Water On The Rocks

Revisiting one of my favorite captures, being introduced to the wonderful world of Macro Photography.... This scene while giving the appearance of a small stream was actually a trickling of water flowing down and through some brush and small stones.   Would actually make a great landscape print, and best at 20x 16 matted and framed.

IT'S SPRING! GET YOUR CAMERAS OUT!

IT'S SPRING!  GET YOUR CAMERAS OUT!

My favorite seasons are Spring and Autumn.  Colors are everywhere and on days when skies are bright blue with some clouds, you can shoot some wonderful landscapes, cityscapes, people or whatever challenges you.

Remember that photography can be subjective, it's your mind's eye, first, that captures what you want and then, and only then, do you tell your camera what to do.

Landscapes

Composition and Framing are most important when shooting that special landscape.  Look for symmetrical shapes, unusual views, alternate angles and saturated colorings.  On a sunny day, without clouds, use your Aperture Value camera setting and set your aperture to f/16, and depending upon the light of the day, move down to f/11, etc.  (You can just use your "P" program or "A" Auto setting and let the camera do the work, but you'll eventually miss the creativity and challenge of choosing the way you want your shot to turn out)  I recommend using Aperture values in most instances.... especially landscapes to create depth of field (DOF) and, as well, maintain good shutter speed.

A good landscape photo is always framed.  Trees, slopes of mountains, brush, etc. should be part of the photo, at least to one side or perhaps both.  (Again, think subjectively)

Sunrise, Sunset

Take advantage of the sunrise now the days are getting longer. The air is cleaner at sunrise and at this time of year where day and night temperatures vary a lot the colors will photograph very differently early in the morning than they will late in the afternoon.

People

Shooting people on a sunny day during the midday hours is something to avoid, but obviously cannot be, for many reasons. 

Rather than photographing your subject with their back to the sun try photographing them with the sun to one side but still slightly behind them, or photograph them in the shade under a tree and use your flash to fill in. Try using a low f number on your lens to throw the background out of focus, this will also help to bring the shutter speed up to prevent camera shake if the light is too low.

Just a few helpful ideas that may provide a "WOW!" when you get back home and download your SD or Compact Flash card to your hard drive.  

I can gladly respond to any questions you may have and provide my insight, back at ya!  Email me at trebor121@gmail.com or comment below.