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Aug

CCC Part 5: Guest Blogger ‘Funky Slug’ on low light challenges

Funky Slug! What a ‘handle’, I thought mine was rather unique but I’m a mere pile of potatoes when compared with Funky Slug. Sigh, I’m so ordinary…

All of which is to say that this week’s guess blogger is a Slug called Funky who takes might fine snaps for a slimy one. Check out his site here and prepare to be dazzled. My absolute best favourite bit of his site is the ‘Slug’d’ section…as much for its name as its content of course. But how completely splendid…to create a new technique and called it ‘Slug’d'…in years to come we’ll all be showing off our award winning shots and going, ‘Oh, that one? Yes I Slug’d it…it works so well don’t you think? Now, that will be $bazillion for a limited edition print of 1,000,000′.

Seriously, all due thanks to Brian (alas, he’s not ACTUALLY called Funky Slug) for tackling some pretty knotty technical issues. He tackled 2 topics originally suggested by Kristine (night photography and ‘smooth’ water effects) and 1 from The Fragrant Muse (light trails). Enjoy!

As ever please ask questions…either related or unrelated to the post. I’ll be back in a couple of days to tackle more of your questions and suggested topics, plus more quick tips.

Over and out.

Low Light Challenges

So this weeks little saunter in to the “learnin’ stuff” corner is going to cover a few topics so I hope you don’t get bored, but ultimately they’re all linked (fortunately) and all involve getting the most amount of light in to the camera, from ultimately low light situations…

So we’re going for light trails / night photography and fluffy water… Best off I guess is to start with the topic of night photography.. Night photography tends to express a certain something that can be missing from daytime shots, almost regardless of the subject, and when done right they certainly attract attention… Now I’m not by any means an expert in night photography, but that’s mainly because I’m a big scaredy cat when it comes to going out late at night loaded up with camera gear… but I’ve done a fair few, and luckily we’re only going in to the technicalities, and therefore I don’t need to show evidence.. lol

Night Photography

So very firstly, for those who want to cheat, and don’t think it’s important to read all the “stuff”… Here’s a few initial tips… But you’ll need to read the rest to get the BEST tip of all…

Make sure you have fully charged battery
Take a tripod
Know WHAT you want to shoot, and from where
Set your camera to AV and set to approx f8 or lower for starters
Keep the ISO low (100 – 200)

So now secondly first off, poor night shots can sometimes appear blurry or may not even come out at all.. which may be what those who have tried and not “yet” succeeded have experienced.. Hopefully we’ll be able to cover some tips to improve this.. but it basically comes down to getting enough of the available light in to the camera, whilst ensuring the camera is kept still.. therefore in pretty much most occasions a tripod is needed (or at least somewhere solid to stand the camera)… And although more expensive cameras don’t necessarily automatically achieve better night shots, it still has to be realised that some of the cheapest cameras won’t be capable of taking amazing night shots either

Sometimes too the best time to take dramatic night shots isn’t always necessarily at night.. A good tip is to try to shoot at dusk, or even dawn (for those daft enough to get up early).. The best time is a window of about 30 mins from sun up or sun down when there’s enough colour in the sky for some real dramatic effects..

If you’re opting for the sun up / sun down window though, then planning the shot first is key, due to the relatively limited time available to get the shot, so make sure you get there with plenty of time to spare to pick the best shot…

So the gear… Tripod / fully charged battery and maybe even a torch too… Oh.. and a camera comes in handy… A fully charged battery is a must, as depending on your camera and the shot you’re taking your shutter may be open for 30mins or so… and a partially drained battery dying part way through the ultimate night shot isn’t too amusing.. And you can guarantee that if your battery dies it WOULD have been the best night shot ever…

So now you’re no doubt bored witless with my wafflings, let’s get in to the more techy stuff… The whole concept of night photography, as I said before, is getting the limited available light in to your camera, and this is achieved by extending the length of time the shutter is open and absorbing this available light. In real basic terms I’d liken night photography to filling a bath through a straw… During the day you can fill it normally using the taps… At night though, you still need the same amount of water, but you can only fill it through a straw so it takes a lot longer to fill… Hence at night you need to allow the camera more time to absorb the available light (or get a bigger straw)… Doing this also requires you to hold the camera perfectly still for all of that time (not sure where the straw comes in to this one though, but make sure you don’t drop the camera in the bath)… For this you need to mount the camera ideally on a solid tripod, or at the very least a solid base like a wall… Any movement of the camera during a 2 second or 30 minute exposure will blur the edges in your shot and potentially ruin it… Also you may find it useful to focus on the main subject, and then switch your cameras focus to manual and only then compose your shot. This helps to limit any confusion the camera might experience trying to auto focus at night… Oh and a cable release or remote release is very useful too, but if you don’t have one then try using the camera’s timer function. This will prevent you shaking the camera as you press the shutter button, and stop you from blurring the shot… Or just have a few drinks first and then the blurred shot will look normal..

You can alter (shorten or even lengthen) the time required by changing the aperture or ISO speed… Be warned though that if you set the aperture too high (say f22) then the camera will struggle even more and take even longer to absorb light, and this will result in more noise and a higher risk of blurring the shot as it takes longer.. Similarly if you set the ISO speed too high (400 or above) then you’ll likely notice film graining of the image..

I’d recommend setting your ISO to 200 or below, and keeping a relatively wide aperture, such as f8 or lower… Another recommendation is to “bracket” your shots.. which will take a series of images at differing exposures.. Some camera’s will have an “AEB” or Auto Bracketing feature, and if you’re going to use this I’d personally recommend setting the camera on aperture priority “AV” and then auto bracket.. Doing it this way will then only extend / shorten the time the aperture is open and not adjust your depth of field (the amount of stuff that’s in focus)…. For those that don’t have cameras that can auto bracket, you can do this manually by setting the (EV) exposure compensation.. This will be a little +/- symbol on the camera, and is usually selected in increments of 1/3 EV… Positive adjustment will allow more light in to the camera and will brighten a dark image… Negative adjustment will naturally have the opposite effect…

You may also find that on some cameras you may even have a “Night” mode… in which case ignore everything I’ve said so far, and skip straight to this bit… Oooh… Guess I should have put this bit first… but where’s the fun in that… lol… So study your manual to see if you’ve got one… It will most likely be a symbol like a half moon… and then give that a go and mix it in with exposure compensation too…

Also, as a general rule… forget trying to use your flash for night time scenic shots, as it will only illuminate the immediate area within a few metres, and you’ll see nothing else of the scene you actually want…

One more bit too for those who don’t want orange photo’s… You’ll find you also will likely need to manually change the White Balance “WB” if you’re shooting after dark where street lights etc are visible.. Check how in your manual but you’ll need to set this to the “tungsten” setting for most night shots, which is normally depicted by a graphic of a wee light bulb..

