tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76183918178494396762024-03-13T09:00:33.888-07:00Now in FocusYou're probably wondering, `What can I expect from this blog?` Well, this blog will include monthly updates featuring photographs that I have taken. These photographs will include a short description of the subject(s), what equipment I used, and top tips for shooting in the style that the photograph is in. I hope that this will be very useful for you, the readers of the blog, as well as providing you with some engaging photographs to cast your eyes upon.Douglas Bengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01902963035747421507noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618391817849439676.post-44628022028537143322013-02-10T07:29:00.002-08:002013-02-10T08:13:23.774-08:00A Guide to Concert Photography<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A live concert is quite a tricky situation to photograph, as
there are many different factors to consider when you are trying to get that
perfect shot. In this blog post, I am going to discuss what camera equipment and
settings you will need to help you capture that magic moment. I will also include
some of my own concert photography work, which will hopefully inspire you when
you begin your own concert photography adventures!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've been lucky enough to photograph some very well-known
bands as a photographer, such as the alternative rock band, `Keane`, when they
performed at the `Hastings Beer & Music Festival` (HBMF) in 2012. More recently I
worked as a photographer photographing the post-hardcore band, `The Blackout`,
when they played at `The Old Fire Station` in Bournemouth. I've also been able
to photograph some great local bands too, such as `Ska’d 4 Life`, who also performed
at the `Hastings Beer & Music Festival` in 2012.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN2lb35u8-er_pwKKRJjDlGE2TxvmjGkkN3M5uHJlDH9dQKqks_DB1hggyd7NaAhGOjP9_q_4HFMbt-aXNrNP_RwiMUyNRvtpwYcD5oELh0nd0ujpEnStlvdeysErcC5VlqbEMI94q23w/s1600/Keane+-+HBMF+2012+-+Douglas+Benge.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN2lb35u8-er_pwKKRJjDlGE2TxvmjGkkN3M5uHJlDH9dQKqks_DB1hggyd7NaAhGOjP9_q_4HFMbt-aXNrNP_RwiMUyNRvtpwYcD5oELh0nd0ujpEnStlvdeysErcC5VlqbEMI94q23w/s400/Keane+-+HBMF+2012+-+Douglas+Benge.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>`Keane` - `HBMF` 2012 - Douglas Benge</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>Photographing a Concert: The Basics</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If I've learnt anything from my previous work photographing
concerts, it’s that you have to work with what you have, in terms of the stage
setup, and more importantly, the lighting rig that is being used to light the
stage. Here are a few basic points that will help you to take better concert
photographs:</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Backlight your subjects - This is such a simple but
effective technique. Photograph your subjects when they appear in front of a
light, or if you should be in the `photographer pit` area, move yourself, so
that your subject is positioned with a predominant light behind them; this
creates a perfect halo around them and adds a great level of contrast to any image. You
can see some examples of this `backlighting` technique within my photographs
below.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Try to avoid
using flash, or use it wisely - When using flash to photograph live
performances, it will quite often remove any shadow and depth that can be found
within your image. I always try and work with the lighting rig that is being
used, to capture the natural atmosphere surrounding the subject.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Use a fast
lens - By this I mean use a lens that has a very large aperture, anywhere
between f/1.4 and f/2.8 would be perfect. The benefit of this is that you can
use a faster shutter speed compared to a lens with a smaller aperture; as more
light is allowed in through the lens, the shutter speed can therefore become
faster, allowing you to take sharper images. If I’m working as a photographer
at quite a large venue, I would tend to use my Canon 50mm f/1.8 Mk II prime
lens, as this works unbelievably well in low light conditions, due to its large
aperture size.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Go full manual! - I know it may seem a bit daunting at first if you
haven’t used the `M` mode, (manual mode), on you Digital SLR before, but trust
me, to get great shots that have a fantastic level of contrast, depth, and have
a sharp focus, manual mode is the ideal setting. If you use a pre-se</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">t mode on
your camera, your photographs will tend to be over exposed and blurred, as your
camera is trying to get as much light in through the lens as possible, and
therefore uses a longer shutter speed to help it achieve this, which results in
blurred images. Manual focus is so important as well, as your camera may find
it very difficult to keep the focus on moving subjects, especially in the low
light conditions of a concert. Before the band </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">I'm</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> photographing come on, I’ll
take quite a few test shots to find the right shutter speed and aperture size
to get the perfect exposure level.</span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Choose the
right ISO - Setting the ISO of your camera to the correct level will make all
the difference when taking your photographs. If you’re not familiar with ISO,
it measures the sensitivity of your camera's sensor. This basically means that
the lower the ISO is, e.g. 100 ISO, the less sensitive your camera's sensor is
to light. The higher the ISO is, e.g. 3200 ISO, the more sensitive your sensor
is to light. But this increase in sensitivity does increase the amount of grain
and noise that can be found within an image, so it is important to get the ISO
just right, and not set it too high. At concerts I often photograph my subjects
at around 800 ISO, as I have found that this is generally the right level to
produce images that are sharp and not grainy.</span></li>
</ul>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Choose
different angles - A photographer should never be stationary, unless you’re
using a tripod of course! Move around as much as you can to get coverage from
many different angles; this will allow you to produce varied photographs which
are much more interesting. Don’t be afraid to tilt and angle your camera as
well. I hardly ever have my camera solely in the landscape or portrait
position, I'm always trying to find an angle that enhances the composition of
my shot, which therefore creates a more dramatic photograph.</span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are some
photographs that I took at `Hastings Beer & Music Festival` (HBMF) in 2012
featuring `Keane`, `Cushty`, and `Ska’d 4 Life`. These photographs were taken on my Canon EOS 500D with the Canon 50mm f/1.8 Mk II lens. I have also included some photographs that I took of `The Blackout` performing at `The Old Fire Station` in Bournemouth. These</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">photographs were taken on my Canon EOS 550D with the Canon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens:</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><i>Click on the
images to enlarge them.</i><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0t8y43e3XjbJ-dEKXJq8lEJrDUikRSP248rauwyjn2vSHm8fPYr6sBv0W5ZAEBd3ZVyRrLV6CmLOBXBIp5oGGlC2FR-YWDg3WprBoweMs0yxSl_YtgMS9M71A4CAQWWsJBmw61y6mZ6E/s1600/Gavin+Butler+-+The+Blackout+-+Douglas+Benge.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0t8y43e3XjbJ-dEKXJq8lEJrDUikRSP248rauwyjn2vSHm8fPYr6sBv0W5ZAEBd3ZVyRrLV6CmLOBXBIp5oGGlC2FR-YWDg3WprBoweMs0yxSl_YtgMS9M71A4CAQWWsJBmw61y6mZ6E/s400/Gavin+Butler+-+The+Blackout+-+Douglas+Benge.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>`Gavin Butler` - `The Blackout` - Douglas Benge</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRkB8F8E2Y_c2fPmAUu5G2SRL4KQXdD8EIuVZl9wg09lC-Jyn6MjXWxfdTN6cN6POBeHa16SyhayZuQhf-ymyRHhXuG9lQ3WthRyqD61ib3XsfQSmzKtbc7v4w_lUlQCVCAghHItURWYE/s1600/SPIN+-+HBMF+2012+-+Douglas+Benge.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRkB8F8E2Y_c2fPmAUu5G2SRL4KQXdD8EIuVZl9wg09lC-Jyn6MjXWxfdTN6cN6POBeHa16SyhayZuQhf-ymyRHhXuG9lQ3WthRyqD61ib3XsfQSmzKtbc7v4w_lUlQCVCAghHItURWYE/s400/SPIN+-+HBMF+2012+-+Douglas+Benge.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>`SPIN` - `HBMF` 2012 - Douglas Benge</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9y3mCkke-f2fjkZhdGuxPeK-rzNWZblWM5RiRUo6KMldkuFJ2C35E9Rtbt041CqxcXYEimdjGmXHZTOBwApcTk6-qplBif3SHvPS43-qIk2L553NQ8m4cZU9TqhBI9vBJhQtq8LhmuT0/s1600/Tom+Chaplin+-+Keane+-+HBMF+2012+-+Douglas+Benge.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9y3mCkke-f2fjkZhdGuxPeK-rzNWZblWM5RiRUo6KMldkuFJ2C35E9Rtbt041CqxcXYEimdjGmXHZTOBwApcTk6-qplBif3SHvPS43-qIk2L553NQ8m4cZU9TqhBI9vBJhQtq8LhmuT0/s400/Tom+Chaplin+-+Keane+-+HBMF+2012+-+Douglas+Benge.JPG" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>`Tom Chaplin` - `Keane` - `HBMF` 2012 - Douglas Benge</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwqYzb1m-dWbw8rQ7O3vsn1LhFJAzs3PyEBRzm6W5EjLMouqV09Ez6GJ2vMA3LN9z24CLMcdgjOaue4dk2ZlCqpvgO7NwqArL81Cbp5vcpfdTtYImY5gk46YSEqpMlAFSLxxruOTuU2PE/s1600/Cushty+-+HBMF+2012+-+Douglas+Benge.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwqYzb1m-dWbw8rQ7O3vsn1LhFJAzs3PyEBRzm6W5EjLMouqV09Ez6GJ2vMA3LN9z24CLMcdgjOaue4dk2ZlCqpvgO7NwqArL81Cbp5vcpfdTtYImY5gk46YSEqpMlAFSLxxruOTuU2PE/s400/Cushty+-+HBMF+2012+-+Douglas+Benge.JPG" width="270" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>`Cushty` - `HBMF` 2012 - Douglas Benge</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRHZ5sON95WDfyBXmEQ4VZWDyGVXmzmlJWy7z-2E8YGi4oJwOqWqPRH5zneXQZ_n05J3P8HP_0eQyumpgpi4x2H_0rZI2BvVBEapRcTPkBT_agtN6vGUO0TK6VCV4Sv76zLquJPdwl6dQ/s1600/Sean+Smith+%25282%2529+-+The+Blackout+-+Douglas+Benge.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRHZ5sON95WDfyBXmEQ4VZWDyGVXmzmlJWy7z-2E8YGi4oJwOqWqPRH5zneXQZ_n05J3P8HP_0eQyumpgpi4x2H_0rZI2BvVBEapRcTPkBT_agtN6vGUO0TK6VCV4Sv76zLquJPdwl6dQ/s400/Sean+Smith+%25282%2529+-+The+Blackout+-+Douglas+Benge.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>`Sean Smith` - `The Blackout` - Douglas Benge</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOkqBqlnIA3aVMX3qrbtOxuXi68FUsErQ9iPQ3HbrpqJQuARPnlgcNajwG-W_m3Do21fUTDCzYXyGLN0KJSF2RLvsqGrGkyGP0wgLFM2PTWLfiwomRWt1aYdRLO04P967YhZw-wO4ka-A/s1600/Ska%2527d+4+Life+-+HBMF+2012+-+Douglas+Benge.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOkqBqlnIA3aVMX3qrbtOxuXi68FUsErQ9iPQ3HbrpqJQuARPnlgcNajwG-W_m3Do21fUTDCzYXyGLN0KJSF2RLvsqGrGkyGP0wgLFM2PTWLfiwomRWt1aYdRLO04P967YhZw-wO4ka-A/s400/Ska%2527d+4+Life+-+HBMF+2012+-+Douglas+Benge.JPG" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>`Ska'd 4 Life` - `HBMF` 2012 - Douglas Benge</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpjpsvDEbWk1Rzu7IooFJkKKbugqMyhsPnzSz4oMCHaepJeTQH9sD5fd6QAw-0efVlt8CMWTO78YObtpqm_U5o_KkM3Lxzd_0hchHEZvSkhx6d0pFcvhc0MX6uNaAruWw-4xxOeD_HPHw/s1600/Tom+Chaplin+%25282%2529+-+Keane+-+HBMF+-+2012+-+Douglas+Benge.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpjpsvDEbWk1Rzu7IooFJkKKbugqMyhsPnzSz4oMCHaepJeTQH9sD5fd6QAw-0efVlt8CMWTO78YObtpqm_U5o_KkM3Lxzd_0hchHEZvSkhx6d0pFcvhc0MX6uNaAruWw-4xxOeD_HPHw/s400/Tom+Chaplin+%25282%2529+-+Keane+-+HBMF+-+2012+-+Douglas+Benge.JPG" width="281" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>`Tom Chaplin` - `Keane` - `HBMF` 2012 - Douglas Benge (2)</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzD98wFphetS33z3p737VYwPRKa6U6SRVp8zMvay1uEAgLElnTWsbaRuBemCjfcOPeG3k8EqnsGy7J4CGtDbv7RSZW5iDl1oWSGNWxTeirPwXdGzif1c4WaYIH3SY_Ktt9QPpQfKmWcRI/s1600/Sean+Smith+-+The+Blackout+-+Douglas+Benge+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzD98wFphetS33z3p737VYwPRKa6U6SRVp8zMvay1uEAgLElnTWsbaRuBemCjfcOPeG3k8EqnsGy7J4CGtDbv7RSZW5iDl1oWSGNWxTeirPwXdGzif1c4WaYIH3SY_Ktt9QPpQfKmWcRI/s400/Sean+Smith+-+The+Blackout+-+Douglas+Benge+(2).JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i> `Sean Smith` - `The Blackout` - Douglas Benge (2)</i></span></td></tr>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Top Tip:</b></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">`Use your
time wisely. If you’re working as a photographer at a venue where a band are
playing, the band will state beforehand how many songs the photographers are
allowed to take photos for. From past experience, most bands tend to allow
photos to be taken for the first three songs. That may seem like a lot of time,
but trust me, it will fly by! You need to keep taking photos and try all the
different camera angles you can; this will ensure that you have a good variety of
images to choose from when you select your photographs to edit.`</span></i></span></h3>
</blockquote>
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Douglas Bengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01902963035747421507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618391817849439676.post-47813128766792570022012-05-02T14:26:00.002-07:002012-05-02T14:26:25.417-07:00Animal Photography<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photographing animals has always been an area of photography
that I have wanted to explore, so recently I set out with my camera with the
intention of capturing portraits of animals. Not only did I develop my
knowledge within this area of photography whilst conducting this project, I
managed to produce some impressive portraits of animals which you can see in
this post. I have also included a section within this post titled, `Top Tips for Photographing Animals`.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To take my photographs, I went to my local zoo called `Drusillas
Park`. This zoo has a diverse range of animals with lots of different enclosure
settings, allowing me to produce a good variety of photographs. Although the
zoo was extremely busy, because the weather was sunny, which doesn’t happen
often in England, I was still able to take some good photographs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For all of the photographs included within this post, I used
my Canon EOS 500D DSLR camera, with my Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens.
This lens was my most important piece of kit when I went out on my shoot, as it
allowed me to zoom right into the subject, so that they would fill the frame,
resulting in a really focused shot. The USM (Ultra Sonic Motor) featured in
this lens, helped me a lot when I was taking my photographs, as it
enabled me to keep my subjects in focus, as it would adjust the focus accordingly,
whenever the subjects moved. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are three of the images that I produced for my animal photography project:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilbepaYd-2QPOIVxyA2koPCfDseF_LJ4OO1vL69wYnWxPrgdOLRdOWnLCvXeOaV9eqiq__khoVGKruGB_mdqh6S_P9zL2aTLiTpyUOB59XpsxLCR17h3tGUvA0i4znatij81hzWHXPf4I/s1600/Wondering%E2%80%A6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilbepaYd-2QPOIVxyA2koPCfDseF_LJ4OO1vL69wYnWxPrgdOLRdOWnLCvXeOaV9eqiq__khoVGKruGB_mdqh6S_P9zL2aTLiTpyUOB59XpsxLCR17h3tGUvA0i4znatij81hzWHXPf4I/s400/Wondering%E2%80%A6.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>`Wondering...` - Douglas Benge</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have titled this photograph,
`Wondering…`, as this is what the lemur appears to be doing in the image,
thinking and wondering. I took quite a few photographs of the lemurs when I
went on my shoot, but this photograph was the one that had the most natural
character within it. I really like the composition of this shot, as the lemur
looks into the empty space at the top right hand corner of the image, which in
turn is thinking space for the viewer. I
added two textures to this photograph, to try and create a texturally rich
image; I think I have succeeded, as this photograph of a lemur is full of
colour tone and rich textures.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi79Gnycs06TLHuaUBRVqXHqRj29No7ar17Ab548gGBZTeMYOreL3XXVya86hKjmieATiFb06qK0vZUjRKJRpBPgGjhtM4-7X1SAFfZuXGz4Pmmfi63h7j__aJ3yeS4SST7dvYjOz-BKTo/s1600/Unknown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi79Gnycs06TLHuaUBRVqXHqRj29No7ar17Ab548gGBZTeMYOreL3XXVya86hKjmieATiFb06qK0vZUjRKJRpBPgGjhtM4-7X1SAFfZuXGz4Pmmfi63h7j__aJ3yeS4SST7dvYjOz-BKTo/s400/Unknown.jpg" width="235" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>`Unknown` - Douglas Benge</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have titled this photograph,
`Unknown`, as it depicts a bird perching on a branch, but you can’t tell what
type of bird it is, as I have photographed it from behind whilst its head was
tucked down into its chest. I really like this element of mystery that this
photograph has, as it draws you into the image, as you try and work out what
this `creature` is. I have used a dark texture on this image, to create the illusion
that it is night time. After I placed this texture onto the image, I erased the
area of the texture that could be seen over the bird, resulting in the image
that you see before you, where the bird appears as if it is glowing. The abstractness
of this photograph helps to create a more powerful image, that isn’t just another
standard animal portrait.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8xrch6xX-3VurxH49dZ2NX_oRCoceDg2UvLUf5BZg7xrihy3IiBq4rpTEhfh5f2K4s4U7aGI2vsR_BoCFroBWZitCjNjp229JICLczbq3ZhSHlIxWimoxWXQ_XrBJ0sO9NCg7XijQf8o/s1600/Rainbow+Lorikeet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8xrch6xX-3VurxH49dZ2NX_oRCoceDg2UvLUf5BZg7xrihy3IiBq4rpTEhfh5f2K4s4U7aGI2vsR_BoCFroBWZitCjNjp229JICLczbq3ZhSHlIxWimoxWXQ_XrBJ0sO9NCg7XijQf8o/s400/Rainbow+Lorikeet.jpg" width="261" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>`Rainbow Lorikeet` - Douglas Benge</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I
have titled this photograph, `Rainbow Lorikeet`, as this is what the image
depicts. The natural colours within this photograph are beautiful and vibrant,
which is why I chose to use a multi-coloured texture over the original
photograph, to add to these rich colours, and to create a photograph with more
tone. I really like how the lorikeet is looking directly into the camera lens
in this image; it adds an element of interaction to the photograph, as we are
able to look at him directly in the eye. When I was photographing this lorikeet,
because of its small size and the fact that it kept moving, it was difficult to
keep focus on this birds face, but with some patience, I managed to produce this
shot where the lorikeets face is in focus.</span></span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was inspired by the
photographer, Pauline Fowler, to produce my animal portraits in the way that I
have. Pauline has produced a photographic series titled, `Exotic Animals`, which features
photographs of animals such as zebras, tigers, and monkeys, that have all been
manipulated in Photoshop, to create really rich textured images. To create
this effect for her photographs, Pauline uses layered textures; these textures
include her own photographs taken of light on water, greenery, skies, and some
free textures that she downloads from the internet. I highly recommend
that you visit her website and take a look at her `Exotic Animals` series. Here
is the link: <a href="http://paulinefowler.artspan.com/">http://paulinefowler.artspan.com/</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Top Tips for Photographing
Animals:</b></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Be patient!</b> – Patience is probably the most important thing you can have when photographing animals. You need to remember that animals are their own beings, so they aren’t going to do exactly what you want them to do. In order to produce natural animal photographs, you need to be patient, and need to wait for that natural spontaneous moment, it will be worth it.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div class="MsoNormal">
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Experiment with different angles</b> – The size of an animal will affect the angle that you photograph it from, so be prepared to get on the ground in order to get that perfect shot, especially when photographing small animals like pets. Photographing your subject from the best angle, can turn an ordinary photograph into a really impressive image.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div class="MsoNormal">
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>Photograph
your subject early or late in the day</b> – Photographing animals in strong midday
sun isn’t ideal, and animals are generally less active at midday if the weather
is warm. So, you should get up early or wait until later in the evening, in order
to photograph your subject in the `golden hour`, the first and last hour of
sunlight in the day. This will allow you to produce images that have a beautiful
warmth to them, and will also allow you to take some stunning back-lit photographs.</span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Focus
on your subject’s eyes</b> – Having a sharp focus on the eyes of a subject is
important in any kind of portrait photography; this same principle applies when photographing animals. Different animals will have different shaped and coloured eyes, so a
sharp focus on these eyes will allow you to see them in great detail.
