tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9408845533064926642024-02-21T03:56:22.925-05:00North Fork Light PhotographyJoin me on this journey as I make sense of the wilderness captured through my lens.Bill Stamatishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06515185278252700671noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940884553306492664.post-15219147788275730172024-01-19T21:43:00.001-05:002024-01-19T21:43:45.014-05:00Better Backyard Bird Photography<p> <span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Better Backyard Bird Photography</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-ad80cde3-7fff-3830-87d1-f045ca3931c3"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Taking photos of birds in your backyard can be pretty boring, especially those shots of birds perched on a feeder. To make the pictures seem more natural you can add a staging perch for the birds to stop before they go to the feeder</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 15pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 214px; overflow: hidden; width: 345px;"><img height="235.17453297714925" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/sWlB4ozjK7ELAuMkGiUjUrkpxeLdysZovDIsqlU67VxpxWZxcv7383wRzakmL54bd4TOO-B3n-tf5sf9ZefFlLudAL_Id56aXi4csa_oCw5X30FGFHlsFTJ-oQHwyQQ7a7YgeDasg2SR6NBGuY9Pg9I" style="margin-left: -38.1543px; margin-top: -2.80256e-14px;" width="383.1542875744048" /></span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 15pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Change this</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 256px; overflow: hidden; width: 344px;"><img height="301.02345476927167" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/FA_jGAe6opzc4g37c-ZivPRwq1R1ZuHpEW88DsE3L8_7EWznhbwKq3P4cuwmy-kYd350yag_C6VVoiHjE8i4qVzw7-TEGH5uNcTXUmJ58cHMxNe1_BFDhEs1vvB4TV_-O5oQ9RRjxFRKDS8rEPZCPVM" style="margin-left: -17px; margin-top: -24.0504px;" width="391.50000000000006" /></span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 15pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">To This</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 222px; overflow: hidden; width: 222px;"><img height="222" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/E_YuxcHrSOQIesur7WmtR78JVrd9jmx4EsKEs1GH-basqctvb9_EfLV4xfGQIVIBUb0YDEw3X1umGBOmKdEuEJR4gIPbuiUIkLLRId-iYqQ23IOABjr6g9U5TcyTKCUngfx_4AcMT6kkcicqCitx3Ik" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="222" /></span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 222px; overflow: hidden; width: 222px;"><img height="222" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/V10Tnpbr06so3u2XgwioqzqKV3ua8k30L3hJ7i0X5Tw096OD-QJ2DIXB7HDUW4ojd2L95TOTBlQmntIPVbekiowFIpdx04-i2TheudLtdxRGAZReZa8VYac7mO8psWCf_p-9f-H5SU18OEv6PZbbbh8" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="222" /></span></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If your feeder is on a pole or decorative shepherd’s hook, you can easily add a staging perch by finding a sturdy branch or a thin piece of driftwood and attach it to the pole. There are several ways you can attach the branch, but the easiest way to do it is to with a U-Bolt. It looks like this:</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 525px; overflow: hidden; width: 624px;"><img height="832" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/8QZk4dy9YgW7YOqmuv42iA1jzCCIbY_hEYjw7XbL7ubu3ndLe8m_Txaz_ftDgnq-QtDbY6ilgSdBrc2INLSe5p4SlWi8iVB0LaN0tnrGM8m6ayX7dIS02hVQGz_QOfUXOI4TWV2uStr2eHKz7ug6IUg" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 5px;" width="624" /></span></span></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This is a U_Bolt. They come in various sizes. The size you need depends on the thickness of the branch and the post or rod that holds the feeders.The U-bolt shown here is 2 ½ inches wide and 4 3/16 inches deep. I used a U-Bolt that measured 2-inches wide, but they are available in smaller and larger sizes. You don’t have to purchase stainless steel. Zinc plated is fine.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It’s attached over the branch and around the post and tightened with a <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.homedepot.com%2Fp%2FHusky-1-5-16-in-12-Point-SAE-Full-Polish-Combination-Wrench-HCW1I516%2F301119707&psig=AOvVaw21uXRbX5EE7L0pMd6H8DAN&ust=1705804618095000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBUQjhxqFwoTCMC7hcj36oMDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD" target="_blank">box wrench</a>.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Here’s what it looks like after it is clamped to the post:</span></p></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 406px; overflow: hidden; width: 305px;"><img height="406" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/ifhs1BTE8bEShavoJrLlQG55mM8ZC4RgqBDnKe4WdTxls_FC-dcjZ4VlYG-bQdlU4di3MC73QYjuV68NpvE1i_GkkmicVuNqcM48Hac8p8eGgtWztqQOcDm3W2FnMY0OlN1i3LRoLEVf1cL7T3z83Zo" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="305" /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Tighten the u-bolt until the branch no longer slides down or twists around the post. Also, make sure the background doesn’t have any distracting details. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 394px; overflow: hidden; width: 310px;"><img height="424.00982800982797" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/X2MTLYJs-FO447dYam4FuCV_QGUm33do1ks9hTknBiJIIR0AoZqtr9JQJqzLDXqh4BtkNTW1OQpE5rqwDaZWEIWQ1u2LdtXY4c_ztCaO_detbpci-HOM6wXUNApMlkc1GuM08rhDtuMfGL3nQoTyQP0" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="310" /></span></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I used a 100-400 mm telephoto zoom lens and sat about 10-15 feet away from the feeders. The background became completely blurred at f5.6 as in the blue jay and red-wing blackbird images.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 220px; overflow: hidden; width: 332px;"><img height="220" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/RvMZwqiulDQJ1BhAkNzg2t4YFgeyUY98s7OQwGCVkGimC_5PZAjmxpcPNDkZAEsYb6GGhkGlZocN9d4Zlipr3izLBJcZBZzdlnOsFBrFDM-HU79-kqmcZsKcvqzTauFq0F1saDdLWgMGcFX5Bg4pBtQ" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="332" /></span></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I found that as the birds got accustomed to my presence, Icould closer to them </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 254px; overflow: hidden; width: 301px;"><img height="254" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/RvoqDH7r6sRXT_SIJ0tA-CZCFt6EkoL02utFAZ10eiCMAeI-uy-W3SJzRIQx264SgdXAYeKELNn3yCD7OBWAYMNZmszjzivCXoNd3HaCyNp39CqgbEmaWHiFnLbA69PB9g5ReipfFuvDY1TR5PY-oZg" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="301" /></span></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This little bird posing trick takes your images from these two following examples</span></p><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 301px; overflow: hidden; width: 359px;"><img height="301" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/oeHms1wDIpKuPAlxokmxDny8ZoYvRxotOzc5SXtUjgt5hEOFFJh9-727ewxI5LZoyWYdwU-ho67llpNjyor8M_qPMSbL0mLAT6ypqqW2NvYwsBTeE6Kiebc15zFgWoHPhjkoGygSC4koaJauF7EqLGw" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="359" /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 286px; overflow: hidden; width: 379px;"><img height="307.4714714714715" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/hrY60K6tx-odA-Cmow3dDnLeS0ZjA7HviCah8UI1k3rWs5jhVyHPR2OXSR-MDKOsDKdz3batFUP3Lb8gZQLgYW9LV4L8sR2MtE0qVUd3lhs7qs2Dtl7McY-4Tq21CT6qs1IGDEIyiSTckCiwE7s_g5U" style="margin-left: -96.0721px; margin-top: 0px;" width="475.0720930232558" /></span></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">to a much more natural looking picture</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 521px; overflow: hidden; width: 382px;"><img height="521" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/gJxghvU7QVWdCHkGOzYQUiQ_E_l-kQGBWQSQnQ0ns13-3ZxpgvtUni3kD07Ja0SrE4WBtCT0TSQRm-B5pFeH2yu1ha7OEqehJv7PgGF2vK9GLZFXESa95tuBxcNZ1XJvHVPhdDQWpBfE9U1de9u-nH0" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="382" /></span></span></p><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">(Note: This shows an earlier location of the feeder, but the background is too close and includes more detail than I wanted. This f8 @ 1/640 sec. I also could have set the ISO to 200 and reset the F stop to 5.6 and probably the bokeh would have been much better.)</span></p><br /><br />Bill Stamatishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06515185278252700671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940884553306492664.post-36346760944039807652022-01-17T15:45:00.000-05:002022-01-17T15:48:04.622-05:00"Should you take that picture?"<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve been reading and viewing photography books over the last few weeks. </span><a href="https://aperture.org/shop/?campaignid=14647365783&gclid=CjwKCAiAxJSPBhAoEiwAeO_fP7isn-gAVxitLKId18LfPQyRMEIExNZf5QrbQE6N0Iheel--q1MP2xoCfxYQAvD_BwE" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One book published </span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">by Aperture, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Photo No-No’s</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> edited by Jason Fulford really got me thinking about issues around the practice, profession and pastime of photography. The subtitle is “Meditations on What Not to Photograph.” More than 200 contributors -- photographers, editors, museum curators, gallerists -- chimed in what they wouldn’t photograph. The comments are as short as a sentence or two and as long as a two-page formal essay.</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-2b3d6a25-7fff-1458-cfc1-17fe06b35709"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The no-no’s include never taking photos of abandoned shopping carts, anyone who says, “Make Me Look Good,” beige, empty stairs, ghosts, people sick in the hospital, pregnant selfies, sewer grates, someone talking on a cell phone below a billboard of someone talking on a cell phone, roadkill, trash heaps and used-car lot flags. There is a mixture of serious and facetious commentary and confession -- so many confessed to having once, or often, committed the photography “no-no.” </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s fun reading.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s now ten years since I traveled to India and Tibet. Many of the pictures I captured there are among the most colorful and exotic of the more than 150,000 images in my catalog. However, some of the images posed ethical challenges. I refrained from taking pictures of the crippled and the physically deformed. And there were plenty that we saw begging on the streets. In Varanasi we witnessed many cremations and grieving families. I did sneak a few photos because of the spectacle of fire and grief along the shore of the Ganges. The light from the funeral pyre was irresistible and the illuminated faces of grieving family members was a tableau made for a photographer. I still feel ambivalent about those pictures and I have never shown them to anyone. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I went to a funeral here in the New York area in the pre-COVID era. The deceased was in an open casket. I noticed at least two people sneak smartphone pictures of his lifeless face. I imagined Weegee-type images of victims of street homicides, or like those wild west pictures of dead outlaws whose corpses were photographed to show that they were really dead. Does anyone ever print and frame these shots and show them to visitors? “Oh, here is a photo of Uncle Bill in his casket! Doesn’t he look good?”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Photo No-Nos</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> there is a short recollection by Kyoko Hamada. (https://www.kyokohamada.com/about) While she was an art student in NYC, her father falls seriously ill in Japan. She makes several trips to see him during his terminal illness but she struggles over whether she should photograph him in the hospital during the last months of his life. After her visits she would walk the surrounding neighborhood taking street photos. On one occasion she saw an unconscious man lying on the sidewalk and a few police officers and thought it would make for an interesting picture. She hesitated considering the scene and the man’s situation and walked past. But after a few steps, she reconsiders and walks back, steels herself and clicks the shutter. At that moment she hears someone quietly say, “There’s a photograph to take and there’s a photograph not to take. Which one do you think this is?”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He suggests that she take a few photos of him instead. After all, he says that he’s much better looking than that poor soul who has fallen unconscious on the sidewalk. She takes a few street portraits and then moves on. However, she’s left to wonder what this man would say about taking a photograph of her dying father in a hospital bed plugged in to monitoring devices with oxygen and drainage tubes coming out of his body. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“There’s a photograph to take and there’s a photograph not to take. Which one do you think this is?”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you’re a serious photographer or a photo enthusiast, this book will make you think about the pictures you take or the ones you view at a gallery or museum. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">### </span></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span>Bill Stamatishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06515185278252700671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940884553306492664.post-57441354526698854422017-01-07T23:51:00.004-05:002017-01-16T01:07:08.610-05:00Printing photos improves your photography<b id="docs-internal-guid-dfd9eb63-7aad-9670-ac9b-bb4d6844b2d3" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">At this time of year there are so many “How to Improve your Photography” blog posts out there, that another one risks getting lost in the mélange of suggestions found in publications and on the Internet. However, this blog, infrequent as it is, was started as an exploration of my photography adventure and what I learned or thought about while on that journey. Here are my three suggestions: 1-Get a good tripod; 2-Start a photography project; 3-Print your images larger than 8x10.