Travel Photography Tips and Techniques |  |
- Travel Photography Tips and Techniques
- Celestial Night Sky Timelapse Photography Over Michigan
- Interesting Photo of the Day: Spring Castle – Hirosaki, Japan
- Creative Portrait Project with Shattered Glass Fragments
| Travel Photography Tips and Techniques Posted: 27 May 2013 04:35 PM PDT With travel photography you want to convey not only the sites and scenes you have seen but also the feelings and emotions associated with the locations. The unexpected is always around the corner when you travel and with some careful preparation and a keen photographic eye you can produce some memorable results.  “Burj Dubai” captured by Lensamson (Click Image to See More From Lensamson) Good travel photography starts at home or the office before you leave for the airport and weeks in advance of your trip. Here’s how capture great travel images. 1. Research before you leavePurchase the best travel guide you can afford and find out everything about the locations you will be visiting. Find out about the natural beauty, tourist sites and the culture. Look at the images in the guides and see what the important areas are and what you need to record. Learn about local transportation and distances as well as timing to reach the areas you want to visit. Learn about the culture and find out what you can photograph and what is taboo, what the dress codes are and any local laws or rules. Buy a phrase book and learn some of the key phrases to communicate when photographing. You will be amazed at how this will open doors for you. 2. Prepare a checklistEssential for any photographer is a checklist of everything you will need for the trip, photographically as well as you normal travel needs. Check that all your gear is covered by insurance and that it is up to date. Take proof that you purchased your equipment at home and not abroad so you don’t get landed with customs duty on your return. 3. Avoid clichesDon’t return with all of the images that are in the guide books which everyone has seen. Use new angles and try get to viewpoints that are not traditionally used for photos. Leave the tourist path and get away from the bus. If you can afford it, hire a private guide to take you off the beaten track.  “looking glass” captured by Micah Dravland (Click Image to See More From Micah Dravland) 4. Photograph local lifeLocal life in foreign countries is rich with sights and scenes that are brand new to you. You’ll often find that you will experience your photography much more by getting to know the local folk and seeing just what their daily life is like. By capturing the essence of their lives and homes you will experience the journey and capture memories that are unique and far more interesting. 5. Make yourself the subjectAs the photographer you probably find that in all aspects of your life there are few images of you in front of the camera. So go out of your way to include yourself in photos while touring. Ask a travel companion, a guide or another tourist to take photos of you experiencing the local life. With digital you can see immediately the results of their work and whether you’ll need to reshoot it. 6. Take portraitsBy respecting the local culture and as I mentioned learning a few of the most important phrases most locals will allow you to shoot their portraits. When photographing them close-ups are great and reveal character and the beauty of people you aren’t familiar with. But, this is the time to photograph portraits of people within their environments so shoot fewer head and shoulders and more with some of the background. Use wide angle lenses more often for great shots. 7. Shoot candidsWith a longer lens and the ability to stay in the background and keep your distance you are able to photography people without them knowing. Unposed photos have people behaving totally naturally in their environments without the pressure to pose. The key here is to remain unobserved. Reveal yourself only once you have your shots. Look for opportunities that will reflect the local culture and people naturally.  “In the Million Insect Storm, the Constellations Form” captured by Thomas Hawk (Click to See More) 8. Look for detailBy getting in closer and photographing the traditional clothes and jewellery you will see details in the colour and styles. Look for details in the architecture, transport and local costumes that reveal something more than a traditional shot. A macro or telephoto is great for this type of shot. 9. Tell a storyBy shooting a series of shots at a location you will be able to tell a story of the life of the local people. How they dress, work, have fun and where they live and relax. Select a theme or shoot at a market and try to think about the end result and how you will tell friends and family about your trip in just pictures. Maybe shoot a day in the life of a local you have befriended from morning till bedtime. 10. Take lots of photosWork out how many images you think you should shoot and then double it. And then double it again. You can never take too many images. This may be the only opportunity for you to see this country and rather edit later than lose the memories by shooting too little. Not every picture will be perfect but it will be a memory. You are not just looking to create perfect photos but also great memories. Digital film is inexpensive so take lots of memory cards with you.  “Manhattan Tourists” captured by Ray Devlin (Click Image to See More From Ray Devlin) Travel is often a once in a lifetime opportunity for many people so go well prepared and come back with memories that will last a lifetime. Happy shooting! About the Author: Go to full article: Travel Photography Tips and Techniques |
| Celestial Night Sky Timelapse Photography Over Michigan Posted: 27 May 2013 03:36 PM PDT One would think to see the Aurora Borealis you would have to travel to Alaska, Norway, or some other remote destination that is nearly impossible to get to. For most people Michigan wouldn’t be the first place they’d think of to see the majestic northern lights; however, in the spring of 2012, videographer Shawn Malone captured the celestial dance over the upper Michigan peninsula. It took Malone over a year to complete the timelapse video you see below, which also happened to be his first attempt at timelapse imagery (for those reading this by email, the timelapse can be seen here): In order to capture the night’s grandeur, Shawn used Canon 5D Mark II and 5D Mark III bodies coupled with various wide angle lenses. In the end, the result was over 10,000 still photo frames that were edited together to create 33 different scenes of the night sky event. The recent advancements in high ISO technology on the DSLR market undoubtedly helped Shawn is to capture such high quality time-lapse video.
