Posted by admin on January 11th, 2010 — Posted in Photography Stuff
Why Pinhole Photography?
It’s fun. It’s creative. It’s educative about the basics that photographers deal with whenever they do their thing.
What is Pinhole Photography?
At its simplest, a pinhole camera is just a light tight cardboard box with a piece of aluminium pie dish containing a pinhole to expose the film or photographic paper.
Of course you need to design a shutter, (your thumb will do), some way to hold the film in place and a system to seal up the opening where you put the film in the pinhole camera.
There is no viewfinder; you just point the pinhole camera in the right direction. You can draw some lines on top of the camera to indicate the field of view.
Exposure times for pinhole photography are usually measured in minutes.
Exposure Determination.
Work out your exposure by the hit and miss method, also known as exposure determination by experimentation. This is where you say “Ooooh. I reckon about two minutes.” Then if it turns out ok, well and good. But if it’s not right, you either double it or halve it for the next exposure, depending on your assessment. Nothing wrong with that method for pinhole photography.
Suitable Camera Size.
Let’s say you’re using 4″x5″ photographic paper. The diagonal of your paper is about 160mm. If you make the distance from the pinhole to the paper about 50mm to 80mm this will be ok. Length of about half the diagonal of the film. You could make the length 20mm to 50mm giving quite a wide angle. There’s nothing to stop you building your pinhole camera around a four foot length of drainpipe giving you a 1200mm telephoto pinhole camera, except that the exposure time might be in the order of several hours or all day.
My best pinhole cameras have used 8″x10″ film and have a length of 50mm to 70mm. Everything is in focus from 250mm to infinity. Angle of view is around 135 degrees.The light runs off at the edges of the image.
Note: 100mm = about 4″
End of Technical Stuff.
There is much more technical stuff that can be studied but that’s all you really need to know to get started. So empty the breakfast cerial packet and build a pinhole camera.
Practical Stuff.
You can use pretty much anything light tight to make a pinhole camera: biscuit tin, breakfast cerial packet, 20 litre oil drum, golden syrup tin, jam tin, match box, black ice cream container etc. etc. Would you believe you can even use your mouth?
Yes, in the darkroom put a short piece of 35mm film in your mouth and close it. Go outside and press the aluminium with the pinhole firmly against your lips, then open your lips for about 10 seconds keeping your head still. Reverse the procedure. You can work out the rest for yourself.
Consider whether it will be better/easier to use the end or side of your tin/box.
If you use a jam tin you can use alfoil and a rubber band for a lid.
Use black paint inside a shiny tin if you have some handy.
Invent a shutter. Black plastic and masking tape will do.
If you decide on a jam tin or golden syrup tin with the pinhole in the side, consider using a baffle that springs tight against the sides of the tin to fasten your film too. A piece of plastic milk bottle will do.
Handy items to have around are: breakfast cerial packet, masking tape, blue tack, plastic milk bottles, rubber bands, alfoil, scissors, knife, glue.
Your pinhole camera will give a negative image on your photographic paper. In this modern, computer age it will be possible to scan, change to a positive and computer print.
An SLR camera can be used for a pinhole camera simply by removing the lens and attaching a pinhole with black sticky tape.
If you are making a pinhole, look for the smallest needle in the set.
It’s important to have a smooth, burr free pinhole for the sharpest possible image. Ideally, push the tapered section of the needle through in several stages, gently removing the burr with fine wet and dry paper between actions. Rest the foil on cardboard as you push the needle through so you don’t stretch the foil.
So Build a Pinhole Camera
I think that every photographer needs to build at least one pinhole camera and experiment with it. There is so much to be learned from pinhole photography which is photography at its most basic.
Laurie McArthur is a wilderness landscape photographer, based on the New South Wales Far South Coast, Australia. Laurie’s images may be viewed at http://www.southimage.net/
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Posted by admin on January 10th, 2010 — Posted in Photography Stuff
It was widely reported in the press (15 September 1997) that a British tourist, who stole a lump of stone from the base of the Great Pyramid five years earlier, returned it to the Cairo Museum with a letter saying that ‘it had brought him bad luck ever since’. The Museum authorities were not surprised; several such items had been returned by people who felt cursed {When the Luxor Casino was built in Las Vegas it moved on its foundation so the elevators had a lot of re-engineering to be done, while I lived in Las Vegas. The death toll during its construction was nine. Do you think a religious and spiritual force knows when it is being improperly sullied?} after stealing them. A good reason for caution is the largely bogus story of an Egyptian coffin lid - or fragment of a coffin lid. It was told to Arthur Weigall, author of ‘Tutankhamen’ (1923) by its one-time owner, Mr. Douglas Murray who purchased the coffin some time in the 1860s: ‘no sooner had he done so than he lost his arm, owing to the explosion of his gun. The ship in which the coffin was sent home was wrecked, and so was the cab in which it was driven from the docks; the house in which it was deposited was burnt down; and the photographer who made a picture of it shot himself. A lady who had some connection with it suffered great family losses, and was wrecked at sea shortly afterwards…The list of accidents and misfortunes charged to the spirit which is connected with this coffin is now of enormous length.
