Planet Photography

Do You Have a Favorite Landscape Photography Destination?

2012-02-04T18:27:23+00:00

Is there a place that you love to go shoot landscapes?

I’d love to hear about your favourite landscape photography destinations – particularly I’d like to hear any the following:

where is it (give us a country/state etc – remember our audience is global so don’t assume everyone will know exactly where it is)
why you like it
any tips you’d give to anyone planning a trip there (time of day, places to shoot from, challenges unique to the location)
share a photo you’ve taken there (share a link to your photoblog, flickr account or embed the photo if you’d like)

I’m looking forward to hearing about (and perhaps seeing) your favourite landscape locations!

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Do You Have a Favorite Landscape Photography Destination?

How I Shot And Edited It – Nepal Zoomable Panorama

2012-02-04T14:15:27+00:00

Have I mentioned how much I love photography and technology. Here’s a good case for mixing them together.

As you say previous on the Q&A with Uncornered Market, creating panorama’s can create some amazing images. I took their methodologies and applied them to some of my own panoramas, which do not cover 360 degrees all around. This method is more practical for those of us without fisheye lenses. Take a look at this tutorial if you are curious for a step by step on creating your own immersion panoramas.

You will need to click over to my blog to view the immersion panorama described in this demo because DPS does not yet support embedding the SWF file type. The image can be found at this post and a static version is shown here:

Title: Nepal Himalaya Panorama Exploration

Location: Mong, Nepal

To answer the question, “How did you make that?” I offer this post as instruction. It’s not magic and it’s something you can accomplish. I had the aid of a number of computer programs:

Additionally, the hardware I used included:

Canon 7D camera
Canon 28-300mm L lens
Bogen 3021 tripod with ball head

Those are the basics. The other important piece of equipment was an alarm clock. I knew I needed to be up at least an hour before the sunrise in order to get dressed (it was a bit cold), grab a snack and find my location. I had scouted a likely spot the night before and I had taken nearly this same photo in 2008 while trekking. Scouting your location really helps when timing, as with a sunrise, is critical.

Get Ready

After getting myself out of bed and trudging up a small hill to the location, scaring a dzokyo with horns (it’s a cross between a cow and a yak) over a fence in the process, and after avoid his ‘cow pies’ (I’m not romanticizing this process enough, am I?), I set up my camera. Important in this step was to find a location with good visibility that would allow me to see over the roofs, but still capture the stupa in the middle of the village. Also important was good stability of the ground so I or my tripod would not slip.

My plan was to shoot the scene as a single swatch of panorama. I didn’t have the immersion viewer in mind when creating this, just a traditional super wide image for print. So I set up my tripod and made sure the base was level. I did this using the back of camera screen level that comes with the Canon 7D. If not, I would need a little level, like this one. This is an important step! If the camera is tilted, the longer your panorama, the less overall useable space you will have when it is leveled and cropped. Practice this at home so you don’t waste time in the field learning to get things level (and then become disappointed when back at home crying at your computer screen. Yes, I’ve done that).

Now with the base of the tripod level, I placed my camera onto it in a vertical orientation. I wanted a tall image and this would allow me to capture more scene. I also knew the timing would only allow for one pass. Once the sun was up, the lighting would change and I’d spend many aggravating hours on the computer trying to balance it all out if I didn’t get it in one pass.

Those steps in bullet form:

Scout a location before
Scare off large animals
Set tripod on stable ground
Level tripod
Attach camera

Get Set

Camera on the tripod and the sky is getting brighter. I have a better idea where it will peek over the peaks. I start taking some meter readings and figuring out where I want to set my aperture and shutter speed. I already know I will set my ISO to 100 for the least amount of noise I can hope for. I then picked my focus point and locked it (turned off auto focus). Oh yeah, I also set my aperture at this point based on how much depth of field I wanted, doing this in conjunction with picking a focus point not completely to the horizon. I picked a point about 30 feet from me to focus on. This allowed me, at f/10, to have most of the scene in focus, which was going to include the fence, stupa and distant mountains. Plus my guest on this tour off to my side (who would later be begged, “Please don’t move!” when I shot frames with him in them). My closest object, besides some ground, was about 15’ away.

I did this in Manual mode so the exposure settings would not change. My settings ended up being 1/100th of a second and f/10. Going into the menus for my camera, I turned on the exposure bracketing and chose one step over exposed and one step under exposed. I locked my tripod’s ball head once all was level as I would be using the base swivel where the tripod met the head’s body to turn my panorama. I swung through the action a few times, making sure it was level in all spots. There are newer heads on the market, such as the Induro PHQ, which have levels built-in to help make this step easier.

Lastly in this step, I set my white balance (not required, but it makes post processing easier) and turned off my lens’ image stabilization because I was using a tripod. A couple more swings through to make sure I knew what I’d be doing. One more step was to turn my frame rate to high. This would allow the bracketing to shoot quickly and speed up the whole shoot. In these practice swings I timed myself to make sure I would have time to stop at each point, get my shots, and move while not causing blur from too fast a motion. I also wanted to complete my shot in less than a minute to make sure the lighting didn’t change too dramatically during the shoot.

Those steps in bullet form:

Meter
Switch to Manual mode
Set Shutter Speed
Set Aperture based on desired depth of field
Turn off Image Stabilization
Set focus and lock
Check level throughout path of shoot
Turn on high speed shooting mode
Make sure camera is set to RAW (if desired. A note here: if you find your camera’s buffer can’t keep up with your rate of shooting, you may need to choose a smaller size RAW format if you can, or switch to JPEG)
Breathe

GO!

I ratcheted my camera back to my start point on the far left side. I was on a hill and would not be making a full 360 degree sweep as the hill itself wasn’t exciting (and far too close). When the sun just started to top the left side of the peak, I started shooting, overlapping by about 30%, give or take. A robot like the Gigapan EPIC would have helped. Each stop produced three images as such:

Under exposed by a stop, at exposure and over exposed by a stop

Sweeping through my shot in just about one minute perfectly I checked the images on the back of my camera and breathed easy. The buffer had started to get full and I had to slow my shooting a half way through, but it wasn’t bad enough to effect the final image.

With the 117 shots secured (and later that night they were backed up to a second and third drive), I continued my tour while still contemplating how to merge them without spending hours on the computer when I returned home.

Those steps in bullet form:

Wait for your moment to start
Know your timing for the whole panorama if timing is critical
Shoot!
Breathe, again

Putting It All Together At Home

At first I attempted to use hugin to stack my images (each set of three shots makes a stack) and then create a panorama. The results were ok, but there was a LOT of manual work in aligning the images. I then was given a copy of AutoPano Giga to try out and it has created, for me, a boon in panorama processing. I will give a full review in the coming weeks, but for now I just want to show how I created this particular image and not get into all the nuts and bolts of the program.

My first step was to import the images into Adobe Lightroom and adjust the exposure settings. I did this for the middle shot, the one you see above. It has the widest range of light and I wanted to make sure I kept it looking realistic. I only adjusted the middle image, the one with the camera’s suggested exposure settings. After I did this and removed any spots, I also adjusted the image for clarity, saturation and the like, but not too much as I would perform more near the end of the process. This is a personal preference and your settings will vary.

With the one image edited to my liking, I then synced those settings with the rest of the images using Lightroom’s sync feature. Nice and easy. I then exported each image as a full sized JPEG. In later work, I will be using the DNG file type as AutoPano Giga can handle those and there will be less compression. All of those files went into one folder and it’s time to use AutoPano Giga.

This software is quite easy for basic shoots. After starting the program I imported all the photos by selecting “Select Images”. Once loaded the screen looks like this (click for larger version):

An important feature in this software is the simplicity with which I can create stacks. All it takes is a right click and then selection of the “Create stacks by N…”. This allows me to input that there are three (or any number) of images per stack. Now I don’t have to line them up or tell the program I was using bracketing for my shots. With the stacks created, I pressed the “Detect” button up top and AutpPano Giga does its best to align my images. Here’s the result, which appears on the right side of the screen.

Luckily there was not a lot of waste in this image because of taking the time to level the camera properly. AutoPano Giga aligns, color corrects, adjusts exposure and a few other items when performing this step. I will have more on the software in a full review later.

I output this as a PSD file to help preserve the image quality. This takes a while and makes a huge file (2GB). Patience is needed. I could also output to a JPEG to save time, but as I want to present my best work and make it highly zoomable, I chose the PSD format.

Opening the resulting file in Lightroom (in this case, Lightroom 4 Beta), I then crop the image and play with exposure to get it how I want it.

After adjusting the image, I exported the file as a .PSD file type, again to preserve as much detail as I can (and again, I will be using DNG files for the first compression in the future, but that also adds considerable time when processing multiple panoramas. At the very least, you will see the quality possible when using one of the faster methods given here). Opening the file in PanoTour Pro, I have a number of options to set.

On the right hand side are most of the important bits for this project (a review of PanoTour Pro will be forthcoming as well, after I have played with it more). The size is already set with the width of the image imported. I set the JPEG quality to 12 instead of 10. In the next tab, I set the projection to only be 300 degrees so it does not wrap around.

Lastly, I ticked the check box next to “Embed all data”. This enables the output to be a singular file, which can make for easier handling (and a higher file size).

All that was left was to upload the resulting .SWF file after I performed an export (the program has a facility to upload the resulting SWF file or files, but I wanted to check the results locally before spending the time to upload).

I encounter one small glitch while creating this file; my web service isn’t the fastest on the planet. The SWF file that resulted was about 125MB large. Normally not a problem but it slowed down the experience for many readers. So I went back in and cut the image size to 14,000 pixels wide in PanoTour Pro and decreased the compression to 10. This resulted in a file about 5.5MB large and much quicker to download. On that original post, I linked to the original file for those with patience, as the full detail is really incredible.

Those steps in bullet form:

Import into Lightroom (or your editor of choice) and adjust as needed (but not too much)
Export to DNG files, ideally
Import into AutoPano Giga
Create Panorama and export as PSD (Tiff would be another fine option, or JPEG if your space and resources are limited)
Open in Photoshop or Lightroom or GIMP or … and crop. Make final adjustments. Export as PSD or simply save file
Import into PanoTour Pro and set variables as needed
Export as SWF file and upload to server (using the programs built-in FTP capabilities if desired)

On The Website

To make all this magic work on my blog, I had to install a plugin. The one I chose is called PanoPress and you can download it from their website. It’s an easy install and so far has not wreaked havoc on my site. Natively, WordPress, which is what powers my site, does not support SWF files in the sense of viewing panoramas like this. The best part of all this magic is the ability to choose fullscreen mode. Letting viewers fill their entire screen is something we photographers don’t often do and it can be intoxicating. PanoPress makes this magic work.

Conclusion

2000 words later…that’s it! I know it might seem like a lot, but with the choice of software this time around, I am very happy with the flow. I can also process multiple images in series (often setting my computer to pound through the large files while I sleep) and receive predictable results. I have more learning to do with the Kolor products to refine things and see if I can automate more of the mundane settings.

Also of note, I went through this process in both Lightroom 3 and Lightroom 4 Beta. I was far happier with the results in Lightroom 4 and they are what you see on the site.

I look forward to crafting more of these types of images (and have already started to, here) as I go back through old panoramas that I have taken and make them more presentable on the web. This process will not work for everyone out there (it can, though, be performed on a Mac or PC as listed and on a Linux machine without the Lightroom aspect) but it is my sincere hope that it helps more of you present your art in a dramatic way on the web.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

How I Shot And Edited It – Nepal Zoomable Panorama

Springboks, South Africa

2012-02-04T05:00:00+00:00

This Month in Photo of the Day: Animal Pictures

The golden light at dusk and dawn in the Kalahari is amazing and can enhance the mood of a scene greatly. On this particular morning in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, the rising sun was filtered by an ancient forest of camel thorn acacia trees, with a herd of springbok gazelles in attendance to complete the scene.

(This photo and caption were submitted to Your Shot.)

See more pictures of animals »

A Special “Portfolio Building” Workshop, Feb 11, 12: Only 3 Students

2012-02-03T22:03:00+00:00

This is a special workshop for only three students. It is on short notice, but there is a reason for that – and it will be explained at a later date.

Our focus will be on mastering images across a spectrum of genres. This workshop is for the serious photographer who wants to understand the finesse of light, and how to apply lighting and drama to their portfolio pieces.

We will look at the qualities of light, how to understand the medium, and what we can do with photographic tools to enhance and modify our light to make the shots we see in our head.

This is an intensive workshop and it is totally hands on. We get into theory, sure – but it is theory as it is applied.

Listen. See. Do.

That is how I teach, and I believe it is the best way to learn the intricacies of the photographic medium – lighting.

We will meet at 8AM Saturday for chatting and setting up our gear. We will be shooting in the big studio. You will be using a mixture of big studio strobes, smaller sources like speedlights, and we will do some natural light as well as the day progresses. Sunday will find us outside doing some location portraits, then we go back into the studio for head shots and beauty.

The cost is my regular workshop rate: $550. It includes a copy of my book (signed if you wish) and some more goodies.

There is NO signup form. I need you to email or call (602 814 1468) me to enroll. I only have one spot open, so be brave and get on it ASAP.

Thanks…

Now back to our regularly scheduled photographic discussions.

52 – A Project For Photographers: Assignments, Discussions, Critiques and Portfolio Building. Assignment Number 1 UPDATE: Thanks to all the folks on the Project 52...
Project 52 PRO Launched Today. Building a Business in Photography Project 52 started last year as a way for photographers...
Editing a Portfolio: Ed Z, Philadelphia Photographer This is the audio discussion to introduce Ed to you...

Street Photography: Weekly Photography Challenge

2012-02-03T18:57:03+00:00

This week your challenge is to take and share an image that fits the theme of ‘Street Photography’.

I know that those two words send some people into a state of panic as they’re often associated with taking pictures of complete strangers on the street (like we wrote about yesterday when we interviewed Street Photographer Eric Kim) but you may interpret the theme any way that you wish.