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Nothing original here. We’ve all heard these suggestions over and over again, but I sometimes fail to follow my own advice. I still argue with myself about dragging along a heavy tripod on a day I just want to go on a “walkabout” with my camera. And, because I have visual “rabbit ears,” I am easily distracted, I seldom stick to a single theme for any length of time. Last year it was twilight. Now I’m considering doing water drops. Next may be astrophotography or butterflies. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">However, printing my images in a larger than average size, has made me more critical, thoughtful and appreciative of a good image. Ink and photographic paper are expensive. Now I ask myself, “why” am I taking the image? Am I simply documenting the scene? What should I include or exclude from the frame? What would make the photo a “wall hanger?” </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">This may be a sad thing to say, but I’ve taken tens of thousands of images and only of a few hundred are worth printing. For instance, I took about 150 images of my visit to the Great Wall of China in 2012. There are only a couple that I would waste any ink or paper on. It was crowded. It was later in the day so the light was pretty poor and there was a haze of pollution in a cloudless gray sky that would take extensive work in Lightroom and Photoshop to correct. That was five years ago. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Recently I was asked to take some photos of a historic house on the North Fork of Long Island. This would be an image that would end up as a print. This changed how I approached taking the picture. I scouted the location capturing pictures on my iPhone, but when it was time to get the actual shot, I brought the “big bertha” tripod, and planned a series of shots for this project to be taken around twilight and from various angles that might emphasize the character of the house, its proximity to the Sound, and its history. I had the luxury of having permission to go back to the site several times over a couple of weeks. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Each time I came home I looked at the images and asked myself which of them would look good as prints. In the end I chose two out of about 25 files. There's something about a print that makes flaws more noticeable than when viewing the image on screen.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">From start to finish, the goal was to capture an image that would make a great print. That changed how I looked at the scene and how I captured it. It improved my photographic process. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span>Bill Stamatishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06515185278252700671noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940884553306492664.post-63753489851741485072016-03-08T17:20:00.000-05:002016-04-07T23:45:52.471-04:00Can classic art inform our photography?<br />
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For about a year, I’ve been paying more attention to art--classic and modern painting--to see how it can inform my photography. I use a few apps on my iPhone, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/art-authority/id355879924?mt=8">Art Authority</a>, <a href="https://www.artsy.net/">Artsy,</a> and WikiArt, and visit museums with a couple of goals in mind: “What can I learn about composition, color and light from the past artists? How will they inspire me to try something new with my camera?”<br />
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The history of the visual arts is replete with examples of paintings that achieve a “photographic” look and photographers who take pictures that end up looking like paintings. Painters have the luxury of creating subjects, light, color and composition out of their imagination, while photographers can only record the reality in front of them. However, once they get past simple snapshots, they regularly manipulate the way a camera sees things by using artificial light, filters, software, depth of field or lens distortion to try find a more “artistic” depiction of the subject.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH8JlrQ00I1AlHXrw59kLup_ouS8GSMJ0vi9zWh7Qo-Lkw89looSC4s4BDnXP15UosoaFU9b1r3Pf3bT6ELSQgIZ03gd51l4k5ZkozdmSu4rIB35CbsCgHlm8F3wlc7ybaxP_yT0d7rNA/s1600/ART_Rembrandtsp1661.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH8JlrQ00I1AlHXrw59kLup_ouS8GSMJ0vi9zWh7Qo-Lkw89looSC4s4BDnXP15UosoaFU9b1r3Pf3bT6ELSQgIZ03gd51l4k5ZkozdmSu4rIB35CbsCgHlm8F3wlc7ybaxP_yT0d7rNA/s320/ART_Rembrandtsp1661.jpg" width="268" /></a><br />
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The influence of painters in studio portraiture is obvious. For instance, Rembrandt lighting can be recreated and repeated in studio settings. Rembrandt lighting is a studio lighting scheme that shows half of the model’s face completely lit while the side farthest from the artist is only partially illuminated. To be precise, the dark side of the face has a short triangle of light on the cheek. See the 17th Century selfie of Rembrandt that illustrates this.<br />
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<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/b_3xuXrmCEdNq9TGHz2wTKCWBI8AskDI3jqjBM0Zo5yEZisOLOVb05GgFe11IhBrn_Yw6z0VGErm2e6FcbqvhypGZkcHplfc6vZbNcAixIje40ust3YGIEujrwtImfjtzmNJOHTu" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="20150611_0082.jpg" border="0" height="320" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/b_3xuXrmCEdNq9TGHz2wTKCWBI8AskDI3jqjBM0Zo5yEZisOLOVb05GgFe11IhBrn_Yw6z0VGErm2e6FcbqvhypGZkcHplfc6vZbNcAixIje40ust3YGIEujrwtImfjtzmNJOHTu" style="border: none; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; transform: rotate(0rad); white-space: pre-wrap;" width="246" /></a><br />
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Here is a portrait I took of Albie DiKirillis who lives in East Marion. Notice the triangle of light on the darkside of the face. One light source at 45 degrees from the right using a Speedlight and umbrella. I lit the background with another Speedlight.<br />
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I’m always struck by the lighting in Caravaggio paintings. The play of light and deep shadows, called chiaroscuro, adds drama and depth to the scene. The direction of the light leads the eye into the painting and helps follow the narrative of the subject matter.<br />
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Here’s a sample image The Calling of St. Matthew.
Pay attention to the direction of the light and the deep shadows.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqe3sIHtXMLB-pI0B37w_gw2VRp6S0dpjW_iBnjaTMlZxAUwUtNZHmh2eeM57QtM4mFr_02PsvHt4JH4l6hpcJEPCD3I2XIxhI2FT-CQ-ZkWCC0tO8asZhBKksHXRzZr79I6mYJnxeyyU/s1600/ART_Caravaggio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqe3sIHtXMLB-pI0B37w_gw2VRp6S0dpjW_iBnjaTMlZxAUwUtNZHmh2eeM57QtM4mFr_02PsvHt4JH4l6hpcJEPCD3I2XIxhI2FT-CQ-ZkWCC0tO8asZhBKksHXRzZr79I6mYJnxeyyU/s320/ART_Caravaggio.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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You would be hard pressed to discover and capture a scene with this kind of dramatic lighting with your camera, but you could easily create it in a studio.<br />
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I’m still working on recreating this kind of lighting scheme in my photography. Don’t be confused by the subject matter, just look at the emphasis on the direction of the light and the way the light and shadows punctuate the scene. It’s not a giant leap to see how this influences photographers who shoot low key images and film noir cinematographers.<br />
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Here’s an early morning photo of two women and a child in India. They slept on the floor in a train station waiting for the next morning’s train.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrpGyw_WQCKA8Q4MPXxyZMCNxeS5m6CEhSAm3OB7LHvwBbMIde2V4CeRuT1nVgn-Y8rwFxj9fiWTb4M6T52zvofu0mZFtty9d1lqYDUWwCbQPBIJKrnsh1Ff_aOUp9iq0LHTVyGghknjQ/s1600/20120130_0017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrpGyw_WQCKA8Q4MPXxyZMCNxeS5m6CEhSAm3OB7LHvwBbMIde2V4CeRuT1nVgn-Y8rwFxj9fiWTb4M6T52zvofu0mZFtty9d1lqYDUWwCbQPBIJKrnsh1Ff_aOUp9iq0LHTVyGghknjQ/s320/20120130_0017.jpg" width="247" /></a></div>
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As a landscape photographer, I am interested in the historical depictions of landscapes. They generally fall into two categories: those that show nature in a realistic way and those that depict it in some idealized way. I notice also that earlier landscapes include human and animal activity in the scene, and are really used as backdrops for some Biblical or mythological story or historical event. Every rock, mountain and tree is added by the artist, while more modern 19th Century landscape artists painted actual scenes and locations. This coincided with the invention of photography and the expansion of the subjects that fall under the landscape umbrella. Think of things like urban and industrial landscapes.<br />
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Ansel Adams is the dominant photographer who captured the beauty (in black and white) of the American west and was instrumental in preserving it by promoting our national park system. He floated the concept that we must preserve wilderness.<br />
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<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Bierstadt_Albert_Liberty_Cam_Yosemite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Bierstadt_Albert_Liberty_Cam_Yosemite.jpg" width="293" /></a><br />
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The grand western landscapes of Albert Bierstadt who worked during the last half of the 19th Century are part of that history despite the Romantic drama of his work. Look at his rendition of western American landscapes you can learn a lot about color, light and composition studying something like his Liberty Cap, Yosemite, 1873: (Ansel Adams produced his Monolith, the Face of Half Dome in 1927.)<br />
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Of course, painters have the luxury of creating the “light” in their art while photographs have to deal mostly with what’s available. And, painters can create drama whenever they want to. Photographers have to work with the limitations of cameras, lens, films or sensors and available light.<br />
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Today, in the digital era, we use software to “dodge and burn,” and make other creative adjustments to contrast, color, luminosity and white balance. In fact, we can “paint” on the adjustments to very specific parts of an image to “create” contrast, deepen shadows, alter tonality and clarity. Technology and photography have moved us closer to the tools that basically were only available to painters. Look at all the apps out there that can make your photographs look like a watercolor, a poster or an oil painting.<br />
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If you go to WikiPedia you can look up the Hudson River School of landscape painters of the 19th Century. Take a look of the works of Albert Bierstadt, Frederic Edwin Church, Martin Johnson Heade and Edward Mitchell Bannister. Heade is of particular interest to me because of his more than 100 depictions of wetlands and meadow. Here’s my rendition of a winter wetland on a foggy day:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRkSNFuvAPiFhPhXjLJI9kpDhyphenhyphen1zoMCXBqeVycBY4NbRcxR0jCZffKcGJ8CDt9TfSKhjaq3it6KbQz4-2TmVcMk4Fy0SrqLFJ-IeeEBCxfSgL58dvbn0_Y3At3TO8ibhmahhJg6ifilUk/s1600/20151203_0176blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRkSNFuvAPiFhPhXjLJI9kpDhyphenhyphen1zoMCXBqeVycBY4NbRcxR0jCZffKcGJ8CDt9TfSKhjaq3it6KbQz4-2TmVcMk4Fy0SrqLFJ-IeeEBCxfSgL58dvbn0_Y3At3TO8ibhmahhJg6ifilUk/s400/20151203_0176blog.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I also use an iPhone and Android app called Art Authority that references more than a 1,000 of the western world’s major artists from historic to present times. You can look up works of art by artist, period, style and location. For instance, for location, I looked at what is exhibited at the Pinacoteca Vaticana and even what was being displayed at the Adirondack Museum. It’s a useful app that provides easy access to the art of the western world.<br />
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Ultimately, photographs are not paintings. I don’t think that’s how most people approach "taking" pictures. Many don’t even think about photographs as “art.” But, if you, as a photographer, admire the great masters of painted art you should pay attention to their use of light and shadow, their composition and try to capture some of those qualities in your camera and prints. That takes some understanding of how your camera works and how you can manipulate the technology to get what you want. After all, we have several thousand years of art history and our photography now has become part of that continuum of creativity.<br />
