I have a Nikkon D3000 camera and the kit lens 18-55mm / 3.5 - 5.6. I have it for almost last 2 years. But most of the times it had lived inside the cup boards :)
Mood, Location and Time:
Today, surprisingly my mood changed towards practicing photography. So I thought of heading out alone for a long distance to do some photography with literally no idea of what and where to shoot. I slipped my camera bag on to my shoulders and set out in my regular Honda Activa scooter. The intention was to capture something special. I had a lot of hope on my book - Nikon D3000 Digital Field Guide. So I carried that as well after dusting it out, since I did not use it for sometime.
I took the Old Mahabalipuram Road from Perungudi, Chennai and took sometime to reach a spot close to the scenic beach on the ECR. It was a very hot sunny day. I was really tired before reaching there. Then, I realized that I should start a little early from next time to avoid the burning sun.
At the end of the session, I very strongly felt that, for learning photography, it is really not essential to hunt a different location. I could have very well done it inside my colony or there is a flower pot right outside my home. All that matters is the interest and attitude.
I did not use the field guide in the spot for any reason.
Remember Your Previous Best Attempt
I had been using AUTO mode for quite a long time. But this time, I was really squeezing my brain on what and how to capture something special using the MANUAL mode. I made up my mind to learn atleast something. Then I remembered, a macro photography of a flower which I took a few months back and it turned out to be good. But actually, it was not a well learned shot. All that I knew about that photograph is that I clicked it and nothing beyond that. If you are already used to a DSLR, you know what I mean by it.
But this gave me some confidence and I was lucky enough to have that in my memory card. So I was able to review that.
What I would like to insist at this point is that, we have to cheer up on our own by reminding ourselves of what we have done before something good. This will motivate you for something better.
Homework :
Today, I managed to click a few photos somehow. You know how, I remembered the following tip given by one of my close relative just last week:
My lens is capable of taking macro photography when the distance between the lens and the subject is as close as 5 to 6 cms
To be honest, I had some time to study about my lens yesterday in the office and accidentally, I learned about the Maximum Aperture. I feel it is better to explain here about the focal length and maximum aperture to the extent I understood.
1. 18 - 55mm
Well this is the focal length and you can use it for zooming the subjects. When the lens is at 18mm, you can use it for a perfect wide angle shot - to cover everything in a landscape.When it is at 55m, you are actually zooming the subject. At the same time, when it is at 55mm, you can also take macro photography.
2. f 3.5 to 5.6
I used to really break my head what are these numbers? In Manual mode, I used to simply rotate the dial in my camera without knowing where and why it stops.
This is actually a range of maximum aperture. Depending on the focal length you select, the maximum aperture will vary.
When your lens is at 18mm, you can get the maximum aperture opening that is f3.5. When your lens is at 55mm, you can get only a maximum aperture of f5.6. You can't go anything lower to that. This is a limitation of the lens.
One extra point that you may have to know is to blur the background of a subject, you need to have a wider aperture opening.
Get into Action
Ok, I will explain, what I did to click a few macro photos today, just by knowing these two or three small tips.
First Short:
In the third photo of this article, you will see a lot of small green plants in front of the beach. This is just a close up shot of it.
Focal Length: 18mm
Max Aperture: f3.5
Shutter Speed: 1/250
ISO: 100
If you notice there is a small flower in this photo. This was my focus for the day. I spent almost 1.30 hrs with this flower.
My intention was to have only the flower in focus and blur the background, but I could not achieve this, even though I had the maximum aperture and tried at varying distances from the flower.
Second Shot:
I thought of trying it in the extremely other end - i.e. from 18mm to 55mm.
Target Photo -1
Focal Length: 55mm
Max Aperture: f5.6
Shutter Speed: 1 /160
ISO: 100
Target Photo -2
Focal Length: 55mm
Max Aperture: f5.3
Shutter Speed: 1 /160
ISO: 100
In this shot, I really was excited. I could get what I really needed! I said, Vow! to myself.
Third Shot:
My release button did not work! I was taken aback! Here goes the reason!
Now I thought it was time for me to learn how to really take this kind of short repeatedly in a given situation. I took a few shorts by moving closer to the subject. I got fed up. Sometimes, my release button did not work even after clicking multiple times.
But then, I realized somehow, that it was working sometimes and sometimes not!
God's grace!!! My brain still works!!
Thats how I felt when I observed the pattern of behavior of the shutter release button. When I move too close to the subject, the shutter release button did not work. Well, what could be the reason??
The lens was not capable of focusing at that closer distance!
Now, I reminded myself of the tip given by my relative. I started to maintain a distance of 5 to 6 cms. Voila, that did the magic.
Well, my next try was to have a shallow depth of field to take my scooter parked in the beach road in front of the sand in the beach. But I could not blur the background. Can you guess the reason? I was at a distance of 5 feet from the camera.
Then, I tried with different combination of shutter speeds, focal length and maximum aperture. But I was able to get the best short only as I mentioned in the first shot.
Well, last but not the least, I am really not sure, whether this is something related to macro photography :)
Welcome your feedback / comments on this article!
