Buy, Swap and Sell !

Just a short blog today for you Facebook fans! For sometime now, I have been following a Facebook page with the grandious title of "Camera Gear, Buy, Swap and Sell - Australia". It truly is amazing what some people dig up that they no longer use! I have seen everything from 10x8's and 120 cameras - right through to straps, memory cards, filters of all descriptions - in fact, you name it someone has one to sell. You can also swap gear with fellow photography fools - or you may be after something in particular, you can see if anyone out there in Facebook land has one for sale. The site seems to be well monitored by the moderators, they take no rubbish from anyone!
I had a recent experience with the purchase of a camera and had no problems what so ever, the lady was prompt, courteous, and the camera was as advertised. One is usually loathed to recommend anything on the internet - but this one seems like a winner and is certainly worth keeping an eye on. You never know what you might buy!!!

Here is the link to the page -

https://www.facebook.com/.../Camera-Gear-Buy-Swap-and-Sell/1787352...‎


PBC

Beautiful Moving Water Photography

Ever wondered how they got those photos of waterfalls and running jungle streams to have that astonishing "smooth" water effect? Well wonder no more - the answer is that the photographer has used a neutral density filter. These filters come in a variety of types, from the, for example 2-9 stop variable neutral density filter - which are adjustable from two stops darker, right through to nine stops darker,  to the Cokin type square filters that attach via a frame on the front of the lens. In fact, depending on where you are photographing, a polariser can even be used to shut that annoying light out of your lens!

Variable ND Filter

Cokin filters and frame

In order to get the "soft" water look in your photo, the lens must be opened for what would be considered a long time in order for the water to "move". Of course, doing this in daylight would result in a very over exposed and primarily white image. The trick is to darken up the image, by filtering the light entering the lens, therefore allowing the lens to remain open longer. We are only talking 1 to 5 seconds here, and setting your camera to aperture priority makes life a tad easier, as you only have to adjust your shutter speed. 

Slow shutter speed

5 secs - Neutral Density Filter

If you don't have a variable neutral density filter - using a combination of both a polariser and a Cokin filter will give you similar results. Of course photographing a stream or waterfall in a darkish location (like a rain forest) will certainly help filter out harsh sunlight and give you a nice result. Remember, that a lot of this type of photography is practice - trial and error for want of a better expression.!

PBC

Small product photography using continuous lighting

Not everyone has the luxury of having a speedlight, let alone studio flashes available. Product photography, particularly smaller products, can easily be photographed using nothing more than bright continuous light. The lights don't necessarily have to be professional quality studio lights, as long the light is consistent and bright! A very simple white background (or black) can be put together with some cardboard pieces, paper and clamps.
Camera settings are pretty straight forward - Aperture Priority, F8 with an ISO of 100. These are just starting points, and obviously experimentation is the key to finding out how your particular products photograph in front of the lights that you are using. However, depending on the power of your lights, it might be advisable to put the camera on a tripod if the shutter speed drops under 1/60th. Exposure compensation may be used here, to brighten up the background and help get than bright white background. Consult you camera manual to see how this is done, it is well worth the effort. Use of a black background not only gives the product a different look, it removes shadowing if that is a problem.It is also much easier to do!
Click on this link to a very early Gavin Hoey video and see how easy it is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM4zca0NH9M&feature=player_detailpage

PBC

The Amazing Ice Light

The "Ice Light" is a fantastic versitile portable light used in still and moving photography. The Westcott Ice Light is a dimmable, 5,200-5,400K LED source. The first thing is that it resembles a 20.25" baton or perhaps wand is more appropriate given the soft light magic that the Ice Light conjures. Hold it as close as you want to your subject; the closer you get the more Ice Light's wrap-around quality of light becomes evident. Since it's virtually heat-free you never have to worry about injuring the talent or damaging the set. The following video gives a general run down on how it works. 

The Power comes from a built-in battery that will run for 60 minutes on a 2.5 hour charge. And at 100-240V AC, you can charge it anywhere there's electricity. There's a 1/4"-20 tap at each end to mount the Ice Light to a light stand or other accessory. The Ice Light comes with gel clips, battery power/charger cord and carry case with shoulder and belt straps. It is quite costly, around $500 Australian dollars but if you have that as spare change, it is well worth the purchase as there are so many uses for it. 

The light produces soft daylight balance and can be used indoor or out.  The light can even be used in the shot itself as the following image shows. 

Photo by: Jerry Ghionis

There are also stands that the lights can be attached to. 

Photo by: Andrew Funderburg

The light can even be used for a painting with light effect. This is very useful for interior situations with low lighting conditions. Also, those arty type of photographers would enjoy using this to paint with light at locations such as warehouses, abandoned buildings and street scenes. It can be combined with other lighting equipment such as torches and various led lighting systems. 

Photo by: The Westcott Team

So if you are looking for a piece of equipment to add to your kit that is portable and easy to use, then maybe a Ice Light is just for you. 

