The post Canon to End Production of the 5DS and 5DS R appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.
It’s time to say goodbye to Canon’s megapixel monster pair: The Canon EOS 5DS and the Canon EOS 5DS R.
According to Canon Rumors, Canon will no longer be producing these two cameras, nor is there a 5DS successor in the works.
While this news is hardly unexpected, it further illustrates Canon’s choice to invest in mirrorless over DSLR technology.
Note that the 5DS R is identical to the 5DS, with a single exception: its low-pass filter cancellation effect. This ensures that photographers can eke out maximum detail with the 5DS R, though the sensor is more prone to the effects of moiré.
The Canon EOS 5DS and 5DS R duo debuted way back in June 2015. At the time, they sported the highest resolution sensors available in a full-frame camera, at 50.6 MP, and were tailored to detail-hungry landscape and commercial photographers.
These days, the resolution award has been handed off to the Sony a7R IV, though the EOS 5DS still remains the highest resolution 35mm DSLR on the market.
In many ways, the EOS 5DS pair has become outdated. With the exception of its stunning resolution, the 5DS struggles to remain relevant in a world of fast continuous shooting, 4K video, and speedy Live View autofocus.
But while Canon will not be producing a true EOS 5DS successor, you can expect to see a mirrorless model that follows the 5DS in spirit. In fact, there’s currently a rumor floating around about a high-megapixel mirrorless body, one with either a 75 MP sensor, an 80 MP sensor or a 150 MP sensor.
All of these specs are merely rumors, and may not pan out. But I wouldn’t be surprised if at least the 75 MP or 80 MP sensor turns out to be true, especially with Sony producing the 61 MP Sony a7R IV.
That said, for now, the 5DS and 5DS R remain Canon’s highest megapixel cameras to date.
So if you’re interested in grabbing them before they’re gone, you can find both cameras for around $ 1300 USD on Amazon.
Will you grab one of these cameras before they are discontinued, or will you wait to see what else Canon comes up with in the future? Let us know in the comments.
The post Canon to End Production of the 5DS and 5DS R appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.
The post Is Being Shy a Good Reason to Only Take Candid Photos? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.
Standing back with a long lens on your camera and snapping candid photos is an easy option for many people. The alternative is to use a shorter lens and get in close and connect with your subjects. This is challenging for most photographers.
A candid photo is one where your presence and your camera are not affecting the outcome of the photos you take. There is no pose. There is no distraction from you or your camera at all.
When you are shy, using a long lens for candid pictures might be less taxing on your emotions. But it does not often result in the most engaging photographs. If you are capturing candid photos only because you are shy, this is a cop-out. Only using this technique will limit your potential as a photographer.
At times, a candid approach to photography will result in more interesting photos.
You will not always be in a position to engage with your subject. Sometimes doing so will disrupt a natural flow of events.
Finding yourself in situations where you think you or your camera will alter the scene, it’s good to remain candid.
If your subject sees your camera, it may distract them. Sometimes when people are aware there’s a photographer present, they will alter their behavior.
Other times, you might be wanting to photograph a whole group of people. There’s no way you’ll be capable of approaching them all for even a short conversation.
Is your subject highly focused on what they’re doing?
If your subject is absorbed in what they’re doing, you might not want to interrupt them. They might be:
Having an animated conversation
Playing sport
Creating art
Working
Or even sleeping
These are all times when asking permission or otherwise engaging a person will break their concentration (or slumber). This will affect the potential photo opportunity.
In ideal situations, you’ll be able to catch a person’s eye. They will see your camera and might give you an approving nod without breaking the flow of what they are doing. Then you can take photos in a relaxed manner because you know your subject is comfortable with you doing so.
Many times it’s not practical to engage with your subject. Candid photos are the only practical option when you are photographing:
Crowds
Street scenes
Where your subject is inaccessible
At times like this the only other option to taking candid photos is to not take photos.
When you can’t engage, it pays to be patient and observant. Wait for the decisive moment when the action is at its peak. When as many of the elements of a good photograph align, this is when you can capture the best candid photographs.
You don’t need to be an extrovert to photograph people
Being shy is a strength. Shy photographers can make the best portraits. This is because they show empathy toward the people they photograph. Learn to overcome the fear of imposing and you will take portraits with more depth.
To simply take candid photos because you are shy is not a good reason. Yes, as I have pointed out, candid photography is valid at times. But to avoid connecting with people because you don’t want to impose will often not result in the best photos.
When you want to photograph someone you see at the market, or a friend or your barista, talk to them first. Engage with them and build a rapport.
If you’re photographing a wedding or portrait, work on building a comfortable relationship with them. In many circumstances, the degree with which you connect with your subject will directly influence how good your photos are.
Don’t worry. If you are fearful of someone’s response, this will show. They will know and respond accordingly. Approaching someone with confidence, you are more likely to receive a positive response.
You don’t need to get in their face with a false boldness, just be yourself. Know what you want and communicate this to your subject. Take your time as it will pay off with better photos.
Spending time with anyone you want to photograph will usually result in a more interesting portrait. Learn to connect, even if you don’t have much time.
If you’re in a street market or a coffee shop, take a few moments to show people why you are interested in taking their photo.
With a friend, share with them what’s on your mind. Talk with them about why you want to take their picture.
When you’re photographing a model, compliment them.
There are many ways to communicate positively that will enhance your photographic opportunities. Staying quiet will often inhibit your creative potential.
As a young man, I was painfully shy. I loved photography, but could not bring myself to photograph people. Now, the main subjects in my photographs are people. I learned to use my camera as a bridge to connect with the people I want to photograph.
In my book, Photographing People – A Guide For Shy Photographers, I share my experience and teach you how to overcome your shyness.
My journey to becoming a people photographer has been challenging. Camera skills are only a part of what you need to create great portraits, no matter what gear you use.
Learn when it’s best to connect. Learn how to connect. You will create more interesting, more engaging photos of people when you do.
Please Click Here to purchase my book on Amazon.
The post Is Being Shy a Good Reason to Only Take Candid Photos? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.
The post Tokina Announces 6 Lens Roadmap for Fujifilm, Sony, Canon, Nikon appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.
