An exercise in depth of field with my new 50mm/f1.8 lens. The focus on the foreground was intentional, with the end of the path being intentionally out of focus. I wanted to focus on where the viewer is standing, and that the distance isn’t yet sharp in the eye of the viewer because s/he’s not there yet.

While a commenter at Flickr is right, the eye is lead into the frame, the blur at the end of the path is enticing: what is down there, just out of sight? By having more of the frame in sharp focus, there would be 2 problems: 1, the picture would have no real psychological focus point (as there’s nothing at the end of the path on which to focus). The poles in the nearground wouldn’t be in relief in front of the distracting background either, which would spoil the mood of the picture.

On a technical note: the further away from the camera you focus, the deeper the depth of field at any aperture. By focusing on the distance, the variation in focus between lake and neargound wouldn’t’ve been so great, hence losing the point of the photo: the shallow depth of field.

This shot is of the vineyards a little way from our home, looking towards Lake Thun and Interlaken.

2 responses to “Winter vines”

  1. Kate avatar
    Kate

    I remember exactly that view walking down with you to catch the boat when I visited – there were more leaves then though. It looks lovely.

    1. Mark Howells-Mead avatar

      Thanks Katie; although everything is a bit dead at the moment, it’s still a lovely walk. I must remember and post follow-up shots in spring, summer and autumn too.

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