So there you go… There’s an introduction to night photography, and for those that were lazy (like me) and missed the main points… cos lets face it – who reads everything…

Go fully equipped with full batteries and a tripod
Use a remote / cable release or try to use the timer function
Allow yourself plenty of time to set the shot up
Setting your camera to manual focus once focused will help for DSLR users
Set the camera to semi manual (such as aperture priority)
Stick with relatively wide apertures (f8 or lower) to keep the shooting time shortest
Keep the ISO setting low (100 to 200) to reduce noise
Set the “WB” White Balance to Tungsten for after dark shots
Take bracketed shots
Cheat and put the camera on “Night Mode”

So now the ultimate tip you’ve been desperately waiting for

If at first you don’t succeed, try try again, and only then give up and go home…

The REAL benefit of digital though is that you’ve got instant results, so can see if your tinkerings have paid off… and if they haven’t.. tinker some more and go again…

Light Trails

So that’s the basics of night photography, and if you’re still awake then lets cover light trails… Now this still involves shooting in low light situations, and ensuring that the camera is recording the image long enough for any movement of light to blur in to a continuous stream, such as headlights of cars, or the lights on a fairground attraction.. You will most likely still need a stable base unless you’re going for the more surreal handheld approach to light trails which can yield some amazing results too..

Essentially though shooting light trails tends to be a case of trial and error.. You need to decide how long you need the camera to be recording for to capture the amount of light trails you need to make the shot impressive… This can be anything from 1 or 2 seconds (for a fairground ride) to 30 seconds or more (as per my car shot)… The way to set up is to decide on a suitable time you think you want, set your camera to “TV” shutter priority… and then set the time you want manually, and also keep the ISO speed as low as you can. The camera will then decide itself what aperture you require to keep the shutter open for the required amount of time.

I say this is trial and error, as you may find the camera has been fooled as to the available light, and hasn’t therefore calculated correctly… In this case you can either adjust the “+/-“ exposure compensation to let in more or less light, or be really brave and switch to fully manual… and set both the shutter speed AND the aperture… Depending on the light though you might not be able to achieve the desired time, and may need to opt for a shorter time if your images appear too light…

Remember though… The longer the shutter is open, the lighter and brighter the resulting image will be.. And also low “f” numbers let more light in too, and mean the shutter doesn’t need to stay open as long, so for the same exposure time you’ll also get a brighter and lighter image… And the converse applies if you need to darken the image… Shorter shutter speed and / or a higher “f” number…

And also, speaking of light trails, be sure to check back in regularly, as I hear there’s an amazing guest blog coming up soon on how to do star trails, by a certain very good friend of mine. And if her star shots are anything to go by, then her guest spot will be amazing too.

Lastly – if you fancy trying something like my car shot… The settings I used were 30 second exposure / f11 / ISO 100 / manually focused on the A-pillar… And also essential for this shot is a VERY stable tripod…

Soft Water

Now the last bit… then you may sleep… This too comes down to shooting in low light conditions, or at least “simulating” low light with the use of ND (Neutral Density) filters… ND Filters are dark grey filters of varying “darkness”, that make the whole scene appear darker to the camera, and allow you to leave the shutter open longer without actually having to wait for it to get dark… As they are “neutral” though they don’t affect the colours in the scene…

To make the water soft and fluffy, you need to be achieving shutter speeds of anything up to 30 seconds, but it’s best for water to achieve this by setting your camera to “AV”or “A” (aperture priority), and letting the camera decide on the shutter speed, or you may tend to find the highlights in the water may blow out (are too bright) and you’ll lose detail. You can then adjust the “f” number to alter the shutter speed… A higher “f” number will increase the length of time the shutter is open, and for the soft water effect you’ll likely need to choose something quite high, like f22… and the longer the shutter is open the softer and fluffier the water will end up..

If you can’t achieve the shutter speed you need, even when shooting at f32 or higher, then you’ll need to fool the camera by using ND filters… These can be expensive though and are really only available for DSLR cameras… Or just wait a while for it to get darker… lol…

You may also notice a touch of “post processing” on a couple of these shots, specifically the sunset and waterfall shots.. These are HDR, and this process was briefly mentioned earlier in Aswirly’s guest spot, and can really bring an image to life. It’s a complete topic on its own though when you’re all feeling brave..

So there you have it.. here endeth today’s lesson, and if you actually made it this far then you do realise that you’ll need to forget all about night photography for a while, as you’ll likely sleep for a week after reading this…

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Aug

CCC Part 4: Q&A

Posted under Camera Club

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Happy Birthday lovely Anna…just turned 3! Look at her curls, look at the red, red hair…just perfect. AND she has the prettiest face, perfect creamy skin with freckles and chocolate coloured eyes. Gah, not fair….unfair distribution of pretties!

Thanks to you all for your lovely comments on Aswirly’s post on making the most of your point & shoot. What a great post! She inspired me to get my old P&S out and snap and, ta da, even get the manual out. Look at me…I’m taking my own advice. Yay.

