Available Photo Art Samples

Here are some samples of Photo Art available:

Eureka Springs Panorama

This is seven vertical pics stitched together. 

Field of view about 140 degrees.

The ink is black - The page is white

Together we learn 
To read and write.

(thanks to Three Dog Night)

We are firmly in the time of digital photography, 

but that doesn't mean that we have to give up on 

some of our favorite old things.

Such as Black and White photography. (B&W) 

Your camera may have a setting for B&W, but I like

to use a photo editing program. Why? Because, just 

like I did with B&W film, I want creative control.

In B&W film photography, we chose the film, the chemicals

for processing, the filters both for shooting and printing,

and often used the Zone System to keep it all in line.

In digital B&W, you want to be able to control how the colors

turn into B&W. PhotoShop and ACDSee allow you to saturate or

desaturate the intensity, contrast, filtering, etc... to end up 

with a final image that matches your mind's eye preconception.

Example:

 Came from this:

Left to the camera's B&W program, the green leaves and the red 

in the ground and the stump would have different contrast values.

I choose my own values and get the pic I previsualized. 

More examples:

Be sure to look up your program's help center online

to know how to use all the tools.

Happy B&W photography! 

Pics of my other line of work.

NW OKC exterior job, July 2011, Before and After 

Harvest Moon

1200mm f/10, 100 ISO, 1/30th @ f/10, tripod, self timer

More Moon Bells!

A couple of days before or after 100% full gets some shadow relief. 100% full will go up here in a couple of days, weather permitting.


Taken with a telescope via an adapter, making an equivilent of 1200mm f/10.

When Do I Go Manual?

Just because we're using digital cameras now, doesn't mean we lose the fun of going manual. Exposure, focus, ISO settings, are some of things that most D-SLRs (and some cool P&Ss) allow us to adjust for ourselves.

First, let's get off of the Full Program setting. On many DSLRs, this setting is marked by something big and green. It adjusts as the camera's computer matrix sees the light and focus needs in whatever our camera is pointed at. (Ended with a preposition, I'm a REBEL!) This setting can really be useful for snapshots, family events, vacation spots, etc... And often, it's very accurate.

But, switch off of FULL AUTO just one step over to P. On many cameras, this P setting is still fully auto exposure and focus, but it now allows some user input. On my camera, spinning the thumb wheel now changes the exposure combinations. Notice, I'm not changing the exposure, but rather the combination of f-stop and shutter speed for any given EV (exposure value).

For instance, if the regular programmed exposure for the EV of the scene sets the camera for 1/250 at f/8.0, I can change to 1/125 at f/11, or 1/1000 at f/4.0. The exposure value stays the same, but I now am optimizing for either depth of field or action stopping. See how that works? And you still are using the meter automatically.

Other options include semi-auto modes, often marked A, Av (aperture priority) or S, Sv (shutter priority). Same principle, camera meter doing the work, based on you setting one value and it picks the other.

Full manual, M. Needed for certain lenses like the LensBaby line or a mirror telephoto, or an adapter for telescopes or microscopes. Also just for the fun of it. On some cameras, the meter may still work, on others it's disabled. That's where your knowledge of photographic exposure comes in. (In a future post, I'll talk about the Sunny16 rule and where to go from there.) M is useful in studio flash situations, too.

Read your camera's instructions to find out how to access and use all of the functions available.

Next couple of posts will deal with focus options and exposure guidelines. See you then!

BTW, the 10, 11th, and 12th of this month (September) will have a full or nearly full Moon. See what you can do with it.

Take a subject and make it art

A good portion of our pictures are good enough for our memories, but they really aren't art.

How can we change our very good pictures into photographic works of art?

One thing I like to urge my students is simply to look for another view. Change your position, change your perspective, change your lens. Play with focus tricks, make certain lighting issues stand out. Get close, get low, zoom out, pan over ...

Suppose you like birds. Ducks and geese tend to make pretty good subjects since they don't get scared and usually don't move too quickly.

