Welcome to the 15th issue of PhotoFlash
Hi
Lots of exciting news for June! The biggest announcement actually involves something that won't occur until July: the all-improved, all-new BetterPhoto contest. Since the changes will be effective beginning July 1, the current contest is NOT affected. We are really excited about the pending contest makeover, and we look forward to reporting further details in next week's SnapShot! Now for this month's PhotoFlash:
As always, BetterPhoto members have generated an awesome lineup of photo discussions - from capturing motion to shooting portraits. In addition, don't miss instructor Kerry Drager's Featured Article on the art of framing pictures with ... frames. Finally, see if you can guess where in the world the Featured Photo was made!
To read the online version of PhotoFlash at our Web site, visit http://www.betterphoto.com/photoflashes/
Have a great month!
Jim Miotke
http://www.betterphoto.com/MG.asp?ID=124
In This Issue: Wednesday, June 02, 2004
Featured Photo: The Magic Lantern
Featured Article: Picturing a Frame Within a Picture Frame
One of the most striking field techniques around is the foreground frame. Used effectively, says BetterPhoto instructor Kerry Drager, it helps direct the viewer's eye right to the photo's star attraction. Framing devices include overhanging tree branches, arches, windows, door, sculptures, fences, looming rock formations, fountains, flowers, or architectural elements. For shooting tips and photo examples, read Kerry's article at:
Read more...
Where in the World?
Can you guess where this picture was taken? If you think you have a clue, try offering a response.To learn the correct answer to the last quiz - and see who came the closest, visit the previous Where in the World quiz.
Improve Your Photography ... This Summer!
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| BetterPhoto's lineup of online courses includes something for just about everyone - composition, lighting, exposure, digital photography, photographic field techniques, and even Photoshop! But even though the summer session doesn't start until July 7th, some classes are already full, while others are filling up fast. If you need help in the selection process, be sure to review our course categories page at: Learn more... |
New Photo Discussions
New Photo Discussion 1: Fly, Fly ... But Come Back Again!
fly, fly... but come back again!
Me too would love to fly over these beauties and then come back home, sit by the fireplace, drink a tea and think how life can be sooooo simple and make us happy!
© Susana Matos
Canon EOS Digital ... |
Very beautiful, Susana! The lighting, colors, textures and composition are all fantastic! Flying would be wonderful!
- Janet L. Detota
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Response 1:This is really beautiful, Susana, I love the color!
- Kati Molin
Response 2:Gorgeous, Su! This is an amazing image! I just love the multitude of vibrant colors! You've done a beautiful job with this image!
- Paula M. Showen
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Response 3:WOW!! Gorgeous scene with amazing colors! The birds are a definite bonus and make the difference between this one and your last post. This is my favorite and possibly my all-time favorite of your landscapes :-) I hope you are willing to share the secret of the strong foreground light while shooting into the sun. Was it fill flash? You are certainly taking control of the light with that camera of yours! I hope you are very proud of this photo :-)Congratulations from Alaska.
- Gary H. Minish
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Response 4:Kati, THANK YOU so much! I appreciate indeed! Paula, hello! Thank you too, I like so much to read from you!
Gary, a nice surprise in the morning! Well, this is by the end of day and I used a Cokin orange degradé filter together with a grey degradé, and I am not sure, but I think for this one I still had my polarizer on. So, this way, it darkened enough of the sun and sky to balance the light with the land.
This is a small but enjoyable piece of land in the coast side where I found all these wildflowers with superb colors that won't now last much longer with the summer hot days that are arriving. So with a strong colored sky and a gorgeous piece of natural land I managed this attractive photo. But being there by the end of day was even nicer ... as the sun went down, the horizontal light gave these flowers a soft and warm lighting, it was beautiful!!! Cheers from Portugal, Su
- Susana Matos
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New Photo Discussion 2: Ruby Throated Hummingbird
Ruby Throated Hummingbird
Females have no red under the throat and have a blunt tail with no spots.
© Larry D. Jackson |
Beautiful shot. I have always wanted to catch one in flight. What film did you use and what speed on your camera to catch this fine shot? Thanks.
- Tricia Plumb
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Response 1:Hi Tricia, thanks for your comment. I used Velvia 100 and shot at 125@F19. My flash was 30" from the bird. The lens was about 6' away. I used a 170-500mm lens but couldn't fill the frame so I used a 36mm extension tube. I set the background flash at F5 or 6.7. I took the feeder away and filled the flower with sugar water used in the feeder. Good luck.
- Larry D. Jackson
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New Photo Discussion 3: Cicada #1
Are these the original colors? Pretty cool if so. Nice shot!
- Robert A. Simpson
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Response 1:So cool, Doug. I've never seen these guys with red eyes. I love their summer sound and hope they're around here soon.
