Fotos - May 30th

I went on a photo Meetup with the local camera club this past Wednesday at 6:30 PM to downtown Plymouth.  Many of the photo shoots I attend are downtown, but each has a particular topic or are taken at various seasons or time of day.  So, the subject matter may be the same, but the photos can look quite different.  The topics have included night photography, "postcard" Plymouth, harbor sunrise, and a few more.  The theme for this past Wednesday was to shoot with a specific lens, 50mm (or similar, no zooming) and at a singe aperture (the photographer got to choose the aperture).  I chose f4.5 for the aperture since the light would be gradually fading throughout the shoot.  I also fixed the ISO setting at 400.  The only variable was shutter speed which was automatically determined by the camera.  Because depth of field for this aperture setting is small when the subject is close, the subject should be in focus but objects in front of or behind the subject blur.  Most of the subjects of my photos were within 10 feet, so the depth of field of my photos was between 6 inches to 2 feet.  The blur can create interesting but intended effects. This exercise was to try to help us think more about framing our subject.  You have to be a bit more observant and intimate with your subject as you have to move in closer or back away because you can't rely on your zoom.

The club walked around downtown Plymouth center and the harbor area.  The bolder photographers went into stores and bars to take pictures of objects in those locals (most stores were closed by 6:30 Wednesday afternoon).  They also took pictures of strangers on the street.  I guess I was somewhat bold as I did go into a cigar store and also asked a shore fisherman if he would mind if I took some pictures of him.  Most of our photos were taken from the street.  I have done some minor post processing of my photos with Photoshop Lightroom.  Here are some of my pictures.

This was actually a test photograph I made in our garden before the Meetup.

Many photos were taken of signs around the town.  This one was outside the British Beer Works.  Cheers!

Lots of motorcycles around Plymouth and denim clad bikers.  I thought a photo of this "Savage" was appropriate.

These are cigar boxes.  Each is uniquely interesting, but I don't think my shot captured the uniqueness.  (I felt a bit strange walking around the small store taking pictures.)

Sea stones, green foliage, and a touch of white in a garden.

I liked the look of the black fence with the green and yellow grass.

Part of a statute.

A gate in front of the Mayflower Society house.  The gate is always open, so I typically would not notice the street number in the gate.

The grass was tough to focus on, but I still liked the photo.

I liked the way the setting sun shone on these paddles.

I wasn't the only one taking in the setting sun over the harbor.

This fisherman allowed me and others to photograph him.  I took several, but like this one the most.

I liked the colors and reflection of this Mayflower II dory.

I liked the early evening colors in the background.