So, what exactly is depth of field? Simply, it is the amount of detail, within the image that is in focus. You, the photographer must decide on how much depth of field (DOF) is desired. Do you want the entire image in focus? Do you want the background out of focus ( often referred to as blown out—-I don’t really like that term as “blown out” might refer to overexposed, not out of focus).

Once you make the decision on how much of the image you want in focus, you must understand the technique that must be used to achieve your goals.

Decisions on setting to attain Depth of field are:

• The F-Stop (see below) chosen to make the image
• The focal length of the lens
• Subject size (the depth of field decreases as you decrease the lens/subject distance
• How far away is the subject?

LENS OPTIONS

Choosing a lens will have a dramatic effect on your depth of field. Lenses below the 60mm range are capable of attaining a large depth of field. (wide angle lenses) The DOF affect attained with lenses above 60mm will be less and when combining a 160mm+ lens on a DSLR, perfect Depth of field is virtually impossible. This is a principle of physics.

Hey Gang,

I first met Chris Klapheke, founder/owner/operator of Outdoor Photo Gear, during a workshop I was co-leading in December 2008, in Bosque del Apache, New Mexico. We met during the event that Chris eloquently describes below, and exquisitely illustrates above.

I was new to the area, but Chris had been there several times before.

Day one of the workshop: Not only was I freezing, but I needed some help with finding the best shooting locations. Chris took me under his wing, so to speak, and helped me, and all the members of the group, get some knockout images.

Chris is a humble dude. You never hear him brag about his photographs, yet he is one of the best outdoor photographers I know. Recently, I asked him to jot down a caption for the image you see here. Well, Chris is the kind of guy who goes above and beyond in everything he does (most recently when it comes to customer service at Outdoor Photo Gear). Below is the “caption” that Chris sent me.

• • •

My alarm clock went off at 4:30 am in the Super 8 motel in Socorro, New Mexico. A sleepy little town about an hour south of Albuquerque, Socorro is the gateway town to the Bosque del Apache national wildlife refuge.

At 4:30 in the morning in Socorro in December, it’s darn cold. Fumbling awake, I checked the temperature:  12 below zero. Great. No, wait a minute—Great! Yesterday was a nice warm day in Bosque, with plenty of sun. That means, with this brutally cold morning, that any water that was shallow enough to warm up would be emitting a rare substance in the desert winter—steam.

When you get a nice warm day and a shivering cold morning, you can have steam rising from some of the ponds in Bosque. And when you get that steam and a clear sunrise, you have a chance to capture one of the “holy grail” shots from Bosque —birds in a golden mist of light.

Juan Pons and I were recently acting as assistants on the sunset hula shoot at the Maui Photo Festival.

Great fun! Great dancers! Great light.

As usual, something interesting happened. After Juan and I set up the reflectors and diffusers to control the harsh light, I ask the crowd of maybe 40 photographers, “Can you guys see the difference in the light when using these accessories?”

Silence.

I asked again. Silence again.

Much as been written on the web about waiting years and years for all the elements in a scene to come together for a “once-in-a-lifetime shot.”

That’s all well and good, and sometimes it’s true.

But sometimes a good shot is just dumb luck. Here is an example.

In the above photograph, the five subjects are completely isolated, the side lighting is wonderful, the reflection is perfect, the background is effective in adding to the “sense of place” of the image, the dog adds an extra element of interest, and the exposure is good.

There was a time, many years ago, when my world revolved around being an outdoor athlete.  I was a rock climber, trail runner, backpacker, mountain biker, long distance hiker, canyoneer, and kayaker.  Sometimes I would combine them all when doing adventure races.  I spent most of my free time training.  I was obsessed with going far and getting there fast.  I spent a lot of time in the outdoors, but it went by so quickly that I rarely had a moment to enjoy a sunset or notice the coyote yipping in the distance. 

And then it happened.  I fell in love with nature photography.  I gave up adventure racing.  I spent more time photographing and less time training.  I stopped counting miles traveled each week and started counting rolls of film exposed.  Everything just sort of slowed down.

Looking back I realize that photography has taught me some valuable lessons.  I’ve learned that when you don’t train on a daily basis the size of your waistband increases.  Actually, I’ll blame that on age.  More importantly, I’ve learned a few things that are helpful to me as a member of the human race and I think they’ve made me a better husband, brother, friend and an all-around better person.

Photographs © Rick Sammon

Canon 15mm lens (above). Canon 24-105mm lens (below).

Both: Canon 5D Mark II.

Last month my photography workshop brought us to the Sister’s Meal Festival in a remote area of China. It’s truly an amazing experience: hundreds of women get dressed in heavy silver and cloth outfits and perform a dance in the hope of attracting a husband.

The outfits weigh more than 40 pounds. Dancing in the hot sun for hours can’t be fun.

Anyway, the light was bad: harsh, direct sunlight. Adding to the challenge, the silver head dresses reflected the bright light, and the subject’s faces were shaded by the headdresses. Aaargh!

If you are interested in Social Media Marketing (and in expanding your business), check out Rick's new iPhone App  Social Media Marketing for Photographers (iTunes link).

"Flower Man" Savannah, GA

There are many ways to find your photos inside Lightroom. The Library Filter bar contains several tools that make finding specific images easier. You can apply these filters one at a time or in different combinations to see only the images you’re looking for. To apply multiple filters, command(cntrl) click on the filter names in the filter bar. This is a great way to find and organize your photos for creating collections, as filters can be applied to individual folders or your entire catalog.

Tundra Swans. Pocosin Lakes NWR, NC

Earlier this year I had the pleasure of assisting Juan Pons at his “Geese, Swans and Bears” photo workshop in North Carolina. Birds are not a frequent subject of mine, but I always jump at the chance to learn something new.

As photographers, we tend to concentrate our efforts on learning one particular type of photography. It could be wildlife, portraits, landscapes or any number of other disciplines. It’s great to develop a personal style and hone your skills in a specific area, but sometimes it’s good to make pictures that are outside of your area of expertise.