You may choose to photograph people on the street – but you might also take a gentler approach – photographing wider street scenes, asking people to pose for you on the street, photographing elements on your local street (signs, buildings etc), capturing the movement of a street scene… anything you like – as long as its shot out on the street somewhere!

Once you’ve selected the ‘Street Photography’ image/s you’d like to share – upload them to your favourite photo sharing site or blog and either share a link to it or – embed them in the comments using the our new tool to do so.

If you tag your photos on Flickr, Instagram, Twitter or other sites with Tagging tag them as #DPSSTREET to help others find them. Linking back to this page might also help others know what you’re doing so that they can share in the fun.

Also – don’t forget to check out some of the great shots posted in the last challenge – Rule of Thirds challenge where there were some great shots submitted.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Street Photography: Weekly Photography Challenge

Mastering Panning – Photographing Moving Subjects

2012-02-03T14:05:51+00:00

Photo by Delineated

Previously we’ve covered the topic of shutter speed and looked at how increasing and decreasing it can have a significant impact upon the images we take – particularly if the subjects in those images are moving.

Today I’d like to take a brief look at a related topic – that of photographing moving subjects by ‘panning’.

Panning is a technique that can produce amazing results (if you perfect it…. or get lucky) but is also one that can take a lot of practice to get right.

The basic idea behind panning as a technique is that you pan your camera along in time with the moving subject and end up getting a relatively sharp subject but a blurred background.

This gives the shot a feeling of movement and speed. It’s particularly useful in capturing any fast moving subject whether it be a racing car, running pet, cyclist etc.

I’ve found that panning seems to work best with moving subjects that are on a relatively straight trajectory which allows you to predict where they’ll be moving to. Objects that are moving side to side are challenging and can result in messy looking shots as the motion blur can be quite erratic.

Photo by wvs

How do you do it?

Select a slightly slower shutter speed than you normally would. Start with 1/30 second and then play around with slower ones. Depending upon the light and the speed of your subject you could end up using anything between 1/60 and 1/8 – although at the slower end you’ll probably end up with camera shake on top of your motion blur.

Position yourself in a place where your view of the subject will not be obstructed by anyone or anything else. Also consider the background of your shot. While it will be blurred if there are distracting shapes or colors it could prove to be distracting. Single coloured or plain backgrounds tend to work best.

As the subject approaches track it smoothly with your camera. For extra support of your camera if you’re using a longer lens or are feeling a little jittery you might like to use a monopod or tripod with a swivelling head.

For best results you’ll probably find that setting yourself up so that you’re parallel to the path of your object (this will help with focussing).

If you have a camera with automatic focus tracking you can let the camera do the focussing for you by half pressing the shutter button (depending upon it’s speed and whether it can keep up with the subject)

Photo by WisDoc

If your camera doesn’t have fast enough auto focussing you’ll need to pre-focus your camera upon the spot that you’ll end up releasing the shutter.

Once you’ve released the shutter (do it as gently as possible to reduce camera shake) continue to pan with the subject, even after you’ve heard the shot is complete. This smooth follow through will ensure the motion blur is smooth from start to finish in your shot.

If you have an older digital camera or one that is of a more entry level point and shoot variety you could also have to contend with the dreaded ‘shutter lag’ problem. Shutter lag is when there is a slight delay from when you press the shutter to when the picture is actually taken. If you experience shutter lag you’ll need to learn to anticipate the moment to take the shot and will definitely need to continue to pan well after you’ve taken the shot.

A variation on the Panning Technique

There are no rules with panning and you might also like to experiment with using your flash while panning. This slow synch flash technique will only work if the subject is close enough or your flash is powerful enough to have an impact – but will help to further freeze your main subject while giving the background the motion blur you’re after.
If you do use a flash you’ll want to test a variety of settings to get it looking right. In some cases you’ll probably need to pull back the strength of your flash by a half or a third.

Panning and Patience

Photo by J Catlett

If you’re going to try panning for the first time you should approach it with an experimental attitude. It can be a lot of fun but can also be quite frustrating. If you’re at a special event where you have fast moving subjects (like a car race etc) you’ll probably want to mix up your style of shooting. Don’t just use this technique all day – instead also shoot some shots at fast shutter speeds. This way you’ll end up with a variety of shots and will probably end up with some useful ones instead of just having a collection of blurry unusable ones.

If you want to practice panning (and it is something that you need to practice – a lot), head out into a busy part of your city and practice on passing traffic. That way you have a never ending supply of subjects.

Also keep in mind that it’s unlikely that your main subject will ever be completely sharp and in focus. This technique is about getting a relatively sharp subject in comparison to it’s background. Some blurring of your main subject can actually add to the feeling of motion in the shot.

Once you’ve practiced the panning technique share your results with us in our Forums.

Note: this post is a ‘classic dPS post’ that was previously published but has been updated for today. Also read about the technique of panning in The Art of Panning.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Mastering Panning – Photographing Moving Subjects

Kisses+Disses : Yoga + The Herbivore

2012-02-03T09:01:00+00:00

As we made our way there, he turned to me and said, You better not show off and act like a pretzel. Yes, that's JD. He imagines I'll act like an inanimate object just to show how cool I am in yoga class. We've been together for 13 years and I've never--not once--convinced him to attend a class with me. Ever. In fact, he makes fun of my gym-going endeavors. But for some reason, I invited him to find his inner chi with me...because, really, I'm usually the one stealing his chi on a daily basis.

I'll go with you if we can go to In-n-Out after.

I smiled. Here's where the story diverges. He said the smile indicated yes, I said the smile indicated you're crazy and I wouldn't dream of eating a burger and fries after a midday workout.

After successfully completing an hour workout, JD asked if I was ready for In-n-Out. Then I pointed out a very healthy vegetarian option located nearby and I just knew he'd looooove it. I added all those o's for emphasis. After some convincing (thanks to my days in law school), JD agreed to eat a grilled {soy} chicken sandwich.

I'm no longer gonna refer to myself as a vegetarian. After successfully convincing a carnivore to practice yoga and eat healthy in a single day, I'm referring to myself as an HERBIVORE. Because I'm all hard core and stuff.

Which leads me to another installment of Kisses and Disses...

This week's DISSES go to...
*The smell of BenGay...my bedroom smells like a high school locker room right now.
*The Santa Ana winds. There's so much dust in the air my car looks like a professional off-roader.
*Folding a fitted sheet...is it possible for it to end up as anything other than a rolled up ball?!

This week's KISSES go to...
*Yoga. For enabling me to show off...LIKE A PRETZEL.
*Fondue. I wish it were the base of the food pyramid...I could eat melted cheese for days.
*Bravo's Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. And, yes, this proves my horrible taste in television, but I adore Andy and secretly wish we were friends in real life so he'd send me a bedazzled Mazel t-shirt.

© Jasmine Star. This post cannot be republished without permission. Stealing makes me sad.

Light Painting Is All About Cute Girls Throwing Beads

2012-02-03T07:31:34+00:00

If you thought that the physics behind light painting involves photon accumulation, advanced sensor technology and high end buffer management, you have it all wrong.

The truth of the thing, as Destin explains, is that light painting is done by cute girls throwing beads at boxes. OK, it does not, but Destin and daughter (and Wes Whaley) do a terrific job and explaining all this stuff in a fun and super easy to understand way. (Plus you get to see some of the most unique pregnancy photoshoots ever). Hit the jump to see the full video.

Gray Wolf, Washington

2012-02-03T05:00:00+00:00

This Month in Photo of the Day: Animal Pictures

A gray wolf rests at Wolf Haven International, a wolf sanctuary in Washington State.

(This photo and caption were submitted to Your Shot.)

See more pictures of animals »

Object Of Desire - 10.5mm Lens Cap

2012-02-02T14:27:12+00:00

Having lost his Nikon 10.5mm lens cap, photographer Stu Carlson used the bottom end of a Dr. pepper bottle to cap his lens.

"The lens cap disappeared and I hate to have my lens unprotected. So I cut off the end of a Dr. Pepper bottle to use till I could order the right lens cap for it. Quite by accident I had picked a perfect fit for this lens and since a replacement cap is not cheap and this is and it works and fits so well, I have not bothered to order the replacement cap.

While the bottle seems to provide some nice protection, I doubt that the 10.5mm tastes as good as the original content of the bottle.

Focus on Street Photographer Eric Kim ~ In your face with a smile!

2012-02-02T13:02:56+00:00

If you shoot street photography, you have most likely heard of California based photographer Eric Kim. He is so active in the social media and blogging world that it is virtually impossible to miss him and his big grin. Who is the person behind the Leica? I had the pleasure to ask him a few questions for the dPS readers recently and, without further ado, I am pleased to introduce you to the work of street photographer Eric Kim.

When did you start doing street photography and why?

When I first started shooting photography, I had a difficult time figuring out what type of photography I enjoyed the most. I tried everything—landscape, wedding, portraiture, macro, you name it.

However my defining moment was a day in which I was waiting at a bus stop. I saw a young man with horn-rimmed glasses reading a book while leaning on a pole. I felt the moment was so pure and genuine, and I felt the urge to take his photograph. Then the questions came to mind—should I ask for permission and was this “right?” Regardless I went with my guts and attempted to take his photograph (without his permission). My heart was pumping and adrenaline flowing, and I brought up my camera to snap a photograph. The second my shutter was about to go off, he stared right at me and I took the photo. I have been hooked ever since.

What is it about street photography that appeals to you the most?

What I love most about street photography is that it is extremely challenging—both in creating an image that is visually appealing and emotionally appealing. I am also as interested in the approach of street photography. After all, who takes a photograph of a stranger without his/her permission? But it is through this candor that you can get a sense of who that person truly is and what is going on in their mind – without asking for permission.

What gear do you use and why?

I currently shoot with Leica cameras for my street photography, as I prefer the small body, how quiet it is, and unthreatening it looks. For my digital work, I shoot with a Leica M9—but recently I have been shooting quite a bit of film on my Leica M6. However one thing I would like to urge to the readers of DPS is to not get too caught up in the gear. Although I do shoot with one of the most expensive cameras out there, there is no reason you can’t take a great image with what you have—and even an iPhone! Having said that, generally the smaller your camera is, the less scary it is to the average person and more suitable for street photography.

How often do you get out and shoot?

I shoot everyday. When I am out traveling I probably shoot close to five hours a day. When I am back home and resting, probably less—around two hours a day or so. The most important thing is that I always have my camera with me, and try to make the time to shoot whenever possible.

What are your favorite subjects and locations?

When I was an undergraduate in my university, I studied sociology and I consider myself first a sociologist and second a photographer. Therefore, in my photography, I am particularly interested in capturing the beauty and ills of society through my lens. Some themes in particular which interest me are the role of the presentation of self, gluttony (not just food but general excess), and the negative effects of wealth and capitalism. Therefore the areas I like to shoot in are generally urban and highly-industrialized areas. Some of my favorite places to shoot include Downtown LA, Tokyo, and Seoul.

Which were your best moments and your scariest ones, if any?

Whenever I am out shooting, I always shoot with a smile on my face. The response I generally get from my subjects while shooting is positive. Although I don’t ask for permission when I’m out shooting, I generally chat with my subjects after taking photographs of them. I compliment them on what I find beautiful or interesting about them—whether it be their smile, their flamboyant hat, colorful outfit, or the way that they walk with authority. After taking people’s photographs, it always makes me happy when I hear people say to their friends: “Oh my god, he took a photograph of me—he must think I am someone famous!” The best, is just a simple smile back.

My style of photography is much more aggressive and in-your-face than other street photographers out there- so I have run into a few negative incidents. However they are still few.

In Downtown LA I had an incident in which someone threatened to break my camera, and tried to grab my camera by pulling at my camera strap. I apologized and chatted with him afterwards, which helped him calm down.

Another incident in Toronto, I took a photograph of what appeared to be a male aspiring Asian pop-star wearing nothing but skin-tight leather leggings and a leather vest. I took his photograph and kept on walking, and he turned around and asked me if I took his photograph. I told him I did, and he told me to delete the image. I looked at the image and thought it was quite interesting, so I refused. He then started getting violent and started shoving me in the chest, spitting while he was talking, and threatening to call the cops. I stood my ground and told him to go ahead and call the cops—as I was doing nothing wrong by shooting in public. He pretended to call the cops, and then stormed off afterwards.

The most physical incident I have gotten into involved when I was taking photographs in Tokyo. I saw a guy who was around 6 feet 3 inches (I am around 6 feet tall) who was wearing a face mask yet smoking a cigarette. He looked pretty sketchy (he wore a doo-rag, had a menacing face, and a patch on the right side of his face) but I decided to take a photograph anyway. I then kept on walking, and then he ran after me, kicked me in the back of my camera bag. I was holding my off-camera flash in my left hand, and the force sent the flash flying to a wall opposite of us. The flash hit the wall, broke into a thousand pieces—batteries flying everywhere. He then gazed at me with menacing eyes, and I quickly bowed and apologized—and walked off quickly.

I don’t want to scare anyone from shooting street photography from the negative experiences I had. I have probably taken at least 300,000 street photographs—and these were probably the 3 worst experiences I encountered. 3/300,000 is a .001% percent of a truly negative reaction. You are probably more likely to get into a car accident. Regardless, it is important to always be prepared – because you can never predict with 100% accuracy what can happen on the streets. This comes with experience—but know when it is the best to stick around with an upset person and explain why you are shooting street photography and how to apologize. In other cases when people might not react well to what you have to say, quickly apologize and just move on.

Have you learned something interesting about human behavior from your street photography?

The first thing that always concerns people is the risk of getting yelled at or beaten up for shooting street photography. As a sociologist, I am particularly interested in the approach of street photography—and how people truly react when you take their photograph (without their permission).

The common understanding is that people absolutely hate it when you take their photograph without permission and will become aggressive. However in my experience, 99% of the people you take photographs of generally don’t react much or don’t mind when you take their photograph. In today’s society, people are generally non-confrontational and won’t react very much when you take their photograph.

What tips would you give someone who is just starting to experiment with street photography?

I would say the most important thing is to carry your camera with you everywhere you go. The best shots are in the places you least likely expect, and as Wayne Gretsky said, “You miss a 100% of the shots you don’t take.

