Category Archives: Camera

Blackberry Phone

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Well, it was time to upgrade my cell phone and I bit the bullet and got a Blackberry. Overall, I am very pleased with it. It replaced both my old cell phone and PDA into one very nice small tool. There is a learning curve, but I am doing fine and I do like electronic toys!

The camera is boasts 3.2 megapixels. This surprised me because the very first digital camera I used was exactly 3.0 mp. However, I don’t think I will use the Blackberry camera very often. Having the Nikon D300 has spoiled me big time. I guess it will be nice to have a camera with me all the time but I would sooner have the Nikon camera to take any serious photography.

Do any of you photographers use a cell phone camera? If so, when do you find yourself using it?

Getting Better

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Are you completely satisfied with the photographs coming out of your camera on every shoot? If you are, then don’t read this blog entry.

Some of us photographers are very good at composition, knowing our camera inside and out, and are even completely knowledgeable about the main subject we shoot. But what about the changing lighting conditions? Or what about when shadows appear unexpectedly? And what happens when you shoot a subject that you don’t know a lot about?

It seems to me that all of us can learn something more about getting better in photography. There is just so much to learn.

So, where do we start? The internet certainly has a lot of information available to us and we should utilize it. But learning from other photographers is probably hands down, the best way we can learn. Attending a workshop or signing up for an in-the-field seminar is highly recommended and will yield great results.

There are plenty of other ways for us to learn how to get better in our photography–reading books, subscribing to magazines, reviewing your own photos, etc.

But in the end, the only way to get better is to admit you don’t know it all and have a strong desire to want to get better!

Old Fashioned Drawing Diagrams Can Help

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I am a computer geek and prefer using the computer for just about everything possible. In fact, I’m not sure what I would do without a computer!

However, I still know the value of good old pen and paper. Drawing diagrams can help in planning a photo shoot. Where is the main light? Should you add a fill light and where should it be placed? How about your subject–where is it in relation to everything else? What about the camera–should it be at a low angle?

Admittedly, this is quite difficult when photographing wildlife, but just about every photo subject can be better photographed with advanced planning. I certainly am no artist, but diagrams definitely help me in the planning stages of a shoot. These diagrams allow me to think ahead and do some planning before I even get to the location.

I find these diagrams very useful. Give it a try. Before you go to you next photo shoot take some time to draw up a diagram or two and see if they help.

Gone Fishing!

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I took some time off this afternoon to go fishing. My son wanted me to take his friend and him fishing. It was cold and very windy–not ideal fishing conditions to be sure! But we had a good time anyway! James, my son, had a very nice bass on his hook and had reeled it all the way in to the shore. He was just about to land the bass, but it shook its head one more time, flopped a few times, and swam successfully away. I also had a pickerel on my line and was reeling it in when it also got away.

Okay. Now I’m back in the warmth of our house and thinking about photography. By the way, if you go fishing, take your camera along. You never know when you might catch a lunker! And these days where it’s common to catch and release, photos can be taken home to show your family and friends. However, the danger of this method is that it keeps those fish stories honest!

What do you do to relax? Hobbies and recreational activities make great photographic opportunities. The next time you engage in a hobby be sure to take your camera along with you!

Get Out and Shoot!

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I have a confession to make–I am a huge gear junkie!

I love to research and eventually purchase camera equipment of all kinds. B&H Photo and Nikon are two of my most favorite websites to frequent. In fact, they are typically in one of my many browser tabs. I also enjoy reading about equipment, comparing technical specifications, and reading user reviews on camera equipment. I have a long equipment “want list,” too.

But with all this research and dreaming, there is nothing better than getting outdoors to actually shot our cameras. The weather here in the Poconos of northeast Pennsylvania is finally starting to feel like spring. So instead of thinking about camera equipment it is time for me to get out and actually use the camera equipment I have currently!

We learn a lot by reading, but we can learn a whole more from experimenting and actually using our cameras and camera equipment in the field. Give it a try. Get out and shoot your camera!