Tokina has announced a “2020 Lineup” which details six new lenses the company will debut this year.
The lenses are designed for various mirrorless and DSLRs, including Canon, Sony, Fujifilm, and Nikon cameras.
According to the Tokina press release, the 2020 lineup “was originally planned to be presented at the biggest annual Asian Camera and Imaging photo show CP+2020 (Yokohama, Japan). Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, the show was canceled.”
The CP+2020 was slated to take place at the end of February, but was abandoned due to the coronavirus.
Tokina goes on to explain that, in lieu of the CP+2020 announcement, the company would release the lens roadmap in honor of Tokina’s upcoming 70th anniversary.
Therefore, the lenses we can expect from Tokina in 2020 are:
An 11-20mm f/2.8 lens for APS-C Canon EF-mount and Nikon F-mount cameras
A 23mm f/1.4 lens for Sony APS-C E-mount cameras and Fujifilm X-mount cameras
A 33mm f/1.4 lens for Sony APS-C E-mount cameras and Fujifilm X-mount cameras
A 56mm f/1.4 lens for Sony APS-C E-mount cameras and Fujifilm X-mount cameras
A 35mm f/1.8 lens for Sony E-mount cameras (full-frame)
A 50mm f/1.8 lens for Sony E-mount cameras (full-frame)
Note that the first of these lenses – the Sony APS-C E-mount glass and the 11-20mm Canon/Nikon wide-angle – will come available in the summer of 2020, with the remaining lenses debuting in the fall.
This crop of new lenses should bolster already impressive lens lineups from Nikon, Canon, Sony, and Fujifilm. In particular, Sony users will appreciate the opportunity to purchase lower-priced, fast primes, given the limited options currently on offer.
Because that’s who should check out these Tokina lenses: Photographers who don’t want to spend massive amounts of cash for $ 1000+ glass, but who still require top-of-the-line image quality and suitably fast apertures.
And, given Tokina’s excellent third-party optics produced in the past, you can expect great things from these roadmapped lenses.
Now over to you:
What do you think of these lenses? Are you excited for any of them? Which camera system do you think is most in need of some third-party glass?
Share your thoughts in the comments!
The post Tokina Announces 6 Lens Roadmap for Fujifilm, Sony, Canon, Nikon appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.
The post Simulating False-Color Infrared Photography in Photoshop appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Adam Welch.
Let’s get right down to it and say that today, things might get a little weird. The techniques we’re about to discuss aren’t for everyone or every photograph. With that said, I’m about to show you something extremely cool. You’re about to learn how to simulate color infrared photography in Photoshop.
More specifically, I’m going to show you how to approximate the looks of the legendary color infrared film stock, Kodak Aerochrome.
The best part is, this technique is infinitely customizable.
Let’s dive in and enter the overtly surreal world of infrared color photography in Photoshop.
What is false-color infrared photography?
Simply put, infrared photography makes use of wavelengths of light which fall outside the visible spectrum. Specifically, those which range from about 700 nanometers to about 1mm.
Don’t worry, that’s about as deep as we’re going to go into science with this tutorial.
The important thing to note is that while infrared photography stems from this invisible form of light, we can still use it to form photographs – even in color.
This is where the “false-color” aspect comes into play. In particular, the Aerochrome “look.”
The Aerochrome Effect
Kodak Aerochrome is/was an infrared-sensitive, false-color reversal film.
It was specifically produced for practical uses in aerial photography applications for forestry and camouflage detection, as well as other scenarios where specific infrared reflectance photographs could be useful.
For our purposes, it produces some highly interesting effects as far as colors are concerned.
Primarily, vegetation with high amounts of chlorophyll content appears as pinkish-red instead of the normal green color. This has led some notable photographers and filmmakers to make use of Aerochrome to produce stylistically creative images.
Luckily for us, we can come close to producing this effect with just a few quick tricks inside of Adobe Photoshop.
What images work best?
Naturally, seeing as the original color effects of the false-color Aerochrome worked best with green vegetation containing large amounts of chlorophyll, this is the main subject matter that will work best for our simulation.
However, it’s still fun to experiment with different images ranging from landscapes to portraits, street photography and still life. The results can range from the mundane to the aesthetically startling.
That’s enough of the background. Let’s go through step-by-step and explain how you can produce a digital simulation of the false-color infrared photography effect right inside of Photoshop.
How to simulate false-color infrared photography
The basis of our digital, false-color infrared simulation, centers around switching around the color channels of our photo.
Photoshop allows us to accomplish this switch quite easily using color channels.
Not only that, but we can further tweak the look of our photo to achieve exactly the colorization effects we want. This arguably makes this method more convenient and controllable than its analog counterpart.
To get started, I’ve brought an image into Photoshop that contains a relatively large amount of greens.
The first step is to make a copy of the base layer. With this layer selected, use the keyboard shortcut ‘Ctrl+J’ (Cmnd+J for Mac) to copy the layer.
Next, we’ll invert the layer we’ve just copied by using the keyboard shortcut ‘Ctrl+I’ (Cmnd+I for Mac).
Note the readily apparent psychedelic change. We have essentially converted the photo to a negative image.
From here, we’ll change the blend mode to ‘Color’. Alternatively, the ‘Hue’ blend mode will produce similar results.
With the blend mode changed to ‘Color,’ much of the heavy lifting is already done for us. Next, we’ll need to switch around the color channels to make the false-color infrared effect become more apparent.
Remember, we’re looking for a reversal of certain colors; namely blue and red. This is easily done using the “Channel Mixer.”
Select the ‘Channel Mixer’ icon to add the mixer adjustment. This is where the magic happens. And it couldn’t be easier.
Select the red channel from the drop-down and set that slider value to ‘0.’ Next, set the blue slider to ‘100.’
From here, select the blue channel. Set the red slider to ‘100’ and blue slider to ‘0.’
What we’ve done is ‘reversed’ the blue and red channels much the same way as false-color, infrared photography does with infrared color-reversal film.
At this point, our core processing is completed. However, there are other ways to make the effect much more refined depending on your photo.
Fine adjustments of your false-color infrared photography
While we have finished the bulk of the false-color infrared conversion, we can go a bit further and adjust the hues and color temperature of our photo. After all, this effect is not born simply from Aerochrome film but also the filters used during shooting and the subject matter itself.
