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By Digital Photography School, on February 1st, 2011%
 This time of year, besides trying to figure out how to take pictures on gray days, I also like to start planning for when the sun will come out. Beyond the Vitamin D benefits, I enjoy sunset photos from a few local beaches spread around the Puget Sound. This year I’m creating a sunrise/sunset calendar, something that I’ve kept in my mind but never put down on paper (or the internet, where my copy will reside). The concept is simple and works well for those further from the equator. Sorry everyone in the lower latitudes, the sun doesn’t move that far North to South for you to worry about this too much. For those of us from about the 10th parallel all the way to either Pole, this trick should be handy for making the most of your sunset photo time. You will need a calendar. If you like the online version, here’s one for you for 2011 in ICS version . The idea is to number all the dates on both sides of the Summer Solstice or Winter Solstice equally. I start at the 21st of June and make that zero. From there, each day forward and back, is given a sequential number. Because of the number of days in a year, the calendar will have to be redrawn, slightly, each year except leap year. The idea is to note where the sun sets on a given day, say the Vernal Equinox, to make life easy. Where I live, up by the 48th parallel, there is a mountain range across from Seattle known as the Olympics. All year long the sun marches left to right in its sunsets. When I mark on the calendar where the sun sets that day (maybe over Mt. Jefferson, for example) and check the calendar number, in this case 93, then I know that on the corresponding date in the Fall, the sun will be in the same position. This just happens to be a few hours before the day of the Autumnal Equinox, again, making life easy. Armed with this calendar or a simple printed version, it is easy to plan ahead. This is handy if you are not able to shoot a sunrise or sunset on a given day or know of a better angle than the one you currently occupy. My first memory of this calendar idea was seeing a photo of the sun beaming down a street in New York City. The caption noted the photographer had seen that same view the year before and made a note to bring their camera to work in a highrise on the same day the next year. Maybe you notice the sun rising from under a bridge on your way to work or setting perfectly over a lake but can’t stop to take a shot. Make a note to revisit the missed photo on the other side of the Solstice. I hope this simple trick helps you record, and enjoy, more great days outdoors with your camera. It can certainly have many uses beyond sunrises and sunsets and I’d love to hear of unique applications of the idea. Post from: Digital Photography School . . . → Read More: Creating A Sunrise/Sunset Calendar
By Steve Digicam, on February 1st, 2011%
Our full hands-on review of Nikon’s latest D-series dSLR entry has been published. The D7000 is a very appealing mid-level, professional camera that unitizes an all new 16-megapixel APS-C (DX-format) image sensor. This camera is loaded with impressive specifications, many of which will appeal to a wide range of photogs, including a fast 39-point AF system, burst mode shooting at up to 6fps, and a versatile sensitivity range from ISO 100 – 6400 (expandable up to ISO 25,600). To see how well the D7000 performed, check out Steve’s Conclusion as well as our unedited Sample Photos . . . . → Read More: Just Posted: Steve’s Nikon D7000 Review
By Digital Photography School, on February 1st, 2011%
We’ve all been guilty of taking pictures with our eyes closed. Just go crazy, go on a shooting spree and see what happens. See what happy mistakes you can pawn off as well-thought out, purposefully captured portraits. Here are 6 ways you can identify yourself as a luck photographer: You take way too many pictures. A one hour session results in 500 shots to sort in your computer Your sessions take hours longer than they need to You feel panicky, nervous and out of control while you’re shooting You can’t explain to someone later on how you made a portrait or the settings you chose You either shy away from manual all together or you ‘wing it’ and take the same shot over and over with different settings ‘just in case’ Your clients are confused as to why they spent hours with you, witnessed you taking a bajillion photos but they only ended up seeing 20 of them (note: clients will ask this anyway, but the less you rely on luck, the less they will ask) I have been guilty of all of the above, and not even that long ago. Believe it or not, I’ve been a very good fake at times. In the beginning, I posted images that had rave reviews from readers inspite of the fact that they were just lucky shots that I couldn’t recreate if I wanted to. There are a few reasons why this can be dangerous to a photographer who is charging for their sessions: Your clients have gone to your website for a product but when they come to you for their session, you won’t be able to produce the same product for them. Following on from the above, some of you might know of the story of Jesus cursing the fig tree. He was enticed by the leaves of the tree, but when he approached it, there was no fruit. He cursed it and it died. Being a haphazard photographer is like a tree of leaves enticing clients who later find that there isn’t actually any fruit. A business built on these principles can’t last. You will smash your own confidence if you rely on luck. You will feel out of control