Lesson 1 - Digital Camera Types

There are basically three types of digital cameras to consider, and among those types there is a broad range in price. The three basic types of camera are:

Compact - This is the “beginner” class of cameras commonly known as “point-and-shoot.” If you want the camera to do everything for you... at minimal cost... this is the camera for you. I use the term “beginner” loosely though. Compact cameras are great when you want a camera you can conveniently carry in your coat pocket.

Advanced Compact - These cameras are for the more serious photographer who wants the features of a DSLR, such as image quality and flexibility, but in a smaller package. The Advanced Compacts will cost a little more and be a little heavier. Some of the Advanced Compacts even come with add-on lens options and off-camera flash!

Digital SLRs - SLR stands for Single Lens Reflex. These are the big boys of the camera world. Stepping up to a DSLR opens the creative floodgates. Interchangeable lens, sophisticated in-camera light metering, wider dynamic range (detail between the highlights and the shadows), and better sensors are just some of the benefits. DSLRs are more expensive and bulkier then the Compacts. I believe a lot of people who purchase DSLRs never really learn how to use them to their full potential (there is a Photog Class on that very topic called “Digital SLR In-Depth”).

So which one is right for you? Answer that question and you can eliminate a good chunk of the choices at the counter of your local retailer.

Do you want a camera you can keep in your shirt pocket or your purse that you can pull out and snap a picture with whenever the moment strikes? Consider a Compact.

Do you want a camera that you can get a little more creative with but don’t want to spend the money or time to master a DSLR? Consider an Advanced Compact.

Do you really enjoy photography and want to explore your creativity in greater depth? Consider a DSLR.

Now that you have an idea of the type of camera you want.  Let's look at the factors that go into choosing the right camera for you.  The next lesson in on understanding resolution.

Ryan's "Top 10"

Ryan's "Top 10" is a list of the web sites/blogs that I have found to be extremely helpful in trying to better understand both the artistic and technical aspects of photography.  These are sites that I visit regularly.  This doesn't mean they are necessarily the "best" sites... I am sure there are a lot of great sites out there that I have never seen.  But they are very good and they provide a wealth of information. 

I have seen some blogs where they provide an enormous list of site/blogs that they recommend.  I restricted this list to my favorite top 10 so as not to overwhelm you with sites to visit.

This list may change, but there will always be just 10.  If I find another site that I like, it may bump one of the current recommendations off the list.  If a site is not updated (afterall, technology is constantly changing) and becomes stale, that recommedation will be bumped in favor of another.

For your convenience the sites are listed along with a description of the sites "specialty" in parenthesis (see right hand column of the Photog Buzz).  If you know of a particular great site that is not on this list, feel free to share it.  I will gladly check it out.

What's going on?

It has been kind of a crazy week.  I am working on the first Photog Buzz class so that has me a little (a lot) preoccupied right now.  I am hoping to get downtown to Street Vibrations tomorrow and shoot some HDR photos of all the motorcycles.  I will be using Photomatix Pro to combine my exposures and I will post new shots, camera specs, and information on Monday (hopefully).  Until then.... have a great weekend and keep shooting!

If you need to get a quick Photog Fix today and this pathetic blog doesn't cut it... check out the strobist.  This guy provides a wealth of information on lighting.

Ryan

The First Photog Buzz Class is Officially in the Works!!

The first Photog Buzz class series is underway!!  It is titled "DSLR In-depth" and it is designed to teach you how to get the most out of your DSLR camera.  If you don't know what a DSLR camera is... that's OK... I'll teach you.  A lot of folks buy a DSLR camera and never really learn how to use it to it's full potential.  That is what this class is all about... learning to get the most out of your DSLR.  I will be posting each class as they become ready... so join in.  It's gonna be great!

