Rock Garden Quarterly Summer 2012 - (Page 210)

I have the camera set on “aperture priority” with the smallest possible camera F-stop of F8. With this F-stop, which is a larger aperture than would typically be used on a digital SLR, the shutter speed is fast enough in most bright light situations that I do not need a tripod. In poor light I compromise on the aperture setting rather than use a tripod. Advanced digital compact cameras are available that are more than “point and shoot” cameras as they have an electronic viewfinder, zoom lens, and manual exposure control. In fact, they have all the advantages of a digital SLR and much less weight. For composing an image of a small alpine I typically have the camera close to the ground, only a few inches from the plant, and use the macro setting on the camera. The electronic viewfinder is hinged so I do not have to lie flat on the ground to see the image. The plant fills most of the screen and slight adjustments in the position of the camera will have a dramatic effect on the overall composition. My camera has a movable automatic spot focus capability so I move the focus target to the most critical location on the plant. Most of the plant is then also in focus. For a very small alpine the focus distance is small so the background may not be as sharp but is clearly visible. I then take at least five images moving the camera slightly between each shot so that I have a number of different compositions to choose from. When photographing larger alpines, the camera is further from the plant, the focus distance is greater and the background scenery is completely in focus. With longer focus distance the depth of field extends With a larger subject such as this Balsamorhiza sagittata, in the Teton Mountains in Wyoming, it is possible to get both plant and background in very crisp focus. 210 Rock Garden Quarterly Vol. 70 (3)

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Rock Garden Quarterly Summer 2012

Digital Quarterly
Expanding Panayoti's Axioms
Photo Contest 2012
Photographing Alpine Plants: A Landscape Point of View
NARGS 2013 Election Timetable
Rock Gardening from Scratch - Seeds
Kim Blaxland and the Violets of North America
Viola pedata
Violas, Kim, and Us - A Celebration
Cooking Native Japanese Plants
Carl Gehenio Memorial Trough Show
Fire in the Hole: Phlox across Colorado
Rebuilding a Rock Garden in Pittsburgh
A Remarkable Garden: David Douglas and the Shrub-steppe of the Columbia Plateau
Bookshelf - Reviews
Swedish Dreams
Treasurer's Report
Bulletin Board
2012 - Eastern Study Weekend: October, Pittsburgh

Rock Garden Quarterly Summer 2012