Photography : What do focal lengths mean? Focal Length v Zoom?

Today I found this great little image which I feel I really must share.

It explains focal length and what different camera lenses see.  For me me this was quite tricky to get my head round but it was explained perfectly to me in the following way.

Our eyes see things, in focus, with a lens equivalent of 50mm (and an approximate field of view of 50 degrees – the mm focal length of the lens and degree of field of view although the same are not related).  Our peripheral vision picks up more (a lens equivalent of  about 10mm), but the actual in focus part of the world we see is captured at an equivalent of 50mm.

The following images shows what each lens will capture in relation to what we see…

This is our view of a beach.  It incorporates about 130 degrees of a field of view and represents our entire vision (although in reality the periphery will not be as focused.)

Field of View of the Human Eye - approximately 130 degrees
Field of View of the Human Eye – approximately 130 degrees

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2015 Airwaves Portrush : NI International Air Show – Gallery

2015 marks the second year of Air Waves, the rebranded Northern Ireland International Air Show.  2014 was an excellent year for this show with quality aircraft and outstanding displays so this year has a lot to live up to.  With in my opinion even more pressure on its shoulders because of a rather disappointing airshow earlier this year in Newcastle, Co. Down.

So Airwaves 2015 can you do it?

Yes you can.  Everything was in favour of the airshow this year most importantly the weather, over the weekend we experienced a little wind on the Saturday but it settled itself, Sunday started off a little wet and grey but as you will see from the gallery as the day went on, the weather also started to thankfully behave itself!

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2014 Airwaves Portrush : NI International Air Show – Gallery

2014 marked the first year of the new look NI International Air Show (2014) which was rebranded to in my own personal opinion the rather cheesy ‘Air Waves’, what with it being an Air show and also beside the sea. (This section of the Northern Irish Coast being the only one with waves to mention with the exception of storms of course.) Now that I have my reservations of the name expressed I will move onto more important things, the show itself.

One word should suffice as an review, and be enough to ensure your attendance next year – ‘Excellent!’

The venue has relocated to the East Strand of Portrush over looking the Causeway Coast, and it worked really well!

The display line has now moved to the eastern side of the peninsula to bring the display line much, much closer to the crowd and have the Giant’s Causeway and Dunluce Castle as a backdrop. It also means spectators can now view from the beautiful Blue Flag beach and enjoy even more exhibition space. This map shows the main layout of the event;

VISITOR MAP

I am too late to be writing reviews and the like for this event, however it is never too late for photos and I have included a pretty big selection of the images I captured on the day, which follow below, but I do think it is important to emphasise the main points :

1. The event was excellent.
2. The range of aircraft was fantastic.
3. The sight of the 2 Lancaster Bombers was simply outstanding.
4. The display from the Red Arrows was amazing! This was their 50th Anniversary display and although they are always worth watching, this display is something special!
5. The other aircraft were all amazing, and being a fan of helicopters I certainly was treated well!
6. The rest of the events organised for families, visitors and spectators were good and I have no doubt will improve as the years go on.

I am certainly looking forward to the show again next year!

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MyNI2013.com – A Photo Competition and I Need Your Votes!

For the past couple of months I have been doing a local photography and tourism competition…

http://www.myni2013.com

Basically it ends in about 24 hours and I am currently sitting in 8th position, and I wanna stay in the top 10, so if you aren’t up to much and want to have a look at a few of the things Northern Ireland has to offer, then check out the link to my galleries and hit me up with a few likes!

Thanks in advance!

http://www.myni2013.com/user/tomboyni