A very special Thank you to Caleb Johnson for hanging out and taking these great pictures. I know he’d much rather have been testing with us. Thanks Caleb!!!

Why have a universe of there is no audience?

We are that audience.”

Ray Bradbury, Bradbury Speaks, p. 41, Copyright 2005

The cameras these days will have the basic “One shot” option.  “One shot is exactly what it sounds like, you press the shutter release buttton one time, you get one picture.  The “One shot option is best for non-moving subjects, or posed photographs where your subject will not be doing a lot of moving.

Usually, right next to this option is a shooting mode called “Continuous”.  Most people, including me, don’t really see the value in keeping your camera set in this mode.  At least, I didn’t used to.  The more time you spend shooting candid photography, children, wildlife, or any other dynamic subject, or a still subject in a dynamic environment, this is going to be the mode for you.  Why?  Because in this ever-changing world we live in, something or someone is going to get in the way, or your subject is going to be stuck behind something right when your camera fires, leaving you with an interesting image, but probably not the picture you were looking for.

Next on the shooting mode menu is usually something like a timer-released shot.  These are the famous pictures where you set your camera down, or on a tripod, press the button, then you have about ten seconds to get into the picture before the shutter fires.

Some cameras have included a two-second timer release option for their cameras.  This option is not for running really fast to get in front of your camera before it takes the picture, but for allowing the maximum stability and sharpest pictures because you take the picture by pressing the button, when you take your finger off of the shutter release button, it takes the picture two seconds later.  This option is so your touching the camera doesn’t shake the camera and you get your sharpest image.

Cameras are coming equipped with infrared sensors these days, too.  They can be fired remotely using devices very similar to television remote controls, through an infrared beam, much like the electronic car  remotes for your vehicle.  This is getting too advanced for most , so I won’t spend a lot of time on it.

The last shooting mode that can really have a dramatic impact on your photography is the “Bulb” mode.  This is usually triggered by a remote cable or cord attached to your camera, you can either hold down the button on the cable, keeping the shutter open for as long as you have the button pushed, or the is usually a locking switch to hold the shutter open until you unlock it. This allows you to keep the shutter open for minutes during night or low-light photography, without touching the camera shaking and blurring your image.  There is some mystery as to where the term bulb mode came from.  My theory is that it is named after the manual type of release that came before the cord.  There was an air-filled bulb that the photographer would squeeze to open the shutter and then he or she could manipulate a screw on the bulb that would not allow the bulb to reinflate, holding the shutter open. 

All of these types of shutter-release modes are there on your camera waiing for you to tell it which one you want to use.  My preferrred mode, for day-to-day camera operations?  Contnuous.  Why, the pictures don’t cost anything asnd can mean the difference between this picture…

And this one…

Have a great day,

Dewayne

Wow, talk about a weekend for digital photography…   I had driven down to Elephant Butte, NM to meet up with a friend of mine from work and see about taking pictures of him during his participation in a 9/11 Memorial Display, flying the Colors over Elephant Butte Lake…, just a few miles outside of another town you may or may not have heard of, “Truth or Consequences, New Mexico”.  That’s right, the town named after a game show.  Well, after popping up early on Sunday morning, I got out and made contact with some of the hot-air ballonists, just getting a feel for what was going to take place during the course of the morning, when one of the balloonists mentioned they were short crew members for getting the balloon up that morning.  Even though I had just stopped in  for some information, I was asked the question, “So, do you want to crew for us?”  I couldn’t resist.  So, I spent the next hour or so helping out with setting up a hot air balloon and snapping photos in-between jobs.  It was as blast.  After the balloon was set up and ready to launch, the next question asked was “Who wants to go for a balloon ride?”  I was patient, I bit my tongue, I really wanted to go up, but I waited for anyone else who might want to go up as well.  When nobody jumped up, I decided to go on the trip.  I was not disappointed.  The temperature was comfortable, the company was entertaining and knowledgeable, and the view was spectacular!!!

When asked about why I enjoyed photography as kind of an introductory questionaire on my recent trip to Maine Media College, after a little thought on the subject, it hit me.  I am not now, nor have I ever enjoyed being a spectator at anything in my life.  For some the enjoyment of pro football, pro baseball, tennis, wrestling…  All make very interesting spectator events, depending on your interests.  I’ve just never been that into spectator events.  For me, photography allows me to be an active participant in any event, whether it’s recording my memories or someone else’s, creating a mood, or documenting an event.  Photography takes me from the spectator role in any given event and magically transforms me into an active participant.

So, even though I wasn’t able to connect with my friend from work, I was able to connect with another old friend that presents itself from time to time, Once again I met opportunity, and I was not disappointed.  The biggest refresher/lesson I got from this weekend…  Life’s about more than just standing by and watching interesting things take place around you.  It’s really about taking advantage of those rare opportunities when they present themselves and using them to make great things happen.

For me, the Tenth Anniversary of 9/11 was about much more than remembering the sacrifices of those who risk their lives daily for others, it’s also about celebrating living.  And what better way to do that than by participating in life instead of just spectating?

Dewayne
A new gallery: 911 Aerial Tribute Elephant Butte, NM

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So, just a little recap, okay?

When you take a picture, even in camera RAW, your little computer inside of your digital camera will look at the image you’ve captured and say, “Okay, how is this picture supposed to look compared to the environment around it?” Or, “What is the White Balance supposed to be for this picture?”

