However, when I got home and reflected on the day, I realized it wasn't a complete waste of time. I had gained some experience and I had experimented with the built in HDR in my camera. On top of that I had gone out for the day when I would have just been sitting at home. I had a nice walk, despite the wind, seen new things and had a nice meal in a local pub. So the moral is don't worry too much about getting that wonderful shot, just enjoy a day out in the fresh air while gaining experience.
I had a bad day yesterday. I set out to photograph some old tin mine buildings near the sea in Cornwall. It took two hours to drive there and the weather was fair. There were just two problems, the sky was cloudless and the wind was really strong. Although I managed a few shots, the wind was really buffeting me strongly, so I knew the shots wouldn't be sharp enough.
However, when I got home and reflected on the day, I realized it wasn't a complete waste of time. I had gained some experience and I had experimented with the built in HDR in my camera. On top of that I had gone out for the day when I would have just been sitting at home. I had a nice walk, despite the wind, seen new things and had a nice meal in a local pub. So the moral is don't worry too much about getting that wonderful shot, just enjoy a day out in the fresh air while gaining experience.
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Many people think that you get punchy colour in bright light, but this is not true. The quality of light will affect colour and landscape photographers are told to use the golden hours around sunrise and sunset when the temperature of the light is warmer, i.e redder. However a good time to bring out colour saturation is when light is diffuse such as a hazy/overcast day. In these conditions the light from the sun is softened from a single point into a wide light source which really brings out subtle shades of colour, especially greens and browns
For amateurs, file format is often confusing. The major choice is whether to shoot in RAW format or JPEG. You are probably familiar with JPEG as it is the file storage format used by photo software on your PC such as Windows Live Photo Gallery. So what is the difference and what are the pro's and con's of each?
JPEG is a compact file format where an image is compressed digitally using a software algorithm and was used prior to digital cameras to save space when transmitting images over telephone lines. This was great for early digital cameras and PCs which had limited memory facilities, however today space is not such a critical factor with SD cards offering 16|Gb and 32Gb as standard and hard disk drives offering 1 terrabyte of storage. However it has become an industry standard and all digital cameras can shoot JPEG. RAW format is a format which captures the image in your camera uncompressed or with minimum compression, so there is more detail in the image which can be processed later. However RAW is not a standard. Nikon call their RAW images NEF, while Canon call theirs CRW. Imagine a line of 64 pixels within an image. You could describe the line by saying something like "red, red, red, green, green, red, etc" This is the equivalent of RAW. However, you could also describe it as the formula "14 red, 3 green, 16 red, 6 green, 24 red, 1 green" this is the equivalent of JPEG compression. It is obvious that there is more detail in a RAW image which can be manipulated in post-processing, but a RAW image takes up more space than a JPEG image. This is a major advantage for photographers who may want to bring out some detail hidden in the shadow area of an image. With more data to play with and shooting a large image size such as FX, professional photographers can make very large prints of their photos without any significant loss of image quality. For amateur photographers who only make small prints or who only publish to websites where image quality is small, JPEG is probably sufficient. The choice is yours. If you do a lot of image manipulation it is probably better to shoot and manipulate RAW images. If you just shoot for fun and don't edit photos much then JPEG is probably sufficient. If, like me, you take a lot of photos in one session, then I strongly recommend carrying a spare battery. However, an easy way to achieve this is to buy a Battery Grip.
I looked at the Nikon version for the D7100 but they are expensive, so I went for a cheaper version by Neewer (similar brands are available) http://www.amazon.com/NEEWER-Vertical-Battery-Replacement-MB-D15/dp/B00CZ6PYOO. It seems to work ok and the bonus is that the camera is easier to operate in Portrait mode. How long it will last is another matter, only time will tell. If you are forever losing your lens caps or are tired of them blowing around on elasticated keeprs, I recently bought a little gadget which clips onto your camera strap and then you can clip your lens cap into it. It is called a HUFA lens cap clip. Website: http://www.hufaholder.com/main.html There are two sizes dependant upon the width of your camera strap.
IF you have wondered how you might capture a glorious sunset without resorting to Photoshop, there is a simple solution - use Graduated Filters.
Graduated filters are pieces of acetate or optical glass that you can place in front of your camera lens via a filter holder. A graduated filter, as its name suggests, is dark at one edge and gradually becomes clear towards the other edge. You can buy various qualities of holders and filters from really cheap Chinese ones through to professional sets from Lee. I use Cokin which is a pretty good quality for amateurs without breaking the bank. You need to choose which size of filter according to your camera. See here: http://www.cokin-filters.com/creative/ Also there are various densities (darkness) and colours of filters. To use, choose the correct Adapter Ring for your lens (see rear of lens cap for the correct size) and screw it to the front of the lens. Next slide on the Filter Holder. Finally slide in the Graduated Filter with the dark portion at the top. Roughly align the edge of the dark portion with the horizon and you are ready to take your sunset photo. The Graduated Filter evens of the brightness difference between the bright sky/sun and the darker foreground (sea/land) making it easier for the camera's metering system to judge a correct exposure. A video explanation by Mike Browne may be found here:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3TVJ8LzriY PS Use a long telephoto to make the sun appear larger than it is. Happy shooting! If you have wondered what those letters and numbers on lenses mean, I hope I can explain. I will use Nikon as an example but other makes are similar.
