Apple Season in Southern PA

[Susan Unger]

My family visited Adams County, PA today which is known for its apple orchards. We missed the Apple Festival in Biglerville last weekend, maybe next year we can make it. These are from the National Apple Museum.
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[Susan Unger]

More from the Apple Museum.

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[Susan Unger]

These are from a nearby fruit stand. Thefirst one is of the apple orchard behind the fruit stand.

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[Susan Unger]

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[Jonathan Long]

Susan,

I enjoyed the pictures!

I have a couple suggestions for you... keep in mind my suggestions are worth what you pay for them....!

When you frame up a shot try to decide what needs to be included in the frame to tell the story you want to convey, then eliminate anything not needed.... that can be done by changing camera position or different focal length selection. I noticed that many of your pictures were taken while you were standing, so the camera angle is slightly down... If you had knelt down it would have brought the items in the foreground closer and more interesting. If you had used a longer focal length setting combined with kneeling for the geese on the pond pictures they could have had that brightly colored bush as the background...

Your picture of the red barn... you show lots of an empty parking lot... which I'm pretty sure didn't need to be included to show the brightly colored barn. You could have tilted the camera upward to remove most of the parking lot from view, plus a side benifit would have been the horizon line wouldn't have run directly thru the middle of the picture...

Try to remember the following ideas:

Focal length selection - Wide angle gives you more depth of field, it also allows you to place items that you want to emphasize in the forefront of the picture and make them appear larger. Telephoto gives you less depth of field, it also makes items in the background appear closer than they really are.

Viewpoint - Try making your pictures more interesting by using unique viewpoints. An example would be taking a picture of an apple hanging from a tree, if you used a wider angle lens and got really close to the apple it would appear in the picture as larger than it really is... then add taking the picture from slightly below the apple to include part of the branch from the tree and a brightly lite sky... the picture becomes much more memorable...

Jon

[Susan Unger]

I enjoyed the pictures! Thanks.


When you frame up a shot try to decide what needs to be included in the frame to tell the story you want to convey, then eliminate anything not needed.... that can be done by changing camera position or different focal length selection. I noticed that many of your pictures were taken while you were standing, so the camera angle is slightly down... If you had knelt down it would have brought the items in the foreground closer and more interesting. If you had used a longer focal length setting combined with kneeling for the geese on the pond pictures they could have had that brightly colored bush as the background...The problem with that day was that we had had along day in the car or visiting relatives...so when inspiration hit me, I had 5 minutes to take my pix and go. :( I did think at that time "if only we had time and energy, I could take some pics of the fence close up, or zoom in more on the geese, or the pond, etc." Maybe we can make it down there again this month so that I can do it justice.

Longer focal length?


Your picture of the red barn... you show lots of an empty parking lot... which I'm pretty sure didn't need to be included to show the brightly colored barn. You could have tilted the camera upward to remove most of the parking lot from view, plus a side benifit would have been the horizon line wouldn't have run directly thru the middle of the picture...yeah, that wasn't the greatest shot. I included it because I wanted to 'explain' the flowers and seat picture. Question - I am not familiar with the horizon rule. Why would one not want the horizon directly through the middle of the picture?


Try to remember the following ideas:

Focal length selection - Wide angle gives you more depth of field, it also allows you to place items that you want to emphasize in the forefront of the picture and make them appear larger. Telephoto gives you less depth of field, it also makes items in the background appear closer than they really are.Does focal length refer to when I use zoom? And could you get examples to explain the rest of this section. I am just not "seeing" what you are saying.

Please reexplain depth of field. That definition didn't stick well in my memory.


Viewpoint - Try making your pictures more interesting by using unique viewpoints. An example would be taking a picture of an apple hanging from a tree, if you used a wider angle lens and got really close to the apple it would appear in the picture as larger than it really is... then add taking the picture from slightly below the apple to include part of the branch from the tree and a brightly lite sky... the picture becomes much more memorable...I am trying to remember to use different view points [kneeling vs standing]. I couldn't take close ups of the apples on the trees as that was private property [and didn't have the time to truly experiment] but I think there is a pear tree in my neighborhood that I could try tomorrow [if it is not raining]. Although, again, I am not sure what you mean by 'wider angle'? Is that when I don't use zoom and instead maybe use macro?


