50/50 Project: #1/50 (by Cheshire photographer Jane Burkinshaw)

Day 1. Seedheads

50 days with a 50mm lens
Technical data: Canon 350D, 1/500, f/1.8, ISO 200 and manual exposure.

I really enjoyed taking the 350D out today - it felt like a little compact compared to the 5D mk II that I've been lugging around lately. And of course the 50mm f/1.8 mk II lens is very light too.

This was taken whilst we were out walking the dog at an area known locally as the Flashes and we chose a route along the river Weaver. I was spoilt for choice really but settled on this image because it was "cleaner" than some of the others - less clutter from stray grasses and leaves in the background and a nice contrast between the lighter seed heads and the darker background of ferns.

F/1.8 is a very shallow depth of field (most of the image is soft focus apart from the small focal area) but it does allow a faster shutter speed. I had to be really careful about picking the point of focus out and also waiting for the plant to stop swaying in the breeze.

I did a little processing afterwards to slightly emphasise the contrast between the foreground subject and the darker background.

By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!