Author Topic: Results and Feedback for the "Bokeh Revisited" Weekly Photography Assignment  (Read 6686 times)

keithsnell

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The guidelines for this assignment were to produce aesthetically pleasing out-of-focus areas in your images.  Several methods for accomplishing this were recommended, such as looking for a scene that had a enough separation between the primary subject and the background in order to blur the background, and controlling your depth of field so that the background was rendered with a smooth blur instead of a distracting jumble of partially focused detail.  Ultimately the goal is to learn to pay more attention to the backgrounds in our images, and try to create backgrounds that contribute to the overall design of the image.


The background in Chris' Horses Fed image provided useful context for the portrait; however, several areas in the background were relatively high contrast when compared to the primary subject and tended to draw my eye away from Jim Hoy's face.  I wonder if using fill flash to add just a bit more punch (a little brighter, with slightly more contrast and cleaner colors) to Jim's face might have done the trick?  Just a bit of fill flash would have also helped add a bit of sparkle to Jim's eyes, which I think would have helped add "character" to this portrait.  This image appeared to be shot in one of those tricky heavy overcast days that make it really difficult to get the white balance right.  That said, it appears to me that Chris did a great job capturing the personality of this very interesting man, and that[/i,] after all, is what counts the most in successful portraiture.  Nice job Chris.


Horses Fed
Photographed by Chris Franklin


Chris' second image titled Jim Hoy provided a great example of how much difference focal length (and magnification) can make in blurring out the background.  I did think the white balance was "off" a bit in this image too, and that it was a bit flat.  I pulled the image into Photoshop and increased the contrast and tweaked the color with the "enhance per color contrast" option in the curves dialog.  I think the use of just a bit of fill flash would have also added "sparkle" in Jim's eye and really made this portrait stand out.  (And yes, I "cheated" in the modified image and added just a touch of catch light to Jim's right eye and the smallest amount of smart sharpen.)


Jim Hoy
Photographed by Chris Franklin



Jim Hoy (enhanced per channel contrast in Photoshop curves dialog)
Photographed by Chris Franklin


Alan's Splashes of Color image was a great example of "toning down" a potentially distracting background, while still using the colors and shapes in that background as part of the overall design of the image.  Given my predisposition to avoid centering the primary subject, and the fact that I really like the background on the left side of the image, I wonder if a crop showing only the left two thirds of the image might provide a little bit stronger composition?


Splashes of Color
Photographed by Alan Albrecht

I would propose a crop like this:


Splashes of Color
Photographed by Alan Albrecht (proposed alternate crop)


My objective in my Pansies image was to create a softly blurred background that would contribute to the overall design of the image, so as I explained when I posted the image, I chose to trade off detail in the primary flower in order to achieve the narrow depth of field required to blur the background.  I think it works OK because there are still a few areas of sharp detail, and the transition from in-focus to out-of-focus isn't too distracting.


Pansies
Photographed by Keith


Rick's image titled The other team scored again! showcased the outstanding clarity that can be achieved by using a top quality lens and good technique.  As others noted, the blurred players in the background added interesting context without being too distracting.  Nice.


The other team scored again!
Photographed by Rick Pepin


Michele's image titled Après la pluie, le beau temps was a fascinating exploration of the effects that can be achieved with an extremely narrow depth of field produced by shooting with the aperture "wide open" at high magnifications.  I believe one of the effects that Michele was experimenting with was how to make the interesting round highlights from the out-of-focus water droplets.  I think what really made this shot though was the interesting light on the leaves.


Après la pluie, le beau temps
Photographed by Michele Bollhalder


I think Michele really nailed the effect she was looking for with her After the rain image.  It takes a creative eye to see the possibilities in this scene, and solid technical skills to be able to capture this type of image.  The colors work together extremely well in this image, the water droplets add to the "lush" feeling, and the bokeh of the out-of-focus highlights adds a magical element to the image.  This image tied for People's Choice and I've selected it as Editor's Choice for Artistic and Technical Merit.  Outstanding!