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Bill Stamatishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06515185278252700671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940884553306492664.post-84301203751617843222014-07-11T17:43:00.001-04:002014-07-12T17:24:46.187-04:00Flower Photography: Selective Focus<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj53e6DGAY7tub-TbWEXuq4PVyZqHf2RzPCLgt2V_6XQSb1ojulnr_dwCTvyChr7iFx8NZ8n4uJ87NeNLbu68HTxyzDYk7O_2zH4HV-e_nfw0Zqq79tVyJxQFdbrLuAjaDkwm-Q14W5Ypk/s1600/20100802_0132blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj53e6DGAY7tub-TbWEXuq4PVyZqHf2RzPCLgt2V_6XQSb1ojulnr_dwCTvyChr7iFx8NZ8n4uJ87NeNLbu68HTxyzDYk7O_2zH4HV-e_nfw0Zqq79tVyJxQFdbrLuAjaDkwm-Q14W5Ypk/s1600/20100802_0132blog.jpg" height="230" width="320" /></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvDZ9tgRCV-DtpWL_4mEPbXcEUUlbtMeLv1aaU2Z4Im2M7O_yqsmW33nY11gcD8XthTtQUskYGkhkRiCf70lZgPURz4jPxzV4Ds4DCN8JVELy-tHlpbk3eIJggkV-VSBCNdFDOlH1405g/s1600/20100802_0132blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“A rose is a rose is a rose…” said Gertrude Stein, but if you feel that way about flower photography, maybe it’s time for a new way to see these blooms through your camera’s eye.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Summer flowers inspire photographers with their colors, shapes and beauty. Even the most casual photographers and smartphone users can’t resist snapping a shot or two when they set eyes on them. Seeing a beautiful field of flowers just makes you happy and want to capture the moment with your camera. But many photographers come home disappointed with the images or quickly get bored with the same images of roses or daisies every year. But changing your point of view and getting up close and personal can foster excitement and interest in the images you create. </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc_RUAIbKnJlIghwoEFq-OydvCwiIu_yXCzDFRiFA3wAZxGUeXmXWIicW53OAPRTnKQV0cTS_WlrL4ckLvZNfs9nrkb75ojISXxUfVpfMmoIs-2rBo9g7ibGLeEbr5yBCoQkXZrnDHsWo/s1600/20100802_0193bloga.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc_RUAIbKnJlIghwoEFq-OydvCwiIu_yXCzDFRiFA3wAZxGUeXmXWIicW53OAPRTnKQV0cTS_WlrL4ckLvZNfs9nrkb75ojISXxUfVpfMmoIs-2rBo9g7ibGLeEbr5yBCoQkXZrnDHsWo/s1600/20100802_0193bloga.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOhbnkFen_aeNsb_0yRooK1i9wesLk0MfCZaO2FcLvwm9M-LmI2hlwNF3eIqrs8rzpdmrMjOPIrTWxx6ovfWZcBKqwXX53sXemuv0ymAGnOUohj3v4nkYMl984rwdOC0QGuxQrgRgYhPE/s1600/20100802_0193blogb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOhbnkFen_aeNsb_0yRooK1i9wesLk0MfCZaO2FcLvwm9M-LmI2hlwNF3eIqrs8rzpdmrMjOPIrTWxx6ovfWZcBKqwXX53sXemuv0ymAGnOUohj3v4nkYMl984rwdOC0QGuxQrgRgYhPE/s1600/20100802_0193blogb.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;">The photographer who opened my eyes to viewing flowers differently through a camera lens is Allen Rokach. Check his portfolio of </span><a href="http://www.allenrokach.com/portfolio/flowers.htm" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; text-decoration: none; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">flower photographs on his website</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;"> and pay attention to what he does with his camera. He’s either up close and really personal with an orchid or he captures abstract rivers of color in a field of wildflowers. He masterfully plays with the translucency of red poppy petals or purple blue bonnets. Even his rose and sunflower photos are not cliche depictions.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;">I don’t have the post-processing skills of Rokach to create the same kind of impressionistic depictions of summer blooms, but here are some photo techniques that can help your flower photographs get noticed.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;">When the Backstreet Boys say, “Get down, get down and move it all around...” they’re not talking about your camera. But it’s good advice for flower photographers. Promise yourself that you will resist taking photographs of flowers while looking down at them. Get on you knees, lay down, roll in the grass, get dirty and take a look from this new perspective before you snap a photo.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKfET74OCzTbdVfGvRyD1hX2Y0kYybC2bQWtRDCxXJyu99tbDEyWip-pTSm9JmPEszObzVErcF6cyNreO1dIOEzQfrJKL4CLP5xeCrYaXlhhXJGhZGJSqmRiU_jwxfBVlIAFZU3oZYEmA/s1600/20120407_0072blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKfET74OCzTbdVfGvRyD1hX2Y0kYybC2bQWtRDCxXJyu99tbDEyWip-pTSm9JmPEszObzVErcF6cyNreO1dIOEzQfrJKL4CLP5xeCrYaXlhhXJGhZGJSqmRiU_jwxfBVlIAFZU3oZYEmA/s1600/20120407_0072blog.jpg" height="315" width="208" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCmKnwQk0BDnc0zopRZfbl_5uMQQe0JObetpwbtdvG8Z3eaeFsj9DxDceyAvoMyTFloElHi4YMKHZH9kg_giLwhcKMDGklJkZPCH-nxKK4bY5Sj8RoSpz1F-AF85haXA1AsQedCKQGy24/s1600/FL2855blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCmKnwQk0BDnc0zopRZfbl_5uMQQe0JObetpwbtdvG8Z3eaeFsj9DxDceyAvoMyTFloElHi4YMKHZH9kg_giLwhcKMDGklJkZPCH-nxKK4bY5Sj8RoSpz1F-AF85haXA1AsQedCKQGy24/s1600/FL2855blog.jpg" height="220" width="315" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Take the camera off auto and get used to manually focusing and setting aperture. Things can change a lot when you control the aperture and focus. For instance, aperture helps expand or limit depth of field, while manually focusing allows you to select your focus point. </span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Use reflectors to bounce light onto the subject. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">A gold reflector will add warmth. A silver reflector--even a small piece of aluminum foil will brighten the scene and fill shadows. I’ve used a piece of white foam board to add punch to a flatly lit blossom. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGvXMrMhJw_wXaITiCZgEaDo2G388kfAQusGWB-Hgapvt27DwbR-4OOQZSH1h9s99lU-Made5DLwbC7hPqZYrnB3loxAsX5o87scP_XNI8K8VThk71AqDvEj0NIIU7iso9vj-aYG4zuuo/s1600/DSC_0157Ablog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGvXMrMhJw_wXaITiCZgEaDo2G388kfAQusGWB-Hgapvt27DwbR-4OOQZSH1h9s99lU-Made5DLwbC7hPqZYrnB3loxAsX5o87scP_XNI8K8VThk71AqDvEj0NIIU7iso9vj-aYG4zuuo/s1600/DSC_0157Ablog.jpg" height="208" width="315" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.25px; white-space: pre-wrap;">On </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.25px; white-space: pre-wrap;">camera flash is </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">taboo, but if you get a TTL cord you can add flash under, behind or on the side of your subjects. Modern flash systems allow you to control the light they emit so effects can be very subtle. You’ll be amazed how backlit petals often radiate beauty as if through a prism. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.25px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Get as close as your equipment allows. Focus on the pistils and stamens, or just the edge of a petal with the rest of the flower remaining a suggestion. </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzYhpumjyC9d6nrHOUsGnvKE76_DIPRR721VETatAsfiai0UVCIiyGFdPs2bVBjdEAq24U4CBip7oPtk4iz8v0iH-QGd-X7k12lQH1KKdkS5VWOTFLy4WAKPFNQ5zH9rhEKlNejHHnEO0/s1600/20100802_0110blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzYhpumjyC9d6nrHOUsGnvKE76_DIPRR721VETatAsfiai0UVCIiyGFdPs2bVBjdEAq24U4CBip7oPtk4iz8v0iH-QGd-X7k12lQH1KKdkS5VWOTFLy4WAKPFNQ5zH9rhEKlNejHHnEO0/s1600/20100802_0110blog.jpg" height="208" width="315" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.25px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.25px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.25px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Your photos can evoke a field of flowers with patterns and colors.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.25px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Think about making your image hint daisy, or sunflower or orchid. Don’t get bored with zinnias or hydrangeas, just get up close and selectively focus on where the light and color interact. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And finally, how do you do all this stuff and hold the camera, too? Well, bring that hated tripod with you. Now, when you select a subject you want to photograph, you can focus tightly on it while directing your off-camera TTL flash in one hand and your reflector and remote shutter release in the other. Or, you can set the timer for the shutter release to five or 10 seconds which should give you enough time to set things up before the shutter clicks. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bright overcast days are best because the light is fairly even and you can also juice things up with a spray bottle of water to add reflective surfaces. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Have fun!</span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Historically</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">travel and photography are so intertwined that many of the earliest images ever taken depict 19th century travel destinations from around the world. Today you rarely see anyone traveling who doesn't take at least some pictures, especially in this age of portable, easy to use cameras, smartphones, Facebook, Flick'r and Instagram.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white;">Mesa in New Mexico</span></td></tr>
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-e15668a8-3e53-00d6-f8e9-245d71d7a478" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">But coming home with decent images that depict what you experienced is not as easy as casually tossing a camera in your carry-on bag. It takes some preparation and familiarity with the equipment, some idea about what you may encounter on your trip and how you plan to show your friends the images. </span></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">If you use a smartphone, you should make room for your pictures by clearing the photo memory in the phone. You may also want to have some backup space in the cloud for the excess. If you use a point and shoot camera you should decide before you leave the size and quality of the images you’re going to take, how many extra memory cards to bring and how to store and save those precious photos. And, for those who use DSLR’s with interchangeable lenses, not only do you have to think about memory cards, storage and backup, you also have to consider what lens or lenses to bring and how to carry a tripod. Yes a tripod!</span></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQYpj4bTnWX9Pm04HaLfWq4pEogA5qkYoCb37fMla1vl37lnrij8KsjddsNHcNP_9QdiwM5qaqJHK09wm04F2BUW1MA6g_8daF-Zoj0hynPwFs0Ya1xF6VUvToIARIvZH5juCaygjiZ8/s1600/20130322s_0027www.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQYpj4bTnWX9Pm04HaLfWq4pEogA5qkYoCb37fMla1vl37lnrij8KsjddsNHcNP_9QdiwM5qaqJHK09wm04F2BUW1MA6g_8daF-Zoj0hynPwFs0Ya1xF6VUvToIARIvZH5juCaygjiZ8/s1600/20130322s_0027www.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white;">This was too heavy a load for me at that altitude</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">I took a trip to Peru and carried one body, four lenses, a portable backup/storage drive, six memory cards, battery chargers, extra batteries, electric outlet adaptors, a small international power strip, 1.4x tele-extender, a Kirk ball head, a Gitzo tripod, variable and neutral density, and polarizing filters. The lenses were 14-24 mm f2.8, 24-70mm f2.8, 70-200mm f2.8 and a 105mm f2.8 macro. I had all the bases covered for viewing sea lions and blue-footed boobies on Ballestra Island, condors in Colca Canyon and architecture in Arequipa, Lima and Cuzco and enormous landscapes in the Altiplano. I got great shots, but by the end of the trip, in Machu Picchu, I couldn’t carry all that gear on my back in the rarified atmosphere of the high altitudes. On the second day, I took a chance and checked my camera bag and all the gear at the entrance of the site and just took the camera with the wide angle 14-24mm lens. </span></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">It’s easy to say that you’re going to pack light, but it’s a lot harder to do. I used to use a 18-200mm lens for travel but that lens just wasn’t sharp and fast enough for the kind of shooting I like to do. People talk about the 24-105mm f4 lens as a good choice, but I like shooting wide open sometimes and f4 just doesn’t cut it. So here’s the kit I took to Hong Kong: 24mm f1.4, 50mm f1.4 and 105mm f2.8 and one body. All prime lenses. You could walk around all day with that load. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkZc4OkQVoPQk9TekUPFYEwSQzEPe9P6B6pbx2x76MFi2Rlyte_rPK5dYan8mZPl8jfq21xpjt5z51NHAakMyUPt0qQkN82bdouplWsYugECIbqgDMfQhb8Vm__coj9S1lHcxsMYdEjoM/s1600/20131117_0080www.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkZc4OkQVoPQk9TekUPFYEwSQzEPe9P6B6pbx2x76MFi2Rlyte_rPK5dYan8mZPl8jfq21xpjt5z51NHAakMyUPt0qQkN82bdouplWsYugECIbqgDMfQhb8Vm__coj9S1lHcxsMYdEjoM/s1600/20131117_0080www.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white;">Hong Kong flower market arrangement</span></td></tr>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Now I haven’t settled on that combo yet for other trips, but for urban street, architecture and landscape photography it seems to work. Some travel photographers take an 85mm f1.8 as a lightweight short telephoto, portrait lens. This sounds like it could be a good street portrait photography lens. </span></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">So what’s the answer for your next trip? There isn’t a simple solution. But here is a way to make an informed decision. Go online to Google Images and type in the names of the various locations you are going to visit during your trip. For instance, if you search for Hong Kong, you quickly discover that there is no need for a telephoto lens. You probably could get by with just a 35mm lens for all your images. There is more variety needed for Vietnam and Cambodia as there are large vistas and urban /street environments. A short zoom lens in the 24-70mm range would do very well. If you’re going to a location that includes urban locations and wildlife viewing like South Africa, then consider adding the 70-200mm and a 1.4x and 2x tele-extender, or a 200-400mm zoom. Remember you have to get it all on the plane in your carry-on bags. Forget about checking your valuable equipment and trusting the baggage handlers to treat it gently.</span></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">The other point very few people talk about is how you intend to use your images. If you are simply going to post images to Facebook, Flickr or online then you can shoot jpg images to your heart’s content. You don’t have to worry so much about storage because you can upload images to Facebook or Flickr during your trip whenever you have a WiFi connection. In fact, if you have a big enough memory card you can shoot thousands of images before you run out of storage. Most travel photographers prefer not to put all their images on one card so they tend to use several smaller cards to store them.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigo3elKwHQUgjNR4OyIEyBMbygBciOIfP1337Fbvfu0QuH7QolG7DMpxCZQMtQBPDmZ56vMLxbTwAKmxk_iLZUtb2vcagB6z79NsYNLwOOY4SjDwov5D6-nPO76LxgZgTAPT0HfYl2JrY/s1600/20130322_0111www.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigo3elKwHQUgjNR4OyIEyBMbygBciOIfP1337Fbvfu0QuH7QolG7DMpxCZQMtQBPDmZ56vMLxbTwAKmxk_iLZUtb2vcagB6z79NsYNLwOOY4SjDwov5D6-nPO76LxgZgTAPT0HfYl2JrY/s1600/20130322_0111www.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">However, if you intend to hang a large print of the Taj Mahal, Angkor Wat or Machu Picchu over</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">your fireplace mantle, then you will have to shoot RAW so you can come back with a large enough file with greater resolution necessary to produce a big 16x20-inch print. That dramatically changes how much storage space you need. For instance, a 16 gigabyte memory card in a Nikon D7100 can hold about 290 RAW images but more than 2,000 JPG Fine quality Normal size images. If you’re going to shoot RAW make sure you have plenty of memory cards, and if you’re really careful, a portable hard drive on which to back them up.