Two quick things…lots of you are making me a contact on Flickr which is fabulous. Please do, and I will make you a contact too…that means I get a ‘feed’ of your most recent updates i.e. I can quickly view your most recent photos. If you’d like to make me a contact, please join Flickr follow this link and click ‘mark as contact’ on the top right. Once you’ve done that I will reciprocate. And then we’ll be Best Friends Forever, arrrrr xx

Secondly, you can now share photos with me and everyone else here on Chez Spud. Huzzah! Some of you have emailed me photos with questions, which is cool and I’m happy to help you. But, ideally, let’s share the photos/questions here so we can all learn. When you go to the ‘comments’ box on a post, scroll down…down below the google Friend Connect box….down there is a ‘You can add images to your comment by clicking here’ box. So, click there, and then add the URL of the image you need help with or just want to share because it’s fabulous! You’ll need to add a URL that has JPEG at the end of it! So, for Flickr users: upload photo, click on the photo. click on ‘all sizes’, click ‘medium’ in the available sizes, scroll down until you get to the ‘grab the photo’s URL’, copy it. Come back to Chez Spud and paste it. I know that sounds like SUCH a faff, but it’s the same routine I follow for uploading every photo I put here…it’s no big deal after the first time!

Enough..on with the questions

1. Jelica…this is brilliant! can we have a session at blog camp 2.0?

Thank you! Assuming you mean a photography session then, yes, absolutely. I would suggest you corner me before the wine/tequila comes out however. And that you frisk me for hidden axes…or Canons.

2. Joanna… I have a D50 with a Nikon 18-55mm lens and a Tamron 70-300mm. I’m recently ‘re-learning’ stuff I’ve forgotten from LBC (life before children). At the moment I’m enjoying working on the ‘A’ setting and doing still life stuff at a very short depth of field, but at best I’m getting F5 as my smallest aperture. Is that as good as it’s going to get with my lens? What do I need to improve this? I’m very jealous on the short depth of field you’re achieving (for example the ‘Charlie and Lola’ presents wrapped up)

Ah, LBC…let’s take a moment to savour that memory. Hmmm, arrrh….eeeeesh. OK I’m over that now. Right, that Charlie & Lola (ahem actually Clarice Bean for the pedants!) was shot with my 50mm at f2.8. So, a reasonably shallow depth of field, but in fact it’s a crop of a MUCH larger image. I do that a lot if my original image is crap…I crop out the crap. ta da!

You need to tell me a bit more about the lenses, what is their f stop range? Which lenses are you using which mean the largest aperture is f5? I’m guessing the 70-300? If you have it at its max zoom then your maximum available aperture will be at the smaller end of its ‘advertised’ range. That sounds confusing; in brief, your maximum aperture with a zoom lens will be smaller of the range of apertures written on the lens. It’s nothing you’re doing wrong, it’s just a limitation of the lens! But tell me more about the lenses, tell me the aperture ranges.

Second question – I’ve (just about) grasped the relationship between shutter speed/ aperture but now marvel at how over exposure and ISO fit in? If I want a deep depth of field and but light is poor, what’s stopping me over exposing the image by +1.0 or so? I think ISO is also meant to help with exposure but no idea how?

Argh I know! So complex. I don’t properly understand this but I’m going to get Eliza_Claire (Crantock) to tackle this in a guest blog, she was talking a lot of sense about exposure compensation when I saw her last week. But, in brief, let’s think of exposure compensation as ‘fine tuning’ compared with changing the ISO and put it on one side for now.

Given the scenario you describe…you want a deep depth of field (ie. lots in focus, so you’re using a small aperture ie. with a big number like 11 or 16 or so) and the light is poor (but you don’t want to use flash)…then your first line of defense against blurry, under exposed pictures is to up the ISO. Remember film cameras? Remember when you bought 35mm film in different ‘speeds’? 100/200 for every day outside/well lit photos, 400 for shady/less well lit photos, 800 for poorly lit situations etc etc. It’s the same on your digital camera! Keep to 100/200 as much as you can…but when the light drops and you don’t want to use flash or open up your aperture (with its resultant reduction of depth of field i.e less will be in focus), then you increase your ISO. Most fancy cameras allow you to up it in increments. I do it old style and stick to 200/400/800 etc because I’m just boring like that.

3. Robin…wow!!! lots of info, lots of great ideas, answers and questions! are you going to invite me to be your star guest blogger? oh…. no?? dang. well i guess i will have to bow more deeply to ChairSpud and be a better bitch then eh?

Hey bitch! [cracks whip]…oh look! I just saw you offer to guest blog. Yay, will be in touch ;-)

4. Ali,,,OK….explain to me what exactly are macros? and how do I do it with the 18-55 VR… or am I pissing in the wind? Also macros, better to get closer to the subject or better to stand back and zoom – I have problems with focus and clarity.

OK macro is the art of taking photos of something ‘at least’ life size or, more usually, larger. So, most classically, it means those amazing shots of bugs and the like which seem dinosaur sized, but anything is fair game for macro photography (apart from my spots and wrinkles which are strictly off limits). It’s SUCH a skill and involves buckets of patience, expensive lenses, tripods, thermos flasks of Nescafe and manual focusing skills extraordinaire. Which is why I’m crap at it…

More seriously, you can use any zoom lens as a macro lens because, um, a zoon allows you to zoom in on a subject. Your 18-55 is a zoom, albeit not VERY zoomy. But it’s worth a go. But you’re going to need a tripod as any kind of camera shake (ie you wobbling about holding it, pressing the shutter etc) will make for a blurry image. I have lots of other tips for reducing camera shake…any takers? It’s quite a boring teccie subject but the best tip is to use a tripod. Also, you will need excellent light (but not in direct light as that will either make for an overexposed shot, or ugly shadows…sigh…why is this so HARD!). Um, and sometimes a tight crop of a well exposed, SHARP (focused) shot makes for an good, fake macro. Like this…a hard crop of a shot taken at f7.0, 150mm and 200 ISO:

That’s it for the questions for now. But keep them coming! Our next guest blog will be up in the next day or so. To finish up…

Quick Tip! Really, really basic one here but – erm – it’s taken me an embarrassingly long time to ‘get’ this one. Don’t take photos in the middle of the day. The light is harsh, it bleaches the colour out of everything, it casts unflattering shadows everywhere and it makes people screw their eyes up. No one’s a winner in the midday sun! The light is ‘best’ just after and just before the sun comes up and goes down but life doesn’t work like that. So, in every day terms, avoid the midday sun and use the softer light of early morning/late afternoon and evening where possible. For portraits, put people in the shade but watch out for shadows across their face.