and deep down inside, you’ll know that it wasn’t really YOU creating the images. When I look back, I can see that I have learned many things from my lucky shooting days. I learned about composition. I learned about self restraint and, most importantly, I learned how to stop shooting for luck and how to start taking pictures on purpose. Here are the things I wish I knew back then to get started sooner: Learn Light – I can’t just call myself an ‘available light photographer’ and claim to only shoot in natural light to get around learning about lighting. When I wanted to stop being at the mercy of the sun, the location, the time of day, I buckled down and learned the (surprisingly basic) things you need to know to take control of the light. Someone once said, “I’m an available light photographer. My Speedlite is available.” Learn Your Camera – This is an obvious one, but needs to be said: learn how your camera sets exposure and why. Aperture, ISO, shutter speed and white balance. Force yourself to shoot in manual (or one of the in-between modes like aperture or shutter priority modes .) and see what the different dials actually do. Learn Posing – I had to stop taking pride in being the anti-posed photographer and start actually learning about the art of posing subjects (particularly children) so that I could stop shooting like a maniac, chasing them for a square mile and just waiting for them to stop and look at me, all the while filling up a 16gb memory card and giving myself a helluva lot of sorting to do later on. I bought and utilized posing guides from Skye Hardwick to take control and make portraits rather than just take pictures . Try Bracketing – When you’re just starting out and you want to make sure to nail your exposure, bracketing can be a super useful tool. Before discovering it, I would take three different photos all while quickly moving the dials with my thumb to alter the shutter speed or aperture to get three exposures for one image. With bracketing, you can take three photos at once, all of different exposures and then choose later on which one is right for your image. Have Restraint – When I shoot now, I probably trash only 10-15% of my images (in contrast to 80% in the beginning) and only for reasons like blinking or a cat running in the way. I don’t click click click the shutter. I set up the shot, take control of the light, capture the image and when I’ve got it, I move on to another. I think there must be such a thing as shutter addiction. It’s so satisfying to hear the shutter clamp down and know that you have actually captured something: that you have harnessed the light and made it yours. No photographer just woke up great. It’s been a long haul to get where I am and I recognize that I’ve got a long way to go. You never get to a point where you know 100% of everything there is to know about photography and that’s what makes it such an exciting hobby or career. Post from: Digital Photography School . . . → Read More: 5 ways to stop being a luck photographer {and start taking pictures on purpose}
By 43rumors, on January 30th, 2011%
John Brawley tested the Panasonic GH2 and the AG-AF100 cameras. He complains one particular issue the AG-AF100 has: “ Listen to the noise picked up by the camera mike as I change the iris on the camera. It actually sounded worse to me than what was recorded in this clip This is a test clip shot on an AF 102 (AF100). that was done using the Olympus 7-14 and a Panasonic m4/3 adaptor . I tested it with a great many 4/3 lenses from both Panasonic and Olympus. They all make the same noise. The interesting thing is that the same lenses and adaptors on the GH2 didn’t seem to make the same noise .” More at johnbrawley.wordpress.com AG-AF100 preorder links at Adorama or BHphoto. . . . → Read More: AG-AF100 lens iris noise…
By Image Acquire, on January 29th, 2011%
Sony’s upcoming super-zoom camera, the Cyber-shot HX100V has been leaked ahead of time by LetsGoDigital, who obtained not only high-res photos of the camera, but full specs as well. The HX100V has a 30x zoom lens, (27 – 810mm) and a 16.2 megapixel backside-illuminated sensor, which is more sensible to light … . . . → Read More: Sony Cyber-shot HX100V leaked
By Image Acquire, on January 29th, 2011%
This is the Casio Tryx, which is something that we reported before at CES 2011. This is something that my Source has identified as a camera with an App, and it does say something for the camera business that they are adopting Apple’s App business model. After all, … . . . → Read More: App model applies to cameras
By PC World, on January 29th, 2011%
The Canon Powershot G12 digital camera is ready to impress the advanced amateurs who have always celebrated the G Series. This camera has 2.8-inch Vari-angle PureColor System LCD, and RAW plus JPEG image modes. This camera has features like 720p HD Video with stereo sound to get crystal clear footage, multiple aspect ratios, High Dynamic Range, Electronic Level, Tracking AF, a Front Dial and much more to give you creative control. . . . → Read More: PowerShot G12 Black Digital Camera – Lowest Price: $433.95
By Steve Digicam, on January 27th, 2011%
Firmware updates are typically for fixing one or two small things at a time, but the new download for Nikon’s D3100 brings a host of changes to the camera. In addition to the reduction of an unwanted magenta tint captured when using high sensitivity settings, Nikon has made changes to the way Noise Reduction works in the camera. You can find the full documentation below or on Nikon’s download page . Improvements and changes from firmware versions A/B, 1.01: A magenta tint was present at the bottom of still images captured at high sensitivities after shooting in live view mode or recording movies for an extended length of time. . . . → Read More: Nikon Releases Firmware For the D3100