Secondly, don’t be sneaky when you shoot street photography. Don’t shoot with a 200mm lens and shoot from a block away. Rather, use a wide-angle prime lens (35mm or 28mm on a full-frame equivalent) and get close to your subjects. If you get close to your subjects when you are shooting, it makes the viewer feel like a participant (rather than a voyeur simply looking in). I also feel with physical proximity comes emotional proximity with the people you are taking photographs of.

Lastly, shoot with the heart. Street photography (like other forms of photography) should be well-composed and framed. However in the end, a great street photograph needs soul—it should say something about humanity or challenge the viewer to see his/her life in a different way.

Street Photographer Eric Kim

To connect with Eric on FB, Twitter, G+, etc. and learn about his upcoming projects and street photography workshops click here.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Focus on Street Photographer Eric Kim ~ In your face with a smile!

Melanie : Five Years From Now

2012-02-02T09:00:00+00:00

I sat with Melanie in the corner of a dark restaurant. So much has changed in the course of our 15-year friendship, yet nothing has. She's still animated and slightly dramatic, and I still make fun of her and ask inappropriate questions. We met freshman year of high school and have been together through every high and low, break up to make up, and bad makeup. She's moving to New York for a bit next week and I don't know what I'll do without her.

We spoke about her therapist (all my friends have therapists...it's very Californian and I may just get one too so I can fit in and feel all cool) and the best way to approach the oncoming changes in her life.

So, my therapist asked where I see myself in five years...I really hated that question...how do I even know?!
What did you say?
I told her I've never been a person who thinks like that...it's just not me. Not now, anyway.
So it ended like that?
No, she rephrased the question and asked how I'd like to "feel" in five years.
To which you replied?
Secure. In five years I want to feel secure
That's a great word. Do you want the last bit of salad or can I finish it?
Then she said that if I wanted to feel secure, I needed to outline ways I could make it become a reality five years...and then start making them happen.

Whoa. I felt like I was having a therapy session (for free!) right then because it was just that simple. Sure, I might not know where, exactly, I want to be in five years (five years ago I couldn't even imagine my life would look like it does now), but I can attribute the emotional connections I want to experience. Once I do, I can ensure the same happens for me.

Mel, I said in between sips of my drink, I want to feel secure too. And challenged. And excited. And then we toasted to us. In five years.

A few weeks ago, Melanie asked if I could photograph a new headshot for her before hitting the streets of New York City. I'm only shooting weddings these days, but she reminded me of that one time she saved me in English Honors of sophomore year of high school...and I had to give in.

I don't wanna get all dinosaur, but RAWR.

Melanie, I hope you know how thankful I am to be your friend.

Happy Wednesday!

© Jasmine Star. This post cannot be republished without permission. Stealing makes me sad.

February

2012-02-02T05:35:11+00:00

Whale Shark, New Guinea

2012-02-02T05:00:00+00:00

This Month in Photo of the Day: Animal Pictures

"Suddenly he just jumped in!" says photographer Michael Aw. Sarmin Tangadji, the Papua police officer who escorted the photographic team to where the sharks congregate, "was so excited to see them up close." Aw shares that excitement when it comes to diving with a dozen whale sharks: "You are sandwiched in, sharks ahead and behind, but you want to be there," he says. "They make eye contact with you and then charge by. It blows your mind."

See more pictures from the October 2011 feature story "Sharing With Sharks."

See pictures of sharks shot by our readers »
See pictures of ocean wildlife »

Portraits: Four Simple Approaches

2012-02-02T03:47:46+00:00

I had the chance to do some portraits of some of the talent we had at the LE Weekend Meetup. They were Briana’s dance company and all of them were delightful and beautiful dancers. The folks who came had a blast and I was simply stunned that so many people came so far to hang out with us.

We had photographers from NY / FL / WA / CA / KS / TX and other far flung areas… we covered North America pretty well.

More shots from that weekend coming when I get them all in from the folks… wow, it was fun.

The first portrait was of Briana and done as a demonstration for one of the photographers who wanted to understand the large fill card and main light approach.

Briana is lit from the side with a large, 60" umbrella on camera right, in close. To camera left is a very large white fill card. No other lighting mods were used.

I took some of the other dancers to the lobby for a short natural light session. Natural light was my first love in photography, and going back to it is a choice and a joy.

The light in the foyer area was coming through an open door, and filling the bright walls. I used a couple of pieces of fome core for the main light, and set my ISO up to allow a faster shutter speed.

Mikella is lit with two white cards: one directly to camera right and the other from camera left. The catch lights were offered by sunlight on a glass picture frame behind me.

Next up was Danica. She had this incredible hair and I wanted to get something I was seeing in my head. I moved her quite close to the doorframe for this shot, and used a fome core bounce card for the main light.

The flare gave me the exact look I wanted. A bit on the dreamy side, yet punchy enough to work as a portrait. Yes, Danica has a beautiful smile, but this look just seems so right.

Miranda was sitting in the chairs on one of the walls of the foyer, and I simply loved the look. Placing her low in the frame gives the image some dynamic. At least, I like it and it is more a stylistic way I like to shoot these days.

Miranda was lit by only natural light - not even a fill card. I had to keep her head turned away from the door so there wouldn't be bright edges on her cheeks and nose.

It is always fun to get a chance to shoot some portraits. Between all the goings on that day, it was a welcome respite for me.

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Two Different Approaches to Discussing Art and its Future Well, it seems we have had some interesting discussions on...

Sony Alpha SLT-A65 Review

2012-02-01T19:07:13+00:00

Since my review of the Sony SLT-A77 hit the screens of many Digital Photography School visitors it’s obvious the company has pressed the right buttons for people wanting to lift their photo game.

Now we have ‘son of’ … a model similar in many respects, at a lower price, but with many of the A77′s remarkable features. The review camera was supplied with the kit lens, a Sony f3.5/18-55mm.

The heart of the camera is the Translucent Mirror, marked by the model ID: SLT stands for Single-Lens Translucent.

Unlike a reflex mirror in ‘normal’ DSLRs that flips up and down to alternate between viewing and shooting, a translucent mirror is fixed in the light path to give an interrupted — and continuously live — view of the subject. One of a number of benefits is to reduce blackout time between shots; the SLT camera is also lighter and faster to use than ‘normal’ DSLR cameras.

Identified as an Alpha camera, this model can use any of the Sony A-mount lenses, as well as those from the Konica-Minolta range and compatible with Sony’s SteadyShot internal stabiliser system.

The body is made from polycarbonate material, differing from the A77′s magnesium alloy/plastic construction; the A65 body is 110 grams lighter than the A77.

The LCD screen tilts vertically through 180 degrees and can be rotated leftward 270 degrees from the position in which the LCD monitor is facing forward. An eye sensor switches the view between the turret finder and the LCD screen. The only demerit of the screen is that it’s not so easy to swing downwards when attached to a tripod: the A77 excels in this department.

Sony Alpha SLT-A65 Features

The CMOS sensor captures 24.3 million pixels, more than most amateur photographers would ever need, but allowing enormous capabilities to crop and extract detail from the images.

With a maximum image size of 6000×4000 pixels expect to make prints measuring 51x34cm at 300 dpi — or even larger if you’re using sophisticated upscaling.

Video? Full HD and 1920×1080 pixel resolution. I found that auto focus tracked any changes in camera-subject distance fairly quickly, while exposure variations were handled smoothly. Unfortunately, like the A77, you can’t shoot still images while recording video.

Much of the camera’s operation can be managed from the external controls; the mode dial gives access to Program AE, shutter and aperture priority as well as manual operation.

(insert A65 menu 1 to A65 menu 3)

To get access to such matters as white balance, image size, colour space etc you access the finder menus. And menus they are! Control upon control! An easier way to get to some of these is is to tap the Function button.

For the nervous there’s a handy in-camera guide that can lead you into the mysteries of how to capture the more challenging shots. Unfortunately, just as I was about to list these, the camera (a pre-production model) froze on me, reviving only upon my emptying the battery.

Useful in the LCD display is a digital level gauge, showing fore-and-aft and lateral levels, down to an accuracy of +/- 1 degree.

Burst shooting of stills can be made up to 10fps with continuous focus in play all the time.
In deference to those who would use the camera’s more auto modes, there is a range of ‘Picture Effects’ that give access to 11 different ‘tools and filters’ to edit your images and movies as you shoot; these include partial colour effects, toy or retro camera effects etc.

Added to this is a collection of scene modes, which includes macro, sunset, night portrait etc.
Sony’s remarkable Sweep Panorama (and 3D panos) feature is also in the kit: expect to shoot panoramas out to 12,416×1856 pixels in span, stitched in-camera while you wait.

The flip-up onboard flash has a guide number of 12 (metres/ISO 100), meaning you could successfully capture a subject at f4 at a distance of three metres … or, using an ISO setting of 400: lens aperture of f4 with a subject distance of 12 metres.

Auto focus gets maximum attention: the A65 has a new 15-point AF with three cross sensors. Tracking Focus maintains accurate focus lock on a moving subject — even if it is briefly obscured.

Sony Alpha SLT-A65 ISO Tests

Fairly clean, sharp and accurately coloured all the way up to ISO 3200.

At ISO 6400 a slight increase in noise but sharpness still OK.

At ISO 12,800 noise more noticeable. At ISO 16,000 noise well up.

Sony Alpha SLT-A65 Verdict

Quality: with the A65 I captured stunning, sharp, brilliantly colour-saturated images.

Why you’d buy the A65: 24 megapixel shooting and a 10 fps burst rate appeal.

Why you wouldn’t: you (still) want an optical pentaprism view … just like your daddy’s SLR!

I did have a hassle with the close proximity of the on/off lever and the control dial. Maybe it’s my big butter fingers.

It would be a tragedy if this baby ended up shooting family pics and snapshots. It’s too good!
Whoever buys it, my prediction is that this one will fly off the shelves: super specs, well-engineered and megapixels to burn!

Sony Alpha SLT-A65 Specifications

Image Sensor: 24.3 million effective pixels.
Metering: 1200 zone multi segment, centre-weighted, spot.
Lens Mount: Sony A-mount, Konica-Minolta AF mount.
Exposure Modes: Program AE, shutter and aperture priority, manual.
Effective Sensor Size: 23.5×15.6mm HD CMOS.
35 SLR Lens Factor: 1.5x.
Shutter Speed (stills): 30 to 1/8000 second and Bulb. Flash sync: 1/160 sec.
Continuous Shooting: 3-12 fps.
Memory: SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Pro Duo cards.
Image Sizes (pixels): Stills: 6000×4000 to 3008×1688.
Movies: 1920×1080 (AVCHD) — (PAL: 50p/28Mbps/PS, 50i/24Mbps/FX, 50i/ 17Mbps/ FH, 25p/24Mbps/ FX, 25p/17Mbps/FH); 1440×1080 (MPEG4) — (PAL: 25fps/12M), VGA: 640×480 (25fps/ 3M).
Viewfinder: Turret 1.3cm (2.36 million); 7.6cm LCD screen (921,600 pixels).
File Formats: JPEG, RAW (Sony ARW), JPEG+RAW, MPEG4, AVCHD.
Colour Space: sRGB, Adobe RGB.
ISO Sensitivity: Auto, 100 to 25,600.
Interface: USB 2.0, HDMI mini, ext mic.
Power: Rechargeable lithium ion battery, DC input.
Dimensions: 132x97x81 WHDmm.
Weight: 543 g (body only).
Price: get a price on the SLT-A65 at Amazon – Sony A65 With 18-55mm Lens

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Sony Alpha SLT-A65 Review

How To Shoot 360 Degree Panoramas While On The Road – With Audrey Scott And Daniel Noll Of Uncornered Market

2012-02-01T13:18:00+00:00

It’s worth your while to click on the image above to be taken to the full sized 360 view of the Shah-é-Chéragh Mosque taken by Audrey Scott and Daniel Noll of Uncornered Market.com. As DPS evolves, we’ll be adding in the ability to see these immersion style Shockwave files on the blog, but for now, take a look at this example before diving into this post.

Daniel And Audrey have been creating these wonderful images for years. I’ve been a bit addicted to the far-flung locations they show and the amount of detail they can pack into a full spherical image (which looks fabulous in full screen mode). I recently contacted them to find out how they capture their images as I wanted to present my panoramas (not full 360) in the same manner. This post will explore how they capture what they do and will point you to some resources you can use to do the same.

In an upcoming post, I will dive a bit deeper into a slightly different style I currently use to create similar images. But for now, on to the Q & A!

NOTE: I suggest subscribing to their blog as they post one of these images from around the world every week. Plus they have other great photography and travel stories on their site I think you will enjoy.

1 ) Starting with the photo shoot, list for us the equipment you use to capture your scenes.

Photo Shoot:

Camera body (e.g., Nikon D300)
Circular fisheye lens (e.g., Sigma 8mm f/3.5 EX DG Circular Fisheye Lens)
Monopod Velbon RUP-43 (optional, we carry one)
Panoramic tripod head (optional, we do not carry one)

Post-processing:

Your favorite photo editing software (e.g., Photoshop)
Spherical panorama stitching software (e.g., Autopano Giga)
Spherical panorama tour software (e.g., Panotour Pro)

2 ) You’ve captured hundreds of 360 panorama images while traveling almost full time. Can we get some technique tips that will help those learning the technique shorten their learning curve, please?

For the purposes of this Q&A, we’ll assume you are shooting with an 8mm circular fisheye lens.

The shots: You will shoot in RAW format at least five images in portrait orientation – four images each at 90-degree angles to one another (think around a single axis), then a fifth shot overhead to be sure you’ve captured the entire sky or ceiling. If you are not shooting with a lens at least as wide as 8mm, you may need to take more images to be sure you’ve covered everything from a 360-degree perspective.

We take virtually all our panoramic photos without a monopod, tripod heads or other aids. After you’ve taken enough photos, you get a feel for properly aligning with the ground and horizon. An alignment trick: tie a string around a coin (or heavy item) and hang this from your lens so that you can be sure you are shooting at the same angle around the axis.