Also, look out for secret ‘special’ light places. Hard to describe but, after 6 months of my Photo A Day Project (which has forced me to hunt around every day for interesting subjects/light)…I found a ‘gift’ of a place for late afternoon light in the spring/summer, at the back of our garden. I’d love to be able to describe what make it special but I can’t. Trial and error…trial and error…keep your eyes open…that’s my best advice!

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Aug

CCC Part 3: Guest Blogger Aswirly on Point & Shoots

Posted under Camera Club

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Drum roll….dim the the lights….queue spotlight…queue vast applause….introducing our first guest blogger here at Chez Spud, the fabulous Amber of Aswirly’s Place. Please take a moment to skip over to her place and be wowed by her amazing photography and her uniquely creative approach to shots. She’s a truly outstanding photographer and has a mind for the unusual. I was amazed to learn that many of the ‘wow’ shots that she is known for were taken with a point & shoot. This really proves the point I’ve been banging on about in CCC Parts 1 and 2…it’s NOT about having a fancy ‘big’ camera, a point & shoot or a cameraphone will produce amazing results too! Ah, how I love being right ;-) Also, topical, an email dropped in to my inbox today highlighting this great post of P&S tips and tricks. Inspired by Amber’s post I cracked open the P&S today and took the macro shot above…hmm, think she makes it look easier than it is!

Her post focuses on getting the best from a P&S, and using the benefits that a P&S offers over a DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex AKA ‘big camera’). But much of it is great reading for all photographers, and it also introduces some cool techniques such as HDR and mini-cloning. I’ve linked to Amber’s excellent tutorials on both these techniques if you want to read a bit more (like me, who knew nothing about either!!). I asked Amber to include some of her super-cool whizzy ‘processed’ shots in the post – whilst they might seem a bit beyond us beginners, it’s good to get a basic grounding in some more advanced techniques to inspire us!

I have a few questions to tackle from CCC Part 2, I’d planned to tack these on to the end of Amber’s post but I think it’s better to do questions separately? Please ask questions here about Amber’s post, or anything else that’s on your mind and the next CCC post will address them (with Amber’s help as necessary).

Enough wiffle from me, hands mic to Amber, heaps praise and thanks on her and heads to the bar…cheers!

LOVE YOUR POINT & SHOOT!

Anyone who has followed my work for awhile will know that my obsession with photography started with my modest point and shoot camera. I had always had a 35 mm film camera until 2000 when I got a brand spanking new all digital camera. My husband convinced me it would be ideal to have for our honeymoon that year. Boy, was that camera fun! I went through a handful of digital point and shoot cameras before finally aquiring my first DSLR camera in early 2008.

Having a DSLR is a necessary tool for the serious amateur photographer. Such things as night photography, controlled depth of field, and soft water, are not possible, or not as successful, when using a simple point and shoot camera. However, that being said, a point and shoot is still very useful in creating beautiful images. Often times having the limiting factors makes the user of such cameras more creative. Let’s talk about that. How to be creative in using your point and shoot camera!

Point and Shoot cameras are small:

What’s so great about that? Well, a number of things… For one, a P&S camera is not as noticeable as a large clunky dslr camera. Take advantage of this fact by snapping candid shots of interesting people on the street, the insides of street cars and subways, restaurants, concerts, anywhere that might be of interest. I have found that carrying my P&S in my purse allows for some great sneaky photo opportunites like this shot inside the Westfield Mall in San Francisco :)

Or how about his shot from inside a girly dresshop in San Francisco. You can actually see me sneakily taking the shot in the mirror. By the way, I processed this one with a little extra color and used the anistrophic filter in Photoshop:

Make use of the display screen:

Typically with the dslr camera the photographer uses the view finder to compose the shot. However, with a point and shoot, it is much easier to just use the display screen on the back of the camera. Sure, using the screen uses some batterly life, but it does allow for composing some great shots. For instance, have you ever seen a photographer lying on the ground trying to get that perfect low angle with a big dslr? Be a little less conspicuous by simply setting your point and shoot on the ground and using the screen to view from a distance and see if your shot is right. If you have a flip out screen like mine it will make this even easier. Low angle shots are easy and fun with a point and shoot!

P&S have GREAT Macro lenses!

If you own a dslr you know that purchasing a macro lens is no inexpensive investment. They’re hundreds of dollars. Heck I still haven’t been able to get one although it is on my list. BUT, the macro feature on most point and shoot cameras is excellent! Seriously! If you are a point and shoot user make use of your macro feature. Macro means you can take a very closeup image of a subject such as a flower. All you need to do is push a button, or set the dial on your camera to the picture of a flower.

After pushing the button or setting the dial, get really really close to you subject until you see it become in focus on your display screen and then shoot! With the macro feature, compounded by your camera’s small size, you can achieve macro results that rival dslr users :) Try some interesting angles on subjects like these:

Pump up your images!

Do you have Photoshop? If so there are many many things you can learn to do. The world wide web is full of tutorials on how to process your images and most techniques can be applied to your point and shoot images. For instance, you can contour one image over another, like this picture ‘Tres Expressif’:

If you have a small tripod you can even play with cloning by taking a few different shots of yourself, or someone else, in a single scene, and then overlaying them. Check out my first mini clone here :)

Hey, did you know that you can even do HDR (High Dynamic Range) shots with your point and shoot? Well you can! Yes, even if you do not have Photoshop. We all know how expensive photoshop is. If that is not an investment you can make you can make a smaller investment in a program called Photomatix that will allow you to tonemap and HDR your images. Generally HDR is created from RAW files which unfortunately point and shoot cameras do not support. But, as long as you can take 3 exposures, or duplicate 3 exposures in ANY editing software (this means making 2 extra copies of your shot and making one a little darker, and one a little lighter) you can make an HDR using Photomatix. Here is an example of an HDR from a point and shoot image.

In conclusion…

Point and shoot cameras are fun! Let your imagination go wild and don’t let intimidation by the dslr users hinder your creativity. Remember, your point and shoot camera has many assets like being small and inconspicuous, and it is built with a great macro lens. Plus you can process like the grownups with a little dedication and learning.

Now get out that point and shoot and start shooting!

