Gigapan - inauguration photos

If you have not seen the photo posted by David Bergman of the inauguration then take the time and check out this 1400 meg photo. The site is set -up so you can zoom in and out on the photo. Check out the photographers in the middle of the shot on the tower. The site enables the viewer to zoom in anywhere on the scene.

If you never viewed a gigapan site then you are in for a tremendous experience. The images and the experience take photography to a new level. These images are not your 'normal' images from a point and shoot.

As always, get out and capture the beauty of life!

Canon 5D and the new 5D MkII comparison and warming images

This article provides two items for the photographer.  A nice comparison between the original Canon 5D and the new Canon 5D MkII.  Plus, and possibly the most important item that the article provides are pictures of sun, water, and a beach.  Why is this important?  For those of us photographers in the north such as Pittsburgh, Pa where the temperatures are below zero this morning.  Pictures of a warm beach with kids playing in the sun is refreshing, welcome, and warming.  :-)

If you are looking for a side by side comparison between the first generation 5D or the newest version then I suggest you look at the pictures for a great comparison.

Images with strong contrasts

A quick tip:  What to do when the image has areas of strong contrasting light.

In this image my grandson was looking out the window into the blinding snow storm.  This type of image creates an extreme challenge because if I expose for the outdoors then the indoor part of the image [my grandson] would be underexposed.  If I expose for my grandson then the outdoor part of the image is 'blown out' or way to light to make out any detail.  What do you do?  In this image I exposed for my grandson's left cheek.  I wanted to ensure as much detail of his face is preserved as possible.  I always shoot in RAW and process the images in Lightroom which permits a tremendous amount of latitude for image processing.  Once the image was in LR, I used the adjustment brush and the graduated filter tool to darken the outside portion of the image.  Years from now, we will look back at this image and remember the snow storm of Jan 09. 

Remember, go out and capture the beauty of life!

Reality TV for photographers

If you have not seen this reality TV series for photographers; check it out. Each week new segments of the show are posted to the site with the 'winner' to be chosen by the viewers. Apprentice has nothing on this show!

Snow lady and off camera flash

We were blessed with 8+ inches of snow over the weekend.

Job 38:22 Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,

Treasures in the snow? Yes, the snow will melt and fill the water tables. I will not take the space to write about all the treasures in the snow. However, here are a few. 1. The snow will fill the water tables better than the rain. 2. There are vital nutrients in the snow for the ground and some state this is the reason why the grass is so green in the areas of the country that receives 'lots' of snow. [I know our grass is very green in the spring, summer, and fall.]

Now to the picture. My wife created this interesting and unique snow lady. To add dimension to the image I lit the scene with my flash off camera and to the left of snow lady. I used a small [large number] aperture so the background would darken and she was lit more than the back ground.

Yes, those little speckles are snow in the air. It was snowing while I was attempting to shoot this image. :-)

Settings: f/16. 1/150 second ISO 800 with the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 lens

Creative shots

 

I took this image at my grandson's birthday party.  The theme was Batman with a very nice cake made by my mom.   The mask on the cake provided an interesting way to shoot my grandson getting ready to blow out his candles.  It is not as crisp as I would like it but it does present an interesting way of creating a scene.  I focused through the left eye as quick as possible and zoomed out to ensure I captured the candle that looked like Gotham City in the right eye and my grandson's eyes in the left eye.   The image was taken with the Tamron 17-50 at f/2.8 1/125 second ISO 640 with a slight fill flash. 

 

The second image is after he blew out the candles.  When you are shooting, always look for creative ways to shoot the scene.  Many times the best shot is right between the eyes.  :-)  “You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.” Wayne Gretzky

Silver wedding shoes

This was taken with the flash off camera to my left using a sync cord attached to the camera and flash. Lightroom was used to 'wash out' the corners and to create an interesting tone to the image. Photoshop CS2 was used to create the sparkles on the diamonds and to 'erase' the brand name on the shoes.

As I mentioned in previous posts, I highly recommend experimenting with off camera flash. An inexpensive way to start is to purchase a sync cord for your camera to flash set-up.

Another method is to use a flashlight and point it at your subject. This creates an amazing look too. If you use a flashlight, you might need to color correct in your photo processing software or use color gels over the flashlight.

“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day.” Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Lights Happy New Year

 

I took this image at at a friend's house at sunset to create a different 'Christmas Lights' look.  I used a circular polarizer on the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 lens to reduce the light and increase the 'pop' of the sky.  My camera was on a tripod set at f/10, 6 seconds @ ISO 200.  Lightroom dodge and burning was used to highlight the furniture.  

 Rather than shoot the typical Christmas lights shot, try shooting the image at sunset.  This image was shot in manual mode [which is my favorite mode to use] and I adjusted the settings by eye.  I knew I wanted good depth of field.  Therefore, the reason for using f/10.  I took a few shots with greater DOF but this image I liked the best.

I heard a quote the other day that makes for a great New Year quote.  Especially in light of all the frustration in the world.  For all of you living in America; remember you are an AmeriCAN and not an AmeriCANT.  For the rest of the world!  Do not let the naysayers get you down!  You can and will have a great New Year!  2009