Reminder

Anyone interested in continuing the Artistree Camera Club, please be sure to sign up with classes resume the first week in October!  Let's keep this awesome club going!

And Helen, the link to the Borrow Lenses website is here.

Keep posting photos as they inspire you for the rest of the summer!

Photographing Northern Lights

In the spirit of Helen's upcoming trip to Iceland, here are some tips I have found for photographing the Aurora Borealis.  I look very forward to seeing your photos from this trip, Helen!

So here are the tips I have found, in no particular order of importance:

1. Be willing to experiment!  The variables in this situation are always changing, so be ready to play around with your settings!

2.  Use a wide angle (so pull your lens in).  Zooming will move you closer to a 50mm shot, when you want your camera as wide open as possible (not just for your image, but also to allow as much light into the shot as possible).

3.  Experiment with your ISO to determine the highest ISO you can use without noticeable grain.  It may be 800, or even 400.  Be sure to use your wide angle when practicing.

4.  Use the lowest possible aperture (wide open eye of your camera) to allow the most light.

5.  Bring a tripod and have your shutter open for 15-30 seconds (depending on ambient light).  Use a remote shutter to eliminate handshake (or use timer).

6.  Don't shy away from including ambient light (a cityscape, car headlights), which can add a dramatic flair to your shot.

7. Wrap a towel or blanket around your camera if you're worried about the temperature.  Be sure to have extra batteries, because the cold can affect your battery's longevity.  Reintroduce your camera to warmth slowly to decrease the risk of condensation.

8.  Add interest and scale to your shot by adding something to your foreground.

9.  Be patient!

10.  Can you put your camera on manual focus?  Worried there will be nothing for the camera to focus on.  Is this the trip to make you invest in a "better" camera?

12.  Don't forget reflections, which can add so much to your photo!

For some unbelievable inspiration: http://digital-photography-school.com/11-awesome-aurora-images/

I am so unbelievably jealous!  Cannot wait to see what you come up with!

Sources:

http://digital-photography-school.com/photographing-the-aurora-borealis-%E2%80%93-ie-northern-lights/

http://digital-photography-school.com/an-introduction-to-photographing-the-northernsouthern-lights/

composition in Chicago

 My favorite:  a view from the ferris wheel.

 An interesting view of the Chicago skyline, taken from the ferris wheel.

 Frame the picture.  I had several of this scene, but I like that there is a frame on the top.

Choose a pathway.  Bright in the middle, but I think, you still want to investigate.

A Dirty Diptych

A diptych can be used to put two corresponding or polar opposite images side-by-side to tell a story or contrast ideas.  I like both of these images separately, but I like them best of all presented next to one another.

For other examples of diptychs and triptychs, click here.

Photo Walk Images

 These are my favorite shots from our photo walk last week. I'm so glad you sent us in this direction, Helen!

Composition and Perspective

Painting with my daughter.

Composition On The Farm

I took these photos before this month's meeting, but I just edited them so I think they count.  I wasn't consciously thinking about composition in the first one.  How could I have made it better?

 This one I was trying to use the leading lines to create a  more symmetrical shot.  A bit more successful, I think.

The barn is a great place to work on composition--the lines are endless and everywhere!

compostion

My best example of fluid path

Perspective: Dress made out of bread wrappers is interesting, but more interesting, I think, when there is an unusual perspective.

Balance: no pun intended, used the horizontal branch to keep the eye focused.  Otherwise it is just a pile of rocks.

Fill in the frame.  I find this one easy to do.

Rule of thirds:  Easy to understand, hard to do.  I must have taken 27 shots of these hay rolls, from all angles, at different times of day....this is the best of the bunch.

Red Barn Composition

I was struck by this barn at Murphy's Farm in Quechee, but since far away shots aren't my thing, I didn't quite know what to do with it.  I am not creative with composition when it comes to "things". I'm much more of a portrait person.  But I was intrigued by the symmetry of the barn (although I wish the truck and the kayaks weren't there).  What else could I have done?

And then I took a "selfie".

 

I like this one.

Interesting Article On Composition

Keeping our composition study in mind, this was an interesting article on using composition to improve your portraits.  Worth a read!

http://digital-photography-school.com/using-composition-create-powerful-portraits/