WR: Understanding Exposure *Read p. 36-69 + Take 1 & Study 1 Picture*

Guess you've figured out that I'm a procrastinator!  I finish the reading during the week, but can't seem to get around to posting about it.

Things I took from this week's reading:

I, again, enjoyed Peterson's analogies.  The explanation of pouring paint into a bucket with a funnel acting as aperture suddenly made the concept much clearer for me.  With a funnel, or large aperture (small opening) paint/light doesn't splatter and is crisp and clear.  Without a funnel (small aperture, large opening), light splatters and creates a fuzzy effect.

I also appreciated Peterson breaking aperture sizes into three main categories:  Storytelling (Largest aperture), Singular-theme (f/2.8-5.6), and Who cares (F/8-11).  As someone who has trouble keeping track of numbers, this is really helpful.  It first helps me by forcing me to decide what kind of picture I am trying to take, and from there I can decide what the best aperture would be.  Up to this point, I wasn't really sure where a good "breaking point" between apertures would be.  For instance, what F-stop is good to use when I have a group of people and I want to make sure everyone is in focus.  Yes, I know there is a mathematical formula for this...but seriously?  I'm going to sit there and figure it out?  I suppose at some point that may become second nature to me (I can only hope), but for the time being, I stand a much better chance of remembering and effectively using Peterson's categories.

My picture this week was to fit the theme of Mardi Gras.  I don't have much in the way of Mardi Gras paraphernalia, since I've never been before, but I try to use what I have without bemoaning what I don't have.  Here's what I came up with.

I'm pretty happy with it.  I used a whiteboard under the beads to get a reflection.  I'm did discover taht I'm pretty particular.  Took me about half an hour to get this set up just like I wanted it.  Sometimes I think I'm a little too OCD.  Speaking of...I meant to edit out the line of fabric on the right.  Oops.  Oh well.  This shot happens to be a pretty good example of aperture too.  I wanted a clear point of focus and the rest to be bokeh.  Well...what I really wanted was to take a macro picture, but alas, I do not have that sort of lens.  But, as I said, I do with what I have and try to make it good.

Happy almost Monday.