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New Post has been published on http://blog.jannews.net/2015/02/one-quiet-moment-215/

One Quiet Moment

The greatest part of our happinessdepends on our dispositions, not our circumstances. – Martha Washington

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New Post has been published on http://blog.jannews.net/2015/02/terrible/

Terrible ..

D’ya know, a man could get a complex! Following on from the recent ‘Sh*t’ email I received, I read this in the comments book of my exhibition on Saturday. I was at ‘Made in Eccles’ at The People’s History Museum with some of my pals. I had to bribe them with booze to get them to come into Manchester, of course, but come in they did, and – despite the tears – a good time was had

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New Post has been published on http://blog.jannews.net/2015/02/how-to-take-better-action-photos/

How to Take Better Action Photos

There are many sports photographers. We generally hear about those who specialize in a specific genre of sports photography like motorsport, tennis, golf, or surfing.

If you are just starting out and want to gain some experience and build a portfolio, what can you do to take better action shots?

What separates a true sports photographer from an amateur?

A sports photographer will get the shot they want as they see it, of the action they need to report on, every time. Their ability to pick the correct exposure, composition, focus, and amount of blur in the background comes down to their knowledge and understanding of the elements covered below.

Know your equipment

Your camera, whether it is an entry level or top of the line DLSR, has the ability to take amazing action shots.

You need to take control of your camera so that you get the results that you want from it when you push the button. You will need to adjust the way your camera focuses, allow continuous focus tracking, set the focus point on your camera to be focusing on the right spot, and set your camera to take multiple frames per second. Controlling the shutter speed and aperture so that you can blur the background or freeze action, allowing you to get the shot you envisage.

Understand your sport

Before you even pick up your camera, you really need to understand the sport that you want to capture. You need to know where the action is happening, and when it’s likely to happen. You will also need to know what will make your pictures amazing in the eye of the competitor, or their sponsor, (your customers).

With motorsports, for example, it may be a spot on the track where accidents happen or a corner that will show the skill level of the driver. You need to know which part of the racetrack the drivers use, and which angle would suit that section of track.

In understanding drag racing, I know that the moment the driver puts his foot down on the green light, the car will lurch forward and the front wheels will lift like this by using a fast shutter speed I have been able to freeze this action.

With surfing, it may be which wave in a set will deliver the best surfing and allow the rider to get the most out of the wave. You must be able to pick out which are the good surfers and which are the amazing surfers, just by seeing how they interact with the waves, how long they will stay up, and if they are doing tricks.

In short, you need to be aware of what is going on where the action is. This allows you to plan your photo so that you can adjust the composition to suit.

Compelling composition

I personally prefer an action shot where the athlete has space to travel into, making sure that he/she is the main focus of the image. With this in mind, picking the correct focus point so that objective is achieved may mean not using the centre focus point. By using a different length lens you can change your composition without having to move to another location. Longer lenses can get you too close to the action, which sometimes means you may miss what is happening around the athlete – so experiment with a few different focal lengths.

In this image I have used the right most focus point and given the rider room to “ride into” by panning and blurring the background. Thus, I have been able to make the rider stand apart from the crowd.

Make what’s important stand out

By setting your composition, you can then decide if you need to blur the background or make it part of the drama in the shot. You can do this by controlling the shutter speed; slowing it down to blur, speeding it up to freeze, panning with your subject, or by using a large aperture lens and shallow depth of field to blur the background.

Why blur the background at all?

Generally, you need to blur the background to separate the athlete or the subject from the background; ideally, they are the main focus of the shot. With spectator sports, the spectators in the photo may distract the viewer of the photo. By making them out of focus or blurring them with a panning motion, you make the athlete stand out.

By using a small number aperture I have been able to separate the rider from the crowd.

If you are going to use panning to blur the background, make sure that you have a focal point in the shot that is sharp. That spot needs to be the pivotal place in the photo. If it is an athlete for example, you usually need to make sure their face is sharp. With motorsports it could be one of the sponsor’s logos or the racing number, but could easily be the driver’s helmet. This is important as without one thing in sharp focis, it tends to be more of an abstract art piece than an action shot. As artistic as these blurry pans are, if the sponsors can’t see their logos or the competitors can’t see their faces, you may have a tough time selling the pictures.

