Sunday Photographer

Happy New Year 2009 !

2009-01-01T12:02:00.000-08:00

Fireworks ! Impressive, visual, fugitive... what a subject to take pictures. The options I saw were short exposure times and pressing the shutter at the very right moment, or long exposures to capture the whole trajectory of each firework. I opted for the second one. The price to pay is fuzzy foreground and sometimes fuzzy pictures. I know what you think, and my tripod was not available. Click here to see more pictures of this series.

Sell photos on photrade | By RodBeglerf

Duo-pack

2008-07-23T09:27:00.000-07:00

Good photos are everywhere. I realized that since I started having my camera with me more often, and I start to develop a new reflex of making a picture when there is a funny or unusual opportunity. Want an example ? Look at these cats in duo pack.

May be not the picture of the century, but it was a funny one to take, and I like to look at it again. Simple pleasures of life...

Cactus, cactus, cactus

2008-06-29T13:36:00.000-07:00

Since I bought the new camera, everything became photgraphy subjects. The last opportunity was a family visit to the Palmengarten in Frankfurt. Here are three cactus photos, all taken from close to very close.

Playing with depth of field is so new to me that I can't stop doing it, except to play with exposure...

Sometimes auto-focus is not good enough - The Spider

2008-06-19T13:10:00.000-07:00

Auto-focus is great, but for certain shots you need to set the focus manually. This can be for close shots if you want a particular depth of field, or when the subject is well in foreground, but too small to serve as auto-focus target.

Too small ? What do I mean ? Have a look at these pictures, you'll understand.

This tiny spider was 30 centimeters in front of the bookshelf behind, and I made the picture from another 20 centimeters distance. Because the spider is so small, the auto-focus has no chance to detect it.

Hopefully this spider was a good model - it did not moved too much, but finding it in through the view finder was not easy. Remember that with a DSLR, you look through the lenses. If your subject is out of focus, you simply won't see it, particularly at so close distance.

On the other hand, if you look at the high resolution version (click the pictures for that), you'll see that the spider is probably not as clear as it could be. These photos have been made using the integrated flash. I usually try not to use it, and give priority to natural light, also to avoid shadows.

But the spider was moving, and the ambient light was low - it was at dusk, in my office. Longer exposure times resulted fuzzy pictures, because it moved, and I moved as well. No time to install a tripod.

These photos also remind me of an important photography principle I read in many blogs and books: be ready ! This was not a planned spider shooting (!). I was searching for tissues in that bookshelf when I saw the spider. The camera was nearby, and I saw it as a good manual mode exercise.

Let me know if you like these pictures, and any tip to improve them is welcome.

Beginners photos - Playing with depth of field

2008-06-19T12:38:00.006-07:00

One of the thing that becomes possible when upgrading from a compact to a DSLR camera is to take pictures very close to the subject, and play with depth of field. The concept is simple: position the camera close to an object, and only a part of it will be clear. All what is closer or farther away will be fuzzy. Zooming increases this effect.

I probably exagerated the effect too much for this book example, but I like the principle. This exactly shows what is challenging in photography - the difference between having the idea of a photo, and making it.

The keyboard example is also a classical. Here again, I'm satisifed with the idea, but not with its realisation. Could photography be full of frustration ? Possible... I've so much to learn. Let's see if I can do better.

From compact to DSLR - How it all started

2008-06-18T12:28:00.000-07:00

"Fit in my pocket, be fully automatic, quick, have long battery life, and store hundreds of photos."

This was for years my view of what a good camera should be. I travelled through Australia, Canada, and several european lands taking photos with a compact camera. That was fine, then I met some serious amateur photographers. I say amateur because they don't make a living out of their photos, but their knowledge, technique, and equipment has nothing to envy to professionals.

Their photos impressed me, and I felt I would be time to get an upgrade. I also have a passion for writing, and for technical things. The idea of using my own pictures on my blogs, and to have a new toy to play with was really attractive.

On the other side, would investing in a "serious" camera a good idea ? Would I find the time to learn using it properly ? And what if I broke it on the second day ? Which model ? With which lense ? I was feeling just like a newbee... because that what I was... and what I'm still, to be fair.

After reading some blogs (including the excellent Digital Photography School), asking some knowledgeable people, reading few magazines, I made the decision, and bought a Canon EOS 450D. The reasons behind this choice are quite simple. I wanted a recent model from a well established brand.

The rest was a question of feeling. Many reviews of the EOS 450D said it is a good camera for people wanting to upgrade from a compact. That's exactly me. I took it in hand in a shop, as well as other models, and it felt comfortable.

So what now ? I'm at the begining of a huge learning curve, and the idea of this blog is to share my experience. There will be no super guru tips, and not too much technical vocabulary, at least in the begining... as I don't know any.

Whether you're knowing a lot or not about photography, your comments are always welcome. And by the way, DSLR means Digital Single-Lense Reflex. Click here if you want more tips about how to select a DSLR camera.