After the rain
Editor's Choice for Artistic and Technical Merit and tied for People's Choice
Photographed by Michele Bollhalder


Michele's Little Bird image also had wonderful bokeh.  Somehow though, the harsh lighting on the bird in conjunction with the dark background reminded me of the Alfred Hitchcock movie "The Birds." :)


Little bird
Photographed by Michele Bollhalder


I was captivated by the eyes in Lar's Cat Bokeh image and the beautiful background colors complemented the eyes very well; however, I felt that the saturated colors of the background fought for my attention and drew too much focus away from the eyes.  I experimented by decreasing the saturation of the background a bit in Photoshop, and I think the modified image still provides a complementary background without pulling too much of my attention away from the primary subject.  I've uploaded the modified image for your consideration.


Cat Bokeh
Photographed by Lars



Cat Bokeh (slight color desaturation in background)
Photographed by Lars


Lar's image of the cup was a creative way to add a "soft" background to an image.  I like the effect and may have to experiment with this idea too!


Cup Bokeh
Photographed by Lars

Chris' use of a narrow depth-of-field in his image titled The Floor is Lava was a creative way to illustrate what the band is about.  The image definitely gives us a sense of the character of the band, without being too overwhelming.  Nicely done Chris.  (And GREAT job capturing a useable and artistic image at those light levels.)


The Floor is Lava
Photographed by Chris Franklin


In the course of creating my Tulips image, I looked for a scene with enough separation between the foreground and background to enable me to get crisp detail in the primary subject and a very smooth blur in the background.  I might have overdone the soft blur a bit in this image; however, I kind of like the mix of the two distinct styles of realism and impressionism in this composition.


Tulips
Photographed by Keith


Dave's Glass Trees image was another composition that illustrated his wonderful artistic vision.  The "echo" and repeating patterns of the glass tree in the background bokeh was very effective in making this image more than the "sum of its parts."  The degree of blur in the first tree in the background was just about perfect, creating an "echo" of the primary subject without being too distracting.  Wonderful work Dave.


Glass Trees
Photographed by Dave Leiker (prairiedust)


Dave's image titled Quince Bokeh 1 was another very nice image that was composed to take advantage of an "echo" in the background that reinforced the foreground elements.  The Quince bushes we have in our yard are extremely "busy" and although I've looked at them several times in the hopes of finding something that would support a decent composition, I've failed to come up with anything that I thought was worthwhile.  This makes me appreciate Dave's beautiful Quince images even more.  This is a wonderfully artistic interpretation of a difficult subject.


Quince Bokeh 1
Photographed by Dave Leiker (prairiedust)


My Pure Bokeh image was an experiment based on one of the views I noticed when I was searching for tulip compositions with decent bokeh.  As I manually adjusted the focus and examined the scene, I saw this view that reminded me of a painting in the style of impressionism, and I liked it.  I thought it also provided an example of potential backgrounds that could be placed behind tulips that were about to bloom.  The slight double image on the tulips is caused by the wind gusting during the exposure, so it wouldn't have been possible to take a conventional image at this time anyway, and so I just played around with the possibilities.


Pure Bokeh
Photographed by Keith


The colors and tonality in Ree's image titled Morning Bud - Bokeh were a great complement to the primary subject, and definitely contributed to the overall design of the image.  Nicely done Ree.


Morning Bud - Bokeh
Photographed by Reecha Lal (goes by Ree in the forum and May in the gallery)


Marilyn's image of the Cholla fruit was another image that very effectively used a subtle "echo" of the patterns in the primary subject in the background bokeh.  Marilyn captured wonderful detail in the primary subject, and the slightly brighter light on the foreground fruit definitely helped the subject "pop" from the background.


Cholla fruit
Photographed by Marilyn McKinney


Marilyn did a great job creating nice bokeh in the background of her Lady bug & lavender image, but I suspect the windy conditions prevented her from getting "tack sharp" details in the primary subject.  Still, this is a pleasing composition that shows the possibilities, if only the wind would cooperate.   Very nice composition Marilyn.


