I Got my First DSLR...Now What?

Ah, the ever neglected photo portion of the blog. Well, they've all been a bit neglected of late, but none more than photography. Why? Well, I think I may end up writing another entry to explain why. For now, though, I think I'll actually write a photo related post.

Congratulations, you got your first DSLR (or camera with manual options, but for the purpose of this post, I'm going to say DSLR). Now, maybe you know something about photography, maybe you don't. All you know is you've now got a camera with all these settings and options, and you have absolutely no idea how to work it. What is all this? How do you go about shedding that novice photographer tag? Well, I'll share some basics with you, and a piece of advice I listed for concert photography here is just as applicable to photography in general. The sooner you pick up some of the basic photography concepts AND know how your camera incorporates these concepts in the various settings, the sooner you'll be laughing at the fact you even considered using auto mode.

The very first thing to understand in photography, and this is beaten to death everywhere, is the exposure triangle:

• Aperture - the size of the opening in your lens that allows light to reach the sensor
• Shutter speed - how fast the camera shutter opens, allows light coming through the opening in the lens, and closes
• ISO - Setting for a camera's light sensitivity (think film speed)

Balancing these three items is what yields getting an appropriate exposure. A photo that is overexposed will be too bright and washed out, and a photo that is underexposed will be too dark. It used to be that you had to completely set a camera according to the specifications you calculated using a light meter, and perhaps some experience. Now the camera can do it for you, and it does a fairly good job of it most of the time. What this enables you to do is pick which of the three items you want to change, and let the camera choose the other two for you, or pick two of the three items and let the camera pick the last item for you. Here's the overview on the three:

Aperture - what people get wrong on this is that the aperture number is usually expressed as f4, but the actuality is that it is f/4. Because the 4 is in the denominator of the fraction, the bigger that number, the smaller the hole in the lens. Stands to reason that a smaller hole lets less light in, so other things equal, changing the hole to be smaller will require either letting the shutter stay open longer, or increasing the sensitivity to light. Aperture controls the depth of field of a shot, which in laymen's terms is how blurry or clear the foreground and background of a photo are.

Shutter speed - this too is almost always going to be a fraction. As the number gets larger (say from one sixtieth of a second to one thirtieth of a second), the amount of light getting into the camera increases, so a smaller aperture or less light sensitivity is needed, other things equal. Shutter speed controls the motion in a photo; a fast shutter speed freezes motion while a slow shutter speed will have motion blur.

ISO - the larger the ISO, the more sensitive your sensor is to light. This is the tool you'll use to get the result you want if you have a particular aperture and shutter speed you want to use for a photo. The higher the ISO, the less crisp a photo is due to the introduction of noise into the photo.

Okay, great, so you've got the basics of the triangle, but how do you use them? Well, the three main modes you should become used to are your shutter priority mode, your aperture priority mode, and manual mode. Each camera has a different way of denoting it on its dial, so me stating what they are on my camera may not help you. Experiment with these modes; work on aperture mode when you want to control depth of field or when you know you'll challenged to capture light easily. If you want a nice, blurry background, like for a portrait, you'll want a wider aperture, so a smaller number in the denominator. For more crisp, clear backgrounds, you'll want a larger number in the denominator, which is what you'll want for something like landscape photography. If you are taking action shots, say of children playing or a sports event, you'll want to use shutter priority with a fast shutter speed, likely around 1/250 of a second (but experiment to get the results you'd like). For night shots, you'll need a longer shutter speed (and likely a tripod or very high ISO). Play around in each of these modes at different ISO levels. While it is pretty simple to get the mathematical relationship between "stops", many people don't think in those terms, so trial and error is the way you can navigate around having to think about the numbers too much. Lastly, what you may find is that the camera, while it may say that your photo is perfectly exposed, may not be giving you the results you want. I'll address the reason for that below, but one option you have is to bracket your photo by using an Exposure Value (EV) shift. Your camera will allow you to basically tell it to overexpose or underexpose a photo on purpose. Play around with it to see if it helps, or maybe you simply prefer to leave it one third of a stop (denoted by 0.3) down or up as a matter of style or preference. You can also place your camera into burst mode and make it so the camera takes three exposures, one at normal exposure, one that is underexposed, and one that is overexposed. This can come in handy if you don't have time to manually changed your settings between shots to tweak, but you want to have a margin of safety in case your camera doesn't get the result you want on a normal exposure.