Aperture priority versus shutter priority mode

With this in mind, you need to make a decision to either use aperture priority and a large aperture to blur the background, or shutter priority mode and slow down the shutter speed and pan to blur the background. If you are looking to do slow shutter speed panning, make sure you have taken enough sharp frozen images of the event before you practice this. At least that way you will have some images for your portfolio.

Now that you have your camera settings sorted, you need to anticipate when the action is going to happen. This would also include following the path of the athletes as they pass you. If you have set the shutter speed and picked your composition, you lastly need to use tracking focus.

Using continuous focus

Start focusing on your subject BEFORE they are in the right spot for the composition, and continue to keep tracking them after the shot. More unexpected action may happen after, so it’s best to be prepared to photograph it. Knowing how your camera will act, and react, when you push the button with shutter lag (the time between pushing the button and the picture being taken) and multiple frames per second, you can start to follow your subject well before you intend to take the picture. But be ready to shoot at any moment’s notice as the action happens.

By continuing to shoot after “the shot” I caught the car hitting the ground and the sparks flying even though this was happening quite fast I didn’t use burst mode, instead I took every frame.

Burst mode

If you have the luxury of multiple frames per second, and lots of memory cards to fill, you could follow and just continuously shoot, then cull the images you don’t like. Memory cards are cheap, but is it the best use of your time? Both while at the event and after the event?

Photograph the whole event, not just one aspect

When you are going to an event to take pictures, plan it. Make sure you are aware of where you can stand and how that will affect your pictures. Change your locations to get a mixture of angles. Change your focal length to get a mixture of wide and long shots. Change your shutter speeds to get a mixture of freezing action and blurring the background.

By using a mixture of vantage spots, you can get some very different angles of the same event.

Step by step checklist:

Make sure the camera is set to: Multiple frames per second (as high as it can be), continuous focus, the correct shutter speed or aperture setting

Set up your shot compositionally by using different focus points

Track your target for as long as you can before you take the picture

Keep tracking your subject after you have taken the shot, as there may be more action

Use the multiple burst modes sparingly – be decisive about what you want and take one or two shots either side

So what are you waiting for? Get out your manual, make the changes to your settings and take a few risks (with the settings of course) and push yourself to take better action photos.

‘s photography journey started in the late 1990’s when he bought a film camera and started motor sport in the mid 2000’s, published in various car magazines. He enjoyed capturing a mixture of the cars, and people. Contracting to an event company doing school formals, he worked on posing and getting people on side quickly. Building on the above he started No Green Square, teaching you how to get the best out of your camera.

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The post How to Take Better Action Photos by Michael Coppola appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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New Post has been published on http://blog.jannews.net/2015/02/remember-youre-never-too-old/

Remember!! You're Never Too Old!!

Whole new way at looking at “aging” isn’t it!!!

Hope your new week is off to a great start!! Enjoy!!

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New Post has been published on http://blog.jannews.net/2015/02/i-finished-a-project-i-was-doing-for-myself-its-a-site-with-100-portraits-that-i-like-very-much/

I finished a project I was doing for myself. It's a site with 100 portraits that I like very much.

http://kirktucksportraits.blogspot.com

http://kirktucksportraits.blogspot.com

I always feel like my portfolios are jumbled and mixed. I wanted to create a site full of portraits that showed some of my range but more importantly some sort of cohesiveness. To that end I started sifting through hundreds and hundreds of portraits I’ve shot to find the ones that I liked to look at.

It’s a good

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New Post has been published on http://blog.jannews.net/2015/02/our-world-tuesday-for-the-birds/

Our World Tuesday: For the Birds

 This white egret was playing hide-and-seek with me and dad last week at the park.  Eventually, he stepped off the boardwalk and slipped into the grass and went off-the-grid incognito for a few minutes.

 This brown pelican wasn’t much worried about who was coming or going that day.  He just sat and sat and sat and sat in the sunshine some more.  So did these two.

This little girl couldn’t move them from their relaxation stations, though she tried as she might.  Her grandfather waited about as patiently as the birds as the little girl ran back and forth between the birds.

  It just went like that for a while as dad and I watched from the car to see who would move off first.  Eventually, the pelican slipped into the water.

On the way out, we spied this seagull making the most of the warmth of the parking lot.   The birds were fearless, acclimatized–and making the most of human inventions as they enjoyed the sunshine of a beautiful winter’s day.

