Thornley Woods

[Black Pearl]

Thornley Woods

or

Fun With A 50mm

 

Out today for a glorious walk through the woods, the sun was out, the dog was ecstatic, the boys were full of fun and although I had three lenses with me the 50mm never came off the front of the K30.

 

 A prime example of the 50mm flexing its shallow DoF muscles:

 

Thomas deciding he was tired...I think because there was an uphill bit:

 

A splash of colour

 

Pod:

 

 

[JohnP]

I like No3... the Ragwort shot... very nice.

[colinb]

like em' all, very simple images that make you study what is there.

[FUJI]

Love them all BP.....the DOF from your 50mm lens is amazing.......settings please.

FUJI

[Black Pearl]

Fairly simple settings.....I pretty much always run the K30 with a combination of Aperture Priority and Auto ISO.

The ISO as I've posted previously is irrelevant for web use so I don't pay it any attention just leaving it to the camera to sort. Shutter speeds are also of little importance as I know the camera will up the ISO if they drop too low so what I concentrate on it two things:

 

1. Focus - what point in the frame I want to be in focus and how much of the remainder appears to sharp.

2. Composition - if you are able to let some of the technical bits slide into the grey areas at the corners of your photographic mind you can concentrate on how the image in the viewfinder balances.  

 

The first three shots were take at f1.8 and f2 - the lens if shot at f1.7 but can be a tad soft so I tend to stop down a tiny bit to balance shallow DoF against bite.

The last shot was taken at f2.8 as I was focused close and the in focus/out of focus hit rate is lower the closer you get. 

 

Simples!

[fuzzyedges]

50mm on a cropped sensor is equal to nearly an 80 mm in 35mm film days which makes an ideal portrait lens

As you have shown

[Black Pearl]

I have to be honest an offer an open apology - I have argued against the 50mm in the past saying that a 35mm lens (being 50mm on a crop body) is a better choice. Which to be fair it is but I have been hammering the shots out with the Pentax 50mm of late and I'm getting the feel for its (equivalent) length and can get the shallow DoF I'm after easier that I can with my beloved Nikon 35mm. 

 

The  argument that you should pick a bit of kit, learn a bit of kit, get to know exactly how that bit of kit works before moving on to another really does work.

[NannyFerret]

I like all of them, but the first two of your boys are really lovely.

[Black Pearl]

Thanks, they're perfect 'sitters' having been shot so often.

[Kobione]

Great set, BP, always like to see your boys, and the surroundings. Love the gentle colours in the last one.