The presence of an Egyptian mummy on board is sometimes blamed for the loss of the ‘Titanic’. It was said to have been shipped to New York on the supposedly unsinkable liner. Its coffin, no.22542 in the British Museum, is associated with the curse, and Museum authorities caution people who propose to photograph it.” (2)
Negative self-fulfilling expectations are a difficult thing for people to deal with in conjunction with the sorcerers’ art. This is the concept of the ‘War Bottle’ that turns your idiosyncrasies into more unbalanced certitudes that makes a strength become a fatal weakness. It is also the nature of energy that caused a large number of early North American Indians to forego the vanity of having their picture taken. Some of them listened to their wise men talk of the soul being frozen in the minds of those who would see the picture, and thus their spirit would not grow with them. There certainly is truth to the fact that our thoughts impact others. Our thoughts are energy and the thoughts of many people who thought negatively about the ’stupid savages’ may have had just the impact the shamans and witch-doctors were certain would happen. The curse of humanity is that our soulful energy deceives our ego into thinking we are powerful. The ego doesn’t understand. ‘WE’ is not ‘me’!
CANDLE MAGIC:
Reversing candles are a great thing to protect yourself from the intent of people sending negative energy at you, but talismans and mandalas galore have been most reliable for the minor flare-ups. The cross is a mandala with four entry points for the assimilation of the four primary forces to become balanced at the ‘center’. What you choose for faith in your goodness has much to do with your actual protection. In many ways a ritualistic process opens you through your own energy to the very things you project. This is true in the macrocosm of humanity as well as in the insipid little parcels of power-mongering flesh that think they deserve more than the numerous other life forms that have soul and ethics.
One person (or persons) sought to make me suffer and there were some disturbing physical responses. The individuals involved were gay and they had hit on me numerous times. My response was a joke or a simple ‘not my style’. One of them was in charge of three covens of witches and fancied himself the meanest ‘SOB’ in the Las Vegas Valley. He had a lot of good knowledge about Biblical origins and history and I enjoyed talking with him. The more he tried to impress me the less he succeeded. I made it clear I did not fear him or anything.
The day my penis started to bleed was when I actually thought I might need more than my usual ‘mirror and cross’ visualization. I used a reversing candle and within a day the place where Lord Gandolph holed up when he was in Las Vegas was burned. His boyfriend (who had enjoyed my leather pants and boots) lost all of his belongings. This caused me to leave the teaching of the Wiccans after six months of ‘Perfect Love, and Perfect Trust’! About a year later I discovered the high priestess had thought I was a ‘Machiavellian Prince sent to overturn her Temple’ and Lord Gandolf was one of her Temple Elders. There are many actual reasons why I know such things occur and I will relate them as it seems pertinent from time to time. The pursuit of ’siddhis’ (powers) is a quest that robs one of their actual potential according to Alcyon who rejected his Messiahhood at the age of eight; later he became honoured even more for his truth. You may have seen or heard about this great man who recently left our physical place of reference - his name is Jiddhu Krishnamurti.
Author of Diverse Druids
Columnist for The ES Press Magazine
Guest ‘expert’ at World-Mysteries.com
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Posted by admin on March 11th, 2009 — Posted in Photography Stuff
The article given here was written for Adobe Photoshop 5,6,7,CS, and Adobe Photoshop Elements 2 and 3.
Most photographers who are serious about improving their portrait taking skills have realized that a beautiful background can greatly enhance their photographs.
Muslins are a very popular choice among professionals. However, they can get very costly at several hundred dollars each. For the professional who is well established, this may not seem too much, but for the hobbyist, this may be a stretch.
A less costly alternative is a digital background. With a digital background, one can get the look and feel of a professional looking portrait without the additional cost of muslin.
Many Photography websites also sell digital backgrounds on cd. In some cases…as low as $15.00 dollars for an assorted collection. As with anything else…you usually get what you pay for. Some of these pre-made digital backgrounds are not worth the cd they’re printed on, but some of them are very beautifully made. Even so, you may be wondering how YOU can make your very own digital background. That being said, the following information will help guide you along the way.
Okay, let’s create a digital backdrop using Adobe Elements 2.0. We will create an 8×10 300dpi (dpi = dots per inch or ppi = pixels per inch) digital backdrop. For printing purposes, 300dpi is strongly recommended for a high quality print. This will also create a large file approximately 20.6megs.
Having a fast processor (Pentium 4 or Athlon XP) and at least 256megs of ram will definitely help. Also having your screen resolution on your monitor set to its highest setting 24 or 32bit will give the best results.
Okay let’s begin! If you haven’t already opened Photoshop Elements, do so now.
1. Click on File < New.
When the window opens up,make sure to set it to 8x10 inches at 300dpi.
