"Great depth of field" is one of the dumbest comments people can leave on photoblogs followed closely by "great capture". Even worse it is often used incorrectly. To say great depth of field would imply that there was deep depth of field and that everything near and far is in focus. More accurate, but only slightly less insipid, would be to say "great use of a wide aperture and shallow depth of field." Perhaps people say this because they are so used to shooting automatic on digitial cameras that they forget a photographer with a good lense and a good camera actually has control over this.
This is a nice photo not because the photographer used a wide lense, but but because it caputres real emotion, takes us to an exotic local, and has a lovely colour palette.
Being a late in life cultural anthropology student, I come here for my daily dose of "exotic" culture. Rauls photos take me to places where I've only dreamed of going as a stay-at-home mom for many years. This is the stuff that feed peoples imaginations. This photo is rich in subject matter. The darker images on the right will given you information on the day-to-day existence - starting a fire and keeping it stoked for most of the day for warmth and cooking purposes. There are some kind of dried bulbs hanging on the wall over the boys head, so they farm in some manner. The cloth or animal skin draped above the boy says that the space behind him is probably the sleeping area. There are three sources of light - the window, the warm light from the doorway, and light from above (a hole in the roof for venting the smoke) and the boys position all make for a wonderful photo. Children in the most rural cultures (including the US) are very wary of strangers. But curious...as we see here!
05/29/05 12:16 PM
mikey said...
great depth of field
05/29/05 12:31 PM
Simon said...
"Great depth of field" is one of the dumbest comments people can leave on photoblogs followed closely by "great capture". Even worse it is often used incorrectly. To say great depth of field would imply that there was deep depth of field and that everything near and far is in focus. More accurate, but only slightly less insipid, would be to say "great use of a wide aperture and shallow depth of field." Perhaps people say this because they are so used to shooting automatic on digitial cameras that they forget a photographer with a good lense and a good camera actually has control over this.
This is a nice photo not because the photographer used a wide lense, but but because it caputres real emotion, takes us to an exotic local, and has a lovely colour palette.
05/29/05 10:27 PM
Tim P said...
What a wonderful site!
Simply stunning photographs.
05/30/05 09:57 AM
the farmers wife said...
Being a late in life cultural anthropology student, I come here for my daily dose of "exotic" culture. Rauls photos take me to places where I've only dreamed of going as a stay-at-home mom for many years. This is the stuff that feed peoples imaginations. This photo is rich in subject matter. The darker images on the right will given you information on the day-to-day existence - starting a fire and keeping it stoked for most of the day for warmth and cooking purposes. There are some kind of dried bulbs hanging on the wall over the boys head, so they farm in some manner. The cloth or animal skin draped above the boy says that the space behind him is probably the sleeping area. There are three sources of light - the window, the warm light from the doorway, and light from above (a hole in the roof for venting the smoke) and the boys position all make for a wonderful photo. Children in the most rural cultures (including the US) are very wary of strangers. But curious...as we see here!
05/31/05 12:49 AM
abe said...
I like the kids body language/expression. Reminds me of my nephew. Nice picture.