Netherlands Photography on Nikon

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This is a poem in black and white. A photo from Netherlands hope you enjoy the moment.



This is another marvalous work from the same photographer. Enjoy.

Camera Cleaning

Camera cleaning is an important job as photography. This is all about camera cleaning techniques that can be follow within your home premise.The dust/micro-organisms settle on the camera body, on the lens, and also on the bayonet mount/lens mount. So what’s the problem, you say? Well, the combination of dust and micro-organism on the lens front and especially on the lens rear mount is the cause of the dreaded fungus. Fungus (plural, fungi) is a living organism, which eventually eats the coating on the lens. Once the lens coating is damaged, you can expect lower image quality.

1. First on the road to camera cleanliness, is keeping the insides of your camera bag clean. Regularly vacuum clean it. Don’t depend on dusting the bag as it is not possible to clean the bag that way.

2. Using a blower bulb, blow off whatever dust you notice on the exterior surfaces of your camera.

3. Then use a soft brush and brush away any dust that may not have come off with the blower. Shake the brush and put it into a clean zip-lock plastic bag (to avoid atmospheric dust settling on the brush).

4. Next, take a clean, cotton ear-bud, and gently clean the viewfinder.

5. And don’t forget to clean the LCD too. A micro-fiber cloth should do the trick. Remember, the micro-fiber cloth can be machine-washed. So keep it as clean as your camera and the lens.

6. Now remove the lens and quickly place a body cap to prevent any dust getting into the camera body. Using a soft lens cleaning tissue, or clean micro-fiber cloth, carefully wipe the lens rear mount. This is probably the most important step in cleaning the camera. Let me repeat, dust and micro-organisms residing on the lens rear mount starts the growth of fungus, hence this area needs a good cleanup. Throw away the lens cleaning tissue if used. Now carefully clean the camera body mount surface with the micro-fiber cloth. Put the micro-fiber cloth into another zip-lock plastic bag for future use.

7. Now clean the lens. Be very careful, there should be no dust on the glass surface. Put a drop or two of lens cleaning fluid on a lens cleaning tissue or micro-fiber cloth (not directly on the glass surface) and gently wipe the glass surface from center outwards. Never re-use a lens cleaning tissue.

Note:

Lens cleaning tissues are specially created for the purpose. Don’t use any tissue paper not made solely for the purpose of cleaning the lens glass.

Cleaning the Sensor

We are not referring to the in-built sensor cleaning systems found on several cameras these days. There are numerous methods for cleaning digital camera sensors. It is possible that some methods or specialized equipment needed for this purpose, may not be included in this article. The methods described here are not ‘tried-and-tested’ by the author. The article is not a ‘how-to’ guide in cleaning camera sensors. It is designed to merely give you an idea of some of the available methods.

A Misconception
When you clean the sensor, you are actually cleaning a thin glass in front of the sensor (known as Low-pass Filter or Ant-aliasing Filter), and not the sensor itself. Even then, we shall use the term ‘cleaning the sensor’ as it is easier to say it that way!

Warning:
Sensor cleaning is not rocket science; neither is it a job for a careless person. If you do it right, that’s fine. If you do it wrong, that’s super-fine (which means you will have to pay a heavy fine in terms of replacing the sensor assembly). Note clearly that neither Smart Photography nor the author would be responsible if you damage the sensor while trying to clean it. If you have butter-fingers or if your eyesight is poor or if you have trembling hands, or you are just not made of the right stuff, you might be better off getting the job done professionally.

Using a Blower:
This is the easiest and the cheapest method to keep the sensor clean. The blower you use should not have a brush attached to it. Hold the camera body with the mount

acing the ground, and pump the blower from below a couple of times to blow away fine dust that may have settled on the sensor. Be very careful that the thin end of the rubber bulb does not touch the sensor. In fact, you should not place the bulb tip inside the camera body. If you do not have the camera facing downwards, the dust that you blow will resettle on the sensor.

Efficiency of cleaning:
This method will only blow away the dust that has not ‘glued’ itself to the sensor. When the air is humid, dust can attach itself rather strongly on the sensor surface and such dust particles may not come off easily with this method. It is suggested that cleaning the sensor with the blower should be done very regularly, to avoid/reduce the chances of letting the dust being glued to the sensor. Also note that it is possible for some dust to just be blown off one area to the next, especially if you do not hold the camera body as explained.

Danger?
None, as long as you don’t poke the bulb end on the sensor.

Using a Sensor Cleaning Brush:

These are anti-static brushes, which, when passed over the sensor, touching it gently, pick up the dust due to static electricity. Such brushes are made by couple of manufacturers, each claiming their product to be superior or safer. I haven’t tried all of them and the one that I use is made by a Canadian company called Visible Dust and the product name is ‘Arctic Butterfly’. Note that you cannot use an ordinary brush. Anti-static brushes too have qualities—ensure that you use the best and not second-best.

Efficiency of cleaning:

Dust that has ‘glued’ itself will not come out.Danger? Since you are using the same brush time and again, it is possible for the brush tip to be contaminated, which in turn could smear the contamination on the sensor.

Using Sensor Swab withCleaning Fluid:
Sensor swabs are made from specially created soft fiber-less material, and are available to match the size of different sensors (APS-C or Full-frame). Here too, the swabs as well as the cleaning fluids are made by different companies.

A company by the name of Photographic Solutions, Inc., makes the sensor swabs and the cleaning fluid (Eclipse), which is considered the best. Eclipse contains Methanol, which is flammable and cannot be shipped by air. Methanol is also illegal to possess in certain countries without a license. Sensors that have a Tin Oxide coating need Eclipse E2, as Eclipse (the non E2 version) can damage the tin-oxide coating. Eclipse E2 can also not be shipped by air. The advantage of Eclipse and Eclipse E2 is that they are quick drying and leave no smear on the sensor.

Efficiency of cleaning: Excellent, if done correctly.

Danger? Photographic Solution Inc., claim that Eclipse/Eclipse E2 is guaranteed not to damage the sensor if used correctly. The further claim that their product will clean the sensor 99.999 percent of the time.

Using Wet Swab and Dry Swap Sensor Cleaners:
A company called Green Clean USA, supplies a system combining vacuum cleaning and wet cleaning. You can lift off the dust particles with the vacuum system (you need a light and a magnifying glass) and then work with the wet

and dry swabs which are designed exactly as per the size of the sensor. Efficiency of cleaning: Depends on your knowing where the dust is, so you can place the nozzle in the right place.SpeckGRABBER. This is designed to remove individual specks of dust without damaging the sensor.

Efficiency of cleaning: Works well as long as you don’t touch the tip of the grabber. If you do, chances are that you’ll see smudge marks on the sensor.

Lens Pen
After cleaning the sensor with a swab, a Lens Pen is sometimes used to lightly polish the low-pass filter. The Lens Pen is very handy and inexpensive.

Efficiency of cleaning: There is no good method of cleaning a Lens Pen. After some use, its efficiency drops.

Danger? A dirty Lens Pen can cause damage.

Canned Air
This form of sensor cleaning method could cause you a lot of mental pain. Compressed air is rarely contaminant free. Secondly, a strong blast from the air-can, can damage the sensor. Stay away from this method. (You may use canned air to clean the externals though).

Digital Camera Snags

Few Things You Should Know About Digital Camera Snags Surfing through various expert advice sites on the Internet, we often encounter queries from heartbroken first-time camera users about seemingly complicated faults, which can be eliminated by the press of a button or a change in the settings.

