Tony here. Photographers LOVE a good, sharp image. We compare lenses, tripods, whether to “mirror-lock-up” or NOT “to mirror lock-up.” We just like sharp, period. We have all learned in photography 101, that as the aperture of any lens closes down to a small opening, our depth of field increases, thereby increasing our chances of getting something or some area sharp in our images. And, as mentioned above, we love that.
Of course, on the other side is the opposite effect as you “open” a lens aperture more to decrease depth of field. I’m guessing that anyone reading this post has a grasp of this already and understand all of the many the ramifications. However, today I wanted to just discuss something that you might NOT know about.
My eyesight started going about the time I hit thirty-five years old. My right eye started going first then getting worse and worse and it was an issue with both close vision and distance. Grrrr. I know, I know. Then I started noticing that my peer group, friends, family members, fellow workers, were all grabbing for a pair of “cheater” glasses, those inexpensive drug-store glasses you buy in a variety of different strengths. +.75, +1.25, etc. And let’s be honest, we have all found ourselves in a real mess when we’ve misplaced our glasses. Fast forward to a great little DIY fix for this situation. Can’t read a label? In the hotel shower and you can’t read the labels to know which is the shampoo and which is the conditioner since they look exactly alike?
Here’s the trick: Make yourself a small aperture to view through, even without your glasses. Make one of those “A-OK” signs with your hand, a loose fist, with your finger closed inside of your thumb. Then make the hole smaller and smaller and smaller, until there is barely an opening to see through….then look through that as you read a label, newsprint, or the like. Put your eye right up against the tiny little opening and you won’t believe how sharp things will appear to you. Like magic, you can increase the size of the opening then make it smaller again and actually watch as things come in and out of focus. It is a very cool part of physics that is so useful so often in my life.
We are photographers. We LOVE sharp...
As a guy who travels a lot, this has helped in so many instances, especially as in the hotel shampoo/conditioner example. They always use the same color for those little bottles and I can never read them once I step into the shower. But I can hold one up close, make a small “viewing aperture” to look through and viole’. I can see...
We hope this type article is helpful and want to wish you all the happiest of holidays. Safe travels to all…