The latest version of the Newsletter from Digital-SLR-Guide.Comis available here. He goes over differences between DSLRs and DSLR like cameras, the aperture, shutter speed, iso triad, and some rationales for each one, and the cameras released for 2007.
This was a great site that I learned a lot from when still new to DSLRs, so if you're still new to photography, I recommend a look.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
It's Cold Damnit!
With the first real snow of the season comes the oppurtunity to photograph the world in a different light. The landscape becomes wrapped in a soft, gentle, white blanket, though only briefly before it fades away to the passing wind. However, to get out there, requires a bit of motivation. In short...it's cold. Of course it is always best to dress warmly when venturing out, and even better to actually have a plan while out there so that the least amount of time is spent in the frigid locales.
The idea for this came when I went out the first time, and found myself capturing nothing of interest (mostly due to my unwillingness to go far). It was near 3 in the morning and I wanted to convey how cold it was. I remembered a light painting tutorial I saw recently on DIYPhotography, and the idea came quickly afterwards. You may have seen light painting popularized recently with some Sprint Ads.
A few notes about light painting. First, it is just that: painting with light. Using a flashlight, pen light or some other pointing device, you set a rather long shutter speed on a tripod mounted camera and paint light on a surface, or towards the camera itself. Requires some experimentation, but the effects can be quite unique. Word of advice, if you want to spell a word, it has to be spelled backwards. My first attempt got me the world DOLC.
The idea for this came when I went out the first time, and found myself capturing nothing of interest (mostly due to my unwillingness to go far). It was near 3 in the morning and I wanted to convey how cold it was. I remembered a light painting tutorial I saw recently on DIYPhotography, and the idea came quickly afterwards. You may have seen light painting popularized recently with some Sprint Ads.
A few notes about light painting. First, it is just that: painting with light. Using a flashlight, pen light or some other pointing device, you set a rather long shutter speed on a tripod mounted camera and paint light on a surface, or towards the camera itself. Requires some experimentation, but the effects can be quite unique. Word of advice, if you want to spell a word, it has to be spelled backwards. My first attempt got me the world DOLC.
Monday, November 26, 2007
From the Archives
Every now and then, it behooves you to go through your archives and revisit images you may have looked over when you initially took them. While they may have been dismissed at one time, a different view may bring forth an appreciation for what was once considered uninteresting.
In Spokane, the cliché place to go is Manito park. Really, I can recognize a portrait it from a mile away. However, it cannot be disputed that it is a beautiful locale. From the Lilac, Japanese, and Rose Gardens, and other various locales in the park, while it is not quite Central Park or Prospect Park from my native New York, it is an excellent substitute, and quick and easy inspiration fix...providing the weather is warm.
This was actually taken by my wife while shadowing a wedding photographer. Her impressions of him, which was shared by the bride, was far less than favorable. However, she learned quite a great deal from watching him work. Mostly things she'd like to avoid doing (like not respecting the bride's wishes) and a few things favorable. Mostly from the other photographer who was shadowing as well. If you have the opportunity to shadow another photographer, it is a great learning experience, even if you find the photog a ninny.
Taking the plunge myself, this was from my first portrait shoot of the Hudsons, who were engaged at the time. While I was still quite new to advanced photography, their natural chemistry made the shoot delightful. It can be said that if you have a beautiful subject, you are already 90% of the way to a great capture. This was evidently the case as the two required very little feedback, and the entire sessions was enjoyable for all. I can look back and see a few things I would have done differently, but I think that is a given for any photo you look back on after your expertise has improved.
In Spokane, the cliché place to go is Manito park. Really, I can recognize a portrait it from a mile away. However, it cannot be disputed that it is a beautiful locale. From the Lilac, Japanese, and Rose Gardens, and other various locales in the park, while it is not quite Central Park or Prospect Park from my native New York, it is an excellent substitute, and quick and easy inspiration fix...providing the weather is warm.
This was actually taken by my wife while shadowing a wedding photographer. Her impressions of him, which was shared by the bride, was far less than favorable. However, she learned quite a great deal from watching him work. Mostly things she'd like to avoid doing (like not respecting the bride's wishes) and a few things favorable. Mostly from the other photographer who was shadowing as well. If you have the opportunity to shadow another photographer, it is a great learning experience, even if you find the photog a ninny.
