Monday, January 27, 2014

I'm Seeing Red in f1.4....


Do you see that lovely cardinal above, flying freely to dine throughout neighborhoods.  Flying whatever the weather dictates.  Unfortunately I am afraid that my flying freely to Arizona might not happen tomorrow due to our absolutely dreadful winter we have been experiencing.  Flights have been cancelled due to the frigid temps and high winds with the prediction even worse for tomorrow. Very sad face inserted here.   I have been doing the happy dance for the past several days knowing that I was leaving to enjoy sunshine and warmth for 10 days, only to be reminded that Mother Nature sometimes has the upper hand in determining when those getaways can occur.  Insert same unhappy face.

Hmm, oh well.  There is just no controlling Mother Nature and life does continue.  I will pack my bags today, laying out short sleeves, capris and sandals in anticipation of that warmth to come whether it's tomorrow or the next day or....oh please not any longer than that.

OK, switching subjects....please, this week's assignment in our 50mm class is to shoot wide open with our lens.  Now wide open means using the smallest number that you can get in adjusting your aperature.  That has always confused me....I think wide open should mean the highest number, but somewhere in the brilliant minds of those that determined what "wide open" meant decided low number (must have been a man).  And to make it even more confusing (to me anyway) I have 2 50mm lenses.  One I purchased with the very first class I took which has a "wide open" aperature of f/1.8, then later I purchased another 50mm, this one with an aperature of f/1.4.  Now anyone that has any knowledge of math or cooking knows that 1/8th is smaller than 1/4th right.  Not so in camera talk, because 4 is a lower number than 8, so thus it has a more "wide open" aperature. So now that I have ranted about "wide open" what it really means is that when you use the lowest number and focus on an object, the object should be in focus while the surroundings should be out of focus.

These was taken in my living room which has abundant light since it faces south.  And you can see the flowers that are in-focus and the vase (ball jar) really out of focus.




And another one... sure glad I stopped at Trader Joe's yesterday to pick up this little bundle of beauties.


Another advantage of a wide aperature (f1.4) is that you can take fairly good images in extremely low light.  This is in my family room which tends to be dark, it faces north and the drapes were even closed (because of the damn cold) and I still managed to get a decent shot.  Not the best, but it does prove that the trusty nifty fifty has quite a talent and deserves to be in your lens collection.


And I saved the best for last...my little Cinder.  She was basking in the sunlight on the living room floor and looked up as if she was giving me her best side.  (just like a woman)


And btw....red is probably my biggest challenge to photograph...I do believe I might have mentioned this before.  It tends to get, what I refer to as hot spots or blown out places, but using a lower exposure and editing in lightroom helps me with that challenge.

As I was typing this I did hear a plane fly overhead...hmm!!


32 comments:

  1. (i cannot get the aperture settings thru my thick skull. opposite logic)

    i do hope the weather will allow you to leave tomorrow! best of luck!

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  2. I am so sorry about the delay in your trip; keeping my fingers crossed you will be able to fly out tomorrow....Mother Nature does love to mess with our plans doesn't she?
    The aperture settings drive me crazy...opposite to what it should be and I always have to stop and think....From the looks of these gorgeous shots you have mastered the illogical rules of photography...
    Cinder is so cute in her red jacket...just perfect with her black and white coat.....

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  3. Hoping that you get to head south very soon! And hope it is south enough when you get there. It is pretty south here and is 33 degrees. Although it was 74 yesterday. Glad you are having so much fun with you nifty fifty. I love mine! Love that shot of Cinder who is just so adorable.

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  4. I sure do hope you are able to travel tomorrow, Deanna.
    It's been one tough winter, for sure.
    All of these photographs are really beautiful, but that little Cinder has my heart.

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  5. Love your shots! And yes, sometimes the photog terms seem backwards although I think I'm finally getting used to them.

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  6. You lost me at f.1.4... I'm no good at instructions! Lol.

    Gorgeous photos though -- you did it right. :)

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  7. Your photos turned out beautifully. I haven't learned the aperture settings yet. It just confuses my poor brain.
    I hope you get to leave tomorrow for some warmer temperatures. Have a great trip.

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  8. Beautiful images, as always. :) I do hope you get to take your trip. My hubby's scheduled to leave for California on Wed. morning and we're expecting some harsher than usual conditions here, too. It doesn't take much to shut the whole city down!

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  9. I completely agree...Red is a challenge for me as well. Your images are completely beautiful however, and one would not guess that you had a challenge with red at all! All images are completely beautiful. Stay warm...it is definitely a winter of sorts.