By Digital Photography School, on January 27th, 2011%
 One thing that makes a great photo is its ability to convey emotion. Emotion in a photograph, or any work of art, is what helps a viewer connect with a piece if that emotion is prevalent in the viewer. Happiness and joy, sorrow and despair, these are some of the easier emotions as they are universally felt, at one time or another, by all on this planet. Emotion, or a feeling, is what can bring a snapshot out of obscurity and make it shine. Think of a normal sunset picture from the shores of Hawaii with just the horizon and a bright orange sun dipping low. It’s beautiful for sure and even better when viewed in person. Now pull the zoom back to a wider angle and show a couple in silhouette, sitting on lounge chairs facing the waves and reaching to each other to hold hands. Different people will connect with each photo in different ways, or maybe not at all. Those in a romanic mood will enjoy the photo of the couple and those looking for calm without distraction may enjoy the singular sunset. My point here is you can’t guess which mood people will be in when they view your work. Which is actually a good thing, because the photo should be your expression of what you see and feel through the viewfinder (unless you are attempting a neutrally biased photojournalistic stance). Here then are some tips to help convey emotion and feeling in photographs to help make a stronger connection with viewers. Realize What Type Of Mood You’re In While Shooting Your emotional state has the largest impact on the emotional quality of your photos. When I look back through travel photos I will often noticed a dip here and there in the number of photos taken on a particular day. The quality is also off and I can remember just what I was feeling that day. In most cases, I had that, “Just not feeling it today” blah that comes and goes for us all. And it shows in my work. Ok snapshots of mountains, but nothing to write home about. Other days I feel like the world is my oyster and I’m uncovering hidden gems left and right. It’s important to understand where you are and realize that will likely come through in your photography (while realizing just like anything in life, some people are really good at faking it). Give yourself a break on the down days and be sure to pick up your camera on the upswings. Just remember that neither lasts forever. Tighten The Shot Often a singular emotion gets lost in a busy scene. This goes for photos as well. Simplify the main subject of the image before hitting the shutter release. A wide angle view of a festival in the streets might show the size, which can be impressive in its own right, but the feel of that party is best conveyed on the faces of those dancing or performing in the crowd. Zero in on the action. It may tell the difference between a large crowd who is standing around, bored or a large crowd having the time of their lives. Focus On Faces This is a fairly straight forward bit of advice that may seem obvious, but many of us avoid people photographs when in a new situations with strangers. When possible, always ask permission before taking a picture of stranger, especially head on. Again, remember your mood will possibly influence theirs and if you are trying to capture them as naturally as can be (without being a sniper hiding in the shadows), keep your demeanor as neutral as can be. Simple raised eyebrows while pointing to your camera does work and it doesn’t require a huge smile on your part, as if you are asking your subject to smile back. Chances are they will convey what they wish. If life is hard, they likely won’t smile and their face will often tell the tale of their hardships. If they are joyous, or just young, you may get a beaming smile. And with any good portrait, remember to get sharp focus on the eyes. And share the results with your subject if you can. Set Your Camera Down And Observe I tend to get lambasted when I tell people to stop shooting and set the camera away, so this time I’ll simply tell you to put the camera down for a minute. Forget about shooting and just sit and observe. Your mood has a big part in what and how you shoot, but also realize that being a shooter in a situation often means you travel in a bubble. To break out of that bubble and absorb more from the world in which you are immersed, sit. And observe for 15 minutes. The mood of those around you will often become more apparent with this relaxed stance. Return If You Can If you are shooting a subject which you can return to, do it. The same street or beach or room will have a different feel on different days, especially if the weather changes often. And your mood can shift as well from day to day. Return to a location with an open mind for a second look and you may be surprised to find not only are the characters involved different, the feel of the place is different too. Conveying emotion in photography is a surefire way to help your work connect with those viewing it. It will help lift the quality of your work and give it more punch. Before you hit the shutter release next time, think to yourself, “What emotion am I trying to convey?” Post from: Digital Photography School . . . → Read More: Adding Emotion and Feeling To Photographs
By Digital Photography School, on January 25th, 2011%
