky.