Lake St.Clair, Tasmania, Australia
Lake St.Clair, Tasmania, Australia
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Now is the Best Time for Photography
Travel photography defies common travel wisdom.
When most travelers settle down for their dinner, I often try to capture the best light of the day. When other travelers dread the colder weather and declare that it is best to stay home or shop for the holidays, I feel a strong draw to go out and take photographs. Suddenly, my summer slumber is over and I can hardly sit still for a weekend.
The onset of winter brings an excitement to pictures that is impossible to capture during the "boring" summer months. Photography between fall and spring is pure excitement. The clouds are back in Southern California, creating the most spectacular sunsets (see above). During the last couple of weeks, I have seen dolphins underneath the Golden Gate Bridge, spotted migrating whales from the shores of Montana de Oro, and seen playful flocks of seals circling the Avila Pier. It is almost as if the animals know my secret and just waited for the crowds to disappear back into their comfortable and warm homes and overcrowded malls.
Unfortunately, there are still some strange blokes out there. Shortly after I took the photograph of this egret snatching himself a lunch-lizard, a man walked up to me, pulled out his point and shoot camera, took a photograph of the egret, and then shooed it away. However, the reduced amount of travelers during the off-season makes such occurrences rare and tolerable. I assume the lizard would not have minded an earlier rescue and would disagree with me.
During the course of a single day, we also saw several whales blowing in the distance, the seals that you can see above, and a few fishing pelicans (see below). Here you can see one taking a dive from a high altitude to catch fish below the water’s surface. The pelicans are amazing fishers with a grace that you would not expect from the sometimes clumsy-looking birds.
We did get several storm systems coming through this area during the last view days. As a friend told me how this would spoil his plans, my thoughts drifted to the incredible opportunities and the fantastic light you can catch with a coming and going storm. Low cloud coverage with a sliver of open sky in the distance to let the sun come through is the perfect condition for dramatic sunsets and I got lucky twice within a few weeks. The first photograph at the start of this article is from Venice Beach. You can see the lifeguard towers in the foreground and the most amazing sunset. Somehow, the sunsets in Southern California are more vivid than anywhere else in the world.
The second chance was this sunset at McWay Falls. The falls are located in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park and plunge onto a secluded beach in a tranquil cove. Fortunately, we stuck around long enough to see the sunset that lit the last remaining clouds of this day’s storm.
Do not let a few raindrops or a drop in temperature "drop" your excitement for the outdoors. There is no better time than the coming months for photography in the Golden State of California. Go out and see this magical place. Still not sure where to go? Then try my new iPhone application. It will guide you to the most photogenic locations in California. It is now available on iTunes:
California Photo Scout for iPhone
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Help, my pictures are blurry – Part 1: Camera Shake
Learn how to take tack sharp photos!
One of the most common questions I receive in the comments and via email concerns sharpness. Readers are not satisfied with the quality of their pictures and seek advice. It is not surprising, considering that blurry photographs are nearly impossible to salvage and can ruin an otherwise exceptional shot.
In this article series, we will investigate the most common causes of blurred pictures:
- Camera Shake: Caused by long exposure times. Image stabilization can only do so much; learn what you can do to avoid it.
- Motion Blur: Fast moving subjects can cause blur. Learn what to do about it.
- Wrong Focus: What are the focus techniques that will give you sharp pictures?
- Depth of Field: What you need to know about it to get sharp shots.
- Wide-angle Lens Focus: Some points you should know if you decide to go wide.
- Telephoto Lens Focus: And the other way around.
- Camera Issues: Many blame their tools for poor artistry. Sometimes the gear really is to blame; find out how to test your camera.
Camera Shake
This problem alone keeps Manfrotto in the business of providing world-class tripods.
Factors like available light, aperture (size of lens opening), and sensor sensitivity (ISO) determine the time you need to expose your sensor to light. During that time, the picture the camera sees must not change. Therefore, the camera cannot move.
If the exposure time is short, all things are well. Our involuntary hand movements are slow by comparison. If the exposure time is longer, we cannot hold the camera steady long enough anymore.
Image stabilization promises to remedy the situation, but it also gives a false sense of security. Just like the electronic stability systems of your car ultimately succumb to physics, the image stabilization of your lens or camera can only extend the useful range. You still need to understand how to deal with camera shake.
