Great Day Houston

What fun being on Great Day Houston this morning with host Deborah Duncan.

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Great Vacation Photos

A Case for Live View

Live View – A Case For and Against

Live View is the ability to see your photo as you compose it on the rear LCD screen of your camera. This is common on small point-and-shoot cameras and cell phones but is new to the digital SLR. Live View with a digital SLR has some pros and cons.

Since the 1980s, people with small point-and-shoot cameras have been taking photos by looking at the LCD panel on the back of their camera. The camera is held with arms outstretched, the image is composed, shutter button is half depressed to focus, and then fully depressed to capture the image. This is the same process we’ve used with cell phone cameras.

A couple of years ago, the larger digital SLR cameras (d-SLR) came out with Live View. This is a feature where you can see the image in real time as you take the photo. People graduating from a small point-and-shoot camera to a larger d-SLR usually assume Live View on a small camera is the same as Live View on a larger camera. That’s an incorrect assumption. There is a time and place to use Live View on a d-SLR camera.

Most digital SLR cameras are designed so that the photo is taken with the camera held against the face. The photographer looks through the viewfinder with one eye. The camera is braced against the face and the shutter button depressed with the right forefinger or thumb.

During this entire process, the photographer can see the f/stop and shutter speed as well as other information in the viewfinder. That other information varies by camera model but can include the light meter in use, focus point, number of shots left on the card, number of shots in buffer, and any exposure compensation set. Most light is blocked by the rubber edge around the viewfinder so the photographer is looking at a bright image with clear information.

Some digital SLR cameras have a very tiny viewfinder. The image through the viewfinder looks a bit like the scene is projected on an old slide projector screen. Those are ideal cameras for taking all photos with the camera in Live View because the viewfinder is worthless.

Digital SLR cameras with a nice, bright viewfinder offer photographers a chance to see the image and the camera settings at the same time. Looking through the viewfinder is the best way to take photos with these cameras.

People say they use Live View versus the viewfinder because the image through the viewfinder is blurry. That is remedied by adjusting the diopter. The diopter is a little dial or leaver next to the viewfinder. A simple rotation of the dial or adjustment of the leaver up or down adjusts the view for different eye prescriptions.

Live View is affected by the amount of light hitting the LCD panel and the angle of view. On a bright day at the beach, it’s hard to see the image on the Live View screen. It can be impossible to read the camera settings on the LCD panel. The image through the viewfinder, on the other hand, is usually dark enough to read all the settings regardless of the ambient light. Occasionally, it’s necessary to block a little light with your hand but it’s usually dark enough through the viewfinder to get all the information needed to take a good photo.

When the camera is low to the ground or raised up on a tripod, it can be hard to look through the viewfinder. This is a great reason to use Live View and the new swivel LCD panel on the back of some cameras. A tripod will hold the camera steady at an odd angle. Live View gives us an opportunity to stand or sit comfortably and take the photo.

People using a short tripod might find it easier to use the swivel LCD panel versus squatting down to see the image through the viewfinder. Of course, a taller tripod would eliminate the need to squat on the vast majority of shots.

Live View can be distracting in certain settings. In a dark church or concert hall, the light from the Live View screen can look like a spotlight. People who rely on their night vision to view stars or mammals at night will curse the brightness of a Live View screen in the area.

Yet, that brightness is an asset when trying to take some photographs at night. Looking at the image in real time, on a bright 3-inch LCD panel, is a good way to arrange a group of people in a nighttime photo. The Live View on the LCD panel gives the photographer a chance to get everyone arranged before clicking the shutter.

Most cameras don’t focus well or at all when the camera is in Live View mode. The photographer can see the image but focus is achieved by rotating the focus ring on the lens. When the Live View is activated, focus is really slow or non-existent on most digital SLR cameras.

General photos are always better when the camera is held steady. Many photographers find that they brace the camera against their face and forehead for added stability. That steadiness is lost when someone holds a camera out at arms length and looks at the image in Live View on the LCD panel. A digital SLR camera can weigh 23 to 45 ounces. After a lens is added, the camera can weight two or more pounds. That might not sound like a lot of weight but it is when held at arms length.