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  10. Boo Hoo to canceled flights. I hope the weather works out and you have a wonderful trip! Thanks for the lesson :)

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  11. These are gorgeous! So sorry you can't get away to warmer climates - but so glad you've found the beauty around you!
    Stay warm!

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  12. Your reds are lovely! But little Cinder steals the show. Yeah - I totally get it on the apertures ... but it took a while. I bought the Nifty Fifty almost right away. Then not too long after, the 250mm compact macro {remember, I'm a Canon girl!}, and then just a few weeks ago, the 1.4 I also have the 40mm macro pancake. Now ... what does one photographer need with that array of lenses? And I really don't like the 40mm at all. Kim S. loves hers. Pam said it's great for video so I guess if I ever to video, I'm all set. Oh, fingers crossed that you'll get to fly out soon. I thought you were leaving Thursday but whatever ... I hope it all works out.

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  13. Oh my, I hope you aren't delayed too long . . . The thought of sandals and short sleeves is so tempting!

    Love your discussions about the lens and photos . . . I may get brave and decide to get a new camera . . . I MAY . . .

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  14. What a beautiful shot of Cinder!

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  15. Very nice images w/your 50 mm. Photography classes are good at producing lens envy. I encountered that when taking classes through Continuing Ed at a university in a prior life. Too bad I sold them all to buy my 28-200 mm.

    Hope you can fly soon...and safely!

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  16. Such beautiful photos!! And I learned something on top of just being inspired... Your little dog is the cutest!! I hope you'll get to be in warmer climates soon!! xoxo Silke

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  17. You did a great job! I always have to stop and think about those numbers, too. Cinder is such a sweetie, lifting her little head up for a photo. :-) I hope your flight can get out as soon as possible so you can enjoy that warmth! Be safe!

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  18. Gorgeous shots! I just leave my camera on Auto, the settings just are too hard for me to remember. I hope you are AZ bound sooner rather than later! It must be very frustrating to have to wait, but as I always say...maybe there is a good reason for it. Have a fun trip!

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  19. Gorgeous reds ♡ Love that little cardinal especially. And I agree with you what it comes to red... very difficult for me as well.

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  20. hi Deanna. Great shot of Cardinal and Cinder. yes, I think the figure with camera are backwards to my understanding as well. hope you get way soon, I nearly didn't get back from Scotland. when through a snow blizzard and then raid was closed, and the boat broke down the next trip after mine!!

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  21. It took me ages to understand the whole small/larges f stop thing !!! And I have such a problem with red it always looks so blown out thank goodness for RAW and Lightroom.. so hope you get to see those blues skies of Arizona soon...

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  22. Hope you are winging your way to Arizona right now.

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  23. I love the cardinal in the snow - there Is something about that splash of red. I heard about the frigid weather in Chicago - I really hope you're able to get out today! Best of luck!

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  24. Haha...I bet you are right...sounds like a TOTAL GUY THING! This aperature open/closed always confuses me too! Good luck getting out of Chicago!

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  25. Lol! It HAD to be a man to think up wide angle and all that jazz!! I LOVE my 50mm 1.4 and all that delicious bokeh and low conditions!! Red is tough but I've learned to control it in post editing. I really hope you get out to Arizona. Safe travels if you do. Xo

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  26. Ps.beautiful images. Cinder is adorable.

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  27. you are so funny! I hope your family enjoys your humor (& thought processes - explanation of f/1.4 vs f/1.8)... I've yet to wrap my head about aperature. I have to read about it each time I "intentionally" work on learning the settings. I amuse myself when I capture a shot I love & have no idea why I haven't figured out how to work the settings. It's all very random to my mind.

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  28. Oh, no! I was thinking you were getting out of there just in the nick of time! Looks like it's supposed to be sunny and 21 tomorrow so hopefully they consider that flying weather. Be sure to call when you get here so we know you arrived safely. Love all the Deanna red in these shots! Happy to see you're making the most of being housebound today. Can't wait for you to be here where you will definitely find the weather to your liking!

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  29. Beautiful photos, Deanna! I love shooting wide-open. :) I hope you managed to get to the warm weather ... PLEASE bring some back with you!!!! :)

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  30. I hope you will be wearing capris and sandals soon...this weather is for the birds (Pun intended) I have trouble with photographing the color red too!

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  31. Pretty shots! I LOVE my Nifty Fifty too…amazingly fun in low light!

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  32. I'd love to know more about photography like you seem to know. Hopefully there will be a class in the Spring at our local Community College as I have no idea about "aperture" and whether or not my camera can be adjusted to different levels.

    Those flowers were gorgeous but I have to say Cinder stole my heart. She's just adorable.

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