Lesson 1: Aperture

I had time to go over week one material and attempt the first challenge earlier this week.  But, with all the Halloween hoopla, this is the first chance I've had to write a post about it.

Week one focused on aperture.  Basically, the aperture is the size of the opening of the camera lens.  It determines how much of the photo is in focus.  For a more detailed and eloquent explanation, see the website and lessons I linked in my previous post.

The challenge was to take photos with 3 different f/stops and compare them.  F/stop is what the setting of the aperture is called.  These photos were all taken in aperture priority mode, meaning I can adjust the f/stop, but the camera does everything else automatically to best suit the conditions.  I chose my mother-in-law's porch rail as my subject because it was the only thing standing still on a windy day that didn't have shadows cast over it.

F/5.6

Notice the contrast of the finial in sharp focus so that it really stands out, to the the leafy yard out of focus keeping attention from being called to the background.  This is a good setting for portraits.

F/8

This is sort of a midway setting on my camera.  See how the leaves are a little clearer in the grass?

F/36

 In this photo, everything is in focus.  

This is a great setting for landscapes where you want to see all the scenery clearly, and people who keep their houses clean all the time and don't have to worry about clutter in the background of family photos.

I can't wait to spend more time playing with these settings when its not so windy and I can get nice shots of things like flowers or tree branches, or I can round up a really patient willing subject to participate.

Stay tuned for next weeks homework on ISO and Shutter Speed involving interesting water photography.