Fill Flash on a Sunny Day

Don't forget to use fill flash when you are outside on sunny days to soften the harsh shadows of the sun. I recently volunteered to take photos at a charity golf tournament. I drove around the course taking photos of groups as they waited to tee off. Under the circumstances I had to work very quickly. I took two things into consideration. The first was the angle of the sun - I didn't want them squinting. Secondly, I took into consideration the backdrop. I wanted the course visible behind them. I had them position themselves so that the sun was to their left and slightly behind them. I took this first shot without the flash. This put them in the shadows which, as you can see, are very harsh.

To bring them out of the shadows I set my camera on manual mode and exposed for the background. Then I turned on my flash and set it to 1/2 power. Yes, the flash was sitting on top of my camera. Not a great way to shoot, but these guys were in a hurry so you do what you got to do, right? The shot ain't perfect (I probably could have turned downed the flash just a smidge) but it is a huge improvement over the previous shot.

Keep shooting!

Ryan

Did a Moose Just Walk Through My Picture?!

I was at the Reno Air Races this weekend with my two youngest kids when we came across the Jelly Belly plane... and they were handing out free Jelly Bellys!!  We've been to the JB factory in California so, of course, my kids wanted me to take their picture in front of the plane.  I had my 70-200mm lens so I needed to step back a little to get my kids and the plane in the shot. 

They posed, I shot, and as I did, this guy strolled between right through the scene.  No problem... I''d just wait for the guy to move on through and retake the shot.  But this guy was with some other photographers and they all stopped in front of me.  The guy who had strolled through our picture REALLY liked the Jelly Belly plane.  He took a picture of it with his camera (a professional grade Nikon) and then he took a picture with his phone. 

That was when I noticed that the guy looked kind of familiar.  He had this big ol' mustache.  Then it dawned on me!  Moose Peterson, the world renown wildlife photographer, and one of my personal photog heros, had walked through my picture.  He was heavily engaged in a conversation with the photographers he was with and I didn't want to interupt.  So I didn't say anything like, "Oh my God!  It's Moose Peterson!"  I kinda wish I had... but it's just not my style.  I did take this photo though... real stealth like.  Maybe I'll print it out and see if he'll sign it when I'm at the Photoshop World Conference in Vegas in two weeks.

Moose took some great photos at the air races.  Check them out at his website.

Hope you enjoyed the story.

Keep shooting!

Ryan

That's It... Only One Decent Photo!!

I went to the Reno Air Races this weekend thinking I would take a bunch of great photos.  Unfortunately I was chaperoning a class of 4th graders from Jessie Beck Elementary School.  I figured the principal would frown on me telling her I got a GREAT shot... but lost a kid.  As we were about to leave, however, a skydiver jumped out of a plane with the American flag and it made for a pretty good, quick shot.  One rule of photography... if you need a good shot take a picture of the American flag.  They always seem to turn out pretty good.

The white in the sky is smoke from two planes that were circling the sky diver as he descended.  I darkened the sky a little using "curves" in Photoshop.  I darkened the shadows while maintaining the highlights.  This made the flag "pop" out of the photo.

Camera specs in a nutshell: Canon 1D Mark III with EF 70-200mm lens at 200mm, f/9.0 @ 1/500, ISO 200.

Keep shooting!

Ryan

Heading to the Air Races

It is Friday and I'm heading to the Air Races to take photos.  Sunday I will be at a charity golf tournament taking group pictures.  Next week I will be posting some of the pictures and blogging about them.  I am also going to start working on the first class for the Photog Buzz, "How to choose a Compact Camera."  We will also be adding a class on the history of photography, and another on how to get the most out of your DSLR camera.  Should be some good stuff.  More advanced classes will be coming as well.

For my last image of the week I thought I would post this picture I took from the inside of one of the balloons at last weekends Reno Balloon Race.  Remember... always try to look for a unique view when you are shooting a fairly common subject such as a hot air balloon.

Camera specs in a nutshell: Canon 20D with Canon EF 15mm Fisheye, f/7.1 @ 1/100, ISO 400

Keep shooting, and I'll see you Monday!