Hue and Saturation
The greatest control over the effect comes from adjusting the hue and saturation of the false-colors we’ve just created. We can adjust these by creating a ‘Hue and Saturation’ adjustment layer.
Use the hue and saturation to dial in the exact look you like.
Color Temperature
When shooting with true infrared color-reversal film, such as Kodak Aerochrome, you must use lens filters.
Often times these are yellow and orange color filters which generally “cool” the tone of the colors within the image. We can simulate this by adding a “cooling” filter in Photoshop. This is optional, but I find it lends a much more authentic feel to the final photo.
After adding the cooling filter, it’s a good practice to go back and adjust your hue and saturation layer to tweak the resulting balance of the individual colors a bit further.
Parting thoughts on false-color infrared photography
The advice that can be given when dipping your feet into simulating false-color infrared photography in Photoshop is to view true false-color infrared photos made with this type of film.
I suggest the images of Richard Mosse and his work in the Congo to give a great example of the effects of this sort of photography.
Of course, there are many other examples, and a quick Google search will help you immensely. As you move forward, here are a few tips that will aid your image selection and processing for your simulations:
The infrared effect is based on the reflectance of chlorophyll, so choose images that have healthy green vegetation for the best results.
When shooting, go for the brightest lighting conditions possible.
The bright, mid-day sun makes for the best lighting. After you make your base color swaps using the channel mixer, experiment with adjusting the hue and saturation of the individual colors within your photo.
Don’t forget the benefits of creating Photoshop Actions! You can save all the adjustments for easy one-click applications later.
Perhaps the best part of creating the false-color infrared effect is that it preserves the unique effects of this sort of analog film photography, which as of 2007, is no longer produced.
It’s a dying art that we can enjoy for years to come with our digital photography. Again, it’s not for everyone, but it is a great way for you to create stunningly-surreal color images that will stand out from anything else.
Also be sure to check out my very first experience using an infrared-converted DSLR here!
Try out this effect of simulating false-color infrared photography in Photoshop, and please share your resulting images with us in the comments section. We’d love to see them.
The post Simulating False-Color Infrared Photography in Photoshop appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Adam Welch.
The post A Look at the Fujifilm X100V in Action for Street Photography (video) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.
In this video from Moment, Taylor takes the puts the new Fujifilm X100V in action on the streets to see how well it performs.
For street photography, the camera is the perfect size and weight to carry with you anywhere you go. The flip screen allows you to shoot from the hip – which is a great advantage when shooting street photography less obtrusively.
The fixed 23mm lens on an APS-C sensor is the equivalent of a 35mm lens on a full-frame camera.
Also, the famous Fujifilm film simulations are another great feature of this little camera.
So check out some of the images that come from this camera.
You may also like:
Your Guide to the Fujifilm JPG Film Simulations (with Sample Images)
1 Year with the Fujifilm X-T3 – Was It Worth Buying?
Best Fujifilm X-Series Kit for Urban Portraits
The Fujifilm X-Pro 3: Marvellous or Mistake?
The Best Fujifilm X-Series Kits for Travel Photography
Fujifilm X-T3 versus Fujifilm X-H1: The Best Mirrorless Camera for You?
Street Portraits vs Street Photography: What is the Difference?
The dPS Top Street Photography Tips of 2018
How to Avoid Distracting Backgrounds in Street Photography
Have you got your hands on this camera yet? If so, share your thoughts with us in the comments.
The post A Look at the Fujifilm X100V in Action for Street Photography (video) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.
Another fun challenge. You can capture the color purple in so many ways.
You can photograph a still life, flowers (macro or not), landscapes (think the beautiful purple tinges between the Golden and Blue hour), cityscapes (think light trails as the sun has just gone down leaving a purple hue in the sky), bokeh lights, abstracts, live music photography (think purple lighting), use colored purple gels on your lights, or people wearing purple clothing.
Alternatively, you may like to do some purple split toning in post-production.
There are so many options!
So, check out these pics to give you some ideas, have fun, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with!
Check out some of the articles below that give you tips on this week’s challenge.
Tips for Shooting the color PURPLE
Mastering Color Series – The Psychology and Evolution of the Color PURPLE and its use in Photography
A Beginner’s Guide to Abstract Flower Photography
How to use Colored Gels to Create Unique and Creative Portraits
How to Create a Delicious Blurry Bokeh Background in 4 Easy Steps
How to Create Abstract Images With a Soft-Focus Look Using Vaseline
How to Apply Compositional Theory to Still Life Photography
5 Product Photography Tips to Improve Your Images
Simply upload your shot into the comment field (look for the little camera icon in the Disqus comments section) and they’ll get embedded for us all to see or if you’d prefer, upload them to your favorite photo-sharing site and leave the link to them. Show me your best images in this week’s challenge.
Share in the dPS Facebook Group
You can also share your images in the dPS Facebook group as the challenge is posted there each week as well.
If you tag your photos on Flickr, Instagram, Twitter or other sites – tag them as #DPSpurple to help others find them. Linking back to this page might also help others know what you’re doing so that they can share in the fun.
The post Weekly Photography Challenge – Purple appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.
The post Canon Explorers of Light – Q&A with Photographer Roberto Valenzuela appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.
In this Canon Explorers of Light Q&A series, we interview several professional photographers who are a part of Canon’s Explorers of Light program.
The Explorers of Light Program, running since 1995, boasts some incredibly talented photographers. These photographers have spent years honing their craft, and influence and educate other photographers of all levels – something, we at dPS, can respect and relate to.
In this Canon Explorers of Light Q&A series, we interview photographer Roberto Valenzuela. He shares his experiences and gives tips to upcoming photographers.
Photographer Roberto Valenzuela
How did you get into photography?
My full-time career as a photographer began in March 2006. I had been married for a little over a year, and I decided to take some time off from teaching high school to attend the annual Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) convention held in Las Vegas, Nevada.
This convention was the yearly gathering of more than 15,000 wedding and portrait photographers from every corner of the world.
The most exciting part was that some of the world’s top wedding photographers would be there, including the famous Canon Explorer of Light photographers, who are a group of elite photographers carefully chosen by Canon USA as the best photographers in the world in their respective fields. I was in heaven!