Our World Tuesday

www.sandycarlson.net

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New Post has been published on http://blog.jannews.net/2015/02/using-the-lightroom-adjustment-brush-to-add-dimension-to-a-landscape-photo/

Using the Lightroom Adjustment Brush to add Dimension to a Landscape Photo

Lightroom has the power to completely transform your landscape photograph into something far more powerful, something that hits home with viewers, and something that pops off the screen.

By default digital cameras create flatter image files than what you see with your eye. Your eye has the ability to see dimensions like no camera can really capture. Although many try.

What is Dimension?

The definition of dimension is: an aspect or feature of a situation, problem, or thing. When utilizing the word dimension in your photograph, think of the features of specific locations and objects within the frame. As an example, in the photo you will see here, there are multiple layers of dimension to play with. There’s the sky, the water, the rocks, the buildings, the grass, and the shed. Each has its own uniqueness to it, and can and should be treated as such.

The Adjustment Brush Tool

Like the other local adjustment tools in Lightroom, the adjustment brush tool has the ability to fine tune specific parts of a photograph. Using the tool can create new dimensions you would never have otherwise seen from a camera rendition. Your eye, however, most likely did see the dimensions.

Where to find the Lightroom brush tool

You can see in the first photo that it’s a really cool lighthouse scene, but there is something drastically gone wrong. The photo is super flat. That is because it was a very rainy day with tons of fog everywhere, and mist from the water constantly hitting the camera.

To use the Lightroom Adjustment Brush, open a photo in the Develop module, then select the brush icon at the top right, just under the Histogram (the keyboard shortcut is K).

Once selected, a variety of local adjustments will appear. From there you have a wide range of options that you can make on a very specific section of your photo. For example, sharpness, exposure, or even brushing on a new color.

The first thing you should know before starting with the Adjustment Brush is that Lightroom keeps your last settings whenever adding a new brush. To zero out the settings simply double click on the word Effect.

Also, the Auto Mask feature is very smart. Think of it like a content aware brush. Simply put, it looks at the cross hairs inside of your brush and will try to stay “within the lines” and not brush on what doesn’t match up. This is fantastic for edges. However, the Auto Mask feature uses more Lightroom performance, so you may notice a slow down. My workflow is to fill in big spaces and then turn on Auto Mask when I need it.

As you are brushing in areas, hit the O key on your keyword to see a red mask of where you have brushed (hit Shift+O to cycle through the available mask colors).

Hit the O key to view the current mask in a red overlay

I started brushing the middle section of the photo with more contrast, and reduced highlights and shadows. This broke through the haze and enhanced the greens enough to where I like it.

I then made another brush by clicking on New in the brush panel. This one was to bring down the extreme highlights of the house and lighthouse. I brought it down just enough so it’s still white, but doesn’t blend in with the sky, which is also very white.

Then came a third brush, which was for the rocks. I wanted to make sure they popped out more than anything else. I didn’t want them to just have contrast, so I also used the clarity slider. Clarity will enhance a lot of edge detail, which is awesome on rocks.

Add clarity to select objects using the Adjustment Brush

Now that the grass, the structures and the rocks all have different dimensions of contrast, clarity and light, it is time to play with the color dimension. So I created another brush with a hint of transparent blue to the water. This adds more life to the boring gray tone it had previously.

I then did the same with the sky, but with less transparency due to the whiteness of the sky already. Adding a hint of color the white sky helps separate the house and lighthouse from the background even more.

The last brush I added to the photo was on the roof of the house. The intention there was to recover the red color subtly, so it doesn’t take away from the rest of the photo. So I increased the contrast, dropped the exposure slightly and added a hit more red to the roof.

Add color to specific areas using the Lightroom brush

At the end of the day, the photo has multiple layers of dimension. It’s no longer flat, and notone section has the same feel as the rest. Using the brush feature in Lightroom I was able to not only recover color and contrast, but add even more texture and life to the scene.

Think of the Adjustment Brush tool like layers in Photoshop or onOne Software. There are no actual layers but rather brush points which can be adjusted individually.

Below is a video showing what I’ve done with this photograph.

There is a lot more that can be done, like sharpness, noise reduction and even changing color temperature and tinting for specific areas in a photo. But what I have shared here is a handful of what you are capable of doing within your favorite photography workflow software, Lightroom.

I’d love to see some photos you have processed using Lightroom Adjustment Brush tool. Please comment to share with the dPS community.

