FOCUS

Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, Tamron 28-80 lens @76mm, ISO 100, f/16, 6 sec.

  After Thursday's post, PASSING THE TEST, I did a little thinking about FOCUS.  In photography, the standard meaning for focus usually points to getting your images crystal clear. Which it does and this is incredibly important to this post and I will expand on this later on in it.
  The focus I started thinking about on Thursday is concentrating on what I really like to make photos of.  When I jumped in the stream Thursday evening to take those running water photos I felt like a kid in a candy store. I was so excited.  It dawned on me how much I love not only photographing running water, but how calming and peaceful it was to just be there and listen to in roaring by.  I was in my comfort zone.
  Over the last 2 or 3 months, after the fall leaves had disappeared from the trees, I have gotten away from photographing the water for valid reasons like it is COLD and there is no color around it.  The snowfall last week drew me back to the water for both of my last two blog posts and jump started my FOCUS.
  Don't get me wrong, I still love shooting other landscapes, abandoned houses, wildlife, etc., and will continue to do so.  But, it is always comforting and exciting to get back to the water.
  This brings me to today's post and how it meshes both types of FOCUS I have talked about.  The photo you see was taken on River Road in The Cherokee National Forest back in October.  As you can see, water was involved and that is the main topic of FOCUS in the blog.
  This shot was taken a day after reading Ian Plant's tip Pro Secrets: Using Live View For Nature Photography. I had never used Live View in my camera before.  Just didn't know about it or how to use it. Ian explained how to get much sharper FOCUS by using Live View and manually focusing.  The shot you see above is my first time out after learning this technique. What an eye opener.  My images have been much clearer and sharper ever since and I won't shoot a landscape any other way.
  Another tip that I picked up from Ian Plant that I applied in this shot was from Fall Foliage Tips for Mountain Trail Photo where he suggests when doing fall foliage reflections, wait for the foliage to have the sun shining on it but not on the water. This creates a very colorful reflection on the water of the foliage.  It also allows for the rocks to have a blue tint from reflecting the blue sky above.