Calculating and applying the hyperfocal point sounds more complicated than it actually is. What is it? Well, a lens can only focus precisely on one plane – sharpness gradually decreases either side of this distance. Roughly speaking, depth of field extends one-third in front of this point and two-thirds beyond it. Therefore, if you focus too close or far away, you will waste some of the depth of field available to you.

However, for every focal length and aperture combination, there is one distance that will maximise depth of field – the hyperfocal distance. By carefully focusing on this point, you will take advantage of the full extent of the depth of field. There are hyperfocal charts and apps available (for different sensor sizes) to help you calculate this optimum point. An App like PhotoPills is a good choice. Just enter the selected focal length and aperture, and the app will calculate the distance you need to focus on and also show the near and far limits.

Those lucky few who attended on the eve of the long week-end were certainly very glad that they did and were treated to a really super presentation by the “Gunner”. The Gunner’s presentation introduced members to the concept of off camera flash, and using the Club’s new “tethered” system cable the audience were able to see at first hand the results literally straight out of the camera. Utilising a well-practiced “instructional technique” and a style all of his own the Gunner explained and demonstrated as he went along just what he was going to do, how he did it, and the resultant images were immediately available on the big screen for the audience to enjoy and appreciate just what had happened. Using 1, 2 then 3 light set ups then 3 light & projection. We got a superb overview of lighting concepts and techniques.

When converting DPI/PPI to mm for printing purposes you should have a minimum of 12 pixels per mm. See the attached scale for printing the perfect image. This is just for reference against your own calculations. The left column follows the format and the mm size for your print and then you follow across the pixel dimensions to supply the printer. Most users/printers would prefer the size without bleed and they normally add 5 or 10 mm of paper/stock so that the print can be easily mounted. So For example I normally print 2:3 the ratio of my sensor with print size 37.5 x 25 ( 10 x 15 inches ) This means that according to the scale that at 300 dpi resolution I need pixel dimensions of 2953 x 4429. You can also use an online calculator like the one here PIXEL CALCULATOR

I ‘ve been asked about Lightroom best solutions for backing up and I though i’d share my method! This graphic best explains the setup. All my RAW images are uploaded to an external Drive ( Drive 2 ) that way my computer hard rive is clear of all large files. The Lightroom Catalogue which automatically stores on the computer hard drive. I have set create a catalogue backup every time I close down Lightroom. This can be  set in Lightroom’s preferences and I have this backup going to the external drive alongside the RAW files. On another Hard Drive ( Drive 3 ) I use a piece of software “SuperDuper” to copy everything on Drive 2. This gives me a mirror of Drive 2. I also have a backup of the computers Hard Drive  which goes to an external Hard Drive ( Drive 1 ). Let me know if you have other solutions that work for full belt and braces approach to backing up!! Mark