We all got something photo-related for Christmas, right? My good fortune was some new inks for the Epson R1900, a book by Moose Peterson, and a few other doodads. But, today I thought it might be fun to find out what others found under their tree over the weekend? Anything off the 25 for $50 lists? (Remember, I put together Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 here in the weeks leading up to the holidays?)
Sound off in the comments with your own newfound items!
Over the weekend I was down in Tucson, spending some time with the in-laws, and during the getaway, had a chance to catch up on some overdue reading in my monthly magazine stack (it has been growing steadily lately as other stuff has gotten in the way. I emerged from my readings with several “Eureka!’s” and “What a great idea!” so, figured to pass on the new-found or re-kindled knowledge here on the blog. (In the spirit of giving and all that…) So, without further ado, here’s a new feature on the blog:
Did You Know…?
1. Fog is about 1 stop brighter than what cameras detect as 18% gray? To compensate for shots taken in foggy conditions, adjust your exposure settings up by about 1/2 – 1 1/2 stops to compensate, otherwise you’ll get underexposed shots.
2. Cameras are designed for right-handed people…the ergonomics are made to grip and adjust controls with your right hand. Left-handed shooters have it twice as hard as the rest of us so double kudos to you!
3. Pentax was actually the first camera vendor slated to release a full-frame DSLR camera, not Canon or Nikon!
4. As you move light away from your subject, the output drops off by a factor of almost 2 to 1? (It’s actually technically “double the distance, 3/4ths the output…) Which means if you move your subject away, you need twice as much light at double the distance to equal the same output…
5. To shoot a picture of the moon, use the Moony 11 Rule, just like the Sunny 16, but use f/11 and match the ISO to shutter speed
And since I was in Tucson this past weekend, here’s a couple holiday photos to tickle your funny bone…Christmas Tucson-Style:
Got your own DYK tips or photo nuggets? Share ’em here on the blog. I’ll likely start doing this as a monthly feature and would love to hear the ideas, tips and tricks that others have to share as well. In the meantime, keep on shooting, and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!
After some serious burning of the night oil, I’ve got the last Newsletter of the year ready for release – if you want to get it, the push goes out at 10:30am eastern time. This means subscribers will also get a sneak peak of the final 5 items on the 25 for $50 gift guide list for 2010. That final list will be released here on the blog tomorrow with full photos and write-ups of each, so if you miss the newsletter, be sure to stop in on Wed. for that.
The final podcast for 2010 is recorded and in the gates, ready to be run on Thursday too, so this is going to be a week with lots of multimedia and distributions for everyone to download and enjoy as we head into the holiday season. On that note, I’ll be enjoying the rest of this week off (so no blog post on Friday), and hopefully get the rest of my own family and friends shopping completed in short order. What is it – ten shopping days left? If you’ve not started yet, time’s a wastin!
And, oh yeah, one last item to note…Lightroom has had it’s latest update to 3.3, and Camera Raw (for CS5 users) to 6.5! You can grab the downloads here for Lightroom, and on the Raw Converter the downloads are Windows and Mac specific.
So, on that note, I am going to let the powers of scheduled posts and media distribution do their work while I catch up on a few Z’s and other things! I will check in periodically for comments, questions, and other feedback items, but for the rest of the week, this baby’s on auto-pilot! Happy shooting, and we’ll see you next week…..unless of course anyone has any questionszzzzzzzzzzzzzzz?
Start thinking about plans for 2011. Typically, you want to be planning months ahead of time for the business world. Whether you are a professional photographer for events such as weddings, a stock photographer or a portrait photographer, or even just a hobbyist. Here are some tips to planning ahead for the holidays and beyond! Continue reading “It’s Not Too Early to…”
Last night I got the bug to try something I’d seen before – the classic Christmas-y look with a score of music and a shallow depth of field. It was straightforward enough and after putting a piece of sheet music on the piano, and trying it that way, wasn’t getting the drop off in depth-of -field as I had hoped for. So, I took a different approach and put the music sheet flat on a table, knowing the dof would drop off that way, with the foreground out of focus and receding off in the background too.
So, the second one came out okay, but the plain background of the table didn’t really work all that well…it needed something else – Christmas lights! So, I got an extra garland that wasn’t used in the house and threw that down, encircling the paper. But something was still missing…a little color. What goes with green and white? Red! Enter a blanket strategically placed underneath it all to add a touch of color. So, took a few shots, and liked it, but the shadows seemed kind of muted, and the lights were getting a little blown out. Hmmm…could I be dreaming of an HDR Christmas?
The fact that the little star burst off the one light happened was purely incidental, but I think helped the overall composition. How about the reading audience? What are your thoughts? Does it work? Need something else? What about your own holiday-themed work? Feel free to share thoughts, feedback, samples and such in the comments!
In other Friday news, CB now has a Facebook fan page, so if you get a minute – stop by the Facebook page and sign up. I’ll be sharing more photos, tips, tricks, and such there in the weeks to come as well, and you won’t know unless you’re a “fan”! For those of you getting your news from the feed, the direct link to the Facebook page is here.
Don’t forget, the December Giveaway is also still underway – over $400 of super cool prizes including software, books, prints, and papers! Just a cornucopia of prizes, all waiting to be given away for free! Just enter your photo at the Flickr thread: December Giveaway. The theme this month is GIVING. Interpret however you like and good luck to all. The rest of the contest details are here.
That’s about it for this Friday – have a great weekend everyone! Going on a sunrise shoot in the mountains tomorrow wit the Meetup group here in Denver, so it is going to be an early riser for me tomorrow. Start time of 4am! More on that next week! Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here on Monday!
Yup, I talk about 3 different types of cards that make for cool holiday gifts this year for the photographer you know. That, along with online photo contests, the nomination announcement for the Top 8 of 2008 blogs/podcasts are now open, and of course, listener questions. I do have to apologize for the audio quality as I had to record it on the fly using the MBP in my car! Not too shabby after putting it all together, but not the greatest either. Continue reading “Can cards be cool Christmas candy?”
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