Bird of Paradise (and Gratuitous Bokeh tutorial)
In the middle of Downtown San Francisco! People love bokeh. On Flickr, there are entire groups dedicated to shooting wide open, or taking totally unfocused shots of lights at night. While I don't go as crazy for it, I get why they love it. It can be really special. Recipe for a photo like this, should you be interested in making one:
Step 1 - Wait for dusk. The light still needs to be decent out, but to get the bokeh like I have here (circles of blue and white lights) it needs to be dark enough that people are turning on their headlights, and other lights, so that you have light in the background. If you wait until later in the evening, the background lights will be brighter, and you'll need to light the subject, or find something that's already lit, and you'll probably need to use a tripod. I'm lazy, so I like to shoot a little earlier.
Step 2 - Find your subject. In my case, it's this flower. Choose something that captures your interest.
Step 3 - Use a low aperture number (wide aperture). In this case, I'm at f/3.5 on my 50mm f/1.8 lens. (If you're not comfortable in manual, use the Aperture Priority mode on your camera, usually marked Av. It will figure out the correct shutter speed for you.) I tried various f stops, and I like this one the best for not completely blurring out the background, but also not distracting too much from my subject.
Step 4 - Compose. Leave some negative space for those lights in the background. No pretty light bokeh without lights in the background!
Step 5 - Focus.
Step 6 - Shoot!
Play around with it some. If anyone tries this, I'd love to see your results. And if you're a bokeh master, feel free to leave some tips in the comments!
Googly Eyes
Maybe not a fine art image today, but I spotted this little guy on the street and I felt compelled to take a picture and then share it with all of you. Apparently (I found out by zooming in on those little eyes), there's a website if you also feel compelled to anthropomorphize inanimate objects, called Googly Eye Cru. You can get a set of eyes plus a couple of pins (clothing?) for only $2. I think it's ingenious! Certainly made me take a second look at this fire hydrant, which I otherwise would just have walked right past.
Anyway, if anyone does pick up some Googly Eyes, please let me know how it works out for you, and where they end up.
Ranunculus
For a flower that is such a pain to type, these are really rather pretty. I mean, come on, when have you seen such a bevy of u's hanging out before?
There are words that have two u's, no problem. Like, for example, unique. Or unruly. But three? All in a row? It's like a bad Scrabble hand. But in Scrabble you'd inevitably be missing the C and never be able to put the word on the board. Perhaps you'd settle for nun, or ran, or sauna if you're creative (and had an extra a). I'm sympathetic. Scrabble can be frustrating.
But fortunately, you don't need to know their name to appreciate the tightly packed concentric petals of the ranunculus. Or their gorgeous colors. And you don't even need to have any nearby, because, fortunately for you, I took a photo. And here it is.
See you tomorrow!
Exit
I sometimes wish there was an easily accessible exit when Monday morning comes around. If I took BART to work, my wishes would be granted!
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