Depth of Field

This beer sampler from the Saugatauk Brewing Co. nicely illustrates a "shallow" depth of field. Notice how the light American lager in the foreground is out of focus, as is the Porter and the IPA in the background; but the English bitter in the middle nicely stands out. This is accomplished with a zoom lens, a high shutter speed and lens aperture around f/5.6.

Framing

Very often "scenic" pictures, those that have a wide or far way view such as sunsets, mountain ranges and the like, need a "frame" to add depth and perspective. This is Lake Michigan.

Rule of Thirds

This is taken in Douglas, MI, with the zoom at 210 and a hi shutter speed to open up the aperture. Notice how imortant the background is to the impact and message of the photo.

The "Strength" of Black and White

Some pictures just are made for Black and White film. Sure, I could have enhanced and saturated the color in the image below, but I think B&W can make a stronger statement. This is the Michigan Dunes at Saugatauk.

Timing

This is a timing shot, sitting at an outdoor ice cream shop in Saugatauk, MI, over this past weekend, watching the crowd stroll by. Camera was on, lens was extended, and when this young woman stopped to lean against a lampost while her boyfriend went inside to get some cones, I was ready. However, it is a bit like "stalking," so I was prepared to show her the pic and offer to e-mail it to her if she wished.

Below, BTW, is the original jpg file, before I used the levels tool in Photoshop, with a bit of color saturation too in the image above.