Hyperfocal Distance and Tripods

I just finished watching the "Live Action Training" which accompanied Unit 1 of the NYIP course.  Some notes about the video:

• It ran about an hour.
• It was over 10 years old.  It talked about film cameras, didn't even mention digital cameras.
• But ... the photography concepts they discussed are still pertinent and they complemented Unit 1's audio and text lessons.
• Seeing the professional photographers actually use the techniques and then critiquing the different shots (good and not-as-good) was most helpful.   Don, Chuck, Linda and Jerry, were good teachers.
• I understand hyperfocal much better now and I know why I need to understand it.

The first topic after the introduction was framing a shot and depth of field, specifically using hyperfocal distance to take sharp pictures.  This was explained in depth by a professional photographer taking various shots for a local chamber of commerce calendar on location at a church yard.  Then Chuck Delany, back in the studio, demonstrated how to set the lens aperture and distance.

The second segment discussed two topics, using a tripod and taking motion pictures. The first photographer took pictures of a waterfall and wanted a softer motion shot with a misty look to the water falling, while the second photographer needed to illustrate, in sharper focus, a cantering horse and rider. 

More on Hyperfocal Focusing:
Hyperfocal Distance Guide (DOFMaster)
Hyperfocal Focusing (Great Landscape Photography)
Demystifying Hyperfocal Focusing (Nature Photographers)

More on Using a Tripod:
How to Use a Tripod (Roberts Web Photoschool)
It's Not as Simple as You Think (Digital Photography School)
Why You Need A Good Tripod (ZDNet)

More on Taking Motion/Action Pictures:
45 Beautiful Motion-Blur Photos (Smashing Magazine)
Taking Sports Pictures (photo.net)
Fun With Photography (About.com. Photography)

NYIP, Unit 1 update

I finished all the lesson CDs for Unit 1 on Sunday and found Units 2 and 3 waiting at my doorstep when I got home from work Monday.  How's that for timing?  I took the comprehensive on-line test for Unit 1 and got my grade a second after clicking Submit.  (I got an A+.  I missed one question so I think it should be an A, but the results said 97% was an A+.)

I'm still not finished with Unit 1 as I have a "Live Action Training" DVD to watch that reportedly shows professionals demonstrating the topics discussed in the lessons, and there are 2 more CDs.  One is a "NYIP Insider's Guide" titled How to Enter and Win Contests and the other is a "NYIP Business Series" for Freelance Opportunities which is accompanied by a 66-page booklet with the same name.

Then I have to submit 3 photo projects, but that may have to wait till spring as we are having a colder and snowier than usual winter and I'm a bit of a wuse.

It took about 12 hours to finish the lessons for Unit 1, but that doesn't count the research I did "outside class".  The research was valuable and interesting, but probably not actually necessary as it appears topics are introduced gradually with subsequent lessons going into more detail.

01/29/11: I finished the video and the last 2 CDs.  That brings the total time to 14 - 15 hours, but it took me a month to do those 15 hours.

Depth of Field

I've been researching Depth of Field (DOF) and Aperture and other things I was introduced to in my recent photography lessons. In the lesson on DOF, I was referred to DOFMaster to calculate DOF for different apertures to complete an exercise. 

DOFMaster has an easy to use calculator that produces DOF tables based on your camera and the focal length of the lens.  You can set it to give results in feet and inches, feet, or meters.  You can also download the DOFMaster Depth of Field Calculator application if your computer has Windows® 95, Windows® 98, Windows® ME, Windows NT® 4.x, Windows® 2000, or Windows® XP operating systems.  (Mine does not so I can't give any other information on this app.)

You can see a picture of how one photographer, Bernie Sumption, uses the DOFMaster DOF tables on his personal website.  He created a table for each lens, printed them, and then laminated each table.  This is a site worth visiting  You'll find several articles for beginner photographers on Bernie's site and amazing pictures of the Sumptions trip from England to Australia.  The last update was January 15th from the White Desert; it looks like salt instead of sand.