Lady bug & lavender
Photographed by Marilyn McKinney


Marilyn captured a wonderfully sharp flower in her Red fairy duster image while still creating such a smooth (and complimentary) background.  Great job arranging your composition in order to achieve sufficient separation between the foreground and background Marilyn.


Red fairy duster
Photographed by Marilyn McKinney


Rebecca's Double Tulip image had great clarity and color in the tulip.  This tulip was on a fairly short stem, and relatively close to the ground, so Rebecca couldn't quite get the separation between foreground and background that she wanted, but this is still a beautiful rendition.


Double Tulip
Photographed by Rebecca


Julie's Statue Bokeh was a fun image that used the bokeh of the out-of-focus lights in the background to convey a sense of celebration.  The different intensities of the lights add a wonderful sense of depth to the image and really help to draw the viewer in.  Nicely done Julie


Statue Bokeh
Photographed by Julie Schroeder (WriteHeart)

Thank you again to everyone that participated in this assignment.  Your beautiful images were a wonderful inspiration to me.

Keith
« Last Edit: April 11, 2011, 08:46:45 PM by keithsnell »

Michele

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Thanks, Keith, everyone.  What a nice way to start the day.  I love reading the feedback you have on the assignments because I always learn something when I go through all the photos and read the summaries or improvement ideas.  Yes, I was trying to manage sparkling circles using the sunlight and water.  Turns out that your advice was right on target.  It is not something you can really control other than trying different angles.  I thought this was an interesting assignment because there are slight variations on exactly what a "bokeh" is.  

Today, the sky is very, very dark and is getting darker.   The forecast calls for dropping temperatures and rain for the week or longer.  I'm glad I took some time yesterday morning to take some shots for balanced and for "Spring".  It's kind of fun having an open assignment on the side. (Not that "Spring" was a long-term assignment.  It's just that the opportunity was there.)  I was thinking about the whole one week - two week assignment thing.  You know, as we work on our weekly assignments, if you kept an open assignment for let's say a month, then we would have the best of both worlds.   For example, if the assignment is weather- or seasonal-dependent.

Have a great day,  

Michèle
« Last Edit: April 12, 2011, 12:58:23 AM by Michele »

keithsnell

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I was thinking about the whole one week - two week assignment thing.  You know, as we work on our weekly assignments, if you kept an open assignment for let's say a month, then we would have the best of both worlds.   For example, if the assignment is weather- or seasonal-dependent.

Michèle

That's a great idea Michele, especially for assignments that are weather or seasonally dependent.  It makes it a little easier to pick a starting and stopping date if we make it a longer term assignment, although based on the widely varying seasons it would still be a challenge for me to pick appropriate dates.

I would encourage people to revisit the assignments, and feel free to post new images, as they have the time.  I often feel the urge to keep trying even after the assignment week has passed, and I should probably get into the habit of continuing to practice a technique or style until I feel like I am able to consistently "get it right." 

So, you all should feel free to add images to the assignment albums even if the "official" end of the assignment has passed.  I assume that if images are posted in an assignment album that you are looking for feedback, while if they are posted in one of the other albums I am less likely to be so "forward" with my feedback. :)

Keith

Michele

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I often do repeat assignments on my own, especially when I feel I just never got them right.  I think adding to the assignment folders after the due dates is cool too.

I think when we keep the weekly assignments, we are still motivated to get  something that is assigned by a due date.  I find this pushes us not to procrastinate taking photos and second long-term assignment for a month or so would be general enough to handle the more "theme"- (lack of a better term) styled assignments. 

And, we get to take even more shots!!! 

I have a lot on my plate right now but your assignments get me to take the time doing what I love to do and I, again, want to thank you for all time you spend teaching, motivating, critiquing, encouraging, etc.

