Becky's Woodstock Photo Walk Photos

We had a great time on our photo walk, discussing technique, pointing out interesting shots, and working on our bokeh and shadows.

My bokeh photos.  Aperture was f/2.2, using my 85mm lens.

These two shots were using the same aperture (f/2.2).  The only difference is how close I was to my subject.  By getting closer to your subject, and having the background at a good distance away, you will create better bokeh.

My shadow pictures:

I increased the aperture for these two shots to f/5 to gain a larger depth of field.  Because the bridge is on one plane and I selected my focal point, (plus it was a distance), there is more clarity than the stone wall, which I was sitting on.

And one that is kind of like a shadow.

Looking forward to our next meeting, which has been pushed to Tuesday, July 8th at 6pm.  Keep practicing and posting!

Camera walk around Woodstock

 I can't decide which is a better example of shadow.

 Becky, showing us the way to photograph.

 I like the reflection in this one.  It was fun to rediscover taking photographs in late afternoon.

The only caption for this one could be "shadow. "

 I like the gradual change of green to yellow/green and being able to see the individual blades of  grass in the foreground. 

I look 10 feet tall!

Bedtime Shadows

My son, who was supposed to be sleeping, was instead quietly playing a very detailed army game in his bed last night.  I couldn't tell him to turn off his reading light because I wanted to run and get my camera! 

In order to see anything in the dark side of the specturm, my ISO was incredibly high (like 3200) but I decreased the noise in Lightroom after the fact.  Worth it.

Becky's Bokeh

I had a photo shoot in Massachusetts last week, and the location is absolutely gorgeous but can be a bit busy for portrait backgrounds.  For individual shots, I kept the f/stop lower than 3 and lower than 5 for both girls.

 The result is a sense of place and season, but no question as to what is the subject of my photograph and where my eye should focus.

I hope you ladies have been working on your bokeh this month, too!  Looking forward to seeing what you've done!  Don't forget to post and I'll see you next Tuesday the 24th for our photo walk in Woodstock!

Indoor Shadows

I was hired to take photos of this little boy to commemorate his 1st birthday.  His mother works at the Baker library at Dartmouth College (and she had her wedding photos taken there) so she asked if we could take some there indoors.  Normally I detest indoor photography, but what could I say?  I embraced the shadows that come from shooting indoors at 7:30 am.

The lighting (and metering) were challenging, but the location was so beautiful, I am happy with the result.  Happy I was able to go outside my comfort zone!

June 3rd Meeting Recap

Last night was the first night of the camera club's summer session, and Helen and I were pleased to spend the evening with Janice, who recently moved to the area from Florida.  Janice has some wonderful experiences (and Becky's dream lens!) and we are looking forward to having her contribute to the group.  Finnie and Christine were unable to join us, but hopefully all the new members will be able to go through the previous month's entries and posts to catch up with what the Artistree Camera Club has been up to and already covered.

If you need any help posting your photos, please let me know.  Really all you need to do is go to http://blogger.com and login to your account.  Once you are on blogger's main page, you will see Artistree Camera Club listed under the blogs you manage.  Just click on the orange square with a pencil to create a new post.  The toolbar is very simple to use for text, and simply click on the picture icon to insert a photo to the post.  If you click on the photo once it is uploaded, select the X-large size to have it displayed as large as possible, so we can all enjoy the smaller details of your shot.  Click on it again if you'd like to remove it.  Please leave comments below or email me at rubsomedirtblog@gmail.com if you have any questions at all!

For the month of June, we have two assignments: try to capture images with SHADOW and/or capture images with nice BOKEH.  Don't forget the tutorial on bokeh here and aperture here.  Digital Photography School is also a great place to start if you need some resources!

Looking forward to seeing you all at the photo walk on Tuesday, June 24th at 6 pm.  We are going to meet in front of the Norman Williams Library in Woodstock.  Hope to see you then!  Keep posting!

Lastly, the July meeting has been pushed back one week to Tuesday, July 8th at 6 pm.

Difficult Lighting And Metering

To achieve a classic portrait, you usually look for large areas of open, even shade, so your subject's face is exposed evenly without harsh shadows.  However, sometimes those conditions are not available (or undesirable), so you have to make the best of what you've got.  In those instances, it's best to understand metering well enough to expose your photo properly to achieve the desired effect.

Metering Modes (information found here)

Evaluative/Matrix Mode: 

Basically, in this mode the camera breaks your shot down into a grid, measures the brightness and darkness information, and finds the middle ground.  Many newer cameras take the focal points into extra account as well.  This would be completely acceptable in an evenly exposed photograph, where your lights and darks are consistent throughout the image.

Center-Weighted Mode: 

In center-weighted mode, the camera considers 75% of the frame, all in the very center, giving no importance to the corners of the shot.  This would be ideal in outdoor portraiture. With this mode, you would have to recompose the shot if you'd like to have it off-centered and still have the subject be correctly exposed. 

Partial & Spot Mode: 

This mode measures the light only from a very small area of the photo, usually less than 5% of the total area.  In many newer DSLRs, you can program where you would like the spot to measure (usually it follows where you focus).  It is the most effective in high contrast and backlit situations, where the light behind the subject is much brighter than the exposure of your subject.  It is also the best mode for silhouettes and lunar photography.

I choose to keep my camera on center-weighted all the time, mostly because of my work with portraits.  Consider what it is you photograph the most, and then take the time to consider which metering mode would make your work easier on both your camera and you!  Make your camera work for you!