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Aug

CCC Part 2: Questions from the Floor

Posted under Camera Club, Photography

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CCC is a go-go! Hoorah, we’ve even got a logo which Eliane of Creativity and Inspiration in Ireland sweetly made for us…I will load it up later but wanted to get on with Part 2 of CCC and answer all the questions you’ve asked. Let’s crack on so we can get to the real business of gossip and cake…

1. Miss Buckle…will you kill me when I come to Blog Camp 2.0 with my Canon 350D and Sigma 18-200mm?

In truth, it will depend on my mood. Ideally no violence will be involved at Blog Camp and, in your favour, I’m quite well mannered and tend to behave myself when I’m someone else’s guest. I reserve the worst of my behaviour for the sainted MrSpud who has seen it all before and lets it all wash over him. Also, all sharp implements (apart from from my wit) will have been removed from my person by security at the airport so you will probably be fine. Tip: you might want to ask Julocka’s husband to hide his impressive collection of axes.

Or, to be absolutely sure of your safety, trade in the photocopier and buy a real camera Nikon. Or be really edgy and bring a Holga (pictured above).

2. Kirstina…which is your favourite lens and why? If you were to buy a new camera today which would you get? Do you do much processing of your photos?

I think it’s a toss up between my 50mm and the 18-200 VR (that’s vibration reduction by the way. I love the 50mm because it’s a very ‘fast’ lens which is a fancy way of saying you can use it in low light conditions. It’s largest aperture is 1.4 which means I can use it when the light is poor, as well as using it to get a very shallow depth of field. Depth of field is the term used to describe how much of a photo is in focus and how much is blurred. The depth of field at 1.4 makes for some very dramatic shots, with only a very small part of the composition in focus, and the rest is thrown out of focus. There isn’t much margin for error at 1.4, especially in very low light, and I get a lot of ‘duds’ which are hopelessly out of focus. But then I get some ‘hits’ along the way too. This was taken at f1.4, only one flower is in focus…the rest is a blur, a bit like an impressionist painting really. Actually I think this is too extreme, but I took this the day I got the lens and wanted to play with it!

I also love how light and compact the 50mm is. That counts for a lot for me as I take my camera everywhere, I shove it in my handbag which is already crammed full of the paraphernalia of parenthood (nappies, wipes, drinks, gin, Valium etc). Less good, it’s a fixed focus lens. That means it doesn’t zoom at all, it’s 50mm or nothing! More to the point it means YOU have to move to compose the shot as you would like. That’s no big deal with landscapes, still life and all that…but with fast moving subjects, say, Megaboys it can be a problem as those boys move like the wind and don’t believe in posing for photos. Here’s Bertie, taken at f1.4 but in very poor light…no time to stop!

The 18-200 VR is a beast of a lens and is the ultimate ‘walkaround’ lens. Seriously with that lens on you don’t need anything else unless you’re a total photography freak. At 18mm it’s WIDE, you get a huge view of whatever it is you’re snapping and it’s fabulous for landscapes. At 200mm it’s ZOOOOMY which means you can get really really close up to your subject, and use it like a macro lens. And the VR (vibration reduction) is impressive; it’s an internal working to the lens which means it compensates for movement (which means blurry out of focus shot) to produce sharper images. It’s great for low light (often means blurred shots), fast moving subjects like Megaboys, or action shots (sports etc). Generally you would need a tripod to cope with the situations I’ve just outlined, but the VR is so good you can ‘sometimes’ cope without one. I took this handheld (i.e no tripod) at 200mm, i.e at the lens’ maximum zoom when you would typically expect a less than ‘sharp’ (ie. focused) shot, but this is pretty good:

If I had to choose one I would go with the 18-200 VR. But I would cry and whine a lot about my lost 50mm….

Processing: I shoot in RAW (a whole post in itself) which keeps the best, non destructive image quality (ie. I can mess around with the file without losing any of the original data). But RAW files always need editing, even just a little brightening and lifting. So, yes, I process everything. I rarely ‘heavily’ process shots of people but I often ‘get in there’ with landscapes. As a general rule I find that the more I need to process a shot, the worse it was to begin with! Or, more positively, good shots only need light editing…poor shots need more of a helping hand and possibly should have been deleted! An example of a shot that should have been deleted rather than processed to within an inch of its life…yuck, nasty, what was I thinking?

Which camera would I choose if I were starting over? That’s a tough one, I have a Nikon because I stole it from MrSpud no other reason. I guess I would choose an entry level DSLR, go to a camera shop and see how each ‘felt’ and probably then choose the cheapest so I had more money in my lens budget. It’s worth investing in good lenses as you keep the lenses forever (you buy them to be compatible with a specific camera brand, but not a specific camera), whereas you might upgrade your camera body as time goes on.

3. Otin…all I know is that I press a little button and an image appears! LOL

Yeah that’s pretty much all I know too. But I’m amazingly good at bullshitting….

4. Kristine…I’ve been playing with shutter speeds recently to get a ‘smooth’ effect (like with running water, you know what I mean), but I find that often I end up with a photo that is far too bright; is that just the price I have to pay? Second, what advice do you have regarding photography at night without using flash?

I’m emailing you with some quick pointers, but I’ve asked next week’s guest blogger to tackle them for you in full.

5. Eliane…which lens do you use for close ups? But looking at your kit list I think I found the answer? And what is the photo on your original ‘surgery’ post?

I’m intrigued! Which lens do you think I use? To be honest, the close ups are probably just crops of a larger image. I have tried using the 18-200mm as a macro but I’m just not patient enough. Macro work really means tripod plus manual focus and, ssshhh, I’m rubbish at manually focusing! The photo is of big planters waiting to be sold at a local garden centre!

6. Redbedhead…how do you get sun flare? How do you get bokeh? What processing package does everyone use? Are some easier to use than others? Tips on using the manual setting on your DSLR? Tips on taking shots of children?

OOOOF, so many questions!! All excellent ones…sun flare and bokeh are going to be covered by our first guest blogger, as part of an ‘Introduction to Aperture’ post. Likewise I will do a totally separate post on the manual settings, and I will have a child photographer do a guest blog on taking shots of children. Apologies…you’ve ended up with lots of your questions being shelved, but they are excellent ones which are whole posts on their own. I hope that’s OK?