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The post Using the Lightroom Adjustment Brush to add Dimension to a Landscape Photo by Scott Wyden Kivowitz appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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New Post has been published on http://blog.jannews.net/2015/02/writers-favorite-wildlife-lens-tamron-150-600mm/

Writer’s Favorite Wildlife Lens – Tamron 150-600mm

Writer Bruce Wunderlich with Tamron 150-600mm on his Nikon D7100 in Le Claire, Iowa. Photo by: J. Todd Poling

One of my favorite subjects to photograph is wildlife. In the past, great wildlife images were very difficult for me to shoot because my close presence usually meant disturbing the wild creature I had my eye on. I began looking for a longer lens with plenty of reach that wasn’t going to break my piggy bank. So, after much patient and thorough research, I purchased the Tamron 150-600mm SP F/5-6.3 Di VC USD zoom lens for my Nikon D7100.

The reach of this lens gave me some great results right out of the box, but I will have to admit that it takes some practice to photograph moving subjects, such as birds in flight, with this lens. Tamron 150-600mm does have some limitations, but one thing you will find with any telephoto lens is that no matter how much you have, you will always want more.

Technical Specifications:

Focal length: 150-600mm (equivalent to 225-900mm on a cropped sensor)

Maximum aperture: f/5- f/6.3

Available mounts: Nikon, Canon and Sony

Minimum focus distance: 8.86′ (2.7 m)

Weight: 4.3 lb (1.95 kg)

Compared to Prime lens

Of course, this lens I purchased doesn’t match the quality of a prime lens like the Nikon 6oomm f/4. But besides costing around $ 8000 less then the Nikon lens, it has a few other advantages over its prime equivalent. Besides the heftier price tag, the Nikon prime weighs in at over 11 pounds compared to just over 4 pounds  (1.95 kg) for the Tamron. Unless you are a body builder, hand-holding the prime for an extended period of time is nearly impossible. The Tamron 150-600mm can easily be hand-held, though I recommend using a Gimbal head on your tripod for smoother panning. While the Nikon Prime is a fixed 600mm focal length, the Tamron zooms from 150-600mm, great for those opportunities when you unexpectly get very close to the wildlife, and you can quickly adjust and zoom back.

Be Prepared

The best way to get great wildlife images is to always be prepared. This lens is small enough that I leave it on my camera all the time in my camera bag, so if I happen onto a sudden wildlife encounter I don’t lose time switching out my original lens to the Tamron and miss the opportunity to get the image.

Eagle Shoot in Iowa

Recently, I had the opportunity to take a road trip with friends to Le Claire, Iowa, to photograph bald eagles on the Mississippi River. This was the perfect chance for me to put my Tamron 150-600mm to good use. Here are a few of my favorite images captured with the Tamron on the trip.

Flying into the Sunset Focal length: 600mm, 1/1000th of second, f/6.3, ISO 400

Focal length 360mm, 1/2500th of a second, f/6.3, ISO 1000 in aperture priority mode.

Sweet Spot

From 150-450 mm, images shot with this lens are really sharp. From 450-600 mm, the results are a little softer, but in most cases it still captures very useable images. In good light the autofocus performs quickly and accurately, while in low light it is some what slower. But for the price, this is a very nice lens.

Image of the eagle on left was captured at 600mm and image on right was captured at 450mm. Image on right has a little more detail in the feathers.

Focal length: 600mm, 1/800th of a second, f/6.3, ISO 320

This juvenile bald eagle was captured in bright midday light. Focal length: 450mm, 1/1000th of a second, f/6.3, ISO 320

 Conclusion

In my opinion, if you are in the market for a versatile wildlife lens and are on a budget, the Tamron 150-600mm would be a very good choice. I’ve been pleased with the wildlife images I’ve captured with mine, and am looking forward to getting even better ones with practice. That’s why it’s my favorite wildlife lens.

What is your favorite wildlife lens?

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The post Writer’s Favorite Wildlife Lens – Tamron 150-600mm by Bruce Wunderlich appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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New Post has been published on http://blog.jannews.net/2015/02/how-to-overcome-self-criticism-in-street-photography/

How to Overcome Self-Criticism in Street Photography

Stockholm, 2014

I think in photography it is good to have some self-criticism. If you want to be the best photographer you possibly can, you want to be more discerning about your images. You want to produce better work. You want to see the extent of your limits.

But every once in a while we get a lot of these voices in our head that tells you that you’re stupid, you’re dumb, you’re untalented, nobody loves you, and that you will die and nobody will care.