</span></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">So here’s my advice. Do your research before you travel to a distant location. Check Google Images, Flickr and Instagram for images of your destination. Then do an inventory of your equipment and how you intend to carry it around with you. </span></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4cfAhKjveBE9YC2UlcV6sSEMqNwhdoP4zFnUPAoE-GQRGjim2UYkEbRe8BAv1p9eU3-PSCrmtXZs29_qXD5Jfp7u9jgfkjaE_XHZy7zQozSyYlJX5LQvQGJN0xLqw5pOCNWwiyK_tsXM/s1600/20140405_0056www.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4cfAhKjveBE9YC2UlcV6sSEMqNwhdoP4zFnUPAoE-GQRGjim2UYkEbRe8BAv1p9eU3-PSCrmtXZs29_qXD5Jfp7u9jgfkjaE_XHZy7zQozSyYlJX5LQvQGJN0xLqw5pOCNWwiyK_tsXM/s1600/20140405_0056www.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white;">Notice all the equipment this guy is carrying. </span></td></tr>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Also decide how much memory you think you will need. Here’s one way to figure it out. During film days, I used to allot 3 rolls of 36 exposure film for each day of shooting. That’s 45 rolls of film for 15 days of shooting. If you use that formula, then you can say that you will shoot around 100 images a day for 15 days. That’s 1,500 images for a 15 day trip. Now double it and you should be safe.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">With all the travel and baggage restrictions imposed on us since 9/11, photographers need to plan carefully so they aren’t weighed down by excess equipment, forced to spend time deleting images because they don’t have enough memory, or confronted by conditions that make successful photography unrealistic. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span>Bill Stamatishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06515185278252700671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940884553306492664.post-26449405367232574272013-11-05T00:49:00.003-05:002013-11-07T18:02:20.995-05:00Get Up Close: Super-Telephoto Lenses <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: start;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">My first venture into serious nature photography was on a trip to Alaska in 2002 where I positioned myself on a “bear proof” stand and looked down at brown bears catching salmon at Brooks Fall in Katmai National Park. I had a Tamron 200-400mm zoom lens and was shooting Kodak slide film on a Nikon F100. The autofocus was slow and of course there was no chimping.</span></span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-73042d48-34c4-95f2-e389-412ea0683464" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><img height="283" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Dwsi0HhpWDPjH17-tz4SLLWKHYBT2sAfI10NBXtoqFMwvL9Vwyv__zNfEzo93rIJFeGRaTzuBPJM54Y0TFM4AyftyQxwWWJyavtaYuuNa9Gy-BnckqyDV2JmzQ" width="400" /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was on the stand with several pros who sported monster lenses in the 600mm range. That’s when I suffered one of the seven deadly sins--envy! More specifically </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">lens</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> envy! A couple of years later, I purchased a refurbished Nikon 500mm AFS F/4 telephoto lens. That purchase opened up new possibilities for photographing birds and wildlife in general and has been my go-to wildlife telephoto lens ever since.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now I could photograph the small birds and the distant wildlife with ease and when I added a 1.4x extender it pushed my capabilities to a monstrous 700mm and the 2x jumped me to 1,000mm. On a cropped sensor camera, I could go to 1,500mm. Even a respectable image of a quick little tufted titmouse was possible. </span><img height="267" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/pOCfwN84l8IQQEonZvjtjbJGOLjG27VRD3ThoX4qWJBvxNjZs_XG8-0Xjd1zE9u-zU6sRIfo_F4L4KNmQKz66avWJODzeEZylghoVq4gCxXs6hM2ZKj8uVnN2A" width="400" /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I recently spent some time with my friend Jeff Gulitz from</span><a href="http://bit.ly/HCY3VE" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Long Island Photography Workshop</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Meetup Group talking about his recent purchase of Canon 600mm lens and we had a long rambling conversation over lunch about the photographic possibilities it opened up for him. He uses the lens on full frame cameras and doesn’t hesitate to use 2x extenders to expand his range and distance. He also pushes the ISO rating so he can shoot at high enough speeds to stop the action.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Below is an image of his setup that includes all the bells and whistles: camo, flash extender, remote trigger, and 2x tele-extender. Though not clearly depicted, Jeff uses a Really Right Stuff articulated gimbal tripod head.</span><img height="267" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/RHrWHIs9nPl7fTkYlFQIsk7mfc9plyhmd8EkISkZy0G1aaTZ4NWl_oybctTz6YAytC3pSNXFJ0SndnlIblyC0gDB7_i7gegG1xbEl4dYxRg92PwVs30QtlMwvg" width="400" /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Jeff said that he debated whether to take a chance and purchase a used or refurbished lens, but since he was making the investment, he decided that the newer technology, and the warranty from Canon made the purchase of a new lens worth the extra money.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Jeff didn’t hesitate using the lens. He started by taking photos of birds in his backyard, but then moved out to capture images of surfers at Cupsogue Beach and birds in Sunken Meadows State Park. The images are amazingly sharp and capture the action of crashing waves in the ocean and feeding egrets along the shoreline of the Nissequogue River.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Instead of talking about this, take a look at some of Jeff’s images. You can find all his galleries on his Smug Mug website at</span><a href="http://j-dcreativephotography.smugmug.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">J&D Creative Photography</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. One of the first things Jeff noticed is that it takes some getting used to finding the subject in the frame. </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><img height="267" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/1LpcUo2I413NAUK_lwrFXtWDl2ypG-wYAQN7p1w_gF0PHk0rfqCpZQdtZTdtjm7WsXrgDcap3gDjeX-37R4petgwUEJw3fTVrBJidxkhZt6u5cRh3sumoBxqAw" width="400" /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">That’s especially true for moving subjects like flying birds or surfers riding a wave. One thing that helps track your subject is using a gimbal tripod head that can move up and down as well as side to side.This makes tracking your subject a lot easier. </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><img height="266" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/yZIXtLoNLf4I8jl_B27JtYpsSZTvAMf_ySQoFcV02umm3UwKt_HooJktNo0dy9Vxg5M1X8NK7WtpoxTw5ibX9S2A-fSGpVPi20tafqxuumIR0ow2QOLIilGVdQ" width="400" /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Below is a King Cobra gimbal head by Kirk that I use. Notice that the lens foot is attached to the tripod. These large lenses are just too heavy to be supported on the camera’s lens mount alone.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/MGl-x2s5R23CmCVBNwW211GKBmPDejGHmgFAgFm5egSpz-rMDTYfwarCzgFveQVC4jEUwyCU9-9jDP5dVXiVn7jv736Rxju3RaPwyYeedR-Q67WpeSQt5uypAg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; white-space: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/MGl-x2s5R23CmCVBNwW211GKBmPDejGHmgFAgFm5egSpz-rMDTYfwarCzgFveQVC4jEUwyCU9-9jDP5dVXiVn7jv736Rxju3RaPwyYeedR-Q67WpeSQt5uypAg" width="400" /></span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">The second thing to consider is that if you decide to use a tele-extender, you will lose an f-stop or two depending on its magnification ratio. For example, an f/4 lens will go to f/5.6 when you add a 1.4x and then jump to f/8 when you add a 2x. Especially on overcast or low-light days where you may encounter fast action birds in flight, you have to increase ISO to maintain shutter speed and to compensate for smaller f/stops.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Most modern DSLR’s and lenses capture sharp images but high ISO’s generate noise especially when you pass the ISO 800 threshold. It’s the in-camera noise reduction that tends to reduce sharpness and is most noticeable when shooting JPG images. So shoot raw images and correct for noise in post-processing.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Depth of field is another concern when you use smaller f/stops. However, with these big telephotos, depth of field is rarely an issue as they have very shallow fields of focus.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Look at Jeff’s image below. The sharpness is incredible despite a 2x extender, and the concomitant smaller f/stop didn’t add any objectionable depth-of-field distractions. Nor does the image suffer from objectionable noise. </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><img height="267" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/DxTDhDCJk1AmUBmrWNAera0nQunB1zC-s_WQ9CiAYDLBiq6CwfpCzVl3RujLx0lg9w8G_2BW62aINlw45lKYRqybpraBNlc2dLuE4dkSLON6Z5vNNBYjovvndQ" width="400" /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Carrying a long lens is another problem. I used to remove the lens from the tripod and carry the camera and lens attached to a sturdy strap over one shoulder and the tripod over the other. I felt like a WWII machine gunner going from bunker to bunker. Now I keep the lens on the tripod, nestle the barrel of the lens and the crook of the gimbal head on my neck and shoulder, and go from one shooting position to another. If I had to traverse rough terrain, however, I would repack everything in the camera backpack and set up again at the new location.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wildlife photographers usually benefit from the reach of long telephoto lenses, but when I was in Africa, I never needed more than the 70-200mm and a 1.4x tele-extender. Larger mammals and elephants often came pretty close so I didn’t need to carry the extra weight. However, in New Mexico and British Columbia, it was difficult to get close to</span><a href="http://istockpho.to/HsJK5t" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">mule deer</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and elk, so the long lens came in handy. But the 500 mm wasn't enough to get a really good capture of this coyote in Bosque de Apache in New Mexico. (By the time I dug out the 1.4 extender the coyote moved out of sight.)</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><img height="259px;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/4DKFcV1WFimjcMsH0AxB7oUEID1QDqEqCwU2rrB55ZLIq5u4zSC_dd-l9tjyep9LweLxBWEWHuQTQQj_dprYO5krryY2AOciPac-fnYvO4bhpmqXVZHIw4Ov-g" width="400px;" /><span style="color: white; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><br /><span style="color: white; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Generally speaking large mammals--horses, bison, elk, bears--won’t require super-long lenses if you can get relatively close, but almost all wild birds will, unless they land at your feet.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Jeff debated what to purchase and finally decided on the 600mm because it fit his style of shooting and the subjects he likes to capture. Something heavier than that, like the 800mm, would be too long for what he considers "average" bird and wildlife shooting. </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One way to learn which focal length is right for you is to rent lenses from </span><a href="http://www.lensrentals.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lens Rental</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. (LIPW members receive a discount.) Check out their super-telephoto lenses and you will find that a four-day rental of a 600 mm lens may be all you need to get the shots you want. In fact, you can rent a zoom lens like the Sigma 300-800 to see what works for you.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The total cost of my first four cars--two VW’s, a Plymouth and a Mazda--was less than the price of one of these lenses. As I’m writing this, </span><a href="http://www.nikonusa.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NikonUSA</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is offering a refurbished 500mm for a savings of about $700 off the price of a new one. All refurbished Nikon cameras, lenses and accessories include a 90-day limited warranty against defects in material and workmanship. With such little discounted from the retail price, you can understand why Jeff decided to get the new one and the extended warranty. By the way, Canon and Nikon include an 800mm f/5.6 lens in their super-telephoto line up. Be prepared to lay out upwards to $18,000 for a new one.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You have to determine how committed you are to wildlife photography before you make a major cash outlay of this sort. But if you’re serious about it, and have aspirations to making the cover of </span><a href="http://www.audubon.org/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Audubon</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">or </span><a href="http://www.nationalgeographic.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">National Geographic</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> then a super-telephoto lens could be a valuable addition to your photography arsenal.</span></span></div>
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Bill Stamatishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06515185278252700671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940884553306492664.post-88773909565805735572013-06-29T16:57:00.000-04:002013-08-03T16:53:54.709-04:00Silhouettes add value to your portfolio<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Your first silhouette image was probably a mistake. You were shooting your subject against the sun or a bright sky. What you got was an underexposed foreground and a brightly lit background. Even though you made a mistake, you probably said that you would like to do it again. But how?</div>
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It's easy to deliberately create silhouettes is you understand a few simple techniques. </div>