- Claudia Kuhn
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Response 2:Thanks for your comments. These are the 17-year locusts. They lay eggs on trees, then the larvae bury themselves in the ground, where they remain for the next 17 years! They emerge as pupas all together over a period of several weeks, crawl up a stem, shed their skin, mate, and continue the cycle. Fascinating ... and they are very lackadaisical after they emerge from the pupa stage - making for perfect models. There are literally thousands of these guys on my property right now. They look scary, but they are completely harmless to people and (for the most part) to vegetation.
- Doug Benner
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New Photo Discussion 4: Tip-Toeing Through the Buttercups
Good one!!!! You really got down there on this one!!!
- Carolyn Fletcher
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Response 1:You're not kidding about that; Carolyn. I really had fun that day shooting these horses in unconventional ways. It's something that I'd never attempt in front of their masters or other serious horse people. They expect photographers to shoot their horses in a very traditional style. I guess that I'm not a traditional-style shooter anymore.
- Donna Rae
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New Photo Discussion 5: Guarding the Greek Parliament
Great composition, John. Pretty fancy uniforms. Did you sneak this shot or aren't they nervous about pictures being taken?
- Bonnie Lackey
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Response 1:Thanks. They don't mind the photos, as long as you don't get too close. If you take the first step up towards them, they slam their rifle stocks onto the ground, and it has a really loud echo, sure to scare you back to your place. They "change guard" hourly.
John
www.bluebullseye.com
- John H. Matthews
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New Photo Discussion 6: Breaking
Cool idea, I LOVE it!!!! Cheers from Portugal, Su
- Susana Matos
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Response 1:This is a wonderful shot!! My husband and his friend just finished building a billiard room and asked me to take some pictures for the wall. Please share with me how you accomplished this, I am a slightly advanced amateur but still need a lot of pointers and advice!!
- Teri A. Moore
Response 2:Thanks everyone. For this shot, I used shutter priority F3.2 and 1/20 second. I tried to time the shutter release to my son hitting the pool ball.
- Sherri McGee
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New Photo Discussion 7: Loss/Grief
This is a powerful shot with such depth of emotion, Patrick, your composition is worth a thousand words.
- Carol Brill
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Response 1:Thanks Carol. I have to thank Bryan F. Peterson for the idea. It's a staged shot, but I hope it doesn't look that way. I have another shot in this section, submitted yesterday, both of which were taken yesterday at a practice fire in Chico, California.
- Patrick Campbell
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Response 2:Staged or not, Patrick, it really packs an emotional punch and is very well rendered!
- Carol Brill
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New Photo Discussion 8: Oh No You Don't!
Great stop-action photo Kathleen, very well done.
- Patrick J. Whalen
Response 1:A super job. How did you get the shot? I would like to get a great in-air shot, but I end up getting too close and the bird fly away. Do you have any pointers?
- Angela M. Perdicaro
Response 2:Thanks. This was a lucky shot, but not difficult as far as getting close to these tree swallows. Every spring they "set up housekeeping" at a local marsh. There is a boardwalk over this marsh, and I was just standing on that, about 15 feet away from the tree they had their eye on. They were so preoccupied that they didn't pay any attention to me or the other photographers taking their photo. I just kept snapping away, and this was 1 out of about 20 photos I took of them (only 2 were keepers). I used a Tamron 70-300 lens set at around 200 to 250 mm. I guess my pointer would be to be patient. If they have their eye on a tree for a possible home or are already nesting there, they will keep on coming back every few minutes. Set up your camera and wait, and eventually they will return and won't pay much attention to you. Also, wear neutral or toned-down colors (not white). Hope this helps.
- Kathleen Leickly
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New Photo Discussion 9: Casa Del Agua
Did you set this on a mirror with a black background? This is really cool.
- Karrel Buckingham
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Response 1:Karrel, thanks for your nice comment! I actually used a piece of shiny black plastic with a black background. I use this same piece of plastic to create a reflection effect of a bride and groom at the altar by holding it in front of my lens when I shoot weddings - people love it.
- Greg McCroskery
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New Photo Discussion 10: Girl in Tutu
I currently shoot with a Canon Rebel ti and Canon 85mm f1.8 lens. I am wanting to know what kind of lens I need to shoot those adorable shots of hands, eyes, feet, etc., for both adults and kids. Also, some info on lighting these would be helpful as well. Thanks!!
- Ladonna Woolsey
Response 1:Any lens with a macro setting or a long fixed or zoom lens (180mm plus) will work. I like to use ambient light best for these, so I can shoot from every angle with impunity.
- Vik Orenstein
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Photographing Children
Studio Lighting Technique
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New Photo Discussion 11: Ti Leaves, Hawaii
Each and every photo of yours is amazing and very beautiful. You have told that some of the photos are handcoloured, but I could not make out as to which part is handcoloured. It will be great if you just give a brief as to what you have hand coloured. Thank you.
