Adventures thru the Lens - Sharing Ideas through Images

Getting The Details Through Cropping

Photography is not only cropping, cleaning and auto balancing your image to make that great shot.  However, I understand that in commercial, portrait, and creative photography, cropping, resetting, and altering the images is the norm.  Who wants to look at an advertisement for beauty cream with the face all blotchy and full of pimples? Have you ever seen a real live person that looks a perfect as they do in the magazine?

The secret for taking beautiful images lies in your aspiration, passion and admiration of the subject, if it be landscape, people, buildings or food.  For some reason, when you are attracted to the subject it shows in your images and they reflect your passion. Using techniques such as composition, angles, and light can help you to create a wonderful image that can only be tools to help enhance your images.  Using light can draw your focus onto your subject; the angle use can change the representation of your subject from short to tall for example.  Perspective is important while deciding on what angle to use, what light is best to set up your shot.  Rule of thumb, take your time and never be in a hurry before taking a shot.  Imagine in your mind that instead of using your digital camera that allows you to trash the images you do not like, you are using film.  That precious film that costs so much to develop each roll and each shot depends on your angles, perspective, and lighting.  This way, you can learn to be careful and think before snapping and shooting your image.

Perspective

Don’t just walk up to something that you want to take a picture of and snap a shot!  Don’t only look at the subject from eye level!  Walk around your subject, if you can, or take a one -meter step to your left, to your right, up and down while looking through your viewer.  Do you see anything that stands out to you?  Which position reflects what you want to show in your image?  Take a series of shots from different angles.  I saw a new stature in front of the Pitti Palace in Florence, Italy and walked around it. Like This!

 

    
 
You can see the difference with the various perspectives, just by walking around the statue and taking my time to look at what I am seeing.! Which one do you like best?

 

Susan Robens – Adventures Thru The Lens Florence Photographer, Guide, and Muse

Shooting Rain or Shine!

Rome was founded over 2,700 years ago, so it’s got a lot of history.  I encourage people to get away from the run of the mill, “standard” photos of monuments and look for the interesting angle, capturing Rome’s history as part of its present day fabric: looking out for the small details that many would overlook.

I want the people who come on the tours to take a little time think about their photos.  Try to let the photo tell a story, it doesn’t have to be War and Peace, or Charles Dickens, but a slice of an emotion that you felt which made you want to take the picture in the first place.  Most of all take time over composition. What are the elements that make you want to take it?

 And how can you bring them all together in a harmonious way so it all clicks into place?

And I underline how important it is to make a decision when composing, should the photo be horizontal or vertical, and to study the relationship and positioning of the various elements to the edge of the frame.  Rather than shooting casually, look around you, just a few centimetres right or left, backwards or forwards, up or down, can make a lot of difference.

One one July  day my client John and I not only photographed Coliseum and the Pantheon and other famous landmarks, we also photographed the violin maker; the antiques restorers workshop; the colourful market in Campo de Fiori; the Jewish Ghetto (a unique neighbourhood that feels like you have been invited into some one’s living room) two small but beautiful churches, one lavishly decorated, the other one with an interesting surprise in store. We also photographed inside the world’s oldest public library and we met a Roman artist whose studio door is itself a painting, and went inside to photograph. 

The day began with one of Rome's famous downpours; I was afraid John wouldn't show up, but he did - with his wife and son.   Photographing Rome (or any city) in the rain is a photographer's delight as there are many interesting (and sometimes funny) incidents with tourists running for cover.  Rain also provides wonderful relflections on the cobblestones.  As you can see, the rain didn't deter John from "telling his story" in photos.

I like to show my clients the Rome that I find most vibrant – the out of the way streets and alleys which are full of history and still full of life.

-Steve Bisgrove (right) with John H. -  Adventures Thru The Lens Photographer and Guide in Rome, Italy

 

Only in Florence

In Florence, if you walk around a person can find many scenes that are absolutely wonderful!  The city has a beautiful character, a feeling of personal freedom where you can be who you are, sit and read the newspaper, put your dog on a special attachment for your bicycle or paint meaningful graffiti on a wall.  Our mayor placed a temporary statue looking at the Duomo, in a city that is hundreds of years old showing his sense of humor!

   

 

Just walking around Florence, you can feel the community closeness and the respect of privacy.  Only in Florence can you chat with your friends on a motorcycle in the middle of the street and no one really cares.  This is why I love Florence.

Your Photo Adventurer photographer in Florence Italy, Susan Brannon

Rule of Thirds

The rule of thirds helps you to produce better images. It is something most people learn in beginning photography classes and is a useful rule to remember when framing your subject!  Of course, rules can be broken, but if you break this rule, remember the rule and know why you are breaking it!

 This rule is actually very simple.

 1)    Take your frame and divide it into 9 equal squares like this:

 2)      Now take the intersections of the lines as your points of focus:

 Also take the lines as a point of interest.  Studies show that our eyes naturally go to one of the intersection points, rather than the center of the shot.

 3)    Then imagine going in the direction of the “eye” lines that we call power points: by placing our subjects near the power points we can give a balance to a composition making it more engaging to the eye. Here are some examples:

 

 

In the top photo, the tree is to the left of the center, notice how the focal points are at the lines.

In the center photo,  this tree is focused on the center.

In the bottom photo,  the same tree is on the right line.

 Which one do you think is best?  Which image draws your eye through the image?  Which one looks umm sort of boring? When you center your subject, it gives the impression that something is missing, the image is not complete.  The image with the same tree on the left gives more depth to the image, and draws you to different focal points.  The same tree on the right, does the same thing, only with fewer trees!

