Last night I was thinking about some ways to get myself motivated and invest more time "creating" with the cameras. It seems that I have been letting Life take over and not doing as much as I used to. Really strange since many people turned to things like making time lapse videos at home when the pandemic was in full swing. I, on the other hand, was one of those lucky people that just landed a new job (in healthcare no less) and never missed a day of work. In fact, at times, work was crazy busy and after getting all the house and outside work done I just wasn't motivated to use the cameras. May 2023 has not been much different, but I'm making more time for the cameras and thinking of ways to keep myself motivated. One of the best ways I keep myself motivated to find something about my photography that needs improvement and finding ways to work on that. Using the GoPro cameras are not terribly difficult or technical, but learning how to maximize their capability and using them enough to know which settings work best for each scenario is a little more challenging. Lucky for me, this morning I woke up early and could not fall back to sleep so I decided to get one of the GoPros out, play with the time lapse settings and headed outside to find a place to set it up. I hope you enjoy this time lapse video of the sunrise. https://youtu.be/rTY8LUDxpjU
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You have been planning a trip so you can head out and get that one epic shot. Let's say you were planning to capture the perfect sunrise. You have walked the area, you have watched a morning or two already, you know exactly where you want to setup and how you will frame the photo. Your gear is all packed and waiting by the door. Now all you have to do is get up, hike out to the location, setup, and let photographic magic happen. You wake up in the morning and find out it is raining, a heavy fog has set in. Now what do you do? Well, you could go back to bed and hope for another chance some other day. Or, you could dig all your rain gear out of the closet and head outside and see what happens. As I get older, I find planning works great for setting up a framework of what I want to accomplish and the steps I need to take. However, life has also taught me that the world rarely follows my plan. I go through periods when I am on a mission to capture new Aurora Borealis images. The first time I captured decent images of the Aurora Borealis happened truly by accident, but since the one night, I go through periods of really wanting to capture some new images. During those periods I will check the forecasts on a regular basis and get excited when they talk about the possibility of seeing a light show on the news. The hunt of this elusive light show is as much fun as the night it all comes together. Many people will save up and head off to distant places to get their chance, I however, take advantage of the opportunities when they come along and head out the door instead of going to bed. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with taking the trips, they are just in the cards for me right now. This past weekend I did hear it mentioned, in passing, during the weather that there was a change of seeing the Aurora Borealis over the weekend because of some solar showers that had occurred. I headed out early on Sunday morning (Saturday night technically, but it was after midnight), setup, and started snapping some pictures. Nothing! Checked the forecast, what was looking promising, fizzled. Having a lot of things that needed done later that day, I headed in for the comforts of my pillow, after all I could hear it calling the entire time I was outside. Later that same day, almost 23 hours later, yup almost midnight again, I happened to check the forecast and of course, there was a pretty good chance the elusive Aurora Borealis just might make an appearance. Once I again, I get all my gear ready, head out the door and realize there are a lot of clouds in the sky, and we will be having a full moon in a couple days. Figuring that since I was already out there and the camera was ready to go, might as well setup and take some test shots just to see. If you look at the image, you might notice the slight greenish tinge along the horizon. That was all I was able to capture of the Aurora Borealis, but the effect of the clouds, a partial clear sky, and the stars intrigued me. While I did not capture what I planned on, I stuck with it and captured this photo. The sky was a much lighter blue with the light of the almost full moon, but for my short picture session, it was hidden behind clouds, so it kept the area around me from being too bright. In closing, you may have the perfect plan and a set goal to capture a certain image, however, when life intervenes and you have to adjust your plans, do not just pack up and head back. Try and make the most of the situation, you might surprise yourself with an image that you truly fall in love with. Happy photographing. You just bought yourself a new DSLR camera and you cannot wait to use it. You unbox it, find the battery and start charging it, and page through the owner's manual so you can go outside and start taking awesome pictures. Only after you get outside you realize, "How in the heck does this thing work." First of all, don't panic. They can be complicated to learn if you do not have a background or understanding of all of the settings and options that are now available to you. I often suggest to people that if they have not used a DSLR before, select the Auto setting on your camera and start with using like a point-and-shoot camera. Now that advice comes with homework. After you have a filled a card with images, you need to transfer them onto your computer and use some editing software. You can use the boxed software that your camera manufacture provides or recommends. Funny I say boxed, yeah that's from the days when you used to get a CD with your camera. Ok, so nowadays you probably have a link in the owner's manual or a quick start-up guide with a link, or you might just have to plug your camera into your computer and it will ask if you want to install software. Whatever the method is, install the software. This native software, especially for a beginner will work great for helping unlock the mysteries of your new camera. After you transfer you images to your computer, you can use this software to view the settings the camera automatically selected based on what the little computer thought was best for the subject, lighting, focal distance, etc. The homework I'm giving you is to start studying this information and learn what settings the camera chooses. Then when you start using manual settings you will have an idea of what settings worked well in what situation. Will this complete your learning? Absolutely not, but I hope to break the setting down into smaller pieces and arm you with some knowledge on how all of these things come together, how you can sample and test settings on your own, and start unlocking the wonders of your new camera. So, why did I choose the Neowise comet picture for my post. I used this picture because night photography is really fun and it really makes you think about how aperture, shutter speed, focal length, manual focus, ISO settings, and lighting conditions impact your photograph. Oh yeah, it also reminds you how well you do or don't know your camera if you try to adjust settings in the dark and forget which button is where. Stay tuned for the next tip as I dive into one of the many tips that will help you take better photos. Happy photographing! is sometimes the first camera you can get your hands on. This picture was taken with my cell phone, early one morning while on a road trip. Driving I noticed the sky starting to get pink behind me as the sun was coming up, but the sky through my windshield was an ominous dark grey. When I pulled into the rest area, it was just starting to rain, but it didn't look like it would last long, so I grabbed my cell phone and started taking pictures. My DSLR, I think at that time it was an Nikon D3300 was safely tucked away in its camera bag in another bag, buried in the backseat. With the rapidly changing sky and weather conditions, the cell phone was a no-brainer to hurry and get some pictures as I could hear the rain coming. I do tend to travel with a variety of cameras from a cheap point-and-shoot to my Nikon D7200 with its various lenses to a new GoPro Hero 7 that has been added to the arsenal. All of these cameras have their advantages and disadvantages, but which one I use is sometimes dictated by the situation and the ease of sharing. As technology continues to evolve, and we are now seeing small cameras like the GoPros and cell phones, that can rival the image quality of a DSLR. Use whatever camera you have at your disposal and continue to learn about the camera and how to perfect your picture taking skills. I am firm believer that that camera does not make the photographer, but the opposite, the photographer makes the camera. Learning how shutter speed, aperture settings, white balance, and ISO equivalent impacts your photo will only make you better at taking photographs. Happy photographing! |
AuthorAs a photography enthusiast, I hope to share some of my experiences, good and bad, with others that want to learn more about photography. Archives
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