Friday, May 25, 2012
Metal Prints | Another Great Option for Display of Photographic Art
Another great "frameless" option for showing and displaying nature and landscape photography is the metal print. In this video I show my most recent addition, "Supermoon Over Harbor Town," as a 24"x36" metal print that is float mounted to stand-off from the wall about one inch. This particular print will be on display for a short while at Jump and Phil's, a popular restaurant here on Hilton Head Island.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Spring Nature Photography is Best in the Rain
Bad weather is the nature photographer's best friend, especially during spring. Well maybe not real bad weather, but just enough rain and mist to make landscapes, close-ups and macro subjects saturated with soft light that falls on and off the subject versus the harsh directness and hard shadows resulting from direct sunlight. This was one of the more important lessons I was teaching and demonstrating during the field workshop I presented the weekend of May 11 - 13 2012 in Hocking Hills State Park, Ohio.
I traveled back up to my Ohio home - from Hilton Head Island, S.C. - for the opportunity to share my passion for both nature photography and the beauty of Hocking Hills with an enthusiastic group of 19 workshop participants. About half the group had also attended a similar workshop I presented last October, also at The Inn at Cedar Falls in Hocking Hills. I am very thankful for their support and once again reaffirming my love of teaching photography.
On Sunday my group was welcomed by a slow, steady rain. With a supply of shower caps (effective and inexpensive way of protecting cameras) we ventured down to Cedar Falls.
On the Monday morning following the workshop I had just a couple of hours to get out on the trail by myself before the long drive back to South Carolina. I was glad I did because Hocking Hills always delivers with a variety of beautiful subjects. It truly is the place where there is an almost seamless connection between subject and photographer.
I traveled back up to my Ohio home - from Hilton Head Island, S.C. - for the opportunity to share my passion for both nature photography and the beauty of Hocking Hills with an enthusiastic group of 19 workshop participants. About half the group had also attended a similar workshop I presented last October, also at The Inn at Cedar Falls in Hocking Hills. I am very thankful for their support and once again reaffirming my love of teaching photography.
On Sunday my group was welcomed by a slow, steady rain. With a supply of shower caps (effective and inexpensive way of protecting cameras) we ventured down to Cedar Falls.
On the Monday morning following the workshop I had just a couple of hours to get out on the trail by myself before the long drive back to South Carolina. I was glad I did because Hocking Hills always delivers with a variety of beautiful subjects. It truly is the place where there is an almost seamless connection between subject and photographer.
Saturday, May 05, 2012
Last Minute Tips for Photographing Tonight's Supermoon
In addition to posting and tweeting links to my January video tutorial on how to photograph the Moon, I've also been answering several emails asking for additional advice regarding tonight's "super moon." The following is the most recent of one of my replies. The one thing that I think is causing some confusion are the news articles regarding the "time" of the super moon. News clips are saying somewhere around midnight. While that might be the time when it will appear brightest and highest in the sky it is by far NOT the best time to photograph it.
Thanks for your email. I'm hoping for clearing skies tonight as well. I recommend photographing the Moon just after it rises above the horizon, preferable over water if you can. This way you will have the added element of an attractive reflection. This is when it will appear largest and not so overwhelmingly bright that you won't be able to manage proper exposure while including interesting foreground elements. At midnight the Moon will be directly overhead, a bit smaller and extremely bright. The only possible foreground elements would be tree branches but they would be darkly silhouetted.
You will want to use your longest focal length possible, which in your case is 250mm. Spot meter the Moon rather than evaluative metering of most of the frame. I would recommend an ISO setting of somewhere between 200 and 400 and open your aperture wide, such as 4.0 or 5.6. This will most likely provide a shutter speed of somewhere around 1/125 or 1/250 seconds. The more you magnify a sky object with a telephoto lens the faster the object will appear to move through your frame. The good news is that a full Moon is usually so bright - and you can adjust your ISO as you shoot - to the point where you keep your subject sharp and retain detail. Bracket your images, meaning a few frames over and underexposed as well as even exposure. Most likely you will find that your underexposed images will be your keepers.
Most all have fun and move around a bit for creative angles with foreground elements. The best images of the Moon tonight are going to be those captured between 8:00 and 8:30 PM.
Best of luck,
Thanks for your email. I'm hoping for clearing skies tonight as well. I recommend photographing the Moon just after it rises above the horizon, preferable over water if you can. This way you will have the added element of an attractive reflection. This is when it will appear largest and not so overwhelmingly bright that you won't be able to manage proper exposure while including interesting foreground elements. At midnight the Moon will be directly overhead, a bit smaller and extremely bright. The only possible foreground elements would be tree branches but they would be darkly silhouetted.
You will want to use your longest focal length possible, which in your case is 250mm. Spot meter the Moon rather than evaluative metering of most of the frame. I would recommend an ISO setting of somewhere between 200 and 400 and open your aperture wide, such as 4.0 or 5.6. This will most likely provide a shutter speed of somewhere around 1/125 or 1/250 seconds. The more you magnify a sky object with a telephoto lens the faster the object will appear to move through your frame. The good news is that a full Moon is usually so bright - and you can adjust your ISO as you shoot - to the point where you keep your subject sharp and retain detail. Bracket your images, meaning a few frames over and underexposed as well as even exposure. Most likely you will find that your underexposed images will be your keepers.
Most all have fun and move around a bit for creative angles with foreground elements. The best images of the Moon tonight are going to be those captured between 8:00 and 8:30 PM.
Best of luck,
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