September » 2007 »

Camera Club Workshop

It was called Getting Back to Basics workshop. These workshops are great. We do learn a lot from each other. For instance, depth of field has always been a mystery to me. Honestly, when I shoot, I use the f-stop like a distance meter. I figures 5.6 – Hmmm, must mean about 5 1/2 feet away. Only, that’s not right either.

My camera is the first digital SLR that Canon put out. The Canon Rebel. Only 6 megapixels. Everybody else seems to have 10MP. I feel deprived. Oh well, let’s get to work.

Course Introduction

This workshop will be a review of the basic principles of photography, including:

Exposure
Aperture
Shutter Speed
Lighting
Elements of design and composition

Exposure

Photography=lighting
Exposure is getting the right amount of light for you photo
Use the exposure triangle

Exposure Triangle: Aperture

Volume of light that reaches film or digital media
Measured in f-stops (2,2,8, 4, 5.6, 8, etc)
Smaller the f-stop (eg: 2.8) the larger the aperture
Larger the f-stop (eg: 11) the smaller the lens opening
As numbers increase, the light halves

Exposure Triangle: Shutter Speed

Amount of time that the volume of light is allowed to reach film or digital media
Normally, as settings increase the time is halved (eg: 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250)

Exposure Triangle: ISO

Measure of a film or digital camera’s sensitivity to light
Increase ISO 100 to 200, keep the f-stop constant, you can double the shutter speed
Allows you to decrease exposure time in dark settings (eg: interior shots) for hand holding
Default ISO is normally 100 or 200
In some digital cameras, higher ISOs (above 800) can introduce noise

Aperture & Depth of Field

Smaller the number= smaller the depth of field (sharpness) in the photo
f-2.8=narrow depth, f-11= wide depth
For portraits (people or things) shoot “wide open” – using small f-stop (eg: f-2.8) to get narrow depth of field
For landscapes shoot use high f-stop number (eg: f-11) to get as much depth of field as possible.

Shutter Speed for Lens

For sharper pictures, choose the right shutter speed for the lens
- Reciprocal of the film lens length
- For a 300 mm lens should use 1/300 sec minimum
Sharpness = Stability
- Become married to your tripod/monopod
- Tripods are best but monopods are portable
- Nikon/Canon SLRs use lens stabilization providing 3 to 4 f-stop advantage
- Sony/Minolta/Pentax SLR’s use in-camera stabilization. Provides 2 to 3 f-stop advantage, but every lens is stabilized (up to ~300 mm)
- Post-processing sharpening, apply via Photoshop (recommended for digital cameras)
Right Shutter Speed for Subject
- Freezing the Subject
- 1/500 to 1/1000 for fast moving parallel subject.
- PanningMove camera parallel to and same speed as the subject (eg. an athlete, race car, etc.).
- Shutter speed of 1/8 to 1/60 to blur background.
- Follow through (don’t stop panning after clicking shutter).
Right Shutter Speed for Subject

Freezing the Subject

Shutter Speed for Implied Motion
- Blurred subject / still background for implied motion
- eg. waterfalls, streams, car lights, joggers
- Use tripod and set shutter speed for:¼ sec for wind blowing trees
- ½ sec for waterfalls, streams
- 1/60 sec for speeding train
- 1 sec for hands knitting
- 8 sec for car light streaking

Shutter Speed for Implied Motion

Light

• Best Time To Shoot
Early morning (1st hour) or late afternoon light (last 3 hours) is the best time for photography.
Textures, shadows, depth in warm and vivid tone.
Change in weather patterns.
Harsh and flat light during other times of the day.
• Overcast
Better than shooting in direct sunlight.

Light

• Sidelight
Gives highlights and shadows and creates illusion of 3 dimensionality.
Additional exposure of -1 for digital.
• Backlight
Creates silhouettes
Easily done with sunsets.
To avoid having subject merge into surround-ing darkness, point telephoto lens at the bright
sky to right / left of sun and take exposure.Metering (Average & Centre)
• Average measures light & shadow and gives average reading.
Fine for subjects with equal shadow / light, otherwise can give faulty reading.
• Centre weighted measures reflected light from whole scene with bias to centre.
Put subject in middle of frame, meter and then recompose

Metering (Spot & Matrix)

• Spot measures light at narrow 10 – 50 and gets accurate reading for specific area.
Good for subjects that are light in primarily dark surrounding (or vice versa).
• Matrix has chip programmed to “see” and recognize subject and set exposure accordingly.
Accurate about 90% of time.
For digital bracket -2/3 f stop and compare.

Polarizing Filter

• Important accessory for landscape photos.
• Reduces glare on sunny days from reflective surfaces (water, glass, metal).
• Darkens blue in sky and enhances clouds.
• Use when at 900 angle to sun (ineffective if sun is right behind or in front of you).
• Rotate to get best effect.
• Use for sky and waterfall/river shots.