Here is a list of common errors that can be eliminated without taking the equipment to the service center. So next time, before you hit the panic button, try these handy solutions.

Picture this: Your little one is running around, gleefully transmitting her nascent energy and playing with an invisible friend, proudly displaying those milk teeth. The softhearted daddy in you wakes up and, without the child noticing, you reach out for your latest acquisition—a point-and-shoot camera of a reputed brand. You carefully compose the shot and click—the camera fires a pre-flash, your daughter gets alert, turns to the camera and freezes with her eyes staring at you. Then, when the expression has vanished from her face, you see the actual flash and hear the shutter release. You feel like throwing the camera out of the window and ringing up that ‘grand old man of SP with 30-plus years of experience’ who suggested this camera. You finally take the camera to a service center. The technician simply adjusts some settings, and the camera starts functioning normally. If this sounds familiar, read on to eliminate such embarrassing moments.

THE CAMERA FIRES A PRE-FLASH BEFORE THE ACTUAL FLASH

One of my friends thought this was some advanced technology in his camera. His judgment was that the camera fires one flash and if it fails to expose the scene correctly, it follows up with a second one to compensate for this. He tried various menus and settings, but nothing helped. I took the camera from him and switched off the Red-eye Reduction feature, which was causing the camera to fire the pre-flash. In most situations, if the room is well-lit, you do not need to use Red-eye Reduction. This feature fires the pre-flash to contract the iris of the subject’s eyes so that in case there is a Red-eye, it will be very small and may not be noticed. In well-lit situations, the iris is already is in a contracted state and hence there is less chances of Red-eye.

A FLARE-LIKE LIGHT PATCH AT ONE POINT OF THE FRAME

Another friend of mine once casually said he is going to dump his camera because the sensor was damaged. On a little probing, he said there is always a patch of light tone at one point of the frame. I inspected the image, turned the camera around and found some finger prints and smears of oil on the lens. Then I took out my micro fiber cloth, cleaned the lens and handed the camera back to my friend. Needless to say, the ‘sensor flaw’ was rectified in two minutes. Typically in this case, the images will look like there is a smoke screen before it.

I HEAR THE SHUTTER SOUND MUCH AFTER THE FLASH HAS FIRED

In this case, when you press the shutter release button, the flash fires. Thinking that the shot has been taken, you withdraw the camera and then you hear the shutter release. Needless to say, the image is blurry. Next time you face this, check the flash mode. Undoubtedly, you are shooting in Slow Sync mode. Switch it to normal flash setting and you are done. Slow Sync is generally used when you are photographing a person standing in front of an illuminated background at night. In this case, the flash exposes the person correctly and the following long exposure time will help to capture the background well.

SHOT-TO-SHOT TIME IS VERY LONG

There could be a few reasons for this. If you are using a compact camera, and the fl ash is ‘On’, recharging the fl ash for the next shot could take some time. This is all the more true when trying to fill-in shadows during the daytime. It is often possible not to even realize that the fl ash is firing every time you press the shutter release button. If the fl ash is not really required, switch it off. Another reason could be a buffer having a very small capacity. If you are firing a burst, the buffer could fill up and you will have to wait till at least one image is written to the card. Fortunately for us, modern cameras have comparatively larger buffers.

IN ANTI-SHAKE MODE, IMAGES COME OUT GRAINY

The anti-shake mode in your camera could be using one of those so-called anti-shake modes like Anti-Shake DSP or ISO boosting shake reduction. What these modes do is push the ISO sensitivity of the camera to a higher value. This allows the camera to shoot at a higher shutter speed so that the camera shake is not registered in the image. As you are aware, a high ISO means more noise. Hence the images turn out noisy in this type of anti-shake modes. So, if you have a camera that employs this ISO-boosting technique for shake reduction, switch off the anti-shake mode and use a tripod to eliminate blur due to camera shake.

DARK SKINNED PEOPLE APPEAR DARKER AND FAIR SKINNED ONES APPEAR BRIGHTER IN PORTRAITS

In full-length or three-quarter portraits, this could be due to the dress that the person is wearing or the background. For example, if you are shooting the portrait of a dark skinned person wearing a light-colored dress and the white area dominates the frame and/or the background is bright, then the major part of the frame is bright. In this case, the camera will underexpose the frame. Since the frame is under exposed, the dark-skinned person will appear even darker. Similar is the case with fair-skinned people. So, if you face this situation, spot meter off the subject’s face and give a negative (-) exposure compensation for dark skinned people and positive (+) exposure compensation for fair skinned people.

COLORED LIGHTS IN A ROOM APPEAR LESS COLORFUL IN PHOTOGRAPHS

This is most probably because you are shooting with Auto White Balance setting. This setting will attempt to reduce any color cast in the room. So, if you want the ambient colors in the room to appear as you see through your eyes, switch to Daylight White Balance. This will preserve the ambient colors in the room. If you need to enhance the tones in the room, try different White Balance options.

ERRORS WITH ELECTRICAL CONTACTS

If you cannot switch on your camera even with a fully-charged battery, the cause could be as simple as dirt accumulating on the battery contacts or a more complicated one like a fault in the internal circuitry. So, before you dash off to the service center, take out the battery and clean the electrical contacts with a pencil eraser. Now insert the battery and try to switch on the camera. Similarly, your D-SLR can display an error in the viewfinder and refuse to click (the error can appear differently in different cameras like F--, Error 99, etc), take out the lens and clean the contacts with an eraser. Be very careful while cleaning the contacts on the camera body. Hold the camera with the sensor facing down while cleaning so that any eraser residue will fall outside.

MY CAMERA FELL INTO WATER, WHAT TO DO?

This is a very common question on the forums. If your camera got wet, first step is to remove the batteries. Now wipe the camera clean with an absorbent cloth. Then keep the camera in a bag of rice overnight (without the batteries). Sounds like I am out of my mind? Well, in most cases, this works. Rice is a good desiccant (means it can absorb water). Take the camera out the next day, insert the (dried) batteries and switch it on. If still the camera refuses to work properly, take it to the nearest service center. These are only a few of the day-to-day questions we encounter while dealing with camera users. Use this as a general checklist if you come across any abnormality in the images you shoot. You could come across more troubles in the camera than those listed here. Please feel free to write to us with your experiences and we will be more than happy to update our database.tom@photographyforall.ie

Photography free lessons / Young Photographer.

If you wish to make-money-from-photography then here is the right platform. This are simple tips for beginners. A step-by-step progress from beginning to end. For a good landscape photography these are the requirements. Photography make life to still objects. The techniques used in still life photography is easy to learn. Wedding is an important affair in ones life so wedding photography is having that much importance, these are the best tutorials for wedding photography. It is caught directly from the Nature itself without wasting time, ..............................................................That is wild-life photography ,here are a few lessons. In fact, when you start clicking birds in the wild, you remain happy with whatever you capture in your frames, that is bird-photography.

Close-up Lens

A photographer's job is a georgeous one, to get the right image at the right time is the basic principle of photography. Image magnification plays an important role in that. There are various methods to achieve image magnification. Some methods make use of macro lenses, stacked lenses, extension tubes, bellows, reversed lenses, teleconverters, or close-up lenses. Close-up lenses, also known as supplementary lenses, macro filters, or close-up filters, can be considered as ‘poor man’s macro’ lenses.

