Friday Links

Posted on May 25, 2012 by

Been awhile since I have shared some links with you and, since I am on vacation this week, thought it would be a good filler until I get back.

Gear: Prime lenses can be confusing to photographers if they started out with kit zoom lenses.  Kent Weakley shows us 5 Ways to Maximize using a Prime Lens.

Photography: You knew I could not resist tying in my vacation with a couple of these links.  I will be attending Star Wars Weekend today and could not pass up this link: A Jedi Knights Guide to Photography.  Read it or read not, it is well written and full of good advice.

Editing: The hardest thing for us photographers to do is to delete a photo. Even if we can save one, the time involved may not be worth it.  I happen to agree with Lara White when she says, Keep the Best, Delete the Rest, and watch your photography improve.

Inspiration: Forced Perspective is a staple of Disney Imagineers to create illusions of size and here are 88 Brilliant Examples of Forced Perspective Photography for you to enjoy.  You know this will be an assignment someday, right? ;)

eBook Review: I will be using this ebook to capture some of the author’s 10 Must Take Photos in the Magic Kingdom this weekend.  The photo below is one of them.

The classic Cinderella Castle photo in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida.

The classic Cinderella Castle photo in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida.

Click, read, learn, try and share everyone!  See you next week!

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Blue Super Moon

Posted on May 23, 2012 by

While I did not have much luck with the Super Moon earlier this month, I decided to create a blue hour version by using a long exposure to build up the sky’s blue color.

Cormorants roosting under the super full moon in Baldwinsville, New York.

Cormorants roosting under the super full moon in Baldwinsville, New York.
Nikon D700/28-300VR, 2s, f/8, ISO 200, EV 0, 300mm focal length, tripod.

A few days before the Super Moon, I accompanied members of the Syracuse Photographers Association Meetup Group in a Spring shoot around Liverpool, New York. It was another cloudy evening and the sunset was non-existent.  I decided to wait for Blue Hour and took these photos of a couple of the churches in town.

Liverpool First United Methodist Church steeple in Liverpool, New York.

Liverpool First United Methodist Church steeple in Liverpool, New York.
Nikon D700/28-300VR, 6s, f/11, ISO 200, EV 0, 180mm focal length, tripod.

Notice the difference in the artificial lighting from the Liverpool First United Methodist Church and the First Presbyterian Church a block away.

First Presbyterian Church in Liverpool, New York.

First Presbyterian Church in Liverpool, New York.
Nikon D700/28-300VR, 6s, f/11, ISO 200, EV 0, 28mm focal length, tripod.

These photos are my submissions for Assignment 19: Blue Hour.

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View 230: In Motion Photography

Posted on May 21, 2012 by

I curate a Daily Photography Theme on Google+ called #InMotionThursday where people share their motion photography under the same hashtag (#).  Here are three types of in motion photos I look for from the Google+ photographers:

Zooming – You need a zoom lens to create this effect and the longer the zoom the better. The Nikon 28-300mm VR Zoom lens I use works great. It was a bright sunny day for this photo of a bright orange Pontiac GTO at ESTA Safety Park Dragstrip so I had to close down the aperture to f/22 to get a relatively slow 1/30th of a second shutter speed.  I set my camera in burst mode and started with the lens at its 300mm focal length.  While pressing down the shutter button, I zoomed the lens the entire range back to 28mm.  This was one of the middle photos of the set.

Zoomed photo of an orange GTO at the starting line at the ESTA Safety Park Dragstrip near Cicero, New York.

Zoomed photo of an orange GTO at the starting line at the ESTA Safety Park Dragstrip near Cicero, New York.
Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/30s, f/22, ISO 200, EV 0, Variable focal length.

Blurring – You create a blur by using a long exposure relative to the motion of the subject(s) being photographed.  Racing trucks create blurring at a shutter speed of 1/20th of a second when they take off as the starting lights flash green.

Racing trucks take off during time trials at ESTA Safety Park Dragstrip near Cicero, New York

Racing trucks take off during time trials at ESTA Safety Park Dragstrip photographed with a long exposure.
Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/20s, f/22, ISO 200, EV +0.3, 28mm focal length.

Panning – You pan the camera smoothly to track the subject with a slow shutter speed while taking the photo.  The idea is to keep the subject in sharp focus while the background turns into streaks of motion.

Panned photo of a motorcycle popping a wheelie at ESTA Safety Park Dragstrip.

Panned photo of a motorcycle popping a wheelie at ESTA Safety Park Dragstrip.
Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/125s, f/8, ISO 200, EV +0.3, 135mm focal length.

While happy accidents happen to everyone, the best motion photographs are made intentionally by the photographer.

Posted in Sports, Weekly View | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Land and Sea Package

Posted on May 18, 2012 by

That’s what travel agents, like my wife, call the vacation we are leaving on today.  Can you guess where? :D   I will be back in a couple of weeks and have posted ahead to keep you all amused. I shall be checking in when I am on the land part of the trip.

Keep working on the Blue Hour Assignment.  Though I will be in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean when it occurs, I still would like your submissions in by the deadline.  Mine, included. However, the Recap post will be posted a few days later than normal as I will need time to get my land legs back. ;)

If you wish, you can follow my adventures via Twitter on my Disney account @Scottwdw or on Google+ at Scott Thomas.

I will give Mickey Mouse his best for y’all!

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May People

Posted on May 16, 2012 by

Would like you to meet some people I photographed this month around Syracuse, New York.  The first person you might remember from her walk down an aisle last week.

Young girl curious about my camera during her First Communion ceremony at the St. Francis Xavier Church in Marcellus, New York.

Young girl curious about my camera during her First Communion ceremony at the St. Francis Xavier Church in Marcellus, New York. Nikon D700/24-85G, 1/60s, f/8, ISO 3200, EV +0.3, 85mm focal length, flash.

During the Crawfish Festival, this young man was taking on all challengers for a polite game of Connect Four at a table on Clinton Square.

Can You Beat Me? Guy in hat has fun at the 4th Annual Crawfish Festival with a Connect Four challenge at Clinton Square in Syracuse, New York.

Can You Beat Me? Guy in hat has fun at the 4th Annual Crawfish Festival with a Connect Four challenge at Clinton Square in Syracuse, New York. Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/250s, f/10, ISO 200, EV +0.7, 96mm focal length.

I meet this young driver getting ready for her Junior Dragster “A” race at ESTA Safety Park Dragstrip and was kind enough let me photograph her.

Junior Dragster driver preparing for her run at ESTA Safety Park Dragstrip near Cicero, New York.

Junior Dragster driver preparing for her race at ESTA Safety Park Dragstrip near Cicero, New York. Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/160s, f/5.3, ISO 200, EV +0.7, 98mm focal length, fill flash.

May is only half way through.  Who knows what other people I may meet along the way.

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