First of all lets look at the writing found around the barrel of the lens. Next to the Nikon name is usually something like DX or N. DX means it is a lens designed to be used on DX format APS_C cropped sensor cameras rather than full-format FX cameras. N means the leans is treated with a nano crystal (anti-reflective) coating. Below the name is some writing. Example AF-S NIKKOR 55-300mm 1:4.5-5.6 GED AF-S simply means it is an autofocus (AF) lens rather than a manual focus one. And the -S means it is a silent wave motor ( a quiet one with fast autofocus) NIKKOR means the lens is made by Nikon 55-300mm is the focal length of the lens. Because there are two numbers 55 and 300 this lens is a zoom lens with a range from 55mm up to 300mm. If there was just one number, e.g. 85mm then the lens would be a prime lens, i.e. one with a fixed focal length. 14.5-5.6 indicates the maximum aperture. Because this is a consumer telephoto, the maximum aperture varies across the zoom range. At 55mm the maximum aperture is f4.6 but this decreases to f5.6 at the 300mm end of the zoom range. Some zoom lenses and all prime lenses have only one number e.g. 1:2.8 This means that the aperture is fixed (f2.8 in this example) across the entire focal length of the lens. Zoom lenses of this type tend to be more expensive. Note: the smaller the number, the greater the light gathering power of the lens and the better it should perform in low light conditions. G means that this Nikon lens is "gelded" , i.e. it does not have an manually adjustable aperture ring which was common on older manual lenses. G II means it is a second generation lens for this focal length featuring VRII technology. ED means that the lens contains Extra low-Dispersion glass that helps correct chromatic aberrations (failure to focus different colours at the same focus point) Below this writing a couple of letters may be found , eg. VR. This stands for Vibration Reduction or image stabilization. This is a feature built in to the lens to reduce blur when hand holding a lens. Not all Nikon lenses will have this feature. Other manufacturers call this feature something like IS, OS, or VC Finally, if you remove the lens cap and look at the inside you will see a size, e.g. 58mm. This tells you the size of screw-in filter to buy if you wish to fit one. Personally I always fit a good quality UV filter purely to protect the lens front element from damage. Brands like Hoya or B+W use good quality optical glass. Do not buy cheap filters as they will reduce image quality. I hope this helps. I was watching a video yesterday which explained the merits of a sling-type bag - in this case the Lowepro Slinshot and I was tempted to have a closer look. Sling bags allow you to tote the bag like a rucksack but the simply swing it around your body so you can access your camera and equipment without taking the bag off or setting it on wet or muddy ground. Great, I thought, I'll buy one until I remembered that my Tamrac Evolution is a multi-way bag that can be used as a straightforward rucksack OR used as a sling bag by simply un-clipping the shoulder straps.
So I will stay with my Tamrac bag, it is a great size for a camera and a couple of lenses plus filter holder and filters, lens cloths, etc, etc. It also has a waterproof cover for serious hikes in the rain. Small enough to walk around in the city too. Tamrac information is here:- http://www.tamrac.com/series/evolution-series/ I had already known that for good image sharpness when shooting handheld then you should ensure that the shutter speed is at least 1/lens local length, e.g. for 100mm lens then shoot at least 1/100 second.
HOWEVER, what I didn't realise is this applies to Full Format (FX) cameras and lenses. My equipment D90 and D7100 is the smaller DX format (APS-C sensor) which covers a smaller percentage of a full frame image, effectively giving a 1.5 multiplication in focal length. Put simply a 100mm lens in DX format is equivalent to a 150mm lens in FX format. SO that means when shooting handheld with a 100mm lens in DX format you also need to use the 1.5 multiplier factor. So minimum shutter speed should be 1/lens focal length X 1.5. E.g for 100mm lens 1/150 second, for 50mm lens 1/75 second, for 200mm lens 1/300 second, etc. NOTE that this is a guide for minimum shutter speed, handheld. A slightly faster shutter speed should give better results. Using a VR (image stabilization) lens should improve results. I have just received a new camera, a Nikon D7100. My first impression is that it is a good step up from my D90. Most of the controls are the same except for a couple of things. I will detail these in future entries. The image quality is excellent ( you can see some in the Other section of my site) and the shutter is quieter than the D90 plus the screen is slightly larger.
The major difference to me is the autofocus adjustment and the shooting mode. On this camera Autofocus adjustment is triggered by a button on the front left of the camera (The A/F or M/F switch). Depressing the button allows you to adjust the type (Single, continuous or auto) by the command dial and the autofocus area by the rear wheel. Formerly there were controlled via a button on top of the camera. It is probably better but it will take some getting used to. Also I believe that you can change the method of actuating autofucus to the AF-L button on the rear of camera, but I haven't read up on that yet. The shooting mode is now controlled by and extra dial on the left top of the camera. Both dials are locked by small push buttons. I like this. On the shooting mode dial on the left of the camera are two user set modes (U1 and U2) which are useful. Select your preferred settings for say landscapes and action and then save them to each button via the menu. Really handy. One thing I haven't got used to yet are the buttons to the left of the screen. Nikon have added a new i button so you can check camera settings on the screen. This is very useful. However, in their wisdom they decided to swap the two buttons which magnify and decrease the image on the screen. So I press what used to be the magnify button and decrease the image! Not so useful. Another good feature is the Live View mode which allows you to take either movies or photos when viewing through the LCD screen instead of the viewfinder. On my D90 you could only use live view for movies. |
About MeI am a retired IT professional. I use my spare time by travelling and taking photographs. I love wildlife and history. Archives
March 2022
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