Pink and Grey Galah (view larger)

I can't resist a shot or two of these visitors. Their colouring is so vibrant.

Regards

Hi Grayham,

This is a great image !

Your technical settings were spot on.

This beautiful bird is complemented by the nice background , too.

Best Regards,  Mike 

As my lovely partner Louise, continues with her Chemotherapy we

spend a lot of time on her back porch. Her bird feeders attract a variety

of bird life and we never tire of their antics, nor the taking of images. The

late afternoon sun tends to enhance their awesome colourings. A

theraputic time of the day for us both.

Comments are always appreciated..........

Regards

Best regards Grayham!

PDE

.......... I always enjoy your visits. Thank you for your kind comments. I like to think that the more I practice with this specific lens, the better I will get. My "backyard friends" are always willing subjects......... just keep the feeder full.

Regards

Excellent title. Made me giggle.

Hi Grayham,

Well, by using the correct working distance with the focal length selected, the F-stop number can remain small (more open) and the vivid colors and clarity only becomes better. Your use of F/5.6 was fine on this subject. The background was imaged well , too.

You are fortunate to have so many wonderful photogenic subjects.

Best Regards,  Mike

How does one know what that distance should be? ( I realize this might be an elementary question, but I feel an "ah-hah" moment coming on). I know the relationship of apeture to DOF, but a best working distance as related to focal length?

Mike, do tell...

What a stunning image Grayham.

Very well captured.

Regards

Gareth.

Grayham, what a wonderful subject and coloring.  You all are indeed fortunate to have this at your back door.  Great title! Thanks for sharing!
My Best,
DonnaT

Lynn, Amy, Gareth and Donna ......... thank you so much for stopping by and your kind comments.

Yes, we are fortunate to have these "visitors" pose for us.... almost on command (smiles) but Louise and I are really looking forward to getting away to country for different subject matter, early in the new year, when her Chemo treatment is over.

Best regards

Hi Grayham,

Amy asks a good question, so I will address it here: Let me put forth an example so that you can follow the process:

I have a 50mm , 100mm and 200 mm lens all set to F/5.6.

I will also set them to F/2.8 later.

At 10 feet away, the 50mm F/5.6 will have a DOF  (total) of  32 inches

The 100mm at F/5,6 will have a DOF (total) of 8 inches

The 200mm at F/5.6 will have a DOF (total) of 2 inches.

Clearly the pattern is that when the focal length of the lens is doubled, the total DOF (foreground to background) decreases by a factor of 4 times.

Now, using the same working distance of 10 feet, here is the effect of F-stop:

At 10 feet away, the 50mm F/2.8  will have a DOF (total) of 16 inches

The 100mm F2.8 will have a DOF (total)  of 4 inches

The 200mm F/2.8 will have a DOF (total) of 1 inch.

Clearly, using F/2.8 will reduce the total DOF by a factor of 2 as compared to the first example.

So, the factors of F-stop, focal length and working distance are related.

The best way , other than getting a calculator out before shooting an image, is to become familiar with the lens and practice shooting a subject at various ranges with a fixed f-stop and variable f-stops.

 For me, to stop down a high quality lens is a no-no. For the very high cost of such lens is due to their design intent of being shot wide open.

For me, it is rather set, since all my highest quality lens are shot wide open (lowest f-numbers) most of the time, I just need to pick the correct working distance for the focal length that I am using. Since I focus manually, I can use the total DOF to my advantage. Rather than have an equal foreground and background focus, I can bias my lens focus position to favor more foreground or more background.

This is also useful when shooting a subject that is not oriented parallel to my lens. I can select my point of best focus such that more of the subject remains in focus , since I have used a working distance that allows the total DOF to cover the subject.

If you work with these various techniques , you will soon find that you become better acquainted with the best operation of your lens, and the camera settings.

When I do stop down a high quality lens . it is due to my using a flash at close range, and this allows for better control of the levels  at slow shutter speeds.

Best Regards,  Mike

Grayham and Mike:  Many thanks to Mike for the technical education and Grayham:  The "Kung-Fu fighting" title was the one that got me tickled. I realized I forgot to comment on your actual photo, so, let me just say that I think the detail and use of depth of field in this one is spot on. It's a bonus that the photo has some humor as well.  

Amy.......... thank you for posing the question to Mike, it was a good one and his reply is outstanding.

Mike....... a great response that I have printed off for future reference. Thanks for such a detailed, yet well-explained, reply.

Amy... again............... thanks for your kind comments. Happy to give you a smile.

Kind regards to you both. 

Hi Grayham,

You are welcome. To Amy and others that post questions for me, I appreciate the opportunity to answer them  and perhaps help others that read the various dialogue following.

The PN images are enjoyable to look at and quite often do serve as a good starting point for valued questions and answers to occur.

This is the primary reason that I post so many different lens/cameras and subjects to my portfolio, since there are many lessons that can be passed along through the commentary and details provided.

Best Regards,  Mike

.......... always nice to have a Photo-guru on board. I appreaicate your time in imparting your knowledge so willingly and at a level that all can understand.

Best regards, my friend

Beautiful image of this lovely bird Grayham. Such fine details in the plummage and almost a 3D feel, when it is against the subtly muted DOF. Very nice work Grayham.

Kindest regards, Gail

......... just another of our "noisy" visitors. Thanks for stopping by and your kind words.

Always a pleasure..........

Kindest regards