Focus On You

by Judy

This glorious photo, filled with beautiful bokeh, is from Donna Wagner, known on flickr as extremely fickle.  Donna's magical photo is the perfect way to end our month of bokeh. I wish I could walk right into this shot! Be sure to check out her flickr stream to see more of her work.  It doesn't disappoint.  

Thank you Donna, and thank you to all of you for sharing your photos here with us.  Stay tuned to find out the monthly theme for January.  Happy New Year all!  

Focusing On You - A Little Cactus Love

Ahh the season of bokeh, don't you just love this bokeh filled windowsill by Margie. Even tho cactus are not the usual holiday greenery, Margie created a lovely Christmas feel by painting the pots gold. And that creamy, dreamy backgound really sets the stage for a holiday scene.  Thanks, Margie for being a contributor to Focusing On Life. Please visit Margie's flickr stream and be amazed.

This will be our last post before Christmas. We want to wish all of our followers and contributors a wonderful and joyous Christmas. Thank you for being a part of our world.

Merry Christmas Y'all!

by Linda

So, not to get anyone all riled up or anything, Christmas is in 3 days. Yuppers. How in the world did it get here so fast? Are you ready?

Well, I guess I'm mostly ready. Pretty much done. OK, there is 3 days till Christmas, 2 half-way decent shopping days left and I do need to go out there and get a few more things.

Well, I might need a few more things but let me tell you one thing, I have Christmas dinner and New Years dinner planned and bought and waiting in the fridge/pantry for the appropriate time to commence the cooking of said meals. Because...food.

Oh, yeah, there is the gift wrapping that needs to happen sometime in the next 3 days or Christmas package opening will be pretty boring and lame. I know some people that just put unwrapped gifts under the tree and I apologize for talkin' ugly but 'round here there's wrapping paper around them there gifts.

In case you didn't know (and you probably did) I live in Texas. Yes ma'am and I do know people can spot a Texas drawl a mile away. I do love me a good Texas drawl (Matthew McConaughy) even though I can't quite pull it off better than saying y'all.

So because I live in Texas and because it's Christmas, I'm gonna share a little ditty with you today.

Twas the Night Before Christmas, Texas Style

T'was the night before Christmas

in Texas, you know,

Way out on the prairie

without any snow.

Asleep in their cabin

Were Billy Bob and Clara Sue,

A-dreamin of Christmas

Like me and like you.

Not stockings, but boots,

At the foot of their bed

For this was in Texas,

What more need be said.

When all of a sudden

From out the still night,

There came such a ruckus

It gave me a fright!

And I saw 'cross the prairie

Like a shot from a gun,

A loaded-up buckboard

Come on at a run.

The driver was "Geein"

And "Hawin", with a will.

The hosses (not reindeer)

He drove with such skill.

"Come on there, Buck, Pancho

And Prince, to the right!

There'll be plenty of travelin'

For y'all tonight!"

The driver in Levi's

And a shirt that was red,

Had a ten-gallon Stetson

On top of his head.

As he stepped from the buckboard

He was really a sight

With his beard and his moustache

So curly and white.

As he burst in the cabin

The children awoke,

Both so astonished

That neither one spoke.

He filled up their boots

With such presents galore

That neither could think

Of a single thing more.

When Billy Bob recovered

The use of his jaws,

He asked, in a whisper

"Are you really Santa Clause?"

"Am I really Santa Clause?

Well, what do you think?"

And he smiled as he gave

A mysterious wink.

Then he leapt in his buckboard,

And called in his drawl,

"To all children of Texas,

Merry Christmas, all Y'all!"

...

Focus on You

I swooned over this picture as soon as I saw it! Just look at the softness of it! So beautiful!
Bokeh-check, and perfect focus. Doesn't get much better than that!

This picture makes me happy! Such a pretty picture for the holidays.

This picture is from jlmj65.

Stop by and see her wonderful gallery!

...

...Laying a Finger Aside of his Nose, and Giving a Nod...

by Linda

Do you believe?

I do. I believe in magic and miracles. And there's no better time to see magic and miracles than this time of year.

Am I right?