2. Make a copy of the background layer you just created by pressing
Control-J on your keyboard. If you look at the bottom right corner of your
monitor, you should see an exact copy of your background layer named layer 1.
3. Select the “foreground” color for your background by clicking on the foreground square on your toolbar… the black one. (Bottom left)
4. The Color Picker window should now be open. Select a light red by clicking on the top right corner of the color palette. Click ok.
5. Now select the “background” color by clicking on the background square on your toolbar… the white one. (Bottom right)
6. The Color Picker window should open again. Select a darker red by clicking halfway below the lighter red you previously chose. Click ok.
7. Now comes the fun part! Let’s put some clouds in there. On the top of your screen, click on Filter
Now because we are using a 300dpi image, the pattern doesn't really resemble clouds. On a 72 dpi image, it definitely would. We will fix that now.
8. First, make sure that layer 1 is not locked! Look at your layers palette on the bottom right of your screen. Do you see the little black “lock” icon? Make sure that the little white square to the left is NOT checked!
9. Okay, now press “m” on your keyboard. At the top left corner of your backdrop, click and drag your mouse to create a 2×3 inch square.
If you do not see the ruler along side your backdrop, press “control-r” on your keyboard.
10. Press “v” on your keyboard. Your selection should now have little handles on all sides that you can click on to pull to any size you want. If you do not see any handles, click on “Show Bounding Box” at the top.
11. Click on the lower right handle in the corner and drag and stretch it to the bottom right corner of your backdrop.
12. Double click anywhere on the red backdrop to apply the resizing. Now press “L” on your keyboard then “control-d”.
Okay, now you should have a beautiful looking backdrop ready to use, but wait, there is still more we can do to take it to another level.
You will be simply amazed at the results you will be getting in the next few steps. You may have noticed that many types of muslins on the market have painted on them what’s known, as a “hot spot”.
What is a hot spot? A hot spot is a circular area near the center of the backdrop that is lighter in color. Why is this there? It allows the subject to stand out and creates a vignette at the borders. This will greatly enhance your backdrop. Are you ready? Okay, let’s do it!
13.On the top, click on Filter-Render-Lighting Effects. Select “Omni” for your “Light Type” and move the slider for your intensity to 25. Now click on the middle handle in the circle and raise the circle just above the halfway point to where the person’s head will appear.Click ok.
Now you should have an amazing looking backdrop!
Fabian Barajas is author of several Photoshop ebook tutorials including “How to Create Your Very Own Professional Looking Digital Backdrop!” His website which includes samples of his work is http://www.digital-background.net/
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Posted by admin on March 10th, 2009 — Posted in Photography Stuff
Like most folks you have probably have organized and sorted your photos atleast once. The problem is they never seem to stay organized no matter how hard you try, and even if they do they seem to lack that original impact that they had shortly after you took them or if they do, you never drag them out until sadly, someone passes on.
Now you can not only organize them for good, but ensure they maintain that original sentiment felt when you first took them and are readably available for that sentimental journey at a moments notice. How would you like to be able to share your most cherished memories “with” your loved ones and preserve them for future generations as well?
There is a a technique known as “video scrapbooks” that can transform your static photographs into a true cinematic experience.
Much like a paper scrapbook this media places your photos into a digital format and “turns the pages” automatically for you.
Once placed in this format your memories are preserved forever and can reproduced easily for sharing.
But beware!!
There are many “so called” professional services out there that can do this for you. Sadly many of them use nothing more than a “cookie cutter” software package or PowerPoint. While they may do the job to a minmal standard,they are usually considerably over priced. The cost can range from $500.00 to $2,500.00 for a mere 60 photos worth of work.
When looking for that true professional service ensure that they use the pan+zoom technique made famous by Ken Burns and include music in their presentation.
Ken Burns is the film maker that created an entire movie covering the Civil war using only photographs that were brought to life by panning across the photos and zooming in for closeup shots.
Gathering your photos and sorting them is where you get to take that sentimental journey and pick out your favorite memories to preserve.
–The Steps–
Step 1 is to decide if you are going to order your photos by date, event or person or a combination of all three.
Step 2 is placing them in the order that you would like your video to flow from first photo to the last.
Step 3 is to write on post-it notes the number of the photo, i.e. photo#1, photo#2 etc. It is important to do this prior to placing the post-it note on the back of the photo since the pressure ogf writing can mar the actual photo.
Step 3 if sending your photos via mail is to make sure your photos are placed inside of a water proof or zip-lock plastic bag and then securely place between two sturdy pieces of cardboard.
Step 4 is to make sure you place them in a shipping box (e.g.USPS, FED EX, UPS etc.) and make sure the box is label as fragile to ensure proper handling.
Step 5 it is best to send in a manner that your package can be tracked and a signature from the receiver can be obtained. Most services will pay the return shipping cost.
Whomever you choose you will definetly be glad you did once you see the results.
