In portrait photography, aperture and depth of field are your best buddies. With their help you can do magic in the form of "bokeh". The term bokeh comes from the Japanese word boke (暈け or ボケ) which means to "blur" or "haze" and is pronounced "bouquet".
Basically, bokeh is achieved when your subject is in focus and everything else it out of focus. In photography this is referred to as having a shallow depth of field and is best done using a telephoto lens with an extremely large aperture. Ideally an aperture of 3.5 or higher is necessary to achieve true bokeh. Unfortunately, to get a lens with a high aperture this high you need to spend some "moola" pronouned "moo-la".
Check out some examples which were I shot using what many feel is Canon's best all around lens,
the EF 70-200L IS lens which was set at f2.8.
The wall behind Noah is completely out of focus.
Behind Courtney is a Maple Tree in full Fall bloom.
That is a downtown building behind Noah.
Behind Emily is a combination of shrubs and grey sky.
I have had always had a deep admiration for Chickadees (Poecile atricapillus), not sure why I just like them. How could you not like a little bird that is described as being "cute". Lets face it, with a little round head, puffy feathers, and a very undersized body they are adorable. Not to mention, their curiosity about everything, including humans.
I also like them because their tough and they can adapt, you know, like us Mainers. When most other birds have moved south, their still here, making the best of winter, just like you and I. While we complain about winter, they rejoice. Just this morning at 14 degrees below zero while walking to my car, I heard my friend the chickadee encouraging me to make the best of the day.
Their familiar sound (chick-a-dee-dee) is one of the most complex vocalizations in the entire animal kingdom.
To embrace winter, I spent a few hours outside at the Fields Pond Bird Sanctuary taking pictures of my little friends. And you know what?, I became even more appreciative and curious of these cute little birds. So I came home got on the computer and learned that:
They grow 30% more fur in the winter time.
To stay warm in the winter, their little hearts beat at a rate 2000 beats per minute during the day and at night it lowers to 500 beats per minute.
Even when temperatures are far below zero, chickadees always sleep in their own individual cavities they made in soft wood trees.
They have amazing cognitive powers and can remember where they hide food for up to 28 days. Plus they can manage over 1000 food hiding places at a time. Think of this skill, the next time you cannot find your car keys.
For you romantics out there, know that these little cuties are monogamous, yup they find a mate and stick with them for life. Their faithful little creatures. This quality is rare among birds, extremely rare among humans.
They are described as a saucy, active bird.. I like that
As a borne, raised, and life long resident of Maine, I am proud to have the chickadee as my friend. With all the changes our new Governor is making, I hope he does not choose to change our State Bird.
While Maine winters are tough, these little friends make it just a little easier, of course a touch of chardonnay from time to time never hurts either, ayuh.