 Avoid making the horizon in the center of the frame, putting it either 1/3 higher or 1/3 lower than the center.  You can use this rule either horizontal or vertical.  When doing this you want to create a visual path.  Here are a few examples:

 

In the photo above, the horizon line is in the middle of the frame.  Again, when you put the horizon in the center point of the image, most of the subjects are missing the focal points, the image looks cut off and not complete. 

Of course, when you put the horizon at the bottom 1/3 you will have more sky, creating a different feeling than when you focus the horizon at the upper 1/3 line.  In this case, it depends on what you want to represent.  The land and lines of the olive trees?  Or the vastness of the countryside with a broader sky?  Here are example:

When you look through your lens, look at the focal points and imagine the lines move your camera to see which angle you like best before taking that shot!  Remember, the easiest way to remember this is to "keep your horizons high or low, but not in the center!"

Happy shooting!

Susan Brannon - your Photo Adventurer photographer in Forence Italy.

Travels with Tony

“It’s not the horse, it’s the rider!”

What if I told you that the best camera on the market today is readily available and that it had every bell and whistle you can imagine, complete with easy-to-use controls and menus and a variety of creative shooting modes?  What would you say if I told you it was available right now and that you can get it for nothing - zero, zip - it's free?  Wouldn't you want one?

Well it's true, the camera is available and it has a name: your eyes!

Consumerism would have you believe that if you have the best camera your photography will improve greatly, and in short time you'll be making photos like those guys at National Geographic. There may be some truth to that, but in the long run and it is a false notion. You can make a bad photograph with a cheap camera as easily as you can make a bad photograph with an expensive camera.

 When I began shooting for National Geographic, the two most common questions I head asked were: "How did you get into National Geographic?” And "How do you guys TAKE those great photos?"

At first, my answers were somewhat flippant: "Oh, it's just raw talent" or "It's pure luck (LOL)".   But a good question deserves a good answer, so I began to think about it over time.  Certainly, natural talent can be important but there's more to it than just talent. It's a matter of how we "see the world with intention", how we use our eyes to pre-visualize the image before we pick up the camera. It's not about the camera, it's about the eyes!  

There was a gentleman who said to me "If I had all the money and time that you guys get at Geographic, I too, could make those great photos."  I dared him to prove this to me and invited him to come down National Geographic the next day to see if he was correct.  I gave him the best camera money could buy and told him he and I would go out and take as much time as we needed to make a dozen images.  Instead of taking my Nikon, I bought a Kodak cardboard throw-away camera and we went out shooting.  Afterwards I gave the film rolls to the editors upstairs without telling them anything, and asked them to choose the best 5-7 photos in the shoot.   The bet was $50 and all the beer the winner could drink in one evening! 

Two days later the editor called and said he'd chosen 7 of the best images.  Whose images do you think were chosen?  Mine of course, and I won $50 and drank good beer one evening with this man.  He asked me "How did you do that with such a cheap, nothing, camera?"  My answer was direct and simple: "It's not the horse, it's the rider!"  To put it another way, it's not the camera, it's the eye behind the camera that counts.

I coach my clients and students constantly to "put the camera down", "Don't look through the camera", "Make the image in your mind first, then the camera", and most importantly, "If you can't see it with your eyes, you'll NEVER find it in the viewfinder!"

Good photography depends more on an intricate interplay between the subject, your eyes, and your imagination than it depends on what camera you use.  The camera is the last element to enter the creative process of making a good image. The camera is jsut a tool to give expression to what you have already seen in our "mind's eye".  In a real sense, the photograph should already  be "taken" even before you push the shutter-release on the camera.

 Remember, it's not the horse, it's the rider!

 

 

National Geographic comes to Rome

I just arrived in Rome, the Eternal City, but we call it the Infernal City because it just drives you crazy!  But you gotta LOVE THIS CITY!  I come here every summer to lead photography tours.  This year we have added a new facet to our already successful programs that will bring the history of Rome to life in a unique way. 

This photo is of the Roman Forum in the late afternoon.  I've been shooting the Roman Forum for over 40 years and never get tired of pointing my camera into those beautiful ruins.  The light is always changing from moment to moment, bathing those ancient stones in shades of the golden light Rome is so famous for. 

This was shot with a Nikon D300s and a 18-200mm lens. 

via blog.photo-adventurer.com

Stalking Lions in Hong Kong

Lions don't really wander the streets of Hong Kong, but then again, sometimes they do..... at least in representative form. Wandering around you sometimes hear the crash of cymbals and the bang of drums. This generally means a lion dance is taking place, usually to bring luck to a new business venture, or, at Lunar New Year, to bring luck for the coming year.

Sometimes you just see these fellows. They wait patiently.

Black Rain Day

I love it in Hong Kong when it rains. We have long periods, generally the entire winter, when we have little or no rain at all.  Come spring it all happens. And boy, sometimes it really can.

I was taking a taxi to meet some friends, have some lunch at a dai pai dong (street stall), and then go see an exhibition when the sky opened and down came what is referred to as a "black rain".  Large amounts of rain fall in a very short period of time.  This was the view out the taxi windscreen, between sweeps of the windscreen wiper.  Needless to say traffic moved slowly for a while.

I made it to lunch, the pork neck noodles were great, the company excellent, and the conversation was ...... all about the rain.

Lunar New Year in Hong Kong

Last week was the start of the year of the Ox in Hong Kong. And with the start of the year there are celebrations and obligations. One obligation is to make offerings for the success of the year.

So I waited a few days for the crush to die down and headed out to a Taoist Temple in Wong Tai Sin. It was still busy. And the smoke from innumerable joss sticks filled the air. 

 

The entire family visits.

Some from the Chinese Mainland like this group.

In a few days it will all be quite again, well, until the next event on the calendar.