Paul F. Olshefsky is the owner of “Sentimental Services” a service that specializes in the creation of Picture Book DVDs and keepsake videos. His introduction into the digital world started back in 1987 when he was trained by the U.S. ARMY on teir Tactical ARMY Combat Service Support Computer System. He has continued to further his digital knowledge thru college courses.
Paul F. Olshefsky
http://www.SentimentalServices.com
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Posted by admin on February 13th, 2009 — Posted in Photography Stuff
Canon xl2 digital camcorder and a chance meeting as I was on a lunch break.
Did you know that you can get fed & paid to learn about video production? Picture this:
You’re down the street at the local shops when you hear a lot of screaming from up a side street.
“What the heck was that?” you think to yourself and make your way around the corner to see what all the commotion is about.
To your surprise, you see twenty or thirty people screaming and carrying on as they chase a New York City taxi-cab, only to have it stop after twenty yards and back-up, ready to do it all over again.
You hesitate for a moment and contemplate if it would be better to turn around and walk in the other direction.
It’s then you notice the traffic control personnel, the lights, cameras and huge number of support people. You have stumbled across a location shoot for a television commercial.
“Ahaaa”, you say to yourself “perfect opportunity to learn about ‘the business’”.
So you hang around and study the camera angles, positioning of the lights and how it is all controlled by the director. The placement of screens and reflectors, the use of microphones and the roles of the support crew.
It’s when you speak to the ‘extras’ (the rowdy ‘mob’) that you discover they are being paid $20 an hour and the whole event is fully catered!
Now if you want to learn more about the business of film and video production with the added bonus of being paid to do so, sign up as an extra and learn from the inside. If you are unsure where to start, just type ‘movie extra’ in a search engine like google.
Now this is a true story and as my luck would have it, was taking place right outside my office window for most of the day (the screaming and yelling did get a bit tedious after a while).
It was good to speak to the cast extra’s, but this was a better opportunity to talk to the technical crew on aspects of filming and production. Just had to pick the right moment.
And that I did and picked up some good info to boot!
The production house was not a large firm so they had developed systems and procedures to control costs while providing quality outputs. One of these was using a Canon xl2 digital camcorder as the secondary camera.
The size and weight of the Canon xl2 compared to the betacam unit allowed it to be placed in unusual locations quickly and easily (thus saving time, which equals money) and the image quality showed no discernable difference (you would need to view on a new digital system to notice a difference and even then you’d have to be looking closely.
I even managed to get a word in with the main production cameraman so I could ‘pick his brain’ on the Canon xl2 digital camcorder. He loved the unit but did say he found it’s performance questionable when filming vertical stripes and off green colourings (the types of situations you might find in filming catwalk models). Other than that he said the xl2 was a great asset for a pro or semi-pro operator.
So if you’d like a whole lot of fun while getting paid, sign up as a movie/production extra. And if you want a great camcorder and have the experience to use it get yourself a Canon xl2 digital camcorder.
Mark Sturge is the owner of KMS Productions and webmaster at video-production-mastery.com. A site where visitors can find digital camcorder reviews such as the canon xl2 digital camcorder as well as useful hints and tips to better their filming techniques.
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Posted by admin on January 21st, 2009 — Posted in Photography Stuff
A picture is worth a thousand words, so goes a Chinese proverb. A picture of a smiling child always brings a smile to our face and a picture of hungry and sick people always arouse feelings
of compassion. Every picture if carefully looked at is a story, a piece of art and not just a two dimensional image.
Names like Ansel Adams and Alfred Stieglitz are photographers whose names are etched in the hallways of photographic history with gold. Looking at their works not only provides inspiration
but a new eye and a new dimension to life. Their work is not only photographs, but time frozen forever.
What exactly goes behind making an image is not only skill but an art form. It’s an expression and a story told through the eyes of the photographer. “Photography helps us to see” is cent percent right because it truly does so. It makes the eye wonder and the mind imagine.
Photography can be very rewarding and can lead to times where you feel the power of an image tremendously. A photograph taken at some particular time or at some instance may lead you to
wonder about life, poverty, birds, mountains, hunger, love and unlimited emotions and feelings.
To be a successful photographer you need more energy and perseverance rather than knowledge. To know the basics and technical know how photography does not take as much as
learning techniques and developing ones own style.
Like many professional photographers, one could be on the road to photographic salvation by working hard and giving it your best wile making continuous. Learning with time is something
that has irreplaceable value.
A photographer’s life can be easy and tough at the same time. The best results are spawned from experience and through experiments. The perils of a night long shoot or the wait for a perfect sunset can be both tiring but nevertheless rewarding when you get first prints out of the lab.
Careers in photography can involve being a freelance photographer, a full time photographer, or an image editor, to name a few. Work ranges from industries such as travel, fashion, journalism, stock art and many others.
Just like any other form of work, photography needs dedication, hard work and patience. The more of these ingredients and the more successful you can be. It becomes more rewarding once
you get into an industry and start creating your own style and niche.
