Cool picture, how'd I do it?

[rudeanduncouth]

So this is one of the first pictures I ever took with my camera. However, as I learned more about taking pictures and everything, I still don't know exactly know how I did it. I was trying to take a picture of the fish just for reference. Any ideas on how to replicate this again?

 

[Llarian]

I keep looking at this and I can't figure it out at all. It looks like you have two focal planes, which is confusing the heck out of me.

I'd love to know what happened too. =)

-Dylan

 

[jetaero]

manual focus?

Possibly too close to the fish to focus on it, and focused on the farther object as well...

-Josh-

 

[rudeanduncouth]

It wasn't manual focus because I had now idea how to do that when I took that pic. I just had it on the auto settings. I had the camera out of the box for about 5 minutes when I took it.

 

[jetaero]

Possibly the second idea I thought then, how far was the lense from the fish?

-Josh-

 

[rudeanduncouth]

Probably pretty close, say 6" inches or so.

 

[Llarian]

The background focus makes sense. The fish is too close for the AF mode you were using most likely, so the AF got as close as it could, which explains the rear focus. What I can't figure out is the bubbled in the front that appear to be fairly in-focus.

-Dylan

 

[Sherman]

I vote for a super deep DOF and motion blur on the fish.

Or it's Photoshop, and you're laughing at us all.

 

[jetaero]

it's an illusion... I believe bubbles are at the back, not the front... If you notice they are on the rock at the top.

-Josh-

 

[rudeanduncouth]

That would certainly be an interesting illusion if that was the case but it is not. Not that good with photoshop either so. I know it can be done (obvisously) I just don't know how to blur the foreground and focus the background with a camera when I want to, though I am not sure why exactly I would want to.

 

[jetaero]

are the bubbles in the foreground, or background?

From what I could tell I thought it went:

Fish > Othe Fish > Bubbles > rocks > glass

try getting super close on something, but focusing the camera at something behind it, but setting the center there.

Does your camera have a 2, or 1 point click?

-Josh-

 

[rudeanduncouth]

Yeah, I am pretty sure that is the order of things when that pic was shot.

What do you mean 2 or 1 point click?

 

[Llarian]

Yeah, you might be right about the bubbles being in the back focal plane, its hard to tell with where the fish is, but looks possible.

I don't think the fish is motion blurred (much anyways), if you look at the out of focus spots on its side, that's very clearly OOF bokeh, not a motion blur. (Unless your fish vibrate like an orbital sander)

-Dylan