Ryan

Gotta Love Those Cloudy Days

Living in Nevada we don't see very many cloudy days.  But when we do, grab your camera and head outside for some great photo opportunities.  I went to the the Reno Air Balloon races last Friday and there was not a cloud in the sky.  I took a picture of the balloons and the moon which I blogged about Monday.  The sky provided a deep blue backdrop for that image.

I went to the balloon races again on Saturday and clouds had rolled in.  I took this picture of the vintage fighter planes flying over during the national anthem.

Look at the drama provided by the clouds. They are dark and ominous. You can just imagine these planes flying on a mission during World War II. I slightly lightened the pockets of sky and the smoke trail using the dodge tool in Photoshop.

Notice that there are five planes (odd numbers make for great composition) and they form a V pattern (again... great for composition).

Camera specs in a nutshell: Canon 1D Mark III with EF 70-200mm lens at 70 mm, f/20 @ 1/250, ISO 800

Keep shooting!

Ryan

Look for Unique Views of Common Subjects

It's already Wednesday and this is my third picture from the Reno Balloon Races. At this point I think I will just go ahead and dedicate the whole week to photos from the balloon race.

With so many people taking pictures I was really trying to find unique ways to get a shot. I was standing near some trees so I decided to take a picture through the leaves. I had to switch to manual mode to stay focused on the balloon. In auto focus the camera kept jumping back and forth between the balloon and the leaves, unable to make up it's mind.

Shooting through the leaves made for an interesting perspective and broke up the monotony of the blue, cloudless sky. Take away the leaves and I venture to say that this would be a very boring photograph.  I set the camera aperture to f/2.8 to throw the leaves out of focus as much as possible. If I didn't tell you they were leaves you might think it is a reflection in a pond.

Camera specs in a nutshell; Canon 1D Mark III with EF 70-200mm lens at 200mm, f/2.8 @ 1/6400, ISO 400

Keep shooting!

Ryan

I Like to Move it Move it - a lesson in composition

When you're taking a photo remember to move in close.  By taking an overall shot of your subject and then moving in close you can get two very different pictures.  Kind of like "two for the price of one."  I took this photo at the Reno Balloon Races this weekend.

Camera specs in a nutshell; Canon 1D Mark III with EF70-200mm lens at 80mm, f/2.8@ 1/800, ISO 400 with a little lens flare added in Photoshop.

Then I moved in closer and took this shot.

Same subject, dramatically different picture.

Camera specs in a nutshell; Canon 1D Mark III with EF70-200mm lens at 173mm, f/8.0 at 1/160, ISO 400.

Keep Shooting!

Ryan

To the Moon - a lesson in composition

I went the the Reno Balloon Races this weekend to take some photos.  There were about a zillion cameras at the balloon races and I wanted to try and get a shot that was at least a little different from everyone elses.  The moon was still out on Friday morning when the balloons were heading up up and away, so I decided to keep my eye on the moon.  As soon as a couple of balloons lined up with it I took this shot.

Odd numbers make for good composition. Your eye tends to move around a composition made up of odd numbers... whereas your eye will jump back and forth between even numbers. I really liked the compostion of the two balloons and the moon (3 elements). That blue Nevada sky makes a perfect backdrop for this type of shot.

Camera specs in a nutshell; Canon 1D Mark III with EF70-200mm lens at 200mm, f/11 @ 1/500, ISO 800

Keep shooting!

Ryan

Sometimes Even Bad Photos Make Great Pictures!

Sometimes you need to just forget about the technical aspects of photography and just enjoy the picture for what it is. A great moment in time. If I was in a critical mood I would say that I do not like the column in the background that splits the photo in half. Also the lighting is a bit flat and lacks the contrast needed to give the photo a strong sense of depth.

But you know what? I don't really care about that stuff in this photo. This is a picture of my twins that I shot one summer afternoon in our backyard. They just happened to take a break from trying to kill each other and I caught this "look" they gave each other. To me the photo conveys their fondness for each other. It is more then a moment in time... it shows emotion. That's what I love about this photo and that is what I try to capture when I press the shutter button on my camera. That's not to say I'm always successful, but hey... at least I try. I converted this photo to black and white in Photoshop which I feel dramatically improved it by removing the "busyness" of the color.

