PhotoWalking USA

Zoos are fascinating places, and I think Zoos are great locations to take a photowalk. They provide us with a great variety of subjects, both animals as well as people. Zoos also afford photographers a chance to get very close to wild animals for close up photography without a lot of equipment.

Tips for great photos at the Zoo

Early mornings and late afternoons are always best. Mid-day shots tend to be harsh and wash out the colors. Depending on the exact direction of the sun, it can shadow portions of the face, especially the eyes on many species. Early mornings and late afternoons are also the times of day when wildlife is most active resulting in opportunities to film the species in active modes.

With wildlife photography, when capturing images of single animals the face is the focal point. On the face, the eyes become the most important feature. They capture the expression of each individual.  Watch your framing. Whatever you are photographing should represent at least 80% of the picture. If you are attempting to do a head or face shot, zoom in until it fills most of the frame. If you are doing a whole body shot, make sure the feet or tail is not cut off.

Shoot the People. People make great subjects when at the zoo. Don’t just focus on the animals but look for the wonderful reactions of those around you as they react to the animals. Sometimes the people can be more animated than the animals as they mimic them.

And remember most of all have fun. Happy Shooting!

Today’s Digital cameras LCD screens are great for viewing our shots indoors or even in partial shade, but in direct sunlight, the harsh sun rays all but completely wash out our ability to review our work in the field. Meet the photowalkers newest best friend. The HoodLoupe from Hoodman. The HoodLoupe 3.0 Professional is worn around your neck just like a normal loupe. When it is time to review your shot; bring the HoodlLoupe up to your image and place your eye up to the eye cup for complete glare free viewing. The HoodLoupe has a +-3 diopter to accommodate those with less than perfect vision. HoodLoupe adjusts focus just like a binocular eye piece… you turn the eye piece in or out to set for your vision. Minimal magnification is used to eliminate visual pixilation of your image. Each Hoodloupe is encased in a user friendly rubber for comfort and protection from bumps that will occur throughout your shoot. Comfortable lanyard and compact protective storage case included. Fits up to 3.0 inch LCD screens. Now for the downside, it’s pricey at $79.99 but, in my opinion, it’s well worth it.

Tonight January 10th, will be the night to get out with that camera. The moon will be at it’s full perigee. Tonight’s moon will be the biggest and brightest one of 2009, it’s sure to wow even seasoned observers. Get out and take advantage of this great photo opportunity!

Are you tired of the same old tired looking snapshots of your friends and family? Give your photos a twist, or to be more accurate, give your photos a Dutch Tilt. A Dutch Tilt is a cinematic technique used to portray the uneasiness or tension in the subject being filmed. I personally think the Dutch Tilt offers much more to photos than it’s definition.  I think the Dutch Tilt can bring more interestingness to any photo.

So how do you go about creating a Dutch Tilt? It’s easy.. Normally you hold your camera even with the horizon, this is called  “Landscape Mode”.  If you turn your camera on it’s side, this is called “Portrait Mode”. Hold your camera at any angle in between, that’s a Dutch Tilt!

As humans, we are all too often compelled to follow the rules,  living each day within the lines of what is proper or expected.  Think about this, almost 99% of all photographs taken, are shot in landscape mode. Less than 1% of all photographs taken taken in portrait mode.  

Using a Dutch Tilt is breaking the rules of what is expected or ordinary. Photographs taken with a Dutch Tilt can add interest to almost any photo in the right situations. Dutch Tilt,  give it try…

October is one of the best times for a photowalk. October offers a window of opportunity for photographing fall colors at their peak.  The window for capturing dramatic and dynamic fall images, is short. Don’t put off taking that photo because fall is a time of change, and you think things will look the same tomorrow, but they wont.

Here are some basic tips for photographing in the fall.

Shoot early and late in the day. Try to shoot a half-hour before and after sunrise or sunset. The colors will be noticeably richer, the shadows deeper, textures and forms stronger. Early morning is one of the best times to capture the color of fall reflected in a pond or lake as the water is usually still and the light is coming in at a low angle.

Shoot right after a rain storm. The light is usually more dramatic, and wet leaves, structures, and even roads take on more vibrant, intense color tones.

Shoot from all angles. Move around to find the most dramatic composition.  A few steps can make the difference. Experiment.

Look for contrasting colors. Include visually opposing colors in your photo for dramatic contrasts and more intense color. A bright orange tree will look even brighter when photographed next to a green evergreen.

Try using a warm polarizer filter when you’re shooting colorful red and orange trees. Another option is to increase your cameras saturation settings to produce vivid punchy colors, consult your camera’s manual to see if you have the ability to boost the saturation settings. You’ll be sure to be please with the results.

October is a wonderful time of the year for photographs. Be sure and get out and shoot.

This labor day weekend I had a great photowalk event at the Old Sacramento Gold Rush Festival. This was a photowalking opportunity I couldn’t pass up. More than 200 tons of dirt was dumped on the streets of Old Sacramento as the annual festival “turns back the clock,” transforming Sacramento’s historic district into a scene straight out of the 1850s. Complete with Costumed re-enactors, Wild West gun fights, musicians playing period instruments, and many aspects of life during the Gold Rush era.

Here a couple of shots from the event.

Yesterday we talked about the Fill Flash Technique, as a useful tool in tricky lighting conditions. Today well talk about another technique called Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB).

So what exactly is Auto Exposure Bracketing? Autobracketing is a feature found on more advanced cameras, mostly, DSLR cameras, but I have seen Autobracketing starting to show up even in some of the high-end point and shoots.

