Bokeh is so trendy

Aperture, ISO and shutter speed are terms that I used to throw around, back when I knew how to use an SLR camera (yes, an SLR not a DSLR)!  What I remember now is that all 3 need to combine to produce a properly exposed and focussed image (proper being subjective of course). 

I was pleased that this weekend’s homework was related to aperture – or f-stop as I was taught to call it (in the late 1990s). Aperture is the size of the hole in the lens, which regulates how much light is let in, and the key thing I need to commit to memory is that smaller number = bigger hole – sometimes the smaller number is described as a ‘wider aperture’ which I find helpful.

The precise challenge issued by AYWMC was to take 2 photos exactly the same, only changing the aperture – the first image at the largest number aperture which is 11 for me, and the second at the smallest number.  Interestingly, the smallest number ranged between 1.8 and 2.8 for me, and I am not sure why it varied.

Geoff and I both had a go at this challenge – while I am the photography fiend in the family, it’s also nice to have photos of me in it (other than just selfies), so it’s great that he’s joining in. As I mentioned in a previous post introducing this challenge, I loved the photos of my grandparents travels, but my pa wasn’t in many of them – too busy being the photographer – and I’m keen to avoid that for myself.

Blossom with aperture set at f11

The camera really struggled to focus on the foreground on this setting.

Blossom with aperture set at f2.5:

If only the sky were bluer...