cameras

**Saxon Holt sholt@saxonholt.com>**

> ...  I think the point has been missed.  Heronswood will not allow tripods,
> so that means we all have shoot with hand-held cameras.  The great shots
> with saturated color require longer exposure times.  Personally, I do not
> hold a camera steady beyond 1/30. And, even then I have to block my hands
> with something.
> 
> My question is what films and/or lenses will allow a good slide to be shot
> at 1/60 or faster and still have decent depth of field?
> Doreen Howard

Doreen - pardon my bluntness.  You are asking for the impossible - on
two levels.  Depth of field controlled by the lens (the f stop or aperture
opening), and shutter speeds controlled by the camera, are inverse
relationships - you can not have lots of depth of field and fast shutter
unless you use very fast film.  And saturation is dependant on one or
the other, not simply longer exposure time.  Saturation is also achieved
by smaller lens aperture.  

All of those who don't need this feebly worded technical explaination
can skip the
next few paragraphs:  
Photographs of any given scene require a certain amount
of light to expose the film properly.  The camera's meter tells you how
to achieve the right amount of light using shutter speed or lens
opening.  To use an analogy of filling a bucket of water with a hose: 
you want the right amount of water (light) to fill the bucket (expose
the film).  You can use a fat hose (lens with wide aperture) for a short time
(shutter speed) or you can use a smaller hose like drip for a longer
time.  Either way you need the same amount of water (light) to properly
fill the bucket (expose the film).  If you want a richly saturated
slide, you would underexpose the film by giving it too little light to "properly"
brighten the color (or overexpose print film which oversaturates the
negative).  When looking at any given scene the photographer with a
decent camera decides what combination of aperture and camera speed will
best fill the film with light.

That combination of aperture and speed has no single solution as to how
to fill the film with light, but many combinations depending on the
number of shutter speeds the camera has and the number of aperture
adjustments of the lens.  As the camera speed slows down, the wider lens
opening is needed (in direct relationship) to fill the film.  As in
filling the bucket with water, as the hose gets smaller (say down to
drip irrigation size), the longer time is needed to fill the buchet.  So
you can saturate the film by not having the shutter open long enough or
not opening the lens enough.

OK.  So now you say you want a lot of depth of field.  That is
controlled by the lens, and the smaller the aperture of the lens the
greater the depth of field.  (On a lens, the smaller aperture is
actually the larger number:  F:16 is a much smaller aperture than F:2. 
One can think of these numbers as a display of fractional shorthand -
1/16 is a much smaller number than 1/2).  So if we know we want a lot of
depth of field with a small aperture (if we know we want to use a small
dripline to fill the bucket) we know we need a long time or slow shutter
speed.  The slower the shutter, the more the depth of field - it is a
direct relationship.

So now you say you are not able to use a slow shutter but still want a
lot of depth of field.  You need faster film, or in our water bucket
analogy, you need a smaller bucket.  There is still the same
relationship of lens speed and camera speed (or hose diameter and length
of time you have the hose on), but now you change the size of the bucket
and get a faster film.  In film analogy, I use the biggest bucket I can
find, Fuji Velvia so that I can fill it as much as I can.  It holds more
sharpness and color contrast.  Some garden photographers use Kodak
Ektachrome 64 for truer green color but, it too, is a slow film - a big bucket.

Fast films (higher ASA or ISO) can allow you more depth of field because you
can use a smaller lens aperture while having faster camera speed.  If
you use Velvia at f:8 in a low light situation you might be shooting 1/8
second exposure.  An 400 ASA film would still allow F:8 but 1/60 second.

So the short answer to your question is use a fast film and camera
lenses with wide apertures at least f:2.  Wide angle lenses are best
because they are inherently faster and camera shake is less noticable.

The $64 question is in your original query: what is a "decent slide"? 
As a professional garden photographer with thousands of credits, I will
allow myself to be opinionated.  Putting aside the subjective quality of
a good photo (whether or not it is a good garden or aesthetically nice
image), I would say you can not take a good garden picture *for
publication* without a tripod and slow film.  You can take decent ones
for slide shows, good ones for the web, or even excellent ones for
personal prints, but not for publication.  Color separations demand film
with lots of information, and that means slow film.

I would also mention "the great shots" you refer to in the beginning. 
Since you mention Heronswood and I have had the opportunity to
photograph there and can modestly say have some great shots, I must warn
you.  If you want to publish any of the pictures you might take there -
GET PERMISSION!

It is a pet peeve with me, that some writers and photographers assume
gardeners want their gardens photographed for publication.  Most of the
best gardens are private and get lots of requests from publishers for
photographs.  While some are always happy to oblige, others are not - for
all kinds of reasons.  Dan Hinkley at Heronswood for instance is not
eager to have photos circulated because he is planning to do a book and
does not want to diminish the visual appeal of a future book by having
too many pictures already published.  (This is NOT a selfish ploy by
certain photographers to keep others at bay, it is a legitimated
concern.  And I a not the photographer Dan is working with for the book.)

While many garden owners will allow specific photos to be use for
specific stories they do not want random photos being circulated. 
Please, if you are a GWAA member, use professional courtesy and always
get permission to photograph for publication.  (And then if you expect
an editor to use the film, always use a tripod with slow film and get
good light....)

Saxon Holt
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