Aperture begins....

Aperture, a word which would usually put shudders into many. However understanding it, would give you great insight on how to use it in various environments.

Aperture usually refers to the definition of how much light is able to enter through a hole. Saying that, applying it into photography aspect is about the same. In controlling aperture during shoots, we are limiting the amount of light to fall on the sensor. Therefore many would say a bigger aperture would bring forth a faster shutter speed.

I believe many new guys would be confused with terms, such as f-stop and aperture. To put it into simpler terms, it actually means that a small f stop number refers to a large aperture size. And a large f stop would translate to a small aperture size. In other words the relation between f stop and aperture is that they are inversely proportional.










The picture above illustrates the relationship of the aperture opening VS the f-stop number. Say example at f/1.4 you would get the largest aperture hole size, however, at f/8 the aperture size is way smaller.

By understanding how aperture is going to affect the pictures you are taking would open up more room for creativity as well as achieving certain effects. A very common term used in photography is 'bokeh' and another much talk about topic is ‘depth of field’. These two terms would be further explained in the post.


‘Bokeh’ – The poison to many wallets.

1. The word bokeh is derived from the Japanese word, boke ぼけ, and a noun form of bokeru; blurred or fuzzy.
   
2. In photography sense, it’s referred to the appearance of out-of-focus areas in an image produced by a camera lens in the region of shallow depth of field. I.E, usually the creamy looking blur you get for the background of the picture.
   
3. Achieving such an effect is relatively simple; all you need to do is to adjust your aperture or f stop to get the creamy blur effect. That is the reason why many people are getting their hands on prime lenses.

Why bokeh?

• Bokeh is a very good effect to utilize when there are situations when photographers want to draw their viewers’ attention to the intended subject of their picture. This effect is so natural that it would automatically draw the eyes of viewers to the subject. Bokeh is also a very good medium in reducing distractions from the subject in the picture.
  

Achieving the best with Bokeh.

• Always take note of the distance between the subject in the foreground and the blurred background, a nearer foreground with a further background would create the pop-out effect best.

In this example, the subject is the Man with the sword. I captured him at the following settings.

F-stop: f2
Focal length: 85mm
Looking at the Bokeh created behind him, the cars in the BG are blurred in almost a circular form. In my recollection, the cars were about 10-12metres away from the subject. And the Subject was about 1-2metres away from me. Thus creating such a bokeh in the picture.




What is Depth of Field?

Depth of Field, a.k.a “DOF”, is the area/distance span you want to have in sharp focus. As lens only focus at a single distance, sharpness of the picture would decrease gradually on the either side of the focused distance.









In both pictures, I was focusing on the digits 1650. However the distance that I stood from the focus point was different. The picture on the top most was shot almost directly with me standing below the time board. And the picture at the bottom was shot with me standing 2-3 meters back from the stop I took the left picture. Settings for both pictures were consistent, and as follows:
Focal Length: 150mm
F-stop: f2.8
Exposure: 1/80

• There are many discussions on ‘Shallow DOF’ and ‘Larger DOF’. When I first started out, these two terms were always confusing me with the term Bokeh. Note that Bokeh, it is the creamy blur effect you would achieve in regions of the picture which is off focus, and DOF simply means, from the start point of the subject distance to the other end of the distance of the frame to be in sharp focus. In other words, DOF is a condition and Bokeh the effect that comes along with the condition.

Shallow and Large Depth of Field

• There are in some circumstances when large or shallow DOF would be applied to bring the captured shot to its maximum potential.

For example,

• In situations such as capturing landscapes when you want the entire shot to be in focus, a Large Depth of Field should be applied. “Large F stop number”.

In the landscape shot above, notice that there is no apparent blur in the infinity region; area around the horizon. This is due to using a small aperture. Settings as follows:

F-stop: f8
Focal length: 10mm

• On the other hand when doing shots of insects in macro viewing, a shallow DOF would be applied, as that would efficiently bring the subject out of the background.
  ** I wished I have a picture to better illustrate the point over. However I do not owe a macro lens nor a close-up filter to capture what has been described above.

An opening chapter

Every best seller book has to start with a page. And this is the start of my story; my life story. Not a very complete one, but one that starts from the day that i start recording.

Its interesting to see how things evolve around you and change. Characters, feelings, expressions and even thoughts. I've just recently read on a few of my friend's blog. All were interesting, well written. But throughout those posts, I've understand their plight. It could be just me that always analyze people's words. Thinking more of the sentence they said or written. Put it as my only defense mechanism that's inbuilt. Its through these analyzing that have saved me from many unforeseen, "foreseen" situations.

Life have been hectic for me... 2 weeks of course, 2 weeks of preparation for my up-coming tests, and with the audit near the corner, it does not contribute to any positive thoughts into my head. YS* said i have been giving myself too much pressure on myself. However for all that cost, i cannot afford to not do well in any of my tests in my academic journey in SIM. Every single grade and mark i gain, translate into a form of motivation to push myself to go and reach out even higher and further. Photography as usual is always in my mind. Dreaming of carrying my trusted camera out for shoots, bringing it out to see what others do not commonly see or percept. Even without the camera in my hands, my mind carries it around with me. Looking at angles that many may deem me as crazy. But who cares? Its the questioning about how things looks that matters. Perhaps, in my next post, i should share on my chain of thoughts on how i take pics? This could be potentially helpfull to newbies whom are still picking up photography. Or should i touch on Photoshop? Ain't a pro in it, but, played with it extensively for like 3 yrs? Let me consider.... Maybe, perhaps....