During WPPI, I realized that my passion for photography was just too strong to ignore. I felt an inexplicable calling to photography.
A very scary thought went through my head for the first time. The thought that I may want to follow my heart and perhaps leave my high school teaching career that I loved and worked so hard to get to dedicate myself to photography full time. Oh boy! I was in trouble.
How do I tell my wife? The woman I had just married and who relied on my humble income as a teacher to live and provide health insurance.
The thought of leaving a job I adored, and that provided me with a steady paycheck, scared the heck out of me.
Roberto Valenzuela
The trip to WPPI changed my life. It was just an overload of brain stimuli.
I loved everything about photography – the cameras, lenses, lighting, software, the technical side, the artistic side, and – my favorite – the business side. It had it all!
I knew my wife Kim would be receiving her Master’s degree in Engineering in May, and she had landed a great engineering job upon graduation. Kim having her own income, definitely helped to solidify my decision to leave teaching and pursue a career as a full-time professional photographer.
That was probably the hardest decision I have ever made. It felt as if I was jumping into a dark hole without knowing how deep the fall would be.
That following week, I made an appointment with the principal of the school to tell her that I would not be continuing after that school year. I hugged her and thanked her for the amazing opportunity she had given me. But I had to pursue this new profession, or I would regret it for the rest of my life.
Before I left her office, she asked me if I was sure, and with a heavy heart, I said, “Yes, yes, I am.”
After that school year was over, my full-time photography journey began.
What was your first camera setup?
The first camera I bought was the Canon 20D, and the 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 IS in 2006.
I didn’t have much money, so I put it all on one lens. I had to learn to work with this lens on every portrait and every wedding I shot.
It was especially difficult working with a floating aperture like this indoors, but that’s the only lens I had, so I figured it out.
Actually, it was that experience to only work with one lens that taught me a very valuable lesson – mastering the gear you have is something most people don’t really do.
For example, we all know what a 50mm f/1.2 lens is, but we don’t really know the ins and outs of that lens. How does it behave in the middle, or in the corners of the frame? What apertures provide the best sharpness for that lens? How does taking a portrait with a 50mm lens look at close proximity? Also, how does it differ from photographing a portrait with that lens at further distances?
I actually quite enjoyed knowing everything there is to know about one lens. Then I used that same mentality with all of my other lenses, cameras, and flashes I purchased in the future.
What camera gear do you use now and why?
I enjoy learning about new, evolving technologies. I love my SLR cameras, and I still have them. I have the Canon 5D Mark IV, the Canon 1D X Mark II, and the Canon 5DS.
But as soon as Canon launched their mirrorless line with the introduction of the Canon EOS R, I embraced the technology.
Although it is different than shooting with a regular dSLR, this camera opens opportunities that are simply impossible with a dSLR. For example, with the face-detection AF, I can take the camera away from my face and engage with clients face-to-face, and while the camera is tracking their face, I’m actually taking photos without the clients knowing.
Also, the ability to use a 1-stop to 9-stop variable neutral density (ND) filter that sits inside the lens adapter is one of my favorite features. This saves me from having to buy multiple ND filters for all of my lenses.
The ND variable filter also allows me to achieve a beautiful cinematic look outdoors by keeping my apertures wide open, such as f/2.0. Then I’m able to illuminate my subjects with the full capabilities of my flashes, and I can stay within the camera’s flash sync speed. This is amazing to me!
Regardless of how bright the light outdoors may be, I can drop the light as far as I want in seconds. Then add flash to my subjects with a color gel filter to do in-camera color grading.
How cool is that?
I am also quite excited about the new R EF lenses, especially the 28-70 f/2.0. These lenses are incredibly sharp and offer a great wide aperture.
However, my favorite feature of these lenses is the ability to program the control ring to whatever you want to fit the kind of shoot you are doing. For example, I programmed my control ring to quickly change my ISO in rapidly changing lighting conditions.
What area of photography do you specialize in and why did you move into that field?
My photography career began in Tucson, AZ.
In Tucson, there is not much of a fashion or beauty industry, but it is a very popular place to get married because of the beauty of the Sonoran Desert and Tucson’s famous sunsets.
On top of that, I was getting married myself during that time.
All of these factors led me to the world of wedding photography. And what a world it is!
I learned quickly that most important is what sets you apart from the hundreds of thousands of wedding photographers out there.
If I had to choose one aspect of my life that sets me apart from other wedding and portrait photographers, it would have to be my background as a classical guitarist. Being a classical guitarist forces you to develop a culture of great dedication to practice.
In fact, in my 14 years as a photographer now, I have not missed a single month that I haven’t practiced something. Regardless of how busy I am, I always make time to practice 30 to 60 minutes a month.
This practice has come in very handy in the most difficult of times to create something truly special for my clients.
For example, the photo I took in Sarasota, Florida, during a hurricane. This photograph was taken late in the evening as the wedding came to an end at the Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida. This photo has to be one of my all-time favorite wedding photographs in my career.
It had been raining all day and all night due to a hurricane passing by the area. To take advantage of the rain, I asked the Rolls Royce driver if he could park the car in front of the tree. I then asked my assistant to stand in front of the grid of the car with two Canon 600EXRT flash units.
One flash unit was used to backlight the couple, and the second was pointed towards the car’s headlights.
Illuminating the headlights would give the viewer the perception that this photograph was lit by the car’s lights. However, the car was not even on. When everything was set, I then asked the bride and groom to run out quickly. It took us a couple of tries to get it right, and maybe we got a little wet, but the photograph is magical, and it will last forever!
Without my relentless practice sessions with my flashes, I would have never been able to visualize this beautiful photo in the midst of a hurricane passing through the location of the wedding.
I have a full production studio in Beverly Hills now. Although I still shoot a few weddings a year, my focus has switched to commercial fashion photography.
Are you working on any exciting projects you’d like to share?
I am incredibly passionate about the benefits I have received from really taking the time to master all aspects of lighting and posing. The more you know about lighting and posing, the more fun you have as a photographer.
The art of photography just opens up to you in ways you never thought imaginable. The type of work you can produce with more knowledge is just incredible and addictive!
