Focal Depth

A fascinating effect of telephoto photography is the available distance over which focus is sharp. Here the photographer in the foreground, inside the focal depth range, appears as sharp as the main subject, which is at least 20 to 30 metres further away. This shot was taken at the Goolwa Classic Airshow, February, 2007, and was sharpened, and colour- and contrast-balanced. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic, telephoto. Image by Mike.

Focus on a Stem

Click image to view at 1000 pixels wide

Here is a trick easy with a manual SLR but infuriatingly difficult with a full auto system: focusing on a wispy, insubstantial subject rather than the material further away filling the rest of the frame. With a manual, crank the focus ring until you have what you want, nothing could be simpler, but with an autofocus system it's often pot-luck as to precisely where in your composition focus will fall. As with the aircraft shot published recently, the chip has here successfully chosen the foreground object as the focal target, creating that wonderfully 'arty' feel, as the soft focus de-emphasises the background. This shot was taken in the rainforest garden at Flinders Medical Centre, south of Adelaide, in December, 2007, and was sharpened and colour- and contrast-balanced. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Super-Macro Magic

Click here to view at 1000 pixels wide.

Super-macro is one of the neatest features of the Fuji FinePix ... also one of the hardest to handle. You're photographing objects that are so small, the caterpillar in this shot is depicted at 300% life size! The slightest movement either of your hand, the camera or the subject, and you get OOFF, which is an acronym for the technical term "Out Of Focus Fuzzies." And what's worse it, there's no simple trick to cure the OOFFs. Auto focus or manual focus, makes very little difference. It comes down to two things: 1) steady hands, and 2) a very, very still subject. There is a trick, however, that professional photographers have used for eons, when photographing tiny wildlife such as ants. Capture them, and a stick, leaf, whatever. Put the whole lot in a jar ... put it in the fridge for a couple of hours. Insects slow way down when they're cold. The ants will stop running and will seem to strike a pose! There: National Geographic shots. Easy, wasn't it?! Photo by Mel, 2007.

Focus and contrast: red hot pokers imitate art

Click here to view at 1000 pixels wide.

Once again, life imitates art. These red hot pokers are trying valiantly to be a screen print! They're a marvelous splash of color in the landscape of late summer, downunder, where the dust and "brown lawns" can become a little jading and overwhelming after a long, parched summer. Getting the shot was tricky, but far from impossible. It's a question of not letting the camera focus anywhere it wants to. Automatic focus is fine and dandy, but for an image like this -- click the camera over to manual and make sure it gives you what you want. Photo my Mel, 2009.

Through a Plate Glass, Sharply

Click image to view at 800 pixels wide

One thing about travel, you spend ridiculous amounts of time waiting for transport. It all starts at the airport of departure, and if you're careful you can get in some practice at aviation photography. It's not as easy as in the physical photography days, or unless you're using a digital SLR, as the sonic focusing system has the greatest difficulty getting hold of aircraft in flight (well duhh!) This Boeing 767 had just left the runway at Adelaide International Airport in November, 2006, and I shot quite a few arrivals and departures before getting this one, clear and sharp. I was shooting through the plate glass wall of the lounge, which makes me wonder how the chip can process the information generated by the acoustic focusing beam, passing through the attenuation factor of the glass on both pulse and echo, but it does. This is necessarily a telephoto image and that also makes focus more difficult. The image was sharpened, colour-tweaked and cropped for publication. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic exposure, maximum optical zoom. Image by Mike.