There are a few other settings/buttons you'll want to know. First is your focusing mode. DON'T leave this on auto-selection; you want the focus on autofocus so the lens will focus to the point you select, but you don't want the camera picking where that point is for you. There are various modes you can put your focus into which primarily relate to whether or not your camera will follow focus on a moving object or if it stays focused on the point you picked regardless of if the subject moves or not. I typically leave it on AI single, which uses the latter of those two strategies. The other item of note is your camera's metering mode. Metering is how the camera evaluates the exposure of the image you are viewing through the lens. What the camera can do is evaluate the image as a whole, or if can give priority to some section of the center of the photo. Perhaps you find that your photo is too dark; that could be because the metering is set to evaluate the whole frame, and the bright sky makes the camera select a shutter speed that makes a person in the center of the photo remain underexposed. What you can do is change the metering to center weighted or spot metering to make the camera base the exposure on what is strictly towards or at the center of the frame. The shutter will stay open longer, the person will be properly exposed, but the sky will be overexposed in all likelihood. This is inevitable for photos where different portions of the frame have drastically deviant lighting.

These items should give you a good foundation to understand enough of what you are doing and give you ways to go out and try tinkering with your camera. Of course, taking pictures and learning from the shots you get is the only way to truly advance your comfort and skill level. That said, what are you waiting for? Get out there and shoot!

Five Items to Purchase for New Photographers

If you're like me, the first thing you thought about when purchasing your camera was what would be the next lens to get. It's understandable; while the kit lens that comes in a bundle is a perfectly suitable lens to use, it leaves you wanting more. Part of maturing as a photographer is to learn to work with what you have, though. Using certain lenses forces you to get creative (which is probably why I struggle to challenge myself: I did what I am not advising and went for lenses first). Maybe a kit lens doesn't give you the range you want. Of course there will be some photos where you absolutely need the range, but maybe it prompts you to think of an alternative photo than the shot you want. Using a prime exclusively helps you manage shot composition. You can't zoom, so learn to move around and think about how to frame your shot. Before you go ahead and buy a second lens, consider these five items to help you maximize your current gear and learn other types of photography.

1. Cable Release - This is my first recommended item to get. A cable release has a number of uses. A cable release will allow you to take longer exposure shots by putting your camera in bulb mode. The shutter stays open as long as you want it to. This is useful for night photography, to name one example, so you can instantly immerse yourself in a new type of photography by buying a very inexpensive piece of equipment. The other thing is that it also minimizes camera vibration. Even the act of pressing the shutter release button has the slightest vibration. Using a wireless remote or a cable release eliminates this, enabling the sharpest pictures possible.
2. Tripod - Now, most of the time a cable release is used when a camera is mounted on a tripod. It isn't necessary, as you can always create your own sort of setup to hold a camera steady. A tripod is much more convenient and steady, though, so you'll want to get one of these. Tripods aim to hold a camera motionless for a shot, particularly for longer exposures. Tripods (and the tripod heads, which are bought separately for higher end setups) can range from inexpensive to quite expensive. As a beginner, it might be excessive to drop hundreds on a tripod and head thinking that you'll grow into it, but it is important not to go too cheap, as the tripod needs to be steady and able to support the weight of your camera and lens (and some lenses can be quite heavy). You also don't want a ball head that slowly moves during a shot, making the picture blurry. Having a tripod enables you to more easily do night photos, maximize the sharpness in your photos, and also is best for photographing macro shots.
3. Battery - A battery might not seem like the best investment, as different cameras use different batteries. While not completely cheap, the price of a battery is worth the convenience and its ability to bail you out of a tough situation. The last thing you want is to have your battery run out midway through a trip or concert and have to wait for your only battery to have to charge before you can use your camera again. When starting out, I wouldn't recommend getting a battery grip right away; these also can vary by camera model, and these are much more on the pricey side. The extra battery is a good start.
4. Cleaning kit - Keeping your gear clean is an absolute must. No matter how careful you are, the gear is going to need to be cleaned. You can get kits that will provide all the basics for you: a rocket blaster to blow particles of dust off of the lens so you never have to make contact with the glass, a goat's hair brush for anything you cannot remove with the blower, and a microfiber cloth with cleaning solution for a wet cleaning of the lens surface. This will keep your lens (and future lenses) in prime condition. Typically it is cheapest to but all of these things in a bundle if you don't have any of them already.
5. Reversal ring - This one is more of a placeholder for a general category of macro lens substitutions. You may be able to buy macro adapters for a low price, but these, while will have an impact, also greatly reduce image quality, so opting for these cheap adapters is not a great idea. There are other alternatives, though. Many lenses can be disassembled and altered to become amazing macro lenses in exchange for the loss of certain functionality (such as autofocus). That requires a little research and acquiring a cheap lens (like $40-$50, not an actual good, new lens). One alternative, though, is a reversal ring. A reversal ring attaches to the camera body and mounts your lens backwards. By doing this, the lens becomes a fantastic macro lens at the fraction of the cost of a macro lens. The peril of doing this, however, is the rear element is exposed, which is not ideal since you cannot put any sort of filter on to protect it. If you do decide to go down this route, just proceed carefully to avoid any damage to the lens. It is a great low cost alternative that yields great quality relative to some of the junk you may find online.