Because of this, I dreamed of creating the ultimate education platform for eager photographers wanting a concentrated level of the highest quality education in pure lighting knowledge.
So, I’m in the process of designing a conference. More details to come.
If you could share any photography tips with our readers, what would they be?
I would say that photography has opened doors in my life that I have never thought possible. But it has come because of my training.
My tip would be to never think you know something so well, that you don’t have to learn anymore. Keep your curiosity as big as that of a child. Learn how to pose so that people don’t look posed.
Also, learn how to light, so that the light communicates something to the viewer instead of using light simply to illuminate and create an exposure.
Embrace education, learning, and the new technologies available to help you expand your capabilities and become an even better visual storyteller.
The post Canon Explorers of Light – Q&A with Photographer Roberto Valenzuela appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.
The post Types of Photography that go Beyond the Scope of Human Vision appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Rick Ohnsman.
I recently saw a T-shirt for photographers which said, “I Can Freeze Time – What’s Your Superpower?” It got me thinking about all the things we can do with photography that take us beyond the scope of normal human vision. The time-space continuum isn’t sufficient here to discuss the how-to of all these different techniques, but instead, my intent is to at least expose (yes… a photographic pun) you to these various types of photography so you too can explore new superpowers at your command. Put on your tights and cape, and let’s go.
Einstein says…
Your head might explode if we got very deep into Albert Einstein’s theories, but one thing to consider as a photographer is his Theory of Relativity. He postulated that at the speed of light, time stands still. Do we as photographers really have the ability to freeze time? After all, the raw materials of photography are light and time.
When we make an exposure, we allow a measured quality of light to come into our cameras for a set period of time. The aperture controls that quantity of light. The shutter speed controls how long we allow that light to create an image on the sensor (or the film if you still use that stuff). ISO is simply how sensitive we choose to make the sensor to that admitted light.
Now, I’m no Einstein, not even a Bill Nye, but I think in some way, we really do have the ability to alter time with photography.
Take a quantum leap with me as we explore this.
Can we freeze time with photography? I froze the falling sand in this hourglass not with a fast shutter, but with the short duration of a burst from a Speedlight. 8 seconds f/22 ISO 100
Slivers of time
One of the main attractions of photography, even for those who are just snapshooters, is the ability to capture a moment. What the fallen giant photography company once called a “Kodak Moment.”
Every photograph captures a scene that never existed before that moment and ceases to exists afterward.
We record, and later can review, that sliver of time in a photograph. So in that sense, we really do have the ability to freeze time. Let’s look at some ways we do that.
A photo captures a sliver of time. The people in the photos on the table are long gone, but we can still see the sliver of time that the photo captured.
We can freeze time with a fast shutter speed. For the pepper – 1/3200 sec. f/4 ISO 400. For the motorcyclists – 1/1000 sec. f/3.2 ISO 100
Shutter speed
How long we allow the shutter to stay open is the slice of time we capture. For example, if we shoot at 1/30th of a second, that’s the sliver of time we capture. Shorten the shutter speed to something like 1/500th of a second and that’s the slice of time captured.
This is the reason we need faster shutter speeds to freeze faster-moving objects. Light from the moving object comes into the camera from one point at the beginning of the exposure and other points as the subject moves until the shutter closes.
Static objects don’t move, so nothing much changes during the exposure duration.
Fast-moving objects travel a greater distance during the exposure. We can determine what shutter speed is necessary to freeze the object. The objective here is to not have the object move appreciably during the exposure, such that it appears “frozen.”
Most of our cameras top out at around 1/4000th to 1/8000th of a second. That can freeze some pretty fast action. But what if you have really fast-moving objects you want to freeze? You can meet your increased need for speed with flash.
Flash duration
If you’re a fan of superheroes, you no doubt have heard of The Flash. His superpower is the ability to move at incredible speed – so fast that he’s imperceptible to bystanders. He does have the ability to essentially freeze time, at least relative to the speed of normal humans.
You, as a photographer, can come closer to freezing really fast-moving objects with your flash.
Your camera shutter might top out at 1/8000th of a second, but using the extremely short duration of a flash (ditto for Speedlights, studio strobes, any kind of stroboscopic light), you now up the game.
Rather than reduce the sliver of time with the shutter, you use a much shorter flash duration as the means of making your exposure. How much shorter?
When you -really- want to freeze fast action, use the short duration of a burst of flash. The raspberry – 1/60th sec. f/25 ISO 100 (but the flash at 1/16th power had a duration of just 1/16,000 sec.) The milk splash .3 sec f/8 ISO 800 – flash at 1/32 power for a duration of about 1/10,000 sec.
Look at the table below. This is for a Canon 580EX speedlight.
Different flashes will differ, but the constant is that the lower the flash power, the shorter the flash duration.
Note that at full-power, the 580EX has a flash duration of 1/250 sec. You can do better with just your camera shutter. But, at a setting of 1/128th power, we get some serious stopping power, a flash duration of just 1/20,000th of a second. That will freeze some really fast-moving subjects!
Before you get too cocky with your superpower of freezing time, I wanted to throw in what the big boys at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab have accomplished.
They have actually been able to take photographs at the speed of light, capturing the motion of photons (which move at about 186,282 miles per second, 299,792 kps, millions of times faster than even bullets).
The exposure duration, if that’s the right term for the MIT technique, is less than two-trillionths of a second!
Warping time
Freezing time is magic enough. But with photography, our superpowers don’t end there. Did you know you can also warp time, stretching it out or shrinking it down?
Let’s explore some other types of photography.
Making moving water look silky is a favorite photographer’s trick. We essentially stretch time with a slow shutter speed. Thousand Springs, Idaho at left – .3 sec. f/22 ISO 100. Sabbaday Falls, New Hampshire – 5 sec. f/20 ISO 200
Stretching time
When we take a long exposure photo, we allow light to come into the camera for an extended period of time. All photos are, as described, a “sliver of time,” but sometimes we can allow that sliver to become quite long.
To not overexpose the image, we must still find proper exposure with the camera’s combination of aperture, shutter speed, and ISO.
We can set our aperture to the smallest opening of our lens, perhaps f/22, maybe f/32 or even f/64 on large format cameras with special lenses. We can reduce our ISO to maybe 50. That will maximize our shutter time.