Live View helps:

· When shooting video.

· When darkness makes it hard to see through the viewfinder.

· When the camera’s viewfinder is tiny.

· When the camera is at an odd angle.

. During critical focusing in marco or low light photography.

· Reduce or eliminate the need to bend over or stoop to take a photo.

Live View drawbacks:

· Bright light makes the LCD panel hard to see.

· In a dark place, the LCD panel is like a spotlight.

· Autofocus is slower or non-existent

· It’s hard to follow moving subject on the LCD panel.

· The camera is unsteady when held at arms length.

That was a beautiful moon on Saturday night.  I love that so many photographers got out and photographed it!  The images are amazing.

We have a full moon every month -- and "once in a blue moon" there are two in one month.

That means there are at least 12 opportunities each year to photograph the full moon.


Photography tips to help get a well exposed moon with lots of nice details:

1. Put the camera on a tripod.
2. Attach the camera with a telephoto lens.  The more millimeters, the bigger the image of the moon.  The image above was taken with a 500mm lens and a 1.4x extender.  I'm showing the image full frame.  No cropping.
3. Set the camera on spot meter.  Canon calls that partial meter.  You want the camera to read the light off the moon and not the light in the dark sky.  Spot or partial meter ignores the light that is not around the focus point.
4. Activate only one focus point.
5. Set the camera on Aperture Priority and set the f/stop as low as it will go.  I used f/5.6.  The low f/stop means there is a lot of light coming through the aperture opening.  No worry about depth-of-field since we're focusing at infinity.
6. Look through the viewfinder.  Push the focusing button half way down.  That gives you an exposure that can be read through the view finder.  
7. We want a fast shutter speed since the earth is moving and we need to stop the movement of the earth.  I got between 1/125th and 1/250th of a second shutter speed with an ISO of 160.  Raise your ISO if you can't get a shutter speed in the 1/125th or 1/250th range.  Otherwise, leave the ISO as low as possible.  
8. Click away and enjoy the view.  You'll have to reposition the camera regularly.  The moon moves so be prepared.  

Photography at Night with High ISO

We had a great Leisure Learning "Photography at Night" class last night at the Woodlands Waterway.

The fountain in the heart of the waterway is always a hit on our outings.  Last night, we reached the fountain right at twilight so the light was perfect.

The photo at right is the traditional way I photograph the fountain.  I set the camera in Aperture Priority and rotate the f/stop dial to get a slow shutter speed.  My ISO is at 160. The slow shutter speed lets the water blur.  In this case, I used 1/3 second shutter.  The water blurs well and the twilight sky is nice and pretty.

But I've photographed this fountain many times so I thought I'd try something different.

I raised the ISO to 12800 to get a faster shutter speed.  At ISO 12800 I was able to get the shutter speed to 1/100.  That faster shutter speed allowed the water to freeze at the top of each splash.  The fountain gave a little assistant because it shot the water in the air with the right force and pulse so that the water paused in a glob before falling back into the pool.

The RAW photo was noisy due to the high ISO.  I processed it in Photoshop CS5 and hit it with noise reduction to smooth out the color.  My Canon Mark IV camera handles high ISO well so the noise reduction did a great job. 

Remember, not all cameras handle high ISO the same.  Newer more high-end cameras handle high ISO well.  Older cameras and low-end cameras don't handle high ISO well at all.  Test your camera to see the results.  Small photos hide high ISO noise better, too. 

Night Photography Software

I spoke this weekend at the Gulf States Camera Council Convention in New Iberia, Louisiana on Night Photography and Marketing Photos for Stock over the weekend. It was a great group of people with lots of great questions and input. The hospitality was marvelous.

During the Night Photography program I mentioned the software I use to plan my photos. SkyGazer 4.5 by Carinasoft is the program I use and recommend.