So there you have it: for the price of a lens (less than most lenses, in fact), you can get five items that will expand your photography capabilities immediately that will expose you to various types of photography and help hone your skills and technique so you can really but a new lens to use well once it comes time for you to get one.

The Secret to Concert Photography

In the few years I have been doing photography, the overwhelming majority of the people who are ever aware that I take photographs only know it because of concert photography. From what I have witnessed, taking concert photographs usually yields one of two category of responses. Because most people have tried taking pictures at a concert with a point and shoot or a phone, they know what a normal old photo looks like as opposed to one taken by an amateur or professional. Consequently, you have a large portion of people who are astounded at the photography because they compare your photos to the ones you took. There's a great deal of excitement and appreciation for the photos. The other group have the mindset of "yeah, it's all the camera". The truth about concert photography lies in the middle. So, if it isn't all either in the technology or being extraordinarily talented, what's the secret? What's the one thing that is most important? Is it how you set your camera? Your gear choice? Reflexes? Photography knowledge?

The secret is to be fearless, to know you are going to fail and continue to shoot anyway. I know, kind of a lame answer, right? How is this any different than other photography? Isn't practice and trying different things important for all photography? Here's why it's different: in concert photography, you are guaranteed to take bad photos. It's inevitable. No, not every non-concert photo you take is going to be good, but you are going to have so many more passable shots. After a concert, you are looking at a good sized number of photos that simply aren't worthwhile. The proportion of bad photos to good photos is so much larger than most other types of photography, and that ratio is even worse when you are first starting out. As such, it's possibly the easiest type of photography to be discouraged about. THAT is why the persistence is important. You have to accept the psychological beating that the bad photos deliver and keep going. Are all the other elements of photography important? Yes, but the fear of failure is something that works its way into your performance.

What outcome can this lack of confidence yield? Well, you don't want to continue to take bad pictures, so you start to think too much. Maybe you think that you need to take fewer, better photos. In general that is a good thing, but when you are starting out, it isn't so simple, and the end result is just taking fewer photos, which leads to fewer good photos and even more frustration. You spend more time fiddling with settings on the camera and less with your eye on the stage. You wait for the lighting to change and then you miss. You keep focused on a given area and the singer doesn't return to that focal range. Any number of things happen that keep you from getting a shot. An imperfect shot is better than no shot at all. At the very worst, it's a bad shot, you delete it, and you have zero pictures, just as if you didn't take the shot. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Perhaps there are other important topics to go over, but those will be for another day. The instant I start talking about other important elements to concert photography, the most important element discussed above loses some of its significance, relatively speaking. The fearless attitude is the one thing people should take away. Go out there, take pictures, move around with confidence, and act like you are taking some great shots. A positive attitude can go a long way, and if nothing else, it will make you look less mopey while at the show.

