Photography- Charleston Pictures

Here are three pictures I took while I was in Charleston for the Dave Matthews Band Concert on the 4th of July enjoy

Photography- Depth of Field

This week I’m going to talk about Depth of Field.  Depth of Field (DOF)is the portion of an image that is sharp and in-focus.  In photography DOF can be used for many things, particularly in composition.  Before I go into its uses there is some terminology that we should clear up first.  A wide aperture yields a shallow or small depth of field while a small aperture yields a deep or large depth of field.  This seems quite counterintuitive but it has to deal with the part of the lens called the aperture.  The aperture is the part of the lens that regulates the light that is allowed to focus on the sensor in your digital camera.  A lens’ f/stop is directly related to the aperture.  f/1.4 would be considered a low depth of field aperture while an f/stop of f/22 would be considered a high depth of field aperture.  Before I get to much more advanced I would just like to say that generally you want to shoot landscape photos around f/11 and low light situations around f/1.8.  You will often hear the quality if a lens referred to by its speed.  When someone say that the lens is really fast they mean that it has a large aperture/shallow depth of field.  Most zoom lens have a varied maximum aperture of f/5.6-3.5 this means that as you increase the focal plane the maximum aperture will vary.  If you have expensive lenses that value will be fixed, which for optical reasons is why it costs so much.

From a compositional standpoint, sharpness, clarity, and depth of field all play a roll in conveying a theme or message in photography.   With a shallow depth of field (large aperture) you can isolate subject  within the image.  With a large depth of field (small aperture) you can show extreme depth having both, the main subject and background in focus.  Something to also consider is sharpness.  Most lens yield the sharpest results at apertures in the middle of it’s minimum and maximum.  So achieving the effect you want should take into consideration the acceptable zone or range of sharpness the lens is capable of.

Photography- Rule of Thirds

So, since I last updated the photography section, I have purchased and begun to use the Nikon SB-400.  This simple little flash allows you to bounce light off walls and ceilings.  I look forward to making some test shots and showing you what I learn and discover with it at a later date.

This week I want to talk about the, “rule-of-thirds” or “ROT.”  This rule is the foundation of modern composition and is something I think about almost every time I put my eye up to the eyepiece of my camera.  The rule or guideline goes like this:  divide the image frame of your viewfinder into three equally spaced regions vertically and horizontally.  Then, compose the shot making one or all of the areas of interest in the photo to where these vertical and horizontal lines intersect.

Mental Rule of Thirds overlay

It is said that the image will be more appealing visually and mentally if this simple rule is followed.  Another great use of this “grid” is when framing a landscape photo.  Instead of putting the horizon in the dead center of the frame move the camera up, putting the horizon in the lower third of the frame or move the camera down, putting the horizon two thirds up in the image.  You may be wondering which is best having one third as the horizon or two thirds at the horizon.  The truth is if you place the horizon so that only the bottom third is the horizon and the rest is sky, more emphasis is placed in the area where the sky is.  If you decided to flip it meaning two thirds of the image is now below the horizon, emphasis shifts to what is below the horizon.  In other words, if the point of interest is below the horizon move your camera down to the two thirds below the horizon.  If the point of interest is a cloud or sunset place the horizon at the lowest third allowing the sky dominate interest and allow your picture to have the greatest effect.

Now, I’m going to tell you that not all photos follow this rule.  There are many reasons why in some cases, this rule should not be followed.  Just like in everything that has rules, rules are meant to be broken!!  This is just one of many tools in a photographer’s bag-of-tricks used to emphasize a certain message or theme in photography.

Photography- RAW vs. JPEG

RAW

So first off, you may be asking yourself, “what the heck is RAW!!” and to answer your question. RAW is a type of file format similar to JPEG but different (better) in many ways too. RAW is a way of saving an image from your high-end point-and-shoot or Digital SLR. Every major camera manufacturer who sells a Digital SLR generally has their own proprietary RAW equivalent. For Nikon the RAW extension is .NEF. Canon’s extension is .CRW. One is not better than the other it’s just a different way of storing the information. So, what makes RAW different than JPEG? RAW files are exactly what the name implies; the information that is captured on the image sensor in your digital camera is directly recorded onto the memory card, bypassing all of the in-camera processing. This means there is no loss of image quality and no compression is being done. Once the pictures have been sent to the computer this RAW data cannot be used ubiquitously, it must first be compressed into a file format that can be interpreted on the web or in graphics software. This is where the RAW image file shows it’s strength. Before the file is converted the RAW file can be adjusted/edited without any loss in quality. So, this allows editing indestructibly. With RAW the highlights midtones and darks are all stored without compression allowing for the output file to be tweaked without worrying about file degradation or image quality. It will look as if it was exposed properly to begin with, before you edited it. One caveat with RAW files is that they tend to be a 30 to 40 percent larger than JPEG’s and they require special software to view and edit them once on the computer.

