Our Picture This! assignment for this month was Background Blur, creating a
sense of dimension in the photograph by playing a sharp foreground subject off
against a blurry, or unsharp background. Readers sent in a wide variety of subjects,
from flowers to statues to birds and carnival rides, all using this time-honored
technique. Many used telephoto lenses to enhance the shallow depth of field,
while others relied on subject placement and close focusing against a distant
background to attain the effect. In all cases the technique does something eminently
"photographic"; it holds a moment that the naked eye can only consider
in a picture, and not in "real" life.
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Monarch: Nolan Braud used a Canon EOS 10D with a Canon 75-300mm
lens to capture this gorgeous butterfly as it landed on some flower
petals. His exposure was f/9.5 at 1/90 sec.
© 2005, Nolan Braud, All Rights Reserved
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Water Lily: Janice L. Braud made this colorful photo where the
buds of the lily seem to jump off the print with her Canon EOS
ELAN 7E and Tamron 28-300mm lens, with extension tube. Exposure
was f/6.3 at 1/8 sec.
© 2005, Janice L. Braud, All Rights Reserved
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Springtime Flowers: Kim Heiser worked with her Canon EOS Digital
Rebel and 80-300mm lens at an aperture setting of f/4.5 to attain
this wonderful counterpoint of color.
© 2005, Kim Heiser, All Rights Reserved
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Superb Starling: Without the use of background unsharpness it
would have been quite difficult to pick this bird out from the
limbs. The nice placement of the vine also helped. Gary O'Hara
made this shot with a Canon EOS 10D with a 135mm lens set at f/4.5.
© 2005, Gary O'Hara, All Rights Reserved
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What `Chu Lookin' At?: That's the apt title
sent in with this fun shot of a "goby" made by Andrew
Wallace on a recent dive at the Breakwater in Monterey, California.
Wallace worked with an encased Nikon D70 and 105mm f/2.8 lens
and twin Sea&Sea SB120 strobes. Exposure was f/5 at 1/160
sec.
© 2005, Andrew Wallace, All Rights Reserved
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Dewey Dragonfly: This amazing photograph was made by Gary W. Potts
on an early August morning with his Nikon F5 and 20mm lens on
Fujichrome Velvia. He exposed at f/11 at 1/20 sec and kept things
steady on his Gitzo tripod and Kirk ball head.
© 2005, Gary W. Potts, All Rights Reserved
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Statue In The City: Neale M. Albert made this golden shot with
his Contax 645 on Kodak Portra 400 VC film.
© 2005, Neale M. Albert, All Rights Reserved
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The Eye Of The Peacock: The painterly background really makes
this peacock stand out. Allen Bellman shot with a Canon A2 and
100-400mm Canon lens on film, although no exposure or emulsion
was noted.
© 2005, Allen Bellman, All Rights Reserved
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Flying Lady On Blue: Shot at a car show in Southern California,
Charles Abrams worked with his Nikon F5 and 80-200mm AFS lens
on Ektachrome VS 100 slide film.
© 2005, Charles Abrams, All Rights Reserved
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Take Your Mark!: Becky Andelson made this photo of daughter Emily
as she waited for the starter's signal at a swim meet. She
worked with a Canon EOS Digital Rebel and Sigma
28-200mm lens. Exposure was f/5.6 at 1/400 sec.
© 2005, Becky Andelson, All Rights Reserved
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