Five Handy Photography Sites

Everyone has to learn something from somewhere, right? As someone who has never taken a photography class in his life, I have relied on friends, reading, and trial and error to learn more about different facets of photography. I am further along in some areas than others. To some extent, that is just fine. Typically photographers will have a niche or two, but it is always good to be well versed in all facets. You never know when something will come up, and you don't want to be ill-prepared or ill-informed should that happen. Here are five sites covering a variety of different purposes that I would recommend to people interested in photography.

1. Adorama Learning Center - Adorama is a phenomenal site. Most people will know this site because they are a prominent photography retailer, and certainly they are a good option to purchase from if you are in the market for gear. Fewer people, however, probably know about the learning center. The learning center is a fabulous resource to become better informed on a number of things, including technical aspects of photography, gear, file formats, composition, lighting, and so many other topics. They have both articles and videos submitted by Adorama's team of experts. They cover all different skill levels, so regardless of if you are picking up a camera for the first time or have been shooting for ten years, they will have something new to learn for you.
2. DxOMark - Admittedly, this site might not be for everyone, but if you are a tech junkie, this site is a very thorough and valuable resource. They have very in depth gear reviews and tests alongside a pretty easy to navigate (there are some quirks, but nothing major) site enabling side by side comparisons of up to three items at a time. They have a very large database of quantitative information to go off of; for example, if you are debating between a couple of different lenses, you can put them side by side on the camera you'd be using them with, and it will rate things like sharpness, vignetting, and aberrations so you have some data to help you make your decision. I would never make a purchase without consulting DxOMark first.
3. The Tumblr of Zack Arias - Zack Arias is a professional photographer and author of Photography Q&A. What some people may not realize is the book available in stores all come from questions and answers on this Tumblr page. Zack takes questions from followers and gives candid answers. Sometimes his responses may come off blunt or a tad more forceful than necessary, but the fact of the matter is he knows his stuff and took the time to answer 1500 questions for people. Questions range from lighting to pricing to confidence and everywhere else in between. If you have a photo question, chances are he has answered it before.
4. Flickr - Okay, so putting Flickr on here may seem out of place. Maybe it is, as I couldn't tell you that Flickr is better or worse than other similar photography sites of that category, but I wanted to put a site like Flickr in the list. Why? I have several reasons. Having a site with user uploaded photos with message boards is a good way to see "the average photographer's" artwork and to meet new people. A site like 500px is intimidating because the photography is out of this world good. Flickr still has some high quality work, but there's the average work, or even work that isn't great (such as many of the over the top HDR images found on there). Seeing what others do helps show what things may or may not work, gives you a barometer of your work without pitting your photos up against a site full of phenomenal ones, and the social element is nice to talk photography. It's also a good way to get others to look at your work; if you comment on a photo of someone's chances are that user will look at your profile to see who you are, which means he/she will see your work.
5. Craigslist - Yeah, yeah, I know, why am I putting Craigslist on here? Well, part of photography is buying and selling gear, and if you are comfortable using Craigslist, it's a good resource to do just that. You'll never get fair value trading in gear at a pro shop, and shipping a lens after selling on Amazon presents potential risks on top of the sites taking their cut of commission off the top. As far as buying goes, you never know what gems you'll find listed on here, be it old film equipment, tripods, or a great price on a gently used DSLR. Yes, there are risks involved to purchasing from Craigslist, and I don't recommend it to everyone or for all items, but there is a comfort level in being able to see and test the gear before purchasing it, a luxury you wouldn't have ordering off of eBay, for example. So yes, caution is advised, but it's good to take a peek every once in a while, even if just to compare prices on Craigslist to other online sites.

Feel free to leave other useful sites in the comments of this post!