Michèle

keithsnell

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Thank you Michele.  You are all a great inspiration to keep me going with my photography too.

Keith

marilyn

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I've been thinking about Michele's idea of having a longer term ongoing assignment and admit it's intriguing to have one weekly and another longer term.  There are so many technical things I need and want to master in order to feel like I truly "own" them - like depth of field for example.  i was wondering if something technical might provide a way to practice something over and over with different subjects and folks writing comments, questions, etc. along the way.  We could still do the short term ones that keep us coming back for more while we continue to practice, practice, practice with a longer term more technical assignment.  On the other hand, maybe I just need to name some of those techniques and practice on my own within the weekly assignments....

I have two upcoming photography challenges coming up this summer -- the first is an Alaskan cruise that we're doing in May/early June -- would welcome any advice.  And the second is our writing project summer institute in a room with white walls, florescent lights and water bottles and junk always strewn across tables - the lighting is horrible, I don't want to be intrusive and yet we are always wanting pictures for the website, fun slide shows or writing assignments, etc.  I'm not sure what kids of assignments would address those challenges but would appreciate any suggestions.......

It's great to get the suggestions and commentary each week, so thanks for that and the tremendous inspiration. 

keithsnell

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Hi Marilyn,

You are going on an Alaskan cruise in May/Early June?  So are we!  I'm still struggling with what camera equipment to bring along, with the primary constraint being the airline flights.  I'd love to bring along all of our long lenses, but carting them along for the land portion of the tour and all of our transfers (along with two kids and all our luggage) just doesn't seem like it would be practical.  As a minimum, I think we will be bringing our D3100 w/18 - 70mm zoom, 200-400mm zoom, D3 with 28 - 70mm zoom, an external flash and flash bracket and one of our good tripods with the sidekick gimbal head.  As well as lots of memory cards, a small and light 10" netbook for downloading and reviewing images (and checking email, etc.), and at least one external 500 gig drive for backups.  Oh, and we won't be silly enough to forget the battery chargers for our cameras.  (I seriously considered getting the Panasonic GH2 for the trip, but by time I got the lenses I would want with the camera, it would have been an expensive "point and shoot" and not gained us much capability.)  I'll have to post more thoughts about our trip as we get closer.

Probably the one thing that would help the most for your writing project images would be to use an external flash and bracket.  Learning to bounce the flash off the ceiling will provide the single best improvement of any images taken under those lighting conditions.  (Fluorescent lighting can be really nasty, and the best way to deal with it is often to "overpower" the fluorescents with a decent power bounced flash.)  I've always been amazed at how little attention people will pay to a bounced flash.  Direct flash can be distracting, but for some reason people don't even seem to notice a flash when it is bounced off the ceiling.  A flash with a built-in "bounce card" (Canon calls it a "catchlight panel") works very well for providing a nice bounced light with a small amount of direct light to fill in the eye shadows and provide catchlight.  The 580EX II has the "catchlight panel," but this is an expensive option.  A less expensive option might be something like the 430 EX II with the Lumiquest Quik Bounce http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/602483-REG/LumiQuest_LQ_122_Quik_Bounce_Light_Modifier.html.  As an option, you could also bounce the flash off a white wall behind you to provide a large diffused light source.

Now that I think about it, "Bounce Flash" might be a good topic for an upcoming assignment?  (But it would require that you have an external flash to use.  You could buy a much less expensive Chinese flash like this: http://speedlights.net/2010/09/22/yongnuo-yn-465-flash-review/; however, I'm starting to lean towards recommending that people save their money and buy equipment made by their camera manufacturers, it's less hassle, and less expensive in the long run (i.e., you don't waste money buying something that you will eventually want to replace with "the real deal").  Or you could borrow Clay's 580 EX. :) )

Keith

« Last Edit: April 13, 2011, 08:32:44 AM by keithsnell »

Michele

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Hi guys.  Just a small recommendation.  Don't buy the 430 EX II.  I did and now I regret not buying the 580.  It works fine, that is not the problem but it goes through batteries very quickly.  It does not support battery packs, which I find essential.   The battery packs are cheap enough and would help the length of time you can use the flash before having to change the batteries and therefore a faster recovery time too.

