Black and White continued: Journalistic Style

Capturing photographs for journalistic purposes are fun, but tricky. Even a little scary if unprepared. There is so much one can say when it comes to photographing in a journalistic style (Black and white), but I'm going to try and keep it simple for the beginner photographer.

(All photographs were taken in Zanzibar Stonetown)

My purpose was to capture the look and feel of not only Stonetown, but it's people as well. However, I had to remember people are not buildings and need to be respected. Many photographers seem to lose their basic manners when out on the street, please keep in mind your camera does not give you any more rights than those of your "subjects".

Before taking a photograph of a stranger, ask permission, if they say no, politely smile and accept. Many photographers keep some one/five dollar bills handy as a small token of thanks if the "subject" agreed to a photograph being taken of them.

As for the technical bits, I may be frowned upon by many photographers, but when it comes to photographing for the purpose of capturing a place in all it's beauty, break the rules now and then. Yes, try and remember the basics, rule of thirds,  keep your images well exposed, framed and sharp, yet if you shoot an image at a crazy angle and it is blurred, it may just be what you need, especially in black and white.

Try everything; shoot wide, get in close, change lenses, go low, shoot from above and regularly change shooting angles. Adjust your settings for movement blur or depth of field for portraits of single subjects. Manage your available light to benefit your image at all times. This does not mean never use flash, remember, try everything.

Anticipate, there is always something on the move in a city, be it a delivery man running past or a scooter shooting by. You may not even have time to focus your camera, shoot anyway, you may just get the shot.

as for processing, a nice tip is adding vignetting to your black and white images, darkening the edges completes your image.

Most of all, be patient and enjoy!

Simplify continued, 5 easy tips

Photography is rapidly becoming one of the number one hobbies for most people, big or small, boy or girl. Previously I mentioned how photography can be quite intimidating, yet when kept simple you find out how easy and fun it can be. It is very easy to find reasons why you can not take a good photo. For instance, your camera is not good enough or not understanding the technical terminology. I have been taking photos for a number of years now and am still learning new ways in taking photos and new ways in understanding my camera, hence the reason I am inviting you on my little blog journey, it is way more fun when you realise that even those “good” photographers are still learning everyday, so why not learn with them.
I have 5 easy tips for you, as a beginner, grasping these tips will shoot your standard of photography to a whole new level. It will take some time to fully grasp it, but take your time and enjoy the results.

1. find the right moment and always be ready for that photo moment; being a new photographer you most probably already have your camera with you at all times, but being ready means always having you batteries charged and enough space on your memory card. Remember your settings, I missed so many photos by being ready, but forgetting to change or preset my camera to the most effective settings, and afterwards kicking up dust because I lost the image to over exposure or blur because I never reset my previous shoot settings. In time this gets easier, but don't forget you are human and that mistakes happen, there will always be another opportunity for an even better photograph.

2. Exposure; understanding how light works and affects your photograph is in my opinion one of the most important factors when taking photographs. Personally, I dislike using flash (although there is a definite place for it), as it disrupts the originality and colour of the image. I prefer natural light, that fresh early morning sunlight, the golden hour in the afternoon or even the natural soft-box effect of a cloudy day, and don't forget the soft light shining through your window making for the most perfect shading. Most SLR cameras today have lightmeters, use it.

3. Depth of Field refers to the range of distance / the sharpness of the background. This unfortunately can only be manipulated if your camera allows for it by having a setting where you can change your Aperture (“A” or “F-stop”). I am always asked “how do you get that blurry effect in the image where only the subject stays in focus”...like this...

the lower the Aperture (F stop) numbers (such as F1.8/F2.8) the more shallow depth of field you will have, “blurry background”. Whereas the higher the Aperture (F stop) numbers (such as F16/F22) will have a longer focal length, meaning more focus in the background. Confused? Don't be, play with your different Aperture settings by taking one photo per Aperture setting and find out how simple it really is.

4. Composition was briefly discussed in “Black and White”, yet deserving of a repeat mention. Even though it seems to be the simplest tip, it can be the make or break of your image. How you choose to frame your image, be it clean and without clutter or busy yet balanced, is everything. This comes with practice and experimenting, changing angles and perspective or tightening in on the subject. Over time this becomes easier and less frustrating, just remember not to over complicate your image, keep it simple.

5. Edit your photograph, yes I said edit. This does not mean you don't need to pay attention when taking photographs because you can just fix the mistakes afterwards, It only means you can fix mistakes afterwards. Maybe you need to tweak the exposure a little, add some warmth or a little more vibrance is needed, this image Processing is called Editing.

