Backstage Kokoro
A "behind-the-scenes" look at selected images in my Kokoro project —
Content, photographic notes, EXIF data, creative process, miscellaneous commentary, and original digital captures. And now with additional audio comments about selected images!
From Kokoro #068 - The Signs of Anger Remain
I learned a great lesson photographing in the pahoehoe (pronounced "pa - hoeeee - hoeeee") in Hawaii. These are large flows of relatively cool lava that create smooth fields of frozen liquid states. They are simply fascinating in all the patterns to be found.
The lesson was one of simple depth of field. By tilting my tripod-mounted camera toward the lava below me, I found that even at small apertures I couldn't achieve enough depth of field to have both the near-ground and the far-ground both in sharp focus. I unfortunately discovered this after the first day of photographing there. From that point, all compositions required a near-focused exposure and a far-focused exposure which are then blended in Photoshop. A neat trick when you need more depth of field than is possible with a single exposure.
Here is a little video tutorial from LensWork Online if you are not familiar with this technique.
A panorama (including Maureen!) of just one of the pahoehoe lava flows in Hawaii
1/2000 sec at f / 9.0, ISO 400, Panasonic DMC-G2, LUMIX G VARIO 14-45/F3.5-5.6, 25 mm
Additional audio comment about this image
I learned a great lesson photographing in the pahoehoe (pronounced "pa - hoeeee - hoeeee") in Hawaii. These are large flows of relatively cool lava that create smooth fields of frozen liquid states. They are simply fascinating in all the patterns to be found.
The lesson was one of simple depth of field. By tilting my tripod-mounted camera toward the lava below me, I found that even at small apertures I couldn't achieve enough depth of field to have both the near-ground and the far-ground both in sharp focus. I unfortunately discovered this after the first day of photographing there. From that point, all compositions required a near-focused exposure and a far-focused exposure which are then blended in Photoshop. A neat trick when you need more depth of field than is possible with a single exposure.
Here is a little video tutorial from LensWork Online if you are not familiar with this technique.
A panorama (including Maureen!) of just one of the pahoehoe lava flows in Hawaii
1/2000 sec at f / 9.0, ISO 400, Panasonic DMC-G2, LUMIX G VARIO 14-45/F3.5-5.6, 25 mm
Additional audio comment about this image