For Further Training on Time-lapse Photography:There is a COMPLETE guide (146 pages) to shooting, processing and rendering time-lapses using a dslr camera. It can be found here: Time-lapse Photography Guide Go to full article: Celestial Night Sky Timelapse Photography Over Michigan |
| Interesting Photo of the Day: Spring Castle – Hirosaki, Japan Posted: 27 May 2013 03:18 PM PDT Today’s featured photograph gives us a blossoming spring day in Japan, as the country’s iconic cherry trees explode into full bloom surrounding Hirosaki Castle, an Edo-period hilltop structure dating from 1611 AD. The delicate pink flowers are reflected in the cloudy sky, tinting the normally white castle walls to match their hue. All the elements surround and gravitate inwards by the use of a bowing ultra-wide angle, drawing the eye in a cyclical motion towards the magnificent building at the picture’s core.  Spring blooms at Hirosaki Castle in Aomori, Japan. (Click to view full size, Imgur) This image circulated through social media and imgur was reportedly created by Australian artist Glenn Waters, a Getty Images photographer who has lived in Japan for over 25 years. It was captured on a Nikon D700, likely with a Nikon 14-24mm lens. As evidenced by the large depth of field, it uses a very small aperture - possibly f/16 or f/22 – and a very low ISO to achieve the fine detail and rich, popping colours with which it captures the essence and beauty of its timeless piece of the world. Go to full article: Interesting Photo of the Day: Spring Castle – Hirosaki, Japan |
| Creative Portrait Project with Shattered Glass Fragments Posted: 27 May 2013 01:42 PM PDT The plight of foster children is a heart-wrenching one, and one that photographer Rob Woodcox takes very much to heart. In this video from Jakob Skogheim, Woodcox strives to capture those feelings through the power of photographic images. Using shards of glass, he photographs his model among shredded and fractured light being shot in hundreds of different directions, bounced from one place to the next, each fragment unable to represent the model as a whole (for those of you reading this by email, the video can be seen here): The result is a beautiful set of highly surreal images, with the bright strobes creating fantastic light patterns on the background, model, and even as it flares off the lens’ surface. The possibilities that arise with incorporating reflective and refractive elements into your photography multiplies exponentially when you consider the myriad ways that light can react to different combinations of light-bending objects. When working with children and broken glass, Woodcox takes every safety precaution; notice how he and all his assistants are wearing long pants and close-toed shoes. Experimentation is a wonderful thing, but it’s important never to be careless, especially when the safety of others is in your hands.  Mirrors Reflecting Light The images were created by gluing pieces of broken mirror to a black backdrop, then suspending others on strings, hanging from the ceiling. For added interest, he dangles a few very small shards from a stick, right in front of his lens – the incredibly soft focus on such nearby objects creates the same illumination with a softer, less defined object, enhancing the confetti-esque look and bringing the explosive motion directly towards the viewer. Wilcox uses a Canon camera with what appears to be a simple 50mm f/1.4 lens. The depth of field allows for a certain amount of selective focus, with the aperture likely sitting around f/5.6. Though he tries a few different lighting setups, he places the strobes predominantly to the side of the model, creating dramatic shadows across her face.
The post processing, as he mentions, he quite straightforward – spot removal of the suspending strings along with basic levels and curves gives the photographs a rich and natural feel to an otherwise very abstract set of images. This shoot was arranged as part of Wilcox’s charitable project, “Stories Worth Telling“, with which he raises money to help send children to summer camps and mentoring groups. Through this organization he hopes to make life a little easier for the forgotten children whose stories so desperately need to be told. Go to full article: Creative Portrait Project with Shattered Glass Fragments |
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