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A silhouette is an image representing the outline of a subject with out any interior details. Silhouettes are usually black but can be any color. You often see them representing a profile that is cut from black paper glued to a white background. It's a simple form of portraiture that was popular in the 18th Century.</div>
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In photography, you can achieve the same result by backlighting your subject. In other words, put your subject against a bright background and meter for the background. Sounds easy, but there are a few tricks that can help you control the technique. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cemetery in Queens, NY</td></tr>
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Setting the camera on automatic makes the process harder because the camera wants to make a "perfect" picture by adjusting aperture and speed. So the first thing to learn how to do is to make this adjustments on your own. If you use a DSLR, just change the setting to "A" or aperture mode, or "M" for manual. Many advanced point and shoots allow you to do that, too. You can set your aperture to F8 through F16 to control depth of field. </div>
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Secondly, learn to manually focus with your lenses. You don't have to shoot in "Manual" mode on your camera, you just have to switch your lens to manual. This is important because your subject may be off center and you need to control the focus point and maintain it even if you point to another area in the frame. If you have enough depth of field, a wider area of the image will be in focus. </div>
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Even though you can't manually adjust a lens on many point and shoot cameras, there are ways to get around that limitation. Holding the shutter button down half way after you focus on your subject, will hold the focus point, but then you can move the camera so it reads the light coming from the background. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunrise on the Ganges River, India</td></tr>
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Once you have that set up, the camera will continue to try to give you a "perfect" picture by adjusting the speed to allow more or less light to reach the sensor. If the shutter speed adjusts for the subject, it will stay open longer to let more light in. If it adjusts for the background it will let less light reach the sensor. That's the trick. The camera has to believe that the background is what you're after. That's easily done if you can control your camera settings manually. Expose for the background, then focus on the foreground object. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDQT4roRFuvhwqzg7ankNl_edwsWT9T8jnmcYsEdek4sBMq0WbeX6rRpTedekui195m5jsJyEXWZrx4AgYE9cl4Rb6hFz-IRuuiyL_z-U8NxGhoApE4amkBAtArp_o5K7bodNPmF6ZV4A/s1600/20120419_0037www1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDQT4roRFuvhwqzg7ankNl_edwsWT9T8jnmcYsEdek4sBMq0WbeX6rRpTedekui195m5jsJyEXWZrx4AgYE9cl4Rb6hFz-IRuuiyL_z-U8NxGhoApE4amkBAtArp_o5K7bodNPmF6ZV4A/s320/20120419_0037www1.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fire Island Lighthouse at dusk</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Statue of Aphrodite in Santorini, Greece</td></tr>
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You can create silhouettes with flash, strobes or controllable spots like those workshop halogens available in most hardware supply stores. Here are three images. The first one is back lit but I used spot meter to meter the Uncle Sam bobble head. The middle image was created by taking a reading of the light coming in from a sliding door through a white cloth drape but not on Uncle Sam. The third image was created by bouncing the light from an off-camera flash on a light green wall behind the bobblehead. I could have done a better job with the third one by diffusing the light a little more and controlling the direction of the light beam, but you get the point.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNxFBeSNr0gtJw50khiato6adWAxzptQ07oCwWLl-XKCmLtXGnHxbB_6aF6wonTRjdScjqv7vfy5T-jsNEfO0rwrgskMow7oqA8VEte7TUhu5QLfDiL3MEYB9boKZeSC6GellO_XB3sZc/s1600/DSC_9967.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNxFBeSNr0gtJw50khiato6adWAxzptQ07oCwWLl-XKCmLtXGnHxbB_6aF6wonTRjdScjqv7vfy5T-jsNEfO0rwrgskMow7oqA8VEte7TUhu5QLfDiL3MEYB9boKZeSC6GellO_XB3sZc/s200/DSC_9967.jpg" width="108" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1n872_-BrkCYI7oXLO8rmAMZ2fWxQ-DiYjjQmG9L_v0mPT6bdcdauDJWLEpf5XtLlLPvSCfZ2djsqYA_gjTfKLkhRcum3Zcm4RPDClX650r15TLFmZOM4swYHQOpiNp_OvF-e_ZGwB3w/s1600/DSC_9997.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1n872_-BrkCYI7oXLO8rmAMZ2fWxQ-DiYjjQmG9L_v0mPT6bdcdauDJWLEpf5XtLlLPvSCfZ2djsqYA_gjTfKLkhRcum3Zcm4RPDClX650r15TLFmZOM4swYHQOpiNp_OvF-e_ZGwB3w/s200/DSC_9997.jpg" width="108" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLK7UZ8Dzp-qs2-3rj2yyFOe6H-j2QxoYJBkKYm4uTPK_k0e23zdrJtkCTNYk7XLU5HFZ5HkW63nduO9mioA6wnWgSpV32lweaOIgsAjXUczH_4gD6iWhWn081fWKnDHIb0NQjllwuICg/s1600/DSC_9965.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLK7UZ8Dzp-qs2-3rj2yyFOe6H-j2QxoYJBkKYm4uTPK_k0e23zdrJtkCTNYk7XLU5HFZ5HkW63nduO9mioA6wnWgSpV32lweaOIgsAjXUczH_4gD6iWhWn081fWKnDHIb0NQjllwuICg/s200/DSC_9965.jpg" width="108" /></a></div>
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Conditions aren't always right for creating silhouettes when you are out doors, but you can create the right light in the studio. Everyone should take some time to become familiar with this technique. It can help expand your creativity and help you see form, shape and light.<br />
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Bill Stamatishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06515185278252700671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940884553306492664.post-41015900070959420802013-04-23T23:18:00.001-04:002013-04-23T23:18:31.952-04:00National Historic Landmarks Photo Contest 2013<a href="http://www.northforklight.com/Seascapes/North-Fork-1/i-9xKDVtm/1/S/20090118_%200008-S.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.northforklight.com/Seascapes/North-Fork-1/i-9xKDVtm/1/S/20090118_%200008-S.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">The National Park Service is running its 14th Annual National Historic Landmarks Photo Contest and will be accepting photo submission through July 9th 2013. There are more than 2,500 landmark places, objects or districts across the United States so there is a lot to photograph.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Each photographer can enter up to 10 photographs, but each must be of a different historic landmark. So if you enter ten photos you must visit ten National Historic Landmarks and submit one photo for each one. Each submission should include a comment </span>by the photographer <span style="font-family: inherit;">about the personal significance of the image. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">You can read more details about the contest at the <a href="http://www.nps.gov/history/nhl/2013photocontest/">National Park Service's website</a>. You can also view a <a href="http://screencast.com/t/wvwt1jehRtO">screencast</a> that provides a clear description about how to enter images. All entries are submitted to Flickr and you can view some of the early entries<a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/2013nhlphotocontest/"> here.</a> If you're not sure where landmarks are in your state you can <a href="http://www.nps.gov/history/nhl/2013photocontest/LIST3-13.pdf">view the list in PDF format here.</a> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">For instance, there are 271 landmarks in New York State that cover the state from Niagara Falls to Montauk. </span><br />
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<a href="http://www.northforklight.com/Travel/North-America/Americas-the-Beautiful-1/i-WkPKtgW/4/S/TR0675-S.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="http://www.northforklight.com/Travel/North-America/Americas-the-Beautiful-1/i-WkPKtgW/4/S/TR0675-S.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The weather in the North East is starting to get better and it's time to break out the camera and make this contest your photo self-assignment for the spring. </div>
Bill Stamatishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06515185278252700671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940884553306492664.post-15973177552521008752013-02-07T18:25:00.003-05:002013-02-07T21:13:32.920-05:00Photogene2: A "must have" iPhone app for photographers<br />
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Photogene2 has been around for quite a while. It's a "must have" for any serious iPhone photographer. It's simple to use and it only cost .99 cents at the iTunes store.<br />
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If you haven't used a photo editor and dread the expense and the steep learning curve for the complicated processes in Photoshop, you will be pleasantly surprised by how quickly you'll pick things up in Photogene2. In fact, using this app is a good introduction into the photo-editing world. And, if you are one of the millions of photographers who use your smartphone as your primary camera, then you'll be surprised at how much better your photos will look once you edit them in Photogene2.<br />
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I started using the Photogene2 in earnest once I began my Project 365 for 2013, but in less than a month I developed an appreciation for many of the sophisticated editing tools. You can crop, change aspect ratios and rotate or straighten horizon lines. You can adjust clarity, brightness, color saturation and vibrancy, white balance, shadows and highlights, sharpen, remove noise, view a histogram, adjust RGB values and adjust curves.<br />
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If you go to "Presets" you'll find automated pre-configured adjustments, for color, b+w, vintage photography looks that add that old-time flavor to your images. You can make you photos look like they were taken in the 1920's, or give them that lomo, cross processing, and old pink look that adds mood and texture to your photos. If that's not enough, try preset frames to help make your photos pop even more. Or, try some fun presets that make your image look like a painting or a pencil sketch.<br />
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Photogene2 doesn't stop there. You can remove red-eye, and you can heal and clone to get rid of unwanted elements in your image. You can dodge and burn like the big boys and girls do in Photoshop and you can use a brush to localize an effect. And, you can make all these adjustments non-destructively as Photogene2 leaves your original image intact.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaOzGnfsxh3WAs2mySXXuOBLSUyAy4ERwmZmrbdkHCEm5SICgj7lnR-AavkgVr-doe80fX1379STQVetJxlRdF8Sy73BBe8t7euyJwFX4Ulw7Vj-gBigrAiimM_L-ayVFTMyjyXyUB6gw/s1600/IMG_2556.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaOzGnfsxh3WAs2mySXXuOBLSUyAy4ERwmZmrbdkHCEm5SICgj7lnR-AavkgVr-doe80fX1379STQVetJxlRdF8Sy73BBe8t7euyJwFX4Ulw7Vj-gBigrAiimM_L-ayVFTMyjyXyUB6gw/s320/IMG_2556.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Add to that, the cataloging functions like the recording of EXIF data and GPS coordinates, and a tab where you can add keyword tags, captions and other supplemental information that can help you retrieve the image some time in the future when your photo library becomes very large.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgkSkDe-8DGNVz-YKorTrDeH_wsc-jdQF83zf9EQf2WuidyUxE3CwwdTVUXLKtKY9CBpAg2Aeoy_ncUPUKTKDObGcwuib-S2Yn5pzM27k_FnwgIHzvs0EWHqwdLBwbEGre5kZxjV4LxrU/s1600/IMG_2532.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgkSkDe-8DGNVz-YKorTrDeH_wsc-jdQF83zf9EQf2WuidyUxE3CwwdTVUXLKtKY9CBpAg2Aeoy_ncUPUKTKDObGcwuib-S2Yn5pzM27k_FnwgIHzvs0EWHqwdLBwbEGre5kZxjV4LxrU/s320/IMG_2532.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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Once you finish adding your edits, you save the corrected image to your camera roll or photo stream and then automatically export to your Facebook page, your Twitter feed or your Flick'r portfolio. You can even send the photo to your AirPrint compatible printer. (<a href="http://ipod.about.com/od/usingios4/f/Airprint-Compatible-Printers.htm">See a List of compatible printers</a>.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU7_mRfUq-AAFdJKIUutUBBYL91Hh4p_GaY_W-V7M39MF0YEy6Dg_T4CjSlbhW7rN7mZHN9lHyk8MB6o9WE4uv__oie1aXEIREa2o37Xr0aKN0Em8uIUCBuR-W2su1QwInIQr86DNIqvc/s1600/IMG_2564.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU7_mRfUq-AAFdJKIUutUBBYL91Hh4p_GaY_W-V7M39MF0YEy6Dg_T4CjSlbhW7rN7mZHN9lHyk8MB6o9WE4uv__oie1aXEIREa2o37Xr0aKN0Em8uIUCBuR-W2su1QwInIQr86DNIqvc/s320/IMG_2564.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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This is a fully loaded photo-editor that can take average smart-phone photos and make them pop. At .99 cents it certainly makes Photoshop look like a Hummer in a world of zippy Fiats.<br />
<br />Bill Stamatishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06515185278252700671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940884553306492664.post-6528270812763159072013-01-01T16:12:00.003-05:002013-01-01T16:27:52.468-05:00Everyday: A year + of self-portraitsLast year I started a personal project with the goal of taking a year's worth of self-portraits. The video here is the result and the images were taken everyday in various locations using the iPhone app "Everyday." After a week of just taking straight on portraits, I decided to include the background to give the photos some context. Sometimes I included a person for some added fun. Since I did a lot of traveling during 2012, you will notice backgrounds that include scenes in New Mexico, New York, Long Island, Florida, India, Nepal, China and Thailand. Some scenes are in restaurants, on boats, in automobiles, buses and airplanes and airports. You will notice that I don't shave everyday, I wear the same clothes a lot and sometimes I have to force myself to smile.<br />
