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...‎


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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.!

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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

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