Photo by: Jim Schmelzer 

 BMW

Portraiture using Tilt Shift lens effect

Whenever I think or hear of tilt shift lens, I always picture those quirky cityscapes with miniature people looking like something out of a Lego movie.  

Image from: bloggs74.com

Recently I read an article where the tilt shift lens effect can be used with portraits.  I thought "That's a little extreme in depth of filed blur" however I was extremely surprised when I saw the results. The following image is a beautiful example of just how this effect can be used well.

Article by Trevor Dayley from: fstoppers

Then I thought well...it might work well with a portrait incorporated in a landscape but would it work in the studio environment? 

Image by: Brittany Mclaren.blogspot.com.au

Well it certainly does.  These images taken by Brittany Mclaren show just how the tilt shift lens can be used in many situations even studio portraits. More examples can be seen on her blog. I think the key is to not over use the effect resulting in 90% of the image being blurry.  It's important to ensure that the main area of your subject, such as the eyes and most of the face is sharp.  It is easy to loose the viewers attention if they don't know what to focus on. The following image shows extreme tilt shift effect.  The artist took this image specifically showing an extreme effect. 

Image from: The Keh Camera Blog

Ok...so it is a nice effect with portraits but what if you don't have a tilt shift lens?  Not all is lost. A few years ago there were many step needed to create a tilt shift lens effect however, Photoshop CS 6 now has tilt shift lens effect in the Blur filter section. It is a fantastic tool and not too complicated to use.  The following article gives a step by step lesson on how it is done. 

http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/miniature-tilt-shift-cs6/

Is it really east to use?  Well I tired it out on a portrait I took some time ago and it was much easier than I thought.  I am really enjoying this effect and will be using more often. Have a go...it's well worth the effort. 

 Photo by :Billie-Maree Ward

BMW

Super Sharp Splash Photography

Achieving crystal sharp images of splashing water using standard strobe is difficult if not impossible.  The camera needs to capture the water at super fast speeds and this can not be done with shutter speed alone as standard strobes only work at speeds 1/250 second or slower.  If you use this system, the results are passable if you don't need to enlarge the image or you are doing something a bit arty. The following image was shot using standard strobe at 1/250 of a second.  

Photo: Billie-Maree Ward

The secret to high speed photography techniques is using a very short duration of  flash – as short as 1/40,000th of a second. If everything else in the room is dark, the light emitted from the flash effectively becomes your camera’s shutter speed, making it perfect for capturing motion. Canon has a range of speed lights that will achieve good results with smaller set ups but what if you wanted to photograph people in action?  Then you need larger lights that have the capability to pulse light at very high speeds.  

Photo: Alex Koloskov

Which strobes have the shortest flash duration?  There are a few brands out there however the 'Broncolor' Strobe are known to produce remarkable results such as 1/8000 of a second but certainly at a price.  A short tech write up on these flashes at http://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/how-to-use-flash-to-capture-razor-sharp-water-splash-photos/

Photographer Iain Crawford creates incredible images using high speed flashes. The following image is just an example of such work.

Photo: Iain Crawford: http://iaincrawford.com

This technique is also used by photographer Jaroslav Wieczorkiewicz who photographs liquid separately and then morphs the images together to create works of art.

Photo: Jaroslav Wieczorkiewicz

As you know, water and electricity is not very safe so be very careful in the studio.  Have all equipment well covered and waterproofed.   The following video shows how the Broncolor is used in the studio.  Note: there are cheaper strobes out there that will work for you.  I have just used Broncolor as an example to show how well the technique works. 

http://youtu.be/LhLGEuWfnZk

BMW

Refraction (refection) Photography in Glassware

Refraction photography is not simply scientific photos of science experiments but when some artistic flare and forethought it used, it is a great way to pass a nice day out in the field.  When I first started on my photography journey, one of the first assignments I ever shot was the reflection of Flinders street station in Melbourne through a wine glass filled with water. I remember feeling a little foolish placing my wine glass at different locations and filling it with water.  I certainly got a few strange looks and often people coming up to me asking what I was doing.  I wish I still had that image (which was shot on negative by the way) to post here but the following image will give you a bit of an idea as to what I mean by refraction or reflection photography using glassware.   

http://alexicirelli.wordpress.com/2011/04/

The key to creating successful images is to ensure you have a nice clear bright day.  You will need plenty of light to get a clear image in the water of the glass. Pick locations which are reasonably open (in saying this I would like to experiment with street scenes) to start with. 

Image by David Rigg - Fine art America

To make the experiment a little easier at first, simple fill the frame with the glass at first.  Make sure you turn the camera focus to manual and focus on the image in the glass, not the glass itself. I like to use an aperture of around f f8 as I like to have the background blurred a little so that the focus is on the image in the glass. As with anything photography, experiment and see what you come up with.


http://www.aaanything.net

As you become more experienced, try sunsets, people, famous landmarks (if you can get to them) or anything you think will work.  Use your creativity and see what is successful or not.  This is often how some great techniques have been discovered.  Just give it a try. 
BMW