Polarizing Filter

Without Polarizing Filter
Neutral Density Filter
• Reduces brightness of light without impacting colour.
• Great for implied motion shots during sunny days.
• Comes in different grades – most popular are 0.30, 0.60 and 0.90 densities which reduce exposure by 1, 2 and 3 stops, respectively.

Elements of Design

• Line
• Shape
• Form
• Texture
• Pattern
• ColourElements of Design: Line
• Can be long or short, thick or thin.
• In nature, it is usually irregular (rivers, hills).
• Emotional impact on photos:
Curving lines are seen as restful, relaxing (surf, dunes, rivers). Try for “S” curve in pictures.
Jagged lines are forceful, chaotic, threatening (silhouette of mountain ranges).
Diagonal lines show movement, speed and give an “active” composition.

Elements of Design: Line

“S” curve

Elements of Design: Shape

• Often seen through silhouettes, using strong backlight or frontlight.
• Must have high contrast.

Elements of Design: Form

• Has 3 dimensions (Shape only has 2).
• Shows depth
• Photographed under sunny skies with sidelighting.

Elements of Design: Texture

• Needs low angled sidelighting to compose.
• Often created with macro lens.

Elements of Design: Pattern

• Repetition of lines, shapes or colours.
• Provides sense of harmony.
• Use flat even lighting and straight on camera angle.

Elements of Design: Colour

• Can be used to add impact to photo.
• Red, Yellow, Orange are “warm” colours – passionate / powerful.
• Blue and Green are “cool” colours – have a calming effect.
• Cool colours appear smaller than warm colours and they visually recede on the page so red can visually overpower and stand out over blue even if used in equal amounts.

Colour Wheel
Elements of Composition

• Fill the Frame
• Rule of Thirds
• The Right Third
• Frame in a Frame
• Portrait vs Landscape.

Composition: Fill the Frame

• You mind selectively sees what it wants.
• Check that what attracted you to the shot is filling the frame before you “click”.
• Move closer or use a telephoto.

Composition: Rule of Thirds

• Oft used compositional tool.
• Imagine a 3 x 3 grid superimposed on picture
• The grid is divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines.
• The four points formed by the intersections of these lines can be used to align features in the photograph.
• Aligning a photograph with these points can create more tension, energy and interest in the photo than simply centering it.

Composition: Rule of Thirds
Composition: Right Third

• Place primary object in the right third.
• Normally an eye enters the photo from the left and flows to the right.
• The eye seems to prefer a resting place on the right most of the time.

Composition: Right Third
Composition: Frame in a Frame

• Framing isolates / emphasizes the subject.
• Overhanging tree limbs, building doors and windows can all be used.
• Frames that colour contrast with subject are very effective.

Composition: Portrait vs. Landscape

• Horizontal:
– More static peaceful effect.
– Landscapes.
• Vertical:
– Suggest vigor, strength, power.
– Use for full length figures, tall buildings, etc.

Composition: Portrait vs. Landscape

Bibliography & Further Reading
• Editors of Kodak; Mastering Composition and Light
Time-Life Books, New York, 1983
• Editors of Kodak; More Joy of Photography
Eastman Kodak Books, New York, 1981
• Kelby, Scott; Digital Photography Handbook
Peachpit Press, 2007
• Peterson, Bryan; Learning to See Creatively
Amphoto Books, New York, 2003
• Peterson, Bryan; Understanding Exposure
Amphoto Books, New York, 2004

Festival of Lights – Dec. 2006

I guess I shouldn’t have fretted too much. Winter made a sort of entrance.

Last night we were at a photo shoot in Niagara Falls for the Festival of Lights. It was OK but I should have skipped the various lit up reindeer etc and concentrated on the Falls. But, by the time we got to photographing the falls, my battery was empty, so I ended up looking at the beautiful lights on the falls and taking pictures with my eyes. Damn.

I must have seen these falls thousands of times but, each time I see them, I’m in awe all over again. Last night the coloured lights were shining on them, add to that the mist coming off them mixing with the below freezing air, it had a mystical charm.

The night was pretty cold and raw. The bricked areas became quite slippery. The salters roared up and down the broad walkways to spread the salt in order to keep the slippery surfaces in check.

We ended up packing it in and heading to the nearest Tim Horton’s. There, I had 10 Tim Bits and a hot chocolate. Boy, did that feel good going down.

The drive back home was uneventful but we were all pretty tired and pretty quiet all the way home what with all that cold, fresh air. We got home around midnight.

Winter? What Winter?

It is well into January 2007. Normally we’d have snow. Normally, the Rideau Canal in Ottawa would be frozen over and people from all over the globe would be skating on the longest “skating rink” in the world. They’d be building their ice hotel in Quebec.