- Lokesh s
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Response 1:Lokesh, thank you very much for your kind words about my images. In this image, I've handcolored everything. The sky is with pastel pencils, and the green and orange leaves are colored with Prismacolor pencils. Often I handcolor the image transfers because I love handcoloring, and the transfers have a muted color, giving me plenty of opportunity to put my own colors into the image. This allows for a more subjective and less literal approach to my photography. Thanks for your interest.
- Kathleen T. Carr
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Polaroid Transfers
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New Photo Discussion 12: Omelet Making 101
LOL - can't wait to see what you do to the veggies! Very creative and well done!
- Bonnie Lackey
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Response 1:Fun shot. I hope you had a big apron ... nice stop action, William!
- Brinn MacDougall
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Response 2:Nicely done! I love it!
- Beverley Lu Latter
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Response 3:Thanks much, Bonnie, Brinn and Beverley Lu. If we don't have some fun with this stuff, what's the point? Bonnie, Brinn and Beverley Lu, huh? Sounds like a day for B's to me. Have fun, Bill
- William B. Myers
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New Photo Discussion 13: The Crab Shack, Georgia
I have a question here - this place faces east, and the setting sun really doesn't have much of an impact on anything except the small bits of sky you see. Do we need to wait to so long after sunset for these shots? Or could we do them earlier than if we were on the West Coast and still have the same effect? This is something I wonder about whenever I am in places like Savannah or St. Augustine, or facing east in the evening anywhere. I am often reluctant to take pictures facing east at sunset, because I don't feel that I can capture something dramatic in the sky. I really like this picture, so you have given me some inspiration. The Crab Shack is a good place to eat! You have caught it well!
- Karrel Buckingham
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Response 1:Good comments and observations, Karrel! We are looking at twilight blue in the sky - the point being that once the sun has set, and the sky takes on that nice soft bluish hue, the balance of artificial lights and sky light can be such that you get this effect. If there were still a sunset, that could be interesting too, but generally the light would be too intense for it to work well.
- Brenda Tharp
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Beyond the Postcard: Travel Photography
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New Photo Discussion 14: Spunker
Spunker
Taken at the Triple D workshop in California. 70-300mm lens, late morning. Spunker, a beautiful coyote howled right on que.
© Sharon Blakemore
Nikon F100 SLR Cam... |
Great shot. You captured him at a great moment. How was the workshop?
- Janice Forrest
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Response 1:Thanks again, Janice. It was pretty easy to get this shot. The trainer had everyone howling, and then Spunker would howl. The workshop was absolutely the best experience I've ever had. It was worth every dollar. I hope to go to the one in Montana sometime. You'll have to go to one - you can't help but get great shots.
- Sharon Blakemore
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New Photo Discussion 15: Woodland Bench
Beautiful image, Pat! Wonderful tone and a great composition!
- Evy Johansen
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Response 1:Thanks, Evy. I had to look for a composition that eliminated the grey sky, so I used the Redbud trees to fill the "sky" space. The only reason I was there in the rain was that I was shooting with my Arboretum photo class!
- Pat Borowicz
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New Photo Discussion 16: Backlight and Morning Mist
Breathtaking shot. Very well done!
- Lisa Clark
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Response 1:Hi Lisa: Thanks so much for your comments ... I'm pleased you like this photo!!
KerryThe "Story" Behind The Making of This Photo This concept for this image, by the way, actually began the afternoon before, when I scouted out potential silhouette scenes for an early-morning shoot. Then I put to use one of outdoor photography's two most valuable accessories: the alarm clock! The next morning, I dashed to my pre-determined spot and set up my gear. I expected silhouette subjects, but the mist was a pleasant bonus! Next, I experimented with camera position and with lenses - by zooming in, zooming out, and switching lenses - before settling on a "normal" 50mm focal length. I then carefully composed this scene. But the tricky thing here was the exposure; here's what I did: I filled my viewfinder with a middle-toned spot of the ground - an area that was actually outside the frame here but was in the sunlight (crucial, since I wanted good color and details in all the sunlit areas in the scene).I took a meter reading on the sunlit mid-tone, and locked in those settings.I then used that substitute reading for the scene shown here. The sunlit mid-tone settings ensured that the shadowed tree would turn out as a black silhouette and that the backlit leaves and other sunlit elements would show up well-exposed. Oh yes, the second most valuable accessory I used here? A tripod!!
- Kerry Drager
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Field Techniques
Course Extension
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The Next Step: Where to Go From Here
If you would like to be featured in PhotoFlash, we look for photo discussions that educate, inspire, and encourage BetterPhoto members. In the spirit of helping others become better photographers, we encourage you to share details, tips, and techniques in your discussions... after all, that is what BetterPhoto is all about - honest answers for budding photographers.
Until next time, thanks for reading and keep having fun with photography!
Jim Miotke
BetterPhoto.com, Inc.
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