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With all that said, this personal project helped me develop a habit of taking a photo a day. I have already started a new project which I will write about in future posts.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz3ISE7S6HuosHIPE8-VFc1kGYlFVLKz3n0Iss-1ncaNJMCTMsdvqfgmuarsvYj1Vyavs3vxtXRyGceL2Y' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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If you're interested, you can get the "Everyday" iPhone app from Little Pixels in the iTunes store. See a promotional video and download the app<a href="http://everyday-app.com/"> here.</a>Bill Stamatishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06515185278252700671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940884553306492664.post-37822123444055067232012-04-09T23:10:00.003-04:002012-04-10T20:23:49.379-04:00Almost, but not good enough!No matter how much pre-visualizing you do there is always something unexpected that can challenge your photography. Mostly it's your state of mind that gets the creative juices flowing. But if it doesn't, you end up with lack luster images.<br />
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Montauk Point in February is usually cold and bitter especially if there is any kind of wind to add discomfort to the experience. I was prepared for the cold and the wind so I don't have too many excuses. I was properly dressed. But I think I was more interested in getting to a warm spot like <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/place?hl=en&rlz=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=breakfast+montauk&fb=1&gl=us&hq=breakfast&hnear=0x89e8ab5250fa0ef7:0x12eb762c1bf614f,Montauk,+NY&cid=2924096530106859662">John's Pancake House</a> back in town instead of really wanting to explore all the photo opportunities available.<br />
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Here a few shots from the dawn excursion to Montauk Point. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqCdshiuiMFLW9yYtfxeBBxu0kiaD7Q87y2LdN9vtefuIJvafccygfh62sPCieg0qUZk07kU2uhTHRs3LqI8eB4K7n1vSCj2JfHz70wuqIMO9yJ9j0lFOqZ21nWKG5Nrormj2QfshsNkU/s1600/20120226_0003blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqCdshiuiMFLW9yYtfxeBBxu0kiaD7Q87y2LdN9vtefuIJvafccygfh62sPCieg0qUZk07kU2uhTHRs3LqI8eB4K7n1vSCj2JfHz70wuqIMO9yJ9j0lFOqZ21nWKG5Nrormj2QfshsNkU/s320/20120226_0003blog.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I could have worked the location a little more.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfCofsr4U6jOxcSrKEonXB-LoD4biQCfRV33t9vdKwMbFGvfOLRYUfEfyd_c0zsZkj06zyNQpKbbPNMIRjAMf6W4O-UM8Kl36OfavOW43cyB5Rf2jo_teb5GPv5uvKnzIOCjUNT2TON9E/s1600/20120226_0047blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfCofsr4U6jOxcSrKEonXB-LoD4biQCfRV33t9vdKwMbFGvfOLRYUfEfyd_c0zsZkj06zyNQpKbbPNMIRjAMf6W4O-UM8Kl36OfavOW43cyB5Rf2jo_teb5GPv5uvKnzIOCjUNT2TON9E/s320/20120226_0047blog.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Next time I want to try from the front with the lighthouse blocking the sun. I wonder if it's better to go down to Turtle Cove and try from that angle. Maybe Turtle Cove would be better later in the day but not quite sunset.<br />
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A few more trips would expand my familiarity with the various photo opportunities there.Bill Stamatishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06515185278252700671noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940884553306492664.post-88477806563539672682012-02-21T20:41:00.001-05:002012-02-21T20:47:03.122-05:00Some thoughts on pre-visualizing images<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7KwrowbzE9EeoeHtD-bABEcL3O7nhO_0tTcFXe74zrtdr_H0golGTDeK-UmplMSk0apHI1suvpxC9PVmwcuZ9l8irU7ba52vzPpsB3FLUgOQyWkzlL1TZgqGPgFFLF_VMNPnDi5hY0OY/s1600/SS1140p.jpg_www.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7KwrowbzE9EeoeHtD-bABEcL3O7nhO_0tTcFXe74zrtdr_H0golGTDeK-UmplMSk0apHI1suvpxC9PVmwcuZ9l8irU7ba52vzPpsB3FLUgOQyWkzlL1TZgqGPgFFLF_VMNPnDi5hY0OY/s320/SS1140p.jpg_www.jpg" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fire Island Light</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span id="internal-source-marker_0.07699078321456909"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In preparing for my next photo session, I decided to formally decide what I was after and why I was going to shoot the subject on a cold winter morning. After all, thousands of images of Montauk Light House at dawn already exist. Many of those photos were taken by far better photographers than me. And, another photo of a lighthouse runs the risk of being a trite cliche of coastal living.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is a very good possibility that the sky will be overcast and the sun will not cast a red glow over the horizon, therefore, so much of what I’m planning depends on the quality of light. I will be positioning my tripod and camera before sunrise on the north side of the lighthouse with a view of the ocean and the silhouette of the tower and beacon.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">First of all, high tide will be close to 10 a.m. so we will have a rising tide at mid-tide levels at dawn 6:35 a.m. and the moon phase should have little effect on the height of the of the water. Weather, high winds, precipitation, over cast or clear skies will be the next factors to consider and will change how and what we photograph. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As Galen Rowell suggests, an image has to have an emotional impact. I’m not sure what emotions I will feel when I get there, but I have to strive to recreate that for the viewer. How do you evoke an emotional response from viewing a photo? Awe, fear, sadness, joy, conflict,drama, turbulence and/or the inexorable march of time and tide. </span><br />
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<span id="internal-source-marker_0.07699078321456909"> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here are a few photographic scenarios:</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDkK8_gE9h8MKrc1HjXV7RQ38qUdRSGUFuVLrjtLTenh43RSIAepcrWlMk61MLgN4bhpq7M0_rbATHq3BavW5Tzxh531IjXBCcLm2_EV4M9PFgdELtOwQjNR3eV1rnANke-iDMnWsTiqU/s1600/SS516.jpg_www.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDkK8_gE9h8MKrc1HjXV7RQ38qUdRSGUFuVLrjtLTenh43RSIAepcrWlMk61MLgN4bhpq7M0_rbATHq3BavW5Tzxh531IjXBCcLm2_EV4M9PFgdELtOwQjNR3eV1rnANke-iDMnWsTiqU/s320/SS516.jpg_www.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">Sunset at Orient Point Light</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<ul style="font-weight: bold;"><li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Left side of frame will contain the red glow of sunrise while center/right of frame will show a silhouette of the lighthouse tower and beacon.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As sun rises check for reflections of the sky’s color in the water.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If the surf is up, get into position to capture back lighted waves.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Set up tripod and camera low to the ground and put beach rocks on boulders in foreground with wide angle lens.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Snow is unlikely based on the recent warm temperatures, but it is February, so there’s always the possibility. Will snow on the beach reflect rosy-colored dawn?</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Slow the shutter to blur water movement and create silky effect as water races up the beach.</span></li>
</ul><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQLfjv8rWX4nkIPv6lNcRF8xXnaVJfmba2Y4YGe9DBGH9ZJ5-yfvqiSsTLTmv-mmda9c7S0oDTPHrIhNw86ZTqc5-iL225RRzLBu7CkeFt_m3PYEvK0qh4tpDWV84nZA5xkx1tqJfYsm4/s1600/PortlandHeadLight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQLfjv8rWX4nkIPv6lNcRF8xXnaVJfmba2Y4YGe9DBGH9ZJ5-yfvqiSsTLTmv-mmda9c7S0oDTPHrIhNw86ZTqc5-iL225RRzLBu7CkeFt_m3PYEvK0qh4tpDWV84nZA5xkx1tqJfYsm4/s320/PortlandHeadLight.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Portland Head Light, Maine</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So, do I want to capture a post-card view, or do I want to create an emotional response to the scene. What emotion do I want to portray? Joy and reverence for the beginning of a new day with the rising sun; Drama from the pounding surf and erosion of the beaches; Conflict as man tries to exert his dominion against the forces of nature; Or, harmony and acceptance of life while in such close proximity to the timeless sea.</span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Am I over planning for this? Of course conditions will dictate what I can do, but at least I now have an idea of what may be possible.</span>Bill Stamatishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06515185278252700671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940884553306492664.post-74855497660492557072011-10-15T15:46:00.001-04:002011-10-15T16:09:58.646-04:00Prevent water damage to your camera's electronics<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><br />
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<div style="background-color: transparent;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.13435069448314607" style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Water and electronics don’t mix! I just returned my iPhone and was told that water damage caused the hardware malfunction. And, of course, that’s not covered under the warranty. Since much of my life relies on the convenience of the iPhone, I had no choice but to purchase a new one at the Apple store. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The cost of an iPhone is a heck of lot less than a DSLR, so protecting your camera from water damage is very important. Not only will it save you from costly repairs or replacement, it will allow you to shoot even in the worst conditions.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I usually keep my cameras away from wet environments, but occasionally that is your only opportunity to film an exciting event or scene. I recall going whale watching in Icy Straits in Glacier Bay, Alaska. It was raining when we left the lodge so I brought a plastic bag from the waste basket in the room. I was using a Nikon F100 and a Tamron 200-400mm Zoom lens. I cut a hole in the bottom of the bag and taped it to the lens hood and extended it back over the camera. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8q_p0Rvo3aJmTzPUzXYHV0XTztz9JGyU2eH1XvitdwVUWjiIQRlRNVWsW9nZVDDMhKWABbDhFOO1jlKkeX6K5rgvNLnEBxJgk7BsCzg68eXsZyrkL1CEFsSVnkniGEcvZirmS_3M_G60/s1600/Image7med.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8q_p0Rvo3aJmTzPUzXYHV0XTztz9JGyU2eH1XvitdwVUWjiIQRlRNVWsW9nZVDDMhKWABbDhFOO1jlKkeX6K5rgvNLnEBxJgk7BsCzg68eXsZyrkL1CEFsSVnkniGEcvZirmS_3M_G60/s320/Image7med.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was pouring when we got there, but the whales didn’t mind as they were enjoying the abundance in the nutrient rich waters. Our captain/tour guide turned off the engine and several humpback whales surfaced near our boat and kept circling in close proximity. I stuck my head in the plastic bag </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a la</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the black hood of large format cameras. It worked. I got some shots and the camera LCD only got a little moist and was temporarily unreadable, but that cleared up by the next day after a few sessions under the portable hair dryer. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Knowing what I know today, I have to think that I was pretty lucky that the camera survived at all. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_1Yroc-RQL5ICdfp3m0wNvAhPQDKG8lmWFw_WOtS4zGSk2ZEiLFoIsfz63LNM30U-DgXD2EDcOqL6fH0X6hCghhmW9rpezjGojfcdZSW544Pb8ZL9tPIn3hwUDOwPF-VZTSNBtPL5IqQ/s1600/DSC_0988.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_1Yroc-RQL5ICdfp3m0wNvAhPQDKG8lmWFw_WOtS4zGSk2ZEiLFoIsfz63LNM30U-DgXD2EDcOqL6fH0X6hCghhmW9rpezjGojfcdZSW544Pb8ZL9tPIn3hwUDOwPF-VZTSNBtPL5IqQ/s200/DSC_0988.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Recently I had the opportunity to go the Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. The spray from the falls makes the area surrounding it a rain forest that stays wet most of the year. You can walk fifty feet and get drenched by torrents of water falling in the atmosphere and then in the next fifty you will remain relatively dry. This time I was prepared. I brought a waterproof DiCAPac ® made specifically for DSLR cameras. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheJXi34LWD9BYt2JFRBIN1RRwSbzJT37K2DRkMA2tW10Rwxh46UPkJFyb-6L0y9iqWuMN3o7bD9Cw2rt2N_DswPpH8oIOESrLZiq5lNrcBe9kx71nxIhQ_SeEJH92Z2v16QbfIXvIwEgU/s1600/DSC_1032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheJXi34LWD9BYt2JFRBIN1RRwSbzJT37K2DRkMA2tW10Rwxh46UPkJFyb-6L0y9iqWuMN3o7bD9Cw2rt2N_DswPpH8oIOESrLZiq5lNrcBe9kx71nxIhQ_SeEJH92Z2v16QbfIXvIwEgU/s200/DSC_1032.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The contraption is form-fitting plastic bag with sealed finger holes so you can access the shutter release and lens zoom ring. You can view the rear LCD screen and the view finder. through the clear plastic panel. It will hold a full-size DSLR but it won’t take a long zoom lens. I used it with a 12-24mm, and a 50mm. The clear polycarbonate lens cap gets water on it so have some dry paper towels handy so you can keep it clean. Otherwise your images will only feature water droplets.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvP9MwQJVdVaJuqR8chyphenhyphenwtBj_jm-VZ2I4yZpMd63Q5BjqDSP38qwaAE6-pYrD7VSsv_VPmaKDIz8b_KDXqG5C_2P-EDXH51Ke6soHwBcVYnvQ6Dd9VeZOt3aPYhGkfveE_B_5hcwnz5mc/s1600/20110403_0204.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvP9MwQJVdVaJuqR8chyphenhyphenwtBj_jm-VZ2I4yZpMd63Q5BjqDSP38qwaAE6-pYrD7VSsv_VPmaKDIz8b_KDXqG5C_2P-EDXH51Ke6soHwBcVYnvQ6Dd9VeZOt3aPYhGkfveE_B_5hcwnz5mc/s200/20110403_0204.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The manufacturer claims you can use it underwater to about 16 feet, but I’m never comfortable doing that. I stressed every minute I used my Nikonos V, even though I never had a problem. However, if you want to shoot in a wet environments like hurricanes, storms at sea or while kayaking, this handy package could save the day without breaking the bank.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmgSQelfEjdEQFdMwagf7gpmLyoGLhOXox1tohrQt_lmdHlYs7v13XISMzdLcrbzy1D7cmQvNo_Id70hX7wN3ltis4xrW3Dym3bnKvtcu6oUJyDfGsuLy6Aibpr_n6Lvo2MbMdrGlpMDE/s1600/20110403_0211.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmgSQelfEjdEQFdMwagf7gpmLyoGLhOXox1tohrQt_lmdHlYs7v13XISMzdLcrbzy1D7cmQvNo_Id70hX7wN3ltis4xrW3Dym3bnKvtcu6oUJyDfGsuLy6Aibpr_n6Lvo2MbMdrGlpMDE/s320/20110403_0211.jpg" width="320" /></span></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you go to </span><a href="http://www.dicapac.com/"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.dicapac.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> you can check to see which model is designed to fit your camera brand and model. You can buy one for your DSLR for under $100 and for your point and shoot for under $50.</span></span></div>Bill Stamatishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06515185278252700671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940884553306492664.post-60637276901637041292011-08-13T21:59:00.005-04:002011-08-14T12:53:43.291-04:00Travel Photography: Skylines<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve.php?size=2&id=15126852" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="202" src="http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve.php?size=2&id=15126852" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">This image is available for purchase at <a href="http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve.php?size=2&id=15126852">iStockphoto</a></span></td></tr>