Yes, there are people who say they love the warmer weather. I must say, I don’t hate it but it’s disconcerting to have anything so uncharacteristic occur. If this is winter, I am already dreading the summer. But, we are totally helpless against Mother Nature. Nevertheless, I want my winter back. You can’t have spring without there having been a winter. Right?

So, that is how I saw it the other morning. Hopefully, we’ll soon have a change in the weather. It’s not right for the golfers to be out at this time of year. Not here, anyway. The tulip trees in the park are in full bud. Come on. This is nuts. Here’s what I mean.

Romancing the Ice

It was a gathering of like minds that -15C February morning. I’d been up since 5:00, had breakfast and got dressed in layers, packed my gear and was out the door by 6:10AM. It was dark and it was cold.

I got to what I thought was our meeting place, saw nobody else around so walked across the street to Starbuck’s and had a hot chocolate. As soon as I walked in, my glasses fogged up. I couldn’t see worth a damn. I waited for them to clear up and then I cleared out to see why nobody had arrived yet.

Some finally did. Turned out we were at the wrong site. Thank God for modern technology. One of the guys got on his cell and phoned our fearless leader. We weren’t far away but we were in the wrong spot.

It was a lovely get-together. All 30 of us crazies were gathered together. Love those photogs. Nothing keeps them from that “perfect shot”. Around 9 we left for breakfast at a restaurant across the street from Starbuck’s called “Sunrise Cafe”. We had such a good time talking and laughing and telling stories. I discovered I needed yet another piece of equipment – this time for the tripod. It never stops, does it?

After breakfast, we went out again. It was a sunny and beautiful morning. To get some of those shots, I had to sit on the ice and half lie on my belly. (What we don’t do). When I got up I realized my pants were soaked right through. It was time to leave. Besides, it was already nearly noon. Time to go home and get out of these cold, wet clothes. I thought I’d show one of my pictures here. If you want to see more, go to

A Walk In The Country

Yesterday was a beautiful warm and bright spring day. The foliage is just starting to appear. A week from now will be much better, I’m sure. But, I brought my photography gear and proceeded to take pictures of things that amused me.

I made so many booboos, I can’t believe it. So many of my photos were blurry. I guess I should have kept the settings at auto-fucus but I had it on manual. Looks like a lot of times, I did not check the focus before taking the picture. I can’t believe I could be so stupid.

Some pics turned out surprisingly well – like the tree fungus and the patch of blue flowers. Maybe I am starting to understand depth of field. Well, understand is one thing - remembering to check it – is another. As soon as I’m finished working on my pictures, I’ll post them.

Spring in James Gardens

Several years back, I lived in the Eglinton/Royal York area. In that area is a very nice park donated by a generous benefactor, several decades earlier. I love that park. It runs by the Humber River and is so very peaceful. Well, it’s peaceful off season and during weekdays but not weekends. It seems everybody comes to have a look at the plantings and to just be there and enjoy.

All sorts of cyclists were out last Saturday. One group talked in German as they passed me – probably Austrian, judging by their accents. It was a glorious day – sunny and warm but not hot or humid.

I walked around for hours, taking pictures. Here are some:

By way of explanation, the goose was in a tree. I’d never seen that before. He was squawking loudly. Could he have been calling for a mate? Wasn’t he even going to buy dinner first? What a cad.

Ottawa Tulip Festival – May 07

What a lovely weekend this was. The air was clear and bright – not a cloud in the sky. Temperatures in the high 60’sF. It was heavenly. We were heading to Ottawa’s tulip festival. What a city. They have festivals just about every month of the year. Charlie was going to Kingston for a meeting the following day, so Arthur very graciously offered to take me around the city so I could take my pictures. But what he didn’t know was that I needed to be up at 5AM and hopefully be out of the house by 5:30, so as to get the sweet light.

To backtrack a bit, we left around 10AM on Friday and headed East. Around Kingston, we took the road that runs along the St. Lawrence. Since I am crazy over the rocks in the Canadian Shield, I wanted to take our time and stop along the way to take pictures.

At the first place we stopped we had to climb over a low, rusty fence and smash down some undergrowth in order to set up the tripod so as to get a clear shot of the rocks. Well, I found it awkward what with the camera around my neck and the camera bag on my back. I had to ask Charlie for help to get me over the fence. We got the tripod set up and I was having a great time shooting when a police cruiser pulled up and a nice, young man came towards us.

“Maam. Sir. Please come away from there”

“Why?” we asked.

“The hydro pole is on fire” (for those not familiar with the term, that is the pole that carries the electrical wire. Maybe you call it power pole or something.)

“Huh?”