Full Frame vs Cropped Sensor Demonstration 2 of 2

Okay, part two of the demonstration. I showed you the perk of the photo quality across different ISO levels between the Nikon D5100 and the Nikon D600. I didn't necessarily touch much on the difference in perspective between a full frame and a cropped sensor in too terribly much detail. There's a lot of good documentation out there on the internet to explain that, but I figured I would give an actual example leading into the second demonstration. Each camera was mounted on a tripod and equipped with a Rokinon 85mm f/1.4 lens. Because the D5100 has a crop factor of 1.5x, this gives it an effective focal length of 127.5mm. The difference is illustrated below:

D5100 @ ISO 800 f/2.8

D600 @ ISO 800 f/2.8

Quite the difference, eh? Now everyone knows the phenomenon of when you zoom into a photo how the image quality deteriorates because you have fewer pixels on the screen. That begs the question: is it better to shoot with the D5100 or the D600 if you are looking for range on a shot? Intuitively, one might say go for the D5100 because of the range. The reality of this question, though, is the D600 has ~24 megapixels on its sensor versus ~16 for the D5100. How convenient!? Exactly 1.5 times the amount. Stands to reason, then, that there shouldn't be that much difference between the two strictly from the pixels utilized perspective, but the D600 has the superior sensor. The following images put it to the test. I cropped the photos down to the same equivalent area, so for the D600 I had to zoom further in (1:1) than on the D5100, where I didn't have to zoom into 1:1.

D5100 @ISO 800 f/2.8

D600 @ISO 800 f/2.8

D5100 @ISO 3200 f/2.8

D600 @ISO 3200 f/2.8

D5100 @ISO 6400 f/2.8

D600 @ISO 6400 f/2.8

As you can see, the noise in the pictures are pretty comparable, as the math predicted. The pictures in the D600, though overall are a bit better because the sensor captures a wider range of color and exposure, making it the ideal choice even when range is desirable. Of course, this may not always be the case for full frame versus cropped sensor in general. A 24 megapixel cropped sensor versus a 6 megapixel full frame will yield a different outcome. The exercise just goes to show the difference and the perils of assuming that the crop factor automatically makes it the best candidate for shooting greater distances.

Full Frame vs Cropped Sensor Demonstration 1 of 2

I wanted to post a demonstration of the difference between a full frame DSLR and a crop sensor DSLR that I had done for a former co-worker when I had gotten my new camera. What I wanted to illustrate in this particular exercise was how the two cameras with approximately same effective focal lengths. The difference in both the sensor technology and the pixel density impact the noise in the photo (diminished photo crispness) vary at various ISO levels. A used a Nikon D600 mounted with 50mm f/1.4 D lens and a Nikon D5100 mounted with 35mm f/1.8G (equivalent 52.5mm focal length with 1.5 crop factor).

I took three shots with each camera mounted on a tripod. The photos were taken at f/2.8, one at ISO 800, one at ISO 3200, and one at ISO 6400. The image crop is set at 100%, and there is just a slight difference due to the 2.5mm different focal lengths.

D5100 @ ISO 800

D600 @ ISO 800

Already you can see the difference in photo quality between the two cameras, but the difference becomes more exaggerated at higher ISO levels as seen below:

Nikon D5100 @ ISO 3200

Nikon D600 @ ISO 3200

Nikon D5100 @ ISO 6400

Nikon D600 @ ISO 6400

It's pretty clear that especially at lower ISO levels at an equivalent focal length, the full frame camera materially outperforms the one with the crop sensor. No one would argue otherwise, but it is easier to understand when there is a visual demonstration of how the cameras are different. Next time I will show the difference between these two cameras with the exact same lens on the camera. I'll explain more why there is a difference between these two cases at that time. Until then, feel free to ask any questions!