There is nothing quite like the glitter and sparkle that surrounds us. The air is full of hope and joy. Childrens faces literally glow. There's magic in that. It has to be magic. Children believe without question. It's the grown ups that can't grasp the fact that a jolly old dude with a white beard and a red suit can fit in the chimney. duh! The grown ups need to take a lesson. Look for the joy, expect the goodness and we won't be disappointed.

The grown ups get so busy. Too many things to do, not enough time, they miss the magic. The children don't get too busy, don't want to miss anything, can't wait till Christmas! Why is it taking so long?

We need to take it down a notch. Everything will get done. It's not a race. And if something doesn't get done, the world won't come to an end. I bet no one even notices.

totes!

sidebar-

my tween grand will shudder at the thought I used the word "totes". She will say "mimi, PLEASE don't use that word! NO ONE uses that word! You know it's so old-fashioned!"

and I will reply "totes!"

(eyeroll)

Where do you see magic?

Is it in the first snow? The soft white covered ground that twinkles and sparkles, and the absolute quiet that comes with it?

Is it in the bokeh? In the camera? Because I can't see it with just my eyes, but my camera sure can! There must be magic in my camera!

I know, I know, technological yadayadayada, (makes me sleepy), is what makes bokeh.

I still think it's magic.

I believe.

Do you?

...

Focus On You

December is here bringing thoughts of chilly days. That's what I immediately thought of when I saw this beautiful photo by Moira (Skylark23). If you checked out the monthly photo theme for December you know that the focus will be on bokeh. Even though this photo was submitted last month, it has such glorious bokeh I couldn't pass it by. Thank you, Moira for sharing your images with us. If you'd like to see more of her work visit her Flickrstream. She's an amazing nature photographer!

Hope you'll join in a bokeh-licious December.

Blur That Background

By Cathy

Every day my inbox is full of random emails. Most I just delete, but there are some that I faithfully read, like the ones from Digital Photography School. Their web site has photo tips, tutorials, weekly photo prompts, reviews on cameras and equipment, post processing tips, and just a lot of good information. This week’s email led me to an article about bokeh. For those of you who are new to photography, bokeh is “the aesthetic quality of the blur, in the out-of-focus areas of an image.” (Wikipedia)

The article included a super easy way to get background bokeh. Since it was not a good day for me to be outside, the heat index was around 115, I thought I’d give their tip a try.  All I needed was aluminum foil, tape, small objects, and my camera.

I tore off a piece of foil (a little over two feet) and crumpled it into a loose ball; loose being the key word here. Then I carefully unrolled the ball. If you crumple the foil too tight into a ball, it will tear as you unroll it.  Don’t straighten it out too flat. Those hills and valleys are what catches the light. Speaking of light, I used a work light pointed toward the foil for extra sparkle. A flashlight would work for that, too.

Next, I taped the foil to a board. You could use a piece of cardboard or anything sturdy. One piece of foil didn’t give me enough background, so I taped another piece below and slightly under the top one. I used my fingers to crumple the two pieces together so the edge would not show.

Now, it’s time for the object to be photographed. I had to find a small object, because the foil background was not very big. The object, which I placed on a table, was about 30" from the background.

For the picture above I used my DSLR camera with a macro lens. I set  it on aperture priority and used the lowest setting it would allow,  f2.8. The lower the aperture number, the prettier the bokeh.

I know that not everyone has a macro lens or one that will allow you set the aperture that low, so I took the above picture with my Fuji point and shoot camera. The lowest aperture I could get was 4.8. It also gave a bokeh background, but it's just a little too distracting.
So . . . 

I used a piece of sheer fabric to drape over the foil. Problem solved! I liked it much better.

I began to wonder if would be possible to change the background color. It was. The pink tint in the above photo was made by placing a translucent pocket envelope in front of my work light. Voila!  Magical pink in the background.

I thought you might like to see my setup. There’s nothing fancy about it. I don’t have a studio, I just set up in the living room. I used two TV trays; one for the object and another for the work light. The board with foil is propped in a kitchen chair.