To begin working with the software, you enter the GPS coordinates for the location you plan to photograph. Then you enter the date you'll be shooting. The software brings up the night sky in all directions. There's a little clock tool that enables you to see how the sky changes through the night. There are options to see stars, planets, satellites, meteors, or the moon.

I used SkyGazer 4.5 to plan my trip to Big Bend National Park in west Texas to photograph the Milky Way behind the windmill. I knew I wanted the Milky Way behind the windmill but didn't know what day I needed to be there or what time. StarGazer gave me that information without much trouble. The rest was up to my friend Patti and me to execute the photo.

Peacock Feather Reflection

Last week in Macro Photography class at Leisure Learning, I brought out reflective tubes to show the group how to get the weird reflections you see in the photo at the left.

Kathy Frazer had been working on a close-up of a peacock feather so I used her camera to illustrate how to use the tubes. I shot this image and Kathy was nice enough to send it over to me.

The technique is pretty simple. First, you need some reflective poster board. You can use mylar but I use poster board since it travels easier than mylar and doesn't wrinkle as bad. I found the reflective poster board in silver and gold at my local crafts store. I cut the poster board into strips about 2-feet square.

Put your camera with a wide angle lens on a tripod. Lenses in the 20mm, 18mm, 16mm, or 15mm work best. Focus the lens on the subject.

Then wrap the poster board around the barrel of the lens. Hold it in place with your hand and look through the viewfinder. Move the tube of poster board in and out to compose the image. Squeeze the poster board to change the swirls.

Play around and see what you get. It's a lot of fun.

Lightroom in a Day

There's a great one-day program on Lightroom next week. April 14th in Rye, NH, with Jerry Monkman. Jerry's a great teacher so this should be an incredible program. Jerry's program will be geared to nature photography all photographers can benefit.

Details at NANPA site.

Fisheye Lens

Fisheye is a great lens but it's used for a specific purpose. The Canon 8mm is beautiful but you wouldn't use it every day. An outing in the city with that lens would be fun as would an outing into a national park.

This photo of the A,A sculpture at University of Houston was taken with the 8mm lens.

I like my Tokina 10-17mm lens. It has 180-degree field of view and only cost $550. It's nice.

Canon has a 10-22mm that is really nice. It's equal to a 16-35mm on a full-sensor camera. Much more practical than a fish-eye. I own the 16-35mm and like it in open places. It's hard to use in confining places.

Which Telephoto Lens Should I Buy?

Lens choice is so individual. I like the 70-200 2.8 or 4.0. Both can use a 1.4x or 2.0x for added magnification. I own the 300mm 4 and love it. The 300mm 2.8 is big and heavy.

The 70-300mm f/4-5.6 is a variable f/stop lens. That means you can't use a 1/4x or 2.0x extender without degrading the quality of the image.

These are sports or wildlife lenses, though. You're probably not going to use them in the city for general shooting. A friend used a 300mm 4 through Ireland with me and he got great shots of architectural details. It's not ideal, though.

The photo of the snake was taken with a Canon 75-300mm f/4-5.6 lens. It's a nice lens that allows you some distance from your subject.

Lens: How to Blur the Background

First, realize that it's hard to blur the background with a wide angle lens set at 18mm or so. The wider the lens the harder to soften the background. The more telephoto, the easier it is to soften the background.

The f/stop controls how much we see and don't see in the background. F/3.5 means only "three things" will be in focus. F/22 means "22 things" will be in focus. (Not really but I'm using that as a visual cue to help you remember the concept.)

The above photo was taken with a 24-105mm lens at f/4. (That would be 15-85mm on a Canon 7D or other DX or EFs camera.) You'll see that the background is soft. That's because I'll really close to the grill and zoomed out to 105mm. See how there are a lot of factors that go into softening the background?

It's easier to blur the background with a telephoto lens. When you focus on something that is close with a 300mm lens, the background gets soft if it is 8-10 feet away. If the background is closer to the subject, it's not as soft.