Shallow Focus Works When Appropriate

I have seen way too many photos using a Photoshop plugin to create the illusion of a shallow depth of field. Especially overused in food photography, this trendy apparition calls attention to itself and distracts from the picture's content, in my opinion.
Some times it is really necessary, even essential, when stressing a certain portion of an object. I recently did this to accentuate the face of a thermometer which is rather small. I didn't need to use a filter or digital FX, just plain ol good technique made it possible. I used my Nikon D70, the usual 80-200 lens greatly zoomed in, a Bogen tripod and, the real secret, a fast shutter speed and a wide open aperture, which gives you the shallow depth. Mere physics!!
Here's the result:

Favorite Photoshop Photo of the Day:


El Rushbo never looked better:

See more examples of conservatives in clown face here:



http://www.flickr.com/photos/30835791@N07/sets/72157614241935013/

Mother's Day Family Photo

Had a photo session with Ann Marie Dale, her daughter Alexandria and husband Ryan Polite in Ragle Park yesterday for a traditional Mother's Day present: a current portrait.
I think outdoor portraits are best and the most fun to shoot. And my trademark, as it were, is to use the sun as my backlight.
I used my Nikon D70s, in the raw mode, which also produces a small reference jpg which is what this photo is. Fill flash was with my trusty old Vivatar 285 into a bounce card on a Bogen light stand. Nice thing about the raw format is that in Photoshop CS3 I can totally control the color temp, in this case warming up the photo and reducing highlights as needed.