Just my opinion.

Michèle

keithsnell

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Hi guys.  Just a small recommendation.  Don't buy the 430 EX II.  I did and now I regret not buying the 580.  It works fine, that is not the problem but it goes through batteries very quickly.  It does not support battery packs, which I find essential.   The battery packs are cheap enough and would help the length of time you can use the flash before having to change the batteries and therefore a faster recovery time too.

Just my opinion.

Michèle

Good recommendation Michele!

Keith

Michele

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Are your camera and lenses waterproof?  If not, how about making yourself a do-it-yourself covering just in case of rain but beautiful opportunities.  Not because cruises aren't, I assume, high enough to keep things dry but rain may be an issue.  I would hate to miss an orca or whale shot due to rain.

I also recommend an extra bag that can carry an extra extremely important piece of international equipment...  About the size of a person who is 5.6 f and weighs... oh forget that part, with some holes for air...   

keithsnell

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Are your camera and lenses waterproof?  If not, how about making yourself a do-it-yourself covering just in case of rain but beautiful opportunities.  Not because cruises aren't, I assume, high enough to keep things dry but rain may be an issue.  I would hate to miss an orca or whale shot due to rain.

Excellent recommendation to bring a rain cover for the camera and lens.  I have a rain cover that was specifically designed for a pro-size camera body and 500mm lens, but it's bulky enough that I rarely carry it.  Instead, I simply put a folded plastic garbage bag and some decent size rubber bands in a pocket of the camera bag.  They work almost as well, are light and portable, and I always have them with me.   (They'll work as a rain poncho in a pinch too. :) )

Keith


Lars

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Hi guys.  Just a small recommendation.  Don't buy the 430 EX II.  I did and now I regret not buying the 580.  It works fine, that is not the problem but it goes through batteries very quickly.  It does not support battery packs, which I find essential.   The battery packs are cheap enough and would help the length of time you can use the flash before having to change the batteries and therefore a faster recovery time too.

Just my opinion.

Michèle
A bit too late I have already bought one >:(

Lars

Michele

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Oh Lars, I use my 430 EX II all the time and I like it, but if I can turn back time, I would have bought the larger one simply because of the battery pack issue.  It doesn't mean that I don't use mine.   I don't think you are going to hate yours if you don't have to take a lot of photos in a row for an extended period of time.

Michèle

Michele

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Hey Keith, where can I get one of those?  I can't locate any here in Switzerland.  I would love a proper cover for my camera.  I use the bag idea too and I made this mini umbrella but I feel like such a goof at times.

Michèle

keithsnell

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Hey Keith, where can I get one of those?  I can't locate any here in Switzerland.  I would love a proper cover for my camera.  I use the bag idea too and I made this mini umbrella but I feel like such a goof at times.

Michèle

Hi Michele,

I bought my Laird Rain Hood http://www.apogeephoto.com/laird_photo.htm many years ago when there weren't many other options available.  (Mine is the Large version listed on the website.)  If I had to buy a rain cover today, I would probably go with something substantially lighter and easier to pack into a pocket in the camera bag, maybe even like this:  http://fotosharp.com/25_camera_rain_cover.html or even something as simple as this: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/469774-REG/OP_TECH_USA_9001132_18_Rainsleeve_Set_of.html  The OP/Tech covers are definitely small, cheap and light, and I would probably always carry one in my camera bag (unlike the others which would be too bulky).  The OP/Techs aren't designed to work with a tripod, but I think they would work OK with the short lens foot on my 500mm.  You can spend LOTS of money ($150 - $250) for a pro-level rain cover that will fit over a long lens, but I don't see the need for something that substantial unless you do a lot of shooting in the rain.

Hope this helps.

Keith