Flowers and Aperture

Take a look at these two pictures.  Not because they are great.  They are not.  But because there is a lesson in aperture in these pictures.

As I was trying to capture the beauty of this field of clover, I was trying several techniques.  One technique is to use the aperture setting to control the depth of field in the image.  You can see it quite obviously in these two image.

It was evening, right around sunset, so there was not enough light to handhold the camera at f/22.  So I had it on a tripod.  These two pictures were taken without moving the camera.

The major difference is the aperture setting.

The first image obviously was shot at a very small aperture (actually it was f/22).  There is a lot of detail from front to back in the image.

The second image was shot at a much larger aperture.  The depth of field is much smaller.

Which one is better?  That's not the question!  Which one suits your purpose?  That is the question!

Field of Clover

Annette and I have driven past a field of clover a couple of times.  It was so beautiful that we finally went back with our cameras.  It's one of those places that have a beauty that attracts you, but once you are there with your camera, you can never quite capture the beauty that you see.

But we tried!  Oh, yeah, we tried a couple of times this week.  Pretty soon the clover "flowers" will be past their prime.  But we failed to capture the beauty for a couple of reasons.

#1 is that we never were there for the right light.  The first time we got there the light was good but it was only 15 minutes before the sun went behind the horizon.  The second time, we went earlier.  The light was good be we were there for only 5 minutes before the sun went behind some clouds and never came back out.

#2 reason is that the beauty is so chaotic.  From a distance the field looks like it is covered in a layer of red.  However, from up close there is just too much detail.  Yes, I know we can use depth of field to control some of the detail.  Yes, I know you must isolate your subject.  But it just wasn't working for us, well at least for me.  Maybe Annette has great images, I don't know.

 This first image is what attracted me to the field.  It was just a beautiful sea of red clover.  At least it was when I was going 55 mph!

This second picture is my attempt to simplify and isolate a portion of the field.

We will have to keep going back until we get some "keeper" images!  I hope the clovers last that long!

Go Forth and Multiply!

Annette and I went to the Graduation Ceremony at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania last Saturday (May 7, 2011).  We were there to witness the graduation of Kristi Kushnir, a very special girl to us.  You can see here getting her official graduation picture taken in the center foreground.  Woohoo!  Hip hip hooray!  Woot woot!  Congratulations, Kristi!!!

Kristi completed her Bachelor degree in four years!  From the statistics that I have read, this is becoming less and less the norm.  Congratulations, Kristi!

Like the rest of the graduates, Kristi is working hard and striving to find her place in the world and this picture symbolizes that.

How does this symobolize that?

First, a person's place in the world is in ever larger and larger contexts.

• The student is part of the class of 2011.  We can see in the image that each graduate is an individual, but together they make up that sea of blue in the image that is the Class of 2011.
• The Class of 2011 is part of the University.  We can see in the image that the Class of 2011 is on the football field in front of school buildings.
• The University is part of the educational system.
• The educational system is part of the US economy.
• The US economy is a part of the world.

Second, everything and everybody is inter-related.

• If you talk to the students, you will find that almost every class has at least one assignment that is to be completed with a team.  So, the students are inter-related.
• It's a little bit difficult to see, but that sea of blue in the image above is divided into sections.  Each section was for a different department within the university.  If I had to guess, I would guess that no degree can be completed totally within the department that controls the degree.  For example, Business majors have to take classes within the Humanities department.  Therefore, the departments within the university are inter-related.
• The university has relationships with the government, acreditation boards, and business.

My point here is this:  Each student is part of larger systems and is inter-related with other students and the larger systems.

You could say that makes each student and their work insignificant because they are such a small part of the entire system.  I say, NO, NO, NO!

Look at it as a force multiplier.  Each student can use those systems, of which they are a part, to multiply the impact of their efforts.  Each student can use the relationships to multiple the significance of what they do.

So to the Class of 2011 ( and earlier classes, too), I say, "Go forth and multiply!"  Use the relationships and systems to change the world for the better, in a big way!