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<div style="background-color: transparent;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.8562523704022169" style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When we think of skyline photography we conjure up panoramic images of urban architecture against a twilight or night time sky. The dramatic and iconic representations of a time, a place and a culture make these images some of the most used photographs in travel publications. The uniqueness of a particular skylines make them easily recognizable. Cities like Athens, Rome, Paris, London, New York, Chicago and San Francisco have distinct shapes and are emblematic of western culture. More recently, as air travel made the world smaller, the images of cities like Dubai, Sidney, Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai are now recognizable features in our world view.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here are two sites that offer galleries of skyline photos. The first, </span><a href="http://photo.tutsplus.com/articles/inspiration/50-beautiful-examples-of-city-skyline-photography"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Phototuts+</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, is simply a list of the author’s favorites with a few tips, while the second, </span><a href="http://diserio.com/top15-skylines.html"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luigi DiSerio’s Photo Adventures and More</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> provides a discussion of the criteria the author uses to judge which cities have the “best” skylines. Popular opinion makes this one of the top sites on the subject. His top 15 choices include Dubai, Seoul and Frankfurt.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I don’t think there are any modern city skylines that haven’t been photographed. Just search “city skylines of the world” in Google images and you’ll get back more than 9 million results. Competition is stiff for photos of places like New York City, Hong Kong, London, Seattle, and Chicago, so if you’re thinking about offering those images for sale, then try to take them from different points of view. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve.php?size=2&id=14287030" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="194" src="http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve.php?size=2&id=14287030" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Seattle from Space Needle. See<a href="http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-14287030-seattle-skyline-from-space-needle.php?st=1587565"> iStockphoto.</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gaining access to rooftops is one way to to find different view points for your skylines. If you have friends who live in buildings that have rooftop common areas or terraces that offer views of a city, then ask them for access so you can photograph from there. Rooftop restaurants or those that offer a high vantage point is another way to get panoramic images of city skylines. Cities like New York and Chicago have observation decks on several tall buildings from which you can get a grand view of their skylines. If you can afford an hour on a helicopter or small airplane then you can certainly gain a unique perspective.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve.php?size=2&id=8711819" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="195" src="http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve.php?size=2&id=8711819" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Chicago skyline from tour boat. See on<a href="http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-8711819-chicago-skyline.php?st=a93bbd6"> iStockphoto.</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If a city is along a river, lake or marine environment, you can take a tour boat to gain access to some nice skyline imagery. Scheduling is important here so pay attention to the time of sunset for that location and take the tour when there is enough light to handhold the camera. Tripods, if allowed on board, are often useless on decks of boats because of boat movement, and engine vibration so night photography is almost always out of the question. When hand-holding a DSLR in lowlight conditions, try shooting bursts of three to five images of the scene while exhaling. Often one of the shots will be very sharp.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.northforklight.com/Cityscapes/Urban-Images/i-JjVwB7k/0/M/200703030004p-M.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="245" src="http://www.northforklight.com/Cityscapes/Urban-Images/i-JjVwB7k/0/M/200703030004p-M.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Light adds drama to an otherwise cliche image. See more<a href="http://www.northforklight.com/"> here</a>.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dramatic light during spectacular weather events can bring a skyline to life. Storm clouds or lightening that serve as a backdrop, spectacular sunsets or dawns reflecting off buildings or simply rain or snow can offer excellent photography opportunities and add uniqueness to a commonly photographed skyline.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve.php?size=2&id=14287030" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve.php?size=2&id=8716277" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Foreground adds perspective. <a href="http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-8716277-flower-relief-amid-chicago-skyscrapers.php?st=b2c24f1">See iStockphoto. </a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">You can add foreground elements to gain a different perspective on a cityscape. </span></span><br />
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<div style="background-color: transparent;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve.php?size=2&id=3314213" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve.php?size=2&id=3314213" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">NYC skyline from across East River. <a href="http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-3314213-new-york-city-skyline-at-dusk.php?st=183237a">See iStockphoto</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you are shooting at twilight into darkness then learn to calibrate exposure and focus manually. You should also learn about the light values of the ambient light so you can set white balance, even though if you shoot Raw, you can make the adjustment later. </span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve.php?size=2&id=3314278" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve.php?size=2&id=3314278" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Smaller aperture diffraction.<a href="http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-3314278-business-district.php?st=1f17666"> See iStockphoto</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you have specific light sources like street lights or rows of lights on bridges, you risk having them portrayed as star bursts if you stop down too much. For example, try shooting at image like a street lamp at F16 and then at F5.6 and see which one has less diffraction. However, if you want that look, then shoot at the smaller aperture, but you risk losing some sharpness in the rest of the image. </span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: right;"></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Don't neglect skyline photography when you travel. Even though you may not think of small city skylines as photo-worthy because they don't sport dramatic "skyscraper" architecture, they are distinctive in their own right and offer unique photo opportunities for traveling photographers. </span></span></div>Bill Stamatishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06515185278252700671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940884553306492664.post-25417025703096820032010-05-02T22:12:00.003-04:002010-05-02T22:22:32.848-04:00Taking photos during this period of societal paranoia<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><i><a href="http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-symptoms-of-paranoia.htm">Paranoia:</a></i><i> </i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">The primary </span></i></span></span><span class="yellowfadeinnerspan"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">symptoms</span></i></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"> </span></i></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">of paranoia is an obsessive belief that people, governments, or any “others” are conspiring to harm you and that belief leads the individual to feelings of distrust even in everyday, banal interactions.</span></i></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">On Saturday, I went to local tidal pond to see if there was any wildlife activity. I twisted on a Nikkor 70-300 zoom lens on my D300 with only half-hearted enthusiasm. As I scanned the scene, I was pleasantly surprised to see an osprey swoop and come out of the water with a fish in its talons far across the pond. Too bad I didn’t have a bigger lens or a 2X converter with me. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNAEbt5OwEPtNu3BOlLLzjAPXPSCM4n2THEf_1VlnKP9eBjXhuzIahJuPpZ99w0Ny7vAmmLLGKRZuJsff0n7LSk288ZztdqS_1sAyTr1kwpgnaCkhLZuioYalin37yLKaMo8lsMQUivjY/s1600/20100430_0012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNAEbt5OwEPtNu3BOlLLzjAPXPSCM4n2THEf_1VlnKP9eBjXhuzIahJuPpZ99w0Ny7vAmmLLGKRZuJsff0n7LSk288ZztdqS_1sAyTr1kwpgnaCkhLZuioYalin37yLKaMo8lsMQUivjY/s320/20100430_0012.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Anyway, the bird flies toward me. It lands on a dock piling about 250 feet away. I backed up the truck to make sure I had a good background of trees, deliberately avoiding distracting shorefront homes in the images. I snapped 40 shots. None of them was very good because of the distance, the poor light and my lack of enthusiasm.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The bird was content to tear at the fish and face away from me. It was backlit and the background was dark and made choosing an exposure difficult. It looked like the bird was going to stay put, so I packed my gear and drove home. My hopes of a flight shot with a fish in its talons becoming a real long shot.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Within a half hour after arriving home, the front door bell rang and a police officer asked if I was the owner of the vehicle in the driveway. I said yes. He said that a homeowner on the other side of the tidal pond observed me taking photos of his home and lodged a complaint regarding my suspicious behavior. By the way, it’s a nice home in a beautiful setting, but I deliberately chose a more natural background of trees.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I laughed and told the investigating officer, that I was a photographer and that I had been making a feeble attempt at capturing an image of an osprey with a fish in its talons. I showed the officer the 40 photos on the camera’s LCD screen. The officer asked to see them again and then I showed him some photos hanging on the dining room walls. I also gave him a business card and suggested that he give the card to the homeowner so he could purchase a picture for the trouble he caused everyone. LOL! The officer just smiled.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I treated the event with a sense of humor, but later I was miffed at the idea that I could be suspected of some kind of wrongdoing. Then I nodded to myself as I realized that 9/11 has left deep, psychic scars on all of us. </div>Bill Stamatishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06515185278252700671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940884553306492664.post-44185918308715717552010-03-12T20:25:00.000-05:002010-03-12T20:25:08.743-05:00Time Lapse Photography: First Experiments<div class="MsoNormal">Lately, I’ve been experimenting with time-lapse photography with my Nikon D300. So far, I’ve taken advantage of two snow events to document the accumulation of snow in the street outside my house. The December 2009 <a href="http://www.northforklight.com/Cityscapes/Timelapse-photography/Blizzard-2009/10717445_F4UU8">storm</a> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>wasn’t as dramatic as the <a href="http://www.northforklight.com/Cityscapes/Timelapse-photography/Blizzard-February-2010/11237965_aeinr">blizzard</a> on February 9-10, 2010. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.northforklight.com/Cityscapes/Timelapse-photography/Blizzard-February-2010/11237965_aeinr#788144534_EyaBC-A-LB"><img src="http://www.northforklight.com/Cityscapes/Timelapse-photography/Blizzard-February-2010/201002090005/788144534_EyaBC-M.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Many DSLR’s have a time-lapse shooting option built in, but if yours doesn’t and you’re just itching to try your hand at it, you can <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>purchase an interval-timer trigger like the <a href="http://www.pclix.com/">PClix LT</a>. My camera the Nikon D300 takes most of the difficulty out of the equation because it includes this option in the camera's software. Simply go to Menu-Scroll down on the left side column to the Shooting Menu-Toggle to the right column-Scroll down to Interval Timer Shooting. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remember to coordinate the time on your camera to the actual time in your location, then set up the start time and the duration of the intervals between shots and the number of shots. