Using shallow depth of field for Pebble Beach sunset photography
It was a beautiful evening here in the Pebble Beach area so I took my camera to one of my favorite spots along 17 Mile Drive, Bird Rock. I already had the Sony 50mm f/1.2 lens on my camera from a shoot the day before, so I left that on, to get a different perspective for sunset photography, and I knew before going there I did want to shoot at f/1.2 for shallow DoF shots. Then I saw these flowers growing atop a small cliff, and used them as the focal point and let the sun go out of focus. This extreme difference in foreground and background focus interests me and I feel reveals a different world.
Continuing the new series of video features on Jason Collin Photography, this video features a top photo tip regarding another piece of inexpensive photography gear, the diffuser. For only about $40, you can get a 42” diffuser (and most are also reflectors too). In the video you can see me make the two photos below, which are unedited, the only change is one is made in direct sunlight and the other is made with the diffuser over the flower. The diffuser works its magic not just on flowers of course, also people and anything else you want to photograph in direct sunlight.
While I was in Cloudcroft, New Mexico on a rural land photography assignment, I took notice of these very unusual flowers that I thought looked like rocket popsicles that a hummingbird was having breakfast at. I had my excellent new Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Macro SP lens on my Nikon D750. There was no way to track this fast moving bird through the air. How to get this shot then? Pre-focus on a flower you hope the hummingbird will land on, and wait. I studied the bird's flying patterns a bit, noticing it kept coming back to this particular flower. I approached slowly, very slowly, and then froze waiting for the hummingbird to return. The focus point is not perfect, and I wish the hummingbird had chosen a prettier flower to drink nectar from, but I like the bokeh enough to share this photo with you.
On a recent overnight photo shoot trip to Cloudcroft, New Mexico the excellent true bed & breakfast I stayed at, The Crofting Inn, had this wonderful flower garden. Being still totally enamored with my recent purchase of the Tamron 90mm f/2.8 SP Macro lens, I am always looking for opportunities to use it. These flowers on their own would have been beautiful to photograph, but the color of the bokeh really makes this macroflora image. Then upon further exam, I thought these flowers looked like the classic rocket popsicles I used to enjoy on hot summer days growing up! Tell me what you think in the comments below.
Last week I invested in getting a macro lens, the new Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Macro SP. For those of you with really good memories, you will have realized this is my third Tamron lens in the past 9 months. Tamron is just simply producing the best lenses available for Nikon right now. I had the Nikon 105mm VR Micro (they use micro not macro in the name) lens from 2009 until about 2013 and loved it. It was such a fun lens to shoot with, as making macro shots always had a sense of wonder at showing a hidden world the naked eye cannot see. It had very creamy bokeh and was very, very sharp. I also loved it for portraits and just as my walking around lens.
Assuming you have a good subject, then light and background are the two make or break factors for any photograph. Both flower photos above have complimentary backgrounds. However, only one of them works due to the light. The top flower photo was made in harsh light. Even with a large amount of digital editing to try and recover detail in the flower, it was not possible. In contrast, the bottom flower required very little editing as it was photographed in good, soft light.
No matter how pretty the flower may be, if it is not photographed in good light, then it will turn out looking ugly in a photograph. Look for soft light for flowers. This can be done by photographing flowers in shade and basically avoiding the strong mid-day sunlight times. Early morning or late evening are often prime times for this kind of light. Then remember to make sure the background is good too!
Dandelion ready to be plucked and blown in the wind - Nikon D300 Nikkor 50mm @ f/4 ISO 200 1/400thJust a simple dandelion at the end of its flowering life ready for the wind or a young child to come by and send its parachuted seeds in flight. Do kids still even do such things on warm spring days out in open green spaces? I hope so.
