Tag Archives: ISO

Just for fun, Macro, Travel

Lego Photography: Lost in an amazing book

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I can only claim credit for taking the photo. My son was the creative director. He came up with the idea, built the Lego tree and book, selected the character and packed them up for our weekend trip to St. George, Utah. Upon arrival at Snow Canyon State Park, he reassembled the tree (the trip had not been friendly to the fragile display) and set the photo up in the sand dunes. He even titled this blog post – Lost in an amazing book.

The sun was high in the sky and casting very harsh shadows on the world below. Since I didn’t have one of the portable light reflectors (or blockers), my creative director ran to the van to grab his brother’s pillow and held it strategically over the area so I could get the shot. I think we were both pleased with the final outcome, though a little shadow from the tree would have helped the photo (I think).

Lego photography: Lost in a good book

Canon 60D | 100mm Macro Lens | 1/320 | f/6.3 | ISO 800 | RAW

I don’t recall why I had the camera set to ISO 800. It definitely was bright enough. I think it was because I was using the flash on occasion to help light things up and reduce shadows, but when I found the shade (i.e., my son’s pillow), I forgot to bring the ISO back to 100. In Photoshop I made a few adjustments to exposure, blacks, saturation and levels, in an effort to bring the guy under the tree out more.

Anyway, I am very proud of my son for serving as my creative director, and I hope you’ll look forward to a few more of the Lego shots he arranged during our trip and asked me to photograph.

~signed, Carltonaut

Tutorials

Tutorial: How to Shoot the Bokeh Technique in Photographs

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I’ve played with this lighting technique as part of bokeh photography as a way of adding a background that correlates with the subject of the photo. I first learned about using this technique in bokeh in a blog post I came across earlier this year. Since then, I’ve used it for Valentines Day and St. Patrick’s Day.

With the first day of autumn (Sept 22) just around the corner, I thought this “fall colors” photo, along with a tutorial on how I took it (as part of the DIY How I Took It contest), would expose other photographers to the technique, and show how simple it is to execute.

092112 Bokeh-Scarecrow

Canon 60D | 50mm lens | 1/60 | f/1.8 | ISO 400 | Canon Speedlite 430EX II

Step 1 – Gather the necessary Supplies

  • Sheet of cardstock (can be any color, but it will be easier to work with if it’s thicker)
  • Shaped punch – be creative (most shapes will do, but make sure the punch isn’t so small that the subject can’t be seen through the lens)
  • 50mm lens with UV filter (this lens allows a shallow depth of field, which allows the light sources in the background to be out of focus, thus take on the shape of the punch; the purpose of the UV filter is noted next)
  • Putty (which is used to attach the cardstock to the UV filter)
  • Strands of holiday lights (you can vary the color of the lights to fit your desired background; you can vary the quantity of strands, but for this photo, I used two)
  • A subject (the subject can be pretty much anything you want it to be)

Step 2 – Punch and Prepare the Lens

  • Start by punching the shape into your cardstock (I usually fold an edge of the paper in about 1/4″ to allow the punch to be far enough from the edge that it can be in the center of the lens when I cut it out.
  • Place the UV filter on the cardstock with the punched shape centered in the circle.
  • Draw a cut-line around the filter, allowing a roughly 1/4″ border, then cut out the circle.
  • Using putty, attach the cardstock to the UV filter and attach to the lens.
  • Attach the lens to the camera body (you can adjust the punched sheet with the shape as needed so it’s right-side up, or oriented as you would like.

Step 3 – Setting up the Scene

  • String the lights across a cord, stick, or other item that will allow the lights to hang freely (if you place them against a solid object, the object will be illuminated and not provide the darker background).
  • Place your subject roughly 10′-15′ in front of the lights (you can adjust this distance as desired, but this is a good starting point)
  • Place your camera 1.5′ to 3′ in front of the subject, with the lights directly behind the subject. (the closer you are to the subject, the larger the shapes will appear; in the sample photo above, I was closer to 3′ away from the subject).