JPEG

And now for everyone’s favorite the JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) The JPEG is the file format that is most common in cameras today. It’s strengths are it’s wide acceptance as the photographic standard, small file size (relatively) and it’s ability to be placed on the Internet without much trouble. The JPEG differs from the RAW file in that, when your camera goes to capture the light that hits it’s sensor, this light gets processed and compressed in the camera. Compression such as :low, medium, fine, super fine are words that are commonly used when describing the quality of the JPEG. For most people who take photos, the JPEG format is fine. But, if you plan on making large prints of an image or if you plan on doing a lot of editing RAW is the way to go.

If you can’t tell the difference between these two photos take a look at the orange checker patteren in the two photos and see if you can see the difference.  If you still can’t let me tell you there is quite a bit of difference.  The photo on top is the closest thing to RAW without shooting RAW; all of the editing was done as a RAW before it was converted to JPEG (for web puposes, you can’t view RAW on the web).  The photo on the bottom leaves something to be desired.  This photo was edited and saved as a JPEG. One other noticible difference is the color in the photo on the right is not quite the same as the one on the left.

Photography- My Background

The Camera that started it all

The city was Boston, the camera was a Nikon Coolpix 4300, and the time was the summer of 2005.  Boston was the city of choice that year for one of our family vacations.  Best I can remember, we began to go on a hop-on hop-off city tours when one of the stops was a harbor cruise my dad asked me if I wanted to use his camera to take pictures while on the boat.  I remember thinking, “this might be a good opportunity to take a few pictures to use as background images on my computer.”  And so it began… the rest of the six days we were in Boston, I was the resident picture taker; snapping  pictures of what I thought might turn out to be good computer-background material.

Picture taken while on the harbor cruise (Computer-Background Material)

It wasn’t until I happened to stumble upon an internet site, Digital Photography Review, later that August, when the idea of taking “computer-backgrounds” sounded like it might be fun.  I remember I scoured the web site for hours looking at point and shoot cameras.  Then I remembered, after traveling with my youth group earlier in the summer, that my high school cheerleading coach had a Canon Digital Rebel.  So naturally I wanted what I had seen, a Canon Digital Rebel.  I decided that I was going to tell my parents that I wanted the camera for Christmas.  Like any logical-minded parents they thought that was too much for something I had shown little or no interest in before and they told me to re-consider.  After much whining and complaining, like an only a only- child can, I talked them into the idea of considering getting me a camera for Christmas, only a lesser camera (what I thought at the time) than the Canon Digital Rebel, the Nikon D50. The D50 was a 6 megapixel camera (2 fewer than the Digital Rebel) that shot with an SD card (Rebel used Compact flash.)  At the time I felt I was getting gypped, but now I realize how blessed I am to live in a family that was financially capable to fulfill my every need (not as if a camera is a sustainable necessity.)

When Christmas arrived I found myself owner of a brand new Nikon D50, my first Digital SLR and my first digital camera!  As a “desktop-background” shooter I found it hard at first to find visually stunning or compelling scenes locally.  Since I was still in high school there were really no means to travel and/or fund this hobby.  I quickly became discouraged about my ability to take good photographs (not realizing how limiting I was making my subject matter).  Jump forward a year to the summer of 2006.  This is when I first began to take shooting seriously.  It was our family vacation to the western United States.  This is when I start getting really into shooting for reasons other than pure enjoyment and try my hand at actually attempting to compose shots.

Shot while in Las Vegas at the Luxor Hotel and Casino

After that summer, I went to my first semester of college which was not very productive in the photography area (for me), since my parents were worried about my camera getting stolen, I did not have it with me at school.  When I went back in the spring, I was able to talk my parents into letting me have my camera.  It was at this point that I started to take pictures on a semi-regular basis.