If those settings still let in too much light, we can reach for Neutral Density filters to cut the light further and allow even longer exposures. Now we can make exposures that last for minutes, maybe even hours, rather than fractions of a second.
Need to stretch time even further? Put on an ND filter so you can slow the shutter even more. Left – Convict Lake, California – 30 seconds f/13 ISO 100, Center – Boise River, done with a welder’s glass ND – 162 seconds f/8 ISO 400. Right – Oceanside Pier, California 30 sec. f/6.3 ISO 50
Slowing down your shutter gives you more time to play with the light and creates light-streak effects. It also allows time for “light-painting” as the image on the far right shows.
Of course, with special photo gear and know-how, you can get really radical.
The longest known photo exposures have a “shutter speed” of…get this – almost 3 years!
German photography artist, Michael Wesely, who does this kind of thing, says he estimates with the right setup, he could make an exposure that would last 40 years.
Another guy described as a “conceptual artist and experimental philosopher,” Jonathon Keats, has set up a camera he hopes will take a 1,000-year exposure.
A long exposure of traffic is a favorite photographer’s way to “stretch time” and make light streaks of moving objects. This is the Boise, Idaho skyline during “rush hour.” 15 sec. f/13 ISO 100
Shrinking time
How about we go the other direction and shrink time?
Can we make a photo which reduces what took a long time into a short viewing duration?
One way to do this with a standard digital camera is to use what we call time-lapse photography. A camera with an intervalometer will take a shot every so often, taking many individual images over an extended period. Then, combining the images into what essentially becomes frames in an animation. The long duration becomes a much shorter time-lapse video.
Time is shrunken down. What might have taken days to shoot, can be viewed in seconds.
If you’ve seen sequences of things like flowers growing or fruit rotting, this is the technique. Here’s my feeble attempt. I’ve forgotten how many individual shots it took to make even this very short 7-second video clip – but it was a bunch.
I can’t even begin to fathom what it takes to make a truly epic timelapse like this one.
Another option is to do this in an all-in-one, non-moving image. Taking multiple exposures and combining them into the same final composited image uses this technique. Take a look at the techniques I used in the following images.
You can show a sequence of motion with different techniques. The peppers image was done with strobed flash. The shot of the total eclipse was constructed from multiple images later composited in Photoshop.
Combining a multi-shot panorama with the capabilities of Microsoft ICE, you can make sequences like this.
Intentional Camera Movement – ICM
Another way to distort time, and your image, is to intentionally move the camera, and/or the lens during the exposure. A longer exposure will allow you to do things like swish-pans, zooms, changing focus, or “free-lensing.”
Intentional Camera Movement (ICM) like this vertical swish-pan, can produce very abstract effects. 1/20 sec. f/29 ISO 250
See the light
Humans see and, in normal use, our cameras are designed to capture the portion of the “Electromagnetic Spectrum” we call visible light. (For a deeper dive into this subject, take a look at my article – “How to Understand Light and Color to Improve your Photography.”)
We reference the Kelvin scale when we talk about photography in the visible light realm. Then we use white balance to adjust our cameras to do something our eyes and brains do naturally – adjust to the varying degrees of warm and cool light.
Foliage turns light, skies go dark, and colors get strange when photographing with a camera altered to be sensitive to the infrared spectrum.
We can’t change the portion of the spectrum we see, but our cameras can. You can have a camera altered so that is responsive to other wavelengths of light. This will take a little extra commitment to explore, as once your camera is altered for either infrared or ultraviolet use, it will no longer work for standard photography.
Some cameras may give you infrared capability without special conversion. Take a look at this DPS article.
What our eyes can see is only a tiny portion of the Electromagnetic Spectrum (EMS) called Visible Light. Cameras can be altered to “see” other wavelengths for infrared and ultraviolet photography.
Don’t want to convert your camera for infrared? Tweaking the colors and tones can help you create a pretty good monochrome approximation in Lightroom. There are some good “recipes” for creating presets available.
Cameras can go even further up and down the spectrum of light, though hobbyist photographers aren’t apt to do so.
Get into even shorter wavelengths of light and you can make X-ray images.
Go the other direction into long wavelengths, and you’re not using a camera anymore. Instead, you are perhaps cooking dinner in a microwave oven, clocking the speed of a baseball with radar, or even further, listening to the “light” which we know as radio waves.
Kirlian Photography
When seeking out new types of photography, why be limited to light to make a photo? With Kirlian photography, you can make a “photo” with high-voltage electricity. Shocking! – (Well, I hope not).
Want to give it a go? Here’s a link to a how-to.
Some claim that Kirlian photography, which uses a charged plate to make the image, reveals the Aura of living things, like this fingertip. Guess you’ll have to see for yourself.
HDR
Digital cameras keep getting better and better. However, they still can’t compete with the human eye and brain for capturing scenes that have an extreme range between light and shadow.
To work around this, photographers will take a series of images at different exposures. They then combine those with what is known as High Dynamic Range (HDR) software.
This is yet one more of the types of photography you can explore.
Seeking to expand the dynamic range of this image, I combined multiple exposures with Aurora HDR software.
Astro-Photography
Why limit your photography to earth?
Astrophotography is, as they say, out of this world.
Much more light-sensitive cameras, better lenses, more noise-free sensors, and noise-reduction techniques allow better long exposure images to be made.
We can produce digital camera images showing far more than we can see with our naked eyes.
The light from these stars in the Milky Way has traveled perhaps tens of thousands of years to reach my camera. Mind-blowing! Taken at Bruneau Dunes State Park, Idaho. 25 sec. f/8 ISO 12,800
Thinking about what we can capture with astrophotography begins to boggle your mind. When you take a photo of the night sky, you are literally looking back in time… a very long way back. You’re also looking a long way away… a very very long way. Literally to infinity and beyond.
The farthest star we can usually see with the naked eye is the faint V762 Cassiopeiae, just barely visible under dark skies and around 16,300 light-years away.
For most space objects, we use light-years to describe their distance. A light-year is the distance light travels in one Earth year.