“A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels about what is being photographed in the deepest sense, and is, thereby, a true expression of what one feels about life in its entirety”
so said Ansel Adams. Had it not been for photography, the world probably would have been a different place, for knowingly or unknowingly we do find solace and entirety in the pictures we
see in everyday of our lives.
The next time you see a picture anywhere stare at it for a while, and try to find the story. Maybe you will find something new about yourself.
I am a freelance Photographer and journalist based in the Middle East. Goto my websites for more info:-
http://www.yemberzal.com
http://www.energyjournalist.com
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Posted by admin on January 16th, 2009 — Posted in Photography Stuff
What is photography?
In the book sense of the word, photography is the art or process of producing images of objects on photosensitive surfaces however to us as individuals, photography is a much more sentimental and meaningful activity. Photography is about capturing those special moments, it is about making a memory come to life, it is about making the living moments last forever, and it is about preserving years of your life in such a way that will allow you to enjoy them for many years to come. Today there are so many different ways to not only produce photographs but also many ways to save and preserve your most memorable occasions…your wedding or a child’s wedding, the birth of a child or a grandchild, birthdays, graduations, anniversaries, the list goes on and on. We all know how great it is to have our special moments on hand to view at our leisure so that we can remember those times with our friends and loved ones, reminisce to times gone by but kept alive through our pictures.
Using a digital camera gives you so many options on how to both take pictures and share those pictures with your friends and loved ones. Not only is using a digital camera easy but it allows you to capture your memories and share them for all to see with minimal effort and at little to no cost to you. Using digital cameras allows you to review the pictures that you take, only keeping those pictures that you consider to be the best while deleting those that don’t meet your satisfaction, freeing up space to take more. Then the photos that are saved can be preserved and shared in a number of different ways.
These photos can be uploaded onto a computer and burned on to a recordable CD and DVD for viewing on your television or personal computer. As another option, your photos can be uploaded to photo sharing websites and from these sites you can have your memories printed on a number of different items such as magnets, calendars, greeting cards, tote bags, clothing, necklace charms, cakes, etc which serve as fantastic gifts for yourself, your friends and your family members. Additionally, your digital camera photo storage disk can be taken to a discount store where the photos can be extracted and printed as regular photos that can then be added to a personal scrapbook, picture frames for your home or office or shared with those people that are important in your life.
Using a photo sharing website, as mentioned above, gives you many options on which you can display your favorite photos. You can not only share them via email to your loved ones, you can also purchase a variety of products on which to enjoy your photos. If you are a coffee/tea lover, upload your favorite photo to a ceramic mug. If you don’t have the time to create a scrapbook on your own, select the photos that you want included and let these websites create a scrapbook for you or for someone as a gift. If you enjoy viewing a slide show of your photos to music, you can create a DVD from photos selected from your personal collection for viewing on your TV at home. If you enjoy the challenge of puzzles, have your photo added to a 250 piece puzzle to create not only a challenge but once complete, you will have a smile on your face looking at that favorite picture. If you are an avid poker, bridge, rummy or solitaire player, you can have your favorite pictures added to playing cards to use over and over again! One of the most creative options is to have your favorite photo added to photo frosting that can be added to a cake to enjoy at a birthday, anniversary, wedding shower or baby shower. You can create a number of thoughtful gifts for your friends and family that they will remember and enjoy for many years to come.
In conclusion, there is an abundance of information on the web today to help you decide what photography options will work best for you and your own personal needs and preferences.
So what are you waiting for? Go out and get started today.
About the author.
James Brian Townsend offers informational websites on today’s hot topics and markets.
For more information on what has been discussed in this article and other related topics such as articles, products, tutorials and more, please visit My Online Photography Resource Directory.
This article is courtesy of My Online Photography Resource Directory - http://www.myonlinephotodirectory.com. You may freely reprint this article on your website or in
your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author
name and URL remain intact.
COPYRIGHT 2006 JBT Ventures, Inc. - All Rights Reserved.
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Posted by admin on January 11th, 2009 — Posted in Photography Stuff
Very few of us are professional photographers and when you look at our snapshots or photos you can see why. Something just seems to be a little off, but what? Well actually, it doesn’t take all that much to transform not so good snapshots into beautiful photographs. In fact, just a few tips can get you well in your way to turning out great digital photos.
1. The first tip that could greatly improve many snapshots is to make sure that the background in your photos doesn’t compete for attention. Much of the time, folks are paying too much attention to the main subject of the photo without giving enough regard to what is going on in the background. And oftentimes, the background can greatly affect the appearance of the main subject. For instance, when you don’t notice the telephone pole in the background that looks like it’s coming right out of your subject’s head. So the quick fix for background problems is that if you are trying to stage a photograph, just remind yourself to look at the background first. If it seems too busy, or could be competing for attention, either change your angle for taking the photograph or move to a different area.