When do you need to worry about camera shake?
Unfortunately, this depends on the focal length of your lens. When you hold very strong binoculars to your eyes, the picture looks very shaky. The large optical magnification amplifies the small movement of your hands.
By contrast, looking through a magnifying glass does not have the same affect.
The longer the lens focal length (binoculars), the shorter your exposure time needs to be to make the shaking invisible to your camera. When the picture the sensor sees moves less than one pixel in distance, the movement is invisible.
Avoid camera shake without using math:
If you dislike math, you can use this method to determine if you need a tripod:
- Set your camera to Auto ISO.
- Check your camera manual for the Auto ISO range. Usually, the maximum ISO level for Auto is not the maximum level the camera is capable of utilizing. The Canon Rebel 450D, for example, can go to ISO 800 in auto mode.
- Shoot in automatic mode or aperture priority mode and always check the ISO setting in your viewfinder.
- If the camera ever hits the maximum, vary the aperture (smaller f-number) until the ISO drops down. If it does not, you probably need a tripod.
Avoid camera shake using math:
Math can do a better job predicting camera shake. Skip over this section if it overwhelms you!
For 35mm film cameras, the rule was that exposure time should be shorter than 1/(focal length). If you had your lens set to 100mm, an exposure of 1/125s would allow you to shoot handheld.
Many digital SLRs have sensors that are smaller than the 35mm film used to be. The reduction in size translates into an "equivalent focal length" that is different from the markings on your camera. You can look up the crop factor (focal length multiplier) for your camera and calculate the equivalent focal length as:
Equivalent focal length = crop factor * focal length
The Canon Rebel series, xxD series, and Canon 7D cameras all have a crop factor of 1.6. This means, with the lens set to 100mm the equivalent focal length is 160mm and the exposure time should be 1/160s or shorter.
Image Stabilization
Image stabilization adds about 2 to 3 stops to your exposure time. For each stop, multiply the exposure time by 2.
For the 100mm example above, we then get:
1/125s * 2 * 2 ~ 1/30 s
If you try to expose longer, you will get blur, despite the image stabilization. I found that no Canon Camera I have used factors image stabilization into the calculation when you set it to Auto ISO.
How camera shake looks like
When you have a blurry picture due to camera shake, all parts of the image will show the same blurriness. The foreground and the background have the same level of blurriness.
Come back to read about Motion Blur in my next article of this series or subscribe to my feed to get it delivered to your reader for free.
Wild Canyon Flying Tortuga Zip Line Adventure Cabo San Lucas
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Video from our Travel With Kids Cabo production shoot in Los Cabos Mexico. Head on on the wild canyon flying tortuga zip line adventure where you zip line over massive canyons in the desert. very different than the jungle zip lines we have done. More info at www.travelwithkids.tv
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From: travelwithkids
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| Time: 01:40 | More in Travel & Events |
Pattaya 2011 – The Sanctuary of Truth
The Sanctuary of Truth is quite a strange tourist attraction. It is neither a palace, nor a temple. It was initiated by a Thai business tycoon in 1981, and scheduled to be completed only by 2025. You need to pay an entrance fee of 500 Baht to visit the attraction. After paying at the entrance gate, you will be taken on horse-drawn carts to the Sanctuary.
Constructed entirely out of teak wood, this is one of the largest timber structures in the world. It is created to represent a fusion of art, philosophy, religion and culture – based on Buddhist and Hindu religious traditions. If you visit the Web Site, you will get some interesting backgounds on the noble purpose of the monument.
The entire structure is constructed out of teak wood – some are amazingly huge slabs of wood which are very hard to come across these days. You can see the craftsman at work on some parts of the building.
Don’t just marvel at the exterior – the interior is also quite impressive.
The scale of the project is no doubt awe-inspiring, and from a distance the ornate sculptures can’t fail to impress. On closer inspection though, you can see that the craftsmanship is no where near the refinement of their ancient counterparts in Ayutthaya or Angkor Wat. Still, it is amazing that they were able to put together such a big group of wood carvers from around the region to work on the project. It is definitely worth a visit.