By February (2007), I happen to be on a random photo website when I found out about Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.  I downloaded the 30-day trial and found it to be the program of my dreams.  Up until that point I had been editing my raw (.NEF) files one by one in a pirated version of Adobe Photoshop CS2.  When I saw how amazing Lightroom was, and knowing that I might attempt to make money from selling photos one day, I decided to buy Lightroom.  Some people say that you should buy better lenses before you waste your money on frills but, after buying 3 lenses, 2 SLR camera bodies, a flash, a tripod, many accessories, filters, and 2 photo backpacks; I can honestly say Lightroom was by far the best purchase I ever made.

Once I had purchased and installed Lightroom, taking photos became much more fun and exciting for me.  The centralized and concise design of the program really simplified my workflow (the time and post-processing spent after shooting the photos).  By this point my main subject matter was (and still is) in-animate objects. Meaning, I take pictures of things are not human.  Most of the time its architecture or places that I take pictures of.  The next real advancement I made was when our family went on vacation to Germany.  This was the first trip I could really make use of the accelerated workflow that Lightroom offered.  Besides getting a 2^nd lens (55-200 f/5.6-3) no real advancement took place in my work or accessories.  After returning to the United States, I began an internship in downtown Charlotte.  I tell you this to say that I began taking public transportation which lead to the purchase of reading material.  More specifically, a book by Chuck Delaney called Photography Your Way.  At that time I was just getting curious about how exactly you turned a hobby into a source of income.  The book told me about the laborious process of getting a clientele and how to make what you love into something that would be able to make you money.  Unfortunately I did not have the time to begin the arduous process of acquiring people or businesses interested in what I shot.  Never-the-less the book peaked my interest in photography books.  I purchased several book and began to read them to help better understand of what exactly makes a compelling photograph.

Since the summer of 2007 I have replaced my Nikon D50 with a much more serious model, the Nikon D300.  This camera was at first over my head with its deep bank of features and settings.  Since purchasing the camera I feel I have made some of my best work while acquiring an understanding of the uses and features the camera has to offer.  Please continue to read my blog as I delve deeper into the world of photography!!

Photography- The Goals and Direction

First off, like in my first post I would like to say what the goal/goals of these photography posts are going to be.  I would hope you read my photography posts to further your knowledge on the topic as well as see what exactly photography is leading me towards.  I hope to offer a tip or two every once in a while that would be of use right away.  Some posts might be on image composition while others might be on what I’ve been working on, or they might be something that I have recently discovered on the “internets” relating to photography.  Please bear with me as I might get overly technical or very specific about certain areas in which I know a lot of stuff about.  I will try my best to make it something that is an easy read and not too technical. I will also showcase a picture from my portfolio with a link to it on my Flickr account so that you can follow my work.  I would appreciate all the critique and criticism I can get since, the best way to learn is through understanding what you do well and what you don’t do so well on.  You can also go directly to my flickr account by clicking on the pictures to the right/left of my blog (haven’t decided which side it’s on yet).  I just hope I can come up with work good enough on a weekly basis (especially once I’m back in class in the fall)!!

In the Beginning….

So this is my first attempt at blogging.  And this probably won’t be the first post you read.  From what I’ve read about blogs, it takes a little time for people to get accustomed to adding bloggers to the already long lists of people and activities they follow.  Never-the-less I‘m going to make this post count for something!!  First off I’d like to say that I hope to start out making two posts a week.  One related to my life and the other relating to the way photography is involved in my life.  The idea of me starting blog seems quite foreign for several reasons.  One being I hate to write and two being I’m not one who generally opens up his thoughts to others.  Both of these things are areas of my life which I feel I need to improve upon.  As I’ve been taught in many of my engineering classes, an engineer must be able to convey his thoughts and ideas in a way that is understandable and can be easily interpreted.  One way to improve on that would be to write.  Secondly, I feel that I sometimes lack emotion.  And I could not think of a better way to further my emotional capabilities than through expressing how I feel in a forum setting.  I got the idea to start a blog while reading a photographic composition book on my lunch-break.  I figured that a blog would be the best way for anyone who wanted to keep up with my happenings to do so.  So without further a-do, my life and photography in the blog-o-sphere!!