Simply put, AEB is where the camera will automatically take several successive shots (usually a series of three) with slightly different exposure settings. Depending on your cameras AEB settings, the difference between each of the autobracketed shots could be anywhere up to two stops in each direction, in half-stop or one-third stop increments.

The reason you do this is because the camera might have been deceived by the light (too much or too little) available and your main subject may be over- or under-exposed. By taking three differently exposed shots, you are making sure that if this were ever the case, then you would have properly compensated for it.

As an example, say you are taking a scene where there is an abundance of light around your main subject (for example, at the beach on a sunny day, or surrounded by snow). In this case, using Weighted-Average metering, your camera might be ‘deceived’ by the abundance of light and expose for it by closing down the aperture and/or using a faster shuter speed, with the result that the main subject might be under-exposed. By taking an extra shot at a slight over-exposure, you would in fact be over-exposing the surroundings, but properly exposing the main subject.

Anytime your photographing a subject with tricky lighting or lots of variation between bright and darker areas. Anytime you feel the scene is a challenging one (too much highlights or shadows).  For example, sunrise/sunsets are usually better taken slightly under-exposed so using Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB) here is a great idea.

To sum things up, be sure and use AEB whenever you want to be sure you don’t improperly expose a fabulous shot that you may not get the chance to go back and take again. Use AEB whenever you want to be absolutely sure you have the best exposure possible.

As good as today’s cameras are, they still have their weaknesses and occasionally still need a helping hand from us to pull off a properly exposed shot. Especially when it comes to certain lighting conditions. These problems usually happen when your shot is in contrasting lighting conditions. Usually it’s when a shot contains a strong light source in the background.

Take a look at the example below:

You can see the cameras Auto Mode, incorrectly exposed this picture because of the strong light coming through the background. The cameras AutoMode thought that the scene had enough light. As you can clearly see the main subject was badly under exposed, almost dark enough to produce a silhouette.

Obviously the issue with this shot is that there is just not enough light from the front of the subject, to light up the subject with the shutter speed selected by the camera.

The Solution

While there are a number of possible solutions to this problem,one of the easiest is to override the camera and force it to shoot with a flash. This is commonly referred to as the Fill Flash Technique. Fill Flash is used to supplement existing light in a scene – it’s generally not the primary light source, but fills in light where natural light doesn’t go. Here’s that same shot with a fill flash:

In addition to helping with backlit subjects fill flash helps in more subtle ways also by helping to eliminate shadows cast by facial features (under eyes, noses, chins) or under hats – especially when light is shining down from above. It also could be used to add a special little sparkle to the eye of the person you’re photographing. Producing those lovely catch highlights.

Most of todays cameras have built-in support for Fill Flash. In most cameras, there’s problably a little button, with a picture of a lightning bolt (flash) on or near it. But be sure and check your camera’s owners manual on how to activate your cameras Fill Flash mode.

I get asked this question all the time. Which lens to buy for photo-walking? I don’t normally give away trade secrets, but here it is.. It’s model number 56-67850..Wait.. I’m of course kidding. 

The correct answer of course, is it depends on the type of photowalk your embarking on. If your photowalk is taking you through lots of beautiful vistas and landscapes, a nice wide angle lens would be ideal. On the other hand,  If your photowalk is taking place in more of a urban setting,  then, maybe a longer tele-zoom would suit you better.

For me, I’ve gotten in the habit of carrying  2 main lens with me on all photowalks. I carry a 24-105mm f/4, and a 70-200mm f/2.8. I find that these two lens are usually more than ample to cover most shooting situations.

Even if you don’t own a DSLR, most of today’s point and shoot cameras are outfitted with great general purpose lens. My little Canon G9 is outfitted with a 35-210mm lens, which is perfect for photowalking.  Remember, photowalking is about the experience, not how expensive you gear is.

So get out and photowalk this weekend!

If you have a question on photowalking or photography, or would just like to suggest a topic for us to cover, be sure and drop us a line. You can email us at: photowalkinglife@gmail.com

Today’s cameras provide fast, reliable, auto focus systems (AF). Most modern cameras are now equipped with multi-point AF sensors that do a great job provide quick high-speed tracking for our subjects.

As great as the technology is, it can’t read your mind. Even the most advance auto focus system cannot determine your photographic intentions. With subjects at various distances from the camera, a multi-point AF system will often focus on the nearest reliable target. Undoubtedly there will be times the cameras auto focus will focus on the wrong subject, giving you less than desirable results.

Instead of relying on your cameras auto focus to make decisions for you. Why not break away from the point-and-shoot approach, and tell the camera exactly where you want the focus.

Most cameras today, that offer multi-point AF, allow you to manually select which focus point to use to ensure focus on your intended subject, and give your photos the results you want.

I recommend setting your camera to use a single focus point. In my opinion, using the method of Focus and Compose, is the most effective method of getting accurate shots.

To use this method, simply set your cameras AF to only use the center focus point. The rest is strictly technique. When taking a picture, position the camera’s center AF point directly on the subject you wish to be focused on, then activate your cameras AF Lock by pressing the shutter button down halfway. Once your cameras signals you a focus lock, (usually a audio beep or the center AF point in the view finder will light up). Continue to hold the shutter down halfway, then recompose your shot.

We’ve all seen those fantastic portraits were the models eyes just draw you in. In these type of portrait shots, we generally want to focus on the eyes. This
effect can rarely be achieved in a point-and-shoot mode with multi-point AF.

Using the Focus and Recompose Method, we simply place the center AF point directly on the subjects eyes, lock the focus, and recompose, once composed, take the shot.

This will take some practice, but the results are well worth it.