A simple close-up lens is a single glass element (a ‘positive meniscus’ lens), fatter at the center, and tapering down at the edges. If you have seen a magnifying glass, you know what we are talking about. The glass element is enclosed in a metal ring which has a thread that allows it to be attached to the front end of your taking lens. By doing so, you produce a lens combination of shorter focal length, which in turn, allow you to focus closer. Obviously, with the close-up filter attached, you cannot focus to infinity!

An added advantage of using close-up filters is that there is no loss of light, as would be the case when using extension tubes, bellows, or even macro lenses at close distances.

It is a known fact that adding any glass to a taking lens degrades the image quality, so would not the addition of the close-up filter pose a problem? The answer is ‘yes’, but if you use a good quality close-up filter, and stop down the taking lens to f/8 or narrower, you are not likely to see the degradation in the image quality.

But how does stopping down to f/8 or narrower help? When we stop down the taking lens, we are using the light rays closer to the central axis of the lens, and this reduces spherical aberrations and produces a much sharper image.

So, in theory at least, if we stop down the taking lens to its narrowest aperture, will we further gain in sharpness? The answer is ‘no’. Stopping down will definitely increase the depth of field, but at very small openings, we get ‘diffraction’ of light that can degrade the image quality. We need to choose a balance between depth of field and the onset of diffraction. Depending on the film/sensor size, this limit could vary between f/8 and f/16.

Note: The shape of the lens diaphragm affects the diffraction pattern. For critical close-up work, try to use a taking lens that has a diaphragm as close to circular as possible as the lens is closed down. (Generally, the more the number of aperture blades, the more circular the opening).
Another important consideration to improve the image quality when using a close-up filter is to use what is known as ‘achromatic doublet’. This is a two-element close-up filter which reduces chromatic aberration, and thus improves the final image quality. To the best of our knowledge, currently, only Canon makes such achromatic doublets (250D and 500D). Nikon, which used to make several achromatic doublets (3T, 4T, 5T, and 6T), have stopped doing so a couple of years ago.
Note: You can attach a close-up filter manufactured by any company on to any taking lens. The manufacturer need not be the same. The only thing to consider is the filter thread diameter – which must be the same as that of the lens to which you attach the close-up filter.

But can we attach a close-up filter on to a zoom lens? Yes you can, though it is generally not advisable due to the complex nature of zoom lenses. Doing so could reduce the image quality.

Now that we have covered the general description, let’s get a bit technical. As mentioned earlier, a supplementary lens changes the focal length of any lens with which it is used. The power of a close-up lens is given in terms of ‘diopters’ and is mentioned as +1D, +2D, +3D etc. A diopter is defined as 1000/f, where ‘f’ is the focal length of the lens in millimeters. Thus a +1diopter has a focal length of 1000/1=1000mm; +2diopter is 1000/2=500mm; +4 diopter for example has a focal length of 1000/4 or 250mm. Note however that Canon does not label its close-up lenses as diopters. With Canon, 250D and 500D represent the focal lengths of the individual close-up filters. Hence 250D would be +4 while 500D would be +2. With Nikon, 3T, and 5T, are +1.5 diopters while 4T and 6T are +2.9 diopters.

Magnification (M) = Focal length of the primary lens in mm (set to infinity) divided by the focal length of the supplementary lens in mm.
Hence, if you attach a +2D on a 50mm primary lens set to infinity, you get 50/500 or a magnification of 1/10. If you attach a +4D to the 50mm lens, the magnification will be 50/250 or 1/5. If you attach a +4D to a 300mm lens, the magnification would be 300/250 or >1 (a little over life-size). From this we can see that when the same close-up filter is attached to a lens with longer focal length, the magnification is greater. This is one of the reasons why we generally do not attach a close-up lens to a wide-angle lens.

Another important point to note is that when you attach a close-up filter, the lens-to-subject distance will depend on the power of the close-up filter, irrespective of the focal length of the original lens (assuming that the primary lens is set to infinity focus).

What the above means is that if you attach say, a +4D to a 50mm lens as well as a 200mm lens (both set to infinity focus), the lens-to-subject distance will be the same (250mm or approximately 10-inches) for both the lenses. Obviously, the 200mm lens will offer greater magnification.


Can we use more than one close-up filter at the same time?
Yes, we can. But always remember to attach the more powerful filter first. So, if we wish to use a +2 as well as +1 (to make a +3), attach the +2 first, then the +1.

Would the image quality with a close-up filter be as good as from a true macro lens? The answer would depend on the quality of the primary lens, the quality of the close-up filter, and of course, your shooting technique. If you use a good primary lens, a good close-up filter, and if your shooting technique is good, and if your image enlargement is modest, we doubt if anyone could know the difference. That is why a close-up filter is known as a ‘poor man’s macro’.
tom@photographyforall.ie

Nikon D3

Nikon’s D3 was an instant hit as soon as it was launched around October 2007.

For the fi rst time everyone knew the real meaning of ‘low noise at high ISOs’. This was followed by other manufacturers who were forced to look deep into technologies and fi nd ways to reduce digital noise at higher ISO sensitivities. Most did. Then followed the brainwave to have video facility built into newer D-SLRs, again, with Nikon doing the honors with its D90. Since then, almost every new D-SLR in the market has came along with video. Yet, the Nikon D3, as good as it was (and still is), was video-less. Now, Nikon has added the video facility in their new avatar, the D3S. This, plus further improvements in noise control, and some more.

DESIGN AND BUILD QUALITY

Rock solid, heavy (1,240g without battery and cards), and environmentally sealed, the D3S is designed to represent the high-end standard for professional use (and abuse!). The camera’s chassis, body, exterior cover, and mirror box are made from strong yet lightweight magnesium alloy. In appearances, it looks very much like the D3, given that it is the new incarnation of the D3.

NEW FEATURES

Instead of going through all the attributes of the D3S (which are similar to the D3), let’s explore some new features and some other not-new, but useful features.

Newly designed image sensor, high ISOs and large buffer

At the outset, the D3S sports a newly designed full-frame sensor, that is capable of taking pictures in light levels so low that it would be diffi cult for our eyes to see clearly in. This makes it the ultimate camera for wildlife, sports, and news photographers on the go, providing greater latitude in high ISO performance. ISO 200 to 12800 is standard; this can be boosted to an equivalent of ISO 102400. Couple this with the capability to fi re away 9 frames per second in FX (full-frame) mode (11 fps in DX mode), and you have nothing short of a machine gun at your disposal. A very large buffer for 48 RAW frames (130 frames with JPEG Large/Normal) means that you don’t have to worry about the camera coming to a grinding halt when shooting continuously (the D3 has a 18 RAW frame buffer).

VIDEO CAPABILITY

If the above doesn’t tempt you to put you hand to your wallet, the autofocus movie capability will. The D3S can shoot movies in High Defi nition at 720p at 24 fps, with stereo sound. A special feature (‘Save Selected’) even lets you transmit (via your computer) a still image from the movie clip. The ISO sensitivity for movies is from 200 to 12,800, but can be boosted to ISO 6400 (Hi 3).

IMAGE SENSOR CLEANING

As good as the D3 was (and still is), it lacked image sensor cleaning. The D3S resolves that issue. The feature can be set to operate whenever the camera is turned on or off, or manually.

RETOUCH MENU OPTIONS

The Retouch menu offers new in-camera RAW processing options. You can choose to apply certain parameters to your RAW fi les (White Balance, Color Space, Image Size and Quality, Noise Reduction, Picture Control, and Vignette Control) instead of applying them during post processing in your computer. This can save you a lot of time when images are required in a hurry.