Step 4 – Setting the Camera and Taking the Shots

  • Set the camera to manual mode so you have better control.
  • Set the aperture to the lowest number possible (in this case, a 1.8)
  • Adjust the shutter speed to allow for the exposure of the subject you want. I used a flash to illuminate the subject, which allowed me to keep the shutter speed fast enough for handheld shooting.
  • Shoot a few photos at various focal lengths and settings until you get the look you want. Adjust as needed.

Here are a few other outtakes from this photo shoot to show how slight adjustments can change the photo outcome. 

If you give this a shot, post a link to your photos below. It’s always fun to see how others implement certain techniques.

~signed, Carltonaut

Black & White, Night Sky, Tutorials

How to Shoot the Moon – in Honor of Neil Armstrong

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If you can’t tell from the name of my blog, I am enthralled by all things space. I am amazed at the precision with which humans can launch a rocket from Earth and land Man or machine on distant moons or planets. I am humbled by the dedication each astronaut has for their “profession” and proud to know that I have shaken hands with Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, Charlie Duke, Gene Cernan, and countless other moonwalkers, astronauts, and mission control personnel.

When I heard of Neil Armstrong’s passing, I was saddended that I never had the chance to meet him. From everything I had heard about him, he was humble, and convinced that he was just doing his job when he took Man’s first steps on the moon. So this post is my way of honoring Neil Armstrong, and I invite others to share their moon photos this week in his honor.

I digress. This blog post isn’t just about my love of space. It’s about my experiences in photographing the moon, and sharing with others the simple things that will hopefully give them the confidence to DIY and shoot [for] the stars… or at least the moon!

Here are the 4 simple steps I used a few moments ago to capture this shot of the moon, with a clarity that even surprised me – though I wish I had a more powerful zoom lens. Or better yet, a Saturn V rocket to take me to the moon to snap a few photos in person!

082812 Honor Neil Armstrong r2

Canon 60D | 55-200mm lens | 1/100 | f/11 | ISO 100 | (Manual Mode)
And a setting that hopefully will make you LOL: Focal Length 238,900 Miles. :-)

STEP 1 – Camera Setup

  • Attach the lens with the longest zoom
  • Put your camera in Manual Mode
  • Start with ISO 100, f/11, and shutter speed of 1/100

STEP 2 – Location Setup

  • Choose a location that works for you. The photo above was shot from my back door. If you can, get away from ambient light.
  • Find the moon (if it’s overcast, go back inside and try for the moon another night).

STEP 3 – Getting Ready to Shoot

  • Use a tripod if you have one handy. If not, set down or lean against something to help keep the lens steady. (I did NOT use a tripod for the photo above)
  • Zoom your lens all the way in to get as close to the moon as you can.
  • You can auto focus on the moon, then switch to manual mode (which is what I did), or you can just refocus on the moon for each shot (which also works).
  • Hold it steady and snap a shot.

STEP 4 – See How It Looks, Adjust Accordingly

  • You can simply look at the LCD screen on your camera to get an initial look at the photo (unless you are using film).
  • If the moon looks dark, adjust one of two things – the aperture or shutter speed.
  • If you’re not using a tripod and the moon looks blurry, try again. You can try holding your breathe as you pust the shutter release button to reduce your movements.
  • Keep adjusting camera settings to snap a few shots. No harm in trying a few different settings to see how it changes the outcome.

Now that you have the photos, take the camera card over to your computer and adjust the exposure, temperature, etc. as you wish. You can even make it a black and white photograph to eliminate any odd colors of the moon (unless you want it to be a rare Blue Moon).

I hope this helps, and I invite you to give it a shot (literally) and then share your photo and camera settings with me in the comments. With the Blue Moon on Friday (Aug 31), it’s a great week to give the moon a shot… literally!

~signed, Carltonaut

Alphabet Photo Challenge, Black & White

CTE Weekly Photo Challenge: N is for Night

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I really wish I could do night photography better. Mostly, I am constrained by life. In order to truly get the star photographs I want, I need to go out into the middle of nowhere and spend a few nights, sleeping during the day. But the other joys of life (i.e., family, work and responsibilities) keep me busy for the time being.

So for now, I settle into my backyard wearing pajamas and flip flops and freeze my little toes off trying new things. Could I have done it better? Probably. Would I have lost my toes to frostbite? Very likely!

Anyhow, here’s the photo. Can you tell which constellation it is?

