Photography I ASSIGNMENT: Depth of Field DUE:

The first goal of this exercise is to draw you away from the typical eye-level point of view. No matter what your subject, a person, a place, or object, you should always consider the position of your main subject in the frame and its relationship to the background. Are there objects in the background that distract from the overall composition? Does the composition feel balanced? Do all of the components in the image seem like they belong? The second goal of this exercise is help you to understand the relationship between the aperture setting (f-stop) and depth of field.

Depth of Field is the zone of focus, or distance between the nearest and farthest point in a photograph that is in acceptable focus. Depth of field (whether it is shallow DOF or large DOF) is always 1/3 in front of and 2/3 in back of the focused object. A larger aperture setting (f-stop) such as f-2, f-2.8, f-4 will produce an image with a more shallow depth of field. Where a smaller aperture setting (f-stop) such as f-11, f-16, f-22 will produce an image with greater depth of field.

Assignment:

Select something to photograph, be it a single object or a group of objects. Whatever the object(s), it will exist not in isolation but in an environment of some sort. Photograph the object in relation to its spatial environment. You will set up your image and shoot it with your aperture set to f/4 and then shoot the same image with an aperture of f/11. Shoot two rolls of film with two exposures of varied aperture for each composition. The final product will be the images as a group rather than a final single image. Be aware that you will need a good amount of light or a stable camera in order to shoot at f/11 without getting a blurry image.

In the course of this assignment, and later, when looking at the images together, give particular attention to the relation of one frame to the next. What decisions are entailed in deciding to follow one frame with another? What is the basis of those decisions? How does one determine what to do next? What presuppositions are entailed? In the chirographic two dimensional media [e.g., drawing, painting, etc.], one makes a mark, and then another and another, until the work is completed. In photography, one normally contends with the whole of the pictorial space at once. In any medium, one is concerned with the relation of parts to whole. How is this concern manifested in the fracture of photographs? Is the relation of exposed frame to exposed frame analogous to the relation of mark to mark drawing?

For this assignment you will need:  2 rolls of 400 speed film (or 100 speed if you don’t have 400 speed)  Camera - SLR with 50 mm lens (if you are using a variable focal length lens, set it at 50mm focal length)  “daylight” lighting conditions, a bright, lightly overcast day or a sunny day

Note: Load the film in camera; check the ISO setting on your camera. Is it set to the ISO setting of your film (100 or 400 speed)?

For critique, bring:  2 rolls of film you shot for this assignment  2 contact prints  4 prints - prints should be printed as 6x8 images on 8x10 paper.