2. Not using fill in flash outdoors during the daytime results in dark and featureless faces. This usually happens because your subject is standing between you and a bright light source, usually the sun. So when the camera meters the exposure, it decides that it has to make the scene darker in order be correctly exposed. And that in turn means that your subject’s faces will be very dark and almost indistinguishable. The good news is that almost all digital cameras come with a little pop-up flash unit that will let you light up your subject even though the camera may be metering for the bright light source. So before you take your snapshot, just take a look at where the sun is in relation to your subject and use your flash if needed. Remember, flash is not just for indoor shots.
3. One of the biggest mistakes that the average photographer makes is including way too much in the picture. Almost all photographers could improve the quality of their photos if they just zoomed in a little bit closer on their subjects. For instance, if you’re taking a snapshot of your granddaughter, you really don’t need to include 5 or 6 ft. above her head in the photo, or 3 or 4 ft. on each side. What you really want to focus on is your granddaughter’s beautiful smile, so move right in close and eliminate all the unnecessary parts of the scene.
4. Another feature of many snapshots that actually detracts from the attractiveness of the photo is putting your subject in the dead center of the snapshot every time. This is a natural reaction for most people, however the truth is that photographs usually look best when the subject is slightly off-center in either direction. So before you take your snapshot think about dividing the picture up into thirds both up and down and across. Then try to position the main feature of your subject where those imaginary lines would cross each other in the scene. That will make sure that your subject is just a little off of center, and the snapshot will look so much better.
5. Another common feature of amateur photographers is that they seem to get stuck using their camera only one way, either horizontal or vertical. Most often it’s the horizontal plane that is used. But many scenes could benefit from turning the camera a different direction, so before you shoot think quickly about whether this scene would look best shot horizontally or vertically.
These are just a few very easy tips and suggestions on how to get better results for your digital photographs, but if you make it a practice to implement them, you’ll be amazed at the results you will get.
Thad Pickering writes on many consumer related topics including digital photography. You can find out how to buy digital camera online and about digital camera technology by visiting our Digital Photography website.
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Posted by admin on January 9th, 2009 — Posted in Photography Stuff
Nature is all around us, and its beauties are unlimited. In this fast-paced world of mocha-lattes and traffic jams at rush hour, too many of us take the beauty of nature for granted. Luckily, there are still people in the world who see this beauty and choose to share it with those of us that are too busy to normally take notice. Poets and photographers are great at this. They take what seems like the ordinary and present it to us in a way that shows us the elegance, the magnificence and the amazing that is on this rock we call Earth.
What is Nature Photography?
So what do we mean when we say nature photography? Well, it may seem obvious but let’s go ahead and explain. Nature is our natural environment. It is those things that exist in our world without human intervention; such as trees, grass, flowers, a forest, a river, and animals in their natural environment.
Nature photography is the photography of these things. There is a wide spectrum that is included in nature photography. Pictures of sunsets, sunrises and ocean waves lapping at the shore are all nature photography. So are the trees in the forest and beautiful flowers growing in an open field.
But nature photography can go even deeper than that, showing us parts of the world that we may not be able to see otherwise. If you live in the south, you may not see snow-capped mountains if it wasn’t for nature photography. You may not be able to see a deep canyon, a volcano, or a beautiful beach if it were not for photographs of these places.
The photographers that bring us pictures of these places give us an image of something we may never see. It’s truly an amazing gift to give.
Nature Photographers
But what if you are one of the people taking these pictures? What if you are the nature loving photographer that gives this fantastic gift to someone else? You are giving a gift to other people. But you are also doing something you love. Nature photography can only be achieved by someone who has a love for nature and sees its beauty and can capture it in a photograph so others can view it and have a touch of the same experience.
So how do you take great nature photography? The first step is to have an eye for these beautiful images. The second step is to have a camera. That’s really all it takes. But as you grow as a photographer, you will learn how to take the best pictures and capture the image in a way that others can view it as the amazing sight that you saw. You will learn about lighting and backgrounds and focus and you will take better pictures.
Nature photography is a rewarding experience for the photographer and also for the people who get to view the results. You have taken a piece of nature that may otherwise go unnoticed such as a rainbow, and you capture it permanently in an image that you can look at any time you choose. This is a pleasing and rewarding part of photography. In nature photography, you are able to take two things that you love and combine them in a beautiful and artistic way.
Looking for information about Photography?
Go to: http://www.asaphotography.com
‘ASA Photography’ is published by Colin Hartness -
An excellent resource for Photography!
Check out more Photography articles at: http://www.asaphotography.com/archive
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Posted by admin on January 5th, 2009 — Posted in Photography Stuff
Let’s get something straight right out of the box. If you’re looking to buy a new digital camera, you don’t really have to be an expert in pixels and mega pixels and all that kind of stuff. If you expect to find that kind of deep technical discussion here, you’re in the wrong place.
Actually, there’s a whole lot of stuff you don’t really need to know before tackling the daunting task of choosing the right digital camera for you.