040612 Name that constellation

Canon 60D | 18-135mm lens | 30″ | f/4.0 | ISO 100 | Manual Mode

It was a full moon out tonight, so that celestial object was enough light pollution to wipe out my vision of the stars through the view finder, meaning I had to guesstimate and take a few  ”alignment” shots. I initially set my camera ISO to 3200, but I didn’t like how washed out it made everything, though I will admit it picked up more stars – but the sky was gray rather than black.

I gradually decreased my ISO to 100 and made shutter speed and aperture changes until I got it generally how I wanted. But the tree looked gross. It was more of a bright orange yellow, which isn’t the actual color of the tree. So, to the chagrin of my neighbors (but they didn’t holler any obscenities over the fence), I grabbed my Canon Speedlite 430EX II flash and held it at many different angles, flashing probably 12-15 times in various spots, ranging from 10 feet to the left of the camera, and 10 feet to the right – all done in the 30-second exposure. During one exposure, I took the flash to the backside of the tree, but the tree turned a deep red (I’m guess that’s because it was in the shadow of the flash) and that is even farther from how I wanted it to look.

In the end, I used the photo with the flashes in the front, then made it black & white, added my signature, and uploaded it to my Flickr page.

I would love to try this again, even if it is from my backyard. But I will need to make sure it’s clear skies, no moon, and everyone in Davis County shuts off their lights so I can get my shot. That’s not too much to ask, right?

Oh, and if you didn’t catch it, the answer is Ursa Major (a.k.a. Big Dipper).

~signed, Carltonaut

Just for fun, WordPress Photo Challenge

Weekly Photo Challenge: Down

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While contemplating various ways of participating in this week’s The Daily Post at WordPress.com weekly photo challenge, I decided a family trip on President’s Day to Boondocks for a little bowling would be perfect. Nothing like throwing the bowling ball “down” the alley, hoping to knock “down” all of the pins, right?

Down the alley

Canon 60D | 18-135mm lens | 1/5 | f4.5 | ISO 500

Bowling alleys are notorious for low-lighting situations, so I knew that going in to it. However, I didn’t want to set the ISO so high that the quality of the photo suffered. I also thought a little blur on the bowling call could be a cool effect, but I wasn’t about to set up my tripod in the middle of my family’s bowling match.

I took about two dozen photos of my kids bowling, and this was the one that I thought came out the best. I like the blur of my son’s motion, and the way he moved the ball made it blur less, so it provided more of a “floating bowling ball” look to the photo.

I would probably have kept going with the photo-taking, but I am a serious bowler, and I wasn’t on track to even break 100. So the camera was put away and my bowling skills brought me back up to beat everyone else (yes, that included my wife and three young kids) with 124 points. But my daughter was second place at 106. It was a great way to spend the weekend.

~signed, Carltonaut

Alphabet Photo Challenge, Just for fun

Star-spangled Bottles

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This photo has been years in the making. I thought of the concept a few years ago, spent a few months buying Jones Soda so I could collect the bottles, then stored them in the garage for more than a year until I got the motivation to actually do it. This weeks CTE photo challenge was for the letter F, so I bring you FLAG.

Bottles_4

Canon 60D | 1/40 | f 1.8 | ISO 400 | 50mm lens | AWB

I collected 45 bottles, pulled off the labels, then filled them with the appropriate colored water while arranging them in this layout.

I’m not sure I totally love how it turned out. My backdrop was a folded table cloth, so you can see the folds. My studio was my kitchen floor, so my lighting was tough. I didn’t want to have a shadow on the bottles, but I wanted the table cloth to be bright white. Trying to hold the tripod at an angle so it was directly over the bottles was another challenge. Here’s how the straight above photo eneded up.

Bottles_7

Canon 60D | 2″5 | f 1.8 | ISO 100 | 50mm lens | White Balance: Tungsten Light

So which one do you like better? Any advice on making this better? I don’t want to hold on to the bottles forever, but I don’t want to have to try collecting them again. I have a few other variations I am thinking about doing with this concept, so we’ll see what happens.

Want to know something ironic about this photo? The bottles I used to make this American Flag is from a product made in Canada. Weird, eh?

~signed, Carltonaut