Many people will try and convince you to use expensive photo editing programs; there is no need for this, trust me, there are many Free Software photo editing programs out and about ready to use.

http://www.gimp.org/

http://rawtherapee.com/

http://www.darktable.org/ (stable version only for Linux/Ubuntu)

Remember, don't complicate it, photography is not a task...enjoy!

Black and White

Everyone loves black and white photography, yet not many people attempt it; for some unknown reason it intimidates many beginner photographers. Don't let it; black and white is an amazing way to capture images, it allows you to instantly create an unlikely stunning photograph and in many cases even correct an image simply by turning it in to a black and white photograph.

Remember the piece on simplifying? Well this is no different; keep the clutter out of your frame and you will most likely take a good black and white photograph. However, there are a couple of tips that could come in handy.

For those who have the ability to shoot in RAW, do it. It will allow you a lot more freedom during the processing of your images. However, for those who do not have the ability to shoot in RAW...

Shoot in color; many compact cameras today have the ability to shoot directly to Black and white; avoid it at all cost. You limit your options during processing and remember your image is made up of information (data), the more information you have, the more you can manipulate the image.

The next time you look outside and see a unpleasant overcast and just plain gloomy day, cheer up because that is play time for the black and white photographer. Your photograph is not inundated with interfering shadows and burning light, and is instead complimented by a natural soft-box effect where the overbearing contrasts have been softened with a low contrasting light.

When shooting in black and white, use the lowest ISO possible. When shooting in high ISO mode the noise will become more obvious ( Noise is the “grain” you find in film photographs). However, it is not a completely bad effect if you have some noise in your black and white photograph, just as long as it is a 'smooth grain”.

Keep your eye ready to spot contrast, patterns and texture; remember when you taking photographs in black and white, shadows tend to stand out more, so you will have to use those shadows to your benefit. Making sure they create lines and patterns complimenting your image and using the available sunlight as back or sidelight could help with this.

Landscapes tend to only work well when there is some form of movement within the image, such as running water or flying birds in the distance.

Remember, black and white photography is shooting with emotion, it brings out the reality of the image you trying to capture.

Keep it tight and sharp, enjoy shooting in monochrome.

Simplify your photographs

As a new photographer, you may find yourself over-thinking the way you approach your shots. Due to this, many of your photos will suffer as a result of having too much detail inundating the photograph. Delete the clutter by removing the unnecessary in the picture, and focus on one point of interest.

Before taking that next photo, look around, take a little more time composing your image. Ask yourself; "how can I frame the image differently and remove the unwanted distractions?"

Tip: Cropping your image will tighten composition
Tip: Use different shooting angles
Tip: Don't complicate, simplify

Both photographs (taken in Zanzibar) were taken just when I started my journey in Digital Photography; at the time I simplified my shots as much as possible. I used a Nikon D50 with 18 - 55mm lens and on camera Auto settings (No post editing or cropping).

Sometimes you get your best results when you not trying too hard and just enjoying the simplicity of something.

Photographing nightscapes with a star filled sky

I have taken various night-scape shots, usually of buildings, bridges or city lights; but never with the purpose of capturing a star filled night-sky. It seemed rather intimidating, but with a little help from a friend, I think it came together quite nice.

So how did I do it?

Location, location, location...something you hear all the time, but in this instance, it is something very important. If you are surrounded by lights, you will not see stars, let alone a sky filled with them. After choosing a secluded location suited for stars to pop out, you need to choose a time. Time is important; it needs to be dark, but it can't be overcast and the moon can't be shining at full blast, for obvious reasons.

I was in Cordoba, Argentina; and it was 22:00. The moon was making it's appearance in about an hour, so I had to make it snappy.

Equipment: Nikon D700, Nikkor 14 - 120mm, tripod, LED headlamp, red-light torch, Laser pointer.

Having some available light did not hurt; for the photograph of the tree and purple night-sky it came in very handy. The porch light was on a couple of meters away, and in the distance Cordoba's  city lights created a really cool purple effect without disrupting the sky.
The same with the other two images; there were street lights shining through an opening in the bushes, creating just enough subtle light for some needed assistance.

You may have noticed I mentioned a red-light torch and Laser pointer; two pieces of gear that comes in very handy. The red-light does not mess with your vision as much as white light, giving you perfect night vision. Whereas the laser pointer gives your camera something to focus on in the low light.



Camera settings are pretty straight forward; Aperture F3.5 with an exposure (shutter) of 20.0" (anything higher would leave star trails); ISO was set quite high, 1250.

Tip: Shoot in RAW (Always)
Tip: If you don't have a remote, use your timer (remember to turn off the laser before the shutter triggers)

Give it a try and enjoy!