Think about Depth of Field

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Depth of Field is an important concept for photographers. How much of your photograph is going to be in focus? Is it a landscape scene where you want the viewer to see pretty much everything in focus, or is a portrait where you only want the subject to be in focus?

Depth of Field will determine how much of a photograph is in focus and which parts of the photograph will be out of focus. Here is a quick way to illustrate this in a visual way. Find a long fence or a series of many parking meters. Angle your camera to catch us much of the fence or parking meters as possible. Ideally you will have your camera on a tripod to keep each shot the same. Now, close the aperture way down to something like 22 or even 32 if you can and focus about half-way into the scene. Take the photograph. Now take a second shot with your aperture somewhere in the middle range like f/8 or f/11. Finally take a third shot with the aperture fully opened.

When you get back to your computer compare the three photographs. The depth of field should be the greatest in the first shot. That is, you should see more of the fence or parking meters in focus. In the third photo you should see the least depth of focus–just a small part of the fence or a parking meter or two in clear focus. Do you see the differences?

Now, this concept needs to be applied in the photographs you are creating with your camera in all different situations. Let’s say that you are shooting a baseball game. You only care about the player at the plate and the baseball, not the dugout or the fans in the background. So you will use a shallow depth of field by opening up your aperture as wide as possible. Be careful though, because if the baseball and the player are not fairly close together, only one will be in clear focus. Many sports photographers shoot at f/4 or even f/5.6 to try to get the best of both worlds–shallow depth of field, but not too shallow.

Let’s consider another scenario. Say you are on vacation and see this beautiful sunset that lights up the valley all the way up to an incredible mountain. The sun is behind  you but the light is long and amazing. Your goal in this photo is to capture as much of the beautiful scenery as possible. This is where a deep depth of field can really help to keep as much of the scene in focus as possible. So you close down the aperture to f/22 or even more to capture this photograph.

Get the idea? Depth of field exists in every photograph to some degree. The goal is to get the proper depth of field for what you are trying to achieve. Practice and experiment with depth of field. You’ll be very glad you did when the photograph of a lifetime presents itself to you!

Focus

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Autofocus is a feature that many of us take for granted. Today’s cameras can capture the action and focus even on moving objects extremely well. I cut my photographic teeth back in the old film days when autofocus wasn’t even available. I was thrilled when it first came out and I am an even bigger fan of it now with the current digital cameras. My Nikon D300, for example, has fantastic autofocus accuracy.

Some photographers look at a photograph and wonder why their main subject or the subject they were trying to focus on is not in focus. Several contributing factors could be the culprit in this situation. One possibility is that the camera’s autofocus may have tracked on to a different subject in the frame. One of the problems I used to see happen frequently was in composing a photograph. The photographer focuses on a subject but then wants to re-position the frame for a more pleasing composition. If the shutter release is not kept pressed down halfway, the camera may re-focus on a different subject.

This is why I like to use separate buttons for focusing and exposure instead of having the shutter release do both. A simple change in the camera’s menu can set this up properly. On my D300 I use one of the buttons on the back of the camera as the focusing button. The shutter release still sets the exposure. I like this because I can focus in on a subject by pressing the back button. When I release this button the focus stays locked on that subject. I can then re-position the frame to get the composition I want. Of course I only release the back button if the subject remains still. If not, I can keep the button pressed, track the subject, and keep it in focus.

Separating the focus and exposure by using two different buttons can take some time to get used to. I recommend trying this on a free day when you do not have an important photography shoot planned. Just experiment with it but stick with it at least for one full day. Eventually you will get the hang of it and the technique will become second nature.

Get Closer

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My college photography professor was rarely satisfied with the photographs we brought in for our assignments. There was always something he suggested we could have done better. A different angle, a deeper depth of focus, a less busy background, or being too far away were all lessons we learned throughout the semester.

Get closer. This is probably the one I remember the most. I have since heard someone put this advice this way: Get closer, and then get closer again. When you think you are close enough, get even closer.

Far too many photographs are too busy. Instead of drawing the viewer’s eye into a pleasing scene, they force the viewer’s eye to dart this way and that while the observer is left wondering, “What is the subject of this photo?”

