Bangkok holds a special place in my heart as it was the place that got me going on my photographic journey 7 years ago. Anyway, this post is not about Bangkok but about the wonderfully photogenic Wat Chetawan in Section 5 Petaling Jaya. Recently spruced up, it is a wonderful place to look for Buddhist details to photograph.
Comment by ShaolinTiger
July 10, 2006 @ 5:13 pm
Very nice depth of focus!
Hmm where exactly is this place?
Comment by Lanatir
July 10, 2006 @ 5:48 pm
Wat Chetawan is in Seciton 5 PJ… you know SFX and also the old EPF building? Just drive down that road… coming from University Hospital, just drive over FH and towards SFX… after SFX, about half a km, u will see this temple on your right.
Fyi, this shot was made when I was reviewing the D50 
Comment by James
July 10, 2006 @ 5:58 pm
Actually very shallow depth of field. Occurs with long focal length or telephoto lenses. With 35 mm film cameras, any lens above 50 mm is telephoto, anything below 50 mm is wide-angle. The standard lens is 50 mm. If you close one eye and look out the other, that’s supposed to be approximately 50 mm focal length. With telephoto lenses, say 100 mm, you can blur out the background because of shallow depth of field. It’s good for portraiture or sports photography. With wide-angle lenses, say 35 mm, sometimes you don’t even need to focus because of large depth of field. That’s why focus free film cameras have 35 mm lenses or even wider. Large depth of field is good for landscape photography or when everything has to be sharp. If you use a small aperture, the depth of field is enhanced but less light gets in. With a larger aperture, more light gets in but there’s less depth of field. Focusing is critical for telephoto lenses, you probably need an SLR or autofocus camera.
Comment by ShaolinTiger
July 10, 2006 @ 6:10 pm
Yeah I know, and I like it. The technical term is Bokeh actually 
I’m a fan of the Bokeh effect.
The larger the aperture you use the smaller the area in focus, like I just bought a f/1.8 lens, the depth of focus is tiny stopped down to 1.8.
Can always up the ISO to get more light in too if you have a decent sized sensor!
Ah well..I still long for a digital camera with a full frame CCD, I guess it’ll be a long time until I can afford one of those…or they become more affordable.
Comment by Lanatir
July 10, 2006 @ 6:10 pm
Nice explanation James! Thanks for taking the time to elaborate!
Comment by kris
July 10, 2006 @ 8:16 pm
the dof really brings out the subject, like it!
glad to have found this page, looking forward to learn from you guys
Comment by khang
July 11, 2006 @ 11:25 am
I have no comment at the first picture. It was purely a shot just to make a picture… … (my opinion anyway).
but I do have comment for the second picture.
The object was not being shown at full… or should i say the object is not clear.
Perhaps you can place the shooting angle below the dragon head and focus to its red eye or mouth…
both pictures are mess with golden color and that’s another reason why the object is not clear.
Comment by Lanatir
July 11, 2006 @ 11:34 am
Khang, I’m assuming that when you say ‘not clear’ you are saying that the backdrops serves only to distract one from the subject itself?
“shooting angle below the dragon head” – so in your opinion it would be better to myself lower i.e. by walking closer to the head of the naga and thus crop off the rest of the head?
Comment by khang
July 11, 2006 @ 11:57 am
lanatir,
yes, distraction. (forgive me for not using the correct term)
I can see that you’re focusing the dragon head (the head that looks like a keris) and not the whole body of that dragon.
and i dont mean to crop the rest of the head.
you can shoot at a much lower angle than your original angle.
thus, the mouth or the eye will standout, and the head will be seen blur.
I’m not sure if you can get what i try to mean with my limited english vocabulary .. hahah
Comment by Lanatir
July 11, 2006 @ 12:01 pm
ah ok i see what u mean. however the naga is located on a roof… the only way i can bring the mouth in the DOF and blur out the rest of the head is blocked when i move closer as i would be obscured by the roof itself. since the whole head sits on the same DOF plane from this angle, it would also be impossible to blur out the rest of the head from where i am.
finally, i have no intention to bring the eye of the audience only to the red elements on the head i.e. mouth/eyes of the naga
but i can see your direction of not wanting the background to be distraction from the subject itself. thanks!
