Saturday Showcase: What is Aperture?

Today's showcase will be my attempt to describe what aperture is in terms that might make sense to the average Joe.  Keep in mind that I'm am just like Joe, I have not studied photography nor am I a pro photographer.

First off, let me tell you the settings on my camera: the ISO (light sensitivity of the sensor) was set at 250, the exposure time was set at 1/160 of a second and the focal length was set at 42mm for all of the photographs.  I used the middle focus point and it was pointed at the n in watermelon.

Aperture:  In simple terms it is the size of the hole that is letting in light to the camera's sensor.  The lower the f stop number, the bigger the hole, the more blurry the background will be behind the subject.  You can see how the background gains focus when progressing from f/2.8 to f/5.6 to f/11 to f/22.  As the hole (aperture) gets smaller the more the background becomes focused.  How does this relate to non can photographs?  When taking portraits having a large aperture (small number) will give you great bokeh (blurred background).  When taking landscape photographs you will most likely want to have the whole scene be sharp and you can do that by having a small aperture (big number).

I hope this definition helps you to understand what aperture is and how it helps you to get off that green mode on your camera.

Speaking of cameras, Lighthaus Camera has four locations across the Aloha state to serve your photographic needs.