And thanks for the suggestions:smilies1404:

[Jonathan Long]

Susan,

Focal length refers to: wide angle = 18mm or less and telephoto = 70mm or more (for DSLR). The wide angle allows you to capture more of the scene and telephoto refers to "seeing" less (like looking thru a telescope - it makes the item appear larger).

The horizon line in the middle of the frame is a pet peeve of mine. To me unless you're taking a picture of a mountain with a lake in the foreground reflecting the mountain there's never a reason to split the horizon... and in most photographs either the foreground or the background holds more interest... so include what's important.

Depth of Field refers to how much is in focus (front to back) in your picture. An example would be taking a picture of a person with trees in full color in the background. With less depth of field the background would be out of focus. This would be using a wider aperture like f2.8 or f4. If you wanted to show the background in focus you'd need more depth of field, so you'd use a smaller aperture like f11 or f16.

Depth of field is also affected by lens selection. A wide angle lens provides more depth of field than a telephoto lens using the same aperture, this is caused by lens design. It also gives you the opportunity to place a subject much closer in the frame (making it larger)while still giving you the depth of field you'd need.

Another point is that a telephoto lens makes the background appear closer to the main subject than it really is, this is also caused by lens design. This trick is used when it's impossible to place a model close to the background...

Macro photography is taking a picture of a small item, the camera needs to be close to the subject for this setting to work...

Also remember that they're really no rules in photography, only guidelines....

Jon

[Wayne Paul]

A bit off-topic; however, I was a local Idaho orchard last Saturday. The lane to the warehouse is very narrow. I had to wait for an "18 wheeler" pulling a 53 foot trailer full of apples.

The first thing that caught my eye was the Washington State plates on the truck. Then as the truck passed buy I noticed the sign on the side indicating that it belonged to a Sunny Side, WA apple packing company. Does this mean that Idaho apples are being sold as Washington apples?

[Susan Unger]

Jon, I have cut and pasted your comments to take with me on my weekend walk w/photo shoot. Your suggestions will make better sense once I have had a chance to put things in action. I did finally find on the camera where it says "focal length". Thanks again for your help.

[John Kennedy]

A bit off-topic; however, I was a local Idaho orchard last Saturday. The lane to the warehouse is very narrow. I had to wait for an "18 wheeler" pulling a 53 foot trailer full of apples.

The first thing that caught my eye was the Washington State plates on the truck. Then as the truck passed buy I noticed the sign on the side indicating that it belonged to a Sunny Side, WA apple packing company. Does this mean that Idaho apples are being sold as Washington apples?

Or.......could it be that Washington apples are being sold as Idaho apples. There is an apple growing area near where I live (Oak Glen) that has a considerable number of roadside stands. In fact, as far as I know, you can only buy Oak Glen apples in Oak Glen. There are, however, periodic rumors that near the end of the seaon, some growers/vendors will also market Washington apples. Kinda shakes your confidence.

[Bill Morrison]

Susan:
Your pictures are great. They make me think about the Johnny Appleseed stories I heard in my youth and make me wish we had some good tasting apples now in Kansas. I bought some at the store recently and they were near tasteless. Probably NOT some of those beautiful Pennsylvania apples in your pictures!

BILL

[Susan Unger]

Susan:
Your pictures are great. They make me think about the Johnny Appleseed stories I heard in my youth and make me wish we had some good tasting apples now in Kansas. I bought some at the store recently and they were near tasteless. Probably NOT some of those beautiful Pennsylvania apples in your pictures!

BILL

Thanks. I just spent the last hour researching Johnny Appleseed, Musselman's apple products and cider vs apple juice. This season I am obsessed with apples.

I made apple jelly on Sunday, apple muffins and was considering making my own applesauce this year and pie but the jelly making process did me in. I have 4 bags of Macs in my frig. They are DELICOUS!!! And I just bought some cider at the store tonight. :smilies1694: Too bad your school is in session during Apple season. :(