Archives For May 2012

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Teaching our Kids to Shoot

Varina Patel —  May 31, 2012

Teaching photography to kids is tons of fun. They pick up on concepts very quickly, and have no preconceived ideas about photography to hinder their learning! Here are some photographs that our kids took. There are some really good tips here – you can learn a lot from a kid!

Nick was 14 when he took this shot of the Washington Monument on a class trip to Washington DC. Notice that he didn’t center the composition, which makes it more appealing. He also took the shot with some pretty dramatic storm clouds – which adds interest. Those clouds also filter the light, so there are no harsh shadows or blown highlights. It’s a beautiful view of the area, and the exposure and colors are really nice.

For this shot of the Air Force Memorial, he pointed the camera straight up. The view is unique and interesting – and the blue sky makes a beautiful backdrop. Notice that his composition isn’t quite symmetrical, which adds to the appeal.

Nora is 13. She took this shot in Everglades National Park in Florida. When we saw the bird grab the fish, she started shooting right away. I told her to check her histogram – and she did. She saw that her first shot was underexposed, made a very quick manual adjustment, and took several more shots as the bird swallowed the fish whole. Quick thinking and an understanding of her histogram made for a beautiful action shot! The image is beautifully sharp, and she zoomed in to fill the frame as much as possible.

Here’s another shot she took during the trip. This time, she waited for the bird to turn his head toward the camera as he soaked up the sun. She captured the details on the birds wings, and his wonderful pose as well. Once again, she zoomed in to fill the frame with the bird and eliminate as much distraction as she could.

Eian took this shot at Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada when he was 13. He worked to get his exposure right in camera – capturing the brilliant light on the distant sandstone cliffs as the sun went down. We teach the kids to shoot in manual mode and keep an eye on their histogram for every shot.

This abstract shot shows some of the incredible detail in the sandstone. Notice that Eian placed the lines at an angle for a more dynamic composition. He also chose a single deep crack as a counterpoint to the lines running at right angles to it. This provides a clear point of interest, and lets your eye rest within the frame.

Teaching kids photography isn’t difficult. Choose a few simple ideas to get started. Don’t provide too much information all at once, and let them get creative. Then, have them tell you about their image – and why they made the choices they did. Ask how they can improve their photograph, and make some gentle suggestions of your own. Ask them to critique your photos as well – and share your own ideas for improving your work. Challenge them to improve upon their own shot, while you work to improve yours. Above all – make sure learning about photography is fun!

To learn more about how to capture creative images and brilliant colors check our the ebooks below:

In Tutorials , , ,
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Stranded

Varina Patel —  May 30, 2012

Do you ever crouch down low and set up your tripod close to the ground? I do it all the time. Here’s an example of why I do it.”

This lovely autumn scene drew my attention because of the brilliant gold color scheme – and the single, red leaf on the rock. Actually, there was a pretty maple tree just behind me, and its red leaves were scattered all over the ground at the edge of the river… but when I stood in the water with my back to the maple, this leaf seemed to stand alone against all that gold.

It’s a subtle composition – I didn’t want the leaf to be glaringly obvious within the frame. Just a bit of simple beauty in an Autumn scene. New Hampshire is beautiful in Autumn… as you can see. :)

For this shot, I got down very low with my tripod to bring the rock in the foreground as close to my wide-angle lens as possible – which increases it’s relative size within the frame. Getting low also served to “foreshorten” the midground, so that I could include more trees in the upper part of the frame. Standing up with my tripod would have made the river seem to be wider… and would have forced me to chose between all that lovely gold in the background and the large rock in the foreground.

I made sure the entire rock was included in the foreground, so that it wouldn’t feel cropped, and so that the stream could flow around it. I chose a shutter speed that would allow the water to blur a bit in the foreground – I wanted to remove details and create a slightly surreal effect in the water.

As for the rules of thirds – well… the edge of the river is at the top third, but the leaf and the rock are centered in the bottom third. I felt that using the rule of thirds in this case would leave the image feeling heavy on one side. I only use the rule of thirds when it feels right. ;) I’m a firm believer in breaking all the rules whenever it feels right to do so.

In Photo of the Day , , ,
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Summer in the Tetons

Jay Patel —  May 29, 2012

This shot always reminds me to reflect on my priorities. Many people spend days, weeks, and months sitting in a little cubicle, staring at a little screen. We all need a bit more time outside. So, this summer why not take some time and spend a few days in a place like this?

I came upon this spot at Oxbow bend on a day with almost no wind. I included just enough reflections to add interest to the photograph. The light is harsh in this shot, but I’m ok with that because the distribution of elements is such that there are no large areas of harsh shadows or blown highlights in the image.

In Photo of the Day
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Everglades National Park, Florida (FL), USA

Quick Tips: Competing Background Elements

Jay Patel —  May 28, 2012

Compare these two images to see how distracting elements within the frame can impact a photograph. Jay captured the action is both shots beautifully – but the first image is much stronger than the second one. Why?

Take a look a the of little blue heron above. The bird is well isolated against a uniform background – the cool blue waters of the Shark River in Florida.  The viewers attention is focused directly on the heron. The uniform background allows the viewer notice the details of the bird – the impressive shape of his body, the patterns in his feathers… even the tiny fish he has caught in his beak.

The second shot shows a green Heron in action. He has also caught a little fish, and is preparing to take flight. In this photograph the subject has to compete for your attention – the foliage around it is distracting, and the green heron nearly gets lost in the photograph.

When composing a photograph, pay attention to the competing elements in the scene. Eliminating distractions helps the viewer focus directly on the subject.

