LENS CAPTURE

Vol. 3 No. 15

With over 1100 walks and more than 33,000 photographers participating in last year's Worldwide Photo Walk, this year promises to be even better.  I have been selected to lead the photo walk that starts at Brooklyn Bridge Park's new Pier 1.  Our walk is taking place on Sunday, October 2, 2011.

Vol. 2 No. 16

I wanted to take a minute to highlight some of the great images made by the 2010 Spring Walk Participants.  These brave souls, who ventured out in to the pouring rain last Sunday, took advantage of the opportunity to capture some wonderful subjects.  The following images were posted to the LensCapture Flickr Group.

© Diacritical


© Tinccat4


© DMLitvin


© Jadam113


© Katyp2


© Etccdb


© Sputnick002


© Tkacle

Vol. 2 No. 15

The Spring 2010 Photo Walk started out will a steady rain coming down as 11 of us gathered under the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden Viewing Pavilion.  A pretty nice showing in this weather.  After handing out several recycled Op/Tech 18" SLR Rainsleeves and passing along some tips on using the rain as a subject, the group headed out for, what would be several hours of photographic opportunities.

Here are some photographs I made during the event.  Later this week, I'll post a few images captured by some of the other walk participants.

Vol. 2 No. 14

With our Spring 2010 Photo Walk coming up this Sunday, I took a pre-walk through the Brooklyn Botanical Garden this past weekend.  With the warmer weather we've experienced here in the Northeast over the last few weeks, the cherry blossoms and tulips are in full bloom.  If you can, don't miss the opportunity to experience the colors first hand that are exploding throughout this 52-acre oasis.

Hope you enjoy these images.  Better yet, join us on our upcoming photo walk.  Remember, no experience required.  Point-and-shoot, dSLR, or just your appreciative senses, it will be a great experience.

Vol. 2 No. 13
It's that time of year for our Annual Spring Photo Walk. When the color starts taking over the barren landscape. Blossoms begin to open to show their beauty, the breeze gets a little warmer, the light stays longer. It's Spring in all its glory!

Photo walks are a great way to share your love of photography, and learn from one another. Absolutely no experience is required. You can even participate with a disposable camera.

Vol. 2 No. 12

If you have been following the Lenscapture Blog, you have seen some of the images I have posted from my latest trips to the Southwest of the United States. These recent adventures have taken me to the Grand Canyon, Sedona, Verde Canyon, Zion National Park, Kodachrome Basin State Park and the amazing Bryce Canyon.

Sharing these adventures with others is one of the main reasons for starting this blog more than a year ago. Another way to share and preserve these memories is to create a photo book. The great thing about a photo book is how it can be used. You can use it to create a portfolio of your work, to remember and re-live a fantastic vacation, to share an event such as a wedding or sweet 16, or to just decorate your coffee table.

Vol. 1 No. 44

With our Sunset Photo Meet quickly approaching, I thought I would compile a list of tips for photographing great sunsets.

• If you plan properly, you will have about a 30-45 minute window to capture some spectacular images.  This time includes the lead up to sunset and twilight - the soft, diffused light from the sky when the sun is below the horizon, from sunset to nightfall. The light changes significantly during this period.  So you need to think about the elements you want to capture before sunset or you might miss the action.  With sunset at 6:51 pm EDT on the day of our shoot, I recommend arriving no later than 6:00 pm.  The magic of sunset normally begins a half hour prior to the sun setting.
  
  
• Always be careful looking through a viewfinder directly at the sun.  It can be dangerous if the sure is not very low to the horizon.
  
  
• Composition - the act of combining parts or elements to form a whole, or in our case a stunning sunset photograph.  If you have the option of shooting with a variety of focal lengths - do it!  Wide angle focal lengths are great for providing the expansive vista, but the setting sun will extremely small in the image.  If you want the sun to be a feature in your image, then you'll need to zoom in.
    
• Include foreground elements.  Since these will usually be lit from behind by the setting sun, they will become silhouettes.  This will add visual impact.
  
  
• Experiment with your white balance.  If you are shooting with a dSLR then this is easier to manage.  Switch between daylight, cloudy, shade and tungsten (indoor).   If you are using a point and shoot camera, you can achieve similar results by switching through the various scene modes you camera offers.  The result of applying different white balance will be dramatic.
  