ACTIVE D-LIGHTING

D-Lighting, which automatically improves shadow detail and preserves highlight detail in high contrast scenes, is not new to Nikon. The D3S, however, offers six D-Lighting settings that include the newly-added Auto and Extra High settings to the earlier High, Normal, Low, and Off settings. The user can also bracket Active D-Lighting strength levels up to fi ve frames, so that the best frame can be chosen later.

ADDITIONAL FEATURES

The D3S shutter has been tested for up to 300,000 cycles in fully assembled cameras. This means that if you shoot about 1,000 frames every month (equivalent to about 28 fi lm rolls of 36 exposures), you can expect the shutter to last at least 25 years!

The D3S has two memory card slots for CF cards. You can record images sequentially, record the same data on to both the cards (as a back-up), record RAW and JPEG simultaneously on separate cards, and transfer data from one card to the other.

The 2-mode Live View has a dedicated button. Live View can be set in tripod mode (greater AF accuracy), and hand-held mode. In tripod mode, the camera uses Contrast-Detect AF, which has been further improved in the D3S. A few more nice features include the quiet shutter release, 51-point AF, AE with highlight analysis, improved White Balance, Scene Recognition System, and 3-inch, 921,000-dot 170 degree viewing angle LCD monitor. An additional feature worth mentioning is the 1.2x crop option (uses 30x20mm area on the image sensor).

FINAL SCORE

Design and Build Quality 19/20
Key Features 19/20
Ergonomics 18/20
Performance 19/20
Value for Money 17/20
OVERALL 92%

 + High ISO, low noise

+High Defi nition Video

+Superb build quality

+Superb performance

-Heavy

-Expensive

ERGONOMICS

As with all such top-end models, it is very much necessary to study the camera time and again before you can use it with ease. Once that is done, the D3S is easy and comfortable to use (that is if you don’t mind heavy cameras). The buttons and switches are well located and the camera provides a lot of user confi dence.

PERFORMANCE

The performance of the D3S, was top notch. If the D3 was superb, the D3S is awesome. During an offi ce function, we shot a lot of pictures without fl ash at ISO 1600 and they appeared to have been shot under bright light conditions at very low ISO. We also shot quite a few pictures from a moving car at night, and to say the least, the picture quality was impressive. Its autofocus was very fast and accurate. The dynamic range was much better than many D-SLRs from the competition. White Balance performance seemed even better than the D3. In the digital noise arena, we have yet to see a camera perform better. If this trend continues and other manufacturers achieve similar noise- level performance, fl ash photography will take a nose dive. The quality of the video was excellent. Some day, we hope to compare the video quality of the D3S to a dedicated video camera

bird photography

Infact, when you start clicking birds in the wild, you remain happy with whatever you capture in your frames, but you soon realize that you need to work a lot more harder. This happens with every one. Now, you may ask—‘What makes a perfect bird photograph?’ Well, this article is expected to help those who are facing this question.

AWAY FROM THE CAMERA

I keep saying, a wildlife photographer is a wildlife lover first and then a photographer. And when we talk about bird photography, a dictionary of photographic techniques may prove useless, unless the eye behind the lens is in love with those little creatures. The subject here is extremely restless, very small, dosen’t allow second takes, mostly comes with poor light conditions, and above all is highly sensitive to the approaching photographer.

Keep studying the best of the photographs clicked by the best of the photographers. With Internet making our lives so much simpler, you can today interact with the maestros in this field easily than how it used to be 10 years earlier. And I am sure, none of these great guns would ever refuse to answer any of your questions, no matter how silly they may be. Ask about the conditions under which the photo was shot, try to know about the location, and the story behind it. It imparts immense knowledge and helps to an enormous extent in getting the best out of you, provided you remember the tips while shooting.

To make your photograph stand prominent, you need to take care of certain aspects of it. Firstly, I would say, giving adequate space to your subject is a must. Leave enough space in front of the bird, especially in case of flying shots, as it creates a feeling of motion in the picture. This also gives your photographs a clean appearance. The Rule of Thirds apply not only to landscape photography, but also to bird photography. Don’t keep your subject in the center. It loses its charm.

The second most important thing is perspective. Try a ground level shot for a ground dwelling bird sometime. In fact, I would rather say don’t ever shoot a ground dwelling bird from any other perspective other than lying fl at on ground. It is only when you see the result you realize that it was worth making that stretchy effort.

Thirdly, the subject needs to be sharp. If your subject is not sharp, you can forget the picture to be anything other than a record shot. A good combination of the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO helps you achieve this. Many photographers keep their cameras in aperture priority mode and select the widest aperture to see how high is the shutter speed available under a given light condition. That’s a very wise approach and most of the times, it helps you to get a good and sharp picture. If, however, the shutter speed available even at the widest aperture, is seen to be very low, it is likely to give a blur to the photos and under such circumstances, ISO should be increased. That of course may give rise to noise in your final image, if you plan to have a blow up, but it may solve your purpose for web posting or small size prints.

Finally, the background—they call it Bokeh. The cleaner it is, the better is the quality of the picture. Nobody looks twice at a photograph, which has a cluttered background. One must always try to keep an open empty space as the background, while shooting. A longer focal length lens gives fantastic background, because the depth of field is too shallow for such lenses. So, whether you invest heavily after getting a longer focal length lens, or you get too close to the bird, or you manage to have a good depth of field, keeping the background out of focus—everything works. The idea is not to keep the background cluttered. A cluttered background diverts attention of a viewer from the subject and is by no means considered a good photograph, however sharp the subject is.

Having good equipment is a must. But, the challenge is, possessing a 35mm Digital SLR with interchangeable lenses is sometimes beyond dreams of many aspiring photographers. I have always been discouraged by the alternatives such as SLR-like cameras with an electronic viewfinder and fi xed lens digital SLR. My advise for a beginner has always been not to invest heavily in a camera body, but to save money for the lenses. Entry level Digital SLRs offer a range of fantastic features starting with changeable lenses, Through-The-Lens metering, manual exposures, exposure compensation, and various shooting modes. At a slightly higher range, an even extended spectrum of equipment is available today.

Choosing the correct lens for bird photography is a challenge. Of course, it goes without saying that the higher the focal length, the better it is. But, lenses are heavy on your pocket. It’s a loop—once you get into it—you realize that the costlier lens, which you didn’t opt for thinking about your budget, would have been much better if only you had invested a bit more. Let’s take a logical approach to it. You definitely need a longer focal length of the lens for bird photography. Bird photography, specifically, requires lenses with focal lengths up to 400 or 500mm. 150/170. However, you also need to remember that the longer is the focal length of the lens, the greater are the chances of camera shake while shooting, and hence using a stable tripod is advisable with such lenses. There are lenses available with optical stabilization technology, which reduces the vibration during shooting. This gives you an advantage of getting a much sharper picture, which otherwise you could have got only with much higher shutter speeds.

APPROACHING THE BIRD

One of the very important aspects that we keep forgetting is that a bird in the wild has a comfort zone around it. This comfort zone varies in size from species to species, but all of them have one for sure and they don’t quite like you intruding into that zone. As you approach them in the wild with an attempt to photograph them, they become cautious and the moment you step inside the comfort zone, they fl y off. This is exactly the opposite when you don’t approach the bird and rather wait silently in a place for it to approach you—in such a situation your chances of getting a close shot is much higher. But, it has happened many times with me that at the height of excitement you forget this and finally land up being disappointment.