Night Photography

I received some rough news Friday. After spending some time with my brother, I knew I wouldn't be ready to head home, so I brought my photo gear with me. It hasn't been as much of a release for me as in the past, but I was trying something new (night photography is something I have done next to none of, and even then, it was of illuminated architecture), and I needed time to reflect (okay, so maybe I didn't need time to think, as my biggest issue is being able to stop thinking). Unfortunately, it was incredibly overcast, so photographing the stars wasn't ideal. I figured I drove 30 minutes to get away from the city lights, though, so I may as well take a few photos. I had my 8mm fisheye lens on my D5100, so it being on the crop sensor made the resulting picture non-spherical like it would have been had I put it on the D600. My cable release didn't work on the D600 anyway, so while I took a couple of shots holding down the shutter while tripod mounted, it wasn't possible to make some other type of photos work that way. The shot below is one I didn't mess with too much; I could have corrected the distortion caused by the fisheye, but I'd crop out the yellow floodlight at the left of the picture, and that is why the photo itself is the color it is. While the light obviously isn't that strong, when you have the lens open for several minutes, that is what happens (although the image when uploaded on blogger is much lighter and less contrasty than the photo appears when I open it in photo software). I wanted to be able to illustrate that effect. The light was actually not bright enough for me to see there was a gate there from afar! The idea for the shot was to have the road traveling off, but the gate sort of ruined it in a way.

In a way, though, I like the outcome even better. It tells a different story, one that I would say is even more applicable to my life. In life there are many paths we can take, but sometimes the only path that will yield any sort of results is to follow your heart. Happiness is such a fleeting emotion, so even if something doesn't make sense to try, that it logically is risky and the wiser answer is to try and make what you presently have work, emotions still persist and say there is only one path for you to take. Standing there, that's what it felt like. Clearly there is one road, but that road has a gate, and in that moment, one must wonder if one must try and cross the gate or turn back. Since it is a long release, though, that one moment is actually quite a few moments, which makes sense since it is a very difficult and exhausting decision. So in the end, I do like the narrative. Er, perhaps I shouldn't have given away the narrative that I portrayed to get the thoughts of others, you know, because there are hordes of people reading this post eager to give their interpretations of it :D

Common Novice Photography Problems

As much as I love the endless number of sophisticated topics to discuss in photography, I felt it might be appropriate to start off on a more basic level. Photography is such a beautiful blend of art and science, but it can be frustrating to many people if it doesn't yield the results they want or expect. This frustration leads to disengagement, oftentimes, so I feel like if I can help provide any insight as to why some of these outcomes exist, others will be less likely to become discouraged and subsequently be more apt to appreciating the various wonderful elements and nuances of photography. I tried to think of some questions or issues that people have asked about or that I have seen in photos to offer some guidance on.

1. "My picture is blurry, what gives?"
A picture will be blurry due to the presence of motion, and that motion can come from either the subject of the photo or the photographer. Generally people understand that if a subject moves a photo will come out blurry, but it's not as often they will think that the photographer is the cause. Holding the camera still is key, of course. I know my mother had the tendency to push the entire camera down when she pressed the shutter release rather than holding the camera still and only pressing her finger gently on the button. The downside of the point and shoot cameras of today are that they are very light, which makes them much harder to keep steady, and many opt for an LCD screen only and not a viewfinder. Always take advantage of a viewfinder if you can because it adds a third point of contact with you body to stabilize the camera. If that is not an option, try holding the camera closer to your body rather than extending your arms, as this will also help.

2. "My picture is all grainy!"
The grain in your picture comes from using a higher ISO setting. ISO allows you to take a picture in lower light, but you sacrifice sharpness and picture quality in the process (to give a simplistic version). Think film speed, if you are a film person. Higher film speeds allowed you to take photos in lower light or at faster speeds, but it introduces more grain into the photo. Okay, so that is great and all, but how do you get around this? Well, if you are shooting with your camera on Auto mode, many times it will pick a higher ISO than needed and offset it elsewhere in its settings. What you can do is go into your camera's settings and manually reduce the ISO before taking your photo. Just be careful that the outcome will likely be you needing to hold your camera more still, as your shutter will be open longer and be more susceptible to camera movement. The other thing to do, if possible is to add more lighting to your shot so the camera won't (hopefully) select such a high ISO for you. And, unfortunately, it could be the case where the scene is simply too dark to take a shot with your camera without getting a lot of grain. It won't hurt to try changing your settings, though, before giving up.