  
• If your camera begins to hunt for focus while photographing the setting sun you might miss the shot, or wind up with an out of focus image.  If you are using a point and shoot camera or a dSLR, you will need to focus on something in the frame that has contrast.  Focus on where the horizon or skyline meets the sky, then press and hold the shutter release half-way down until the focus locks.  Continue holding half-way down while you re-compose the image.  Once you have the scene framed the way you want, then completely press down on the shutter release to capture the image.
  
  
• Set you camera's ISO to 100-200.  This will reduce noise in your image and result in slower shutter speeds. 
  
  
• I like setting my camera to aperture-priority (usually marked A or Av) mode especially when shooting sunrises and sunsets.  I start by dialing in an aperture between f/11 to f/16. Just like white balance, you need to experiment.  You will grow tired of hearing me say this during photo walks and meets.
  
  
• If your camera allows for bracketing, I suggest using a one stop difference.
  
  
• In order to keep the colors saturated, I like to shoot slightly under exposed, so I adjust my exposure value (EV).  This is a personal preference since I don't like to add saturation in post production.
  
  
• Do not just photograph the sunset. Turn around and look at areas behind you.  Look how the wonderful colors illuminate the many subjects that will be present.  This lighting might also offer a great portrait opportunity.
  
  
• Tripods are essential for sharp images when you slow down the shutter.  Some sunset/twilight captures can drop the shutter speed to several seconds.  If you can't bring a tripod, look for someplace stable to place the camera. A park bench, a rock or railing might do the trick.
  
  
• Change up the look.  Rotate the camera from horizontal (landscape) to vertical (portrait).  This can add a lot of interest.
  
  
• Don't forget every sunset is unique.  Enjoy it like it's the first one you have ever seen.

Vol. 1 No. 27
Summer is here and there are several great events coming up. There's the 4th of July, which I plan to post about photographing fireworks, and the Worldwide Photo Walk on July 18th. I already have 26 registered to join me at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden! If you're interested in joining us, don't delay - register now before it it's too late.

In the interest of time, and while I finish up the article on capturing firework displays, I have put together some speed links I think you'll find interesting.

Looking to retouch your photos for free?
Look no further than the freely distributed GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program). Now in version 2.6 and originally released officially in version 1.0 in 1998, this powerful piece of software is available for most operating systems such as Linux, FreeBSD, MacOSX and Windows. The Digital Photography School has posted an excellent introduction to the power, tips and tricks of this freely licensed post production tool.
GIMP - An Intro

Police in trouble for taking photo
So, you thought only photographers get in trouble capturing the moment? Seems a city attorney from Indiana had a little too much to drink and tried to sleep it off. One of the responding officers snapped a quick shot of the barrister while he slept in public and is now in "hot water."
Attorney Trashed

Joining a Photo Walk?
Laurie Excell, a professional nature photographer and instructor, guest blogs on the World Wide Photo Walk. She discusses participating in the PhotoWalk and how to properly prepare for the event. If you are joining my walk, or signed up for any of the other walk on July 18, you should take a few moments to read her post.
Laurie's Advice

Photographs from the International Space Station
The Boston Globe posted 35 awesome photographs from the recent eruption of the Sarychev Peak Volcano to stunning images from recent NASA archives. 35 photos in total, definitely worth a visit.
View From Above


-30-

Vol. 1 No. 26

"1026 Photo Walks Worldwide" is the banner on the website, WorldWidePhotoWalk.com. I will be leading one of those groups through the beautiful 52-acre Brooklyn Botanical Gardens on Saturday, July 18, 2009. So, if you missed the LensCapture Photo Walk several weeks ago to BBG, here's you chance! During last year's Photo Walk, there were 236 cities participating with more than 1 million photographs captured.


Buy this image

Photo walks are a great way to share your love of photography, and learn from one another. Absolutely no experience is required. You can even participate with a disposable camera by having the images developed by your favorite local drugstore and placed on a CD. And, if that wasn't enough, there are some great prizes this year!

In order to participate, you MUST register in advance since each group is limited to 50 people. If you would like to join the group I am leading this year, you can sign up here.

-30-

Vol. 1 No. 22

Well, the weather threatened rain, but the overcast sky made for better photographs. A bit breezy, but a mild day after all. Below is a short video highlighting some of the images captured at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. Hope you enjoy them.



If you have suggestions for future photo walks, please do not hesitate to drop me an email or post a comment here.



