Eastmon Digital Photography Tips » long exposure

Photography… It’s all about light

Eastmon Admin — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 06:24:52 +0000

It doesn’t matter how many time we hear it, the truth is It’s all about light! When I ran across this article it sprang to mind immediately the images that capture everyone’s attention are the images that have amazing lighting. You may well be using a top of the range Nikon Digital SLR or the most expensive lens you can put on your Canon DSLR, the bottom line is that a well lit shot from a compact digital camera can often look more appealing simply because of the lighting.

This simple article by Brenda Tharp is proof that a compact digital camera like a Canon G9 is capable of taking great images with the right lighting. Unusual lighting effects aren’t limited by the light of the day though. Try experimenting with an off camera flash also to create dramatic shadows and effects. You may have to use a tripod though if you are going to be holding the flash with one hand and shooting with the other.

When you capture those amazing images they are worthy of a giant canvas print placed in a very prominent position in your office or home or even turned into a photo gift for a friend or family member.

Creative Nature and Outdoor Photography

How to Photograph a Lightning Strike

Eastmon Admin — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 04:22:03 +0000

By guest contributor Damian Riches

photo by manumohan.com

In the following explanation I will try to cover the basic photography technique you’ll need to take good lightning pictures. You will very quickly notice that shooting light is not at all that difficult technically speaking but it takes time, patience and also determination.

Equipment Protection

Taking lightning pictures is exciting but you need to remember that you paid money for your photography equipment so the last thing you want is to have it ruined. So try to shoot in a covered location i.e. under an umbrella, or a covered area and, unless you have a good weather sealed camera, protect your camera with a shower cap.

Camera Selection

Any camera with bulb mode will do here, but I’d advise you to get a digital one simply to cut on film cost since you shouldn’t expect a high keepers ratio in this kind of photography.

Lens Selection

Usually, and I am saying usually, wide angle lenses performs better in lightning photography because you can include more sky and, thus, increasing your chances of capturing a lightning bolt in your image.

Tripod

You will need a good sturdy tripod for this but, if you feel uncomfortable putting your tripod in such extreme weather get any cheap one heavy enough to resist wind.

Photo by Craig Jewell

Settings

ISO Settings

Set your camera to its lowest ISO (100) speed. Since we are going to be using a tripod anyway there is no need to boost the ISO speed. Just set it to the lowest value possible because this will give you the cleanest picture your digital camera can give you.

Aperture

While shooting lightning pictures you should keep the aperture between f/5.6 and f/8. Remember a lightning bolt is very short in time and very high in intensity (just like a flash) and you want it well recorded on that sensor of yours. Apertures faster than f/5.6 might over blow it and very small apertures (smaller than f/11 or so) might not give you the impact you are requesting, so better stay within these known aperture range. Smaller apertures (f/8 ~ f/11) will give you a longer exposure time thus more chance to capture multiple bolts on the same exposure.

Photo by Julia Starr

Focus

Set your lens on Manual Focus and focus for infinity since it is most likely that the lightning will hit somewhere far from your lens.

Mirror Lockup and Timer

To minimize camera movements to the max you will want to turn on the mirror lockup and, unless you have a cable release for your camera, turn on the timer on your camera

Taking the shot

Secure your camera on the tripod, get the composition you want. Use what we have seen in this article to set both the f-stop and shutter speed. Then all you will have to do is click that shutter button and hope you will catch a lightning bolt in that frame. If you don’t, simply repeat the process.

Conclusion

It is simply amazing to notice how easy it is, technically speaking, and how hard it is, practically speaking, to take one of those great lightning pictures we often see on the net. Why? Well simply because it takes much more than just technique to take a good lightning picture, it takes time, patience and also determination to be added to the photography skills.

Photo by Damian Riches

Damian Riches is a Professional Photographer based in Glen Innes, Australia. Damian is the owner of www.richimage.com.au and a member of the Australian Institute of Professional Photographers. He shoots mainly with the Nikon D1x and D90 as well as a Fuji S3Pro, lenses include Nikkor 17-55 f2.8, 70-200 f2.8 and a 50mm f1.4

Outdoor Photography Opportunities

Eastmon Admin — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 06:48:09 +0000

From guest contributor Peter Langston (Lango)

This is Peter’s second contribution and you can read more about him here and on facebook. Peter is a customer of the Eastmon Tamworth store.

Sometimes, fortune takes over from planning and a shot just appears before you. At times like these, you hope all of the workshops and courses and advice from others has sunk in and the choices you make are good ones.
Photography is about moments held in your viewfinder so that others can wish they were there and a bit like fishing, we can all talk of the one that got away. To land more of the big moments, you have to spend long hours learning and rehearsing the skills you need and then be prepared to be critical of your work.
Next, put yourself into places, positions and events so that you can hone those skills and experiment with pre-compositing, as opposed to post-composing photos on digital manipulation programs on the PC. Nothing provides more satisfaction than nailing the shot on offer.

These two shots offer the case in point.

"The Red Leaf" was shot with a Canon EOS 50D, shutter at 1/8sec at f5.6, 100 ISO and a focal length of 200mm mounted on a Slik Ant Pro500DX tripod

“The Red Leaf” was taken in my backyard in the first hour of sunlight after a night of rain. I was wandering about with the Canon on tripod, when I noticed the caterpillar manoeuvring about to depart his dinner table. With the camera already stable and set up for macro, it was just a matter of position, focus and click. Of course, I had to think on how much of the leaf I needed to establish the subject, so I cropped in close, leaving the retreating caterpillar in the top third of the frame. A short depth of field kept any background past the stem out of focus. I also angled the camera to keep the bottom of the leaf closer so focus on the shot would gradually get sharper as the eye approached the caterpillar. The water on the leaf added a lot more interest and life to the shot.

"The Constant Guide" was shot with a Canon EOS 50D, shutter at 32sec at f5.6, 100 ISO and a focal length of 24mm and with auto focus switched off mounted on a Slik Ant Pro500DX tripod

“The Constant Guide” was the by-product of night shoot, practicing in preparation for a TAFE assignment. After working around a bowling club, taking shots of abandoned greens and seats, I glanced up to check on the weather which I hoped would be clearing. There was the Southern Cross, wafting in and out of lightening clouds, showing me the way home. I positioned my tripod under a Silky Oak tree to just catch a branch tip for perspective. The timing of the rolling clouds gave the star constellation the perfect framing and the wispy effect of the clouds achieved by thirty plus second exposure made the constancy of the stars more emphatic. My only problem came with the lens collapsing as it had its unteloscopic way with itself, so I snapped a rubber band in place as a collar. I set the timer release for 2 sec so there was no bumping, as I don’t have an electronic release.

Lango’s Bio

I’m a writer essentially, who loves to take photos. Poetry is my favourite form of written expression and I see a strong parallel with photography – both are about using economy in expressing a moment.
My wife and I have traveled to most parts of Australia to gather experiences we can’t find at work or the shops or the local pub. In the process we found what we left behind but with different geography as a backdrop.
I’ve been a teacher, a cricketer, a family man and a mate – with many other side tracks along the way – but people remain my fascination.