With its 25-600mm equivalent F2.8 lens and solid image quality, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200 was one of our favorite cameras in 2012. With its FZ300, Panasonic has kept the lens and sensor but has improved just about everything else, from its image processor to video specs. We recently had some hands-on time with the FZ300 and have plenty of highlights to share. Read more
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
[ By Steph in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]
Built in 1986 in the hopes of enticing diners who were gravitating toward more high-end fare, this now-abandoned floating McDonalds might just be the saddest-looking fast food ruin around. Known as the ‘McBarge,’ it’s been anchored in Burrad Inlet near Vancouver, Canada since its debut and served its last Big Mac in 1991.
The idea was to show off the future of technology and architecture while also attempting to regain some of the market share it lost during an ‘80s trend toward bistros and boutiques.
How, exactly, McDonald’s aimed to do that with a clunky-looking barge serving the same old menu is unclear. The chain dropped $ 12 million on the floating fast food joint and four other locations built just for Expo ’86 in Vancouver, thinking they could simply move the barge elsewhere if it didn’t catch on.
For whatever reason, it was never reopened, and hasn’t budged from its apparently permanent spot in the inlet. Owner Howard Meaking proposed renovating it into the showpiece of a new waterfront development along the Fraser River in 2009, but the city council still hasn’t approved the idea.
A group called ‘Vancouver’s Worst Ghost Hunters’ took a tour of the abandoned barge, using a legal loophole to get aboard and filming the experience. Check out the (surprisingly vermin-free) interior in the video (Images via Wikimedia Commons, Ashley Fisher/Flickr Creative Commons).
These 14 highly unusual eateries take to the rivers, lakes and seas of the world, including Hong Kong’s huge Jumbo Kingdom and Germany’s BBQ Donut.
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Powered by solar panels and sustained by a half-acre plot of farmland, these 12 connected buoyant platforms together form an autonomous off-the-grid dwelling …
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Manhattan is packed full of world-class restaurants, a vast array of shops, a beautiful nature preserve and virtually everything else required to satisfy the …
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[ By Steph in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]
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In this article you will see how to deal with fast moving objects. For me shooting action is the most fun you can have with your photography. You can freeze that instant split second that the human eye couldn’t even comprehend, and capture it in an image for all time.
1/6400, f/6.3. ISO 800
Last weekend I was lucky enough to shoot a bicycle charity event in the countryside. The sun was out, the birds were singing and there was enough distractions for me to completely leave my imagination at home.
As I was shooting fast moving road cyclists I had two lenses that I used. One which is the bread and butter lens of most photographers, the 70-200mm f/2.8. On a full frame body it has a good focal length that can capture subjects at a medium distances and the fast aperture allows for shooting in quite low light conditions. The second lens was a wide angle, for capturing some different looking shots. You don’t want to have a memory card with all the same style of shots, boring for you, and if this is for work, definitely not what the client wants to see.
Shutter speed: 1/50th, f/16, ISO 200
Although I just listed pro lenses, honestly you can do this with any kit zoom lens, a 55-200mm variable aperture or a 70-300mm like the Nikon VR which is a great value for money zoom lens.
As with most shoots I make sure I get the classic shots that I KNOW I can nail first. For me this is frozen action, nice background, and the subject at approximately a 45 degree angle.
1/2500, f/3.2, ISO 200
As you can see in this image, it’s not mind blowing, however it has all the ingredients for a nice photograph that meets the criteria of what you are trying to capture. To create this type image, shoot with your zoom lens using the following settings as a rough starting point:
Your camera is now setup and ready to go. Get yourself in a position where the subject, in this case the cyclist, will be at approximately 45 degrees to you. Full side-on image and straight-on images can seem a bit odd unless it’s the style you are going for; at this angle you can see most of the rider and it’s more flattering.
Smoothly follow the rider with your camera; this might be easier in a crouch or if you have a monopod, utilize it. Once they are in a good position click off a shot or two. With any luck you have a nice photo of the rider, somewhat frozen in time.
1/1600, f/3.2, ISO 200
It didn’t work? Okay, there are two main things that could trip you up here, firstly the shutter speed wasn’t fast enough and the rider is blurry (??? and secondly???). As you are using Aperture Priority (which means you set how much light is allowed in the camera and the camera adjusts the amount of time the shutter is open automatically) it’s possible that there just isn’t enough light. So the camera has slowed the shutter speed way down to let more light in to exposure your photo properly, which has caused blurring of the subject.
When looking through your viewfinder. check your shutter speed down the bottom. You should be aiming for at least around 1/500th of a second. If it is slower than that, it’s time to bump your ISO up to compensate. Your ISO is how sensitive your camera sensor is to light. As a general rule you always want to keep this as low as possible to guarantee grain and noise-free images. However, it is a tool to be used, and on modern DSLRs shooting at ISO 800 yields incredible results over the older generation digital.
1/4000, f/3.2, ISO 400
Adjust your ISO up to 400 and try again. If you are still experiencing motion blur bump it up to 800. Unless it’s a very dark and gloomy day this should give you a crisp clear image with a fast shutter speed.