Processing; I guess Photoshop is the most well known and Elements (the scaled down version of the ‘grown up’ PS) is very popular and much more affordable than the ‘full’ PS. I have PS but have very little idea what I’m doing so I favour Lightroom. I would love to talk to you about Lightroom but I’m still learning how to use it. What I do know is that (a) it’s fantastic for storing/cataloging your photos and (b) it’s much easier than PS for basic adjustments.

Until recently I used Picnic to process my shots and I really rate it. It’s easy to use and it’s free. There is an upgrade, which is worth paying for once you’re comfortable with the basics, but the free stuff is more than enough to be going on with.

Another free application is Gimp but I know nothing about that. Does anyone else want to comment? And what about Picasa? Again I haven’t used that but I know it’s popular, who uses that? Any good?

7. Bee…I’m hoping to get a Nikon for Christmas, which are the most useful lenses and what are they good for?

Ah, so pleasing…another convert. See above…your camera will come with a ‘kit lens’ which will likely be the 18-55VR which is excellent. But ask for a 50mm f1.8 too. It’s not expensive (just under £100) and it’s lovely for everything but especially portraits, flowers, garden shots etc. You’ll find it hard to get it off your camera because it takes such beautiful shots. I love mine for taking photos of children.

8. The Fragrant Muse…how did you get the effect on the photo ‘Blanca and Polly re-entering the Real World’?

Mostly good luck! Which is how I get a lot of my shots…I take a LOT of photos every day and discard vast amounts of them. That photo shows ‘light trails’. I’m going to email you but I’ve lined up a guest blogger to tackle light trails next week as it’s a fun and easy effect, and a very dramatic one.

9. VEG…I am still in photography kindergarten, I am lucky if I can get the shot straight, in frame, and in focus. And all I have is a Canon point and shoot. Am I beyond hope?

I am also lucky if I can get the shot straight, in frame and in focus LOL. That’s why I regularly take 100 plus shots a day, of which 5-10 will be keepers!! So, no you’re not alone or beyond hope. What camera you have isn’t an issue, some of the most AMAZING shots I’ve seen have been taken with a P&S.

10. Helen…How do you manage to turn out such beautiful shots with such frequency with two small boys to contend with? How on earth do you juggle all that kit while wrangling them?

Thank you for the compliment! In short, I don’t juggle kit while they are around…I stick one lens on and don’t change it when I’m out and about with them. Mostly I choose the 50mm because it’s light and small. Also, they mostly amuse themselves and I am free to snap, snap, snap! It’s much harder if I just have one of them as they demand my attention constantly…but as a pair they are low maintenance. Also, as above, I take a LOT of shots and delete most of them.

11. B…I want to start playing with the different manual settings on my camera (A, M, S, P) but I’m not sure when to use which?

Excellent question. I think we need a separate post for this as it’s so important, understanding what they are, how to use them and, in the case of A and S, the relationship between them. Argh, so many things to understand! Forget it, stick it on ‘auto’ and get clicking. Just my little joke…

To get you started, the letters stand for Aperture priority (where you set the aperture, the camera selects the appropriate shutter speed), Manual (where you select both the aperture AND the shutter speed, scary), Shutter priority (where you set the shutter speed and the camera selects the appropriate aperture) and Programme (where the camera selects both the aperture and the shutter speed, but won’t use the flash…it’s like ‘auto’ except it switches off the flash). The letters used are slightly different on a Canon so, ahem, you’ll have to read the manual…

For now I would ignore M (manual) for now. P (programme) won’t help you learn, but it’s a great setting for when you need someone else to take a photo (like when we were at Stonehenge and wanted a group shot? I set it to P and handed over my camera) or when a GREAT shot presents itself and you don’t have time to fiddle with the settings. So that leaves A (Aperture) and S (Shutter). Personally, I shoot on A about 99% of the time as I find this easier to understand. Using Aperture priority allows me to control the depth of field, and adapt to the prevailing light conditions (ie. if it’s dark, I use a bigger aperture which let’s in more light to stop the shot being too dark…if it’s bright, I use a smaller aperture to let in less light to stop the shot being over exposed). I don’t know if this is ‘right’, I’m just sharing what I find easiest at this point.

But I think we could delve a lot deeper in to those settings don’t you?

12. Nancy…I suppose those of us who don’t have the beloved Nikon or the evil Canon are really in trouble. What about Lumix owners??? Will we be laughed off planet Spud, or gasp, even planet Earth?

Nope! For all my teasing about Canons it really DOES NOT matter what camera you have. I had a P&S for a long time and still use it for macros as I don’t have a macro lens. Also, I use the rubbish camera on my iphone and love some of the results I get.

13. Julochka…on the D300, i often have trouble with overexposure and have a helluva time getting it back to “normal,” since I don’t know what it is that i’ve done to make it wash everything out so badly…what am i doing wrong? ISO i have down and it’s not that. it’s something to do with that little square with the +/- symbol on it (i’m sure that’s the technical term for it – ha!) and the little dial-y things. problem is i never know which direction to go.

OK this is complicated. I am guessing the issue is the setting you are shooting on? Have you tried shooting on P (ie camera is doing everything for you). If it’s still overexposed you can use the ‘exposure compensation’ button to ‘turn down the lights’ a bit by selecting -0.3, or 0.7 etc etc. To get technical, the exposure compensation button lets you tell the camera to expose the shot as if you had set a smaller (dial it down to a minus number) or larger (dial it up to a positive number), but without actually changing the aperture setting (which affects the depth of field). URGH, complicated!!!

My best advice is to shoot on Aperture priority, use the ‘blinkies’ on the LCD screen on the back which will show you if huge parts of your shot is blown out (ie over exposed) and check your histogram too. If it’s all out of whack you need to adjust the aperture, if it’s just a bit ‘off’ then the exposure compensation button is what you need.

That’s all folks, phew long post. Next edition of CCC will be a guest blog, but please keep the questions coming and I will tack on a Q&A at the end. Nearly forgot…’Quick Tip’ to round off with:

Quick Tip!