Camera specs in a nutshell; Canon 20D with 17-85mm lens at 64mm, f/6.3 @ 1/80, ISO 200

It's Friday and I'm off to the Great Reno Air Balloon Races to shoot some photos with my photog buddy Randy. Hopefully I'll have a picture or two to share with you next week.

Until then... have a great weekend!

Ryan

Sometimes You Just Get Lucky!

I could have titled this blog, "Who Needs All That Fancy Crap!", but I thought "Sometimes You Just Get Lucky!" sounded a little classier.  I have a couple of cameras... my old Canon 20D and my newer 1D Mark III.  The 1D was a LOT more expensive then the 20D.  I typically take my 20D when I go places where I don't want to take my 1D... places where it might get a damaged... like camping, or boating, or as a backup to my 1D.

We were on a camping trip in northern California with some friends of ours when I spotted their oldest son explaining the finer points of rock climbing to their younger son.  The sun was coming through the trees and hitting at just the right angle to create this beautful aura and depth.  I had my camera set in aperture priority to f/8 so that whatever I shot should be in focus (unless I was to screw up the shot which is always a distinct possibility).  I threw the camera up to my eye and pressed the shutter.  The result is one of my favorite pictures.  I converted it to black and white in Photoshop which I feel gives it more emotion.  The simplicity and weathered look of the climbing wall in the background completes the picture.  Goes to show that you don't need the fanciest equipment to get a great photo!

Camera specs in a nutshell; Canon 20D with 17-85mm lens at 73mm, f/8 @ 1/100, ISO 800

Have a great Thursday!

Ryan

Fireworks 101: How to shoot em'

Our office is near Victorian Square in Sparks, NV and each Fourth of July they shoot fireworks off the top of the Nugget hotel and casino.  We have a great view of the festivities from the front yard of our office and each year I take the family and we head down there to set up on the grass.  Sometimes we invite friends, fix ice cream sundaes, and make a party of it.  I, of course, take my camera and shoot pictures.

Shooting fireworks can be a little tricky so I thought I'd let you in on a few secrets.  (I know... this would be a great blog to write leading up to the Fourth... maybe I'll re-post it then).  I took this picture last Fourth of July while sitting in my lawn chair.  Here's the trick.

For this type of shot you want to use a zoom lens so you can get in nice and close to the fireworks without setting your hair on fire.  I used my 70-200mm.  Set your aperture to f/11 so everything is nice and focused.  I controlled the shutter myself by setting my camera to bulb mode.  I simply pressed down as the rockets burst and released the shutter as the trails started to fade.  Don't have bulb mode on your camera?  No problem.  Just set your shutter speed to 4 seconds.  See how the picture looks and tweak your shutter speed as needed.

Camera specs in a nutshell; Canon 1D Mark III with 70-200mm IS lens at 85mm, f/11 in Bulb Mode, ISO 400

With a little practice you'll nail it!

Ryan

Flash Photography: Getting past that love/hate relationship!

I'm back at the blog after a great Labor Day weekend.  I hope you all enjoyed the holiday!  Today I thought I'd talk a bit about flash photography.

A few years ago I attended my brother-in-laws wedding in Florida.  He had hired a friend to photograph his wedding who was "starting" her own photography business.  During the wedding, and then at the reception, I observed that the "photographer" was not using flash.  The church, as with most churches, was dimly lit.  The reception, held at my brother-in-law's country bar, was downright dark except for the strobe above the dance floor and the soft glow from the lights above the tables.  I was curious why any photographer would shoot in this situation without a flash, so I asked.  She said flash makes photos look terrible and that she was specializing in "natural light" photography.  She had her ISO cranked up to 1600 and was firing away.   

I had a Canon 20D at the time (still have it in fact) and I noticed she had the same camera.  This was/is a great little camera, but it is not a high end model and shooting in low light and cranking up the ISO will give you some noise.  I also knew that the rooms we were in were so dark that even with a high ISO she must have had her shutter speed pretty darn low... and she was shooting hand held. 

