Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Creativity ~ Telephoto Tuesday!

"Brilliant Gerbera"

Freedom to be creative. That's what getting my first DSLR a few years back meant to me. My original camera, a point n' shoot, would be considered a dinosaur now. And it was restricting. I would get all these photography books out of the library that would talk about bokeh, aperture, depth of field. And quickly figured out that my tiny little digital couldn't offer me any of that. Point n' shoots have come a long way since then, but I knew when I held my first DSLR that I now had the power to be creative.

To this day I love the deliberate use of a wide open F-stop. Soft shapes with very selective detail, a single subject with a twinkling bokeh as the backdrop. A large aperture on my telephoto as close to a subject as it will let me get (in the case of the posted photographs today an F/4.5) means I can use almost anything as a background. In the image above it was my dining room wall, in the following photo it was a rather abstract oil painting I produced a few years ago. Anything that would contrast nicely with the reds.


"Come Away With Me"

I guess what I needed to remember this week, is how easy it is to play with settings in your camera and create some dramatic photos out of simple ideas. Some great light and a shallow aperture are sometimes all you need. Watch your meter carefully, and away you go. I'm amazed at the amount of people who never leave the comforts of automatic. But a few simple basics and you'll be on your way to learning what your camera really can do for you. And then how to creatively express yourself. I myself have gotten away from doing some close-up work... so I think I'll take the next couple of weeks to find some inspirational subjects to zero in on.

Personal projects! Let's get creative! Thanks for the ramble folks! Have a super day, and get out there with your cameras... in manual for a change!

2 comments:

  1. I love this photo display Christine. Not only is it a favoured flower of mine, but it brings out the beauty of Gods creation and also of your talent. Thanks so much for posting it.
    Lori

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  2. You're very welcome Lori! I know of several people that just love gerberas... they're one of the easier flowers to photograph too I think!

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