Taking the plunge myself, this was from my first portrait shoot of the Hudsons, who were engaged at the time. While I was still quite new to advanced photography, their natural chemistry made the shoot delightful. It can be said that if you have a beautiful subject, you are already 90% of the way to a great capture. This was evidently the case as the two required very little feedback, and the entire sessions was enjoyable for all. I can look back and see a few things I would have done differently, but I think that is a given for any photo you look back on after your expertise has improved.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
"I think I'll stay inside today..."
Experiencing winter in the frigid northwest has been interesting to say the least. Yes, it's cold. But I've been places that have been plenty cold. What gets me is the ridiculously early setting of sun. It's literally gone by 4pm. Things were different in Oklahoma, but then again, the weather was always screwy out there.
I took this photo by the off chance that I looked out my window and noticed it. It was obviously an interesting sight to behold, a bloom at the onset of winter. However, how best to capture it was the challenge. I had learned throughout the last year that my best photographs are those in which I already have a vivid picture in mind of what I want to do with it, and not just hoping to get something good. I had contemplated cutting it and "staging" the photo, but fearful I'd lose the delicate snow crystals on the rose. With a rough idea in mind, I took about a dozen images and went about to PP them.
I wanted it to be along the lines of a dark love story, and as such a lot of blacks and vignetting was added in Lightroom. Additionally, the reds and magentas was increased to accentuate the petals, and a magenta tint was added to the overall image to complete the effect. A quick run through Noise Ninja in Photoshop with the settings tuned down (8, 8, 8) ensured that noise was removed while preserving detail.
Personally, I can't imagine the image any other way.
I took this photo by the off chance that I looked out my window and noticed it. It was obviously an interesting sight to behold, a bloom at the onset of winter. However, how best to capture it was the challenge. I had learned throughout the last year that my best photographs are those in which I already have a vivid picture in mind of what I want to do with it, and not just hoping to get something good. I had contemplated cutting it and "staging" the photo, but fearful I'd lose the delicate snow crystals on the rose. With a rough idea in mind, I took about a dozen images and went about to PP them.
I wanted it to be along the lines of a dark love story, and as such a lot of blacks and vignetting was added in Lightroom. Additionally, the reds and magentas was increased to accentuate the petals, and a magenta tint was added to the overall image to complete the effect. A quick run through Noise Ninja in Photoshop with the settings tuned down (8, 8, 8) ensured that noise was removed while preserving detail.
Personally, I can't imagine the image any other way.
More to come!
This was something I learned to do some time ago, but never played with it. The trick to it is to understand that the out of focus shapes of the lights in your image is actually shaped by the aperture in your camera. More often than not this shape is a circular or octagon shaped. With this knowledge, one can profess that changing the shape will give you different OOF effects, for example the Christmas tree shape above. To do that, you simply cut out a shape of something and place it in front of the lens. The trick to it is that has to be small than the aperture inside the lens. For example, with the 50mm 1.8, the front element is recessed and smaller than the lens opening, so the shape has to be smaller than you would normally think. This effect works best with primes which have a large aperture.
This was one of those images that just jumped at me when I took it, and I knew exactly where I wanted to go with it. It was meant to be a relatively morbid image, so the blacks and contrast was increased substantially, and a heavy level of vignetting was added. Additionally, a green tint was given to image to give it the grim look, similar to what was found in the Matrix movies when they were in the Matrix itself. A small narrative was also added to help deliver the idea of dark side of the modern photographic process.
This was one of those images that just jumped at me when I took it, and I knew exactly where I wanted to go with it. It was meant to be a relatively morbid image, so the blacks and contrast was increased substantially, and a heavy level of vignetting was added. Additionally, a green tint was given to image to give it the grim look, similar to what was found in the Matrix movies when they were in the Matrix itself. A small narrative was also added to help deliver the idea of dark side of the modern photographic process.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
By the hospital bed
There is something about black and white images that has allowed it to persevere and remain near exactly as it was 100 years ago, despite advances all around it. It is by far, my favorite type of photography. Every black and white image makes you stop and look, because its not the way you normally see the world. And in that is the trick to photography; showing a small part of the world to someone that they can see any time, in a way they've never seen it before.
I captured a little small piece of the world here. Whether its admired by others or not remains to be seen, but I'm truly proud of what I have been able to capture.
I captured a little small piece of the world here. Whether its admired by others or not remains to be seen, but I'm truly proud of what I have been able to capture.