Don’t take every shot at eye level, which is what every one does. Get down and shoot (crouch, kneel, lie down and get filthy), get up on high and shoot (on a wall, up steps etc) and get a different perspective and something different from the usual. Or, put your camera on the floor and shoot for something ‘really’ different.

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Aug

Camera Club for Commencers (CCC): Part 1

Posted under Camera Club, Photography

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Drum roll…introducing Camera Club for Commencers (CCC). Ta da! Just because we’re not physically together doesn’t mean we can’t all gather round, drink tea, eat cake and talk geeky stuff does it? So, with no further delay, I pronounce the CCC open for business. I’ll be the ChairSpud, Secretary and Treasurer and you can all be my bitches, OK?

This is how it’s going to go, subject to suggestions from you bitches; in Part 1 I will share some basic background stuff I’ve picked up in terms of photography resources. In Part 2, and going forward, I will tackle the questions you’ve asked me and will have a guest victim blogger join in ‘for fun’. I just want to say this one last time, I won’t keep going on about it as repetition is soooooooooooooooo tedious; I am not a professional, I don’t want to be a professional, I have no qualifications, I’ve not taken a course, I’ve not been a keen photographer for very long. In short, I’m appallingly badly qualified to start a Camera Club. However, I know a bit, I know my limitations and I know a good number of people who DO know what they’re talking about and who can be forced are willing to share their insight and experience. Plus, I know what it’s like to feel really embarrassed to ask a question that seems really ‘stupid’. It was only a few months ago that I didnt know how to change a lens on my camera, never mind fiddle with all those knobs and dials and stuff. Less than a year ago I was a ‘happy snapper’, and using a beaten up Sony P&S (point & shoot). I’m still a very, very inexperienced, enthusiastic but amateur photographer and I have no ambitions to be anything other than that! Health warning over…although I just need to add that CCC is for P&S and DSLR owners alike. I have a Nikon DSLR so many of the pointers I give will be Nikon related but I hope not to be too ‘exclusive’ about it and to mix it up a bit with guest bloggers, more of which below.

Final word on cameras; I like to tease Canon owners about their ‘big old photocopiers’ because it’s good sport. But, in the end, there’s so little to choose between the different brand of cameras at any end of the market that it’s hardly worth the debate. I take a lot of photos with my iphone which, frankly, is a rubbish camera but I turn out vaguely decent shots from time to time. So please don’t let the lack of a fancy camera stand in your way…this is my current favourite iphone shot, taken last week:

Photography Books & Magazines

When I was at Blog Camp, a number of people asked for recommendations for good photography books. I’m afraid my number one recommendation won’t be a popular one: your camera’s manual. I know, I know!! Utterly tedious, but there is no way round this. If you want to get good shots you have to be able to get the most of YOUR camera, and that means you need to read the manual. However, sweetener, get thee to Amazon or any good book shop and get a ‘field guide’ for your camera. I had a quick google and found them for Nikons, Canons and Sonys…and no doubt they exist for other makes too. ‘Field guides’ are like a friendly, colour, easy to read manual for your camera. Hoorah. So get a field guide (not expensive) and I will let you off reading the manual.I read the Field Guide for my camera first, and then tackled the manual…I found I could mostly skip through it and, now, I only use it when I can’t remember some boring technical setting or other.

I’ve not read many photography books. The ones I ADORE are the Scott Kelby ones, ‘The Digital Photography Book’ (volumes 1,2 and 3). They aren’t to everyone’s taste, he has a very familiar, chatty style which can grate. But it doesn’t bother me and, in fact, it makes his message more digestible and less intimidating to me. The books are small in size, and each page consists of one of his shots and a couple of paragraphs of explanation as to how to get ‘that shot’. This really worked for me in the very early days in particular when I was trying to run before I could walk; I knew what shot I was trying to get but I had no idea how to do it. Highly recommended – his books are written for both P&S and DSLR owners.

Also, ‘Understanding Exposure’ by Bryan Peterson. It’s on the dry side but does exactly what it says on the tin…it helps you understand exposure which, let’s face it, is the foundation of all good photography. I have a couple of other, unread photography books lurking around but it would just be showing off if I mentioned them as I’ve never actually read them.

Um, that’s it for books. I also read a couple of photography magazines each month….Practical Photography and DSLR Magazine, I think? I can’t be sure, to be honest they are much of a muchness. I would really recommend picking up photography magazines for a few months as they offer a lot of advice in a palatable format. No need to go overboard and buy millions, or for too long. Very quickly they become repetitive and, once you become a bit savvy, you’ll find the advice they offer is available online for free.

Online Photography Resources

Flickr is your friend. I really believe there is NO better way to improve your photography than getting in to Flickr. Oooooh bold statement. All the expensive courses/1:1 tuition etc in the world can’t compete with consistently spending time on Flickr….being inspired by the amazing photographs there and reading the discussions on the thousands of Flickr groups. Check out Explore, the top 500 photos posted each day, seek out a Flickr Group of interest to you (search for your camera, your hometown, anything you like from horses to black & white, from the colour orange to street photography…seriously there is a group for EVERYTHING!). And when you join a group, and sometimes even without joining, you can read the discussion board. I have learnt so so much from reading and posting on Flickr discussion boards. It’s much more effective if you post photos on Flickr, and then reference them in any questions you ask ie. ‘All my shots are too dark…what am I doing wrong?’ and then show a photo. I have been amazed at the willingness of strangers, often professionals, who will take the time to assess my crappy picture and point me in the right direction. There are lots of groups for beginners on Flickr, have a hunt around. ‘Beginners Digital Photography’ looks quite interesting. If you have a Nikon then I highly recommend the ‘Nikon Digital Learning Centre’ group. I’m sure other brands have the same kind of group. The Canon DSLR User Group looks to be excellent too.

This is my most ‘best’ photo according to Flickr, in terms of its highest position in Explore, number of comments, favourites, views. Quite funny as I took it in ONE shot, under the stairs. It’s a 3D card, backlit by a candle…the London skyline…it’s not my personal favourite by a long shot but I am very fond of it as it boosted my confidence somewhat:

So, sign up for Flickr and get going! It’s free, although if you’re a Keen Bean and post a decent amount of photos you will quickly run out of free space and will need to pay for an upgrade to ‘pro’. It’s not hugely expensive at $24.95 a year and is well worth it.