Remember, “Eyes are the window to the soul”.</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Try to avoid using flash</b> – If
you were to use flash when photographing an animal close to you, their eyes in the photograph would be an undesirable bright green colour; use natural light to photograph
your subject, as this will create a softer photograph that has better tonal qualities
than an image where your subject has glaring highlights from the use of flash.
If you are at a zoo, and are photographing animals though a glass screen, you
should definitely not use flash, as the flash will reflect off the glass, resulting
in a bright, glaring image.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hope that these tips will help you when you go out to take your own animal photographs.</span></span></span></li>
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</div>Douglas Bengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01902963035747421507noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618391817849439676.post-15449469498504077442012-02-18T05:41:00.001-08:002012-02-19T06:37:14.463-08:00Panoramic Photography<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Panoramic photographs are created using a technique within photography that uses editing software like Photoshop, to capture images with elongated fields of view. This means that photographers can capture images with a field of view of up to 360 degrees. The technique of creating these photographs is very simple and yet can produce some really impressive images.</span><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you want to know how to create your very own panoramic photographs, there is a step-by-step guide included within this blog post.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are my panoramas that I produced for my panoramic project:</span><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhvYsPUWqPWO_luaN_aN2WQ7EIycxLhPlhs2YVLWtOdz2IedRLZTzgmHsTeGq7mWGG61XPHdQsNr6KHLEwh4_WKiHOvG5oaTNLvSRhiDmN0xBMLPnnTMPhyFruqG-K8uvt_9OGb83RfHU/s1600/View+from+%60The+De+La+Warr+Pavilion%60+-+Douglas+Benge.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="76" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhvYsPUWqPWO_luaN_aN2WQ7EIycxLhPlhs2YVLWtOdz2IedRLZTzgmHsTeGq7mWGG61XPHdQsNr6KHLEwh4_WKiHOvG5oaTNLvSRhiDmN0xBMLPnnTMPhyFruqG-K8uvt_9OGb83RfHU/s400/View+from+%60The+De+La+Warr+Pavilion%60+-+Douglas+Benge.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>View from `The De La Warr Pavilion` - Douglas Benge</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This panoramic photograph that I have taken depicts the view out to sea from the grounds in front of `The De La Warr Pavilion`. It was produced from a total of nine shots, all taken with my camera in the portrait position. The subjects composed on the left and right hand side of the photograph, are Bexhill’s promenade domes, as the promenade runs along the seaside and passes in front of `The De La Warr Pavilion`. The other prominent subjects within this image are the three flags that appear in colour in this photograph, creating a more interesting and engaging image. The flag that is in the centre of the image, creates a strong and dramatic contrast to the dark and gloomy sky that is situated behind it. This creates a very powerful focal point to the image and really helps the flag to stand out. This is a wide angle panorama which probably has a field of view of around 160 degrees. In a way, it is the emptiness within this photograph that makes it so powerful as a panorama; it allows thinking space for the viewer and creates a more focused image, as the subjects in the photograph frame and focus your attention to the flag that is standing along in the centre of the scene. After I edited the image into grey-scale in Photoshop, I used the `Burn Tool` to darken certain areas of the sky and also used the `Dodge Tool` to lighten areas of the sky. I used these tools to create a really moody backdrop to the panorama, as the original sky featured in the photograph wasn’t very dramatic or contrasting at all. I think I succeeded in creating this moody and atmospheric effect.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU86QnqCzFfVx4Ql_A4p9-ccp3f8e2zkBps8sF6C4ztsaeVu1J2EWqoCuZw53MF2pKlCqbenOSv8jkhFnIs3qMhhZ3HvMP9-_eTdFMcsfOdKF87H2kDZHAEKp2pi0XSpzOFAjnOd5ilEA/s1600/Wallers+Haven+%E2%80%93+Douglas+Benge.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU86QnqCzFfVx4Ql_A4p9-ccp3f8e2zkBps8sF6C4ztsaeVu1J2EWqoCuZw53MF2pKlCqbenOSv8jkhFnIs3qMhhZ3HvMP9-_eTdFMcsfOdKF87H2kDZHAEKp2pi0XSpzOFAjnOd5ilEA/s400/Wallers+Haven+%E2%80%93+Douglas+Benge.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Wallers Haven - Douglas Benge</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This panorama depicts a section of the river `Wallers Haven`. It was produced from a total of seven photographs, all taken with my camera in the portrait position. I chose this river as the subject for one of my panoramas, as I thought it would be really interesting to capture the full length of this particular section of the river, in just one panoramic photograph. I have managed to do this and have consequently produced a panoramic image with a field of view of around 175 degrees. The river is the focal point of the photograph and creates an eye-line to the image, as we firstly look to the top of the river, the furthest left point of the image, before following the river through the photograph to the furthest right point of the image, where the river disappears out of view. This eye-line creates an engaging photograph. I edited the colours within this photograph by adjusting the saturation level of the image. I recognised that the unedited version of this panorama, had colours and tones that would work well if I were to brighten them up and increase the vividness of them. By adjusting the saturation level, I have produced an image that is strong in colour tone and has a beautiful colour palette, from the blues to the greens to the yellows etc.</span><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd_d5q0-dqA2iDx_WcGd9r5CmHaI1GcbCd5PNtl_Qp5hvKWiMIdJSClh0nrpjSNtwczsMugRxGqOjJ2dj0akKB_8HUOWmQ1TZyMGInONqnEZkB38dn1IZ1mGf0iFqGcQkMPu073A560Uo/s1600/The+De+La+Warr+Pavilion+%E2%80%93+Douglas+Benge.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd_d5q0-dqA2iDx_WcGd9r5CmHaI1GcbCd5PNtl_Qp5hvKWiMIdJSClh0nrpjSNtwczsMugRxGqOjJ2dj0akKB_8HUOWmQ1TZyMGInONqnEZkB38dn1IZ1mGf0iFqGcQkMPu073A560Uo/s400/The+De+La+Warr+Pavilion+%E2%80%93+Douglas+Benge.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>The De La Warr Pavilion - Douglas Benge</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This panoramic photograph that I have taken depicts `The De La Warr Pavilion`, a grade one listed modernist building that houses a contemporary art gallery and auditorium. I produced this image from a total of six photographs, all taken with my camera in the portrait position, to help create a taller panorama. I have framed this image so that `The De La Warr Pavilion` is the focal point, as it is situated in the centre of the image and stretches out to the left and to the right side of the photograph. After I had created my panorama in Photoshop, and was happy with the stitching that had taken place, I edited the image into looking like an `old fashioned` photograph. I really love creating images that look as if they were taken using an old fashioned camera, and look like they have been developed as an old photograph would have been developed. To create the `old fashioned` effect that I was looking for, I edited the image into grey-scale and increased the contrast levels of the image, to produce a panorama with deeper black tones. I then created a new layer and placed a scratched texture onto this layer; I used this scratched texture to try and replicate an old scratched negative film. I then created another layer and placed a glass plate negative texture onto it. I added this texture to the photograph as I wanted to try and create the illusion that the photograph had been developed in a darkroom, as this was the old fashioned way of developing images. Finally, I added a vignette to my image, to create a subtle frame around the photograph.</span></span><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>How to Create a Panorama</i></b><i> </i></span></span></span><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To create beautiful panoramic photographs, you may think that you need lots of expensive camera equipment and editing software, but I can assure you that the process to producing a panorama is not as difficult or expensive as you think. The basic principle to photographing a panorama can be summed up in these simple steps:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Firstly, choose something to photograph, for example, let’s say you want to photograph a landscape scene</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">You would then set your camera to `Manual` mode and would take some photographs until you found the correct exposure level for the scene. You need to use `Manual` mode as when you produce a panoramic image, you need to take a number of different shots; by taking them on `Manual` mode, you take the images with the same exposure level, ensuring that the photographs can easily be stitched together in Photoshop later. If you were to use `Auto` mode to take the shots, your camera would adjust the exposure level for each photograph without your control, meaning that when you came to stitch the photographs together, your final image </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">wouldn't</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> look like one photograph, you would be able to see that you produced it from however many shots</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Once the settings on your camera are ready, you can begin to take your photographs. It is best to take panoramas holding the camera in the portrait position, as you will get a taller and deeper image than if you were going to photograph your scene with the camera in the landscape position</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">If you have a steady hand, you can take your images without the use of a tripod, but it is probably better to use a tripod to produce really level photographs that can be stitched together more easily in Photoshop</span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Now your camera is set up on the tripod in the portrait position, work out where the beginning point and end point of your panorama is going to be. Then, pan round between these points and make sure that everything is level within the frame</span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">You can now head back over to the beginning point of your panorama and can frame up and take the first photograph. When you have taken this photograph, if you are going to pan from left to right to take your next image, in your head you need to divide your image into five vertical sections, then, look at the last section, the last fifth, and remember a subject that is within that section</span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Now, move your camera around to the right so that the subject that was in the last fifth is now in the first fifth. This is basically ensuring that overlapping is occurring when you are taking your images. This is important as you do not want to crop anything out when taking your photographs, otherwise, there will be a noticeable gap in your final panorama</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Once you have taken this image, you do exactly as you did for the last image you took: remember a subject that is in the last fifth of your image, move the camera round to the right, making sure that the subject you remembered is now in the first fifth of your frame. You keep following this process until you reach the end point of your panoramic scene</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Now you can go into Photoshop and can begin to stitch your images together.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
