The mere thought of ribs on the barbie generates torrents of drool. Moreover, the aroma of pork ribs wafting in the air creates excruciating taste bud sensitivity. The prescribed remedy: Consume all-you-can-eat gastroliscious ribs and a tall, cold brewski. When I finally arrived on the downtown scene, I could still smell the last of the ribs that were being taken to city hall, escorted by the Fillmore National Guard and on to the judges. You know, I could do that rib judging gig. For free!

Back to business and some shop talk... just between us. Just a little so don't run off. You've heard me mention about shooting in manual mode. Actually, most times it's in semi-manual mode. Meaning I mostly use either aperture priority or shutter priority while the camera's computer evaluates and adjusts exposure accordingly. Shooting the rib championship and the honey festival is an example of using both semi-manual modes depending on the circumstances and my intentions and/or desired results.

Photographing the judging in city hall, I used aperture priority. I was more interested in depth-of-field meaning foreground and background in focus. When shooting an 8-foot table from one end, with a food presenter at my end, I preferred to have all the people at the table in focus. But intentions don't always agree with circumstances. Though I would have liked to close the aperture to perhaps f/11 to increase depth-of-field (DOF), available light didn't allow for it. Therefore, I had to open the aperture enough for proper exposure. But that's not necessarily bad. Opening the aperture causes the background to blur somewhat because of decreased DOF. This however, directs the viewer's eyes to the subject in the foreground. Many times, directing the viewers eyes is intended. But not always. Blurry backgrounds is not my style... well, except after a couple strawberry margarrritas. But I digress...

After the BBQ shoot, I quickly boarded the Bennett Honey Farm Express so I could get a crowd shot. Here again I preferred everyone in focus. And because light was plentiful, I used f/11 (surprise!) to achieve the required depth of field (DOF). BTW, I use f/11 so much it should be my middle name. Anyway, everyone is in focus, from the first person in the line to the lady with the pink hat waaaaaaaay in the back. However, not sure if it was her hat or a strawberry margarita she was holding high.

The second the train began to move, I immediately switched to shutter priority and increased the shutter speed considerably. The Fillmore & Western highball to Piru might only go 10 mph but it's on a railbed laid in 1887! I know... I was there! Since than, super glue might have been added to the tracks here and there but it's still a bit of a rickety ride. Because I'm rocking to and fro like wild buckwheat in a Santa Ana breeze, I set a high shutter speed to hopefully prevent photo blur as mush...er... much (oh those strawberry margarritas) as possible. For the duration of the trip, I left the aperture on f/11. At the Honey Farm I had to again open the aperture to obtain a respectable exposure in less indoor light. Through the day, white balance and ISO were left on “auto”.

The more you understand the relationship between the trinity of aperture, shutter speed and ISO, the better you can apply the appropriate camera settings to achieve a desired result. Or compensate for any given situation. It's all about creativity! Provided, of course, you're a photographer... not a phonetographer. Just sayin'.

Happy photoing.

Email your comments, suggestions or questions to bob@fillmoregazette.com