To learn more about how to capture creative images and brilliant colors check our the ebooks below:

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Featured Download: Morning Glory

Varina Patel —  May 25, 2012

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I took this shot as the sun peaked over the distant trees in Everglades National Park in Florida. I wanted to capture the pattern of the pines against the sky, and the richly backlit grasses. I used a narrow aperture to produce a sunburst through the trees.

As always, these images are provided for personal use as computer wallpaper or backgrounds ONLY. Copyright belongs to the photographer,and photographs cannot be used, redistributed, or recreated in print or on the web or on any other medium without written permission from the photographer.

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FStop Loka

What’s in your camera bag?

Varina Patel —  May 24, 2012

Since we get this question a lot, I thought I’d answer it with a short video.

This is my Loka bag from f-stop (www.fstopgear.com). I absolutely love it. And at the end, you’ll see my other Shibata bag from the f-stop Millar Series. Which I also love. ;)

So now, the question is… what’s in YOUR camera bag? :) It’s pretty amazing how much stuff can fit into one of these bags if you make an effort!

By the way – I should point out that this bag looks a bit bigger than it really is in this video. The wide-angle lens on the video camera makes objects closer to the lens look larger, and those that are further away look smaller. So, because I’m further away than the bag – I look smaller and the bag looks bigger. The bag fits me very well, and Jay loves his too.

For bonus points: How many lens cloths do I have? Ha!

To learn more about landscape photography, check out our webinars.

In Videos , , , , ,
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What are you thinking when you shoot?

Varina Patel —  May 23, 2012

Do you usually have a clear idea of what you are after when you are shooting – or do you shoot what’s in front of you, and look for something good in your collection later? Are you looking for something unique and different? Or trying to replicate a photo you’ve seen before?

I’m curious about what goes on in photographer’s minds as they are standing out there with their cameras.

I can only explain my own thought process. :) Most of the time, when I’m shooting, I have a pretty solid feeling for the finished image I want to present. This shot was no exception. I knew I would convert to black and white in Post-Processing, and I could see the image I wanted to create in my head. A high-key shot with some clean contrast in the foreground rocks. It took some time to get exactly what I wanted, though – because the sand was dry at low tide. I knew that as the tide came in, the waves would wash away the footprints and bicycles tracks. So I waited. Finally, a single wave came all the way to the base of my tripod – filling the depression around the rock with water, and smoothing the surface of the sand throughout my entire composition. As the wave pulled back, I snapped a single photograph. The next wave, was as high as my knees, and the rocks were underwater for the duration.

In Photo of the Day ,
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Moonlit Madness

Jay Patel —  May 22, 2012

Here is a composite shot from Death Valley National Park that was published in a magazine few years ago. A composite shot is when two images are combined in Photoshop, or exposed in the same frame.

I took the first shot with a wide-angle lens after the sun had set in Death Valley – the first shot is exposed it for the foreground. A few minutes later, the moon came up over the mountains. I took another shot with a longer lens… this one exposed properly for the moon. When I returned home, I combined them in Photoshop.

Why does this combination of a wide-angle shot and a shot taken with a zoom lens work? Because there are no familiar objects to give the brain visual reference about size and distance (such as a house, a tree, or a human being).

In Photo of the Day ,
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San Gregorio State Park, California (CA), USA

Photoshop How To: Lower Contrast Images

Jay Patel —  May 21, 2012

Sometimes we find ourselves photographing a scene where the light conditions are just perfect. We can capture the entire dynamic range with a single exposure, so no special filters or bracketing is necessary. But when you open up your raw file, it often appears to lack the contrast and details that you remember seeing while you were out in the field. This happens because the contrast and sensitivity of our eyes adjusts based upon the light conditions. The dynamic range of the sensor remains fixed. So, low contrast scenes end up using only a fraction of the dynamic range of the sensor, and this creates a flat and unappealing image. Here is a video that show how we deal with lower-contrast scenes like this one:

Layers and Mask are valuable tools that have the potential to dramatically improve your photography. To learn more about Layers and Masks, check out our webinars.

In Videos , , , , ,
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Beautiful Iceland

Varina Patel —  May 18, 2012

The sky was beautiful – but not over the waterfall I had planned to shoot. What to do? Well, that’s an easy one. MOVE! Go shoot where the light is right! :)

There you go. That’s my piece of advice for the day. Brilliant, eh?

Seriously though. I took this shot while we were in Iceland… (You can check out our trip report for day 7 if you haven’t read it before.)

The shot you see here is not the one I was waiting for… but I’m perfectly happy with that. Nature photographers don’t get to adjust the lighting to their specifications. We’re stuck with what we get. On this morning in Iceland, I was all set up and ready to shoot the sunrise over some beautiful waterfalls. But the sun wasn’t particularly interested in lighting up the sky over the falls. Instead, it put on a pretty little show over this mountain in the distance. I was uninspired by the foreground, so I took off my wide-angle lens, and replaced it with a 70-200mm. Then, I zoomed in to capture the beautiful colors in the sky and the dusting of snow on the mountain. It had just snowed the night before, so I was able to capture the beauty of the snow contrasting against the stark lava slopes.

I’m not disappointed. In fact, this is one of the things I love about nature photography. You never know what you’ll come away with! I was expecting to get a shot of those waterfalls… and I could see the shot in my mind. I didn’t get that shot… but I came home with something entirely different.

When only a small area of the sky is rich with color, that’s a great time to pull out a long lens. With a wide angle lens, this small area of color would seem insignificant within the frame. With a long lens, I can fill the entire frame with color! Bang on!

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