</ul><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are many tutorial videos on `YouTube` explaining how to use Photoshop to create a panoramic photograph, just type in: `How to Create a Panorama in Photoshop`.</span></span></div><div><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Top Tip:</b></span></span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">`When taking the individual photographs that will make up your panorama, make sure that your lens is slightly zoomed in. This will ensure that there is no geometric distortion within your images, as this will make it difficult to stitch the images together in Photoshop.</span> </span></i></span> </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: large;"><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">If you have a standard 18mm-55mm lens for your Digital SLR camera, adjust the lens so that it is set on the 24mm mark; this amount of zoom should prevent this distortion from occurring within your images.`</i></span></blockquote><br />
<br />
</div></div>Douglas Bengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01902963035747421507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618391817849439676.post-89293954472711846212012-01-10T15:35:00.000-08:002012-01-10T15:35:42.704-08:00An Essential Guide to Buying Your First Digital SLR Camera<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>“What should I look for when buying my first Digital SLR camera?”</b> I hear you ask. Well, in this post I have written an essential guide for all you budding photographers out there who are looking to buy your first Digital SLR camera. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Buying a Digital SLR camera can seem quite daunting at first, with all the complicated terminology and fancy buttons, but don’t panic! <b>This guide will see you through the step from a digital compact to a Digital SLR camera. </b><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Firstly, <b>what is a Digital SLR camera</b>, and <b>what does `SLR` stand for?</b> It is quite simply a <b>Digital single-lens reflex camera</b>. This means that it uses a mechanical mirror system, along with a pentaprism to direct light from the lens to an optical viewfinder positioned at the back of the camera. If you want to learn more about how a Digital SLR or DSLR camera works, then there are plenty of websites with all the information you will need to understand the mechanics of these cameras.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The main differences between compact and DSLR cameras are <b>the price</b> and <b>the ability you have to change lenses</b>. A good compact digital camera could cost you between <b>£40-£80</b>, a good DSLR camera would cost you around <b>£400-£600</b>. As you can see, there is quite a difference in price, but trust me, if you choose the right DSLR, it will be worth every penny. The other difference between a compact camera and a DSLR is the ability you have to change lenses. A traditional compact digital camera will have a lens that is fixed to the camera; you can’t take the lens off and fix another one to the camera. However, new compact models are being released at the moment with interchangeable lenses. <b>With a DSLR camera</b> <b>you can change the lens whenever you want</b>, as you may need a different lens depending on what you are taking photographs of. For example, I have a standard 18mm-55mm lens that I use for day-to-day photography, but I also have a 70mm-300mm telephoto lens for photography subjects like wildlife. There are so many different lenses available to you once you buy a DSLR camera. However, these lenses do come at a price; photographers will always tell you that <b>lenses are more expensive than the camera itself</b>, this is true as prices can range from <b>£100-£2000 for a single lens.</b> Nevertheless, lenses are a whole new topic of discussion. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Here is a list of features you should look for when browsing for a Digital SLR camera:</b></span></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Look at the specifications of the camera and make sure it is between </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">14-18 </b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>mega-pixels</b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Look to see if it has </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">all the functions you think you will need,</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> e.g. macro mode, portrait mode, night mode etc.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Make sure it has </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">`Manual` mode</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">; the setting where you can set all the controls yourself</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Make sure it has </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">a good sized screen</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> on the back of the camera, to view your photographs on</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">See if it has </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">`Live View` mode</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">; this will enable you to see your subject framed on the screen of the camera, before you take the photograph</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Try and buy a camera that comes as a</b> </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">`Kit`,</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> this means that it </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">comes with a standard lens</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, normally a 18mm-55mm lens</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Make sure the camera is </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">quite heavy</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, but not too heavy; this means that it is </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">well built</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and will be less likely to break if you were to drop it</span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now you know this, <b>do your research!</b> Research is so important when buying an expensive product like a Digital SLR camera. Look on lots of different websites and review sites of cameras that you might be interested in. Once you have conducted your research, <b>choose at least three cameras</b> that you are really impressed by. Then, print out the specifications for each camera and <b>compare them in terms of price and features etc.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hopefully you will now have one camera in mind. The next stage is very important: <b>go to a shop and try it out!</b> The camera you want may not fit comfortably in your hands, and you may find it difficult to operate. This is a very important step to complete, as <b>you need to be able to operate your camera quickly and effectively.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With a bit of luck, you will now have chosen your first Digital SLR camera! Now, <b>go on different websites and</b> <b>look at the different prices they have for the DSLR you have selected.</b> I would strongly recommend looking at the website of <b>your</b> <b>local camera store</b>, as they are likely to offer you a better deal when it comes to buying the little extras that you may want for your new DSLR camera. Another bonus of buying from your local camera store is that if you are having trouble with your new camera, you can just pop down the road and ask them for expert advice on the matter. They are also more likely to have a better camera fixing turn-around than all these big electronic stores, where you may have to get your camera sent off and could have to wait weeks before you can get it back.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most importantly, <b>remember to have fun when browsing for your new Digital SLR camera</b>, and hopefully you will find the one that is perfect for you! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In case you’re wondering, my Digital SLR camera is a <b>Canon EOS 500D</b>, which I bought with an <b>18mm-55mm kit lens</b>. It’s a great camera and records full HD video which is an added bonus! I would definitely recommend Canon Digital SLR cameras to any beginners to the Digital SLR world, as they are so easy to use and produce extremely impressive photographs. Please visit my other posts for photographs I have taken with my Canon EOS 500D DSLR camera.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy snapping with your new Digital SLR camera!</span><o:p></o:p></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I couldn’t publish a post without a photograph, so here is an image I took for a photography competition; I won 2<sup>nd</sup> prize for this entry. I entered this photograph into the category titled, <b>Without Words:</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin_quIalhno6nw9X1yqKCfW2s7husGo_Iw7Ot9y3g_osdRRwW_In1A0R_SjwCwTI0McKA3W7_GtK5jOoTUTgICng9qxO9VVimm6P9pM50Bb2L_kp5U5ufWeDev4TkD-YypyhMK8BI7i8c/s1600/Without+Words+-+Douglas+Benge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin_quIalhno6nw9X1yqKCfW2s7husGo_Iw7Ot9y3g_osdRRwW_In1A0R_SjwCwTI0McKA3W7_GtK5jOoTUTgICng9qxO9VVimm6P9pM50Bb2L_kp5U5ufWeDev4TkD-YypyhMK8BI7i8c/s320/Without+Words+-+Douglas+Benge.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>`Without Words` - Douglas Benge</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Click on the image to enlarge it.</i></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If this photograph isn’t making any sense to you, then read the title of the image, `Without Words`, and then look at the photograph very closely. You'll soon spot the connection.</span></div>Douglas Bengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01902963035747421507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618391817849439676.post-81140957950525921222011-12-17T09:16:00.000-08:002011-12-17T10:54:33.657-08:00Experimental Photography: Painting with Light<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Painting with light photographs are extremely effective images, which are very easy to produce. The basic principle to producing a painting with light image is to get hold of a light source e.g. a torch. Photographers will then use this light source to either feature in the photograph, to paint light trails, or, to light the subject within the photograph, where it is not seen in the image itself. By experimenting with different lights, subjects, colours of lights, and the camera's aperture size and shutter speed, you can create some impressive photographs that look modern and arty. This technique of photography can take a while to master, but sometimes, photographs that you think went wrong, can produce some very striking results. This is why I enjoy the painting with light process so much. </span></span><br />
