Focus at different apertures

Exercise 3

This exercise was all about taking three photographs standing at an angle to a row of things  - in my case a row of houses. The photographs were taken using a tripod and with the camera set at three different apertures. I printed out each  photograph to compare the differences between them.

Photo 7  :   f 5.6  @ 1/4000

Photo 8 : f 11 @ 1/1000

Photo 9 : f25 @ 1/250

Comparing the three prints to determine the depth of field at each of the different apertures was not as easy as I expected.I'm not sure whether this was the quality of the photography or my varifocle glasses! It took a while to really see the limits of sharpness but that said, I could then see the difference between the lowest and highest aperture setting.

Focus with set aperture

Exercise 2   Focus with a set aperture

This exercise required finding a scene which had depth and from the same place taking three pictures, each focused at a different distance.

P4 : 46mm@ f5.6

P5 : 46mm @ f5.6 

P6 : 46mm @ f5.6

I focused on the first globe pepper mill first (P4) and worked backwards towards the garden. While not the most interesting of compositions, I was able to demonstrate how the sharp focus draws the eye every time. Of the three photographs, I guess I prefer the middle one ( P5 ) one as it shows interesting detail not assisted by the line of objects. That said, different subject matter or the kind of image desired would necessarily influence what different focus distance would best.
While doing this exercise, I recalled a recent photo taken inside the stricken ship Costa Concordia published in a number of newspapers. The link to this photo is :

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/01/16/article-2087126-0F7C172000000578-957_470x423_popup.jpg

I was drawn to the picture initially by the angle it was taken which heightens the drama plus the reflections of light captured in the water. I realise now that the focus distance used is what really draws my eye and it is this focus with the blurred outer edges of the picture that significantly adds to the drama.