In this pic, I was limited where I could move, so I zoomed in.

By zooming in tighter, I'm able to isolate the geese from the park surroundings. This also accentuates the colours in the water. Still a picture of a group of birds, but it's closer to art than a snapshot is.

Next, I play with some lighting effects.

 

I moved my position, got to a place where I could see the sun reflecting off the pond's little chops. Paid off by getting a photo of these geese in a lovely setting.

Next, I place myself where I wanted to be for one part of the photo and then WAITED for the other part I wanted to come into my area. Turned out fairly nice. Still a picture of waterfowl, but it evokes a feeling of abstract art.

So, what really makes a picture turn into a piece of photographic art? Hard to say. Also, it's different for each person. But, it's safe to say that we will rarely ever simply snap a shot that could be seen as art if we don't do a little something extra ourselves. 

Train your eye by looking at things in different ways. Train your eye by visualizing what end result you want and then use your camera and technical knowledge to make that visualization become an image file on your memory card.

More Tricks - Panorama

One of the great things about shooting digital is all the after the fact edits we can do with image processing software. We used to spend hours in the darkroom making end results that really hardly hold a candle to what even the simplest of image processing programs can do.

Which program should you buy? Again, my answer will be: It depends on you. I have four from four different companies. I like them all and each one has a special thing in it that the other three don't.

Here's what I did in about 3 1/2 minutes with one. Making a panorama.

Take these three (or more) pics:

Stitch them together, crop out the artifacts the program left over, and you end up with this:

 

It's best if you use a tripod. Also, make sure you have enough overlap in each image. Most programs that are capable of panorama need about 1/5th to 1/3rd of the image to overlap. And, even with the most careful tripod use and exacting lining up of overlaps, you will still have some raw image artifacts to crop out. The next issue may be finding somewhere capable of printing the large image. Or, you can just use them in digital form, as a desktop or part of a slideshow.

Again, practice around your home town before trying it on vacation. Then, you'll be familiar and comfortable with the process.

Moon Phase Calculator

Based on all the interest in my Moon (Earth's natural satellite) pic post, I thought I would share with you some tools I use to get Moon and night sky shots.

A Moon phase calculator.

Sky & Telescope's interactive sky chart. (registration required)

Astronomy viewing conditions from Accuweather

Pics from tonight's storm

Shoot the moon!

Taken tonight from outside my backdoor.

Many photographers have an aversion to astrophotography because they think it's hard. Some of it is. I have minutes long exposures of star fields taken with a tracking set up piggy backed on my telescope. Lots of work goes into that. Before, during, and after the exposure.

But some subjects are surprisingly easy to image. Take the Moon, Earth's satellite. Long exposures with sophisticated tracking mounts are not needed. Just a good telephoto lens. 300mm will do nicely. 500mm does very well. If you have a shorter lens (like the 200mm this pic was done with), you can crop in the finishing program (ACDSee, Photoshop, etc...). 

Shoot in RAW, to maximize the image file. The exposure is the really easy part. Set your camera for full manual. For a full Moon, use the Sunny 16 Rule. The Moon is, after all, a subject lit by direct sunlight (think about that). So at an ISO of 400, the starting exposure would be 1/400th at f/16. Bracket up and down a couple of stops. For not quite full Moons, adjust your exposure for more light. This photo was 1/200th at f/8. I used a monopod to help steady.

Don't take my word for it, go try it yourself!

Summer Fun

Summer is a time for outdoors stuff.

It's also a time for heat. Treat your camera equipment like a pet or small child and don't leave it baking in a hot car.

More later...

Take the Red Eye

Take it out, that is. 

You've seen it. That scary looking, annoying effect in many of our flash pics. It's caused by light reflecting from the back of the eye. It shows up when the source of the flash is almost in line with the center of the optics. 

Different things can reduce it. Preflash to close down the iris and limit how big a red reflection you get. Many photo manipulation programs allow you to remove it, either by filling in the eye with a color automatically or by you changing it pixel by pixel.

