Date line: October 29, 2012, 8:30 AM ET

The HMS Bounty reportedly sank off the coast of North Carolina this morning, as the devastating hurricane named ‘Sandy’ approaches the East coast. The Crew members were forced to abandon ship. The Bounty was in the process of avoiding the storm. At the time of this writing, they had rescued 14, and still searching for 2 missing crew members.

  > U.S Coast Guard Rescue Video

 > News articles  here.

> History of the HMS Bounty

 > Interview with lost Captain Walbridge

I had the opportunity to photograph the HMS Bounty Tall Ship at the ‘Tall Ship Festival’ in Bay City Michigan, July 2010.  They were never under sail in the Saginaw Bay, due to high winds, so I was not able to make any images of her under sail. (These tall ships are actually diesel powered now)  Here are some of the images I made of the HMS Bounty. My prayers are with the Family and Friends of the Bounty Crew!

You might have already looked through our Portfolios.

    If not, have a look…  Portfolio

As you notice, many (or all) of your images will be on-location and outdoors.

Which begs the question: “Where can I change my outfit while on-location?” 

Guys can often change a shirt anywhere. But for the Ladies, we needed a

private option, where they could do an outfit change and where guys

could change their pants.

After some searching, we found a nice option; a Portable Changing Room.

So bring a good selection of outfits, we will help you decide which ones

look best for the chosen location.  And use our handy P.C.R. to change!!

Photo of our Portable Changing Room:

facebook

Click Photo to use the Simulator

This camera simulator will allow you to practice different settings of your camera
and show the results of changing controls:

I’ve attended several of Dr. Charnley’s Photography presentations, which he shares at the Library,  Seven Ponds Nature Center, and elsewhere. I enjoy his photography a great deal, and find his images inspiring.
I was at his “Iceland Presentation” this week. I arrived early and had a chance to view his photography book “Images of Nature – A Photographic Journey”.  The book encompasses a huge compilation of his great photography (120 pages). He shares his photography often and focuses on creating beautiful images as a hobby.

Charnley’s book is self-published and not available in book stores. The Internet has provided us a gateway to create personal books on-line, at “Snapfish“, “Blub” and others. When you design a book on-line, Blurb offers a feature “Allow the public to purchase your book”. I was happy to discover, when Charnley created his book on Blurb, he allowed it to be available for purchase. Below is link to preview his book and to order one if you wish.

"Images of Nature, A Photographic Journey" By Alan Charnley

~David Sr.

]]> http://lapeerphotography.com/main/blog/2012/02/08/alan-charnley/feed/ 0 http://lapeerphotography.com/main/blog/2012/01/31/winter/ http://lapeerphotography.com/main/blog/2012/01/31/winter/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:45:06 +0000 DavidSr http://lapeerphotography.com/main/?p=1740 Finally, we are getting some winter snow…
Here are a few quick thoughts to make your Winter Photography more enjoyable and successful.

Often, the first thing you notice when you take your camera from your cozy warm home to the frigid winter air, is the lens and/or viewfinder fog up, right!?  (This usually has no affect on internal parts though there is potential for that). Foggy lens or viewfinder sure makes it difficult to see what you want to photograph. And those of us that wear glasses experience the same problem. To take photos outside during a cold winter day here are some tips that will help you avoid common problems and make your photos better.

Slow cool-down:
Avoid drastic temperature changes. Let the camera adjust to the cold air slowly. To do this, leave your camera in the camera bag for 15-20 minutes after taking it outside. (or longer depending on how cold it is). Put it in the trunk or away from the heat source while traveling. This will allow it time to adjust as you travel to your destination. If you are taking a point-and-shoot or pocket camera without a camera bag, wrap it in a scarf or put in into an extra glove. This will allow a slower cool down and minimize fog-up, caused from the rapid temperature change and condensation. Avoid exhaling near the viewfinder (if using a camera so equipped). Breathing on your fingers might warm them up, but not good for your camera. This is less of a problem with Live-view or point-and-shoot cameras that you simply view the rear screen, but still a problem with DSLR cameras.    The opposite is a problem too, when you come indoors from being out in the cold. You will want to let your camera warm up slowly by leaving it in the camera-bag, or wrapped up in a scarf or glove.

Batteries:

When the air temperature is below 32 degrees, your battery life can be cut dramatically. So bring spare batteries. If you are going for an extended period, or a weekend trip, take your camera battery charger and use a portable Inverter to charge while you are driving. These are an inexpensive accessory, around $20., that can be left in the glove box. (do we still call them “glove boxes??)    Example of portable inverter’s:  http://amzn.to/zAh5U3   or   http://bit.ly/zn4zgT

Here is an example: http://lapeerphotography.com/workshop/SNOWdirt/index.htm

This problem is easily solved by telling your camera to compensate for snow. Some cameras have a setting for shooting in snow or it may be called “backlight”, other cameras have an exposure compensation. For cloudy/overcast skies, you will want to add approximately 1 to 1.5 stops. For bright sun, you will want to add about 2 stops. Check your manual for “shooting in the snow”.

Photo Lab prints:
If you print your photos at a lab, and you know you adjusted appropriately for the snow, but your photos come out with gray snow, tell the Lab to reprint them “With white snow this time”.  Often the machines will do an automatic adjustment, the wrong way. The lab is will be happy to correct their error.

On-line:
If you are posting photos on-line or printing yourself, use your favorite image editor and bump the exposure up slightly until the snow is white. If your snow is blue, check to make sure your white balance is not set to indoor (tungsten).

You:
Most importantly, make sure you are dressed warm. Chemically activated hand/boot warmers are a valued accessory when outdoors, shooting in cold weather. I have the air activated ones, if you get the smallest ones you can slip them in your gloves, on top or in your palm to keep the blood flowing to your fingers.