If you must move towards the subject, then be very cautious not to disturb it—be low and be slow. Try to move as slow as possible, avoid any drastic, fast movement that makes you noticeable. Move as low as possible—crawl, if possible. The idea is to approach your precious subject without getting noticed, because these subjects don’t allow second takes. You will find it very interesting if you have a vehicle—try approaching birds in wild in a vehicle. They are much less afraid when you approach them in a vehicle. If you are to shoot water birds, you can get to an unbelievable close distance, if you approach them in a boat.

I am not quite finished with this approaching the animals in the wild without disturbing them. One more very important fact is camoufl aging yourself while you are in the wild. Camoufl age dosen’t mean that you need to get a whole body cover up with hay stalks. Just don’t stand out emphatically prominent—don’t wear bright colored shirts—better to wear camoufl age prints. It is wise to wear a dark-colored hand glove and cover up any shiny metallic part of your equipment that could reflect light.

BEST TIME OF THE DAY

The best time to photograph birds is either in morning or evening hours. This is not only because birds are more active during these hours, but also because of the fact that the light is from sides —the best possible lighting conditions for bird photography. Mid-day sunlight is straight from top and castes very harsh shadows. Always keep the sun behind you to get the best possible pictures. However, if you have to break this rule, break it cautiously and apply intelligence—and believe me experimenting with lighting conditions may create amazing images. Some of the back lit wildlife images have been all-time masterpieces.

LOCATIONS AND THE APPROACH

This is important, but many times we don’t actually realize that the photographing techniques cannot be generalized in all locations and all terrains. Locations have a significant impact on the final outcome. Grassland birds and wetland birds are easier to approach. You may either use a vehicle for the grassland or may be a boat for the wetland. They also offer you great perches and you may get stunning photographs even without much effort (of course not always). However, the woodland birds pose a real challenge, mainly because many a times they are hidden within foliage and don’t offer you a very clear perch. Waiting for birds with your camera mounted on the tripod in one specific location helps. Use of a hide enhances your inconspicuousness in the wild and some of the best photographs of these deciduous forest birds have been taken using hide photography.

As I was mentioning earlier, the background in a photograph matters a lot. It is easier to get a clean background in case of grassland birds, because you don’t have too many trees or creepers creating clutters in your background, but for all woodland birds it is always advisable to select a clean perch and wait patiently for the bird to come and pose for your best of the photographs. It is highly unpredictable and may be disappointing.

However, finally that is what is bird photography all about

Wedding Photography

WEDDING the important moment in a man's life s rather a seasonal affire too, provide the enthusiast photographer an excellent avenue to cash in on his hobby.Now a days a lot of people are entering into wedding photography and most of them are unaware of the techniques that should follow in a wedding function.

However, wedding photography is not as easy as it seems and given the importance of the event almost suicidal to mess up. Practice make a man perfect, first listen and then practice. It is important, therefore, that wedding photographers make a lot of preparation in order to avoid pitfalls that are typical to this aspect of photography.

A. Ideally, the person engaging the wedding photographer should be the bride or bridegroom or their parents. This may because of some good reference from their near ones, so the photographer should keep that trust. It is important to understand their requirements and expectations before accepting the engagement. The photographer’s fee should also be outlined very clearly and if necessary, confirmation for the same should be obtained.

B. Preparing for the big day in advance is very important. To find out the hot points is also very important. IT is a must that, the venue of the wedding should be visited to discover vantage points for photography as also any problems that may arise. Religious sensitivities of the wedding family also have to be taken into account. For instance, there may be some restrictions on photography during the wedding service. The size of the wedding venue along with the seating plan will give the photographer a good idea of what is required.

C. Getting ready with the equipment -In a Church function a tripod can be fixed to capture the whole function in a single flash. For this some time a wide angle lens should be used. Most, if not all, wedding photographers these days are equipped with D SLR cameras along with a battery of lenses. A Canon or Nikon D SLR along with fl ash guns and a good standard zoom (say, a 24-105mm) should be adequate for most purposes. More importantly, the photographer should carry things like spare batteries, memory cards, and white balance cards in order to be equipped to cope with any situation. It would also be a wise thing to clean all the lenses and cover them with protective filters before the event. A lens cleaning cloth should always be kept handy.

D. Background - In West wedding dress is white and everything contrast to white colour is used but in East it is a colourful function the bride and the bridegroom using different colourful dress and this will make the photographers work more complicated. This can add or subtract to the picture depending on the angle of lighting etc. Whilst a lot can be done through editing software, it is better that you shoot the pictures initially in such a manner that offending or inadvertently appearing backgrounds are removed.

E. Usage of Flash - Most weddings i take place at what are considered to be auspicious times. This can range, therefore, from any time in the morning to late evenings. Depending on the hour of the day and the venue, the photographer will have to be equipped with a variety of fl ash guns or studio lights. Fill-in fl ash can also be very useful when taking intimate portraits of the bridal couple. For evening weddings, the use of studio lights is recommended to achieve uniform lighting.

F. Avoiding Red Eye and Blinking - If shooting indoors, red eye can become a big issue and the effect of red eye is more prominent, the closer the camera to the fl ash. The flashgun should be set in the anti red eye mode, which works by fi ring a series of pre-fl ashes which gets human eyes’ pupil to reduce in size thereby avoiding the occurrence of red eye. Red eye, of course, can also be removed in photo shop so can blinking.

G. Timing - Most weddings have their special moments and the photographer has to be ready to capture them. A moment missed is a moment missed for ever. Moments like the first kiss or first dance needed to be captured the moment they occur and any delay on this front would not be acceptable.

H. Add to the event - Whilst the wedding couple is of prime importance, it is also important to get a flavor of the environment and the ambiance of the event. It is, therefore, important to capture the reactions of the people present as also little details that serve as a reminder of the day.

I. Keep your exposure right - This means trusting your exposure meter. For this reason, never take a new camera to a wedding. You should know your camera inside out so as to feel comfortable using it. Important settings like ISO and white balance need to be determined in advance. Most brides dress in white. It is, therefore, important that the camera’s white balance is set correctly. It would be a good idea to take a spot meter reading from the bride’s sari or gown. Try and avoid high contrast scenes which may create burning out of highlights. The dynamic range of your camera should be clearly understood. It is also important to realize that dark shadows can be lifted a bit to reveal detail; burnt out highlights, however, are hopeless.

J. Post capture - Once the event is over, the pictures needed to be arranged in chronological order and set either in a photo album or a digital album. It would be a good idea to carry the album with you to the client along with your memo of fees.Remember, in wedding photography, advertising is not very effective; word of mouth recommendation works wonders. If you can keep your clients happy, you will have no shortage of work.

Wild life photography.

Wild life photography is something unique in photography. It is caught directly from the Nature itself wthout wasting time.The word ‘nature’ refers to the earth’s natural environment that includes natural elements (as opposed to man-made) like seas, rivers, streams, mountains, forests, the atmosphere and the like. Wildlife is also ‘nature’ and as such wildlife photography is a part and parcel of nature photography. This article purports to the techniques of photographing wildlife.

Most photographers are nature lovers. I suppose it is an inborn affinity to nature that turns us into photographers. After all, we want to record the beauty and splendor of our natural environment, which includes photographing animals (birds are also animals!). But do taking pictures of pets qualify as wildlife? Even though a pet can turn ‘wild’, that segment of photographing animals is classified as pet photography. When we talk of wildlife photography, we are referring to photographing animals that cannot be tamed. Also note that photographing wild animals in captivity is not considered as wildlife photography. The animals you photograph necessarily have to be wild, free-living, and in their natural habitat.