 I’ll admit that today was the day I picked up the manual for my camera. I have done it once before but today I got very curious just what the Picture Styles feature on a lot of Canon DSLRs actually does. For the most part I shoot in RAW and it has no impact there. It is only set to make changes to JPEG images produced by the camera. But what real affect do the various settings like Standard, Portrait and, more so, the custom adjustments I can make, have on the final image if I want quick, out of the camera punch or neutral rendition? One note: A wide range of possibilities opens up to adjust Picture Styles on RAW images in programs like Canon’s Digital Photo Professional (DPP) software or BreezeBrowser, and that is a whole other ball of wax for another post. Let’s take a look at the settings themselves first. This information is from a Canon 7D but is relevant to most of the DLSR line with the Picture Styles settings. From the left, those symbols represent the setting for Sharpness, Contrast, Saturation and Color Tone (Hue). All in this image have a setting of zero next to them. I’ll be using those settings in that order for the remainder on this post: Sharpness, Contrast, Saturation and Color Tone. Now then, there are six preset modes: Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Neutral, Faithful and Monochrome (followed by Custom1, 2 and 3 in the image below). I will begin by showing representations of each of these settings and then dive into customization of just Standard mode. Otherwise this post would be filled with more than 50 screen shots and become confusing. All photos are shot at ISO 400, 130mm (28-300mm L lens), 1/5 and f/8.0. The images were given a small 1/3 of a stop bump in exposure. Click on an image for a larger version. Standard Sharpness: 3 Contrast: 0 Saturation: 0 Color Tone: 0 Portrait Sharpness: 2 Contrast: 0 Saturation: 0 Color Tone: 0 Landscape Sharpness: 4 Contrast: 0 Saturation: 0 Color Tone: 0 Neutral Sharpness: 0 Contrast: 0 Saturation: 0 Color Tone: 0 Faithful Sharpness: 0 Contrast: 0 Saturation: 0 Color Tone: 0 Monochrome Sharpness: 3 Contrast: 0 Filtering Effect: none Toning Effect: none Each of the modes has a specific intent. Standard is set to give a lively view and a likely rendition that will appeal to most viewers. Portrait softens the sharpness while highlighting skin tones. Landscape will increase sharpness and increase saturation slightly, especially in greens and blues. Neutral attempts to make as little change as possible to make post processing easier. Faithful takes this a step further and attempts to render colors as if under a 5200K light source. Monochrome opens up the possiblity of using Filtering Effects (Yellow, Orange, Red, Green) and Toning Effects (Sepia, Blue, Purple, Green) In this tutorial, I will use the Standard mode from which to start making adjustments. These adjustments are reached by hitting the Menu button and then finding and selecting the Picture Style item. The default settings for Standard are then shown with an option to make adjustments using the selection wheel or pointer. Notice the Sharpness adjustment goes from zero to seven while the others have a midpoint and move from -4 to +4. Standard mode dictates Sharpness to +3. Let’s first take a look at what happens when this is jacked up to +7. Notice in the histogram the peaks are far more pronounced. Next, the Sharpness is returned to the Standard setting of +3 and Contrast is taken to +4, followed by Contrast at -4. Again, check the histograms for minor changes. Returning Contrast to 0, it’s time to give Saturation a whirl. First +4 then -4. Here again, there is a wide range of effect which can be applied depending on your liking. Lastly, Saturation is returned to 0 and Color Tone is given a swing from +4 to -4. From here, each of the Modes has their own set of adjustments you can make with over 4,000 different possible combination (except for Monochrome, which is slightly less)! If you want to get a hands on feel for making adjustments to the sliders but just happen to be at work reading this and you camera is no where to be found, Canon has a web page devoted to allowing free play of the settings. If you regularly shoot in JPEG mode, play around with the settings and find a look that works for you. Most Canon cameras have the option to save these custom settings as one of three presets, perfect for a quick switch when the situation arises. Post from: Digital Photography School . . . → Read More: Using Canon’s Picture Styles
By DPreview, on January 19th, 2011%
Samsung tops off its day of announcements with the ST6500, a high-end style compact with touch-screen control. The 16MP camera features a 5x zoom starting at a very respectable 26mm equivalent (extending out to 130mm equiv). Beyond the inclusion of 720p HD movie recording and the fact that the body tilts at 7 degrees, specification for the camera, available in March, is rather thin-on-the-ground. Its recommended selling price will be $229. . . . → Read More: Samsung targets the style crowd with ST6500
By DPreview, on January 19th, 2011%
Samsung has announced the ST30 ultra-compact digital camera. The 10.1MP camera has a 3x zoom starting at a usefully wide 28mm equivalent focal length. The camera is, the company says, around the size of an average mobile phone, giving a good idea of who the camera is aimed at. It has all the standard features such as Smart Auto mode and Perfect Portrait mode you’d expect in the budget sector and comes with a list price of $99.95. . . . → Read More: Samsung announces ST30 10MP ultra-compact
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