Out Of Your Comfort Zone

One way to move forward with artistic expression is to push outside of the 'comfort zone'.  Depending on how far 'out there' one is at baseline, that push outside the comfort zone might be what some people consider unique or it could represent what many might consider bland.  But,  in this sort of exercise what matters isn't how different the results appear to one's audience.  What matters is that it is something different for the photographer. So, in going over the types of images that I make, I realized that I typically try to maximize sharpness throughout the photo.  For my 'exercise', I decided to try the exact opposite approach.  Which is to say, I wanted to make photos with minimal depth of field.  To take it to an extreme, I thought the best approach would be to simply shoot with the lens wide open.  This particular photograph was made at f2 using a 100mm lens.

"Coneflower"

Copyright Howard Grill

I find that I really enjoy the photos I made with limited depth of field.  The exercise has introduced me to a new approach which I think I will be definitely be using more frequently.

So, try something new just for the fun of it.  It's digital.....it's free.  And you don't necessarily have to show the results to anyone.  But you might just find that you want to!