Photographing animals require different techniques or strategies. After all, you cannot tell wild animals to “line up there; the tall guys at the back and the shorties in the front”! Wild animals, by their very nature, suspect human beings as ‘trouble makers’, and that’s why, as soon as you try to approach them, may flee, or worst still, may attack you. This is what makes photographing them so difficult. Here are some guidelines you should try to adhere to:

a. Don’t make sudden moves. Think that slow and stedy win the race. Any sudden move will startle the animal and it will cause it to flee.

b. Don’t approach the animal in a straight line. As soon the animal sees you, it considers you as danger. Hence the best solution here is to make the animal feel that you are not a danger to it. Walk away from the animal, and let the animal see you walking away. Let the animal feel that you are not interested in it. So, in short, zic-zac your path. Whenever it notices you, walk away so it can see you moving away, and when you and the animal are not in each others line of sight, move towards the animal as silently as you can.

c. Camouflage. It helps to wear clothes that blend into the surroundings. Imagine wearin

g a bright yellow shirt in the wilderness!

d. Maintain silence. Scilence is golden in wild life photography. . Animals have a superior sense of hearing, and will become alert at the slightest sound of you talking with your friends.

e. Try to approach an animal against the wind. Most animals have a keen sense of smell and if the wind blows from your direction to the animal, it will immediately smell you and know your presence. Hence try to approach it in such a way that the wind blows from the animal towards you.

f. Use a hide if possible. If you have planned in advance, consi

der shooting from a well-camouflaged hide. See that your hide is reasonably large enough to let you sit comfortably using a foldaway stool, and there is space to place and use a tripod. Ensure that you have drinking water. Remember that you may have to spend a lot of time in your hide, and hence these basic necessities must be considered.

g. Points to consider when setting up your hide. Animals (remember, this includes birds!) are vary of strange items. If they suddenly see a hide where none existed earlier, they will grow suspicious. Hence you need have a strategy. Don’t immediately place the hide at its final destination; instead, place it further away and let the animal get accustomed to it for a couple of days. After a couple of days, move it closer, but still not where you intend having it finally. Again let the animal get used to that new position. When you feel satisfied that the animal/bird is no longer afraid of the hide, move it closer. This way you will be able to approach the animal without causing it discomfort.

h. Subject welfare. Remember, the welfare of the subject is your responsibility. For example, if the birds you intend to photograph have chicks, and you scare away the parent

birds (because you placed the hide too close to their nest), you are harming nature! Please be responsible in your acts. For the same reason, avoid disturbing the foliage that could be protecting the birds from raptors. Many photo competition organizers do not accept pictures of young birds at the nests for this very reason.

And now for some tips on equipment for nature/wildlife photography.

1. D-SLRs are the preferred cameras for wild life photography. Though it is possible to do nature/wildlife photography using Bridge cameras (Prosumers), for serious photography of this genre, D-SLRs are the better option. Interchangeable lenses give us the advantage in image quality as well as lens speed, when compared to the long focal ranges available in some Prosumer models. D-SLRs use much larger image sensors, and this further adds to the overall image quality.

2. Fast lenses. Try and obtain fast lenses though they cost much more. Let’s consider an example of a 300mm f/2.8 lens. The basic exposure for wildlife photography in good sunlight at ISO 100 (with an average-tone subject) is 1/1000sec at f/5.6. This combination ensures sharp images (due to the higher shutter speed) and a non-disturbing background (due to the reasonably wide aperture). The subject now moves into shade, and to compensate, you need to ‘open up’ one f-stop (bringing your exposure to 1/1000sec at f/4). Let’s say that the light fades, requiring you to open up another f-stop. So now you need to shoot at 1/1000sec at f/2.8. What would you do if your lens was 300mm f/5.6? Let’s see. Basic exposure: 1/1000 sec at f/5.6. Shade exposure: 1/500 sec at f/5.6 (since you cannot open the aperture any more). Faded light exposure: 1/250 sec at f/5.6. See the problem? At 1/250 sec you are very likely to have fuzzy pictures when using a 300mm lens! You could of course resort to a higher ISO sensitivity, but that could compromise on image quality (unless you are using a high-end camera that can provide noise-free images at higher ISOs)..
3 Tripods/Bean Bags.

When using long focal length lenses (e.g. 400mm, 500mm, 600mm etc), it is very essential to use a solid support if crisp images are to result. When buying tripods, don’t skimp on the stability and performance. Cheap (comparatively speaking) tripods with cheap heads will guarantee fuzzy images. There are occasions when using a tripod is not possible; at such times consider the humble bean bag! Some people fill a bean bag with Thermocole pellets (to keep the bag lightweight); I suggest you refrain from doing this. I have tried this out and can tell you that this doesn’t work well. Instead, fill the bean bag with uncooked rice (or sand). In my experience, filling the bean bag with rice is the best option. Don’t fill the bag too tightly; leave some space for the lens to ‘shape down’ on the bean bag.

4. What about zoom lenses?

A zoom lens, by its very design, allows us to vary our composition. This can be very useful, especially if the animal approaches us. I have had occasions when I have cut off part of the animal because it was too close; a zoom lens would probably have saved the day by allowing me to zoom out to a wider focal length. Does this mean that a zoom lens is preferable to a prime? By and large, prime lenses are sharper than zooms, though there are zooms that are as sharp (or even sharper) than some primes. Also remember that zoom lenses are ‘slower’ than primes and because they have many elements as compared to primes, are prone to flare.

5. So, is wildlife photography only for the well-heeled? Certainly not! If you have pots of money, ‘fast’ primes may be your cup of tea, but for those with smaller pockets, there are quite a few (slow) zoom lenses available. Sigma, Tamron, and Tokina make telephoto zooms that won’t put a hole through your bank balance. They may not be as sharp as the primes, but they are certainly not bad. I have seen some excellent wildlife images captured with such lenses.

General Tips
Remember well, if your shooting technique is not up to the mark, your most expensive camera and lens will not provide you the image quality that you are after.
1. Use the best lens you can afford.
2. Combine it with a good camera body (not necessarily the most expensive)
3. Use a good tripod/head.
4. Focus accurately (don’t always rely on AF).
5. Use Mirror Lock-up if your camera has that feature.
6. Use a cable release to fire the shutter.
7. Use the lowest ISO possible under the given lighting condition.
8. Meter accurately. Learn the art of using the spot meter.
9. Frame your subject in such a way that you don’t have to crop later on. Cropping an image means losing out on pixels. And losing out on pixels means losing out on image quality.
10. Use the fastest shutter speed possible to ensure sharp images. Using faster shutter speeds also means using wider apertures, which in turn diffuses the background, which in turn makes your images appear sharper than they are.

So, what else is required of a wildlife photographer? Besides what is noted above, a wildlife photographer must know his equipment like the back of his hand (isn’t that true of every other genre of photography?). He must understand animal behavior. He/she should know how the animal will react when scared or provoked. The photographer must be able to read the danger signs and body language of the animal he is trying to photograph. He must have infinite patience. And he must know when to take a risk, how much of a risk to take, and when to call it a day!

Enjoy your photography.

British Wild life photography title.

British Wild life photography title.

Steve Young has won the British Wildlife Photography title. Young’s photograph of a herring gull, was lauded by the judges as a “unique and striking image.