Experimenting with bokeh was a fun way to spend a hot morning. With me photography isn’t always serious. I find that If I’m constantly worrying about lens, camera settings, correct composition, and exposure, I take the joy right out of my photography.  Some days I just like to play and playing with my camera helps me learn to use it easily and quickly. Photography to me is all about the joy it gives me, not the perfect picture!

“Anything that excites me for any reason, I will photograph;

not searching for the unusual subject matter, but making the commonplace unusual.” 

~ Edward Weston

Enjoy your day and don’t forget to play!

Confession of a Christmas Light Bokeh Junkie

by Kelly

It's official...

I am completely obsessed with Christmas light bokeh.

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Exhibit C

There's just something about seeing those out-of-focus (OOF) orbs of twinkling light that feels positively magical to me.  And today I thought I might share with you a few tips and techniques so that you can capture the magic too.

For DSLR
There are a couple of simple ways to capture OOF lights with a DLSR camera.  The first way is to use manual focus. Once you have your shot composed, slightly turn the manual focus ring until the lights become little circles.  Depending on how far you turn the focus ring, the circles will become larger or smaller - it's fun to experiment with different sizes of bokeh.

The second way to capture Christmas light bokeh is to use a wide aperture setting (below I set mine at f/2.8) and focus on a light near to you.  That will cause the rest of the lights to gradually fall out of focus creating progressively larger circles of bokeh.

For iPhones
For iPhones it's just as simple to capture Christmas light bokeh - only a couple more steps.  I like to use the Camera+ app.

I've got a step-by-step tutorial below, but basically the process is: 1) open the app (which pulls up the camera), 2) tap the plus sign next to the shutter button, 3) tap the 'Macro' button, and 4) take the shot.

See how easy that was?  

It really is the simplest things that can bring the most joy.  For me Christmas Lights are one of them.

I hope you found these tips to be helpful, and if you decide to give the bokeh technique a try, we'd love to see them in either the Flickr pool or #focusingonlife tag.  But whatever you do, take a few moments for joy and whimsy. Your heart will thank you.

Until next time,

Kelly

Let's Talk About Bokeh!

by Linda

 

 

 

 

Since this month is "the season of light", let's talk about those magic circles of light that we so often covet in our photography, especially at this time of year! The beautiful bokeh that makes our heart sing! How can we get "circles" of light opposed to "starbursts" and still have something in focus?

If you do not have "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson, please go put it on your Christmas list right now. I'll wait....

I won't go into too much detail about why all this stuff works but he will in the book and it is better explained by him than me. I'll keep it simple. And his pictures are quite good, BTW...

For the set up, I used my 50mm compact macro lens and my camera was on a tripod. The scene was shot in a room that was well lit through a window with a sheer curtain, so no flash was needed. The camera was on manual mode so each time I adjusted the aperture the shutter speed was adjusted as well. White balance was set to auto and ISO was set to 200. Focus was center, right on the cranberry bread.

The only editing done to the pictures was a little crop in Lightroom.

The top photo was set at f8, @ 2 secs. I usually shoot at f8 and adjust my shutter speed as needed. Bryan Peterson calls f8 the "who cares?" aperture. "f8-f11 yield optimum image sharpness and contrast." I have to agree and that is why I use f8 so much. And yes, I can even get some pretty good bokeh at f8!

But if you want circular bokeh, you need a wide open aperture. You need to "stop up". Or open the lens (smaller number) so that more light comes in which will reduce the area in focus and demand a higher shutter speed (faster shutter)

 My lens is wide open at f2.5, this shot is f2.5 @ 1/5 sec. The bokeh from the tree is circular. The only thing in focus is the cranberry bread loaf.
 
As you "stop down" the lens, or close the lens (bigger number) to let less light in, you increase the area in focus and the camera will demand a lower shutter speed (slower shutter).

Each click on my camera to adjust aperture is 1/3 stop. I clicked 3 times to achieve a full stop for each shot.

Your bokeh will begin to change as your aperture starts to close. You will start to see hexagonal shaped bokeh, then starbursts.

 This shot is f3.5 @ .4 sec. The bokeh from the tree is not quite a circle anymore and the cup is starting to come into focus.