First of all, forget all the high-tech jargon. It’s mostly a lot of sales hype anyway. Choosing a good unit is pretty simple really…pretty much all you have to remember is that the higher the mega pixel rating on the front of the camera, the bigger picture you can make without it breaking up into little chunks (called pixels) and most likely the more cash it’s likely going to pry out of your pocket. Each model has an array of techno-widgets that go by different names but they all have the same basic focus, to help you take a better picture.
I have a quick (and admittedly simplistic) overview of the pixel story. The shot on the left on my web page
http://www.great-nature-photography.com/digital-cameras.html
is one I took with a high pixel rating and the one on the right was with a much lower rating. They’ve been enlarged way beyond what you would normally do, but I do have a point to make here.
If you look carefully you can see there’s a terrific difference in the way they look or, in the ‘resolution’. The image on the right has already broken up into small pieces (pixels) (I hope) you can readily see. The picture on the left was magnified several times more than the one on the right which should give you an idea of how big you can enlarge it and still retain a fairly decent result. By the way, these shots are of a very, very small piece of a picture I took of snapdragons in our front yard.
A camera with a 5.0 mega pixel rating or higher can produce a decent 16X20 print but one with a 2.0 mega pixel rating or lower should be restricted to a maximum of 4X6 prints. For the most part, you won’t be happy with pictures any larger than 4X6 from the lower rated camera.
Okay, Let’s Pick A Camera…
Well, I have my favorites and my not-so favorites.
When I looked at all the digital cameras available, I was more than a little astounded at the vast selection of available equipment. It seems that every company that’s ever heard the word “computer” has jumped on the bandwagon. It seems they lay their hands on some lenses, wrap a computerized box around them, added a few techno-widgets and bingo, instant digital camera! What can you say…it’s money in the bank!
Where did I start looking? Well, I went back to my tried and true method of buying a film camera that I talk about later. It’s always worked for me and didn’t let me down this time either.
My personal digital camera finally wound up to be an Olympus C-5050. By the way, in my opinion Olympus didn’t do themselves or their customers any favors by dumping the f1.8 lens on the C-5060.
I chose this camera for the fast f1.8 lens and ease of use. I’m lazy at best and wanted a unit that’s going to do most of the work for me while leaving me with the option of doing what I want to do when I want to do it.
This unit has all the automatic features I’ll ever need but I also have the ability to set up the camera completely manually. I can still do minimum depth-of-field work among other things. I never want to completely lose control to a mindless computer although they do have their uses at times.
The first thing I did after I opened the box was print off the user manual - all 265 pages of it! I figured I had done my duty by it and promptly ignored it.
After very quickly killing my first two sets of “high-capacity” alkaline batteries, I sprung for a couple sets of Nickel-Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeables. Not only did they last longer but it was a heck of a lot cheaper than replacing the alkalines every darn time I picked up the camera.
It boils me to have to admit this but I actually had to go back to the user manual. I wasn’t getting the results I wanted and there was also some ’stuff’ on the camera I had no clue about using. The moral of this story is that you’re gonna have to at least have a nodding acquaintance with your user manual. Sorry, but that’s just the way it is.
Back to choosing a camera…
Throughout the years I’ve learned that if a camera ‘fit’ my hand it worked well for me. It may sound a little strange at first but just think about it. If you’re handling something that feels awkward, your results are going to look like it. I had a Mamiya RB-67 for a lot of years. It was a big, ungainly unit but it was a good ‘fit’ for me and produced a great image. I also used a Hasselblad for quite a while but I much preferred the Mamiya and it gave me better results than the Hasselblad. (Don’t tell Hasselblad lovers I said this, they’ll kill me!)
So, rule of thumb…if it fits your hand nicely, if the main controls are handy to your fingers, if it has the mega pixel number you want and falls within your budget, you can be pretty confident this will do the job you want it to do. Oh yes, if it’s a brand you’ve never heard of before, be very, very wary. It may work well and it may not. If it doesn’t, there may not be any tech backup for you to be able to access.
The major camera companies spend lots of money developing new photo technologies. Although the latest techno-widgets go by different names, they all have the same goal, to make your pictures look as good as possible.
Pretty well every company in the world that has even come close to producing a good digital camera has gotten into the “SLR Wars”.
Single lens reflex cameras dominated the photo market for years until digital technology hit the market. Because of design and price limitations, SLR technology has not been widely available in the non-professional digital cameras until the last year or so.
The furious pace of technological developments has completely overtaken the market and even professional photographers are being boggled trying to keep up.
Remember the old Nikon F2? It was the major link in the Nikon chain of professional cameras for over 10 years! This was pretty much the norm until the computer hit the photographic industry big time.
Changes used to come slowly and deliberately and it wasn’t hard to keep up with the latest and greatest when major new developments came along only two or three times in a decade.
The battle now is to produce digital cameras that operate faster, can be sold cheaper and will produce a better picture. Severe competition even exists within the same corporate structure where teams of developers do their utmost to ‘outgun’ other camera designers who work in the same building as they do!