3. "The flash is way too bright!"
Flash can be one of the most frustrating elements of photography to learn about or deal with. It's a big weakness of mine in the DSLR realm, as I have never had any exposure to it there. With point and shoots, the camera tends to get very eager to put flash in all your photos on auto settings. Your first solution is to simply turn flash off altogether. Sometimes that will be appropriate for the scene. Other times, though, flash is needed, but you may not be able to adjust the intensity of your flash. What you can do in this situation is to try and evenly cover the flash directly with a translucent material. One good option is the cloudy type of scotch tape. It will stay secured in place and diffuse the flash while still providing a source of light. You can try other objects, such as a piece of paper, but it is important to have it up against the flash and not tilted; if you fail to do this, you're just going to bounce the flash in one direction and you won't get the desired outcome. Tape is definitely the best option, though.

4. "My images are too shadowy outside."
This one is going to sound counter intuitive, but turn on your flash. I know, I know, why would you need the flash if you're outside in the sun? Well, because if there are shadows on the subject's face, it means they are backlit, and you camera is assessing the exposure of the scene, which is very bright. Consequently, it closes the shutter quickly, and there is not enough exposure of the person's face. Now, you can elect to change the composition of the photo by taking it from another direction, but that is not always preferable, either to avoid a squinting subject or because you want to capture the background you had laid out. This is where flash helps. Your camera is still able to capture the image quickly and keep proper exposure on the background, but the flash will also illuminate the subjects face so it doesn't remain in the shadows. Using flash outdoors is actually a great technique, as the white light that can tend to show up in flash photos is neutralized by the ambient light.

Feel free to ask any questions in the comments or by using the Contact Me section on the page.

Photography Philosophy

Photography is a topic that were you ever to talk to me about it, you probably wouldn't know just how little of it I have actually done. Part of that probably comes from a little quirk of mine where I have a passion for talking about things more than I enjoy doing them (sounds like a perfect reason for a blog, eh?). That's not to say I am entirely inexperienced with photography, but it is only something I got into a few years ago, and there are huge dormant periods contained within that timeline as well.

I first really got into photography when I was 21. I decided I wanted to get a nicer point and shoot camera that had manual options so I could learn a little bit more and take photos when I went walking on trails. The interest didn't really take its present form until I started going to local shows, though. I would bring my camera and liked taking photos and videos of the performances. Obviously photos are not going to turn out so well with a point and shoot, but it was just something that added to the experience for me. I sometimes thought about how it would be nice to take better photos, but I didn't feel it was worth the expense of getting yet another more expensive camera.

That changed when I started having issues with my knees. One evening I was playing tennis with a longtime friend of mine and another guy from the condo complex I lived at. My right knee was really giving me problems, and I wasn't able to move around the court. Much to my dismay, both knees were in pain the next morning, and the next... and the next. In hindsight, it looks like the problem was a combination of just overworking myself and having excess acidity in my diet, even though I was very conscientious of the acidity and drank copious amounts of water. But back then it was diagnosed as chondromalacia, and even injections didn't help for longer than a few weeks. It was bad enough being in pain sitting at my desk at work and in the gym, so tennis was the odd thing out.

Enter photography; I needed something to fill the void left by no longer playing tennis. I decided photography was going to be that hobby when I found a deal on a Canon T2i with two lenses and a 13x19" printer. I was so nervous about using the camera without studying up about the camera and learning more about photography than I currently knew that it sat in its box for more than a month after I bought it. Then I saw how foolish I was being and just went for it.

Over the years, I have gone through my ups and downs. I've learned a lot about photography and gear, I've worked on a feature film, I've switched camera brands, I've learned my strengths and weaknesses, I've learned a lot about photo editing and processing, and yet there's still an overwhelming number of things I don't know. Inspiration comes and goes. Editing has become a chore, and at times photography has felt more like a job than a hobby. Through it all, though, I truly believe the hobby is here to stay, albeit not with the same grand plans I may have had for it at some time. How do I know? All you have to do is hear the enthusiasm in my voice when I talk about photography. I actually hope that blogging will rekindle the enthusiasm (and not make it seem more like a job). My goal for this section of the blog is to do a little of everything; to teach, to talk about software, to show photography that I admire, talk about gear, and maybe even show some of my own work.