-30-

Today's post is written by guest blogger and friend, Conrad Tinney. A former film shooter, Connie's been "hooked on digital" for the last 3½ years since moving into the high-end dSLR arena. Conrad recently attended the Nikon School during its tour through New York City. Here's his account of the day.

On March 22, 2009 at the Pennsylvania Hotel, here in the great city of New York, The Nikon Corporation held one of its many seminars. The title of the aforementioned gathering was, “Next Steps, Color, Light, Technology”. The guest speakers were Reed Hoffman and Bill Durrence. Both of these gentlemen are long time professional Photographers of great renown, and have been instructing for many years as well.

Photo: © Conrad Tinney
Nikkor 10.5mm Fisheye in Brooklyn Bridge Park

The following six hours were bliss, the audience that included both Professional and Amateurs, film and digital shooters, had many of their photographic questions answered by these masters. Discussed were many of the basic fundamental photographic skills that are the mainstay of the art, and we were continually reminded that we as photographers should always stay focused on the basics, even with the ever-growing digital camera transition.

After the noon lunch break (included with the price of admission) the lecture, combined with a few demonstrations continued. The topics that were covered went from workflow to how to pack for a field trip, resizing images for output, the latest software, and its effect on RAW images. There was also a short talk on lens and how to choose the correct one for the situation. We were given a rather cool demonstration concerning the use of remote flash technology and the benefits of not mounting your flash on the camera hot shoe.

And like any other seminar, Nikon had a product table set up and it was loaded with all sorts of goodies, there was the new SB-900 (which I ran right out and purchased), the 35mm f/1.8GAF-S lens along with the D700 (yum!) and D90 –etc, etc, I could go on for hours but I won’t, what I will do is suggest that the next time Nikon, Canon, or any other camera company or software or anyone having something to do with photography announces that they are scheduling a seminar near your home town, “GO” you might learn something and meet so very interesting people, I did.

The weather is starting to improve. There's more daylight available. The digital camera you acquired during the holidays is now several months old.

Now get out there and make some photographs!

The best way to improve your photography skills is to shoot. Experiment with the settings. If you have a point and shoot camera, switch through the "auto" settings. Try these various settings while you are out shooting. They are marked with symbols and help to simply optimizing the camera settings based on specific subject types.

Mix things up. Try the low-light mode on fast moving objects. See how they blur. Your camera slows down the shutter and opens up the aperture to let more light in to deal with low ambient light conditions. Through this experimentation, you'll learn what these auto mode settings do. This type of knowledge will help you to become more creative with your camera.

Once you're done trying the "Auto" settings, experiment with the priority settings. These priority settings allow you to set either the aperture, or the shutter. These are usually marked with an A or Av (Aperture value), or S or Tv (Time value). When you select one of these priority types, the camera automatically adjust the setting of the other. So if you choose TV and set the camera's shutter speed to 1/500 sec., the camera chooses the aperture for the best exposure. I'll cover more on these priority modes in the near future.

If you're shooting with a digital camera, and you are not paying to develop film, there's no excuse to get out there and experiment.

-30-

So you got that new digital SLR camera for the holidays. The one that not only takes pictures, but from the tons and tons of menu items, seems like it's capable of doing your taxes while balancing the national budget. The depth of these menus seems daunting and can quickly become and obstacle to what the camera's main purpose is - making photographs.

So, what's the solution. Simply put, don't go it alone. A professional photographer from Connecticut, Bert Sirkin, has provided his expertise as an educator and photographer. Several years ago, Bert came out with a series of laminated cards called PhotoBert CheatSheets.

These instructional cards are meant to be carried in your camera bag, always ready reference. The selection of CheatSheets have grown throughout the years as newer camera models hit the streets. CheatSheets are currently available for Canon, Fuji and Nikon dSLR cameras, as well as some point and shoot models. In addition, Bert has produced some general photography CheatSheets such as the Digital PhotoCourse on a Card, and the Pocket Edition - Secrets for Great Digital Photography. There are also offerings available covering Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Elements software.

I myself own several of these valuable reference cards. I currently carry the Nikon D300, the Nikon D200, and the Nikon SB-800 Speedlight PhotoBert CheatSheets in my camera bag wherever I go. The price of this tool can't be beat. At around $10 each, it will provide you with immediate value. They definitely have helped me avoid "feature overload" when trying to flex my camera's muscle.