One that captures perfectly the power, chaos and intensity of the ocean,” according to Greg Armfield of the WWF. Young won £5000 as cash prize, while Adam Hawtin, a 14-year-old photographer, won £500 cash prize for the Young British Wildlife Photographer title. He won for his picture of a Blue Leaf-beetle. For further information visit www.bwpawards.co.uk tom@photographyforall.ie

Still life photography

We all know what photography is...

But what is still-life photography? Still-life photography relates to taking pictures of non-living, like a glasspiece or a small doll or any thing like that .It is very much different from micro photography.It may be a non-moving, small to medium size objects, generally in a home-made or professional studio.

It can be any product, a composition of various items, a fl ower or a bunch of fl owers, a wrist-watch, a coffee mug, fruits, vegetables, or whatever else you may think of. In that sense, even food photography can be labeled as still-life. Is the first photo an example of still photography? Certainly not.

Still life photography is not just placing an object on a table and photographing it. How to place it, where to place it, how to light it, which lens to use, from what distance should the picture be shot... all add up. Human beings are living creatures and we like to see ‘life’ in everything. Of course, we cannot put ‘life’ in inanimate objects we photograph, but we can surely ‘enliven’ them through the art of good lighting and arrangement. And there lies the art—the content, how you frame the composition, the relationship one object in your composition has with the other, the highlights, the shadows, the background, the patterns, the colors...

What about macro photography? Does that come under ‘still-life’? If the subject is live (an insect for example), you cannot call it still-life. If the object is very small and requires special gear to photograph it (like when photographing the mechanism of a wrist watch using a specialized macro lens), we reserve such topics under macro or close-up photography.

There can be no excuse for poor still-life pictures. The photographer has total control over the product, the background, as well as the lighting. He has the chance to be creative. He has the opportunity to ‘create’ or to ‘destroy’ the subject; he has the chance to experiment. That’s why, the genre of still-life and food photography is amongst the most diffi cult. It may take hours (even days) to set up the ‘products’ and light them in such a way as to make the viewer to purchase the products or tempt the viewer to order the food as shown on the menu card. To put it simply, the still-life/food photographer is the link between the product and its successful marketing.

The ‘quality’ of the light used plays a very important part in determining the final result. That ‘quality’ is dependent on the size of the light source in relation to the size of the object in the photograph. Generally, we aim for ‘soft’ to ‘medium-soft’ light. For example, a light source, 1x1m in size, placed close to a 0.25x0.25m object will create ‘soft’ light, but the same light source, if placed close to a 2x2m object will not create ‘soft’ light. Let’s now consider the humble egg.

Try photographing a white egg on a white background. Ask an assistant to aim the light at the egg and move it around in a 360 degree circle while you carefully watch through the viewfi nder. Frontal lighting will cause the white egg to merge with the white background and result in a drab picture. Top lighting could make the egg appear somewhat heavy. Light hitting the egg at around 270 degrees from behind and with some fi ll-in from the opposite end can make the egg look 3-dimensional

EQUIPMENT

Camera:
Any type of camera (compact, prosumer, 35mm SLR, medium format or large format) can be used. It helps though to have the right focal length for the job. A wide-angle lens, used close to the subject, can provide a different perspective when compared to a longer focal length lens used at a distance. When using the 35mm format, lenses ranging from 70mm to 135mm are generally considered most useful.

TIP

a. Use the lowest possible ISO sensitivity on your camera.

b. Set the camera to ‘low contrast’ to avoid highlight burnouts. The contrast can be adjusted later in post-processing.

c. Avoid ‘high saturation’ settings. It is easier to saturate colors later on if need be than to make the colors ‘normal’ during post-processing.

Tripod:

A steady tripod should be considered a must. Some may say that because we use fl ash (which is often used), a tripod is not important. Let me point out that a tripod also enables precise composition and allows us to repeat the same shot (may be with a different exposure) without any movement of the camera between shots. Also, we may not use fl ash for all the shots, but may use mixed light sources.

Lights:

This is one segment where you cannot be specifi c, as different products may require different type of lighting, and hence, most professional and advanced users have a variety of lights in their possession. This does not mean that you cannot do still-life and food photography with the minimal of lights. You’ll see later on how just one light can be used sometimes, with suitable refl ectors. Even then, its nice to have two to three lights (electronic or continuous light source like color corrected fl uorescent tubes or LEDs), a soft-box or two, and a strip light (a thin soft-box). A near-5500 degree Kelvin torchlight is useful in highlighting a tiny area.

TIP

Still-life photography can also be done using natural, available light. Soft, diffused, morning or evening light, or window-light, with suitable refl ectors, can also create exciting pictures.

Flash-cum-daylight Meter:

A fl ash meter (most fl ash meters can also read daylight) is useful, though it is possible to set the correct exposure by trial and error using the histogram and highlight warning ‘blinkies’ on your digital camera.

Miscellaneous:

Variety of seamless backgrounds (made of paper or canvas), white, silver, and golden refl ectors, diffusers (to ‘soften’ the light), black cards (which help to create dark edges on transparent and semi-transparent objects), an 18-percent gray card (helps to calibrate the right exposure), a color-checker, small mirrors, blue-tac (to temporarily stick small object to background etc), odds and ends. Yes, and don’t forget a (Circular) Polarizing Filter to reduce/eliminate unwanted refl ections.

Well, what else do we require? Ideas and readiness to experiment! By

ideas’ I mean having a thematic connection with the various items that we use in the picture. For example—there would be no logical connection between a bottle of wine and a cup of tea; they just don’t mix and match! A bottle of wine with meat or cheese would be OK though. Or you could have a bottle of red wine, a cork-screw, wine glasses with some wine in them, some cheese, plus a bunch of grapes as your composition. Suiting material with a pair of scissors and a measure tape would be fi ne, but suiting material with a box of school geometry compass-set wouldn’t be in place. tom@photographyforall.ie

Landscape Photography

“A good photograph is knowing where to stand”.
Ansel Adams

Very true! Think it over. How many times have you got out from your car after seeing a nice scene and photographed the scene from somewhere near the car? Landscape photography is something different from, other having its own unique techniques and skills. Herein lies the first rule for landscape photography – you don’t start taking pictures as soon as you see a nice-looking scene.

What you should do is always move around the subject, and search which is a better shooting position for your camera? Have these questions in your mind, would a high-angle shot be better or would a low-angle shot do more justice? Most people are satisfied shooting at eye level, including me in my first days but remember, your photos show something different from those of other people. In fact there’s a saying that if 10 photographers are standing in a line, you can make out the good photographers –their pants would be soiled at the knees! They are the ones who go down on their knees in order to get a very low angle shot!

The next in line is the selection of the lens. You should think over again. How many times have you picked up your camera to shoot a scene, paying no consideration to the selection of the lens? Most photographers attach a zoom lens and shoot, varying the focal length to suit the composition. Here what is important is to create the right perspective. Perspective, or the size relationship between the various elements in the scene, is determined by the selection of the lens and the position of the lens in relation to the subject. This is done by varying the distance between the lens and the foreground subject, and not by varying the focal length while being at the same spot.
Note: It is incorrect to say that perspective is controlled by the lens, though it plays an important part. Perspective is primarily controlled by the position of the lens (where it is placed) in relation to the subject, and when combined with a wide-angle lens, for example, can create an exaggerated perspective.