Better than reducing it or removing is to not get it in the first place. How? Removing the flash from the center line of the optics. Instead of using the built in flash, use an accessory flash. Sometimes just that few inches of extra height in the flash will make the difference. Use an extension synch cord if available for your camera and flash combo, extending the flash out to the side or over the top. Bounce flash works, too, but remember you can't bounce off of nothing. A low, light colored ceiling works best. Also remember the angles when bouncing. (A future post will go into detail about bounce flash.)

So, have fun on that red eye flight to Aruba. But don't take red eye portrait pics!

What camera should I buy?

As a photographer, I get asked this question quite frequently. They have a digital point & shoot or used to shoot with a Canon AE-1 or an old Pentax 35mm and they're thinking of making the upgrade to a digital SLR. Often, the asker is wanting me to narrow down their options and make their actual choice. Canon Rebel XT? Nikon D5100? Sony A55? My answer usually surprises them. I tell them I can't recommend a camera.

Why? Simple: what works for me may not work for you. The reason(s)? Features. Price. System. Personal preferences.

What type of photography do you enjoy? Do you normally use your camera for vacation pics? Are people more interesting than things or places? Will you be shooting your kid's events? Are you an artsy person? All these things make for different set of features.

A person who feels an artistic drive will likely need the highest resolution they can afford. And perhaps a lens with more than the slightly wide to slightly tele range. Someone interested in people pics should probably get a good flash right away, instead of relying on the built in flash. Sports & kid's events shooters should think about longer lenses and dust removal. Scenic lovers might benefit from wider angle lenses or a camera having panoramic capabilities. Vacation photogs would do well with a great all in one lens and a full featured but easy and compact camera.

Knowing what type of photographer you are or want to be, you can then start looking at cameras. A good place to start is online. DP Review is a great site. Has most of what's out there already tested. Reviews from real users. And an archive of older reviews. Nothing wrong with a year old camera if it's the best choice for you.

Where should you buy? Well, that's your dollar. eBay has many good deals, as do online camera stores. Even Sams Club and Best Buy are fine. You might want to see how the camera feels before swiping the card or inputting your PayPal info. Please be kind to any salespeople. And if you're at a brick and mortar full service camera store, realise that they don't work for free. Their slightly higher prices reflect their higher level of service, before, during, and after the sale.

So, you're wanting a digital SLR ... What did you get?

Fun Tricks

One photo trick I get asked about all the time is the rushing water flowing as a smooth blur trick.

Here's how you can do it with a digital SLR:

Get a tripod, set the camera up and frame the shot.

Select a mode other than the green full auto mode. Even P will work, but the cameras usually will not allow the changes we need to make while in full auto.

On your camera's menu, set the ASA/ISO to the lowest setting.

Select an exposure that gives you the longest shutter speed possible. An easy way to that and still have auto exposure is to set the camera to A (aperture priority) and choose the smallest f-stop. This gives a longer shutter speed.

It will depend on how fast the water is moving and how bright the scene is to record the blur. A neutral density filter can cut down on scene brightness if it's still too bright for a long enough shutter speed.

This example has some pretty fast moving water, plus I used a 2 stop neutral density filter. This gave me about a 4 second shutter speed. Even 1/4 second might give enough blur for some scenes, but the longer the better.

Try it out at a local park or trail, then you'll be familiar with the technique for your next vacation trip.

Photography is supposed to be fun.

Sometimes, we get a little bogged down either in the equipment or in the "rules" of photography. The first thing I like to ask a photo student is "Why do you like photography?" This way, we recall what got us into photography in the first place.

Do you like to look at pics of your friends?

Do you like to share the interesting things about the places you've been?

Are you just plain artsy, liking pretty things and patterns?

 Think about the type of photography you like to do. post a comment. If I have something helpful to share about that, I'll put in a new blog.

Introductions all around.

Hi, I'm Steve and I'm a photographer.


(Hi, Steve)


 Stay tuned to this blog for hints and ideas about the fun hobby and profession of photography.