In response to Sylvain LANDRY, SL-Week 26: DOF.

Depth-of-focus (DOF) is a part of photography that marks the limitations of man-made lenses in capturing light or nature.

Many people have learned to turn DOF into his/her advantage. Directors often use DOF to dramatize plots in movies and TV serials. Photographers also used DOF to emphasise the focus in a still photo.

I see DOF as something I cannot evade. So, I have learned to point my camera at the exact point I wish to capture and shift the field accordingly just so that my photos do not appear out of focus.

Today, I will take the chance to share a bit more of life while opening up some of my photos for critique.

Photo 1

I love coffee as it is – no milk, no sugar, from well-roasted beans. The West calls it Americano. Espresso, if you have it concentrated in shots. Put it on the rocks and you get the iced coffee. In my local coffee shops, I call the coffee in the picture below kopi-o-kosong-peng, which translates in order of coffee-no milk-no sugar-iced.

I love how the crowd in the background brings out the popularity of coffee shop because it gives more texture and dimension to my cup of coffee. I feel that flavourful and aromatic coffee are characterised in part by how many people share in the love (for caffeine).

Photo 2

I spotted a beautiful Golden Trumpet (Allamanda Cathartica) on my way to the local shopping mall. I wasted no time snapping a picture of this flower in full bloom because I love yellow and I love flowers.

The playground and residential buildings in the background tells the story of this flower as an ornament and a ‘welcome home’ sign for the locals.

Photo 3

I wowed at the clarity of the fact that flowers have hairs when I saw this image through a microscope.

At the same time, it is also clear that DOF remains a limitation in ultra-macro shots under the microscope.

I still have a long way to go in learning to optimise DOF in my photography. Please give me pointers to improve. I will do what I can with my compact camera. I do apologise that I may not be able to take every feedback because I am not prepared to own a DSLR at the moment.

What is one bit of your life that you love capturing with photography?

Thank you for being with Cocoa Evenings on the first day of New Year. Enjoy!

[Photos:

1. Taken at Mend’s Street Cafe, South Perth, Western Australia, 11 December 2015.
2. Taken at a residential area, Singapore, 5 August 2015.
3. Taken though a microscope, Singapore, 23 September 2015.]