Here’s a simple solution to know which lens should be used: This is an old technique used for learning purpose. Make a cutout of 1 x 1.5-inches (that is the approximate frame size of 35mm format) at the center of a 5 x 7-inch black cardboard. Hold it next to your eye and through the cutout, look at the scene. Vary the distance between the eye and the card till you are satisfied with the scene coverage. Now check the distance. If it is 2-inches for example, you must use a 2-inch lens (that’s 50mm). If it is 1-inch, use a 24mm lens (1-inch is 25.4mm).

And here is my take on using ultra wide angle lenses for landscapes. When you look through such lenses, the vast expanse you cover will thrill you, but sometimes you may disappointed when you get the prints. Why does that happen? Consider this. Let us say that your wide-angle lens is covering approximately 650 x 1000 feet. When it comes to the print, you make a 5 x 7-inch print or somewhere in that size. You are compressing the 1000 feet to 7 inches! How do you expect to see the details that your eye saw when you photographed the scene? The solution is to make large prints when you shoot a scene using a wide-angle lens – the larger the better.

As a beginner how do you know which scene will create an impact? Ansel Adam said, “In my mind’s eye, I visualize how a particular... sight and feeling will appear on a print. If it excites me, there is a good chance it will make a good photograph. It is an intuitive sense, an ability that comes from a lot of practice”. That’s right. Practice makes a man perfect they say. It’s only after you shoot regularly and make prints regularly, can you be in a position to ‘feel’ the print even before making it. So what are the key points to remember in your mind in creating a good landscape? Good composition, natural-looking colors, effective control over depth of field, crisp sharp images (there are exceptions to the rule), and a good presentation all make up towards a good landscape. There is one aspect of composition that I would like to super emphasize. And that is the Focal Point.
THE THIRD DIMENSION AND FOCAL POINT

Remember, a photograph has only two dimensions –width and height, but we see in three dimensions—width, height, and depth. Hence we need to visually create that third dimension of depth, which is lacking in a photograph. To create a striking landscape with an illusion of depth, we need to have a focal point (a foreground element where you want the viewer to concentrate his attention), further straightened by having a mid-ground, and a background. A landscape having only a background (without an interesting foreground and mid-ground), is not a landscape—it is only a backdrop! Focus critically on the foreground element (don’t focus at infinity as most people do), and then use a suitable aperture to create the needed depth of field. Let us now consider some other important guidelines.

CONTROLLING DEPTH OF FIELD

When we scan a scene, our eyes change focus instantly, and hence we see everything sharp. A camera lens, on the other hand, is a mechanical device that does not have this natural ability. A lens resolves sharp detail only at the point it is focused at. Everything else is relatively blurred. Even then, we perceive a certain range of receding blurriness as acceptably sharp. That zone of acceptable sharpness is what we call the depth of field. When we photograph a landscape, we generally try to keep all the elements in it as sharp as possible (the way our eyes see it). To do that we ‘stop down’ the lens, that is, use a narrower aperture (like f/11 or f/16). Please note that using a very small aperture could cause loss of sharpness due to diffraction of light. Depth of field can be used creatively too. Instead of keeping everything sharp in a landscape image, we can select an eye-catching element in the scene, focus on it as critically as possible, and then use a wider aperture (like f/4 or f/2.8). This will keep the focused object sharp and throw everything else out of focus. This technique, known as Selective Focus, isolates the main subject and makes it stand out.

ONE PRINCIPAL POINT OF INTEREST There should be one principal point of interest, and everything else should be subservient to it. Observe this picture . Which is the main element in the picture? The walking couple or the fallen tree? Both these elements compete for attention. Also, green trees in the left of the picture are disturbing.

LEADING-IN LINES
We need to draw the viewer’s attention into the picture. This can be done using ‘S’ curves, ‘C’ curves, diagonal lines, a path, a row of stones, a fence leading into the picture, or anything else that pulls viewer attention into the picture.

RULE OF THE THIRDS

1) Center of Interest: Generally speaking, the center of interest should not be in the center of the picture (exception being extreme closeups). If you were to divide a frame into three equal parts (horizontally and vertically), then the four points of intersection are considered as the strong points. In the picture below, the most prominent part of the subject is placed at one of the intersecting points and not at the center.

b) Horizons: As a rule, horizon should not divide a picture in two equal parts. If there is drama in the sky, keep two-thirds for the sky and one-third for the foreground. If there is drama in the foreground, keep two-thirds for the foreground and one-third for the sky. A low horizon suggests spaciousness; a high horizon suggests closeness to the foreground. In the picture above, the horizon line divides the picture into two more or less equal halves. Thus neither half commands full attention. By cropping the sky as shown above, the foreground commands more attention than the sky and clouds.

DON'T BLOCK THE VISUAL ENTRY Look at the two sketches. Decide which one is visually inviting you in? The open gate says “come in”. The closed gate says “no entry”. The closed gate is a visual block. Besides the key compositional points noted above, here are some general guidelines:

Get the optimum image quality out of your equipment.

This means using high-end lenses, high-to-medium-end camera bodies, a sturdy, well-engineered tripod with a high-end ball-head (or pan-and-tilt head if you prefer).

Lenses: Spend the maximum you can afford on top-notch lenses (and not on camera bodies, but we’ll come to that in a moment). Today’s high-resolution bodies demand high-end lenses. The limiting factor today is the glass, not the imaging sensor! Don’t expect stunning results if you place a beer bottle in front of your camera body!

Camera Bodies: I didn’t say camera bodies are not important. But more important are the lenses! Most folks buy high-end camera bodies and couple them with a low-end lenses. It should be the other way around.

Tripod: There is no legitimate excuse for not using a tripod for landscape photography. Photography is a serious business but if you are not serious about what you are doing, opt for some other hobby. (Yes, I can already hear the moaning and whining). I agree,

without a shadow of doubt, carrying a tripod is a pain in the pajamas. Setting it up time and again only adds to the woes. No pain, no gain! Remember also, the higher the pixel count of your camera, the steadier the camera support needs to be. The amount of camera movement that a 6-megapixel D-SLR can tolerate for example, is not the same that a 12-megapixel model can tolerate; the amount of camera movement that a 12-megapixel D-SLR can tolerate is not the same that a 20+ megapixel camera can tolerate. If you want the ultimate in image quality from your high-end camera, you need to use a high-end lens and the combination should a rock-solid during exposure.

SHOOT DURING GOLDEN HOUR
For the best quality of available light, shoot during the golden hour (early morning and late evening). if you are the type who does not want to get up early in the morning and stay up late after sunset, landscape photography is not for you.

DON'T AVOID INCLEMENT WEATHER
Sometimes, the best landscapes are photographed during bad weather. The general tendency is to stay at home when the weather turns bad, but remember, fortune favors the brave! I am not saying that if a hurricane is expected to rip through, that you go out and photograph (some people do even that). What I mean is that you could consider taking calculated risks.

SHOULD PEOPLE BE INCLUDED?
There is no fixed rule that says you can or cannot include people in landscapes,though some big names in landscape photography (Ansel Adams for example) did not include human elements. Personally speaking, I like to include the human element in my landscapes when possible—it sort of gives ‘life’ to the landscape. It also provides a sense of scale.
Note: The human element should be subservient and not the principle subject. The principle subject should be the landscape.

Observe this picture properly. Now imagine the same picture, but without the man standing on the cliff edge. You will immediately feel that something is amiss. The man, so to say, provides ‘life’ to the picture, and also provides a sense of scale. Tom@photographyforall.ie