DIY - Create your own Bokeh

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DIYPhotography.net Photography and Studio Lighting

Wed, 2007-04-25 08:22 — udijw

Bokeh
is an adaptation from a a Japanese word meaning blur. In photography
this term is used to describe the quality of the areas in the picture
which are not in focus.

When referring to Bokeh, we can distinguish some of it characteristics:

- Is the light/dark gradient smooth or sharp?

- What shape will a small dot of light take what it is in the Bokeh area? (mirror lenses for example, create a bagel like Bokeh)

We can play with those two variants to create a special Bokeh.

You will need :

• One large aperture lens (a Canon 50mm F1.8 is used here, but Nikon 50mm 1.8 will also do)
• One sheet of black paperboard

1. Cut and shape the sheet to make a fake lens hood. The Diameter is made so that it snugly fits on the lens.

2. In the middle of the filter the wanted bokeh shape is cut out -
in out example a heart is used. I’m not sure how big a hole the shape
can be. But you can check it right away by just looking through the
viewfinder. On the 50mm lens @ F1.8 a 15mm heart gives a metering value
equal to F3.2, so it can probably be a little bigger (you can use a puncher or cut it by hand).

3. Set your camera to its lowest aperture value (completely open).

Here are two shots to demonstrate this technique - one with a bare lens and the other with the hearted hood. see more shots here and here (I leave it as an exercise to tell which is which :)

Here are the parameters for the example shown above:

• Lens - Canon 50mm F1.8
• "Lens hood" Diameter: 70mm (2.75 inch)
• Hole diameter: 15mm (0.6inch)

Here are two more great examples for this technique from RottieLover (note - there only one "real" heart in each picture):

This is an eye opener!

 

 

Just One State This is only one State.... If this doesn't open your eyes nothing will!   From the L. A. Times 1. 40%of all workers in L. A. County ( L. A. County has 10.2 million people)are working for cash and not paying taxes. This is because they are predominantly illegal immigrants working without a green card. 2. 95%of warrants for murder in Los Angeles are for illegal aliens. 3. 75%of people on the most wanted list in Los Angeles are illegal aliens. 4. Over 2/3of all births in Los Angeles County are to illegal alien Mexicans on Medi-Cal , whose births were paid for by taxpayers. 5. Nearly 35%of all inmates in California detention centers are Mexican nationals here illegally 6. Over 300,000 illegal aliensin Los Angeles County are living in garage s. 7. The FBI reports half of all gang members in Los Angeles are most likely illegal aliens from south of the border. 8. Nearly 60%of all occupants of HUD properties are illegal. 9. 21 radio stations in L. A. are Spanish speaking. 10. In L. A. County 5.1 million people speak English, 3.9 million speak Spanish. (There are 10.2 million people in L. A. County . ) (All 10 of the above are from the Los Angeles Times) Less than 2% of illegal aliens are picking our crops, but 29% are on welfare. Over 70% of the United States ' annual population growth (and over 90% of California , Florida , and New York ) results from immigration. 29% of inmates in federal prisons are illegal aliens. We are a bunch of fools for letting this continue HOW CAN YOU HELP ? Send copies of this letter to at least two other people. 100 w ould be even better. This is only one State............... If this doesn't open your eyes nothing will ! And you wonder why Nancy Pelosi wants them to become voters!

 

Five in the air...

Five in the air..., originally uploaded by RMStringer.

Five soldiers floating to the ground. The green is a stark contrast to the blue sky and the clouds between them. I was using my 70-300mm lens for most of these photos. I thought about going to my 18-70mm but i wanted to be able to get in really close when they were coming out of the C130 aircraft.

Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture: f/9
Focal Length: 70 mm
ISO Speed: 100

Praying Mantis 1.1

Praying Mantis 1.1, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

Another photo of the Praying Mantis. I found him on the trunk of an Aspen Tree that is located in our yard.

Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 300 mm
ISO Speed: 400

DSC08038

DSC08038, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

Not sure what this is exactly. Perhaps it is a Mosquito hawk? He was in our garage the other morning so i took a photo of him.

Exposure: 0.025 sec (1/40)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 160 mm
ISO Speed: 400

Praying Mantis 1.2

Praying Mantis 1.2, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

Taken at a different angle using flash.

Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 300 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Flash: Flash fired

Praying Mantis 1.4

Praying Mantis 1.4, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

I was out at an Aspen tree in our cutting some limbs and i saw this little dude on the trunk. I ran inside to get my camera and shoot some photos of him. I love the color scheme that he has going. Brown and Green go well with the Aspen. I used the back flash on several of these photos and this was one of them.

Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 300 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Flash: Flash fired

DSC08116

DSC08116, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

Nickname "Devils in Baggy Pants." The nickname was taken from an entry made in a German officer's diary.

I would have loved to have gotten a full frontal photo of him.

Exposure: 1/3200 sec
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 100 mm
ISO Speed: 400

Mountain Bike Ride

I went and meet a new group to ride with last night.  The trails were located in Edwardsville Il and we got in a 10.3 mile ride.  There were 6 of us on the ride including the lease owner of the trail system. Most of the trails were like Lake View 1-3 in Pocahontas State Park in Virginia that I rode many times.  The group affiliated with the trail system is called

 

I made some great contacts and got some numbers to call if I want to try to get a ride going.  More later and pics to follow.

 

 

 

 

 

RMStringer

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Darkseid: The Anti-Life Equation here is revealed to be

loneliness + alienation + fear + despair +

self-worth ÷ mockery ÷ condemantion ÷

misunderstanding x guilt x shame x failure x

judgment n=y where y=hope and

n=folly love=lies life=death self=dark side

 

1 Soldier...

DSC08157, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

Nickname "Devils in Baggy Pants." The nickname was taken from an entry made in a German officer's diary.

I walked up to the soldier and asked him if he would mind me getting a photo and he said, " It would be my pleasure." I took the photo and then i shook his hand and thanked him for the photo op.

Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/2000)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 70 mm
ISO Speed: 400

DSC08266

DSC08266, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

Free falling...

Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture: f/9
Focal Length: 70 mm
ISO Speed: 100