They often call this voice “the mammoth” or what Seth Godin calls the “lizard brain” – that prehistoric part of your brain which self-criticizes you and puts fear into your mind (which prevents you from creating great work).

To be a photographer (especially a street photographer) is scary. Others are constantly judging you when you’re shooting on the streets. Some people might think that you’re weird, some might think you’re inconsiderate, and some might outright think that you’re an asshole.

However on top of that, if you add more self-criticism to yourself, sometimes you can become paralyzed and not want to do anything at all.

So my suggestion when it comes to self-criticism and that voice in your head that tells you that your photos suck and that you’re useless? Tell that part of the brain to shut the hell up, and simply ignore it.

The reason why we self-criticize ourselves is because we don’t want to be negatively judged by others. If we are able to stop ourselves before doing something “stupid” or foolish– we can save ourselves a lot of potential “embarrassment.”

So for example when it comes to photography, you might think that all your photos suck and that none of them are perfect. This striving of perfectionism can get in the way of you actually creating any work.

No work is ever perfect. Far from it.

But you need to really ignore the negative self-talk in your mind to create anything of meaning.

So what are some practical ways to overcome self-criticism? Here are some ideas:

1. Realize it happens to everybody

Sometimes when we get excessive negative self-criticism inside of our heads, we beat ourselves up. We think that it only happens to us – and therefore we feel sad and alone.

However even the best artists in the world have gotten paralyzed from their negative self-criticism. But the way they endure is by constantly pushing forward– and by continuously producing new work.

2. Don’t strive to be a perfectionist

I think that perfectionism is a disease that is often more self-destructive than helpful. While it is true that so many great things have been created by obsessive perfectionists (think Steve Jobs) – I think it generally brings more misery and is hurtful to creativity.

I think if you try to make everything perfect, you will end up never publishing anything or creating anything– because it will never be “good enough.”

Think about that one friend who has an idea for a novel and has been wanting to write it for years. But they want it to be so perfect that they never start (or they never finish and constantly re-write it).

In psychology, they call people who try to become perfectionists as “maximizers.” Maximizers try to get the best possible option at all times– but that often leads to dissatisfaction in life.

On the other hand, “satisficers” aim to do things “good enough” – and generally tend to be happier in life and satisfied.

Generally people have a genetic disposition towards being a “maximizer” or “satisficer” – meaning it is hard to force yourself one way or the other. And at the end of the day, neither one of these personality types are “better.”

However if you are constantly self-critical, depressed, and have a hard time making decisions– perhaps you should try to be more of a “satisficer” – and aim to do “good enough” and just finish things.

I have a personal rule: try to get something about 80% good and publish it. I personally feel better publishing something that isn’t perfect (than not publishing anything at all). This can apply to photography projects, writing, and any other creative pursuits you have.

3. Don’t compare yourself to anybody

I think another way to overcome self-criticism is to not compare you to anybody else.

If you are constantly measuring the ability of your photography to others, you will always be disappointed.

So rather than trying to be the best photographer in the world, strive to be the best photographer you possibly can. Shoot for your “inner scorecard” and don’t let anything else bother you.

I also recommend reading the book: “Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity”

Conclusion

At the end of the day, having some level of self-criticism is necessary to help you become a better editor of your own work.

But the point at which self-criticism becomes dangerous is when you become so hypercritical that you don’t get any work done.

Try to find a balance between the both– but at the end of the day, don’t be so critical of yourself.

Unless you are making a full-time living from shooting street photography, you are probably doing it because it is your passion. It makes you feel alive. It makes you happy. It makes you excited.

After you die, honestly– nobody will really care about your photos. Even all of the famous photographers in history will sooner or later fade into obscurity.

So don’t produce work in trying to create some sort of legacy. Don’t try to make it into the photography history books. Aim to please yourself while you’re still alive– and shoot and live life to the fullest.

Other articles on Criticism

Please Tell Me My Photos Suck (And How I Can Improve)

On Criticism and Street Photography

How to Deal with Negative Criticism

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New Post has been published on http://blog.jannews.net/2015/02/streettogs-academy-no-9/

Streettogs Academy No. 9

Here we go with another assignment over at streettogs academy. Cheers to Harry Fodor for bagging the editor’s choice for Assignment no. 8.

In his email to me, he gave a pretty nice explanation/rationale on why he chose his theme. He made a good observation of what the group is doing and I think it is a great way to continuously challenge ourselves.