<div><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You need to be able to control the shutter speed and aperture size of your camera when using this technique, so if you don’t have a Digital SLR camera, or the ability to use manual mode on your compact camera, then the `Night Mode` setting on your camera would probably be your best opinion for producing painting with light images.</span></span><br />
<div><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are five simple steps for you to follow if you want to take your very own painting with light image:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1cm; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -1cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. The basic principle to producing painting with light images is to have a light source e.g. a torch. If you are going to paint with the light source itself, where it is moving within the photograph, it is very important to set the camera up on a tripod, to keep it still. The other alternative would be to keep the light source still and to move the camera. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1cm; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -1cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1cm; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -1cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Set the camera to the shutter speed control mode, `Tv` mode if you have a Canon. This will allow you to control the time that the shutter remains open for. Set the shutter speed to, let’s say, ten seconds; this will allow you to get a good amount of movement from your light source. The aperture will probably set itself to f-stop 8. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1cm; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -1cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1cm; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -1cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Next, if you are painting onto a subject, shine the light onto it, and using manual focus, focus it into the shot. If you are painting with the light source itself, then focus the place where you are going to stand. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1cm; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -1cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1cm; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -1cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. When you are ready, set the camera to timer so you have time to get into place. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1cm; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -1cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1cm; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -1cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Now, when you press the shutter release button, you will be able to get into position and when the shutter opens, you can start painting with light by moving the light source. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1cm; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -1cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1cm; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -1cm;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When the shutter closes and you look at your image, you will be able to see the light trail that you have drawn. This is because all the time the shutter was open, the camera's sensor was picking up all the movement of your light source, causing this trail of light that you can see in your image. You can experiment a lot with this technique to produce some outstanding images. An easy place to start would be to draw simple shapes, like stars and swirls with your light source. You can then try outlining objects to give them a bold light trail outline. This would also allow for a very atmospheric glow from the object itself. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are some of my photographs I have produced using this painting with light technique:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Click on the images to enlarge them.</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzxk1ruWOmpKguQ-15izopQS0lCqEhKGObFl3xHIR1ofwXU8BsCO-oiYZmOMV6vtYI8tOay2y2HeS9geq5MsZ9SOLwPegfVpokXrcEBZ5xzQsfPdgcT_frUbOx25kV_5Q408KD4xPZoOg/s1600/Fire+Spin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzxk1ruWOmpKguQ-15izopQS0lCqEhKGObFl3xHIR1ofwXU8BsCO-oiYZmOMV6vtYI8tOay2y2HeS9geq5MsZ9SOLwPegfVpokXrcEBZ5xzQsfPdgcT_frUbOx25kV_5Q408KD4xPZoOg/s400/Fire+Spin.jpg" width="400px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Fire Spin</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was inspired to take this image after studying the photograph titled `Spider on the Track` taken by Brent Pearson. The equipment I used to create this image included my tripod, a household whisk, some chain, some steel wool, and a lighter. The basic principle to creating this image is to attach some chain, around 34 inches long, to the handle of the whisk. Then, get a medium sized handful of steel wool and stretch it out, being careful not to rip it apart. You stretch it out to allow more oxygen to come into contact with a larger surface area of the wool when you are burning it later. Once you have stretched it out, place the steel wool inside your whisk, spreading it out inside the whisk cavity. Now, go to somewhere that isn’t going to be a fire hazard, e.g. a wet field. For my photograph, I stood on a cattle trough, which was situated in a field. It was raining whilst I took this photograph, so there was no chance for a fire to occur. As my steel wool didn’t spark for very long in my pervious tests, I used a shutter speed of 10 seconds and an f-stop of 5.6 for this image. I set up my camera on the tripod and got my assistant to stand on top of the trough, shining the light on herself, whilst I focused her into the frame. I then put the camera on a ten second timer and got into position. Just before the ten seconds were up, I used the lighter to get the steel wool smouldering, as it only creates the sparks when you spin it quickly. Once my assistant told me the shutter had been released, I began to spin the chain which ignited the steel wool causing it to spark. I continued spinning it until I was told the shutter had closed. The outcome of this technique is extremely impressive, and one that I would definitely like to experiment with in the future. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbpWbVm7G4nB0ioTqjer45sqvcKrGe1lJmQgxd3zP4w_pOU1pZVmMkLUqvjNb2Yi2fCbSHdSFZnR1M7CM4XD6r7AydYXHaXS-4Kwn4Y4tPk0xaYuRC2sYogMH_KtFs6HUs4P0j_xSW4W4/s1600/Light+Graffiti.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="121px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbpWbVm7G4nB0ioTqjer45sqvcKrGe1lJmQgxd3zP4w_pOU1pZVmMkLUqvjNb2Yi2fCbSHdSFZnR1M7CM4XD6r7AydYXHaXS-4Kwn4Y4tPk0xaYuRC2sYogMH_KtFs6HUs4P0j_xSW4W4/s400/Light+Graffiti.jpg" width="400px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Light Graffiti</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I took this photograph in an empty barn, as I wanted to create a large landscape image, something that I wouldn't have been able to do in a studio. To create this image, I set my camera up on a tripod and set it to the `Tv` setting, the shutter speed priority setting. This would therefore enable me to control how long the shutter was open for. For this image, a shutter speed of 25 seconds was used. This gave my assistant plenty of time to paint with the light source. An f-stop of around 4 would have been used with this shutter speed. After setting the shutter speed and aperture up, I got my assistant to shine the torch on himself so I could focus him into the photograph. After using manual focus to focus the shot, I put my camera on timer, and waited for the shutter to be released before telling my assistant to start painting this abstract pattern as soon as the shutter opened. The randomness of the light trails has created a really abstract photograph. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjUeYrapmd8lXxCd5zPz_BvHScs_mw1k2zkEwuCJOWeHB365lRNLNqom6bxZtOMYa9DwxYoX_7V1lM7wpPE8F7ycA-E0IKCoh3m9_6i3465T78QSZXoAw97oA-82_dbyCSYCA2zayoRU4/s1600/Shining+the+Light+on+Myself.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="273px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjUeYrapmd8lXxCd5zPz_BvHScs_mw1k2zkEwuCJOWeHB365lRNLNqom6bxZtOMYa9DwxYoX_7V1lM7wpPE8F7ycA-E0IKCoh3m9_6i3465T78QSZXoAw97oA-82_dbyCSYCA2zayoRU4/s400/Shining+the+Light+on+Myself.jpg" width="400px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Shining the Light onto Myself </i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I used the other painting with light technique here, creating the illusion of six versions of me. By shining the light onto myself from my stomach up, for about four seconds in each stage, and then switching it off and moving to my next position, I was able to produce a photograph where it appears that there are six of me. I used a shutter speed of 30 seconds for this photograph as it was needed for the camera to have time to capture each of my positions. An f-stop of 4 was used to allow as much light into the lens as possible. With the positioning of my characters, the under lighting, and the silhouetted trees, the overall feel to this image is a spooky one. The way in which the character nearest the camera is crouching, with his hand on the floor, is quite scary as you can’t see him at first, until you spot his hand, as his face is white due to it being over exposed to the bright light. I also like the aeroplane that has created a red light trail in the sky, located in the top left third of the image. It’s a nice feature to the photograph, even though it was unplanned. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAHJZHcdyS52AANA8QAESTTDn0IjuuUvao3TOf0Cy5BxqryhlUMKWRPNCIb0AsabgWTRaHuNyqn_ZVZK04F4OFhu-rYBzeseobehg3iDSMYusJl9_rK41-3EdpJnp2neGylgBlBvh9OFM/s1600/Light+Laser.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="146px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAHJZHcdyS52AANA8QAESTTDn0IjuuUvao3TOf0Cy5BxqryhlUMKWRPNCIb0AsabgWTRaHuNyqn_ZVZK04F4OFhu-rYBzeseobehg3iDSMYusJl9_rK41-3EdpJnp2neGylgBlBvh9OFM/s400/Light+Laser.jpg" width="400px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Light Laser</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I took this painting with light image in a barn; like my other image that was taken in a barn, I needed a large amount of space to work with. The theme to this image is me, on the far right of the image, firing a light trail `laser beam` at my friend, who is positioned on the far left of the image. Because of the complexness of this image, it took me quite a few times to get it right. The large amount of movement meant that I needed a long shutter speed of 30 seconds and an f-stop of 4. First of all, I got my friend to stand where I am standing in the image, so I could focus the photograph. I must mention that the camera was set-up on a tripod, to keep it perfectly still, and to stop any motion blur. I set the camera to a ten second timer to allow us both plenty of time to get into our positions. Once I heard the shutter being released, I shone the torch on myself for about four seconds, I then switched it off and placed it in front of my hand where the `laser beam` is coming out of, before turning it back on again. I then began to move forward, moving the torch in a circular motion. As I got close to the end position of the photograph, I told my friend to come into the frame and stand in her position; whilst she got into her pose, I turned the torch off to avoid any motion blur. When she was ready, I shone the torch on her for four seconds, like I did with myself at the beginning of the image; I then turned the torch off. I was really impressed with the image when I saw it and was really happy with the natural exposure level. I like the way the barn floor has been lit in certain areas, creating the effect that it is glowing. This photograph is a great example of how the simple technique of painting with light can be experimented with and taken to a new level, in order to produce a stunning image.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Top Tip:</b></span> </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>`When taking photographs using the painting with light technique, don't be afraid to experiment! This is why this post is titled `Experimental Photography`, because you need to experiment in order to create your own unique photographs.</i></span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>A good starting point is to move your light source in all different directions and to draw different patterns when the shutter is released; you are sure to end up with an impressive abstract painting with light photograph by doing this.`</i></span></blockquote></div></div>Douglas Bengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01902963035747421507noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618391817849439676.post-84176344696850012132011-11-30T14:57:00.000-08:002011-11-30T14:57:29.902-08:00Time Photography<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In this post I have included a selection of photographs that I produced for a photography project titled: `The Time Project`. The aim of this project was to experiment with time through the medium of photography; I did this by using fast and slow shutter speeds, and also by creating sequenced photographs. This project was great fun and has enabled me to produce some really interesting images. I hope you enjoy them! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Click on the images to enlarge them.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrWPL7Hqm03zKLFkS_GeZN1FbvY0RhnWfjtFytzTyqcaV0FfOSr85GIb3-nuboPFJkbeI9JADn1AdmpxVFg0V8dDpWDSOJgV8VNrEJU2NG52mjwUQN74-aQiHD-rU8qc7Aivx0RD8deJk/s1600/BMX+Jump.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrWPL7Hqm03zKLFkS_GeZN1FbvY0RhnWfjtFytzTyqcaV0FfOSr85GIb3-nuboPFJkbeI9JADn1AdmpxVFg0V8dDpWDSOJgV8VNrEJU2NG52mjwUQN74-aQiHD-rU8qc7Aivx0RD8deJk/s400/BMX+Jump.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>BMX Jump</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This photograph was taken at my local skate park, where I asked one of the BMX riders if he could do the jump you can see in the image above. I set my camera up on a tripod and selected `Manual` mode, before selecting a shutter speed of 1/250 of a second. The use of `Manual` mode is very important if you want to produce images like this one, as you need to ensure that each photograph has been taken using exactly the same settings. If you use `Auto` mode on your camera, with each photograph you take, your camera could be taking them with different exposure times, therefore, each image may appear with a different level of brightness. The use of `Manual` mode, also meant that I used `Manual focus`, and so I asked my subject to do a test run so I could focus him into the shot. When he was ready, I held my finger on the shutter release button, which then took continuous photographs at a rate of three frames per second. Now that I had got my images, I went into Photoshop and started to edit them to together. You can find tutorials on how to produce sequenced photographs like this on YouTube, just type in: `How to make a sequence in Photoshop`. </span><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuvDamUBfxzT59366hz7-uJ-YYPFRTltY58DpsEP4Hydq0hgLGAS5N8DKjCsbtL_imSZJ2cx6xbA48DFUBSgjwLVSDfyIcb_GhTaZa3UXjMVOQoDG2WbuSQjEm3D4FLoKZwGwUUxDTodc/s1600/Golden+Syrup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuvDamUBfxzT59366hz7-uJ-YYPFRTltY58DpsEP4Hydq0hgLGAS5N8DKjCsbtL_imSZJ2cx6xbA48DFUBSgjwLVSDfyIcb_GhTaZa3UXjMVOQoDG2WbuSQjEm3D4FLoKZwGwUUxDTodc/s400/Golden+Syrup.jpg" width="371" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Golden Syrup</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This photograph depicts golden syrup that I drizzled into an egg cup using a spoon. I took this image using a fast shutter speed to capture the syrup as it fell from the spoon and landed in the egg cup, so that the syrup appeared sharp and in focus. I used a very simple set-up for this photograph; I took this image in my kitchen, using my 70mm-300mm telephoto lens. The lighting set-up consisted of two desk lamps to light the egg cup with the syrup in, and another desk lamp to light the backdrop of the photograph, which was just a piece of white paper. I used `Manual` mode when taking this photograph as I needed to adjust the aperture according to the shutter speed, to get the perfect exposure level for the image. I needed a really large aperture setting, and therefore a small f stop setting, in order to allow as much light as possible into the lens, as I was using a fast shutter speed. It is important to note that I had my camera set up on a tripod and used the timer on my camera to take ten consecutive photographs at a rate of three frames per second. After selecting the best photograph and a little editing in Photoshop, the image was complete.</span><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ZYFowJml3IbjHhT8jq8fLsCXKPr3ecIfP6I9tu1di0eBpPAr-TQdxOr7af8wdYi6AlFR1QWSwTHD3Em_Y5D28pzPTvAldrytyiBU-Tgnq8uWOY3gajEwPTztQulccyZcBSTZ3NMV1-I/s1600/Milk+Splash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ZYFowJml3IbjHhT8jq8fLsCXKPr3ecIfP6I9tu1di0eBpPAr-TQdxOr7af8wdYi6AlFR1QWSwTHD3Em_Y5D28pzPTvAldrytyiBU-Tgnq8uWOY3gajEwPTztQulccyZcBSTZ3NMV1-I/s400/Milk+Splash.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Milk Splash</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I took this photograph using exactly the same setup as my image titled: `Golden Syrup`. I was inspired to take this photograph after studying Harold Edgerton, who wanting to produce and photograph a perfect coronet from a single drop of milk falling into a liquid. His final image titled: `Milk Drop Coronet` is extremely impressive, especially considering that it was taken in 1957. My photograph depicts milk being poured into a glass containing milk that has had red food colouring added to it. I added red food colouring to the milk as I wanted to create a more vibrant and abstract photograph. The red colour also allows for the white milk being poured into the glass, to be seen more clearly. I really like how the milk that is being poured appears so straight and cylindrical, almost like a straw. As it can't be easily identified as milk at first, it adds an element of mystery to the photograph, as the viewer is left wondering what is being poured into the red liquid. </span><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUOtE7M6kzJ6mzF9UPpjwNFRzBEZrHt5e3w5w98m2Fl-J79kt-gNHz3awdZMUzqR2oe5kKR0_IfH6Q6Mp9IHeftlhpE79YCjS1K55VPPM0M3QXSXXqQ7PV44jXI6PAVOTErrr4zog3RvQ/s1600/An+Eerie+Seascape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUOtE7M6kzJ6mzF9UPpjwNFRzBEZrHt5e3w5w98m2Fl-J79kt-gNHz3awdZMUzqR2oe5kKR0_IfH6Q6Mp9IHeftlhpE79YCjS1K55VPPM0M3QXSXXqQ7PV44jXI6PAVOTErrr4zog3RvQ/s400/An+Eerie+Seascape.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Eerie Seascape</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This seascape is an example of an image that has been produced using a slow shutter speed. I set my camera to `Manual` mode and used a shutter speed of two seconds, along with the smallest aperture size/largest f stop setting I could get, to allow me to get the perfect exposure level for this photograph. Once my camera was ready, I set it up on a tripod and got the shot level so that the horizon was perfectly flat. It is so important to use a tripod when taking images with a shutter speed slower then 1/60 of a second, as the subjects you want to stay still in your image, will blur due to camera shake. The aim of this photograph was to capture the groyne in focus, whilst the slow shutter speed would capture the movement of the water, as it moved in-between the groyne pillars. The effect that occurs is rather magical, as the water appears misty and `milky`. This is because of the motion blur created from the waters movement when the shutter was open. The groyne appears sharp and in focus as it is not moving, but the water is, thus creating the misty effect. I edited the image into grey-scale and darkened some areas of the photograph so that the misty texture was more prominent, creating a rather eerie seascape image. </span><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Top Tip:</b></span></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">`I know it looks complicated and difficult to understand, but try and get to grips with your cameras `Manual` mode if you have a Digital SLR. Using the `Manual` mode enables you to take photographs exactly how you want to take them, unlike the pre-set modes on your camera, that will adjust the individual settings like shutter speed and aperture for you.