The next issue you might encounter is that the focus isn’t right. Maybe the rear wheel of the bike is in focus, but the riders face isn’t. Or even worse, the background is sharp and the rider is way out of focus. This is a simple fix.
All DSLRs give you the ability to change focus points, the square which the autofocus uses to target the focal point. Move this point to where the riders head will be in your frame. You may have to change your focus mode to Single Point Focus, as many cameras have the ability to change which focus point they use automatically, depending on the situation. You will have to consult your manual to find out where this is located in your menu system.
1/3200, f/3.5, ISO 400
Now when your rider is in frame, and you are focusing, it will focus on the rider’s face. Honestly, as long as their face is in focus the rest could be a blur, it doesn’t matter, faces are the most import thing in nearly all photos.
These guide lines should give you most of the info you need to shoot this type of photo. However, as with all photography, it’s trial and error to get things right and to get it looking the way YOU want.
Practice this week. Get your kids out on their bikes, go to the park and try to get some photos of dogs running around (this is fantastic practice for tracking subjects) or head down your local racetrack and take photos of cars, motorbikes or horses!
1/2500, f/7.1, ISO 500
Once you get this dialled in. it can be moved to many other subjects and situations, the photos of a skier (above) and snowboarder (top of article) were shot using exactly the same technique.
Do not dismay if things aren’t working out straight away. A lot of learning photography is trial and error and practice. Any entry level, or higher DSLR setup, can do this. Learn your gear and practice, you will be surprised at the caliber of photos you can get from even the least expensive setup.
Thank you for reading, I hope this helps you on your photography quest this week. Please post up your photos and practice shots, if you have any questions I will try to answer them all and get you on the right track to photography perfection. Happy snapping!
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The post Shooting Fast Moving Subjects – How to Stop the Blur by Matt Hull appeared first on Digital Photography School.
Last week we saw some ethereal and mysterious long exposure photos. Now let’s go the opposite way and look at some images there would not be possible without fast shutter speeds (with a couple that have some help using flash to freeze motion too).
Images at either end of the shutter speed scale give us a chance to capture life in an altered state; one we cannot see with our eyes. Long exposures blur things beyond recognition and add mystery. Short exposures freeze things in time and space and capture literally a millisecond of time in an image.
Add flash and you can stop bullets, speeding arrows and more. Enjoy the world of high speed photography:
Bubbles by Chloe Veltkamp on 500px
Jump to the beach by Lily Nedolya on 500px
Patience my friend, patience. by Lasse Lundh on 500px
Spinning Reverse by Rajat Bhargava on 500pxFocus by Tin Man on 500px
Dancing on the Water by Teddy Winanda on 500pxHigh Flyer by Tony Antoniou on 500px
The flying car by Tristan Shu on 500pxskaugvold451 by Peter Skaugvold on 500px
Jump ! by Rarindra Prakarsa on 500pxSuper Dog by Abbrar Cheema’s photography on 500px
Volley by Mary Ruiz on 500pxSoft Touch by Max Rinaldi on 500px
A Splash of Rose by Anthony Chang on 500pxHead shake by Derek Watt on 500px
Show Time by Max Rinaldi on 500pxOops~! by kimerajam . on 500px
Crossing the river by Edwin Leung on 500pxSplash!!! by Ástur Montes on 500px
JOYFUL by Ario Wibisono on 500pxInle Smoker by Vichaya Pop on 500px
Bang by Jinsoo Park on 500pxBurn Crew Concept by Philippe Lejeanvre on 500px
Turkestan Shrike ‹Lanius phoenicuroides› hunting Spiny-tailed Lizard by igano Kabamaru on 500pxMudskipper (Oxudercinae) by igano Kabamaru on 500px
Watch Out! by Gary Brookshaw on 500px googletag.cmd.push(function() {
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The post 26 Speed Busting Fast Shutter Speed Images by Darlene Hildebrandt appeared first on Digital Photography School.
One of the most time-consuming and difficult things in photography is going through all the unedited images you took and choosing your best photos, the ones to keep, and which images to pass by. When I first started out as a photographer, I’d get hung up on this every time. I’d spend way too much time agonizing over every photo, and worrying so much about throwing away a good one. If this sounds like you, then read on, maybe I can save you a lot of time and headaches with a few simple tips!
When you take hundreds of images at a time, the idea of looking through every photo and choosing the best is daunting! If you take each photo with intent, and wait for the right moments before pushing the shutter, you won’t have so many throw-aways to wade through. Be careful to notice composition as you shoot, and focus carefully. Time is money (and if not money, time is sanity), so don’t waste your time with so many extra images to go through.
It’s actually quite surprising how much the images you choose reflect who you are as a photographer. Two different photographers could take the same set of images and they’d choose completely different images to keep or toss. This is actually a great thing. It’s what makes you stand out from all the rest, and it lets your heart and soul shine through. I might keep images that others wouldn’t, and toss some that they’d keep, but many people have told me that they can always tell a Melinda Smith, and that is one of the greatest compliments anyone could give me.
