Postcard, Germany

Photograph by Catherine Karnow

Catherine Karnow is a San Francisco-based photographer whose work has appeared in National Geographic, National Geographic Traveler, and other publications. She has been teaching photography workshops since 1995.

Isolate the Object From the Background

Often when I’m feeling a little overwhelmed by what to shoot in places like markets or busy streets, I’ll start by shooting details. I find it meditative and relaxing to concentrate on a single object. One key to capturing details is to use a shallow depth of field to separate the object from the background. In Murnau, Germany, I loved the hand-colored postcards I saw outside a shop. By using a very shallow depth of field—an aperture of f/3.5—I was able to isolate the postcard I liked most, with its turquoise water and rowboat, from the background of the busy street. I kept in a bit of the postcard above it to make sure the viewer knows it’s on a rack and was also careful to include an out-of-focus postcard on the right to hide the thick metal pole that I knew would have drawn the eye away from my focal postcard. —Catherine Karnow

feeling a little overwhelmed - 感到不知所措

meditative - 冥想的

aperture - 开口，口径

turquoise - 青绿色的，土耳其石

rowboat - 划艇

rack - 架子，（火车上的网架）

focal - 焦点的，集中在焦点上的