</span> </i></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All it takes is a bit of experimenting and you’ll be using `Manual` mode like a pro! If you do get stuck, don’t worry, just look in photography magazines or on the internet for the answers you need. `</span> </i></blockquote>Douglas Bengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01902963035747421507noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618391817849439676.post-43839770872351204022011-11-17T11:37:00.000-08:002011-11-17T11:55:32.507-08:00Self-Portrait Photography<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In this post I am going to be looking at self-portrait photography and have included three photographs that I took as part of my self-portrait project.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Self-portraiture is the art of capturing the person who is creating a piece of work, in the piece itself. So, if an artist were to paint a portrait of themselves onto a canvas, this would be a self-portrait piece of work. The same theory applies to photographers; if a photographer took a photograph of themselves, let’s say in the reflection of a mirror, this would be a self-portrait photograph, as they, the creator of the photograph, are featured in the image. Self-portrait photographs can be extremely powerful in conveying the mood, emotion, and character of the subject. However, a self-portrait doesn't have to feature the persons face, it can include objects that are very important to that person, in order to convey their character. For example, if someone was really into cycling, they could photograph a bike and use that as their self-portrait image, as it is a part of who they are.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After producing a coursework project on portrait photography last year, I edited nearly all of my images into grey-scale; I believe that this allows for the image to be `stripped` down of any distractions and enables the viewer to solely focus on the subject’s character within the image.</span><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All these images were taken on my Canon EOS 500D with my standard 18-55mm lens.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Click on the images to enlarge them.</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQjWmKr5A_wNSNNQtLSsSLUzttmVMLBA7SO9b2W8V0o9iWO9Iswef4IGITAqQKms1zzbKA6R1YlssClmdOoHkFAUI3qise98y-QCKUi-noctmD82b6avYRPmjYcauDFb4KRZmIutvoxF8/s1600/Atlas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQjWmKr5A_wNSNNQtLSsSLUzttmVMLBA7SO9b2W8V0o9iWO9Iswef4IGITAqQKms1zzbKA6R1YlssClmdOoHkFAUI3qise98y-QCKUi-noctmD82b6avYRPmjYcauDFb4KRZmIutvoxF8/s400/Atlas.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>`Atlas` - Douglas Benge</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I produced this self-portrait image with a map that is seemingly `wrapped` over my face, to convey my love for travelling. I also wanted to try and experiment a bit with Photoshop for this image. There were a lot of editing processes involved within the creation of this image, from clipping masks to the lasso tool, overlaying and using the blurring filter. The main process I used was the `Displace` filter in Photoshop, this can be found under `Filter`, `Distort` and then `Displace`. There are plenty of tutorials on `YouTube` showing you how to use the `Displace` filter, just type in `</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photoshop Tutorial - Displacement Map`</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNH-H49Sa01O9r_EQSg8DsF4-ttYl4xFvx68itdXaVwlzc_Hm5uEwxXJTHzqr9KX76J1q8TTbdLuYrCo4ceOynbXeV5JR46Djh-7MXXpiHX3Stxl9SFUGJ1_tYPAmid1t_xuHqZ-JcV-o/s1600/Douglas+Benge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNH-H49Sa01O9r_EQSg8DsF4-ttYl4xFvx68itdXaVwlzc_Hm5uEwxXJTHzqr9KX76J1q8TTbdLuYrCo4ceOynbXeV5JR46Djh-7MXXpiHX3Stxl9SFUGJ1_tYPAmid1t_xuHqZ-JcV-o/s400/Douglas+Benge.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Douglas Benge</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was inspired to take this photograph after studying Mikael Eliasson, a portrait photographer who photographs most of his subjects posing with blank expressions. I have gone about this by creating a really simple set up in terms of framing and composition. My head is in the centre of the frame, still leaving some thinking space for the viewer; this is much like Eliasson’s style of framing, with the subject composed right in the centre of the image. Eliasson’s portraits are almost all in colour, there wasn’t much colour tone within my image; I therefore edited it into grey-scale. I then adjusted the brightness and contrast to the level that I wanted. Just to experiment, I put both the brightness and contrast levels up as high as they would go, I decided that this looked really effective, so left it as my final image. The blank expression on my face along with the use of grey-scale lets the viewer look into my eyes and decide for themselves who I am.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8pA1HYkWPGz_2LLRBp5Kbw6FnqXJoU3GJIxuGoJm1v-jB3_lTlknT-vg5Rh_XAI7ie4qy_HIffsZc93AostA5C7laPH4537EUA_2EtqAOVL7U-xRsGsEphFA-N3ZorWhnub5wj2mq-NU/s1600/%2560My+Style%2560+-+Douglas+Benge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8pA1HYkWPGz_2LLRBp5Kbw6FnqXJoU3GJIxuGoJm1v-jB3_lTlknT-vg5Rh_XAI7ie4qy_HIffsZc93AostA5C7laPH4537EUA_2EtqAOVL7U-xRsGsEphFA-N3ZorWhnub5wj2mq-NU/s400/%2560My+Style%2560+-+Douglas+Benge.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>`My Style` - Douglas Benge</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have produced this photograph in the way that I have, to convey my passion for `old style` photography. I am really interested in grey-scale photography and have always believed that old photographs, quite often, have so much more character then any modern photographs that have been edited into the `old style` of photography. I have quite a unique style of photography and wanted to try and combine this with my passion for `old style` photographs. The strange facial expression I am pulling connotes my unique character and photographic style. I edited the image into grey-scale, as well as adding grain, a scratched texture, a negative film-strip, and a vignette effect to try and add age to the photograph. I edited a glass plate negative frame onto my image, to give it that final touch, aging the photograph even more. I am really pleased with the final result, as I believe it illustrates my character perfectly.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Top Tip:</b></span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>`When taking self-portrait photographs, be yourself! The photograph is about you and is focused on conveying your character to the viewer.</i></span> </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Remember, you don’t always have to include yourself in the image; you could just photograph something that means a lot to you, or an object that conveys your character.`</i></span></blockquote>Douglas Bengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01902963035747421507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618391817849439676.post-15373790497278602542011-11-09T13:36:00.000-08:002011-11-11T01:23:21.212-08:00Telephoto Lens Photography<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A telephoto lens will enable you as a photographer to fill the frame with your subject, without actually being that close to them. This type of lens is therefore often used when photographing wildlife or sporting events, where it is not possible to get close to the subject(s). </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are many other benefits that telephoto lenses have compared to a standard lens:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They increase background blur of an image (they produce a shallow depth of field)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They flatten the perspective when photographing portraits</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not only can they be used to photograph subjects far away, you can produce some really detailed photographs of subjects like flowers and plants using a telephoto lens; the shallow depth of field created by the lens is very effective when photographing these types of subjects.</span></li>
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<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In this post I have included some photographs that I took with my new telephoto camera lens which is the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens. The `IS` used here means `Image Stabilisation`, this comes in very handy as you are often zooming in onto a subject that can be very far away, `IS` therefore reduces camera shake. The `USM` feature of the lens stands for `UltraSonic Motor` which means the lens has a small motor built into its body, enabling it to auto focus faster than a standard lens. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All these photographs were taken with my telephoto lens on my Canon EOS 500D camera body.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Click on the images to enlarge them.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwpFtIsECRJgu44QXyCTR0kKvSkLnkYw4sxNu7d7YkyEUAHKEjCi9-WQKQwGXkeSIdC_5IVkepfTfFlGFoNfEDa_YcLTG_3IwBarmTBcF4QtvCU2asrWxaHyJ0Vvgxqz8OGBHhlZR3IZU/s1600/A+Squirrel+Climbing+a+Tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwpFtIsECRJgu44QXyCTR0kKvSkLnkYw4sxNu7d7YkyEUAHKEjCi9-WQKQwGXkeSIdC_5IVkepfTfFlGFoNfEDa_YcLTG_3IwBarmTBcF4QtvCU2asrWxaHyJ0Vvgxqz8OGBHhlZR3IZU/s400/A+Squirrel+Climbing+a+Tree.jpg" width="271px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>A Squirrel Climbing a Tree</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This photograph was taken in my local park and features a Squirrel that couldn't have posed any better for this photograph. I began by photographing him on the ground before he ran up the tree, stopping half way to turn around and look at me. He froze in this position for a couple of seconds enabling me to take this photograph. I was stood around five metres away from the squirrel when I took the photograph, this demonstrates just how well a telephoto lens works. The shallow depth of field that a telephoto lens creates in photographs is very evident here, with the grass in the background of the image completely out of focus. