To the moon ...

Cold clear nights make rather detailed moon shots possible, even without a telescope.  A long telephoto and decent resolution camera can show you the craters and such.  Definitely use a tripod, manual exposure (or spot metering on the moon would work) and have fun.  It won't look like a telescope view, but fun anyway.

The moon is a lot brighter than you would think, so it is hard to find something to put in the frame unless you are in a city or etc. etc...   here are some great tips...

How to shoot better fireworks photos redux

It is that time of year again to repost about shooting fireworks.  If you still haven't invested in a tripod or  other camera-steadying device, fireworks shows make a great justification to go get one.

Fireworks Tips #1

Fireworks Tips #2

Finally.. for something like the photo above, intentionally focus your camera somewhere close to you.  You should be in manual focus mode anyway if you have a DSLR, so play around with that and zoom in close.

I will be shooting the July 4 event in Terrell for the Tribune... hope to see you there.

It is fireworks time again...

This weekend is sure to be a blast. ( groan, I know)

Here is a post from last year with fireworks photo tips... and of course, if you Google it, there are a lot of other informative articles out there.

The key for it all is to find something other than fireworks to include in your shots. Fireworks alone are pretty, but get repetitive quickly. People, especially expressions, reactions or any emotion can make it a great fireworks photo. Easier said than done, but that is my goal this year.

Everyone have fun, be careful, and remember what it is that we are celebrating...

and take lots of pictures, of course.

Don J.

Photos of Photos

Scanning old family photos is time consuming and a general pain. When you have large prints as your only source, it can get even more problematic..

One easy solution is to set up your camera as your scanner. A tripod, flat surface, piece of glass and some light will do the trick.


This particular tripod (Manfrotto 055xproB) makes it even easier because the column goes sideways so that you can work on the floor, but anything that will hold your camera steady can work.

Use your sharpest lens, and set a medium aperture (f8 is usually good) to get the most sharpness possible. With a tripod, shutter speed won't be a problem, so also use a good, low ISO.

Lighting, as always, is key. You have to make sure that the light is very even, and coming from the sides. In this case, I am using a large window and a white poster board. Any lights close to the angle of the camera will cause reflections and hot spots. You should be able to spot any light problems quickly.

Using a piece of glass (Clean, of course) will flatten out the prints to keep focus and shadow problems away. Just be sure to watch out for reflections.

If you look closely at this wonderful old picture of my mom as a youth, you can see the reflection of the ceiling and silhouette of the camera and tripod.


Black fabric can block reflected light.. in this case, the print was on thick flat cardboard, so I just shot it without the glass.


Another thing to watch for is bad white balance.

This is what the camera did on its own, set to Auto WB.


And this is corrected in LightRoom, the original is straight black and white, not that strange blue.


Either set the white balance for the light source you are using (Flourescent, daylight, tungsten, etc.), or use Raw and shoot a gray card and correct it in post.

Of course, photos aren't the only thing you will want... it is good to get a digital record of all kinds of art... in this case my beautiful grandmother.


It is a fun trip down memory lane to pull out the memories, and if you only have one print, it is good to get some back-up anyway....
What a great frog shirt!


I don't know the specific details about copyright issues that come with digitizing old prints. The original photographer is unknown, so I'm looking into what happens there.

Quick Recap..
Use a tripod
Fill the frame as much as possible
Use a remote release or the self-timer to avoid shake.
Light from the side, and eliminate anything reflecting (it may be you!)

Have a great weekend everyone,

Quick Pics - More Fireworks

The wife and I had a fun 4th of July evening hanging out in Terrell, TX with Michael, Christina,  Jim and Karl.  Of course, it was another evening of fireworks fun..  here are a few shots I liked.

I played around with two cameras, the 5D and 40D.   It turned out that we were very close to the fireworks, and it seemed they were explodind directly overhead.  I like to get foregroud elements into the frame so the 5D with a Sigma 14mm lens was great for capturing everything.

This is a 7 second exposure, f13, iso200 with the 5D/14mm combo.

This was one of the first attempts with the 40D and the 14mm, also 7 seconds but at f11, iso 100.

This is the 5D/14mm, another 7 second exposure this time at f16.  This has had a lot of adjustments in lightroom to pop the color.

While playing around in Lightroom, I started playing with the "Fill Light" on the fireworks shots.  It really brought up the noise, but I think the overall effect is a fun, almost nostalgic look.  5D/14mm, 9 Seconds, f16,  iso 200.

Another crazy lightroom bonanza, maxing out the saturation, blacks level, clarity...  all kinds of adjustments.  It turned into neon fireworks...  definitely not the original colors, but a fun look.  I like the silhouetted trees as well.

don j.

Fireworks Shooting Tips

OK, a quick google search will get you lots of tips for photographing fireworks.  Since you are already here, here is my $.02 worth of advice...

Location, Location, Location...

First, you have to pick your shooting location.  Many times the best place for photos is not the best place for just watching.  Look for places with other elements to give your shots a sense of place.  A city skyline, waning sunset, landmarks, and people can make your fireworks shots more visually appealing.

My fair city's display happens at a park with a nice pond.  The still water provides a nice reflection and makes for unique photos.

