The Experience of Depth

Of late my Passion Flower Vine has captured the attention of some Fritillary Caterpillars. So far I've counted 7 of them. What I love most about photographing small critters is what I'm able to do with the depth. I used the "super macro" setting on my camera and focused on the head, allowing the rest of the frame to blur as it would. I used the rule of thirds for my primary composition guidelines and looked for interesting angles. When dealing with a shallow depth of field I've found it best to take many pictures even of the same basic shot because fractions of a difference in the depth can change the entire focus of the picture.

For example, what if in the picture below I had mistakenly focused a fraction to the left of the caterpillar's head? It would have focused on the flower bud and slightly blurred the caterpillar rather than bringing it in sharp. It is often hard to notice the slight changes in depth when taking a picture which is why I always take several just to make sure I get it right.

Notice this picture below, if you look carefully the focus is on the middle of the caterpillar rather than it's head. Do you see how such a subtle change hinders the photograph's effect? I love the composition of this one but the slight misplaced sharpness really detracts from the overall picture.

To read about Andrew and Kathlena's experience with these little critters visit our Family Blog.

Gone Panorama Crazy

 Lately, I've gone a little crazy with the Panoramas...I discovered that with Photoshop it is super easy! All you do is click file-new panorama, select your photos, click ok and let her go!

The panorama below was taken behind the building where our church meets.

 At The Beach

The panoramas below were taken at our family's vacation to Galveston

This was the view from the beach house that we rented:

This one is my favorite, we were collecting shells near the San Luis Pass

 On the Beach...

 Our Beach House (from behind)

(Now, try and guess where the seam lines are. :))

Around Our House
Notice that my brother, J.Michael is in all three photos I used for the panoramas below.

Sometimes a little cropping is necessary but other than that it is super easy! Just make sure you watch your exposure so that the pictures will 'sew' together seamlessly. Always err on the side of overlapping-it is far easier to merge duplicate information than to try and re-create what's not there.

Beach Trip: Brain Teasers

In the beach house where we stayed there was a mirror which stood parallel to the front door that led to the balcony overlooking the beach. On our first morning there we decided to eat breakfast on the balcony. The wind was very strong so we chose to leave the door open so we could come in and out more easily. Standing in the doorway I was telling my mother how I loved having such a large mirror when I suddenly had an idea. It is a well known fact among photographers that the photographer is the least photographed for obvious reasons. So, we photographers will result to all sorts of creative ways to say "we were there". I've tried taking a self-portrait in the mirror before but it never has seemed to work very well. I typically have to use the flash which messes up the whole picture when it bounces off the mirror obscuring my face. But this time it worked. With the open door facing the sunrise there was enough light to not use the flash and if I lowered the exposure it was even better because I got a silhouette.

 This was my set-up:

 Zoomed in and exposure reduced to bring in the waves.

This one is my favorite:

 and...here are some other interesting shots

 Who is where? Are they walking towards the mirror or the doorway?  

Beach Trip: In the Waves

Beach photographers make it look easy. Their pictures present a calm, peaceful, and serene atmosphere that makes you wish you could've been there...naturally, I thought that beach photography would be easy...but there were a few things that I didn't take into consideration-like wind. What do you think causes those big waves that are so great for boogie-boarding? And what exactly do you expect to build a sandcastle with? That's right-sand. Oh, and let me remind you that there is no escaping from these natural elements. There is scarcely any trees to speak of to block the wind and...nowhere to wash your hands. *sigh* So much for my peaceful and serene beach picture. Most of my pictures are covered with a salty, sandy film mixed with a bit of sunscreen. :( But...I got better as the days wore on. I learned to take pictures before I got into the water, to bring my cleaning cloth, to point my camera down away from the wind when I was not taking a picture, and not to lather on sunscreen too heavily on my forearms. :) With that said here are some of the pictures I took that didn't turn out too badly.

Day Two:

Notice how I used the rule of thirds to frame many of these photos.

Notice how my two brothers form a line from one corner to the next.

Hmm mm mmm...love those thirds...:)

I love the simplicity of these photographs below, with, again the rule of thirds calling the shots. :)

Looking for Shells Near the San Luis Pass:

(Above and Below enhanced with Photoshop sliding color controls)

Guess what? The thirds are at work again!

Day Four:

Simplicity is not a bad thing. 

Simplicity of composition, color, and subject all bring the viewer's focus right where you want it.

Looking for Shells Again by the San Luis Pass:

Day Five: 
In Galveston 

 

"Little Prairie On the House"

Yesterday, Daddy took Kathlena and I to see the Little House on the Prairie Play at the Hobby Center starring Melissa Gilbert as 'Ma'. To read more about our outing see my post on my family's blog. We went out to the Cheesecake factory (in the Woodlands) for dinner with three other Father/Daughter Couples. We had dressed up for the occasion and had our pictures taken outside when we had eaten our fill. The timing could not have been better, the lighting was just perfect, and for those of you who have been to Market Street the place is very beautifully built and lends itself to portrait photography.

 I love how the picture below turned out, it was taken just far enough away to capture the sign...but nothing else. This is definitely my new favorite group shot...too bad I didn't take it. Thanks to the unnamed lady who took this picture for us. :)

Then we took some Father/Daughter(s) shots:

I like the tight shot on this one...

...and the wide angle on this one. 

I love how the pole on the right formed such an appealing composition.

Thank you Daddy, Kathlena and friends for a wonderful evening together!

Ready, Set, Wait

What's wrong in the photo below?

Is it the subject...or the lighting?

This photo was taken at about 11:00 AM Notice how harsh the shadows are and how bright and washed out all the colors are. (Makes me want to squint!)

This picture was taken several hours later at about 5:30 PM 

Notice any difference? The harsh shadows have disappeared and the colors are cool and soft.

Here's the two pictures side by side:

 

Both of these pictures were taken in auto with NO post-capture editing. 

Isn't it amazing the difference simply waiting a few hours can make?

Pretty Girls

Yesterday, several girls from church wore matching dresses and I simply couldn't resist taking their picture and they were all too happy to model for me. :) Thank you Parker and Hood girls!!! And thank you Shelbie for being my assistant (you'll see her in the last two photos).

In searching for a good background I had a few specific things in mind I was looking for:

1. A place where the girls wouldn't be squinting into the sun

2. A place that complimented the colors of the girls dresses such as the green trees

3. A place that had a pretty but not distracting background

In the picture below I layered a duplicate of the photo and applied a simple black frame to it then added the flower graphics, coloring them black. Can you tell that it's actually two photos on top of each other?

I like this one because it's a candid shot.

Such a classic...