Exposure and focus: To ensure a consistent exposure, be sure you are in fully manual mode. As a general rule (there are exceptions), you’ll want to expose for the sky. Also make certain your lens is set to infinity focus. (There are exceptions to the infinity rule if the bulk of your subject and surroundings are close up, say inside a bus for example.)

Subject area: Having some people or objects in the foreground can be useful to provide action or perspective. Because you are working with an 8mm lens, objects in the distance (e.g., mountain ranges) will appear especially far away, so they may not be as engaging in a spherical panorama as they might appear to the naked eye.

3 ) After you have the images, run us through your workflow (on a high level as this isn’t a complete tutorial).

The workflow consists of two parts: 1) image stitching, and 2) creating the 360-degree tour.

The stitch:

Be sure that software settings are properly set at spherical panorama.
Drop the five RAW images from the scene into a stitching software program in order to detect the control point (overlaps) between images.
Examine the draft stitch. Adjust variables such as roll, pitch and yaw in order to correct for distortion and camera body angle.
Render the stitched photos into a panorama. The output will be a flat .jpg file.
Post-process the resulting .jpg file in your favorite photo editing software to tune exposure, contrast, saturation, etc.
Use pixel clone/stamp to fill in the black/empty area at the bottom of the image.

Creating the tour:

Take the post-processed flat panorama .jpg and drop the file into a 360-degree panorama “tour” software. We use Panotour Pro to create the flash-based tours you see on our website.
Set your preferences, including logo/watermarks and button/user interface options (e.g., full screen) you’d like available on your tour.
Render the flash tour. The resulting output will be a .swf file that you can upload to your website or blog’s media manager. More information on this Panotour wiki on how to format. WordPress users can also use PanoPress.

4 ) Which step is the hardest to master in this entire sequence?

Equally, subject selection and the actual shooting process. Not only are you concentrating to ensure that the photographs are properly exposed and aligned, but you must pay attention to people/cars/animals/etc. coming in and out of view. These can be wonderful in terms of showing action, but if they move too quickly, they may create “ghosts” (where heads, feet or body segments are missing) in the resulting stitched image.

5 ) Have you found any resources particularly useful while learning to create these shots?

We first became involved in 360-degree panoramas thanks to 360cities.net. The site has a tutorial for people getting started in panoramic photography, it offers inspiration in its collections, and it features the ability to host and serve panoramas.

6) What particular challenges have you had to face while creating these images while still on the road?

We have one camera body to shoot photos for panoramic photography (with our 8mm Sigma lens) and two-dimensional photos. Often, we’ll be in the midst of a scene that is wonderful for both types of shots, but we have to make a quick decision to shoot one over the other if the scene is quickly evolving. Many of our best panoramas have also been shot in less-than-ideal physical conditions including dust, snow, heat, moisture, so we have to continually mind the camera sensor as we swap out lenses.

7 ) Including shooting and editing time, how long would you say it takes you to produce one solid 360?

If all goes perfectly, the process can take as little as 20 minutes: 5 minutes for the shoot, 10 minutes for rendering/photo editing, and 5 minutes to create & test the stitched 360-degree panorama and .swf file tour.

8 ) For beginners who love to travel, which three areas of the world would you suggest as havens for producing 360 panoramas?

1) India – so much color, activity, wonderful markets and temples. Good for interiors and exteriors.

2) Andean South America – surreal landscapes (e.g., Salar de Uyuni salt flats in Bolivia), mountains, active indigenous markets

3) Middle East and Central Asia – for Islamic art interiors, bustling spice markets.

4 Favorite panoramas:

a) Disco Ball Mosque, Iran (awesome interior)

b) Petra By Night, Jordan (night, possibly our most popular panorama)

c) Udaipur Market (market action)

d) Crossing Thorong La Pass, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal (landscape)

Bonus Panorama in time for Valentine’s Day: Petronas Towers Fun (panoramic trickery)

Bio:

Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott are the husband-and-wife storytelling and photography team behind the around-the-world travel blog, Uncornered Market. More than five years and 70 countries later, they are still exploring the world, still taking panoramic photos…and still married. You can follow along with their adventures via Twitter, Facebook, Google + and by subscribing to their blog.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

How To Shoot 360 Degree Panoramas While On The Road – With Audrey Scott And Daniel Noll Of Uncornered Market

Beautifully Hand Crafted Wooden Time Lapse Dolly

2012-02-01T10:50:15+00:00

Wood worker Brian Grabski and photographer Josh Van Patter collaborated both photographic know-how and superb craftsmanship to create this beautiful piece of work. They then used it to shoot Fade around Lake Powell.

February 1st : Shoes + Early Birds + Exposed

2012-02-01T09:01:00+00:00

I think of random ideas all the time. I'm a professional random idea thinker. If I got paid for all the random thoughts I thought, I'd be a millionaire. Or at least a thousandaire. Yesterday I bought a new pair of running shoes and then I decided to send all my other slightly used running shoes to Africa. Before check-out I already created the non-profit shoe organization IN MY MIND. I'm currently reading The Poisonwood Bible (oh my goodness, this book? Unreal...I can't put it down!) and the story details how most shoes were comprised of old tires or rags wrapped around feet for those living in poverty in the Congo. I know my shoes can do a lot of great things for those who don't have any, so instead of creating my own organization, I'm reaching out to ask if you know of a great place I can send my shoes.

Who knows...maybe this random idea will lead to something great! I also thought about wearing a prom dress to the grocery store, buying power tools because I love Home Depot, knitting a scarf I started two years ago, wondered what type of guy I'd date if I was really into comic books, soaking in a barrel of BenGay, and making a killer bean dip for the Super Bowl, but I suspect these random ideas will go nowhere.

Onto two not-so-random things:
1. TODAY is the last day for $99 Early Bird ticket prices for The Fix.
I'm hosting a 12-city speaking event and I sincerely hope our paths cross soon. Tomorrow the ticket prices go to $119.00, so hurry and snag a seat!
2. TODAY is the relaunch of EXPOSED Magazine.
Eeeek! Yes, the reorder has arrived and the store is back in action! For those who've supported, encouraged, and chest-bumped along the way, thank you. EXPOSED Magazine is a labor of love and if it helps people along the way, I couldn't be more thankful.

© Jasmine Star. This post cannot be republished without permission. Stealing makes me sad.

Snowy Owl

2012-02-01T05:00:00+00:00

This Month in Photo of the Day: Animal Pictures

This snowy owl was captured during a snowstorm. Unlike most owls, which are nocturnal, snowy owls are diurnal—they hunt and are active both day and night.

(This photo was submitted to My Shot.)

See more pictures of birds of prey »
See more winter scenes »

China, Photography, Innovation And Us

2012-01-31T21:48:09+00:00

A few days ago Jaron Schneider posted an interesting piece over at F stoppers projecting a pretty poor future for the American lighting industry. It's a very interesting read and I encourage you to head over and check it out.

I am not going to repeat the entire post here, but his main point is that the industry has cut costs by moving manufacturing over to China. After moving manufacturing, the industry then moved the engineering overseas. In the end of this process, China no longer needs American brands to produce good lighting gear, and American lighting companies have found themselves fighting their own creations. Jaron ends the post with the sad prediction that “there is no way out of this cycle of depression for most US companies."

Speaking as a small manufacturer , I think that while the points that Jaron raises are valid, they are only a small part of a bigger picture that’s not completely without hope. Here are some of the more encouraging points that come to mind.

Chris Sanders – Photographer Spotlight

2012-01-31T18:47:56+00:00

This commercial photographer spotlight features Chris Sanders. Sander’s lifestyle and travel work developed out of a film background. His client list includes publications such as Vogue, Vanity Fair, Esquire and Conde Nast Traveler as well as companies such as Bank of America, Microsoft, Reebok and Starwood Hotels. He lives and works from New York City.

How did you begin your journey as a professional photographer?

I have been taking photos since I was twelve years old. I didn’t go to school for Photography, I majored in Film and Broadcasting. When I graduated, I did the usual ‘film set PA stuff’ and took photos on the side. I liked the intimacy of photography. At that time, I could easily experiment with it without having to drag around a huge film crew and burning through reels of film. My first break happened when I was supposed to leave to shoot model tests in Milan, a New York Ad Agency called asking me to shoot a national campaign for one of their clients. That led to more work and an editorial spread for GQ Magazine. Since then, I’ve been established in New York.

Take us through an average day or week. What’s your routine, or non-routine?

There is no routine. Routines are boring, if I’m shooting; I’m off to location, or to the airport. If I’m not shooting I’m at my office on 28^th street with windows over looking old New York rusted water towers and gritty fire escapes. I’m surrounded by my things, sketchbooks, test shots, inspiration wall, and worktable. I use them to put together my personal shots. It’s also a great place to have castings and stylist meetings for potential projects.

How do you find inspiration? What’s driving you now?

Inspiration comes from looking. I watch movies, watch people on the subway, read books and look at magazines. I’ve found that trying to “think” of an idea doesn’t always work. You can research all you want but at the end of the day, your best idea usually pops in your head as you walk down the street or while you’re in the shower. Here’s my work order when dealing with a photo ‘problem.’

Identify the problem

Research and think hard about the solutions

RELAX (and forget the above)

Something will pop

Work on that

How do you draw out the energy and “realness” factor in your lifestyle work?

I’ve always worked with talent that can act. I discuss characters I want to create with my actors, give them a scene to play, block out the action then let it go. I call it “building the box.” Inside of the box, we place all the elements we need to create photos like the talent, wardrobe, lighting, etc. Then, we let it happen and prepare to capture it or manipulate it to make it just right. This brings a realistic approach to the photos especially when creating relationship images.

What do you look for when casting talent?

I need talent that is comfortable and confident. Actors who are willing to open up and take risks, to ad-lib a scenario and react to the others around them. People are most beautiful when they are honest.

You traveled for four months around the globe for Starwood hotels. What did you learn from the experience?

Planning can only take you so far. You can think of everything but in the end you have to work with whatever you are dealt with in a situation. Also, I really enjoyed walking into a new hotel and figuring out what the “wow” factor is. When scouting, I take quick shots or make notes of what struck me about the location. I find that if you linger too long in a location it can dull your sense of what really rocked you when you first came in.

What goes into putting together a professional portfolio that art buyers and photo editors want to see?

Only your best photos should be in here. Don’t put anything in just because it will sell. You have to be true to yourself. Put in what you want to shoot. That way when someone hires you from your book, you are getting a job you love. Also ask the opinion of people you trust and who have a good eye. Many times, I am too close to my photos and I am attached to the memories associated with creating the image. I have some very talented people I receive feed back from. I value their opinions for that outside perspective I cannot offer myself.

How has video played a role for you in the past few years? Where do you see it growing in the future?

I see it becoming a big part of my future. I have always run my still shoots like small-scale video productions. The transition from still to video has been very easy for me. I love exploring an emotion or action with a sequence of footage. Video allows me to gradually build to the final pay off. With still photos, this is not the case. You have to get the whole situation in one shot. I also enjoy exploring sound, which is very important with video.

What is the one piece of advice you would give to people looking to turn their photographic hobby into a career?

You have to be willing to drop everything for your photos. You have to have a passion for what you do. This is not a 9 to 5 thing; you have to want to do it more than anything else. Do you stay up late at night thinking of photos? Do you get ‘high’ from taking a great photo? Are you willing to push yourself to do your very best for a photo? You have to have these feelings before you can think about being a professional.

Where can we hear from you or see more of your work?

As always, my website www.chris-sanders.com plus my blog, www.talktalkblahblah.com depicts more in the life of Sanders.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Chris Sanders – Photographer Spotlight

Silhouette Photography Technique

2012-01-31T13:50:05+00:00

A great photograph is no different than any other work of art, in that it should elicit emotion and engage viewers. One of my favorite ways to engage the viewer of a photograph and encourage them to interpret the image is by utilizing silhouettes.

Silhouettes Engage Viewers

The reason silhouettes are so engaging is because they are so open to interpretation. Think of a silhouette of a man sitting alone on a park bench at sunset. Is he sad and lonely because his wife has passed? Is he relaxed and content? Has he finally achieved an important goal in life? Is he anxious about how much longer he will live, and whether his loved ones will be cared for? Are there religious overtones?

The photographer may have all or none of these themes in mind when creating this image. The interpretation is dictated by the individual viewer’s mindset. The viewer subconsciously projects her own hopes, fears, and mood onto the silhouette.
The reason for this is simple. Your brain is constantly working to fill in the details of what it doesn’t know. In a photo such as this, the silhouette provides a great unknown which we cannot help but interpret.

Technique for Shooting Silhouettes

Taking silhouette photos is an intermediate photography skill. The technique is a little tricky, and it will take some trial and error on your first few attempts before you become proficient.

Silhouette photography requires that we use pure back lighting. That is, we want to place our subject so that we maximize the amount of light in the scene coming from behind the subject.
As an example, let’s describe how we would best set up a shot of a silhouetted woman standing alone on a beach at sunset. Sunlight will be our only source of light, and it will be coming from behind the subject. We will not be utilizing any reflectors or fill flash.

Aperture and Selective Focus

First, focus the camera on the woman. We want the outline of her silhouette to be crisp and in perfect focus. I recommend using a large aperture opening, specifically f8 or higher. The reason for this is we want the background sunset and ocean to be in good focus too.
With the sun just above the ocean horizon, point the camera at the sky just to the side of the sun. Keeping your aperture as you set it, adjust the shutter speed until your exposure is correct.

You may need a long exposure time. Therefore it is good practice have a tripod on hand to keep the camera steady.

Fire off a few shots and check the image on your LCD screen. If you used all the correct settings, you should have a perfectly exposed ocean sunset with your subject rendered as a black silhouette.

Halos and Silhouettes

You can render your silhouette with an interesting halo effect around her. If you desire this effect, move the subject directly in front of the setting sun. This will create a glow, or halo which will further enhance your subject. Such an effect will obviously influence the viewer’s interpretation of your silhouette.

Use Any Subject

Any subject can be rendered as a silhouette provided we are using back lighting. It need not be a person. A silhouette of a tree, or a child’s bike, or any strategically chosen object can add interest to a scene.