Top tip for people who are not complete beginners (total beginners, you can do this if you want of course…but it made my eyes bleed for the first few months….you have been warned): check out the EXIF data on Flickr photos to get a feel how ‘how that shot was done’. If you’re looking a photo, look right, click on the link that says ‘more properties’ and you’ll see a vast array of terrifying technical data. But it’s a very cool learning tool as it instantly tells you what kind of camera and lens was used, what setting the camera was on, what focal length, what aperture, whether the flash was used, how it was processed etc etc etc. Seriously it’s a VAST amount of information but just the basic stuff can reveal some very useful nuggets. Some people choose to hide their EXIF data. I guess they think it’s proprietary information somehow. Odd.

This is my current favourite shot of mine, but it changes daily to be honest…

Photography Blogs and other online resources

At the risk of sounding like a Scott Kelby groupie I, erm, totally love his blog. There are others that I read but we’ll be here until Christmas if I list them all. So Scott is your guy for a great mix of technical stuff (not too scary), processing tips (mostly lost on me), inspirational guest bloggers, gear guides etc etc.

On which note, if you have a Nikon then check out DTown TV. 10 minute videos of Scott demoing various Nikon gear and, more importantly, photography hints and tips. Download and enjoy on the go. They are a little rough and ready in terms of presentation but the content is fabulous.

My final tip is The Pioneer Woman blog. I know she’s not everyone’s favourite blogger, apart from the 20 million people who ready her daily, but her photography tips are really helpful. Go to her photography section, look left and click on the ‘Basic Photography’ section. And then read all of the posts in there, yes all of them – I spent one evening reading and re-reading them in the early days to try and master the basics. She writes in a very engaging manner and illustrates with lovely photos, and covers off aperture, shutter speed, f-stops, exposure, composition etc as you might expect. Please do read those posts, I can’t recommend them enough for quickly getting on top of the ‘dry’ technical stuff you need to get your head around (e.g small f-stop is a large aperture, a large f-stop number is a small aperture: CRY why did they make it so tough for us?!)

I’ll bet The Pioneer Woman doesn’t have nags like this on her ranch…

Photo A Day

Do a Photo A Day project – this is the single, best piece advice I can give you to improve your photography. I started photography as a hobby in October 2008 when I joined a PAD (Photo A Day) group on Flickr ie. you take a photo every day and post it to the group. Doesn’t sound very exciting does it? But it is…it documents your life, and it forces you to pick up your camera every..single…day. Regardless of whether you don’t feel like it, you’re too busy, nothing special is happening, you don’t feel very inspired, you’re too ill etc etc. Once you commit to a 365 project you become obsessed with it! And it’s fascinating to look at other people’s years unfold and, more importantly, your own. I love being able to look back at previous months and see what we were up to – I can’t wait until I have a full year of photos to reflect on. Plus, I’m sure, the discipline of taking photos every day means you make quicker progress. The group I am part of on Flickr is closed, but search for 365 or Photo A Day on the Flickr groups and you’ll find lots – so choose which one suits you best and plug in!

This is my first ‘photo a day’ entry, from October 2008..um, yeah, great…

…and one from last week….I think I’ve improved a bit…

My final tip would be to find yourself a photography mentor if you can, and if not then CCC will do its best to play the role! I was so lucky in that The Wife, my best friend, is a fabulous photographer and (a) got me in to it and then (b) has mentored me along the way, patiently enduring my thick questions. I’m delighted to announce she will be our first guest blogger for CCC and very soon I will be letting her know that this is the case. I’m sure she will be thrilled to bits. Yay! If you can’t wait, hurry along to the Smithfield Gallery in London this week (don’t let geography be an excuse for missing out, we’ll have a whip round and carbon neutral your flight should that be an issue?). The Wife is exhibiting (but not like that) in the Loveart2009 exhibition because she is super clever and smart and that is why she is The Wife. If you can’t get to London to hang out with the cool chicks, then check out her website. Dreamy.

So, CCC Part 2 will be later this week, featuring The Wife plus me answering all the questions you’ve sent me. Part 3 will feature a MALE guest blogger. Yup, you read that right bitches…a MAN…in our midst. Collective deep intake of breath…Part 4 will be female again but Part 5 could take us to a planet far, far away…

Hope CCC Part 1 was vaguely helpful and made sense? Please ask more questions if you need to, I will add them to the list and will happily answer them no problem at all.

I declare this CCC meeting closed. Bring on the tea and cake.

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Aug

The sweetest feeling

Posted under Camera Club, Photography

14 Comments »

… is a Megaboy on your back, giggling and tickling you and then – at the end of a long day on the beach – snuggling in close to you resting his curly locked head in the nape of your neck. Sweet boy of mine xx

Look how he’s grown, here he is two years ago in the same sling, tiny and bald!

Please excuse the poor photograph, this was taken in the ‘old’ days…plus MrSpud took it and he could use a little help with photography. On which note, don’t forget my photography surgery for beginners is open for business! Please post your questions quickity quick as I hope to post up the answers plus assorted tips & hints in the next day or so. I’ve roped in the wife to assist with the technical stuff, hoorah.

Please don’t be shy to ask ‘dumb’ questions, I assure you that no question is too dumb and don’t feel you’re excluded if you use a point & shoot rather than a ‘big’ camera. Also, if you have a Canon not a Nikon…well, I guess that’s OK too but if you wouldn’t mind not breathing too much when you’re reading the post that would be helpful as I wouldn’t want you to spread it around too much OK? Thanks for that…..;-)

Let’s see how the ‘surgery’ goes, I might make it a regular feature…or expand it and call it Camera Club and get guest bloggers to take a turn; share a shot, how they set it up etc…different cameras that they use and like…’gone wrong’ shots and how to avoid them…shooting flowers/children/Canon owners/landscapes/weddings etc etc. Just some ideas, what do you think? I know ‘serious’ photography bloggers do this, but that doesn’t mean us mere mortals can’t do it in a less intimidating environment. I will ponder.

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