Monthly Assignment (September 2011) - Mi Casa

Folks,

To start the ball rolling with this month's photo assignment...



(ISO 100 - Shutter Speed 1/180th - Aperture f11 - Focal Length 70mm)

Our satellite dish!

Rgds,
Howard

Our baby Yucca!



Richard.

Richard,

Nice Yucca plant, and the three sections lend themselves to a pleasing composition. But hey... we're trying to improve our shots here in the club, so I hope you don't mind some constructive comments...

With shots like this we can either try to show the subject matter in relationship to its surroundings, or as a standalone subject isolated from its background. Your image falls into the first category (intentionally or not!) as it shows your plant in relationship with your villa and garden. This is fine, but if you have the time, try to either position yourself so that the shot taken doesn't include any unimportant or distracting details. In this case, maybe a change of position or different zoom setting may have omitted the box/lounger in the bottom left, the security sign on the wall and even possibly the pool hose (which could have been moved even). Sounds like a lot of hassle, but it would lead to a 'visually' less cluttered shot and more, IMHO, pleasing to the eye, as it concentrates the viewer on the subject matter. If you don't have time when taking the shot, some of that unwanted detail can be cropped or adjusted (blurred etc) when post processing your shots. I hope that makes sense!

Alternatively, you could go with the second option and try to deliberately isolate your subject from the background. This would involve either positioning yourself so that your subject is viewed against a distant or plain background, or... selecting a larger aperture on your lens (small f number), if your camera allows. The larger the lens aperture, the shallower the depth of field (a very important concept we'll cover at a meeting) which will, through the out of focus band behind your subject, isolate it and make it 'pop out' in your composition.

Again, a little trick... cover the bottom left corner of your shot with your hand, and the security sign with your thumb... then remove them. You should see the focus on the subject change without the distractions. It's an old camera club trick to consider what should and shouldn't be cropped or cloned out.

Don't mean to be hyper-critical, as yours is a nice image, but a good example for discussion on the points above.

Rgds,
Howard

Folks,

Here's another shot of 'Mi Casa'... taken from the pool.



(ISO 100, Shutter Speed 1/500th, Aperture f8, Focal Length 10mm)

Any C&C (comments and critique) welcome.

Rgds,
Howard