I set up my camera over the weekend in the living room to play with the different directions of light. Side, front, back and above.  I was initially going to just take a side light picture for this weeks challenge – Side Light Photography, but I thought it would be fun to take it a step further and look at the different types of light.

Side Lighting – Side lighting is pretty straight forward it’s when the light comes from the side. Side lighting can create contrast and shadows bringing your subject to life.

Front Lighting - Front lighting is when your light source is shining directly on your subject. So your subject has the light directly on them, but you as the photographer will have your back to the sun or light source.

Above  Light Photography - Top light is when the light is directly above your  subject.

Back Lighting – Back lighting is when the light is behind your subject. So you as the photographer has the sun or light source facing toward you. This is when you can get a great silhouette.

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Nice! Case Logic Camera Bag is the lightning deal for the next hour! Only $21.99 that is 63% savings!

List Price $59.99

Deal Price – $21.99

Official Technical Details

•     Designed to fit a SLR camera with standard zoom lens attached
•     Unique hammock system suspends camera inside the side-entry      compartment for quick access
•     Hammock sides lift for additional lens, flash or accessory storage
•     Side straps adjust to secure your tri-pod or other bulky items
•     Upper compartment stores extra accessories or personal items such as a jacket, sunglasses or a snack

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Assignment #10 – Learn By Doing – Take a picture with side light.

I am excited to see your pictures! You can post at the bottom of this post or on DigitalCamFan FaceBook wall. If you have questions about “Learn By Doing” Please refer to the guideline page. If you have no questions post away!

Shadows can bring a picture to life making it almost feel 3D.  This picture I took in my living room last night. It only stands about 6 inches high. I set it on a little table with a black sheet set up about 4 feet behind. I  positioned myself  about 1 foot in front. Turned all the lights off except for the one light I had on to the left.

Awhile back I took this same picture, but I set it up again because I thought it made a good example of side light plus I wanted to take the picture using monochrome as well.

I am tying to slow down as I take pictures. Instead of being just happy that my subject is in the frame. I want to see more…  I want to see where the light is coming from and where the shadows fall. Next time I am at a park with the kids in the sun light I want to remember to think about side light. Think about where the sun is and where I am. Since I can’t move the sun I need to move!

Happy clicking! Hope you find the side light!

This picture was taken with the Canon 60D and the Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens!

Taken on Manual
f/2.8
ISO – 100
Focal length – 50mm

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We watched U2  From The Sky Down the other night! What a an amazing documentary! Director Davis Guggenheim took on this project. The documentary follows the emotional ride the band was on at the time and how they transformed themselves musically during the recording session of Achtung Baby. The Edge previously worked with Davis Guggenheim on the 2008 documentary It Might Get Loud another amazing must see music documentary!

During the documentary they talk about photographer Anton Corbijn who photographed U2 in the Mojave desert for the album cover.  I have always admired his work… He has photographed so many of my favorite bands! Joy Division, Depeche Mode, David Bowie, Siouxsie and the Banshees just to name a few. If you haven’t seen his work take a moment to check look, beautiful black and white photography!

I thought to myself as I watched this amazing black and white photography stream across the t.v. How impressive his photography is and how much easier as a photographer we have it now a days. When you shoot with film you don’t get to see the final outcome the moment you take the picture.  Here is Anton in the middle of the desert and you wouldn’t know you got the correct exposure until you were in the dark room! Amazing!

Here is the trailer for U2 “From the Sky Down” trailer!

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O.k. this camera kind of rocks! Don’t get me wrong I still love my Canon, but the compact size of this Nikon is pretty amazing! Through February 25th, 2012 there is an instant $50.00 savings bringing the Nikon 1 J1 price down to $599.00 compared to the list price of $649.00! Always great to buy when the price is down!

Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe there are only 3 lenses that go with this camera the 10-30mm, 30-110mm and 10mm fixed. The one that comes with the price listed above is the 10-30mm!