Nikon has a distinct advantage over many of the other manufacturers in that owners of some of the older series of Nikon lenses can use them with the new digital bodies, a tremendous dollar saving to the photographer.
Most of this rapid development is focused on the professional photographer. But, with technology changing as rapidly as it is, a camera technology that sells for several thousands of dollars today will undoubtedly become available to people like you and me in the next couple of years for a whole lot less money.
One of the hardest jobs a new camera buyer will have is determine which of the new techno-widgets does the best job and is the best value.
One thing to keep in mind about camera features…they all have the same job and that’s to help you take a better photo.
Picture this if you will. If you lined up 10 cameras from different manufacturers, each with similar basic features, took the same picture with each, I think even the camera manufacturers would have a tough time picking out which of the resulting photos came from their units.
Getting feedback from all kinds of users is one very excellent use of newsgroups. Serious photographers, amateur and professional both, love to talk about their latest ‘toys’. This is a good way to spend time and a good place to ask questions and (sometimes) get intelligent answers.
Don’t wait until you’ve made the investment to start doing your homework.
Another rule of thumb, if you’re happy with a particular brand name already, my suggestion is to stick with it. You’ll probably be more satisfied in the long run.
Now, having said all that, there are currently five search engine ‘favorite’ companies among the people looking for information on the Internet, Sony, Canon, Olympus, Kodak and Nikon in this order of popularity. Of this group, Sony is the only one with no prior experience in camera building before digital.
Understanding how to set your camera’s resolution is absolutely vital. There’s no shortcut and there’s no way around it. This is the core of taking a good, reproducible photograph. If, for instance, your camera is set for 240X360, you can forget making any kind of decent print above a ‘thumbnail’ size.
The low-end cameras are not a bargain if you’re looking for good photo reproduction. Labs are constantly arguing with customers who submit low resolution digital images from a cheap camera for printing and then aren’t happy with the results. They simply don’t understand why the pictures from their brand new digital camera are so lousy. Lenses and the type of digital image recording technology are also critical factors.
I won’t get into the technical details of why but I will suggest you consider spending in the $250 to $400 range if you want something that will satisfy you.
Let’s spend a few minutes on lenses. Pretty well all of the digital cameras these days have a form of zoom lens. Most of the higher-end cameras have the capability for the user to add either an external telephoto or wide-angle lens. Depending on the type of photography you want to do will determine whether or not this is of value to you.
One thing to watch out for. The higher end cameras have very good glass lenses. It’s part of what you’re paying for. The lower-end units have progressively less expensive lenses and consequently, a lower image definition.
There are both optical and digital zoom capabilities on digital cameras. The term “optical zoom” simply means you’re using the glass lenses to do the magnification. “Digital zoom” on the other hand simply increases the size of the pixels to make the image larger. For reasons of image clarity, the optical zoom is a far better way to go.
One last note - if you run across the “best deal in town” on a very low-priced name brand camera, check to make sure it isn’t badly out-dated. Buying well-priced clearance stock is okay if it isn’t too old. In this computer age, pretty well anything over a year old is considered ‘old technology’. As new technologies are developed the price keeps going down so you could actually be money ahead by investing in the ‘latest and greatest’.
Always keep in mind the old adage that ‘you usually get what you pay for.
If you go to a ‘box’ store looking for the best price, don’t expect service. The folks there simply don’t know what they’re selling. Their job is to move as much merchandise as they can as quickly as possible. It’s not to give you advice.
Go to the Internet to get the latest data directly from the manufacturers. It changes very, very quickly. When you do this, try to climb through all the sales hype to get to the ‘meat’ of what the cameras are all about. Newsgroups can also a very excellent source of advice for ‘newbies’.
Most people will be very happy to give you their personal opinion of what you should buy. Just remember, they won’t usually tell you what the downside to their purchase is. They don’t want to look less than ‘expert’ in your eyes. Do your own homework. This is an investment you probably won’t repeat for several years.
A specialty camera store on the other hand gives the buyer both service and product and usually very well. Keep in mind that the specialty store personnel are quite often very highly trained and will probably be well prepared to help you find the best equipment for you and will also give you a ‘leg-up’ in getting started using it.
We need to spend a couple of moments on storage media. Whatever size media card you stick in your camera will determine the number of pictures you can take and store. It’s like a roll of film, the bigger the roll the more pictures you can take.
Digital images are no different. The greater the number of available megabytes (Mb), the higher the number of pictures you can take.
A word of caution - never, never, never leave your media card in a photo lab. The incidence of loss is high and most labs won’t replace lost cards. Quite frankly, I don’t blame them. Far, far too many false claims have been made and labs now refuse to take any responsibility for your memory cards.
That’s it for now. Keep your film dry your lenses clean!
Gordon
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Gordon has been involved in the photo industry in one way or another for over 30 years. Long after he stopped using his mother’s pie plates as developing trays in the family bathroom, among other things, he owned his own photo lab and professional studio for a number of years.
See more at: http://www.great-nature-photography.com
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