Conclusion

Silhouettes add a sense of mystery and intrigue to any image. Because our brains fill in the details of what is not known, a silhouette demands stronger involvement and interpretation from viewers. By using back lighting, and properly exposing the scene for the background, we can create beautiful and interesting silhouettes in our photography.

Learn more about Shooting Silhouettes – read our previous post – How to Photograph Silhouettes in 8 Easy Steps and see our Silhouette Image Collection for some stunning examples.

About the Author – Daniel Padavona is an avid photographer, and the founder of Warmpicture Royalty-Free Images. Daniel lives in upstate New York with his wife Terri, and their children Joey and Julia.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Silhouette Photography Technique

WPPI...preboarding...and THE CLAW!

2012-01-31T09:00:00+00:00

Internet, it's the time. Can you smell it? Feel it? When 15,000 photographers descend on Las Vegas for a week of learning, networking, and debauchery, you know it's nothing else than the WPPI Conference. This year marks my fifth year in attendance and my third as a speaker and it always amazing to walk away from Sin City with a pocketful of new friends...I love connecting with photographers, so if our paths cross, please say hi!

I'm incredibly honored to announce I'll be hosting a platform presentation entitled The Anatomy of Lips + Clicks on Monday, February 20, 2012 at 3:30pm sponsored by the amazing folks at PASS. Lips + Clicks will dissect HOW people talk about you as a better way to enable them to market your services and grow your business. It'd probably be best to preboard for this WPPI class because seating will be limited and registering secures your seat!

Last year I had the privilege of speaking in MGM's Arena (but I won't be speaking there this year) and while it was an awesome opportunity, I felt something was missing from the experience. And that 'thing' was awesome music. A few months later, I was at a party when I heard The Flashdance mix and all of a sudden I was THAT guest. You know, the girl who needs to be peeled from the dancefloor after making holes from all the moves she busted? Yeah, that was me.

A few weeks ago, I took a random chance and emailed The Flashdance to inquire if he'd like to see my dance moves again (I'm telling you, they're epic). He'll be in Las Vegas to DJ a premiere major rager for photographers--otherwise known as Airplanes and Blazers--on Monday night, so it seemed like the universe was really putting us together. And then I promised not to act all creepy and stuff. Many thanks to Blogstomp for sponsoring his appearance (for those who don't know, Blogstomp is what I use to place borders on my online images) and if there's an impromptu dance party on Monday afternoon, we'll know who to blame.

I'd love to see you there...and who knows...maybe THE CLAW will make a repeat appearance!

On Tuesday morning, I'll be speaking at Showit United (if you haven't already registered, this event is closed), then heading back home. It's a super short trip for me this year, but I promise to make it up on the road while visiting a city near you at The Fix!

© Jasmine Star. This post cannot be republished without permission. Stealing makes me sad.

Asiago Plateau, Italy

2012-01-31T05:00:00+00:00

This Month in Photo of the Day: Travel Photos

The small town where I live (Asiago plateau, Italy) is shrouded in fog in this image taken from the top of a mountain.

(This photo and caption were submitted to Your Shot. Have a great shot? Send it to us for possible publication in National Geographic.)

See more pictures of Italy shot by our readers »
See pictures of European cities »

What Photography Gear Do You Intend to Buy In 2012?

2012-01-31T04:20:19+00:00

Image by Gliuoo

Earlier today I was in conversation with a couple of photography enthusiasts and the topic turned – as it often does with these guys – to gear. Particularly new gear that has been released in the past few months and gear that is rumoured to being announced in the coming months.

One of my friends asked me – ‘what gear will you invest in in 2012?‘

It is a question I like to ponder and ‘research’ (read this is trawling the web for reviews of lenses and cameras when I should be working) from time to time.

I’m not sure what gear I’m intending to buy this year – I feel pretty comfortable with my current set up and probably spent a little too much on it in 2011 – but I thought I’d open the question up to the wider dPS community.

What gear do you intend to invest in for 2012?

Is it a new camera body, a lens, some lighting gear, an accessory? Tell us about what you’re eyeing off and why you’re considering it.

It’ll be interesting to see if any themes or trends emerge!

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

What Photography Gear Do You Intend to Buy In 2012?

Download and Test Lightroom 4 for Free

2012-01-30T18:28:11+00:00

Over the last week, with the launch of our brand new Guide to Post Processing eBook, there’s been a lot of discussion around dPS around post processing – particularly about software and tools.

One of the common threads of conversation that I’ve been hearing is around the expense of some of the better post processing software tools and a hesitancy to spend so much on a tool when one doesn’t know if it suits you.

I can relate to that feeling. I still remember the first time I looked at Photoshop and considered purchasing it but balked at the price. It seemed a big risk to invest in something that I wasn’t completely sure would suit my needs.

Things have progressed a lot since those days – now many software tools give you trials before you buy. One of the exciting trials currently on offer is the ability to test the brand new beta of Lightroom 4.

Lightroom has been a product that many photographers of all levels have adopted as their preferred option and it has evolved in its first 3 versions into a very useful tool. It’s how I manage and edit my own images and I’m pumped to see them releasing Lightroom 4 soon.

In the lead up to the full launch Adobe are allowing everyone to download and trial Lightroom 4 for free. Download it today and you get to use it until the trial ends on March 31 2012. That’s over 2 months of free use of one of the most popular post processing tools on the planet! More than enough time to see if it’s right for you and the perfect time to take your post processing stills up a notch with our new Post Processing Guide.

So what are you waiting for? Download the free beta of Lightroom 4 today and tell us what you think!

Update: Worth noting are the system requirements for using Lightroom 4 beta:

The minimum system requirements for Lightroom 4 beta are as follows:

Windows
Intel® Pentium® 4 or AMD Athlon® 64 processor
Microsoft® Windows Vista® with Service Pack 2 or Windows 7 with Service Pack 1
2GB of RAM
1GB of available hard-disk space
1024×768 display
DVD-ROM drive
Internet connection required for Internet-based services*

Mac OS
Multicore Intel processor with 64-bit support
Mac OS X v10.6.8 or v10.7
2GB of RAM
1GB of available hard-disk space
1024×768 display
DVD-ROM drive
Internet connection required for Internet-based services*

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Download and Test Lightroom 4 for Free

[video] Build A Super Long TTL Cord Using Ethernet Cables

2012-01-30T16:06:52+00:00

A while back we posted a guide that shows how to build a TTL cord extender using Cat 5e Ethernet cables and plugs.

YouTube member Matthewrichey made a short video describing the process which is worth checking out.

If you are more proficient with a credit card than a cable RJ45 plug crimper you can get a pretty long (10m) TTL cord for about $36 at your friendly online book store.

If any of you folks out there had a try, I would love to hear how long you got your cable before commands to the strobe stopped working.

Lastly, if you wondered why you would need a long TTL cord, check out Syl Areana's super smart way of using a Canon TTL master strobe inside a softbox to control other Canon strobes OR David Hobby's Strobe on a Rope self-assist way of off camera flashing.

[How to make a adjustable flash sync cord with cat5 cable via cheesycam]

Shooting The Three Ladies

2012-01-30T13:15:35+00:00

It is not often that I see a picture and get my eye wet with nostalgia. However this one from David Sittig hit a soft spot for me (click here for lightbox view). Having a Kiev 88, a Seagull 4A and a Minolta SRT 101 in the same shot should be good enough on any given day, but David made the extra step of making it a TTV (Through The Viewfinder) photograph featuring the Minolta and Seagull in the Kiev's viewfinder.(Final image, just in case you care for this kind of thing, was taken with a D90)

I asked David to share the process of taking this image with DIYP readers and much to my delight he said yes:

5 Ways for Photographers to use an iPad to Jumpstart their Business

2012-01-30T13:15:12+00:00

1. Editing On-the-Go

The iPad is never going to replace a desktop computer for photo editing. However, it does come in handy when you are looking to quickly edit a few pictures. I recently traveled home for the holidays. My parents wanted a picture for their Christmas card. I was able to quickly take a picture on my Canon 5d MarkII. Then I connected my camera directly into the iPad using the Apple iPad Camera Connection Kit. The kit allowed me to download any of the pictures from my camera to my iPad. Apple makes this whole process very easy and seamless.

Once the pictures are on your iPad, there are lots of great apps you can use to edit your photos. I encourage you to download a number of apps and figure out which ones work best for you and your style.

Here are a few of my favorite iPad apps for photo editing:

PS Express – Allows you to do basic editing like crop, contrast, sharpen, and add borders.
Filterstorm – This is probably my favorite photo editing app. It allows for more advanced editing like adding text, canvas size, editing the curves, redeye, and it even allows for layers.
PhotoFX – If you are looking to just add a quick effect (glamour, faded, film, etc.) to your picture, this is the app for you.

2. Client Viewing

The iPad has great screen resolution and a wide viewing angle (meaning you can have multiple people looking at it from different angles and they can all see the same thing). This makes the iPad perfect for client viewings!

Here are a few ways to display your images on the iPad for your clients:

Built-In Photo Slideshow – Create an album with your client’s pictures on the iPad. Then, click the slideshow button – yes, it is that simple!
Smugmug – Smugmug is an online image hosting service for photographers that allows photographers to sell their images. Since I use this service and my photos are already uploaded to Sumgmug this is my preferred way to display images. Smugmug also has a slideshow feature.

3. Accepting Payments

Say goodbye to the, “I don’t have any cash” excuse! The iPad allows you to take payments using tools like Square. It is free to get an account and a credit card reader from Square. They do charge a small fee to use the service, but in my mind, the convenience is with the price!

4. Handy Tools

Since the iPad connects to the internet, there are a lot of tools and apps you can use that relate to your business.

Here are a few tools that I use:

White noise app – I love using the WhiteNoise Light app during my newborn sessions.
Music – I use Pandora for all non-newborn sessions.
Weather – You can check the weather and sunrise/sunset easily using The Weather Channel for iPad app.
Appointments – Use the integrated calendar to say on top of all your bookings.
Learning – You can subscribe to photography magazines, purchase photography books digitally, or just follow your favorite blogs.

5. Marketing

Where would your business be if you didn’t market it?!

The iPad has lots of tools to help photographers with marketing. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Twitter – The Twitter iPad app takes Twitter to the next level!
Facebook – The Facebook iPad app allows you to quickly and easily add pictures and messages to your Facebook Fan page.
Flickr – The Flickr iPad app lets you easily upload pictures to your Flickr account.
WordPress – Update your blog in real time using the WordPress iPad app.

The iPad is so versatile I’m sure that there are more uses for the iPad in photography that I didn’t cover. Leave a comment below with your favorite use!

This blog post is brought to you by KristeenMarie Photography. Be sure to check her out on Facebook. Kristeen is an Indianapolis, IN Photographer who loves ice tea, the color purple, technology, and small children. She loves many things in life – though there are not many that she loves more than photography. She loves life and wants to capture every bit of it using her camera.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

5 Ways for Photographers to use an iPad to Jumpstart their Business

Out + About : Vivian Maier Exhibition

2012-01-30T09:07:00+00:00

I heard about Vivian Maier and--at the risk of being totally dramatic--I fell in love. You can find out more of her story here, but the Cliff Notes version is this: a guy stumbles into a pile of photograph negatives and discovers a treasure of work by an unknown artist...thousands of hours, scans, and prints later, Vivian Maier was being heralded as a remarkable--yet hidden--street photographer.

I was so moved by this story and I wanted to be a part of it, wanted to give a voice to Vivian. I donated money to her Kickstarter project and I've been following her story via the web.

On Christmas morning, JD handed me a gift wrapped in gold bow. I unwrapped The Vivian Maier book. And then I cried.

Every so often I open the book and stare at black and white images that move me, that make me feel something, so you could just imagine my excitement when JD and I made our way to the Merry Karnowsky Gallery for the Vivan Maier - A Life Discovered exhibit. As we made our way through Los Angeles, I looked out the window and felt lucky. Lucky to do what I love and, much like Vivian herself, see the world from behind the shadow of a camera.

En route to the gallery, JD stopped me from photographing him...he prefers to be behind the lens. I definitely prefer to be behind the lens as well, but when we stumbled on this mid century modern sofa, I begged JD for it. I even resorted to the pleasepleasepleaseI'lldoanything mantra that worked well with my parents as a kid, but not so well with him...

I felt weird taking pictures of pictures, but I didn't want to forget a single thing. Not.one.thing. To see more of Vivian Maier's work, you can check out her website, but I'd definitely suggest checking out the book...it's breathtaking. Really.

Even though I didn't get the sofa, we did enjoy shopping on Melrose Avenue and I even made a picture to remember the memory of it all.

Happy Monday!

© Jasmine Star. This post cannot be republished without permission. Stealing makes me sad.

Sami Herder, Scandinavia

2012-01-30T05:00:00+00:00

This Month in Photo of the Day: Travel Photos

Johan Kuhmunen, with his dog Cammu, lives in Sweden, but the summertime range for his family's herd crosses into Norway. The Sami tradition of learning from the elders is an important part of reindeer herding, and knowledge is passed down from generation to generation and not learned in books.

See more pictures from the November 2011 feature story, "Sami: The People Who Walk With Reindeer."

Watch a video of photographer Erika Larsen’s experience among the Sami »
See pictures of Scandinavia shot by our readers »

Here And There

2012-01-29T22:48:01+00:00

More photos from this Chinese new year.

DIY: Make a Fasion-Passion Camera Wristlet

2012-01-29T19:00:44+00:00

Elizabeth Giorgi of Being Geek Chic (God, I love this name) shares a great little tutorial that shows you how to make a fashionable camera wrist strap. The kind that is kinda like lanyard that keep cameras from finding their way to the cement pavement.

The stitching job is really easy and if you ever wanted to get into sewing (come'on I know you do) this is a great starters project, that will ease you in to the world of doubles, zig-zags and overlocks. (And you win a wonderful strap in the process). Hit the jump for a full movie tutorial.

Poser: Achieve Perfect Portrait Expression

2012-01-29T18:09:34+00:00

We’ve all heard it from clients before. “I don’t like formally posed pictures of myself. I always look so stiff. Can we get pictures without being formally set up?”