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdWg-fGYSPPsszbr8HHWfeKzeKx8NstFi2VM5EKogjBLq8DnRpoFOLu6uKRqtj8bhSYXAb8alEofy6IcBtzkOVXIBkhwCc9S9eBYXZTNSsdhMFU-BB454f5hCcl9Bh9Mkf7UJEkRhxIgw/s1600/Catch+Me+if+You+Can%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="145px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdWg-fGYSPPsszbr8HHWfeKzeKx8NstFi2VM5EKogjBLq8DnRpoFOLu6uKRqtj8bhSYXAb8alEofy6IcBtzkOVXIBkhwCc9S9eBYXZTNSsdhMFU-BB454f5hCcl9Bh9Mkf7UJEkRhxIgw/s400/Catch+Me+if+You+Can%2521.jpg" width="400px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Catch Me If You Can!</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At my local Air Show, I spotted a good opportunity to photograph the two main subjects of the show, the aeroplanes and the seagulls, who flocked to the beach where spectators sat with their picnics. After many photographs later, trying to get a seagull and the two aeroplanes in the shot, I managed to produce this image. I caught the seagull with its wings fully extended, filling out the frame of the photograph as the aeroplanes turned in the background, moving in the direction of the seagull. The fast shutter speed I used here has enabled me to capture this moment with the subjects sharply in focus.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoqF3UInzttb6AByDrjqY71b4MGsixdiECdqUTM3CKj3dDFfJPYMbSsqDH-NuZo-u-W6vdptjXLqL1wXoj9x5SXDD4MUSpnrr2LKd4-mThXcTGKxDaoW-FcM1Ee0VwN94vpEOjw3CHnHg/s1600/A+Pigeon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoqF3UInzttb6AByDrjqY71b4MGsixdiECdqUTM3CKj3dDFfJPYMbSsqDH-NuZo-u-W6vdptjXLqL1wXoj9x5SXDD4MUSpnrr2LKd4-mThXcTGKxDaoW-FcM1Ee0VwN94vpEOjw3CHnHg/s400/A+Pigeon.jpg" width="290px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A Pigeon Perched on a Fence</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I carried some bread in my bag whilst on my visit to the park, in the hope that this would tempt subjects to come closer to me than usual. This pigeon spotted me as I was just putting away my bread bag, it then perched on the fence about two and a half metres away from me, it was then that I took this photograph. I gave the pigeon some bread when I had finished photographing it to reward its efforts as such a fine subject! Although this pigeon was much closer to me then the squirrel was in my previous photograph included in this post, the telephoto lens I used still created a shallow depth of field within my image.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-DWqfctFRInSSw_4TcvWc6KRKvxoCU_0nhAHCaO_POnVTCdVIVTUIzsX9EbtJp5aSoK7Mo7K58ybMLqs7dz6shfVwo6qVSqJv78m8Xj375jxP6KSwuIQHTe5lT9GE3PUEv_oqTcMWAhE/s1600/Squeak.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-DWqfctFRInSSw_4TcvWc6KRKvxoCU_0nhAHCaO_POnVTCdVIVTUIzsX9EbtJp5aSoK7Mo7K58ybMLqs7dz6shfVwo6qVSqJv78m8Xj375jxP6KSwuIQHTe5lT9GE3PUEv_oqTcMWAhE/s400/Squeak.jpg" width="295px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Squeak</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This photograph depicts one of my cats called `Squeak` and was actually one of the first photographs I took with my new telephoto lens. My telephoto lens worked really well in this photograph as it flattened the perspective of the subject, allowing me to get all of him in focus with the background of the image completely blurred. Although Squeak kept moving his head, looking around in different directions, I managed to capture him just as he looked into the lens, producing a rather striking photograph. The grey-scale effect of this image adds great contrast to the photograph and really allows for Squeak's fur pattern to stand out.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Top Tip:</b></span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>`When using a telephoto lens, use high shutter speeds and a tripod when possible; this will ensure that the subjects within your image appear sharp and in focus.</i></span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>By using a telephoto lens, you are magnifying an image, this however means that you are magnifying camera movement as well. Therefore, by using fast shutter speeds and a tripod, you will counteract this camera movement.`</i></span></blockquote><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you are really sure you would like to invest in a telephoto lens, then it would be worthwhile investing in a lens hood as well. A lens hood simply fits onto the end of your lens and reduces flare that bright light sources can create within your images, especially if you are shooting towards the light source itself. For my lens, I have a `Canon ET-65B` lens hood, this works really well and stops excess light from entering my lens, reducing flare.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next week I will be focusing on `Self Portraiture`, so get your cameras at the ready! </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>Douglas Bengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01902963035747421507noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618391817849439676.post-12462246665586287652011-11-02T15:12:00.000-07:002011-11-10T01:23:07.347-08:00Line and Space Photography<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Featured in this post are a selection of photographs that I produced for a project titled, `Lines and Spaces`. All these photographs were shot on my Canon EOS 500D. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hope you enjoy them!</span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Click on the images to enlarge them.</i></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkowaExcdu1e2sqz3wEQhvTf9N85aIzPn4nQeHVRsP4paTjq9MGhwgIxmy2ESEb78Pi1DufgYkPC4ZzUutj2315lE-Ec5gbFKsk3hyphenhyphencuklqs-JQBAM72-vcLIFV2-MX5zcfb93rKVuCGE/s1600/Hastings+College.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkowaExcdu1e2sqz3wEQhvTf9N85aIzPn4nQeHVRsP4paTjq9MGhwgIxmy2ESEb78Pi1DufgYkPC4ZzUutj2315lE-Ec5gbFKsk3hyphenhyphencuklqs-JQBAM72-vcLIFV2-MX5zcfb93rKVuCGE/s400/Hastings+College.jpg" width="305px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hastings College</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This photograph features a section of the Hastings College building in East Sussex. This is a rather abstract image, with the blue sky and white building contrasting to the darkened windows of the college. The metal frames shading the windows create lines within the photograph and cast interesting shadows onto the building.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0M8WSwXPWLGe3E_ohq2x4FekbM1HTFclMNvRbaqNSSVOkPAnUZwVtLrlCYg1J5hNUFTs5MknxDybS-DhXBEGaMjUeghMMnxbyaGS5GIy6TlO6Lu3WOLH-Wog-sjk4yY0NNcKylkhg1oE/s1600/Guitar+Neck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0M8WSwXPWLGe3E_ohq2x4FekbM1HTFclMNvRbaqNSSVOkPAnUZwVtLrlCYg1J5hNUFTs5MknxDybS-DhXBEGaMjUeghMMnxbyaGS5GIy6TlO6Lu3WOLH-Wog-sjk4yY0NNcKylkhg1oE/s400/Guitar+Neck.jpg" width="400px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Acoustic Guitar Neck</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The subject in this photograph is the neck of an acoustic guitar. I positioned my camera near the head stock of the guitar, facing down the neck, towards the guitar's body, I then took this image. Lines and spaces are a very predominant factor within this photograph as you can see the spacing between the guitar's frets very clearly, with the strings running in and out of focus over them. The shallow depth of field in this image has been created by the fact that I was fully zoomed in at 55mm's when taking this photograph.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhviE5V5JGuaJ_H8d4ZjxzG87y7VBQvoqDEJMDisE-I6c-cs7UNFEGhNEbsyLExEYbxl4LX5pk3lyiBBZmltXJ_5Q-J62RoHuU7bjf47P6ZhtXh50p1-NEaxW_be6y6uOYhuyD2yqmvs7k/s1600/Fish+Huts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhviE5V5JGuaJ_H8d4ZjxzG87y7VBQvoqDEJMDisE-I6c-cs7UNFEGhNEbsyLExEYbxl4LX5pk3lyiBBZmltXJ_5Q-J62RoHuU7bjf47P6ZhtXh50p1-NEaxW_be6y6uOYhuyD2yqmvs7k/s400/Fish+Huts.jpg" width="285px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Net Huts at Hastings</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whilst studying Bernd and Hilla Becher, known for their photographs of `Water Towers`, I discovered a technique within architectural photography that was particularly interesting. They would quite simply photograph their subject from afar, with it framed in the centre of the image; there were no fancy angels involved or special camera equipment, their style of photography would like the building itself do the talking. This is what I have tried to recreate in this photograph of the Net Huts on Hastings Seafront, East Sussex.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIt6-vaodD7ojvzrtggMYZclT8vYj1tdj3cPIfJaHk1Z6F904CBeU1chPGtz9TKiufZdgQa9fA_DrZqEcFsolPAwzrFdtpMxVHPB-b1pVXMIds0_omrCb3POpKGLQCgN6s48wu94C0XbU/s1600/Underside+of+Snare.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIt6-vaodD7ojvzrtggMYZclT8vYj1tdj3cPIfJaHk1Z6F904CBeU1chPGtz9TKiufZdgQa9fA_DrZqEcFsolPAwzrFdtpMxVHPB-b1pVXMIds0_omrCb3POpKGLQCgN6s48wu94C0XbU/s400/Underside+of+Snare.jpg" width="273px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Underside of a Snare Drum</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This photograph depicts the curled metal wire snares that run along the bottom skin of a snare drum. By using the `Macro Mode` on my Canon EOS 500D, I was able to produce quite an inspiring image as the wire snares create a great deal of perspective, drawing closer together at the top of the photograph. I placed a piece of black card underneath the snares as the transparent skin of the drum didn't allow the snares to stand out, losing focus to the image. The shallow depth of field within this image creates blurring both in the foreground and background of the photograph, producing circular patterns that create an eye-line to the image, drawing your attention to the wire snares that are in focus.</span></div><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Top Tip:</b></span> </span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">`When photographing close-ups of objects or using the macro mode on your camera, use manual focus; it will enable you to choose exactly where you want your focus to be and will allow you to control the depth of field within your image`</span> </span></i></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"></blockquote></div>Douglas Bengehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01902963035747421507noreply@blogger.com4