Needless to say...   a few months later I asked my brother-in-law how the pictures of his wedding turned out and he said "not so good."  My wife and I had done the same thing about 17 years earlier.  To save money we paid a family friend to take photos at our wedding and they turned out like crap!  My wife regrets that decision to this very day.

So why did this "photographer" not want to use flash... which could have greatly improved her photos?  I'm guessing it is because flash photography is tough to master.  If you don't know what you're doing flash can jump all over the place and leave you with photos looking like your subject was staring at an atomic explosion, or with eyes that make them look like their possessed.  When I hear people say that they specialize in "natural" light, I wonder if that is because they love natural light, or because they haven't mastered flash?  After all, if you want to be a photographer, it seem's you would want to be able to use all the tools available.

So where am I heading with today's blog?  I am simply encouraging you... if you aren't already... to become a master of the flash.  It would take a lot more time then I've got, however, to teach you how to use your camera's flash.  Fortunately, someone has already done a lot of the work... and that is the purpose of todays blog.  I wanted to let you know about a great blog/website that does a great job of teaching about flash photography... and it's free!  How can you beat that?  It's called Strobist, and you can find them at http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/02/welcome-to-strobist.html

Check em' out.  You might just find that flash photography ain't so bad!

Ryan

The Golden Hour - Best Time to Take a Picture

If you love photography like I do I'm sure you know what the golden hour is, that "magic" hour just after the sun comes up and just before it goes down when the natural light has a special quality that makes for some great photos.

This is what they say about it on Wikipedia:

In photography, the golden hour (sometimes known as magic hour, especially in cinematography) is the first and last hour of sunlight during the day,[1] when a specific photographic effect is achieved with the quality of the light.

Typically, lighting is softer (more diffuse) and warmer in hue, and shadows are longer. When the Sun is near the horizon, sunlight travels through more of the atmosphere, reducing its intensity, so that more of the illumination comes from the sky. More blue light is scattered, so that light from the Sun appears more reddish. And the Sun's small angle with the horizon produces longer shadows. The golden hour is a mild version of alpenglow, as described by Galen Rowell.

“Hour” is used here quite loosely. The character of the lighting is determined by the Sun's altitude, and the time for the Sun to move from the horizon to a specified altitude depends on a location's latitude and the time of year[2] (Bermingham 2003, 214). In Los Angeles, California, at an hour after sunrise or an hour before sunset, the Sun has an altitude of about 10°–12°.[3] For a location closer to the equator, the altitude is greater (or the time less), and for a location farther from the equator, the altitude is less (or the time greater). For a location sufficiently far from the equator, the Sun may not reach an altitude of 10°, and the golden hour lasts for the entire day if the Sun indeed rises.

In the middle of the day, the bright overhead Sun can create too-bright highlights and dark shadows. The degree to which overexposure can occur varies because different types of film and digital cameras have different dynamic ranges. This harsh-lighting problem is particularly important in portrait photography, where a fill flash is often necessary to balance lighting across the subject's face or body, filling in strong shadows that are usually considered undesirable.

Because the contrast is less during the golden hour, shadows are less dark, and highlights are less likely to be overexposed. In landscape photography, the warm color of the low Sun is often considered desirable to enhance the colours of the scene.

It's pretty darn easy to find out when sunrise and sunset is.  Just check your local newspaper or the internet.  Here is a link to a website that will tell you the golden hour anywhere in the world.  It's kind of interesting and you might enjoy playing around with it... then again... maybe not.

http://www.golden-hour.com/

It's Friday and we're lookin' down the barrel of a three-day weekend.  At least I am... and I hope you are too!  Try to get some shooting in and I'll see you Tuesday!

Ryan

Business "To Do" List: Get a Website and Keep It Updated

Not only am I a photographer, but I play one on TV... wait!... that's not right!  Let me start over. 