Fortunately for our clients – and for us – the world of formal portrait and people photography is now coming to a new era: Portrait Photojournalism.

Stiff, unrealistic, unnatural portraiture is no longer a Photographer’s only option.

A technique used by internationally acclaimed wedding photographers of Poser Image, Jim Garnier and Jerry Ghionis, Portrait Photojournalism combines the techniques of formal portraiture and photojournalism.

The Photographer will “set up the shot” by formally posing the subject[s], to include location, poses, etc. Then, in a seeming irrational move, the Photographer will either coach the subject through expressions by pulling out emotions through dialogue, or leave them to interact with one another.

Sound too simple? Don’t take my word for it. Organize your shoot with the following steps and you’ll find a technique that will revolutionize the way you take portraits – and your results.

1. Location. Location. Location.

Just as you would in a formal shoot, find a few locations that will facilitate the look and feel you want to achieve. This location should match the subjects personality, and be creatively stimulating [Read more about finding locations here].

2. Consider your Lighting

Watch your location for the kind and quality of available light. Is it harsh and contrasty, lending to a dramatic feel? Is it soft and subdued, more conducive to a nostalgic mood? If the available light isn’t sufficient to create the portrait you want, be sure to add light with a reflector, or an off/on camera flash [Read more about using flash in on-location photography here].

3. Set up your Scene

Place your subject within the context of your entire setting. Remember, you aren’t taking only mid and detail shots of your subject; with the photojournalism aspect, you are shooting to tell a story. The story of your subject will include their place and involvement in the scene, and the mood you are creating.

4. Pose your Subject

You don’t have to pose your subject in a complicated manner. At the least, pay attention to the placement of your subjects feet, knees, and shoulders. So long as you pose to achieve variance and levels of these joints, you will be set [More on posing here].

5. “Break” the Shot

Think everything is perfect? Now is the time to make it all natural. Tell your subject to “relax”. Allow them to settle into the pose by drawing them into conversation, or allow them to interact with one another. Achieve authentic expressions, natural posing, and artistic portraits by letting go the expectation of “perfection”. After all, nothing in life is perfect. The key to perfect portrait photojournalism is controlling which elements are broken.

6. Take the Shot

Watch for that “After moment” and “Spontaneous moment”. Oftentimes the most beautiful moments happen just after you take the camera away from your eye. Allow your subject to believe you are done with that set up, and take the shot that they are most natural and relaxed – pulling a hat down, tucking hair back, the cute shoulder shrug. You truly never know what you will be able to achieve.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Poser: Achieve Perfect Portrait Expression

How I Stumbled Across an Amazing Way to Slow Down My Shooting Process

2012-01-29T14:46:42+00:00

A guest post by John Davenport

I, like many new photographers, would walk around shooting everything I saw without consciously thinking about the way it was framed or the settings on my camera. If you browse through the archives of my blog you’ll see a clear pattern of growth and learning in the images, but admittedly, I still have a long way to go!

For me it’s always been hard to slow down. I’ve always been the type of person that wanted results now, not later, and slowing down to think through a shot seemed like I’d be wasting time. Even after reading posts here on dPS like, these three stupidly simple reasons, it still took me a while to learn to slow down. For the first few months of my photography experience I handheld everything – it just took too long to set up the tripod.

Of course, I finally did get sick of those blurry images and I decided that the tripod was worth more than just a good walking stick after all. While, at first setting up the tripod did help me slow down and it certainly improved my image quality, it didn’t help me slow down to the point where I was thinking critically about the shot. I was still going too fast!

So What’s This Magical New Method?

While out on a typical photo walk I stumbled upon this awesome new technique when this crazy idea to pull out my iPhone and film my camera setup popped in my head. I decided to explain my thought process on the shot, and finally I ended up sharing that video with my small group of readers over on my blog. The result was the photo you see above and the video embedded below.

Okay, so it’s rough around the edges, but be kind, it’s my first video ever, and I am frozen!

The point here isn’t the quality of the video or even the fact that I’m recording it with the mindset to show my readers how I took the shot. The point I have is that recording a video like this is a good idea even if you’re not going to show it to anyone! It took me until when I got home that night to realize exactly why, but here are the reasons I came up with.

Three Benefits of Recording Your Shot

You’re Forced to Talk About It – When you’re out setting up the shot how often do you actually talk it through? I know we always say, “Think it through, frame it right, and double check your settings”, but a video forces you to talk through the shot and that’s a completely different experience.
You’ve got Evidence – After a typical shoot all you’re going to have is the memories and your photographs. A video will give you a clear view of how you set the camera up and even an insight into your thought process when you were shooting which is something that’d be hard to convey otherwise.
And of course Slow Methodical Set Up – Due to the added time it takes to record a video you’re without a doubt going to slow down and think about the shot from every possible angle, which should result in a better composed image.

Now I know recording a video is impossible for every single shot and I don’t expect anyone to do that, but personally I’m going to try to do this process at least once every week or two.

Can you think of any other benefits to recording your shot? Have you ever done something like this? I’d love to hear what you think.

John Davenport is an avid amateur photographer who posts daily photos on his blog Phogropathy. You can find him on Facebook, Twitter and his brand new Youtube Channel.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

How I Stumbled Across an Amazing Way to Slow Down My Shooting Process

Caravans, Ethiopia

2012-01-29T05:00:00+00:00

This Month in Photo of the Day: Travel Photos

Evoking a scene from biblical times, caravans arrive at the salt mines of Lake Asele, 381 feet below sea level. For centuries salt blocks, called amole, were used throughout Ethiopia as money.

See more pictures from the January 2012 feature story "The Salt and the Earth".

See more pictures of Ethiopia »

Panasonic DMC-GF3 Review

2012-01-28T18:31:16+00:00

If this is the way it’s going, I’m all for it: smaller, interchangeable lens cameras, with decently-sized sensors and sophisticated image processing internals.

Panasonic and Sony seem to be waging the war with their Micro Four Thirds models and this is another missile hurled at (IMHO) the oversize DSLRS, with or without flipping mirrors!

The GF3 leads the bunch in size — or lack of it! No question!

Claimed to be the world’s smallest and lightest system camera, it’s approximately 16.7% smaller and 16.2% lighter compared with the GF2 at just 325 grams (including 14mm lens, card and battery), built into a polycarbonate/aluminium body. The review lens supplied was the superb f2.5/14mm.

The GF3 is indeed a joy to handle, hold and stow. External controls are minimal. I particularly liked the on/off control, set in the form of a switch … and very positive.

If you need to select Program AE, shutter or aperture priority and manual, scene modes etc simply hit the menu button and choose from the screen display; you can also touch the screen to make your selection.

Panasonic DMC-GF3 Features

Maximum image size is 4000×3000 pixels; this means you could make a 30x25cm print at 300 dpi. Movies at Full HD 1920×1080 resolution can be shot in AVCHD format or 1280×720 in MPEG. While the AF worked effortlessly when shooting video, I did find the auto exposure a little tardy when correcting for brightness extremes. And, of course, you can’t take stills while recording video but you can of course select stills from a video sequence.

If you like the simple life you can rely on Intelligent Auto for both stills and video recording; additional iA features include AF Tracking, Face Recognition, Intelligent D-range Control, Intelligent Resolution, MEGA O.h3built into the lens), Intelligh3O Control and Intelligent Scene Selector.

The built-in flash pops up at a button touch and presents a decent 55mm of lens-to-flash separation, helping to lessen red-eye in portrait shooting.

I liked the AF function: when the screen is touched the system creates a green rectangle around that section and targets focus exactly there; you could aim it at a person’s eyes or, say, a bee on a flower!

There h3otal of 23 AF areas, with the camera dividing these into nine groups; touch one of these groups and the camera auto selects an optimal area within that group.

The popular defocus control function in iA mode is now easily operated with a slider on the touch screen, allowing users to adjust the defocus area for a sharp subject and softly focused background.

In My Colour mode you can enjoy fuss-free experimentation with colour modes like Expressive, Retro, High Key, Sepia and High Dynamic and (not my favourite!) Miniature Effect.

Panasonic DMC-GF3 ISO Tests

Fairly clean and useable right up untilI SO 1600. By ISO 3200 noise is fairly noticeable. IMHO ISO 6400 is unuseable.

Panasonic DMC-GF3 Verdict

Quality: I enjoyed the quality of the GF3′s shots, sharp and accurately coloured.

Why you’d buy the GF3: it’s real, real small; easy to fall in love with the AF function; you want to use Leica lenses.

Why you wouldn’t: you want to shoot stills while recording video; you want to attach an eye-level viewfinder.

This camera quite took my fancy, not only because of its tiny size, but because it has reduced the operational maze considerably: you can shoot in all the usual modes, enjoy the image options of RAW or JPEG or use it as a well-endowed point-and-shoot camera.

Panasonic DMC-GF3 Specifications

Image Sensor: 12.10 million effective pixels.
Metering: 144 zone multi pattern, centre-weighted, spot.
Lens Mount: Micro Four Thirds.
Exposure Modes: Program AE, shutter and aperture priority, manual.
Sensor: 4/3 type Live MOS 17.3x13mm. 35 SLR Lens Factor: 2x.
Shutter Speed (stills): 4 mins to 1/4000 second and Bulb. Flash sync: 1/160 sec.
Continuous Shooting: up to 3.8 fps. Memory: SD/SDHC/SDXC cards.
Image Sizes (pixels): Stills: 4000×3000 to 1440×1440.
Movies: 1920×1080, 1280×720 (AVCHD); 1280×720, 640×480, 320×240 (MPEG4).
Viewfinder: 7.6cm LCD screen (460,000 pixels).
File Formats: JPEG, RAW, JPEG+RAW, MPO (3D), MPEG4, AVCHD.
Colour Space: sRGB, Adobe RGB.
ISO Sensitivity: Auto, 160 to 6400.
Interface: USB 2.0, HDMI mini, AV, ext micxxxx.
Power: Rechargeable lithium ion battery, DC input.
Dimensions: 107.7×67.1×32.5 WHDmm.
Weight: 264 g (card and battery).
Price: Get a price on the GF3 in the following configurations:

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Panasonic DMC-GF3 Review

Take More Photos – Keep Less

2012-01-28T14:26:10+00:00

A guest post by Sam Levy, founder of citifari, New York Photo Tours.

In today’s environment, with the development and increased mobility of digital cameras, it has become easy and inexpensive to take a large volume of photos. Compared to the early days of photography when it took a couple of days, required gear weighting tens of pounds and cost a couple of dollars for each capture (or rather, at today’s prices, a few hundred dollars), photography today allows instantaneous results, requires less than a pound of equipment and cost little to no money per take… in addition, the photos taken today are often much better in quality. The future of photography is bright: we today have more than enough tools to surpass the works of the early masters of photography. The bad news is with advanced tools so readily accessible to the average user, much has already been achieved. So what is left in it for you? A lot! More specifically, for many of us in photography, there is still a lot of room for improvement. I would guess that since you are reading this post, you are looking for that self-improvement. Here are two pieces of advice.

Take more pictures

When I first heard this advice, I did not fully understand it. I was backpacking in Mexico and had met with that professional photographer who gave me the advice. We met a few days in a row, which made me feel after that I could do much more with that fancy DSLR than with my small point and shoot. I felt the urge to spend what was left of my savings into that ‘toy’ at the time. From toy it became tool but that’s another story. Before we parted ways, I received a final word of advice: “take more pictures”. It did not resonate with me until much later after owning my own DSLR. Even though my now-wife felt that I was already taking too many pictures, my current view is that it is not so much the quantity of pictures taken as it is learning from the trials and errors of many takes in order to perfect your touch. Multiply the opportunities. And, when you have found a subject or setting that you like, keep on shooting until you lose interest.

Keep fewer pictures

Unless you are naturally gifted, following the first advice will result in a monster inventory of pictures. You will come back from a long weekend with 1,000 or 2,000 pictures easily. But it wasn’t even your wedding – it was merely a visit to Grandma and you shot everything possible in her garden. What to do then? The easy way is to download the pictures onto your computer and leave them there or share them all. While most of us “sort” through them and send 50 of them to your parents, siblings, friends, facebook etc… that number is still too large. Keeping 50 would often mean eliminating the ones that were identical or poorly composed or exposed. But you still have 50! You need to be much more selective. Try to keep 5. Yes 5 out of 2,000! 0.25%! When exercising this best practice becomes a habit, you will develop your critical eye and you will keep only the pictures that YOU really like.

The feedback loop

As you learn to take more pictures and keep fewer, you will begin developing a sense of style – your style. You will start to shoot only those shots that you think you have a chance of keeping. You will begin to understand your tastes and aim for each different shot you take. However, you will still shoot a lot and still keep very few. The feedback loop will feed itself of increasingly better pictures and operate through a tougher selection. As a result, you will have trained a more critical eye and a better shutter finger. In no time, you might keep 1 of 50 photos taken during that weekend with Grandma, but you will love that picture and Grandma will be happy she appeared more interesting than the tomato in the garden.??So, again, what is left for the aspiring photography after the fact that the average camera user can follow these advices too? Well first, this is a disciplined practice that not anyone can put himself/herself through. But, with diligent practice of this exercise, you will certainly improve your photo skills. More importantly, you will develop a better sense for your passion in the way that pleases you.

Sam Levy is the founder of citifari. citifari offers photo tours in New York City. Structured as a 2-1/2 hour practical workshop, citifari tour helps you get comfortable with your camera settings and take great shots in New York City. citifari is launching its newest New York tour: Central Park photo tour.

Images in this post are copyrighted to citifari

Visit citifari at:
www.citifari.com
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email Sam Levy at sam@citifari.com

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Take More Photos – Keep Less

Dal Lake, India

2012-01-28T05:00:00+00:00

This Month in Photo of the Day: Travel Photos

A lone shikara boat slices through the peace and tranquility of Dal Lake, the oarsman reflecting on a better tomorrow to come.

(This photo and caption were submitted to Your Shot. Have a great shot? Send it to us for possible publication in National Geographic magazine.)