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mount your camera on a tripod, point at the subject. Go have a cup of coffee, while the camera does the rest.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Also, make sure you set the camera on manual focus, aperture priority and automatic white balance. I chose manual focus because I didn’t want the camera changing its area of focus to anything that came into view and was closer to the camera. And, since I was shooting from darkness into the next day and my street is lit by street lamps, I chose the auto white balance to adjust to the different light values. Note I also added 1.3 EV to get the snow to appear white, something I failed to do on my first attempt.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">There are several considerations to take into account before you set up the intervals. The first is what kind of action you are attempting to depict. How fast is it? How quickly does it change? Do you want to capture every step of the way, like a flower coming into bloom, or do you want the intervals to be further apart when you capture the action at a local parking lot <a href="http://vimeo.com/601286">like this</a>. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">If you set the times for each image exposure closer together, let say every five seconds, you get a smoother frame-to-frame progression of action. If you set the time for longer intervals between shots, then you get changes that are more dramatic in each frame, and a more herky-jerky look in the results. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">For my first attempts at time-lapse photography, I set the intervals for 20 minutes, so I could capture the accumulation of snow on the street in front of my home in Queens, NY. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t think I needed to make the interval any shorter but when I played it back in a slide show, the progression lacked smoothness and left out a lot of the street action like people walking in and out of the frame. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I will continue to experiment and post the results while I learn to produce short “movie” versions. Stay tuned as we progress in this photographic journey.</div>Bill Stamatishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06515185278252700671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940884553306492664.post-9085594238643474272010-02-27T20:59:00.005-05:002010-02-27T21:18:40.697-05:00Photography to Help Preserve the Ridgewood Reservoir<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE33b_T_hSlYgqH9P56Bh59rubO71Kn-z9KTuntQ6bgrAGq2r_d57DfRk-RU26fOsqmgGxMETmzw3gnECi6fdNiJrBFZ7f7-93Wgqyfs-HZN5cPIQREoy8AKT-JUWnVjV47XDp8tpNM6A/s1600-h/20080515_0021blog.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201451834485623490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE33b_T_hSlYgqH9P56Bh59rubO71Kn-z9KTuntQ6bgrAGq2r_d57DfRk-RU26fOsqmgGxMETmzw3gnECi6fdNiJrBFZ7f7-93Wgqyfs-HZN5cPIQREoy8AKT-JUWnVjV47XDp8tpNM6A/s320/20080515_0021blog.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a>Seventy concerned citizens, community activists and local politicos turned out on May 15, (originally published in 2008) to show support for the preservation of the <a href="http://ridgewoodreservoir.blogspot.com/">Ridgewood Reservoir</a> as a natural urban oasis on the border of Queens and Brooklyn. (See history <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/citybirder/RidgewoodReservoirSlides#">slideshow</a>.)<br />
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The group voiced concern about the city’s proposed plans to cut down trees, breach the walls of the dam and to build artificial-turf covered ball fields that would destroy what is considered a unique natural habitat. The area contains a succession forest with many native plants, freshwater wetlands and critical habitat for native birds, mammals and amphibians.<br />
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The Ridgewood Reservoir Education and Preservation Project (RREPP), a group of community members and nature enthusiasts, opposes the plan and is promoting the concept of creating an environmental learning center on the site. The group feels that the development plans could jeopardize some endangered or threatened plant species and several bird species that are declining or rare that were spotted during recent bird surveys.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Zz6ikQvChBaWp1H1akWxW3xKZXDm2NiRS52jPTxHwZhQYx4N4n1-mtpTstK5uuQUTd2LYfMcquSFyOlAhZJAi7I6lcfQuCkoT2QpEZFnCI5LPEjYOcAzUlB17sNoI1VM4A7_0f-78cQ/s1600-h/20080515_0015blog.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201453608307116754" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Zz6ikQvChBaWp1H1akWxW3xKZXDm2NiRS52jPTxHwZhQYx4N4n1-mtpTstK5uuQUTd2LYfMcquSFyOlAhZJAi7I6lcfQuCkoT2QpEZFnCI5LPEjYOcAzUlB17sNoI1VM4A7_0f-78cQ/s320/20080515_0015blog.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: right; margin: 0 0 10px 10px;" /></a>Naturalist Robert Jett gave the group a short summary about the local flora and fauna and pointed out that 142 different species of birds were found in the area, as was a thriving population of Italian Wall Lizards. One of the problems pointed to was that an invasive species of vine called Kudzu has choked off many of the edges of forested areas and will have to be removed or controlled.<br />
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Neglect of the area has led to invasions of another kind. Some local residents race their <a href="http://http//ridgewoodreservoir.blogspot.com/2008/02/atvs-at-reservoir.html">ATV’s</a> through the area and pose hazards to joggers and walkers. In addition, this is a favorite site for paintball warriors who come into the park to enact their mock-combat war games. However, those problems would subside if there was adequate staffing, consistent maintenance and wider use by the public.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinxrjK-ZnWHFEIZv6XDd318FxFbnLpCVJZGTo5z9KKSughHtCsIIEU4ai5AOdGC1xP0Aqo5gNHj444n2IRloISDhqISYkc8A8lSBg-WGgjknHgDqkHAjmbzr4y4mQrcqXQlrPfvExy2_0/s1600-h/20080515_0038blog.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201455090070833890" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinxrjK-ZnWHFEIZv6XDd318FxFbnLpCVJZGTo5z9KKSughHtCsIIEU4ai5AOdGC1xP0Aqo5gNHj444n2IRloISDhqISYkc8A8lSBg-WGgjknHgDqkHAjmbzr4y4mQrcqXQlrPfvExy2_0/s320/20080515_0038blog.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a>After the tour, Queens Borough Commissioner of Parks Dorothy Lewandowski talked to the group gathered in the parking lot on Vermont Place about the city’s preliminary plan for Ridgewood Reservoir and said that there will be public hearings that will give the community an opportunity to voice its concerns.<br />
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City Councilman <a href="http://www.nysenate.gov/senator/joseph-p-addabbo-jr">Joseph Addabbo</a>, (now State Senator) community activist David M. Quintana and State Assemblyman Darryl C. Towns, who were among the organizers of the demonstration, agree that the reservoir provides the city with a unique opportunity to establish a recreation and education resource in the community. After all, most of the work has already been done by nature.<br />
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It will take a little vision and a small investment to make this a reality. (New York City has still failed to convert the land into an urban environmental preserve. )Bill Stamatishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06515185278252700671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940884553306492664.post-84115218849198683622010-02-27T20:55:00.000-05:002010-02-27T20:55:45.946-05:00Photojournalist's Moral Dilemma<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNs0VOdpZbER7IrKMYGRPTO-8ChVndeGWHEUxk4bvnZVB0_qhy_-fT4oUZhq_98avZJvwsL_Q1l4PFSzOf7vkPpb8Q3V8HQaQH2d3QYXqgdEhNqIEc2H6djeTHUUh4yp8Qest6uoURA3U/s1600-h/20080429_0015a.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198845992362205890" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNs0VOdpZbER7IrKMYGRPTO-8ChVndeGWHEUxk4bvnZVB0_qhy_-fT4oUZhq_98avZJvwsL_Q1l4PFSzOf7vkPpb8Q3V8HQaQH2d3QYXqgdEhNqIEc2H6djeTHUUh4yp8Qest6uoURA3U/s320/20080429_0015a.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a><br />
Recently, I was assigned by a local weekly newspaper to capture images of a car that crashed through a store front and FDNY thought the damage threatened the integrity of the structure.<br />
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I arrived at the scene ten minutes after I got the call from the editor, but emergency crews had already removed the car from the front of the building. So I missed the shot of the car penetrating the storefront. However, I got some decent shots that somehow told the story well enough that the editors used one of the images.<br />
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Fortunately, no one, not even the driver was seriously hurt, but it occurred to me that it would make a great image, if the building would collapse in front of my eyes. So after I got the obligatory shots, I posted my self in what I considered a good spot to capture the collapse.<br />
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The Department of Buildings inspector arrived and after surveying the situation said that the building remained structurally sound.<br />
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So here is the quandary for photojournalists: (This was my fourth photojournalism assignment, so I'm a newbie.)<br />
Do you feel guilty because you sometime wish that you can witness the worse scenario for the sake of the image, instead of being thankful that no one was hurt and the damage was all repairable?<br />
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Even though this assignment in no way approaches the severity of major disasters, I was thinking of those photographers who go into war zones or neighborhoods that suffered devastation from hurricanes or those who were around to photograph the WTC attack and continued to photograph even though there was so much suffering and destruction around them.<br />
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What do they feel when they document these events?<br />
(originally published in 2008)Bill Stamatishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06515185278252700671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940884553306492664.post-73445361696695313482010-02-26T17:38:00.000-05:002010-02-26T17:38:53.340-05:00Event Photography<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have been doing various event photo shoots over the last year or two. These event photography assignments are often used for newsletters and community newspapers promoting certain issues and organizations. Usually the shoot includes some posed shots of the "important" people with a mix of what I call ambiance shots that try to capture the atmosphere or the "story" behind the event. </span><br />
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</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is an example of a posed image, and what can go wrong, where the New York City Mayor Bloomberg was posed with some teachers at a 100 anniversary celebration of an elementary school.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAwQO9Jlnv0VKjdctj-9tkgwIqDmpfu0TKvUAMJYObyvAx58_YB7ZWCUm5zycomjxiEl1XTe9g7VeXxlkqr47PkBBpyOrk9YmSHH_0v42NQidb1ziTCOS9L4-TLEAni-8OyDJWZrCaXBk/s1600-h/UFTPO471_0008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAwQO9Jlnv0VKjdctj-9tkgwIqDmpfu0TKvUAMJYObyvAx58_YB7ZWCUm5zycomjxiEl1XTe9g7VeXxlkqr47PkBBpyOrk9YmSHH_0v42NQidb1ziTCOS9L4-TLEAni-8OyDJWZrCaXBk/s200/UFTPO471_0008.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There were several fellow teachers trying to get the same shot that I posed so I ended up with the subjects looking at the other cameras. Make sure the subjects are looking at you and pay attention to the backgrounds.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One problem for me personally is that I don't always feel comfortable trying to take control of the set up, because I feel it somehow interferes with the "spontaneity" of the moment. But of course, once you intercede and pose the subjects, the spontaneity of the moment is gone.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What to do? You want to capture the atmosphere of the event, but you need to make a strong visual. So here's an image of teachers enjoying some historical photographs taken over the course of the school's 100-year history. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ZtmDGAld6z8/S4hGn9PjZ9I/AAAAAAAAARo/N17rQhGgvg4/s1600-h/UFTPO471_0023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ZtmDGAld6z8/S4hGn9PjZ9I/AAAAAAAAARo/N17rQhGgvg4/s200/UFTPO471_0023.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Looks like they're having a lot of fun. This image was used in the organization's newspaper. It was posed.</span></div>Bill Stamatishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06515185278252700671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-940884553306492664.post-36528317233557592402010-01-05T20:29:00.035-05:002016-03-25T16:26:14.019-04:00About Me:<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><b>Nature, travel and editorial photography by Bill Stamatis.</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">I shoot with Nikon cameras and lenses that currently include the D810 and D600. My editorial work is usually for hire while my nature and travel images can be purchased at</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><a href="http://www.istockphoto.com/crowman"><b>Istockphoto</b></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">You can</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"> </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><a href="mailto:northforklight@gmail.com">email me</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"> </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">for information about any of my images.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">This blog</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">explores my photographic adventures and what I learn about the world through the perspective of a camera's lens.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"> </span>Bill Stamatishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06515185278252700671noreply@blogger.com