Comfort In The Silence

Canon EOS 7D EF 50mm f/1.4 at f/3.5 1/200 ISO 100 I found these wonderful rhododendron flowers on a garden tour in Nanaimo.The feeling that passes between a man and a woman who have lived a lifetime together is a wonderful thing.  There is a comfort in the silences that speaks to years of being able to anticipate the other's thoughts and feelings.  There is an understanding in the the half spoken sentences and unuttered remembrances that is far stronger than the passionate eloquence of young love.  There is a whole life etched in the silent lines that surround the crinkled eyes as they share a half told 32 year old joke.  My wife and I met this couple on a garden tour this past spring; they were vibrant and alive and in their 80's and they had the most wonderful garden.  These rhododendrons were in their garden.

The photo is pretty simple, I knew I was looking for a way to frame the flowers to one edge leaving the remainder of the frame to drift out of focus.  I knew that I had to leave enough depth of field to keep the whole flower in focus, but I did not want any detail in the background so I stopped down to f/3.5 and that produced the effect I was looking for.  I was really glad that I had my fast 50mm as it is the sharpest lens I own and that shows in the petals.

-Russell Berg

A Painter's Accident

My brother-in-law has an amazing garden where he grows some really wonderful flowers. EOS Rebel XSi, EFS 50mm 1.4, at f/2, 1/350, ISO 200

A walk through my brother-in-law’s garden is a riot of colour and texture, there are row on row of lilies.  Variety after variety in a painter’s accident, a splash and spill of colour all over a prairie backyard.  I took photo after photo but then I came across this very interesting sunflower.  I loved the colours and the contrast with the muted colours and shapes of the buds that where yet to bloom.  The smaller size as they fade into the background of the picture draws your eye in.  I love my 50mm 1.4, it produces such amazing results and the ability to isolate the subject of a photo against a busy background with shallow depth of field produces a result that just cannot be replicated with a point and shoot.  I also really like the way that it forces you to move around to compose your shot.  Zoom lenses are great but they make make me lazy and you see different things when are forced to move around to get an interesting shot.

-Russell Berg