I read this quote in a review from Dpreview ” The system is spearheaded by two cameras – the Nikon 1 J1 and 1 V1. The J1 is the entry-level model, and the V1 is aimed at a slightly more advanced user, but both cameras are intended essentially for beginners upgrading from compact cameras or cameraphones, and who find the size and complexity of a DSLR intimidating.” If you don’t want the DSLR because of the size I get it… having the Nikon 1 J1 is pretty amazing in size and what it’s capable of doing. But if you’re reason not to buy a DSLR is the complexity and intimidation don’t let that be the reason! There is a learning curve, but  a very fun learning curve! Not to mention most of the DSLR cameras I have seen have the little green box you can use if you’re intimidated the first day you turn on your camera. (Little green box equals camera will decide what is best you just push the shutter button) If you want to read the entire review by Dpreview.com be sure to check it out  it’s very informative!

After reading up on this camera for a bit it feels like it fits right in between a point and shoot and a DSLR camera!

Official Product Description:

For your very mobile lifestyle comes a completely new imaging system with freedom to create and express as never before. Highly compact and portable, the Nikon 1 J1 goes everywhere you go. Moments from your amazing world are captured using a highly responsive autofocus and super fast shooting speed. In one touch you can work in Full HD (1080p) movie record mode. A camera so versatile you can even snap photos while recording movies. Unleash your creativity with Nikon 1—offering a balance of high performance, advanced features, portability and a newly designed interchangeable lens system. Infuse your world with photos from every moment and connect as never before.

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As you may know I am taking a night time class “intro to black and white”! Because of this my posts might be consumed with black and white.  The assignment I was given was to take 2 pictures of everything (one in color and one in black and white) Find set of pictures you like the color better and the other set is where you think  black and white brought your picture to life. This was a great exercise!

What I learned… I looked in complete opposite directions for both pictures! When I was looking for color I was looking for bold, bright beautiful colors. When I was trying to find a picture in black and white I was looking for shadows, contrast different angles of light.

Here are my two pictures. This first one I picked the color photo I thought the colors jumped out too much to go black and white on this one.

On this next one I choose the black and white because I thought it added more depth and interest to the to picture!

Pick up your camera and try it! I learned a lot in fact I am still taking pictures and looking at both to see which I like better and why!

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Here is a good one for today! The Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM SLR Lens for EOS Digital SLR’s. List price for this one is $1,400.00… crazy! Today it’s on sale for 48% bringing the price down on this Canon wide angle to $735.00 which is much better!

The widest angle I have is an 18mm and sometimes I want just a touch more. I wish I could  go to 10mm that would be great! With a wider angle you can stretch your perspective even more  make, make your subject that is close to the lens look much bigger and the opposition make your subject in the back look much smaller. You can make it look like the distance between two subjects has extended stretching your perspective!

Official Features:

Excellent optical quality and true wide-angle coverage with select digital SLRs
Superior AF performance and speed, with full-time manual focus by simply turning ring
Close-focusing to 9.5 inches — fill the frame with subjects as small as 3.6 x 5.4 inches
Relatively compact size and light weight for an ultra-wide zoom lens
Inner focusing system (no front element rotation); length doesn’t change if zoomed
Circular aperture design — natural highlights, even stopped down two stops
Electronic diaphragm — manually-set apertures stay constant from f/4.5 thru f/22
EF-S lens mount — exclusively for EOS 20D and Digital Rebel bodies

The Official Product Description:

With its effective focal length range of approximately 16-35mm in 35mm format, the EF-S 10-22mm f/3. 5-4. 5 USM is a remarkable lens with outstanding image quality that will take your photography into new dimensions and areas of dramatic expression. The super-wide zoom not only gives you the freedom to get exactly what you want in the shot, it dramatically alters perspective to allow for dynamic expression. The lens allows you to get extremely close to subjects, exaggerating the difference in size between a near object and its background. Creative photographers can use this phenomenon to create excellent separation between subject and background for a strong sense of presence, or for a pan-focus effect with everything from foreground to background sharply in focus. Exceptionally light and compact for its focal length range, the EF-S 10-22mm f/3. 5-4. 5 USM also has an incredibly close minimum focusing distance of just 24cm. A ring-type USM works in concert with the camera to provide super-fast, precision auto focusing and predictive tracking – with full manual override available at any time. Designed specifically for digital photography, the lens has specially shaped lens elements and Super Spectra coatings to suppress ghosting and flare, which can be caused by reflections off digital camera sensors. An exclusive optional lens hood can further reduce the incidence of flare. A circular aperture provides a pleasing background blur when shooting with a wide aperture; ideal for creating a sense of depth and getting your subject or model to stand out from the background.

