Shooting Wide Open

When I first returned to serious photography about 7 or 8 years ago ( I had been 'into' photography when I was very young and, in fact, asked my parents for a good camera and basic darkroom equipment for my 8th grade graduation present......but that is another story and was a lifetime ago) I was a 'sharp from back to front' sort of shooter.  That clearly has its place, and I enjoy a good 'stem to stern' pin sharp landscape image as much as the next guy.  However, it is only over the last year or two that I have come to really appreciate shooting with the lens wide open to markedly limit depth of field.  In the right situation the wide open aperture lends an aura of mystery to an image and can also make the subject really 'pop'. I made the photo below on one of my deep winter photo forays to Phipps Conservatory, where the weather is warm and the color is green any time of year!

Yucca

Copyright Howard Grill