 
This shot is f5.0  @ .6 sec. The bokeh from the tree is smaller and the plate with a slice of cranberry bread is coming into focus.

This shot is f7.1 @ 1.3 sec.  Even smaller bokeh from the tree and almost everything on the table is in focus.

This shot is f10 @ 2.5 sec. Now we're starting to see some starbursts on the tree and the whole room is coming into focus.

This shot is f14 @ 5.0 sec.  Lots of starbursts on the tree. Welcome to my living room! Everything is pretty much in focus now.

The lens can go to f32 but I'll spare you. You can see the stars at f10 and even more so at f14. I have gotten some pretty starbursts shooting a picture with the sun in it at f22. Be careful doing that though. Not only can you hurt your eyes, you can also damage your camera. Just sayin'.

That's a little info about getting some pretty bokeh. Experiment a little with aperture on your camera. If you don't want to worry about shutter speed just put your camera in aperture priority mode and try some different apertures! Have fun! Share your bokeh shots in the gallery!

...



Lighted Compositions

By Cathy 

i gaze in awe at the flow of the seasons
the miracle of new paintings at my feet and overhead
new compositions outside my window

i wonder how many go through their day
without a thought to light
and the magic she holds;
how often it seems to land
just where a bit of luminence is needed
to complete the story

mindful awareness,
the deep understanding that nature
in all her simple beauty
is so worthy of our attention,
demands our diligence
and practice

and if we are loyal to the light
she will surprise us when we least expect it
and take our breath away.

:::

Inside and out I hope your world is full of light! 

xooox 

The Traveling Lens Project

by Leigh

Have you heard about The Traveling Lens Project?   The LM-10 is the newest Lensbaby made for mobile photography.  Shutter Sisters along with Lensbaby selected 31 photographers from 18 states and 8 countries to try out the lens for a week and learn to see in a new way.  I was thrilled to be selected to participate in this project.  Lensbaby is known for their sweet spot lenses and this one does not disappoint!  The lens attaches magnetically with the help of a little metal ring that affixes to your phone.  Then you use the Lensbaby app to move the sweet spot around, lock your exposure, spot meter, and utilize the rule of thirds grid.  You select what you want in focus while everything else is beautifully blurred out.  You can even shoot video with the LM-10.  

This has been the most fun I've had shooting with my phone in a long time!   With the help of this little lens I was able to see things in a completely new way and felt inspired again as I sought out texture and color.  I thought more about how these elements would blend together.  Even the photo of my little nephew looks soft and sweet with the Lensbaby even though he was seconds away from getting in trouble for washing his sandbox hands in the water feature.  I was already feeling withdrawals when it was time to pass this lens along to the next person so I decided to order one of my very own.  If you are in the market for a new gadget I highly recommend this sweet spot lens!  Be sure and checkout the gallery and #travelinglensproject on Instagram to see some beautiful shots from the other photographers. 

Everyday Magic

by Kelly

The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper. ~W.B. Yeats

What is it about bokeh that is so enchanting? How is it that those little orbs of out of focus light can transform even ordinary subjects into magical photographs.

I was pondering this as I was lying on the wet grass in my front yard this past Friday.  The light had transformed my entire, freshly-sprinkled front yard into a sea of crystals that seemed to almost dance in the morning sun. 

Raise your hand if you no longer care that your neighbors look at you funny as they are walking their children to school.  

{See...I knew I was in good company.}

Anyway, I know I've said this a million times, but I think it bears repeating here....I lead a very simple, ordinary life.  I go to work, shop for groceries, empty the cat litter, pull weeds.  There are no little fairies following me around sprinkling magic fairy dust on my morning commute.  Or in my flowerbeds.  And I suspect the same is true for you.

But yet, for those of us who are willing to get a little dirt on our knees or damp on our bellies, there is magic all around us just waiting to be discovered with our lenses.

To me this is the absolute joy of photography.  Seeing things through the lens that I might have missed otherwise.

And it is these types of moments...little bits of wonder and magic in my ordinary life...this is what makes me come alive inside. 

What makes you come alive?