Funtography

Marathon runner

Posted by Aar in Portrait at April 22nd, 2009.

The runner in this picture has almost finished the Rotterdam Marathon.
At about 3 metres distance and aperture F/2.8 the Depth of Field was just 6 centimeters…

Composition tips

Posted by Aar in Macro and Tools 'n Tips at April 20th, 2009.

Much is said about composition: what’s on the picture, where is located in the frame and – very important – what’s left out.
Some tips:

• Don’t put the most important element in the middle
• Show enough, but not too much of the environment
• Let the picture tell a story

The picture below violates all these rules… but does that make it a bad picture??? Please let us know what you think!

How to picture your pet

Posted by Aar in Tools 'n Tips and Wonderful at April 18th, 2009.

Pets are even more difficult to picture nicely than children…
Yet, you may succeed when:

• You are lucky to have the right lens (a zoom may help!)
• The composition is nice (no blocking elements)
• Lighting is adequate (sunny or flash)
• And the animal is willing to sit still for a moment!

If all this is positive, you may end up with a photograph like this one:

Macro or close-up picture?

Posted by Aar in Macro and Tools 'n Tips at April 12th, 2009.

Officially, a photo is called macro if the projection on the film or sensor is as big as the object itself (1:1). This picture is therefore not macro, but close-up:

Several modern lenses offer “macro” (= close-up!) settings, in this case the amazing Sigma 50-500 zoom lens. To get good results, put it on a tripod and close the diaphragm to F/16. And avoid windy days!

Views from a bridge

Posted by Aar in Tools 'n Tips and Urban at April 10th, 2009.

Two pictures are taken from the same bridge in roughly the same direction, but still… they are so different:


These are the differences:

Street Musicians (Riga, Latvia)

Posted by dwilkinson in Black & White and Portrait at April 3rd, 2009.