Camera Focus

Thuja · **Posted:** Thu Apr 20, 2006 1:07 am

Nice shots there David. Looks like you got that camera figured out.
Glad your rhizomes are now producing some shoots. Yee ha. 'Tis the season.

David · **Posted:** Thu Apr 20, 2006 3:25 am

Mike,
Thanks but they're not anywhere near as good as yours. My visual accuity is not what it use to be, and with a wide apeture and a narrow depth of field I have a really hard time focusing. Automatic focus is just not acceptable for closeups with either of my cameras. Got any ideas?

Thuja · **Posted:** Thu Apr 20, 2006 1:35 pm

I agree that focus is the biggest challenge. Lately I have used a tripod or set the camera on the ground and set the timer to snap the photo. I think most cameras will let you manually set the aperture so if you aren't holding the camera, or you're in bright light, you can get greater depth of field.

As anyone who snaps photos of bamboo soon knows, autofocus usually locks in on the background instead of the subject. For pictures w/in arm's reach, I would often hold my hand out near the subject and focus on that 1st and then move my hand away. My new camera has better focus ability and I don't need to to do that. I still go with the "luck" factor and take a lot of photos hoping to get lucky with a few. No film or prints to waste so I figure that's the simplest way.

Anyway, you've got good focus in the above photos so you must already have some tricks up your sleeve.

David · **Posted:** Thu Apr 20, 2006 3:09 pm

I've been using a tripod, and I also use the timer if my shutter speed is below 1/125. One of the things that I find bothersome is shooting at web page resolution; they look out of focus no matter what I do. About 20/1 is my ratio of cull pics to keepers.

I wonder what Bill would think about a bamboo photography forum. Maybe you and I could be the moderators? I think bamboo may be the hardest subject I've tried to photograph, and I know I would benefit from others experiences.

David · **Posted:** Thu Apr 20, 2006 7:34 pm

Hey! Look at us. We got a photo forum! I guess this means Bill said yes.

Iowaboo · **Posted:** Thu Apr 20, 2006 7:48 pm

Not only that, when I look at users online: your name appears green now. Ah yes, spring is here.

I knew there was more than pointing and clicking involved regarding some of the photos that have appeared on this site. I make the aging eyes cringe on this forum when I display my photos. Sometimes they are so warped that a nun thought the image was possessed by demons.

Thuja · **Posted:** Thu Apr 20, 2006 8:29 pm

Good idea!

David wrote:

One of the things that I find bothersome is shooting at web page resolution; they look out of focus no matter what I do.

That's one thing I'd recommend setting the resolution as high as you can. It sounds to me like your camera might be compressing your images too much. Afterwards you can use a graphics program or a photo shrinker to make the photos small enough to post. I think it was Kudzu who helped me discover the MS Image Resizer, free download from http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/down ... rtoys.mspx Once installed, it is very easy to use. Just right-click on the photo(s) you want to resize. The program makes smaller copies of each selected photo.

David · **Posted:** Fri Apr 21, 2006 1:53 am

Now that's exactly what I needed. That explains one of the reasons for the fine detail evident in your pictures. I will definitely check out the link.

Hey Lance, I'm green :!:

I feel like Kermit.

I've got to head over to the North American Enigma thread, and defend my position regarding A. gigantea that it originated here, and not Asia or South America.

This is going to be a really cool forum :!:

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Camera Focus

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