Happy shooting!!

Email me with your questions, Use the CONTACT link at the top of this page. Or use Post a Comment below…

There are no fancy facilities, but there are many things to see. One feature is a pavilion with picnic tables, so take a snack or lunch. The trails are well defined, but it is not difficult to get turned around, so make sure you grab a tail-map prior to venturing off. This is a public location with no entrance fee.

A group of photographers recently put together a Photo-Album for Doris Sutherland who donated the property many years ago, and still visits on special occasions. Here is a link to the scrapbook if you’d like to look through it and see some photos captured there.

Photo Album for Doris:   http://lapeerphotography.com/sutherland/

Official Sutherland Page:  http://glblc.lapeer.org/sutherland.htm

Address CLICK FOR MAP: 3960 Diehl Road Metamora, Michigan, 48455

Trail Map can be located here, although there are usually copies at the trail head TRAIL MAP

Abe and his instruments. A created image

I took this photo, yes I did. Yep, with my camera. The dude insisted on being called “Abe”. I wanted to yank that goatee, but decided not to!  Here is a photo of the Real Abraham Lincoln .  I’m going with “My photo is not the same guy”, despite similarities.  I seem to recall reading something about him being shot in 1865 while seated in his booth by a guy named Booth in the Ford theater while watching the play Our American Cousin. I should have asked him about that.

Seriously… This was a project I did to make a modern photo look “period”. If it were a 150 year old photo, it would possibly be faded and or distressed. And I made it an odd aspect ratio, which in the late 1800′s there were odd photo sizes and I wanted an non-standard aspect.

Thanks to Photoshop and layers I created this image using several layers using different blending modes and opacities.

Here was my process:
I created a several layer file in Photoshop to create the the final image at the right.  And the slideshow below shows the process, almost step by step. At least enough steps to give you an idea of the process.

1. Open original image.

2. Convert Color photo to Black and White (not show)

3. Fix/eliminate modern items
(Electrical and lights)

4. Add a layer of distress and boarder edge

5. Blend the layer

6. Add some black bordering

7. Added Layer mask in order to remove
enough of the distress layer to allow the image
to be viewable.

Here is a slideshow to give you
an idea of the process:

Here are a few things…
First look around,  what do you see?  Look up, down, around… Low evening light will warm-up the foliage and  make the colors warmer. Sunny days make foliage bright and colorful, which I usually prefer!  This photo was taken in early afternoon with a polarizer, which helped make the sky bluer and richer. So time of day is not the most critical, but direction of light is important.  Often early afternoon is a great time.  Also notice the horizon line here is in the lower 1/3 of the frame allowing for much of the dramatic sky to enhance the contrast of the orange foliage. If there is a lake of river in the foreground a polarizer would need to be used carefully, making sure not to eliminate the wonderful reflection of the foliage in the water. Either way, keep your horizon level. If you see foliage reflections in the water, try putting the water/shoreline toward the top 1/3rd of the frame, zoomed in on the reflection for lovely abstract photo. You can even eliminate the waterline  and make your entire frame  ’reflection only’. Remember you need to use higher number F-stops for landscapes with depth. For example this first image at the top left was shot at F/16 so the foreground-tree and rear treeline would all be in focus.

Other elements:
Included interesting elements that can enhance the image. That country road, mostly covered with leafs,  leading into an abyss of vivid color foliage. (Exercise caution standing in the middle of roads!).  Also a  fence row, split rail or other type in the foreground. Color reflection in the water is wonderful.

Intimate
Fall color can be shown close-up as well as in landscape type photographs. As shown here in this red maple leaf that stands out against the green. Contrasting colors can make a dramatic photograph. So look for small items too. A feather stuck in a browning fern, a pile of leaves with one that just stands out. A pile of acorns a squirrel is gathering. Look for branches or trees to use for framing.

Shallow DOF (DOF = Deapth of field, or how much is in focus.)

A shallow DOF will force your subject to be “the focus” of attention and everything else not in focus, because your eye to go to the part of the subject most in focus.

First Frost

The ‘first fall frost’ is one of my favorite days of the year to photograph. It is usually a photo-trip that requires a very early morning alarm. But more times than not, the first hard frost will melt away shortly after the sun comes out.

A bit about gear
Remember, using a tripod is highly recommended, especially for slower shutter speeds. Which you will have with landscapes that you use F/16.  If you have ever talked to me about your photos being blurry, my first question is always “was your camera on a tripod?”.  This will enhance the clarity of your photos. I PROMISE!  Also, using the Macro setting on your camera will give you a shallow depth of field, so focusing becomes more critical.

Gallery
Below is a random photo galley for you to view. Not all great images. I grabbed some images I hope will give some ideas of things to photograph, different prospective’s, etc.  A few images have issues that keeps them out of my portfolio. I use them as examples to discuss in my Classes and Workshops. #1 and #2,  a recently harvested cornfield, created with a wide angle lens at a low angle. #4, a reflection in the water of birch trees, which are seen in images #5 and #6.   #16 attempted using branches to frame and give depth. But the worst image, at least to me, is #17.  The log in the river which I thought was an interesting element at the time, looks more like a dead mammal carcass floating in the river. Which I noticed after I took the image.  A distracting element for sure.  So, I decided to move further up river (left). But by the time I moved, my good friend Dale Vronch, found a viewpoint which put him smack in my shot  #18, #19.  Also a distracting element as the floating carcass in previous images. I like to razz him about it!  :-)  So, moving to another location searching for other opportunities was in order. I hope the gallery below sparks some interest and ideas. Feel free to ask questions or post coments about any images posted here or general photography questions.

Happy Shooting !!

David Sr.