Bloody Chess

[jordand]

[Mike Buckley]

Very imaginative! I like the way the depth of field draws my eye immediately to the spilled wine and the broken wine glass. That's better appreciated when viewing in the Lytebox.

Glad to know I'm not the only person who enjoys photographing broken wine glasses!

[Dave Humphries]

Jordan,

Am I correct in thinking that is not a directly photographed, single shot image?

I ask because my head hurts trying to reconcile DoF between various elements within the image.

It is interesting though

[deetheturk]

Cool capture Jordan!

[Shadowman]

Nice capture.

[jordand]

Dave,
This is a single image taken with Nikon D7000 on a tripod and Tamron 70-300 at 145mm, f 4.8.
I took it on a wooden table and then changed the WB in ACR. The light source was a small handheld torch.
I used the central focal point and focused on the front end of the glass which is above the same row the white queen is on.
With the lens wide open the king is a little blurry, the bishop a bit more and the rook and knight are the blurriest.
Following the rows on the board would be a good way to visualize the DoF.

[Dave Humphries]

This is a single image taken with Nikon D7000 on a tripod and Tamron 70-300 at 145mm, f 4.8.
I took it on a wooden table and then changed the WB in ACR. The light source was a small handheld torch.
I used the central focal point and focused on the front end of the glass which is above the same row the white queen is on.
With the lens wide open the king is a little blurry, the bishop a bit more and the rook and knight are the blurriest.
Following the rows on the board would be a good way to visualize the DoF.

The bits I am struggling with are the apparent sharpness of the very front edge of the board vs the pieces in the front row, also there's something weird (to my eyes) going with the black/white squares and their edges.

I am now wondering if there is a reflection of a Venetian blind in the table top (which at this colour temp looks like glass, not wood), and the blinds, being at a greater distance, are more in focus.

Ouch, Dave

[Mike Buckley]

I think I understand what you're seeing, Dave. The "chess board" has two types of rectangles -- frosted and not frosted. The rectangles in the front part of the image that are not frosted are reflecting the chess pieces and the wine glass. Those reflections are in the depth of field and the adjacent rectangles are not in the depth of field. That's because those reflections are "farther away" from an optical point of view. Notice that the wine and everything to the rear on the board is in the depth of field, so that explains why the reflections of the chess pieces and wine glass would also be in the depth of field.

This pattern of rectangles is definitely unusual, some with reflections and some without them, so it's something our eye is not used to seeing. That's one of the appealing characteristics of the image for me.

I'll be surprised to learn that the "chess board" isn't made of glass or a material that has similar properties. That's because the rear edge of the board has created a prism.

[jordand]

Dave and Mike,
you're both right!
Venetian blinds to the back and glass "board".