24 22 June 2019I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113
KIT LIST ▲ ▲ ▲Doubledistancefocusing
Theusualadviceformaximisingdepthof fieldis tofocus‘a thirdof thewayin’.
However,thisis rathervagueanddoesn’tguaranteegoodresultswhenthere
is closeforeground.Focusingonthehyperfocaldistanceis moreprecise,but
if messingaroundwithchartsisn’tyourthing,trydoubledistancefocusing.
Identifythenearestobjectin yourcompositionthatyouwantsharp,calculate
itsdistancefromthecameraandthenfocusat doublethatdistance.If
youareshootingwitha wideanglelensanda mid-to-smallaperture,this
techniquewilldeliverfront-to-back sharpness. To be sure, check the review
image for depth of fi eld.Technique LANDSCAPE TIPSSunapp
Iusea sunposition
app,suchasSun
SurveyororSun
Seeker,in orderto
helpmefindwhen
thebestlightis ata
particular location.LEEfilters
Inmylandscape
photographyarsenal
is a setofLEEfilters
includingvariousgrads,
neutraldensityfilters
and a polariser.Raincover
Iusechamoisleather
asa raincoverto
protectthecamera
fromtheelementsand
alsoforwipingkitdown
if it does get wet.Differentialfocusing
Althoughweareusedtothemajorityof landscapeimages
exhibitingfront-to-backsharpnessin ‘near-far’compositions,
thereis noruletosayallourlandscapeshavetofollowthis
convention.In fact,bydoingtheopposite,youcanmakeyour
imagesstandoutfromthecrowd.Usea telephotolensand
openit uptomaximumaperturetorestrictdepthof field,and
theneitherthrowthebackgroundorforegroundoutof focus
toforceattentionontoyourmainsubject.Anout-of-focus
foregroundcanmakeaneffective frame for the subject and
add a touch of impressionism.
Focusstacking
Withverycloseforeground
interest,evencarefulfocusing
maynotgetyouenoughdepth
of field.Oneoptionis touse
tilt–shiftlensesbuttheseare
expensiveoptics.A cheaper
alternativeis tousea technique
knownasfocusstacking.Take
a seriesof shots,covering
thescenefromforeground
toinfinity,withdepthof field
overlappingfromoneshottothe
next.Thesecanthenbeblended
in softwareintoa singlefile with
extensivedepthof field.There
areplentyof onlinetutorialsto
help you perfect the technique.Back-buttonfocus
Puristswilltrytoinsistthatyou
focusmanually,butautofocus
is quick,convenientand
accurate,sowhyignoreit?
Moreimportantis toknow
wherein thescenetofocus
andtomakesurethatfocus
is lockedonceachieved.
Back-buttonfocusenablesthis.
Viaa customsetting,most
camerasallowyoutoassign
oneof thebuttonsasan
‘AF-On’buttonanddecouple
focusfromtheshutterbutton.
Youthenfocuswiththeback
(AF-On)buttonandwhenyou
presstheshutterbutton,the
cameradoesnotrefocus
before opening the shutter.Fo cu si n gObtainingfront-to-backsharpnessdoesn’t
need a maths degree, just a little patience
ALL PICTURES ON PAGE 24 © MARK BAUER