Unintended Success
This photo is interesting in that it is not what I intended it to be. My wife gave me the idea for the photo when I was doing some test shots of my daughter in front of our admitted Charlie Brown Christmas tree. She said a silouette of her in front of it would make for a beautiful effect. The setup would be simple. Kill the ambient but setting a fast enough shutter speed (1/250) and then adjust the light to hit just the tree. A short snoot would work well, or moving the seated subject far enough away from the background as well.
At the time I was shooting through a white 42" umbrella to camera left. One of the things about shooting through an umbrella is that it throws light pretty much everywhere, rather than reflecting it which makes the light a bit more directional, or snooted where you're almost focusing a spot light. Because of this, every though I position the light right, I did not get my intended effect. This was to little consequence as both my wife and I immediately loved the effect and took a few more shots before ending up with this. PP was minimal as wel, with jsut the kevlin being raised a bit to give the image a warmer feel. It's a great pleasure to get the image right in camera with minimal post-processing, even if it wasn't your intended effect.
Also from this shoot:
Post processing included Noise Ninja to smooth out the image as well as a slight Glamour Blur action.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
To Chimp, or Not to Chimp?
One of the benefits digital has given us over the film days of yore is the ability to instantly and gratuitously review our images to observe composure, exposure or whether we even like the image or not. It was such that the term chimping coined by USA Today staff photographer Robert Deutsch. Really, you'll hear both sides of the coin from the old school film aficionados who argue masses of rabid monkeys which have lost the ability to create film from pure talent alone, to those who view the moniker as simple an added tool set used to achieve the desired end product; a well exposed photograph worth keeping. However it is the latter of this that is concerned because many individuals simply discard images that appear unsatisfactory on their LCD screens, that can range from a mere inch to 3 inches and up.
While the LCD screens, especially some of the newer ones like those on the D3 and D300 are good visual aides to help determine where to go next with a photo, they should hardly be the end all to deciding whether to keep or discard a photograph. The small compressed screens can easily hide details and faults, and not always be the best judge of exposure. The LCD screen coupled with available in-camera histograms offer far better comparisons, but still, there are of no match to a dedicated monitor. Images that looked great on my 2.5 inch screen suddenly take on a whole new persona when placed on my 22" widescreen monitor. So do yourself a favor, don't delete that image, unless you are absolutely certain you completely botched it (blank screen, completely out of focus, etc). You never know when you've got a gem (or lump of coal).
Cheerish Every Moment
This image was a test photo to see if I had the exposure and light placement right. She didn't even sit still for the shot, there were a few hot spots and I was pretty sure I would delete it when I downloaded. However, upon reviewing it, I found I liked the shadows in the image. Part of art of controlling light is not just what you see, but what you don't see. The clever dance of light and shadows upon our subjects creating a beautiful balance for us to see and behold.
Near that time of year again
Another near junker. I liked that the image was far from perfect. I used to work in 3D art before I got into photography. One of the biggest downfalls to unrealistic 3D is that it can be too clean. Noise, dirt, grit. We all live in it, and as such expect to see some of it to help solidify that an item is real. Everything needs to look as though it exists in the world, and very few things in this world are perfect.
While the LCD screens, especially some of the newer ones like those on the D3 and D300 are good visual aides to help determine where to go next with a photo, they should hardly be the end all to deciding whether to keep or discard a photograph. The small compressed screens can easily hide details and faults, and not always be the best judge of exposure. The LCD screen coupled with available in-camera histograms offer far better comparisons, but still, there are of no match to a dedicated monitor. Images that looked great on my 2.5 inch screen suddenly take on a whole new persona when placed on my 22" widescreen monitor. So do yourself a favor, don't delete that image, unless you are absolutely certain you completely botched it (blank screen, completely out of focus, etc). You never know when you've got a gem (or lump of coal).
Cheerish Every Moment
Near that time of year again
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Daylight Saving
Don't forget, clocks fall back an hour tonight, effectively giving us an hour more of sleep. For those who have to work the weekends (like myself), this especially applies so you're not showing up for work an hour too early.
Photo Revist Here's two images I had initially dismissed because they just didn't appeal to me at first. My wife liked them though, so I recently gave it second look. Often times it's good to go back through your old images; you might find a few hidden gems.
Photo Revist Here's two images I had initially dismissed because they just didn't appeal to me at first. My wife liked them though, so I recently gave it second look. Often times it's good to go back through your old images; you might find a few hidden gems.
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