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First question of the night at my intro to black and white photography class last week. Well actually it was the third question first two were name and camera model, but those were easy to answer.

The third made me think… she wanted an example. She wasn’t looking for an answer like “I want to see in black and white” A lot of  answers revolved around  Ansel Adams or personal experiences.

I thought about it… when did I see in black and white, when is the first time I thought, wow! Of course I have always admired black at white photography. But when did I as a photographer want to see myself in black and white.

This is where I need to say a sincere thank-you to @dcharlwood You can also view his work at www.charlwoodphotography.com and his flickr stream or you might have a photography question for him.

I bought my first Canon Rebel in 2009 and started DigitalCamFan soon after that I signed on to twitter for the first time. I asked a question i can’t remember what the question was, but David answered me…. He was kind and encouraging. I saw his photos on flickr and saw photography as art. I thought wow I love photography and I love this community. Not once has there been a day where I didn’t feel only encouragement from photographers helping me along the way.

At about that same time my grandma was visiting I had taken a picture of her at a tea house. I had just bought the Canon 50mm lens and was excited to try it out.

Of course I loved the picture for my own personal reasons. My grandma is simply one of the most amazing ladies I know… seriously… She inspires me every day to be better.

David took that picture and converted it to black and white. I loved it even more. That is the moment I thought I love black and white. I love the depth her wrinkles have, the timelessness of this picture, the simplicity, the contrast the elegance, an emotion!

I have this picture hanging in my kitchen! So thank-you David for helping me see in black and white!

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Are you thinking about purchasing a backdrop, but think it might be to expensive?

When you think of buying a backdrop you might think big bucks, but really it doesn’t have to be. Check out these photo background Backdrop equipment for under $200 including lights!

Having an easy to set up back drop is pretty great I must say! What I have found works great is buying drapes to use as a back drop. They slide on the bar nicely and don’t wrinkle too bad.  Even if you don’t want to buy the backdrop stand having some black curtains on hand is nice when you want that solid background. They have the loops on them so they hang nicely pretty much anywhere!. Or if you’re crafty head on over to the fabric store and just buy some fabric.  Fold one side over about four inches and sew and walla you have yourself a back drop curtain. Curtains work great!

I have the SP2000 Backdrop Support Stand that I bought for $69.95. List price is $299.95, but it’s 77% off right now.

I think it’s perfect for what I use it for! Taking pictures of my kids usually, but if I am experimenting or taking pictures of whatever it’s nice to have the option of a solid background. Moving the light around trying to get the picture you want with out the sofa in the background is nice!

Plus it doesn’t take up much space once you put it away.  It comes with a bag that everything folds nicely into for easy storage and to carry!

Official Product Description for the SP2000 Backdrop:

Super fast set-uptakes one man less than 5 minutes
Holds canvas, muslin or paper
Telescopic cross bar extends to 10ft.
Stands extend up to 8ft. 6in.
Extra wide footprint for added stability

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I guess you don’t need a reason to take black and white! But I felt like a had a purpose with my camera in hand while taking pictures at the grocery store.  Stopping to admire the fruit and the brightly colored vegetables.  I followed my kids around all day taking pictures of them and anything else that seemed interesting. From the book store to grocery store to all the other exciting errands which I am sure they were thrilled to do on a Saturday afternoon!

We spent a long time at the book store… All three in our own section and then regrouping to see what we picked out. I of course was in the photography section. Cade ventured into space researching planets and Kat searched for fairies.

I took a ton of pictures over the weekend and asked them many  many times which picture  was  better the color or black and white. I thanked them for their patience with a huge cinnamon roll that which disappeared in about 2 seconds!

All my pictures were taken using a Canon 60D and the Canon 50mm f/1.8

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