Michigan, MI
Michigan is a Midwestern state of the United
States of America, located in the east north
central portion of the country. It was named
after Lake Michigan, whose name was a French
adaptation of the Ojibwe term mishigami, meaning
"large water" or "large lake".
Bounded by four of the five Great Lakes, plus
Lake Saint Clair, Michigan has the longest
freshwater shoreline in the World, and the
second longest total shoreline in the United
States.
In
2005, Michigan had more registered recreational
boats than any state except California and
Florida.
A
person in Michigan is never more than 85 miles
(137 km) from open Great Lakes water and is
never more than 6 miles (10 km) from a natural
water source. Michigan is the only bi-peninsular
state.
The
Lower Peninsula of Michigan, to which the name
Michigan was originally applied, is sometimes
dubbed "the mitten," owing to its shape. When
asked where in Michigan one comes from, a
resident of the Lower Peninsula may often point
to the corresponding part of his or her hand.
The
Upper Peninsula (usually referred to as The U.P.)
is separated from the Lower Peninsula by the
Straits of Mackinac, a five-mile channel that
joins Lake Huron to Lake Michigan. The Upper
Peninsula (whose residents are often called "Yoopers")
is economically important for tourism and its
natural resources.
The
Upper and Lower Peninsulas are connected by the
five-mile-long Mackinac Bridge, which is the
third longest suspension bridge between
anchorages in the world.
This
is the source of the name "trolls" for residents
of the Lower Peninsula, for they live "under"
(south of) the bridge.
The
Great Lakes that border Michigan are Lake Erie,
Lake Huron, Lake Michigan and Lake Superior.
Michigan also abuts Lake Saint Clair, which is
between Lake Erie and Lake Huron.
This article is licensed under
the
GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the
Wikipedia
article "Michigan".
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Understanding Aperture and Aperture Priority Setting
by
Lovelyn Bettison
You've probably heard the terminology used many
times now. Photographers and photography websites
use it often, but if you don't have an understanding
of what aperture is, it can be quite confusing.
Let's find a clear and concise definition for the
term aperture and learn how putting your camera into
aperture priority mode can help improve your
photography.
When
photographers discuss aperture they're really just
talking about the opening in the camera lens. Much
like the pupil of the eye, the camera lens opening
can be set smaller or larger to control the amount
of light getting into the camera. It's that simple.
When the aperture is open wide light floods into the
camera. When the aperture is small much less light
gets in.
Talking about aperture can be confusing though
because of the way we measure it in photography.
When one talks about aperture they refer to f-stop
numbers. For example, you can say f/22 or f/3.5.
This is a reference to how large the aperture is
open. The larger the f-stop number the smaller the
aperture is open. The smaller the number the larger
the f-stop is open. f/22 is a smaller aperture than
f/3.5. It may seem confusing at first, but you'll
get the hang of it in no time.
Besides letting the light into the camera, aperture
also controls the depth of field. The smaller the
aperture the larger the depth of field. So if you
take a picture at f/22, you'll notice that most
everything in the photograph is in focus. A larger
aperture gives you a shallower depth of field. If
you take a picture set as f/3.5 you'll notice that
the object you're photographing is in focus but much
of what's around it is out of focus.
The
aperture priority setting on your camera gives you
complete control over the aperture you're camera is
set at when you take a picture. When you're camera
is on auto it tries to determine what setting is
best and selects that setting for you. When you take
your camera off auto and set it yourself you have
more control over the end result of the image.
You
can adjust the aperture according to the lighting in
which you're photographing. The larger your f-stop
number the longer the shutter has to stay open to
let enough light into the camera. If you were taking
pictures in a dimly lit setting and you had your
aperture set to f/22 the shutter would have to be
open for much longer to get the correct exposure for
the image than it would if your aperture were set to
f/3.5. Having a quicker shutter speed will lessen
the likelihood of the image blurring because of
camera movement or the subject moving.
You
can also use the mode to draw your viewers' eyes to
a focal point in a picture. If you want to isolate
an object in a sea of objects or even isolate it
from a busy background you can set your aperture to
f/3.5. The object will be in focus while other
things around it will be out of focus.
Of
course, there are many more aperture settings than
the two I've mentioned here. The range of f-stop
numbers available to you will depend on which lens
you're using.
Now
that you know what aperture is set your camera to
aperture priority mode and go out and start taking
pictures.
About the Author
Understanding digital
photography basics will help you develop your
photography skills more quickly. Learn how to take
better pictures by reading my free
photography tutorials. The more you learn the
better your pictures will get. |
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