You may notice something in the photo that you know you’ll have to fix in post-processing. You have to decide if this is a deal-breaker, or if it’s worth the fix. In the image above, there was a garden hose (I should’ve moved it before we took the photo, but it was someone else’s home, and I didn’t know how much I should disturb). I decided that I loved the style of the image (my style) enough that it was worth fixing the garden hose. Other times I might decide that I have enough images that don’t require extra work, and it’s not worth the hassle. It’s your call, but try not to keep too many that require extra time.
If any photos have softness, or blurriness, they’re automatically out. What if the client wanted to print that particular image on a huge canvas? I don’t want to be the one to have to tell them that yes, the expressions are adorable, but it’s going to look horrible when it’s blown up big. It’s so hard sometimes when everything else is great, but if you missed it, you missed it. You can’t fix blurry. You might have to pick a second choice photo, but do you want to be the photographer that gives out blurry photos? There are rare exceptions to this; sometimes a photographer will shoot out of focus on purpose, or a particular photo will work as an abstract blurry image, but be very picky. This rule can also apply to any photos that are way off with exposure. Just let them go!
You may have two (or more) photos that are very similar. They might both be cute, but one must go. You will lose a lot of impact with your collections of photos if many of them look the same. I know that it can be hard to give up a photo that you like, but nobody needs five photos of nearly the same look and pose. Decide which one speaks to your style better, check sharpness, or choose the one that shows the subject’s personality a little better. In the above set I chose the photo on the right. They are almost the same photo, but the one on the right was slightly more enthusiastic, and this little girl was FULL of enthusiasm! I had to keep it.
You might have a photo that you know could be really great with just a little bit of work. Maybe a head swap, or a little bit of magical editing will make it into a photo you absolutely love. Sometimes photos that you might pass by initially may end up being your favorite. Watch for those photos that might be your favorites with a little wave of your editing wand.
I know, this sounds like a contradiction of the last tip, but unless you want to be agonizing over every photo for hours, you have to move quickly. You have to be somewhat ruthless as you go through your photos. You can’t edit every single one, and sometimes you just have to make quick judgment calls and move on. In the photos above, the one on the left is cute, but I decided that I liked the connection in the one in the middle the best, so that’s the one that I kept. If I’m having a really hard time giving photos up, I will give them star ratings as I go through them; five stars for definite keepers and four stars for maybes. I usually end up with more five stars than I need, so the four stars automatically go. Sometimes it’s easier to let them go after you’ve given them a fair trial.
What are some strategies that you use to choose which photos to keep and which to toss? I’d love to hear your ideas in the comments:
The post Taking out the Garbage – 7 Tips for Choosing Your Best Photos Fast by Melinda Smith appeared first on Digital Photography School.
Nikon has released the enthusiast-focused D750, a 24MP full-frame DSLR which sits between the D610 and D810 in the company’s lineup. The D750 offers an improved version of the 51-point AF system from the D810, a 6.5fps maximum frame-rate, plus built-in Wi-Fi and a vari-angle LCD. Video features are lifted directly from the D810 and include 1080/60p recording and full manual exposure control. Read more
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
You probably know that a picture is worth a thousand words. If a reader has a choice between 1000-word articles and the infographic that needs just a few scroll downs…he’ll obviously go with the infographic! Visual information is more likely read and understood than other types of data presentation. That’s why I collected helpful infographics and cheat sheets on photography for Continue Reading
The post 20 Superb Infographics & Cheat Sheets to Help You Grow Your Photography Business Fast appeared first on Photodoto.
Panasonic has announced its Lumix DMC-FZ1000 superzoom camera, which features a 1″-type CMOS sensor and F2.8-4.0, 25-400mm equivalent lens. The sensor is not only the same size as on Sony’s Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 – it’s also the same resolution (20.1MP). The FZ1000 features both a fully articulating LCD as well as a high resolution OLED viewfinder. The FZ1000 is also capable of recording 4K video at a bit rate of 100Mbps, from which 8MP stills can be grabbed. The camera will be priced at $ 899 / £749.99.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Now that I have your attention you might be able to guess what this week’s photograph challenge is right?
Weekly photography challenge – fast cars!
You may be thinking, “I don’t live near a race track”, so I’m way ahead of you. Just to clarify this challenge a little, the goal is to make the cars look like they are going fast. They don’t actually have to be doing so!
So how do you add motion to your car images? One way is panning. Another is to shoot from inside a moving car – just please make sure you are NOT the driver! Safety first. Here’s some tips if you need a hand:
By Takashi Hososhima
By Brian Gaid
By Jim Sher
Simply upload your shot into the comment field (look for the little camera icon in the Disqus comments section as pictured below) and they’ll get embedded for us all to see or if you’d prefer upload them to your favourite photo sharing site and leave the link to them.
The post Weekly Photography Challenge – Fast Cars by Darlene Hildebrandt appeared first on Digital Photography School.
Photographers often need to find the most powerful solutions possible and cram them into the smallest places. While the MacBook Air once satisfied only the size part of the equation, the newest member of the family makes it a compelling choice for photographers. The MacBook Air provides a professional level of power in a diminutive package without sacrificing functionality. Learn more
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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