“You’d better make it quick. The transformer could blow”

We looked up and, sure enough, the top of the pole was smoking and flames were licking the sides. I grabbed the camera from the tripod and took a flying leap over the rusty fence and kept running, all the while screaming “Charlie! Hurry up!” I needed no help clearing the fence, this time.

Charlie came with tripod in hand. Since we were parked near the pole, it was a panic to collapse the tripod legs and get it in the trunk. The cops looked worried – we weren’t moving fast enough. Finally, but not until our seat belts were fastened (didn’t want a ticket) did we head out. Whew!

We made several more stops without incident and got to Ottawa just before 5:00PM. Arthur was such a pet and had dinner cooking and drinks at the ready. We put our things away and hung out to talk.

He’d made paella for dinner. It was very good. After dinner I had a shower, washed my hair and put it in rollers. That way, I’d be ready to go the next day. Arthur had a good laugh at my “Sputnik” head. Later, the men watched a movie and I went to bed. Read the rest of this entry »

Friday the 13th

They come from all over North America every Friday the 13th. I saw licence plates from Oklahoma. I’m told, this time, one rider came from Belgium. Every Friday the 13th Port Dover plays host to the biggest motorcycle rally on the Continent.

It all began when Chris Simons and 25 of his friends got together at the Commercial Hotel in Port Dover. They had such a good time they decided to do it every Friday 13th. That was November 1981. The rest is history. To read up on the origin of this tradition click here.

Last Friday, myself and four friends from the Mississauga Camera Club met at 5:30 AM, piled our camera gear into Fred’s van and headed to Port Dover.

We got there around 6:30 AM and already it was bustling with people. We were lucky to find a good parking spot. We then headed to the one and only Tim Horton’s in town, got our coffees, sat and talked for a while. We decided to do our own thing and rendezvous at 1200 hours right there at Tim Horton’s.

We started off at the main street photographing bikers as they entered town. Later, I meandered to the beach. It was a big, wide beach. To my surprise, I saw four palm trees. Big, tall palm trees. After doing a little research I discovered that they were 30 feet tall, were imported from Florida and will be dug up in the fall to winter in a greenhouse and then replanted next Spring. Furthermore, more palm trees are on order.

Meanwhile, the bikers kept coming and coming. You could hear the roar of motorcycles all over the place.

There were happy people as far as the eye could see. Some of the riders were pretty scary looking until you talked to them. Even Hell’s Angels were there. Lots of merchants as well, selling everything from leather biker clothes, bike items of all sorts, sunglasses and the ever-popular t-shirts. So this sleepy little fishing village on Lake Erie – population 5500 ballooned out to 150,000 last weekend. Surprisingly, there were no problems. The event was extremely well organized and has morphed into a huge fundraiser for a number of charities.

Plenty of portable loos such as those pictured below. Hey, that’s important, eh?

When we left at around one, they were still coming into town in streams. We stopped at many places on our way home for various photo-ops. Then, we told jokes all the way home. All in all, we had such a great time together, we decided to do this more often as a group.

And that’s how traditions get started.

My Friend’s Birthday

I’ve known him for what seems like forever. Lately, he’s been in ill health and, most recently he had a fall, so now he’s in a walker for the time being, at least. He’s just turned 75 and friends and family got together to throw him a shindig. It was held at his country home.

The weather was perfect – warm but not hot and no mosquitoes. The seven acres had recently been groomed. A porto-potty was even in place to handle the overflow. Some guests brought tents and sleeping bags. There was a live band and a big pig on a spit which had been roasting all day, boiled corn, lots of other noshies and stuff. It was a great time.

I took many pictures but but the best ones were done while using the tripod.

Torrential Rain on Maid of the Mist

Last weekend my son and entourage came for a visit – long overdue. One of the places they wanted to visit was Niagara Falls. The day looked rather ominous, what with the rain clouds gathering in the sky. We hoped it would clear but, of course, it didn’t. Mostly, it sprinkled.

Before heading to the Falls, we took them on a tour of Niagara-on-the-Lake and Queenston Heights. We were all disappointed that Brock’s Monument was closed due to repairs. Couldn’t they have done that in the autumn? Gee. Oh well, we had a picnic lunch and took pictures so it was not a complete loss.

Next, we headed to the Falls. We got the car parked and started to walk towards them when, suddenly, the heavens opened and sheets of rain swept down. We ran for cover, got a couple of heavy plastic shopping bags, cut a hole just big enough for the camera lenses to fit through, the rest of the bag protected our precious digital SLR’s. We soldiered on.

We decided to go on the Maid of the Mist even though it rained like no tomorrow. So here are a few pics taken during that violent ride. None of them are sharp. The boat rocked and what with the people bumping into you, it was tough to get a clear, steady shot. Well, for what it’s worth, here they are.