Moving in closer helps to avoid distracting backgrounds by keeping them out of the frame. Getting closer also provides more detail in the main subject. This is where zoom lenses can be helpful, but don’t forget, you can walk closer to a subject, too.

Here is a challenge for you the next time you are out with your camera. Take a photo as your normally would. Then move closer and taking another shot. Move even closer and snap another photo. Now, finally, move closer yet and release the shutter again. Now, back at your computer, compare all four photos and see what  you think. Did you get close enough? How are the photos different? Which one is more pleasing to your eye?

Frames per Second

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Sports photography presents some unique challenges. The action is sometimes fast and furious. This requires a quick mind and a mastery of the camera in order to get the shot you want. Preparation is important and knowing the game or sport inside and out are extremely important.

One camera feature that is overlooked is fps: frames per second. This demarcation represents how many frames can be captured for each second the shutter release is held down. My old D70, for example, featured 3 frames per second. This wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t very good when the speed of the action picked up.

Now enter my recently acquired D300, which features 6 frames per second. I anticipated an improvement, but the actual results blew me away. It was impressive not only to hear the rapid succession of the frames being recorded within each second, but the amount of action I could freeze with the camera was amazing!

I am planning on adding the vertical battery grip, which will up the speed to 8 frames per second!

Speed isn’t everything, but sometimes it is very nice to have a camera doing better than keeping up with the action.

Shooting Modes

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Which shooting mode do you use: Auto, Program, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, or Manual?

Many people get a new camera and are a little overwhelmed by all the different settings and options. They want to get out there and start taking photographs instead of reading through a boring owners manual. So they set their camera on Auto and go out and capture some nice shots. The only problem is they never get around to learning about the other modes and forever shoot in the Auto mode.

Auto mode will certainly let you capture some nice photos, but I do not prefer to have my camera making all the choices for me. Call me a control freak if you want, but I want to make the critical decisions on exposure, shutter, iso, and so on. After all, this is where the creative side of photography really comes out. You can be much more creative in shutter priority, aperture priority, and manual modes than in auto mode.

Give it a try. For one week or at least one day, set your camera in shutter priority mode and make the commitment to keep it there. Don’t change it! This is not always easy, but the effort is worth it. Shutter priority allows you to predetermine the shutter speed. Let’s say you’re shooting a sporting event. A fast shutter speed is necessary to freeze the action or stop the ball in the frame. So set a fast shutter speed that still allows you to get enough light to take the photo. Or, let’s suppose you are taking photos of waterfalls and you want to create photos that feature a silky waterfall that exhibits the flow of water. Now you will need a much slower shutter speed and a tripod. Set your shutter speed on 1/30 of a second, compose the shot, and take the photo. A cable or remote release can be invaluable for these shots, too.

Aperture priority mode is the one I most often use. This shooting mode allows me to shoot with a wide open aperture and thereby use a shallow depth of field. I like using this mode particularly for wildlife and sports photography. Focusing can be tricky at times, but when it works the subject stands out from both the background and the foreground. Alternatively, let’s say you want to shoot landscapes all day. Now a small aperture is necessary. Set your camera on the appropriate setting, say f/16 or f/22. Now the depth of field will be much larger and keep much more of the scene in focus. Are you beginning to see why these modes might serve you better than the auto mode?

Manual mode is the one I learned on back in my film days. I had a Minolta x370 and used manual mode just about all the time. It might take some getting used to if you haven’t done it before, but the control you gain is definitely worth the effort. Let’s say you are photographing an animal toward the end of the day. Shadows are getting longer and the sunlight is beginning to fade. You can capture the available light more easily in manual mode because you can adjust either the shutter speed or the aperture setting as  you wish. If you are getting close to having too slow of a shutter speed, then you can instantly switch to adjust the aperture. Once you learn the controls of your camera and learn to watch the light meter in your viewfinder, it will become almost automatic for you to make the necessary adjustments.

Give it time and don’t give up. Learning a new way of doing things might take some time and effort, but once you do I seriously doubt you will use auto mode much anymore. And your creativity will be free to take you to new places!

Manual mode