When your camera looks at the picture you’ve taken, it will apply certain presets to find out what looks right for this particular picture and lighting scenario.

These settings are your White Balance Preset Settings. The camera will pick the one it thinks is most appropriate. You can look at your display and think, “I think it would look better like this instead.” After all you are the photographer, you get to tell the camera how you want your picture to look.

The images that follow are how your camera looks at the picture and what the presets will look like after your camera has applied its thinking to your pictures. Remember, the camera shouldn’t have the final say in your pictures, you should.

As good as modern digital camera sensors and processors are, you can usually get by with the “Auto” Setting, but you should know how to change the setting should the need arise.

The Custom White Balance Setting will usually allow you to dial in a degrees in Kelvin temperature setting, so that’s why it’s good to remember those numbers from earlier.

As a bonus treat for all the Camera RAW shooters out there, you can always set your White Balance to “Auto” and then set it to your desired temperature on your big computer screen at home without worry about your pictures. That’s just one of the many reasons you should shoot in Camera RAW instead of JPEG, if you have the option available.

So, just click on the first image below, then using the gallery arrows you can scroll through the gallery and see how the different White Balance Presets will change one particular image.

Dewayne

Well. summer’s almost drawn to a close and fall is creeping up on us rapidly.  It seems like the perfect time to talk about the temperature.  Not the ambient temperature where you are, but the temperature of your colors…  Even the temperature of light.

Light is measured in degrees Kelvin and is based on a black-body standard.  Imagine a piece of iron laying on a forge.  The flames are kicking and the black iron bar begins to heat up.  As the iron heats initially, it glows a bright red.  The hotter the iron gets, it begins to glow orange, then it gets yellow.  Eventually, that yellow transforms into a burning white hot color, and the it turns blue.  This is how color is rated in photography.

What’s that have to do with my pictures, you ask?  Well, let me ask you a question.  Have you ever been flipping through the dials on your camera and saw some funny numbers like 5000K, 3200K, or 6500K?  If you answered yes, then you have discovered how to change the white balance setting on your camera.

Modern camera sensors do a fairly decent job of detecting and isolating light based on the color of the natural light filling an image, (the ambient light).  But, different light burns at different temperatures.  If you set the white balance in camera, then you’ll have less work to do when it comes to adjusting your image later.

Have you ever seen a picture taken under fluorescent lights?  Sometimes they come out a sickly green color.  A flash taken in a dark environment?  The light is a white to bluish color.  Why?  Because of the color temperature of the light in the image.

If you take a picture inside and find you don’t like the color cast or hue of the overall image that you’ve taken.  Get a little creative.  Experiment with the white balance settings on your camera.  Notice the changes that are made when you select different types of automatic adjustments.  Like the cloudy day white balance settings…  Notice how it warms up the image with a nice soft yellow touch?  It is trying to compensate for the amount of blue in the image by adding yellow to your picture.  Tungsten, notice how it turns everything in the image to a seriously deep shade of blue?  It is adding blue to the picture to try and balance out the amount of yellow coming from the tungsten lights.  Experiment for effect, and eventually, you’ll learn, if your camera is capable, how to dial in a custom color temperature setting to appropriately depict the environment you’re trying to capture in an image.

Just some gee whiz numbers to chew on…  The afternoon sun at 12 noon on a summer day is 5500 degrees Kelvin (5500K).  The yellow/orange glow given off by Tungsten lightbulbs?  About 3200-3500K.  Shade from a blue sky?  About 6500K.  An absolute rich blue sky?  About 10,000K.  (Notice, contrary to popular belief, blue is actually a hotter color than red or yellow, don’t get this confused.  It is not blue as in cold, but blue hot, which is a flame of an entirely different color.)  Have you ever heard of the golden hour?  This is when outdoor photographers like to get out and take most of their pictures.  The first hour after sunrise, and the last hour before sunset, the sky is a nice soft shade of orange/yellow, ideal for capturing the brilliant colors of the natural environment (3500K).

So, what does all of this mean?  When your camera takes a picture, it is trying to decide which is the right shade of white to apply to the image.  It is trying to decode and adjust your picture based on what it thinks should be white.  It is trying to pick an appropriate white balance setting. 

So, if you’re trying to figure out why your camera is making your pictures look funny with different colors when you take a picture indoors, it’s because of the camera’s white balance settings.  Figure out how to tweak these and you’ll be one step closer to making better pictures.

And now for something completely different…

I usually don’t do product plugs on my blog, but these two are definitely worth the time and the webspace.  Steve Krenz, author of the Learn & Master Guitar DVD Series has just released an email announcing the final release of a product I have waited for for over three years, since I first heard of it’s inception.  The product?  A video game called Guitar Apprentice, similar in style to the popular video game series Guitar Hero for all of the major video game consoles and systems.  The difference?  Guitar Apprentice is an accompaniment video track that allows you to play along on a real guitar!

Guitar Apprentice

The point should be made, this is not a true video game, as you do not have feedback coming from the game as you are playing.  You use a much more sensitive device for that feedback, your own ears.  The game will not teach you to read music, but it does allow for a new and creative way to improve muscle memory as you practice.  This week Gibson is offering the Beatle’s song “Get Back” for free.  More songs are available through their catalog.  I’ll be interested to see if this idea takes off.  I’ve been waiting a long time to see how it would play out.
I haven’t been this amped about the useful side of video games since the Phillip’s CD-Interactive released the Kodak sponsored video game system on 35mm Photography.

Dewayne