Steady....

First and foremost, you have to keep the camera still.  A tripod is best, of course.  If you have no tripod, find something to rest your camera on and do your best.

This shot was taken holding a small point & shoot camera on the arm of a folding chair.

 

Framing

It is hard to know exactly where the fireworks will be exploding, so start with a fairly wide angle setting.  After the first few shots, you will be able to more accurately frame your shots to fill the frame.

Point and Shoot  notes...

Any camera will do.  Seriously, almost every point & shoot camera has a "fireworks" mode, and from my experience they work pretty well once you get the timing down.  If you can't find a specific fireworks mode, use one of the "nighttime portrait" modes. 

Turn off the flash.  The flash is only helpful if you want to light up something in the foreground to go with the fireworks.  The fireworks mode on most cameras has the flash disabled.

Timing.  On P&S Cameras, the fireworks mode is all about timing.  You get a 1-2 second shutter speed, so it will take some practice to release the shutter at the right moment to catch the bursting shells.

DSLR Notes...  

Manual Focus.  Your camera cannot focus on something that isn't there, so don't let it try.  You can generally set the focus to "infinity" and be safe.  If you are really close to the action, pick an object to focus on that is a similar distance to the fireworks and focus there.

ISO, Shutter and Aperture...

This can get complicated, but here is a good place to start..

ISO 200, aperture at f8, shutter 3 seconds.

Work the shutter speed up and down and see how things look.

If your camera has "Bulb" setting, this will allow you to control how long the shutter is open.  As long as you are holding the button, the shutter is open.  A remote shutter release really helps here, so that you don't accidentally move the camera while pushing the button.

Watch through the viewfinder...

When taking photos, you give up part of the enjoyment of watching the show so that you can capture images for later.  Watching through the viewfinder allows you to frame your shots well.

Check your LCD often...

Fireworks events last long enough that you can try lots of things.  Look out for over-exposure (if the fireworks just look white, reduce your iso or move to a higher aperture setting)

Longer Shutter speeds are fun to get more explosions into the shot.   Wind is not your friend here though... 

Here are some shots and notes from Saturday...  I will try to improve next weekend!

The Gear...  Canon 5D, 24-70mm zoom lens, tripod and remote release.

This is the scene at Seagoville Central Park... nice pond, a stage, and some unfortunate car and street lights.  I was tempted to move, but decided to stay in this general area because I was with my family...

A six-second shutter opening at ISO 400 left nice color in the sky, but the wind caused a lot of streaking.

I moved down closer to the water to capture reflections.  The first spot had a lot of moss by the shore.  This is a 5 second exposure, still a lot of wind motion there.

A move to the left got me away from the moss, and placed the fountain as a more central element in the shot.

I wanted to include the a sense of the whole event, so I moved back and shot really wide to get the carnival in the shot.  That did not really work as you can see... to much in the way and the street light is very distracting.

While photos of fireworks are fun to look at, they will all look the same, year after year, and get boring really fast.

to take your photos to another level, include something else into your photo that sets the scene into this event, this year, this experience that you are sharing.

I was happy to have my wife, one sister, two nieces and mom and dad with me.  This isn't technically a very good shot.  Lots of lens flare, not great composition, lots of distractions.  Still, it is one of my favorites because it puts the event into context and time.

OK, so go shoot some fireworks..  just remember to keep it steady, have fun, and try to work in some elements to put it all in context.

Happy Shooting

don j

In-Lightning

As a bit of a wanna-be photojournalist and weather geek, having large storm systems roll through the region makes me a bit antsy.  Sitting home with lightning flashing in the distance proved to be too much to handle, so I grabbed a camera, tripod and shutter release cable and found a bridge to sit under.  I like to sit by a road so that the long exposure times also give me a trail of lights for visual interest and perspective.

First thing to note for Lightning photography is that you cannot wait until you see a bolt to push the shutter button.  Patience is the name of the game.  

You have to manual focus your lens, so choose whether to focus on something else that will be in the frame (for visual interest), or set it out to infinity to get the lightning bolts as clearly defined as possible.

After that, it is a matter of taking a lot of pictures and some good luck.  Inevitably, great strikes will happen between frames, off to one side or the other, behind you, and as you are driving away.

Some of the lightning will just light up the clouds.  If you put something in the foreground of your shot, even that can be interesting.

Point and shoot cameras can be somewhat effective with a lot of patience and luck.. use the "fireworks" preset for longer shutter speed.

I took a 14mm lens on a Canon 40D in hopes that the wide angle would catch more sky in each shot.  This worked, but the lens is also very prone to flare from direct light, so there was a lot of interference from the car headlights.  Also, these pictures are all cropped down a lot from the original wide angle view.

Here is one from June of 2008, this time looking at an approaching storm.  This was without a tripod, so you can see that the foreground elements are fuzzy.

Without a tripod, it is possible to use the dash of your car and shoot through the windshield.  Use a t-shirt or sandbag to keep the camera positioned.  

Well, enough of that.  If you can get out to shoot safely, lightning photos can add some electricity to your portfolio.

Did I just say that? 

Happy Shooting,

don j.