So, that means the light entering your camera from that star took over 16,000 years to make the trip. One light-year is about 6 trillion miles (9 trillion km). So…(calculator out now…) this star is 9.78E16 miles away, or 97,800,000,000,000,000 or 9.8 quadrillion miles (15.77 quadrillion km) away. (Talk about focusing at infinity!)
Even light from astronomical bodies in the neighborhood, so to speak, takes a while to make the trip. Here are some examples:
Sun to Earth – 8 minutes 20 seconds
Moon to Earth – 1.3 seconds
Mars to Earth – 3 min. 2 seconds.
Jupiter to Earth – About 43 minutes.
Macro and Micro
There’s another whole world that awaits when you try macro photography. at left – 1/120 sec. f/1.8 ISO 50, Center – 1/13 sec. f/9 ISO 200, Right – 15 sec. ISO 50 – w/reversed lens.
Think too much about the expansiveness of the universe and you’ll begin to feel really tiny. So how about we look at some types of photography that will make you feel really large – macro and microphotography.
Using things like macro lenses, close-up filters, reversed-lens techniques, bellows, and focus-stacking, we can get really up-close-and-personal with the tiny world.
If you’ve never explored macro photography, take a look at the many ways to get into it. Some of which you can do on-the-cheap as you start out. There’s another whole world right at your feet.
Shoot multiple exposures focused at different spots, and focus-stack them with software to have all the depth-of-field you want. Images stacked with Helicon Focus.
Get into macro photography on-the-cheap with an old film camera lens and a reversing ring. image at right – 2.5 sec. ISO 200
Going even further into inner space, you can get a microscope and the proper adapters to attach your camera to it. Now things like amoebas and paramecium can be your models.
Human vision vs camera vision
If you were a legit superhero, you’d have some kind of special vision, right?
You’ve heard of Superman’s X-ray vision, but did you know, he also is said to have telescopic vision and can see much further than humans? He has incredible night vision and can see in the dark. Also, he has microscopic vision and can see right down to the molecular structure of things. And like the baby in The Incredibles, Jack-Jack, he also has laser vision and can shoot laser beams out of his eyes.
So big deal…your camera can do most of that stuff too.
I’m being silly, but suffice it to say, your camera views the world much differently than you.
A commonly held view is that a 50mm prime lens on a full-frame camera pretty much duplicates the field of human vision. That point is debated. The bottom line is that the human eye and brain are much more sophisticated than any camera. Although an eyeball bears similarities to a camera, when coupled to your brain, well… it’s just different.
Dandelion Ying-Yang – We see in color, but the camera can be made to see in monochrome and also reverse the tones to create a negative image.
That said, cameras do have some of the abilities of Superman.
Coupled with a wide-angle lens, their field of vision can be wider than yours. With a telephoto lens, they can see further. And, with a zoom, they can concentrate on some subjects, excluding others.
Mounted to a telescope or microscope, they can see into space or down to microscopic levels.
Their high ISO capabilities can make images in what to you would be almost total darkness. Add night-vision capabilities and they can boost very low light into an image you can see.
Thermal imaging cameras view the infrared heat coming off objects.
Move your lens during a long exposure for special effects. The lens was zoomed for the image on the left, 2.5 sec. f/25 ISO 100. The lens was turned from out-of-focus to in-focus for the fireworks – 6 sec. f/8 ISO 100
As for shooting laser beams…some cameras really do use them in focusing.
My previous cellphone, an LG G3, and my current LG V30 use lasers to focus the camera. Superman, Jack-Jack, and Buck Rodgers got nuthin’ on us.
Turn a panoramic shot into a “Tiny Planet” with Microsoft ICE.
Distorted vision
I’m not sure a superhero would brag about having distorted vision as a superpower, but creative photographers sometimes like it.
Things like crystal balls, prisms, Lens Baby lenses, tilt-shift lenses, fisheye lenses and all manner of other photographic accessories can be used to distort how an image looks.
You can also play with a photo on the computer to bend and distort it, make “tiny worlds” with editing techniques, sew multiple photos together to make panoramas or even 360-degree virtual reality images.
Be an explorer
Canon has a sponsored group of photographers they call “Explorers of Light.”
What I’m suggesting is you, too, become an explorer. Tap into your superpowers as a photographer to explore all types of photography.
Just making standard photographs is fine and certainly by itself will keep you busy learning for a lifetime. However, when it’s time to broaden your horizons, there are so many other things to try.
Now superhero, harness the speed of light, and go make some unique photos!
14-shots stitched together with Microsoft ICE create this panorama taken at Deadhorse State Park, Utah
Do you know any other types of photography that go beyond the scope of human vision? If so, share your thoughts and comments with us below.
The post Types of Photography that go Beyond the Scope of Human Vision appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Rick Ohnsman.
The post Leica S3 Announced, a Medium Format DSLR With 64 MP appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.
Last week, Leica announced the S3, a medium-format DSLR that packs a whopping 64 megapixels and replaces the Leica S2.
This update is a long-time coming – the Leica S2 debuted way back in 2008 – and the new Leica S3 is looking to be a powerhouse of a camera.
But what does this new high-end DSLR include?
First, you get rugged build-quality and weather sealing, all packed into a DSLR-type form factor. If you’re never used a Leica camera before, you’ll be impressed by how sleek the S3 appears; rather than the usual “brick” you get from Canon and Nikon DSLRs, the S3 is a combination of stylish curves and lines.
You also get a Leica Pro Format sensor, sporting 64 megapixels (up from a 37.5-megapixel sensor in the S2). Of course, 64 megapixels is an exciting specification on its own, offering a resolution beyond anything currently available in the 35mm DSLR world. But when combined with Leica’s 30x45mm Pro Format sensor, the S3 is bound to offer sumptuous image quality, even in low light and at high ISOs.
Another bonus:
Leica offers an excellent lens selection. This includes 16 native Leica lenses, as well as a number of adaptable lenses from the likes of Hasselblad and more.
And let’s not forget about the Cinema 4K at 24 fps, in case you’re looking to bring that incredible image quality over to the video arena.
The main drawbacks to a medium format camera like the S3 are image size and shooting speed. As expected, the Leica S3 struggles in both of these areas; the 64 MP images produced are going to be huge, and will limit burst shooting to just 3 frames per second.