In Harry’s words:

Well, what’s my idea for the next assignment? Hmm, last assignments themes were all about interactions, interactions between people (7th “Opposites”, 3rd “Foreigners” ) or interactions between people and the environment (last one, 6th “Directions”, 4th “Strong Light”) or themes about emotions (5th “Fear”, 2nd “Friendship”). Only the first one (“Square”) was about “technical” aspects – so, why not doing something like a “rhetorical loop“ and going back to the beginning?

Yup. Classic good old way of shooting street. Nothing against color shooters but this maybe a nice way to give it a go. This will be a bit technical challenge that I hope everyone would be open to try.

Here are the additional stipulations just for this assignment only:

1) All black and white photos only (film or digital)

2) No HDR, Sepia tone, color toning, and most especially color isolation

3) Be mindful of how you post process your black and white images especially those converting in color

4) Make sure your images still have a mood or story

For an assignment like this, I encourage everyone to look at the world in black and white. If you are using EVF, enable it to show black and white images and for those with SLRs or no EVFs, shoot in RAW + JPEG and review your images already in black and white. For the BW film guys and gals out there, you keep at it! My film biases aside, look for the scenes that lend itself well in black and white. Aim for something surreal and use the strengths of shooting in black and white in whipping out the mood of a scene.

Here are the mechanics:

Upload your photos interpreting the theme on the designated assignment album in the facebook page

No words and captions, just your name, and place where you took the photo.

On the comment on your own photo, post a link to your site (flickr, tumblr, webpage etc.) so that your photo would easily appear on the group’s feed. (Please do it only once)

Feel free to use film, digital, instant film (polaroid/instax), mobile phones, etc. Any Camera will do

Keep the file appropriate for web viewing (at least 72 dpi), no need for hi-resolution.

Other things to know:

We encourage you to shoot during the duration of the 2 weeks instead of raiding your archives.

It should go without saying but please post photos that you own.

This assignment will run from Feb 24 to Mar. 10,  2015

Don’t hesitate to ask questions or clarifications in the group page.

Be open to learning, get up to the challenge, and of course have fun doing it!

At the end of the 2 weeks we will have an editor’s choice picked by Eric and myself and community’s choice which garners the most reactions from the community through likes and comments. We will feature the selections on a post here on the blog. The Winner of the editor’s choice, gets to pick the theme for the next assignment!

If you want additional info about the Streettogs Academy, check my introductory post here

For those who want join the group and take on the assignments, Click Here to head on to the Streettogs Academy Facebook Page

Cheers!

- A.g.

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New Post has been published on http://blog.jannews.net/2015/02/thoughts-samsung-nx500-2/

Thoughts: Samsung NX500

Samsung announced earlier this month that they’ll be releasing a new compact interchangeable-lens camera called the NX500. Internally it’s the same camera as the NX1, which is pretty highly regarded with a 28-megapixel APS-C sized sensor that is back-side illuminated. It also can record 4K video.

As you may know, I’ve owned two Samsung NX cameras: the NX200 and the NX210. They were both good cameras, but ultimately I decided that the low-ISO image quality wasn’t quite what I was after (it was close) and the high-ISO capabilities were not quite good enough to make up for that. After using them for awhile, I thought if Samsung could make the image quality just a little better that they’d really have an excellent product (I moved on to some other cameras).

So the NX1 comes out and it has improved low-ISO image quality and significantly improved high-ISO capabilities. They made some other improvements, too. It’s an all-around better camera than the two that I used to own. But it’s also a bit bulky and has a $ 1,500 price tag.

I’m not exactly sure what the differences are between the NX1 and the NX500, other than the NX1 is capable of 15 frames-per-second and the NX500 is capable of nine. Oh, the NX500 doesn’t have a built-in electronic viewfinder (this will be a deal-breaker for some, and completely unimportant to others). Just quickly looking over the data sheets on both there wasn’t a whole lot else to differentiate between the two cameras.

The two biggest differences are size-and-weight and cost. The NX500 is significantly smaller and lighter and will run you $ 500 less. The NX500 sure sounds like the better bargain to me.

Honestly, I think (and I’m saying this having never used the camera) that this new generation of Samsung NX cameras are every bit as good as those by Nikon, Canon and Sony, and perhaps even better. Samsung is making a push to be the best, and only time will tell if they succeed commercially.

