Julie please delete this if its too much, I posted in the Rebus thread about f stops why f4 for the foto etc but thought it’d be easier to show the examples in a new post  than link images.

I am sorry guys for hogging the blog , please excuse me.

Okay here are some examples where I have gotten the f/stop way wrong and used my lens too wide open etc, you’ll see what I mean with most of the dog almost being bokeh or vice versa.. they are gawd awful!

This example shows the central point sharp but nothing else the depth of field is way to shallow.

The lens maybe at the maximum of 2oomm  whichI find ok for portraits but the f stop in this is 2.8 (way wrong) , now the light was diabolical for this shot, it was winter and horrible  so  hand held I had to use 2.8   to allow enough light into the camera . But its no use I should have used a higher f stop and taken a tripod to hold the camera steady , this would have allowed a  slower shutter speed and as such the proper exposure an depth of field. So I used 2.8 to hand hold the camera but sacrificed the foto. Shrunk down (small) the foto is useable but not as a print. (taken on the Sigma 70-200mm which has no VR )

So here it is this example shows the centre area sharp the rest almost bokeh.

Here is another example showing the opposite with sharp rear ground and bokeh nose lol.

f3.2  not good for the shot totally my fault

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Above a Bazi von der Urbecke daughter

Here is a shot thats  the opposite  with too high an f stop(only just but too high never the less) and as such it doesn’t have just quite enough depth of field.  Its much  more noticeable when you see the foto larger, you almost get away when seen as a smaller shot like below, but I was very disappointed its just flat, if I’d got it f stop right it’d have been a real beauty of a photo.

I did have other examples that were worse with the dog as sharp as the background but they are in the cyber dustbin now lol

Above a dog much debated on the database Ch Ice v Steinhauerberg (stunning in the flesh)

For me these examples below are the sweet zone  f 5.6, the f stop I would use 99%  of the time at 200mm for head shots if the light was good enough ,I love the depth of field this achieves in a portrait.

Above a Bravos v Steffan Haus daughter

Above a Karats Ulk daughter

So it would be round f5.6 when ever I could Julie at 150-200mm:):) Its taken 2 years of bugging anyone who would let me take a heashot so that I could  practice to find the sweet spot. So now I am more aware and conscious of this

Depth of field linky http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

I am gonna make some time to read this , because I could do with learning more about this in general.:)

Here are a few bird shots from our garden, nothing fancy but even the plainest of birds are beautiful I think

This is an adult male starling , with his winter plumage ,you can tell as their winter plumage has more white spots  but he is obviously starting to change as he has a  blue tipped beak which is  seen as part of their summer plumage

This is a male blackbird , we have a nursery rhyme about these birds in our country , about baking them in a pie .. eekk!!!

This is a female blackbird , she is ironically brown unlike the males!!

They are not the best shots in the world but its great fun snapping. I will post more soon

I need a long lens for birding now though ;0)