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Thursday, May 10, 2012

Keep it simple...

There's a lot that can be said about the title of this post when it comes down to shooting for the fun of it, so today I set out on an exercise to do just that. As the saying goes in America: KISS - Keep It Simple (Stupid). Again, I am using the absolute minimum of gear, as I find it liberating to operate without all that bulk and weight. I'll have to keep an eye on it, though, as it could lead to me getting lazy and missing opportunities where bigger lenses are de rigueur.


Just before I leave home it starts to rain (again), but undeterred I set off and let whatever catches my eye be my subject. Adopting this approach can produce a wide variety of images from a shoot, and I start photographing as soon as I reach a local park. The overhanging leaves of a beech tree are my first subject, and I shoot with a medium-wide aperture and get in close. This has the effect of throwing the background into a pleasing blur; or bokeh, as the Japanese call it.

Later, the rain accumulating on a seafront bench provides another point of interest, and my looming over the scene to get the shot creates the dark edges to all the droplets.


50mm f/1.8 AF Nikkor.

Top: 1/200 second at f/4. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 400
Right: 1/80 second at f/4.5. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 400


© 2012

2 comments:

Nic said...

When did these posts appear?! Blogger failed to tell me about them.

I am desperate to make the most out of this drizzle, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to feel inspired, I must say. :)

N

Richard Brewer said...

Blogger has a mind of its own, Nic, no matter what preferences we set to inform us of updates. :-)

Drizzle can have wonderful effects on everyday objects. It's just a case of keeping an eye out for potential subjects and getting in close; something you do very well.