Will it Blend

Willitblend.com coveres the iPhone:

Will returns to China

William left for China today. Year two teaching English in Yangzhou

I guess we've moved on from him living with us to him coming to visit.

Big Bang

The propane explosion in Toronto at Keele and Wilson this morning is, as the car drives, about 19kms away from our home; may be 15km by bird. We heard the explosion and it shook the house. It didn't quite sound like thunder, but there was no other immediate explanation. Not knowing at the time what was going on I got up to check, but there was no rain, no thunder. Just another unexplained mystery.

3:43

Nike Tournament

Arriving at the course just as the sun rises for a 7:20 tee time, ones spirits are full with hope and anticipation.

Some practice shots on the driving range loosen the muscles, build the confidence and prepare one for the coming game.

Yet on the way to the first tee an omen presents itself: how will this day really turn out.

08-08-08

If you're Chinese today is a great day to be married.

What planning!

From the garden

Water Lilies, from my pond.

I like the texture of the background leaves

BBC: Britain Seen from Above

A new BBC series makes use of satellite technology to create stunning images of Britain from above.

83 Pictures: Summer Garden Flowers

In this series of pictures I have been experimenting with depth of field and bokeh. Depth of field is basically how much depth along the line of sight (of the camera) is in focus. The area before and after that part of the line of sight are out of focus. Bokeh refers the quality of that area (usually behind the subject forming the background) out of focus.

Depth of field is a function of the aperture, focal length of the lens and the distance of the subject. All the shots below, except the last one, where taken within the range of 15 - 30 cms. At that distance from the subject, the depth of field is about 0.25-1.11 cms. However, boost the distance to say 10 meters and the depth of field increases dramatically (e.g., f/4.8, 23mm DOF=20m)

f/4.0, 16.7mm: The subject is in focus with a nicely blurred background. The blur of the background helps make the flower stand out and highlight the crispness of detail of the flower.

f/5.6, 15.6mm: a darker and flatter background helps highlight the brightness of the flower.

f/4.9, 25.2mm: Close up of an Hydrangea. At this aperture and focal length the depth of field is less than 1cm

f/4.9, 23.2: Close up of the front and side of an Hydrangea. Here one can see the petals enter the field of focus. The picture below expands on a region showing an interior view of the flower head.


f/4.9 25.2mm. This shot of a Canna Lilly is interesting because it shows in one shot the effect of darker vs. lighter backgrounds. It may be a matter of taste but I think the darker background at the top of the flower helps highlight the colour and the sharpness of the edges.

Click on slideshow to see a larger rendition of these and other photographs in the series.