The Genesis Connection
A Newsletter for Through the Lens Photography Club
December 2013 Edition
This Month's Meeting: December 10th at 7:00 PM Gateway Church of the Nazarene
Merry Christmas, everyone!
Tis the Season of Lights (and bokeh!)
Photographer of the Month
Ted Harger
Two years ago, Ted Harger and wife Mechele realized they both share a passion for photography. They both have a gift of seeing God's creation through photography and are quick to capture the beauty of God's creation on "film". Like everyone, Ted gets a bit frustrated with trying to figure out his camera, but the two of them have each other for help and encouragement. What an amazing opportunity for a husband and wife to share. The number one thing Ted and Mechele love to do together is motorcycle riding. They make sure to incorporate their passion for riding with their passion for photography. They always take their cameras with them whenever they go out on a riding adventure. Both are like kids in a candy store after going out and taking photos together; they can't wait to get back home and look at them. On days when Mechele has a paid photo shoot, Ted is always there to be her "backup guy." Ted (along with Mechele) has been a member of Through the Lens Photography Club since its inception in 2011. I have grown to love and appreciate both of them through the club, and I thank God for our friendship which has grown because of our common bond of photography.
Ideas to Inspire You
Lens Lessons: Photography Tips & Tricks
How to Photograph Christmas Lights
Last month I started a series of articles on portrait photography, but I hope you will allow me to divert from that plan for just this month. Because we are in the "season of lights", I want to share some pointers on how to photograph Christmas lights. I will pick up the portrait articles once again in January.
- Taking pictures during dusk will often get you a lovely atmosphere shimmering with vibrant background colors — from grays and blues to pinks and reds.
- Plus, the background will still be slightly visible, adding textural contrast instead of that swarming sea of black beside the Christmas lights.
- Photos taken during the brighter part of the day won't show the Christmas lights very well unless the day is very dark. Experiment a little with when you take the pictures.
Fill your frame. Make sure your picture includes everything interesting and noteworthy that you can possibly fit in. Don't take a picture of a single, lit home far away and leave most of your picture wanting a subject. Fill your frame and your photos will instantly look more professional.
Include the sky. This is an important part of getting in more light and making the whole composition appear more interesting. Be especially alert to moody skies with layers of expressive clouds. Skies can provide truly effective backgrounds that set off the lights in a magical way.
- Be patient; you may need to take quite a few photos before the sky and lights appear "just right" together. As a rule of thumb, take a lot of pictures. In the digital age, it's probably best to take too many pictures than not enough.
- At the same time, don't let the sky steal the show. You're setting off to photograph Christmas lights, right? Make them the main attraction. Don't get so caught up in the sky that you forget what you were trying to take a picture of in the first place.
- Other objects such as trees, lampposts, buildings, and landmarks may also improve the composition of your pictures. Check around for the best overall appearance.
Prevent movement as much as possible. Use a tripod or lean on something solid such as a wall or fence to stabilize the camera. This will give you the best photo result.
- Time shutter release can also work effectively to prevent blurring, as can using shutter release cables. Couple these two techniques with a tripod for best results.
Set the camera settings to get the best photos. Your camera's settings have a profound effect on the style of your pictures. Don't just take pictures without thinking about what your camera is doing.
- Take pictures without the flash. You won't be able to get a very good image with flash in near- or total darkness.
- Have the ISO at 800 or over (this is because you can't use flash). If you want a lower ISO, try 200 ISO with an aperture of f/4 and an exposure of a 1/4 second. For this setting, you may not even need a tripod.
- Set the white balance for "tungsten." This will make the lights look their clearest, as tungsten is a manual setting used for shots where the main light source is household light bulbs.
- If you're more experienced using white balance, play around with it a little (experimenting with it will improve your experience anyway). Some people prefer incandescent while others are happy to rely on the automatic white balance (AWB).
Use a reflective foreground where possible. Think snow, ice or water here. This will increase the light and improve the look of the lights in the photo. Just be aware that it is possible to have too much reflection.
Be careful on photos of lights that are indoors. For indoor Christmas lights on a tree, for example, be aware that the camera meter is forced to choose between the dark tree and the lights. This can end up overexposing the lights.
- Ways around this include using supplemental strobes and a light box or simply using your flash to provide a fill light. If the flash is too much, reduce it to lower power settings for each shot until it looks right; you may need to use the lowest setting.
- As with outdoor lights, use a tripod or a sturdy platform to rest the camera on to minimize movement.
- Keep adjusting the shutter speed and/or the f-stop to get the right shot of the lights.
Try playing with foreground/background contrasts. Focus on an object in the foreground and capture the Christmas lights out of focus in the background. This looks really neat when you get it done just right. Try taking a picture of a snowman or an ornament, with your Christmas lights blurry and bulbous in the background.
resource: http://www.wikihow.com/Photograph-Christmas-Lights
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The Go-To-Source
This month's Go-To-Source is a new one for me. It is unlike most of the other sources I have highlighted. Photolaria is an Online Community Forum of photography professionals, amateurs, enthusiasts and lovers. Their purpose is to connect and share the passion of photographers worldwide. There are several different groups you can join - groups range from beginners to portrait photographers; Nikon users to Canon users; sports photographers to black and white photographers. The site contains forums with which you can participate or peruse to find answers to questions you might have. And in the "News" section, there are Tips and Tricks from the community's members (this is where I found "100 Tips from a Professional Photographer"). While this site isn't as extensive as some of the other highlighted sources, it still offers some great sources and opportunities for photographers.
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Next Month's Meeting
Tuesday, Jan 7, 2014, 07:00 PM
Gateway Church of the Nazarene, Oskaloosa, IA
Contact Info
Email: ddjimagesphotography@gmail.com
Website: https://throughthelensclub.wikispaces.com/
Location: 2679 Millridge Lane, Oskaloosa, Iowa 52577
Phone: 641-660-5670
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Through-the-Lens-Photography-Club/320480281299492
Twitter: @dejongdd