Motion & Depth of Field

[100139]

With my depth of field photo, I was trying to capture a shot which was originally in motion. It was somewhat difficult to submit this one because I have a lot of photos of flowers, etc.

It’s difficult for me to submit a photo which is out of focus, but I hope this is what you’re looking for!

[Duncan Rawlinson]

I absolutely love the dragonfly image. My initial reaction to the image was incredibly positive. Some of the strongest compositional elements to this image are its general composition and framing, object placement, color and great use of negative space.

You’ve used a couple of blades of grass in the foreground which help provide information on what the background context is. However, your foreground composition is completely minimalist. It’s surprising you found an environment (a micro environment at that!) with such a limited foreground but such a lush background. What I love about your background is that it’s consistent with your foreground in terms of lines, colors and lighting and that it doesn’t upstage or distract from your primary focus. It’s also not “dead space”, but instead well used “negative space”. Your background has texture, color gradients and shape. It acts as an interesting secondary object for your audience to explore.

The only change I would have made would have been to use an expanded focus feature to ensure the eyes of the dragon flies were in sharp focus. It’s hard to tell precisely where the focus is but the focus seems to be a little soft. It’s not noticeable until you enlarge the image, but you’ll soon want to blow up your photographs so it’s important to pat attention to these small details.

You’re movement photographs are exactly what we were looking for from you. You’ve provided the illusion of movement in a two-dimensional space. Not only that, but your composition in both photographs is wonderful. Strong focus, clean edges, identifiable color palettes and overall great use of space.

Great work on this assignment!

[Author]

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