depth of field

this is a picture of unroasted coffee beans.

in photography, the term "depth of field" means, the range of distances from the lens where objects will be in focus. in close-up (macro) photography like this, depth of field is an important part of the composition. our eyes are drawn to the part of the photograph which is in focus

• The closer you look at something, the smaller the depth of field, things near the object of observation fall out of focus as your object of observation comes into focus
• This is actually helpful, because it helps you see the thing you are examining
• You can build a special camera which takes pictures with nearly infinite depth of field, where both near and far things are in focus
  • Images taken with this camera have a very surreal appearance, this is not how we are used to seeing things
  • Because these cameras work by taking very long exposures, anything moving cannot be captured in focus

today's lemony treat is thinking about how depth-of-field applies to knowledge, especially knowledge about faith, and extra lemon zest especially where faith interacts with culture, which is a moving target.

Comments

[Darren Rowse]

wow - great post - fantastic picture.

you've incorporated all my favourite things into one post - coffee...photography....Philosophical thought. Perfect

[matt]

you are talking about a lomo camera right? i was thinking of getting one of them, an original russian spy one, but i'm forever broke it seems.