No only am I a photographer, but I also own a Landscape Architecture and Park Planning firm that I started in 1998.  (There... that's much better... and accurate!) 

One similarity with these businesses... they both need a website.  In this day and age it is extremely important to have a website.  But it is just as important to keep that website current once it's up and running.  For me personally, it raises a red flag when I go onto someones website and it appears that they haven't touched it in two years.  The thoughts that go through my head when I see an outdated website (i.e., not current projects, etc.)... are these guys still in business?  Are they going to stay in business?

I had one of my employees build the website for my landscape architectural firm.  It is a great little website but it is difficult to keep it updated because I can't do it myself.

For my photography business I decided to take another route.  As a photographer I read a ton of books, watch videos, and attend seminars by some of the best photographers in the business.  I figure if I want to become one of the best (which I am not!)... these are the guys I should be listening to.  It was from the late, great photographer Monte Zucker that I learned about SiteWelder.  This company provides professional website templates which you can customize to fit your needs.  They then host the site for you.  I am currently building a website and it is sooo easy to understand.  And the really cool thing about it?   I will be able to update my photography website 24/7.

I have a friend who owns a company that just paid several thousand dollars to have a web designer build them a site.  It was expenseive, and he has to go back to the web designer to update the site.  If you are in need of a website you may want to check out SiteWelder http://www.sitewelder.com/sitewelder-users.html

I'm impressed with them so far... and... after all, Monte Zucker recommended them.

See you Friday!

Ryan

Photographer Joe McNally is the Man!

It's 4:30 in the morning and I'm so excited about Joe McNally's book, "The Moment it Clicks," that I decided jump out of bed and write about it for today's blog.  I mentioned a few blogs back that I had renewed my membership with Kelby Training http://www.kelbytraining.com/ , one of the most cost effective and efficient ways to learn photography and photoshop as far as I'm concerned.

As part of the deal for signing up, Kelby Training sent me two books ("The Moment it Clicks," by Joe McNally and "The Adobe Photoshop CS4 Book for Digital Photographers," by Scott Kelby).  The books arrived in my mail yesterday.  If you have read any of Scott's books then you know that this one is going to be awesome!

This is the first book by Joe McNally that I have read (I read the first 38 pages last night while sitting at my son's football practice) and it is such an easy read.  If you have ever been to one of Joe's seminars you know that he is a pretty funny guy who is VERY interesting to listen to.  He writes the same way!

The book is extremely informative, as Joe tell's you about each photo and how he set up the shot, but I also found it to be very inspiring.  It made me want to get out there and try new things, photographically speaking... to think outside the box.  I can't wait to read more!

To be blunt, the economy sucks right now.  I read on the internet that the recession is over, but apparently that news hasn't trickled down to Reno where I hang my shingle.  With great adversity, however, comes great opportunity... you just have to think outside the box.  Take a break from all the crap about the economy and bury yourself in a good book.  Who knows... it might just trigger your "next big move!"

Hopefully I'll see you back here tomorrow.  Keep shooting!

Ryan

Want a Great Picture? Simplify Your Background!

Welcome to Tuesday.  The kids are back in school and the world has returned to it's normal rotation!  I have been so busy trying to get this blog up and running that I almost forgot to write todays blog!

Today I thought I would share a quick, simple tip that can make your photos look a lot better... simplify your background.  Whenever you're going to take a photo take a quick look to see what is in the background... and foreground for that matter.  The less "clutter" you have competing with your main subject, the better your picture is going to look.

Take a look at this photo of my oldest son.  We spent the day up at lake Tahoe and I got this great shot of him leaping off the back of our boat.  It was smoky that day due to a forest fire in Yosemite so we could not see the shoreline on  the opposite side of the lake.  That lack of detail on the shoreline made for a very clean, simple shot in which my son is clearly the subject.  The boat in the background is a nice detail that gives an interesting scale to the photo and helps tell the story.

Another example of a pretty good shot but a GREAT memory.

Enjoy your Tuesday!

Ryan