See more pictures of India shot by our readers »
See more pictures of reflections »

How long an exposure can my camera meter?

2012-01-28T02:24:00+00:00

How long an exposure can my camera meter?

A friend and I were talking about long exposure photography today, which brought up the issue of determining how long an exposure you needed. Like most DSLRs, my Nikon D90 will only automatically expose out to 30 seconds; if you need a longer exposure than that, you have to time it by hand in Bulb mode.

(In my opinion this is a pointless limitation, probably reflexively carried forward from the days when there was only so much space on a physical shutter speed dial. Since cameras are computers these days, you could even limit automatic exposures to no more than 30 seconds while still letting the camera count the time for longer manual exposures.)

But that's just how long an automatic exposure the camera will do, not the limit of what it will meter for you. If the exposure is at the 30 second limit and the viewfinder is still reading 1 EV of underexposure, you can fix that with an exposure that has 1 EV more time, ie a 60 second bulb exposure. So how long an exposure can I actually meter with my camera?

in my normal settings, the viewfinder will show up to 2 EV of underexposure. If I change the camera to use 1/2 EV steps for exposure compensation instead of 1/3 EV steps, this increases to 3 EV of underexposure.
I can extend the range of the viewfinder meter by adding negative exposure compensation (a 1 EV underexposure with -1 EV of exposure compensation will read as a correct 0 EV exposure). My camera allows up to +/-5 EV of exposure compensation, pushing metering to an effective 8 EV of underexposure.
(The allowed range of exposure compensation doesn't changed based on the step size used.)

Since every EV is a doubling of the exposure time, 8 EV of exposure past 30 seconds is 128 minutes; call it a two hour exposure. If this isn't enough, I can start pulling the viewfinder meter back by metering with a high ISO but actually photographing with a low ISO. My camera has a base ISO of 200 and is easily raised to ISO 3200, giving me another 4 EV of metering range (a total of 12 EV); that takes me to an exposure duration of over 30 hours.

So the real answer here is that my camera battery is going to die long before I get to an exposure that I can't meter. (Probably the sensor would overheat from continuous use, too.)

(In theory the D90's meter is only specified to work down to -1 LV. In practice this isn't even moonlight and I've metered without problems in much darker conditions.)

PS: since I'm unlikely to sit still for a one hour exposure, much less a two hour one, I don't even need to change the exposure compensation step size. My normal settings still give me 7 EV of exposure past 30 seconds, which is already just over an hour. Mind you, using 1/2 EV steps makes the eventual time calculations somewhat easier.

The Rule of Thirds: Weekly Photography Challenge

2012-01-27T18:25:59+00:00

This week your photography challenge is to utilise the most common photographic composition rule – the Rule of Thirds.

While I’m not big on ‘rules’ – there’s definitely some good reasons to know this one and to be able to pull it off (and of course there are times to break it too). So lets practice implementing it this week!

You can use it in any type of photography you like – portraits, landscapes, sporting, macro, animals, food…. whatever you like. Just make sure you adhere to the principles of the Rule of Thirds when composing your shot.

Once you’ve selected your ‘Rule of Thirds’ image/s upload them to your favourite photo sharing site and either share a link to it or – embed them in the comments using the our new tool to do so.

If you tag your photos on Flickr, Instagram, Twitter or other sites with Tagging tag them as #DPSRULEOFTHIRDS to help others find them. Linking back to this page might also help others know what you’re doing so that they can share in the fun.

Also – don’t forget to check out some of the great shots posted in the last challenge – Patterns challenge where there were some beautiful shots submitted.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

The Rule of Thirds: Weekly Photography Challenge

A “Happy Snap” Lightroom Workflow

2012-01-27T13:42:47+00:00

At Halloween last year I was asked to photograph some kids I’ve shot from time to time since they were born. Basically their mum likes to have some up to date photos of the kids and Halloween seemed like as good a time as any to get some shots.

When I’m shooting like this, my aim is to get some good shots but nothing formal and I prefer not to use a flash because I get a better response from the kids without one. I captured the images in raw and I chewed through three small size camera cards in about an hour and a half.

My deal with their mum is that I get to use the photos for my work and she gets a disk of pictures. To keep this fun – so it doesn’t feel like work for me – I need a fast and effective processing workflow. I need to get the images off my camera, sorted, processed, burned to a DVD and delivered to mum in time for her to enjoy them.

Thanks to Lightroom the process was simple and, in all, I reckon I spent less than 2 hours getting the photos from the camera cards to a DVD. Here is what I call my Happy Snap Lightroom workflow – it’s what I do to quickly process casual snapshots:

Step 1 – Determine a plan of attack

To begin with I have some criteria I work by. I never give away substandard photos so anything blurry, out of focus or over exposed gets permanently deleted. Then I sort out the best of the images intending to give mum around 50-60 photos of the kids – it’s a nice range of images for her to use to scrapbook and post to Facebook and it doesn’t over burden her with too many photos to choose from.

Step 2 – Download the images

To begin, I download all the images from all three cards into a single folder on my hard drive (if there were only one card I would omit this step).

From there I import the images into Lightroom at the same time copying them to their permanent storage on my external photo drive and making a backup to a second drive. Copying rather than adding images to the Lightroom catalog lets me make backups and also add my metadata to the images so, when they popup on Facebook my copyright details are embedded in them.

Importing all the images in one step also means that when I’ve started the import process – which includes rendering standard previews – I can start working through the images and I don’t have to do it multiple times or switch out cards as I work – (the process works for me – your mileage may vary).

Step 3 – Eliminating the duds

The first time I run through the images I am looking for images to delete as well as getting a general look at what I shot.

As I work through the images I’ll press X for images to delete and use the right arrow key to move past everything else. I’ll select to delete all out of focus images, anything where someone has their eyes closed or similar, and anything I don’t want to put my name to!

Once I’m done I choose Photo > Delete Rejected Photos to delete the images from my primary external photo drive. There are still copies on the backup drive and my hard disk but not on my main photo drive.

Step 4 – Sorting the usable images

On the second run through the images I pick those I want to use. By now I have a rough idea as to what I have and what I might want to give mum. So this time I run through the images pressing P to pick an image and using the right arrow key to move past those she won’t be getting.

Step 5 – Create a Collection

Once done, I isolate the picked images by clicking the first of the filter flag icons above the filmstrip. Then with only the picks visible I press Ctrl + A to select all of them and then click New Collection > Create Collection and type a name for it. Because the images are already selected, I leave the Include Selected Photos checkbox enabled and click Create.

Step 6 – Apply initial processing to the images

Now I have a collection of the picks and it’s time to process them. I start out by selecting all the images in Grid View in the Library and from the Quick Develop panel I select Auto Tone. This gives me a head start on fixing them but, because of the lighting, pretty much all of them needed a white balance adjustment.

Step 7 – Process in the Develop module

Switching to Develop module with the filmstrip visible I selected the White Balance Selector and then made sure that Auto Dismiss was disabled. This allows me to adjust the white balance on one image and then click on the next one in the filmstrip and continue to adjust the white balance from one image to the next without having to reselect anything. Basically all that most of these images needed was some white balance adjustment.

For those that needed cropping, I cropped as I finished with white balance adjustment and then moved on to the next image. This ensured that each image was dealt with only once as I progressed across the filmstrip.

Step 8 – Make one off fixes

So, having fixed the worst of the problems I work backwards through the filmstrip to see if any of the images warrant special attention. If so, I make a call to fix them or simply remove them from the collection. To remove the image, right click it and choose Remove from Collection .

Here I had one issue with a couple of images where one child’s face was in shadow. For this, I used the Adjustment Brush tool at a small size with a large feather radius. I brushed over the areas where her face was in shadow and then adjusted the Brightness and Exposure to lighten to her face. In the same images other faces were overexposed so I added a second Adjustment Brush adjustment with the opposite settings to attempt to deal with this. The final result wouldn’t stand up to close scrutiny but is just fine for the web and 6 x 4 printing.

Step 9 – Export and burn

Once this was done it was time to export the images. Because they’re all in a collection, Ctrl + A selects all the images. I chose File > Export and then exported them as JPG images, 80 percent quality at the largest size and I added sharpening to them in the process. I made sure these images all went to a new folder so that they would be isolated from everything else and easy to find.

From there, it was a matter of launching Ashampoo Burning Studio, grabbing all the images and burning them to a DVD.

This workflow is one giant step better than simply burning the images direct to a DVD. It takes only a little more time with Lightroom to sort and apply some basic fixes to the images and it also means that only the best of the images get circulated and those that do have my copyright information embedded in them.

So now it’s over to you. What’s your “happy snap” workflow? Do you capture snapshots in raw? Do you process using Lightroom? And how do you get your images processed quickly so you’re not spending hours on images that are really just family snapshots?h3

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

A “Happy Snap” Lightroom Workflow

Friday Randomness : Magic + Milkshakes

2012-01-27T09:00:00+00:00

Last night we walked the dog and JD pulled the hoodie over my head, pulling the strings extra tout. It makes me feel warm, it makes him feel he's taking care of me. It's funny what strings can do. We walked in the moonlight around midnight, the streets quiet with the exception of the sound of Polo's paws prancing on pavement. I made fun of JD, pushing buttons a wife only knows, and he poked back. Next thing we knew, I taunted him from running four feet ahead of him, daring him to catch me four blocks later. He sprinted, I shrieked, and Polo ran between us in the light of the moon.

Life is simple, life is beautiful. And I don't want to forget the small things that make me happy.

Here are a few things that make smile this past week and I hope they do the same thing for you...

Who doesn't love a little Hipster Lincoln?

Beatbox, Level Harvard.......no, really, watch this. Now.

Kanye.

The countdown has begun...

I hate when it happens...

Cave Painting, Papua New Guinea

2012-01-27T05:00:00+00:00

This Month in Photo of the Day: Travel Photos

For generations people in the region have marked cave walls with stenciled handprints. These prints were made with clay-based paint, but in other caves, crimson stains tell the story of a bloody initiation ritual for young men.

See more pictures from the February 2012 feature story "Last of the Cave People."

Quicky: Fun & Easy Macro Filter With PVC and Magnifying Glass

2012-01-26T16:00:08+00:00

For about three years I used a Nikon Coolpix and enjoyed taking photos of snowflakes in the winter. I struggled with the autofocus, so I figured I would invest in a digital camera with manual focus and macro. After much time and web surfing, I found the Canon SX130IS which has very good reviews, manual focus, and a reasonable price.

“Average is Over” or Why Good Enough Sucks

2012-01-26T14:00:02+00:00

Thomas L Friedman, in a post today at the New York Times, says that “average is over.”

And he is right.

It is.

You can see it in industry and media and design and art. You can see it in nearly every area of business.

Apple proved it. And Mercedes. And Braun. And Singapore Airlines. The list is pretty extensive.

To get to the top – the vaunted, rare, incredibly beautiful top – takes more than being average. In fact, simply being in any field at a sustainable level will take more than average. More than “good enough”.

Especially in commercial photography.

My bud Kirk thinks the whole photography thing may be totally over. At least for today.

Maybe he is right, but I am not buying it. I refuse to buy it.

If I did, I would have to simply do something else. Riding something dying to the end is not for me.

I love photography, and photographers. And I think they are here for a lot longer than some believe.

I hear how there are too many photographers. I hear how the prices are terrible. I hear how no one is making any money (except from those who are actually out there making money).

I hear all about how there are problems, but few seem to be addressing the reality that the context is changing, and the participants have varying degrees of ability to adapt.

Few will simply come out and say the basic truth because it is so hard to accept…

The ability to take a decent – actually even better than decent – photograph is not that big of a deal. Even the cheapest cameras are capable of ‘making a good picture’ – as long as your criteria does not include the actual content of the image. Color, exposure, sharpness… all good with even the most basic camera.

(Flickr will eat me alive… I will just leave it there…)

What used to be an average photographer took a lot of work. Now… not so much.

Not much at all.

Click…

But the subject, context, emotional connection, and the relationship of viewer to the image have not changed. Those things are still important, necessary, vital.

And as elusive as they ever were.

The photographers who understood those things, that ‘got it’ were always at the top. Penn, Avedon, Demarchelier, Elgort… the list is pretty extensive. Lots of ’old guys’ who didn’t really sit around and talk shit about lenses and film speed and what the newest cool lighting was. Maybe they would have if they weren’t so damn busy making images, but – alas…

The most difficult thing to talk about is the image itself. It is open to interpretation and combined with a point of view, can be the most terrifying and mystical aspect of the art. What do we say about it? What do other people think? What do the ‘right people’ think? Will I spill to the world I am a simple luddite if I like this or not like that? What if what I say is – gulp – wrong?

The fear of not having anything to say about the photograph quickly fades when the discussion turns to pixel counts and the GN of some new Chinese made flash unit.

Those things are measurable. Quantifiable. Easy to understand and place in direct competition.

24 Megapixels is more than 18 Megapixels.

Fact. Done. Fini. Nanna nanna booboo.

It is the stuff that average photographers latch onto and make their own. This camera does that and that camera does this and then it is all about the camera. I have this new thing and that old thing simply doesn’t ‘measure up. We can quantify that by counting the pixels or checking for fringing at 6000%.

Photography = camera.

Except – when it isn’t.

Cameras are average. Cameras create average. Cameras encourage average.

BECAUSE they are quantifiable, measurable and easily comprehended.

They take the fun out of photography, the joy and pure emotional excitement of making an image, and move it into a realm of boringass technology and defined, finite abilities.

Resolution.

Average.

Over.

Why? Because art is none of those things. Vision has nothing to do with them. Style and personal viewpoint and expression and emotion and depth and the ability to move someone to tears or elation or to go to Staple and grab that thing cause they simply gotta have that thing cause the photograph made them WANT THAT THING… none of that is quantifiable, measurable in pixels, or has anything to do with maximum flash sync.

Cameras may be the very instruments of the death of photography. Killed that sucka dayd.

Or at least tried to – but missed.