You also have to contend with a ridiculously high price, one that’s far out of the average photographer’s (and the average professional’s) price range. In this case, it’s just under $ 19,000 USD, and that’s for the body only. If you want a compatible lens, you’ll need to shell out another $ 5000+ USD.
For those who can afford it, the Leica S3 will likely come available in late March.
What do you think of the Leica S3? Do you wish you could use it? Or are you content with the 35mm camera market? Let me know in the comments!
The post Leica S3 Announced, a Medium Format DSLR With 64 MP appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.
The post 5 Great Yoga Exercises for Photographers (with Illustrations) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Megan Kennedy.
Sore back and neck, stiff shoulders, probably sore feet too…Unfortunately, the physical nature of photography means that aches and pains can come with the territory. Even a solid editing session at the computer can take a toll. Luckily, there are ways to help ease these troublesome maladies. In this article, I’ve picked out a few yoga exercises for photographers that I use to help combat the strains we accumulate both in the field and during editing sessions.
What is Yoga?
Yoga in the West usually describes a modern form of Hatha yoga (yoga as exercise) which consists of set poses called asanas. By performing these poses, yoga practitioners build flexibility and strength and also learn how to focus through breathing and mindfulness.
Basically, yoga is great for the body and the mind.
All you need is a bit of floor space, comfortable clothing, and a yoga mat if you want one.
To start, take a few deep breaths to get in the zone. If you like, sit cross-legged for a little while (Sukhasana), straightening your spine and rolling your head side to side to relax the neck muscles.
Once you are feeling centered, you’re ready to go!
Cat/Cow (Marjaryasana/Bitilasana)
The yoga poses I’ve selected for this article put particular emphasis on common photography sore spots. In terms of yoga exercises for photographers, you can’t go wrong with Cat and Cow Poses.
When performed together, Cat and Cow Poses lengthen the spine, flexing the back and the neck to relieve tension and stress.
Begin on your hands and knees (Table Top Pose or Bharmanasana). Position your wrists directly under your shoulders. Shift your knees so they are aligned with your hip points. Look down towards the floor, relaxing the neck.
Starting with Cow Pose, inhale and slowly drop your belly towards the floor. Lift your chin and chest, looking toward the ceiling. Draw your shoulders away from your ears and hold the position for 5-10 seconds.
Next is Cat Pose. Begin to exhale and draw your belly up to your spine, rounding your back towards the ceiling. Look down towards the floor, relax your neck and hold the position for 5-10 seconds.
Repeat Cat/Cow as many times as you like, breathing in for Cow Pose and out for Cat Pose.
Upward Facing Dog (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana)
Upward Facing Dog may look like one of the trickier yoga exercises for photographers, but it’s well worth a go. Stretching the back and neck and opening up the chest and shoulders, Upward Facing Dog is a great way to check-in with your body.
Start by lying face-down on the floor. Rest the tops of your feet on the floor with your legs a few inches apart.
Position your hands on the floor next to your lower ribs. Point your fingers towards your head and pull your elbows in close to your rib cage.
Press your hands into the floor. Straightening your arms, lift your torso and upper thighs off the floor.
Pressing down on the floor with the tops of your feet, tense your leg muscles to keep your upper thighs lifted. Keep your elbows pressed tightly against your body.
Pull your shoulders away from your ears and push your chest up towards the ceiling.
Tilt your head to look at the ceiling and hold the pose for 10-30 seconds. Release gradually.
Ragdoll Pose (Baddha Hasta Uttanasana)
Ragdoll Pose, also known as Dangling Pose is a variation on the Standing Forward Fold Pose (Uttanasana). It’s a perfect yoga exercise for photographers, stretching the back and relaxing the shoulders, arms, and neck.
I find it also helps with headaches too.
Start in a standing position, with your feet aligned with your hips and your toes pointed forward.
Fold forward from the hips so that the belly meets with the tops of the thighs. As you fold, bend the knees generously. Keep your navel drawn up to your spine.
Hold your elbows with your hands and let the weight of your arms and head hang down, lengthening the neck and spine.
From here you can rock side to side, rest your hands on the floor or stay as is. Hold the pose for as long as you’d like, focusing on inhaling and exhaling.
Extended Child’s Pose (Utthitta Balasana)
Extended Child’s Pose is calming and restorative – great for the spine, thighs, hips, shoulders, arms, and neck.
To begin Extended Child’s Pose, kneel on the floor. Keep your weight on the heels of your feet.
Touch your big toes together. Separate the knees so that they are a little more than a hip’s width apart.
Reach your arms ahead of you and let the chest sink towards the floor.
Rest your forehead on the floor, drawing the shoulders away from the ears.
Stay in Extended Child’s Pose for as long as you need, focusing on your breath.
Triangle pose (Trikonasana)
Triangle Pose is a yoga exercise for photographers that opens up the chest and shoulders as well as stretching the groin, hamstrings, and hips. It helps to relieve pain in the lower and upper back and stimulates balance.
Begin in a standing position with your feet together. Step your feet wide and raise your arms parallel to the floor, palms down. Your wrists should be roughly in line with your ankles.
Rotate your palms up to the ceiling and turn your right toes out by 90 degrees. Turn the left foot inward slightly so you are balanced.
Reach the right fingertips forward and bend at the hip crease, sending your buttocks back. Keeping the arms straight, reach your right hand towards the top of your right shin, allowing the left arm to raise toward the ceiling.
Once your right hand is settled on your shin and your left arm is pointed toward the ceiling, rotate the chest out and look towards your left hand.
Hold Triangle Pose for 10-15 seconds and then return to a standing position. Reverse the feet and repeat to the left.
Conclusion
Helping to ease stress as well as aches and pains, yoga exercises for photographers are pretty great. Of course, there are plenty of other yoga asanas out there, but I’ve found these five to be especially effective after long days out in the field.
Do you have a favorite yoga pose that you find beneficial to your photography practice? Let us known in the comments!
Note: Megan is not a qualified Yoga instructor. These exercises are a guide only. As with all exercise, please listen to your body, and only do what feels comfortable for you.
The post 5 Great Yoga Exercises for Photographers (with Illustrations) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Megan Kennedy.
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