[nicenfunny]

New Post has been published on http://blog.jannews.net/2015/02/walking-downtown-on-the-last-day-before-the-big-freeze-and-i-saw-these-birds-at-twilight-then-they-vanished-and-the-light-soaked-in-for-the-evening/

Walking downtown on the last day before the big freeze and I saw these birds at twilight. Then they vanished and the light soaked in for the evening.

I have a tiny suspicion that the lens I used, the Nikon 24-85mm f3.5 to 4.5, has just a pinch of vignetting when it’s used near its widest aperture….. Just a suspicion.

[nicenfunny]

New Post has been published on http://blog.jannews.net/2015/02/new-camera/

New camera

One day without a pocket camera was one too many. I went out and bought another; a little Sony like the last one. This one is the DSC-WX350.

By the time I got it home and set up, it was too dark to take it for a run outside, so I took a few trial shots into the aquarium.

Red algae, a shred of sea lettuce, and the little blue anemone.

Hairy hermit.

Juvenile leafy hornmouth, bearing three very tiny baby blue anemones. 

One of the miniature orange hermits, on eelgrass.

So far, so good. It’s about the same size as the one it replaces, but with better zoom. In this first test, it gives me good colour; difficult through algae-coated glass. It’s fast, so it stops even walking hermits in their tracks. Unfortunately, the photos are noisy, and focussing is iffy on tiny things. But I do like its speed.

I won’t be using it for my critters, though. The real test will be tomorrow: skies, stuff, buildings, roadsides, people.

[nicenfunny]

New Post has been published on http://blog.jannews.net/2015/02/the-race-for-bigger-cameras-been-there-done-that-redoing-it/

The race for bigger cameras. Been there, done that, redoing it.

Image from Leaf A7i file.

Many of the more recent arrivals here at the Visual Science Lab like to give me advice like: Try a full frame camera! Or, You should learn how to shoot with a view camera! Or, The pros all use three fast, f2.8 zoom lenses for all their work! You might want to try out the 70-200mm!!! Or, You should get your hands on a medium format digital camera and try it out!!!

[nicenfunny]

New Post has been published on http://blog.jannews.net/2015/02/our-world-37/

Our World

Ah, time does fly and particularly when you’re having a great time!!  And, things are wonderful here in Portland lately!! Beautiful, mild weather, blue skies, the kids are all doing well and so is this old broad — uh, that’s me, just in case you didn’t know!!!  Here are some sights from winter and the coming spring!! Wishing all of you a very wonderful new week with lots of love and laughter and fun – camera in hand, of course!!

A heart in love with beauty never grows old.        – Turkish Proverb  Do remember this one, it is SO true!!

[nicenfunny]

New Post has been published on http://blog.jannews.net/2015/02/tripod/

Tripod ..

Tripod: n: A meeting of photographers, usually involving alcohol and pulling stupid faces in front of signs.

So, Saturday afternoon and I’m out boozing with a tripod of photographers. What does the conversation turn to? Work! Of course! Work! Work and lack of it, work and low fees, work and late payers.. etc., etc., .. you get the picture! Moan, moan, moan! Oh, not from me, of course!

[nicenfunny]

New Post has been published on http://blog.jannews.net/2015/02/renae-in-the-leather-chair-at-the-old-studio-an-exercise-in-lighting-and-expression/

Renae in the leather chair at the old studio. An exercise in lighting and expression.

Renae and I set out to make this photograph because we were experimenting with a bunch of different black and white looks for an upcoming annual report for which we were preparing. We would be photographing different business people in different locations and the two constants would be the lighting design and the chair.

When we are gearing up for a large project I tend to test out a number of different options well before the shooting dates so we know what we’re aiming for at the outset.

It always seems to me that getting the relationship between the subject and the background is the hardest part of any portrait shoot. If the background is too de-focused it begins to look detached from the person; almost as if the person had been dropped into a second image of a backdrop.

The design aspect that gives me the most pleasure is the balance of lights and darks through a frame.

The final piece of the puzzle with this project was the printing and toning of the image. I used a Portragon under the enlarging lens to partially blur the corners of the image and to reduce overall contrast throughout the image. It’s lost technology now (for the most part) because the Portragon depends on the optical process of enlarging to impart its look.

I marvel at how clear and uncluttered our shooting intentions were at the time and the amount of craft we tried to bring to bear…

©2013 and beyond. Kirk Tuck. Please do not re-post without full attribution. Please use the Amazon Links on the site to help me finance this site. See my work at www.kirktuck.com