Because there are so many terrific photographers out there that it would be simply impossible to begin listing them. By the time you got to the end of the list, you would have to go back and start again. The amount of times I am knocked out by new photographers work is tenfold what it used to be. This is the glorious age of the image, of the photograph, of the art.

How can that be?

Fact: the world of photography has moved a notch up. And many of us are scrambling up to see what it looks like from that rung.

The bar raised and didn’t automatically take us all along for the ride. We find ourselves again having to earn our position there. Some of us, I fear, will never again stand on the top rung where we hung out and got fat and lazy and belligerent and arrogant and slovenly and so set in our ways that we find anything that youth does to be abhorrent and inevitably evil. We owned it. We were there so long that we never noticed that it became… average.

Being pretty good with a camera is no longer good enough. Being able to shoot something in focus may not be enough. Simply making pretty pictures is not gonna work for long term sustainability.

Because it became simply too easy to do to have any kind of gate for filtering. No top of the line enlarger or killer ass strobe system gonna save our sorry asses now.

So what are the ‘average’ shooters doing these days?

Working hard to tread water… finding additional ways to shoot and make it through the next rent check? Yeah, probably.

And bitching… lots of bitching. And digging in… lots of that too.

It will not serve anyone well and in the end will prove to be a terrible barrier to success.

Devastating really.

And you know who is to blame? Well, besides ourselves…

Time.

There was a time when simply being able to work a view camera, take an exposure reading and make images on large format cameras with the subject in focus was enough. Lots of photographers started businesses with little talent, but a lot of technique.

There was a time when being “good enough” was, well, enough. All the client needed was an ‘average’ shot of a beer opener or a bag of nuts or a Cuisinart. Average was good, average we could do standing on our heads. Average was the result of the camera doing the heavy lifting and our expertise in manipulating the tool.

Technique is not enough to carry us through these days because, well, the techniques we learned are no longer important. New techniques must be learned.

Here, I’ll say it again. It is easier than it has ever been to be technically good. In fact… who cares anymore. Sharp and in focus and technically brilliant is a given. Even teenagers can do it in their garage with dad’s borrowed camera.

Some photographers get out there and learn the new ways and continue on, and some resist and feel it is imperative from a moral point deep in their guts to hold on to the ‘old ways’ in order to jab the metaphorical middle-finger to the “young’ns” who seem to be stealing their lunches. I am not into metaphorical middle fingers myself, I prefer the real thing. Much more natural and ‘organic’ and is so much fun to accompany with some pithy profane word-smithing.

But the bottom line is that the bar has been raised. Not a lot.

A HELL of a lot.

And to be in the more rarefied air above the new bar will take more and more effort.

And talent.

And vision, style, emotion, guts, pain, blood, laughter, failure, elation, and that tingly little spine thingy that happens when you do something and it just screams at you that you nailed it… you freeeeeeekin nailed it.

Yeah… more of that.

Average is gone. It is over. (Except in pop-culture and Hollywood, where mediocrity is a badge to be worn with courage and a jaunty, arrogant smile. Think Kanye West… got it?)

It is painful to realize that when we are looking in the mirror, we may be looking at someone who is not ‘dabomb’ that was once staring back. That all the hard work to get where you are meant something then – and nothing now. That instead of resting on our laurels, we have to once again put on the running gear and prepare for a marathon. We have to train and train and train again.

Again.

And some of us will do just that.

And some of us will not.

And some of us will simply metaphorically flip us all off and tell us that we are nuts and that there is no hope and who the fuck cares anyway.

And a few of us will continue to wonder why good enough sustained us before, but will no longer be, well, good enough.

Hey, I don’t have the answers for you. I only have the view from my seat. If I could tell you what the answer to it all was, I probably would be very rich.

I can tell you it ain’t about the camera or the lenses or the strobes or the triggers or the software

I can tell you that it will be a lot of work. And a lot of fun.

And sheer hell on some days.

So what?

You think it is better in other fields?

Sorry, you gotta get out more. There are actually businesses that are far worse off than commercial photography.

I will leave you with a video.

As many of you know, I am a drummer.

Wait – after seeing this kid, maybe I am a guy that used to be a drummer.

Sixteen years old, and he plays with the ability of a guy who has been playing for decades. There are other examples of sheer brilliance on the net, but this one really stuck out to me. NOTE: you must watch all the way to the end. To imagine the amount of practice that this kid has had to endure is mindboggling.

But there is one thing that we know for sure…

Average is no longer an option.

Just ask any drummer you know.

<h2>NOW WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GONNA DO ABOUT IT?</h2>

EDIT:

Just after finishing this post (which was supposed to be about 600 words… sigh) I read this article about Annie Leibovitz.

I suggest you read it… I really do.

“This is an amazing time to be a photographer,” she said. “I discovered things about myself which were really comforting — that the work had a deep well, that it wasn’t going to go away.”

Sure beats sitting around and beating yourself up for things that are out of your control… ya know.

EDIT #2

So I am about to crash and I read this from Jake Stangle:

“You need to approach a photo editor with a preexisting body of work that does not speculate on the fact that you might take really good photographs if you were hired. Your portfolio needs to prove this. It can be 100% personal work. You just need to demonstrate that you can shoot. Your portfolio and website need to be a vehicle that high fives photo editors and wraps its arms around their shoulder and softly whispers in their ear, “hey girl, hop in my Hyundai Sonata, let’s do this, I got you”.

Simplest sentence ever #1: If you’re not getting calls (or even meetings), your work isn’t there yet. You need to get your work there. You are the only one that can do this. Money won’t help. It could take a couple months, it could take years. When the work is there, the calls will start to come along. But not until you, and only you, get it there. This is a universal truth.

Simplest sentence ever #2: Any time you’re in a rut, you need to know and remind yourself and understand the ONLY way to get out of this rut is by making more work, pushing harder, did I say work harder? Nothing is gonna happen when you slump down. Just lost time and wasted days. So get your ass up and keep hammering, working hard infinitely. Behind every photographer is a really haggard guy or girl with a bad back.

Simplest sentence ever #3: The longer you bitch, the more you complain, the more inactive you are in getting to where you want to go, the longer, bitchier, harder, and more unpleasant it will be. This is the devastating truth. So sack up (disclaimer: I am a feminist), get in your F150, and get r’ done.”

I think, no – I KNOW – you should read this whole series at his site: Here is the link to the last one, you will navigate to the others from there.

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How to be Incredibly Average and Never Breakout as a Photographer I work with photographers on a one to one basis....
Throwing Other Photographers Under the Bus May be Great Fun, But Is It a Good Thing? This is a RANT, folks. I am totally and definitely...

Measuring Camera Speed Performance With A Microphone

2012-01-26T13:14:14+00:00

Memory cards have their speed rating systems. For example, class 6 is the recommended base class for 1080p HD video coming from DSLRs. Those classes however, don't tell you what is the burst rate on individual shots. Mostly because each image has a different MB size to it depending on many factors.

Jaroslav over at Crazy Lab found an interesting way of measuring the burst rate and comparing different factors that affect the camera to card writing speed. TO make the test constant he covered the lens of his Canon T3i and took pictures of darkness. By recording the shutter sound (or music as some call it) and displaying the waveform in Audacity Jaroslav was able to compare burst-rates of different ISOs, capturing modes and cards.

Does That Little Flip Up Diffuser Actually Help?

2012-01-26T13:02:00+00:00

One question I receive in my workshops for beginners is about flashes. Particularly “What the heck is this for?”

And, “Does it actually do anything?”

Not all flashes have these two items that cover the flash head and pull straight out, but if yours does and you’ve always wondered, here is your answer.

Those two items both serve different purposes. The one that flips over the flash itself is a diffuser. Its job is to spread out the light from the flash. You might have seen larger diffusers, such as a softbox over a flash. Those diffuse even more light than this piece of plastic. But it actually is better than nothing when it comes to spreading out light. At the same time you flip out this contraption, your flash will typically back up the light source inside of the flash unit (if it has zoom capabilities) to help project a wide swath of light.

These two actions work hand in hand to spread light and not make it so tight on your subject. The last piece of plastic, the more opaque one the at sticks out straight, helps bounce light that would have bounced away from the subject, get pointed back just a liiitttle bit more towards your target. This can be helpful when even more diffusion is wanted, or if the flash is being bounced off a ceiling and some catch light is wanted in the subject’s eyes.

Let me show you the difference a diffuser, coupled with the bounce plastic and a wide zoom in the flash, can make.

This first shot of a f-stop Gear Satori pack I was reviewing is taken at 85mm and a distance of about eight feet. This shot is taken with the flash pointed directly at the pack and coming in from the left side as I have tilted the camera, as I did not want to bounce the flash against a colored wall and couch.

Notice the harsh shadow to the side of the pack caused by the flash? This is because the flash is coming from the side and is relatively close. That shadow is caused by the pack being another eight feet from the wall behind it (as your subject gets further from the background, the shadow will increase).

Now let’s try it with the diffuser in place, the bounce in place and the flash zoomed back to 14mm (all of which happens automatically when I pull out the diffuser).

The exposure settings on the camera are exactly the same in both photos. The difference should be clear, that the second shot has much lighter shadows as well as a softer light on the pack itself.

The impact of this method is less pronounced when zoomed in further and the flash is now positioned above the camera in a horizontal orientation. Can you tell which shot is which in these two examples?

The clue is in the slight change in the quality of light. Because the diffuser’s light is not as intense as the straight flash, it allows in a bit more ambient light and this can be seen in the first image as a slight more orange is showing (from the overhead tungsten lights). The reflections on the buckle are also slightly less harsh.

Using this quick and easy diffuser which you will never leave at home can have its advantages. It’s not mean to replace a true softbox, but it will help when one is not around.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Does That Little Flip Up Diffuser Actually Help?

Overkill: Use an Old Pacemaker To Control Delay In A Drop Shot

2012-01-26T10:21:39+00:00

I've seen some crazy setups for high speed photography utilizing all sorts of weird parts. There is even a system that will turn the lights off for you, if you so please. But, this is the first time I am seeing such a huge overkill in term of components used to gain some control over the circuit.

The Art of Being Un-Awkward

2012-01-26T09:00:00+00:00

Yesterday the lovely Tiffany Buckmiller posted on my Facebook page and asked the following: For those of us who are deathly afraid of photographer "mixers" can you do a blog post on not embarrassing ourselves and etiquette for making business contacts and friends?! Thanks! See you in Denver! Oh, Tiffany, I can't wait to give you a hug at The Denver Fix and let you know I, too, am still trying to find the right way mixing.

I definitely don't have the answers, but here are two personal stories that happened less than a week ago at a conference to help illustrate my point...

Real Life Story Number One: It was called The White Party and the invitation encouraged everyone to wear white, which might not had been a problem if I actually owned more than two items of white clothing. I paired a dress shirt and white pants, but decided I looked like Ellen Degeneres and left everything at home. Instead I wore a champagne-colored shirt and skirt. That should have been a sign of things to come. Really. I walked into the all-white party with my roommates, but somehow got separated and I was left standing by the buffet station. Alone. From afar I saw a speaker who presented on a panel I attended earlier that day, so I approached her circle of friends and waited patiently to introduce myself and let her know how fabulously she presented. And then the worst thing happened: they Mean Girls-ed me. Uh, yeah. CLOSED THEIR CIRCLE and pretended I wasn't there.

I was mortified, but pretended I didn't see what they did and tapped the panelist on the shoulder. Hi, I just wanted to say you did a great job today and I loved your presentation...thanks. We shook hands and then I walked away. The end.

Real Life Story Number Two: I walked into the mixer alone and set down my coat on a nearby table. There were roughly 15 tiny circles of people chatting and I didn't have the nerve to approach them mid-conversation, but I also didn't have the nerve to stand alone by the buffet station (what's up with my gravitation to food?!) so I marched up to the one person who was standing alone. Caroline, she introduced herself and said she was holding up the wall. And then I offered to help. She was a single mom, had never been to Utah before, liked her drink straight up on the rocks, and was a reupholstery blogger. Yes, she made a living blogging DIY reupholstering. We simply talked about life while we held up the wall...and enjoyed ourselves.

Because we didn't approach the conversation with expectation, we simply conversed. That's it. There wasn't a need to swap business cards, immediately guess what the other could do for their social standing on the invisible social totem pole, or ask the same questions repetitively (although we did end up swapping contact info because she's the bomb). Caroline and I did what we were supposed to do: mix. After 10 minutes, we exchanged pleasantries and went our ways. The end.

I don't know what those two stories are suppose to convey, besides showcasing how presently mixers look for me. They're difficult, but I always try to keep a few things in mind:
1. I'll get more from a mixer being genuinely interested in two other people than trying to get 200 people interested in me.
2. Find people who are standing by themselves...they're probably just as desperate to talk to someone as you are.
3. Don't ask predictable questions...strike up the type of conversation you'd like to have as a way to avoid seeming insincere (instead of asking about the weather, maybe ask if they saw the Lakers game last night or if they're watching good reality television shows or compliment a great pair of shoes).
4. Stay away from the Mean Girls...the minute you give them attention, they have the power to make you feel like you're less than you are.
5. When all else fails, hang out by the buffet station...it easy to bond over mutual love of mashed potatoes.

If we get the chance to meet soon while I'm out on the road for The Fix, let's practice mixing and I might even be able to give you a few reupholstering tips along the way!

© Jasmine Star. This post cannot be republished without permission. Stealing makes me sad.

Rock Climber, Peak District

2012-01-26T05:00:00+00:00

This Month in Photo of the Day: Travel Photos

A man climbs at sunset in Peak District National Park, England.

(This photo was submitted to Your Shot. Have a great shot? Send it to us for possible publication in National Geographic magazine.)

See more travel Photos of the Week »
See more pictures of England shot by our readers »

Do you have a Photoblog? [POLL]

2012-01-26T02:26:23+00:00

Time for another poll (on a topic we’ve not run for a few years) – Do you have a photoblog?

We’re not talking here about a Flickr account or some other photosharing site – do you have your own blog where you share photos?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

If you do – we’d love to see a link to it in comments below – feel free to share them and tell us in a few words what type of photography we’ll see there.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Do you have a Photoblog? [POLL]