Spanish Village

I looked out the window and I saw the beautiful blue sky, enticing me, taunting me to go out for a walk with my camera, Dates (haha, just thought of giving it a name). But where would I go? I was undecided. So, I just stayed put and took out Dates and shot from the bedroom. This is the Spanish Village as they call it. This is a low-rise condo just across the street from where I was standing. Took this practice shot using a CPL filter. There aren't much clouds so the sky turned out really blue. I'm still getting the hang of it. It took me about 30 seconds to figure out this shot. My first shot had great contrast but the buildings were quite underexposed. So I adjusted the exposure bias by +0.3EV and got this shot. It is very easy to underexpose a picture with a CPL filter on. Anyway, I'll continue to practice. More photos to come.

Understanding Bokeh

Bokeh, derived from the Japanese word bokeaji, meaning "blur". Bokeh is the photographic term for the out-of-focus area in the photograph produced by a camera lens rendering a shallow depth of field. Different lens bokeh produces different aesthetic qualities in out-of-focus backgrounds, which are often used to eliminate distractions in the background giving more emphasis on the subject (definition quoted and paraphrased from Wikipedia), usually seen in portraits, macro photos and nature shots, such as the one above. Actually I have only encountered this term while comparing specs for 50mm f/1.4 and f/1.8. They say f/1.4 has better bokeh, better blending of colors, and why not, it is far more expensive than the f/1.8 - about 2 to 3 times more expensive. If you're gonna pay more money for that, it must definitely give you better results. Anyway, just wanted to post this to show "bokeh". This photo actually is part of the "50mm - Daylight Series" post.

Photoshoot Anyone?

The photo above is a shot I took at the Photography Living Gallery Exhibit at the National Museum of Singapore. This is the kind of studio camera they use to photograph people back in the 19th century (Thank God for compact DSLRs nowadays). The second photo (below) is a picture of the device they use to manually retouch the photos, somewhat like the darkroom processing of films. Talk about manual photoshop. Basically, these were some of the more pertinent equipment that a photographer needs to produce a sound photograph. Anyway, it's just amazing how these things are preserved so that younger generations such as ours will be able to appreciate and see the creations of the past. My visit to that museum was particularly extraordinary. It was very modern, hi-tech, creative and educational at the same time.

* More photos and stories from Singapore soon.