Of Woods and DoF

It's been a few days since my last confession post. I've been shooting tons of photos, which include a rainy morning and a trip to my favorite local gardens. I'm loving the camera more than ever, especially playing with selective focus and getting some bokeh.

One thing that has eluded me, so far, is getting more DoF. When I increase the f-stops, I still don't get the clarity that I'm looking for. Maybe it is a limitation of my lense, or maybe I'm getting some camera shake with the longer exposure times.

So I set out this morning to play with DoF. I had seen this fallen tree, in the edge of the woods, on a fairly busy road that I frequently travel. It seemed like a good subject for varying the aperture and comparing results.



Which I did, but not before, and after, being transported from time and place and wonderfully distracted by berries, moss, branches, curlies, cubbyholes, light, and even the emotion and feeling of this little wood by the side of the road. Behind me, I could hear the morning traffic, even as I imagined the fairies and wood nymphs, that might be living in this suburban respite.

As you know, I adore trees. I think they might be my kin. I am working on capturing the spirit of trees, what makes them beautiful, and wise, and spirit-filled. These two reminded me of old friends:



I took 443 pictures in about an hour and loved every second of it. I was completely engrossed in all the details of the woods. I'm posting a lot of the pictures, so I'll understand if your eyes start to glaze over. :)

Almost all the pics were with aperture wide open (f/3 - 4.5), except for the ones where I was playing with the DoF, or lack thereof.