IPhoneApps

If you have tried using an Iphone to get to this site’s content using the G3 ATT network, you know that it has been a slow process…(ugh)..  I’ll often check my site for reference information on gear, library or links but trying to hunt and peck micro-fonts while waiting for the download is like watching film develop (Prez, be nice)…

The Iphone experience to link into the site, for me, was unproductive, nice to have access but no value, because of the Neanderthal process to get to it.

However, Speed has been improved and Iphone access has been greatly improved.

How ?  Backoffice software stuff  ….you don’t have do anything….

With the speed, there is now a slight format change on the Iphone, but the content remains the same, and you send emails or search much more easily.

The drop down arrow on the left allows improved navigation.

Here are some Iphone screen shots :

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I came across an Iphone App that you may want to check out.

PhotoCalc, combines two apps I have previously recommended into one…This apps will calculate depth of field and it will provide you with a solar and lunar calculator. I like this apps because it also gives you a few extras, like a twilight begins and end, high noon. The also have a flash exposure database as well as reference terminology.

Have you ever wanted to get a clean crisp DOF shot from 2′ to Infinity ?

Did you know our DLSR have a limitation in being able to show you that in the viewfinder ?

You can test this by setting your lens to f/22, focus distance is at 2′ and looking at viewfinder and seeing a fuzzy image. (The settings are spot on for a crisp DOF from 2′ to infinity)  The limitation is that the DLSR viewfinder is optimized at a wide open apperature f/2.8, you need to fight off the need to refocus and understand DOF and hyper focal distance.

Trying to get a crisp shot of a long fence post was something that I tried to do and finally was able to understand what was going on, when I read Bryan Peterson’s book, Understanding Exposure., pg 38&39.

In the old days, camera lenses had markings and the photog’s knew about DOF and hyper-focal distance. In this age of the automated DLSR it is becoming just matrix metering, program mode, autofocus, then point and shoot, which leaves this DOF concept out in the cold. You have to think and know what you are framing and if your telling a story or isolating a subject, then use DOF as part of your formula towards making an IMAGE

A good place to start understanding this DOF concept is found at DOFMaster.

Next this information can be put in real world terms via your camera settings ……..

How can you use this info in the field while making Images ? Well you can not carry around a laptop, but to the rescue is an Iphone app which helps you do some of the heavy lifting. (until you can figure out the concept and settings from experience).

I am using the app that DOFmaster has out.  I’ll simply enter three pieces of info from my camera settings for the top Image, I checked DOF first and then pressed the HD button to get a hyperfocal distance setting

So how do I use it?  If you look at the Image above of the ski slope, when I saw the wall and the ski slope I knew to tell a story and not isolate a subject, and that I needed a DOF of 2′ to infinity, that I need to shoot with a wide angle lense at around f/22.  I didn’t know where to put my focus distance at, I knew the wall was about 5 feet away…. So I tookout my iphone, and plugged in the setting above and took the shot, focusing on the hyperfocal distance of 6′ to get the 3′ to infinity that you see in the photo.  So it finally looks like this:

I hope this give you some clarity around DOF and how to use it for those special Images you want to take..

So you want to get off the coach and hit the shore for the next nor-east’r ?  Some comments and gear suggestions.

• First, know your location, go there the day before, check that your phone gets reception. Then check the time, it is the ocean, there are things called Tides, and they change daily. So you’ll need to google, the tide for your shoot, finally, check to find if the tide coming in or out.
• Also check the phase of the moon, strong high tides are created at Full Moon, you’ll need to know sunrise and sunset. Get to location 1/2 hour early. And if you are an Iphone owner, Moose talks about this handy app, called focalware. I use it all the time, it’ll tell you the moon phase and the sunset/sunrise times.

• Next, it’s going to be dark. It is winter, no use fighting it, you are going to need some light.  I go with a headlight and a flashlight. Not any flashlight. Surfire. The model I use is the U2 Ultra. Be sure to purchase extra batteries.  They are not that easy to find.

• I wrote earlier that I also have my lenses covered with hoodies from Lenhoods. When your fingers are to cold to be playing around with the Nikon Caps, these hoods do the trick, and I highly recommend them, for most of my lens. Esp all 77mm and my 14-24mm
• Then finally pack common sense, and if that doesn’t fit in your bag, I’ve embedded a You Tube video on a device that you should consider owning to compensate for the lack of it….