Photography, walks and talks #blastphotofest2019
It’s a sunny day in Sandwell and the Sandwell Pride of Place Project exhibition opens tomorrow in the former Poundland shop in the Kings Square shopping centre in West Bromwich. The opening event will be at 6 pm and the new mayor of Sandwell will be announcing the winners of the photography competition.
Metering on a DSLR #photography
There are three different setting for metering on my Nikon D3200. Metering sets DSLRs apart from other cameras and can help us get just the right exposure, especially for portraits. When we focus on a shot we also meter the light that is being reflected into the camera from our subject. The metering mode I use the most is ‘matrix’ and it measures the light across the whole frame.
The first day of spring #photography
It is the spring equinox today and so by tradition the first day of spring. Here in the Black Country, it is sunny and looking out of the window this morning I thought it was a cold light. A cold light has more blue in it and it is a blue sky today, in summer we get more red tones especially the last hour before the sun goes down. I did take a few photos last week and they looked quite cold with more blue than red tones.
A few ideas #photography
Most photographers photograph people and for that, you need a wide aperture and preferably a fast lens. I like my 35mm prime lens for portraiture but it isn’t so good for events when the zoom lens has an advantage. The prime lens has fewer elements and so gives a much better quality image. Learning about lenses is important for the DSLR photographer but there are simpler things to learn if you have just had a camera for Christmas.
Taking photos like a pro #photography
I photographed the Christmas lights switch-on last Friday. It is a difficult event to photograph and I was alongside professional photographers with full frame cameras. I still got reasonable pictures and shot some decent video. So today, I’ll try to give you some tips so you can take pictures like a pro too.
On my mind #ramble
It is Sunday morning and so once again I share a few thoughts with you. What’s on my mind this week? Too much! I was having weird dreams last night, I had so much whirring through my mind. I’ve had a lot of criticism this year and most of it has been politically motivated. I get caught between the loony left and the loony right. I just try to contribute to the community. I do that by taking writing, taking photos and managing social media. On Friday I was photographing the Christmas lights switch-on. Yes, I photographed politicians but that doesn’t mean I support all their policies. In fact I support some right-wing policies such as Donald Trump’s corporation tax cuts. That doesn’t make me an American Republican. If they implement austerity to pay for those tax cuts, I will condemn them.
Buying a camera #photography
This morning I had a look to see how much the cheapest camera was on Amazon and found this one for just 31.99. It is an 18-megapixel camera and has all these scene modes:
Auto/Night Portrait/Night Scenery/Portrait/Scenery/Beach/High sensitivity.
There is a note in the blurb that says to take photos in good conditions. That is the problem with cheap cameras, you need good conditions which means good light. However, you can take family photos and snaps at parties because you simply use the flash. This camera won’t be so good for landscape photography but for occasional snaps, it would be fine. My DSLR is more controllable and it has a much larger sensor and so is much better in poor light. If you’re buying a camera you have the cheap ones for taking snaps at one end of the market and full-frame DSLRs at the other end that are phenomenally expensive when you have bought the lenses and filters and all the gear a professional photographer uses.
Higher ISO settings #photography
Now winter is here I am using higher ISO settings to compensate for the poor light. Higher ISO settings make the sensor more sensitive to light and are essential when we are shooting landscape or indoors when we don’t want to use a flash. I mostly shoot on aperture priority with my Nikon D3200. That is the A setting on the camera dial. I set the aperture, how wide the shutter opens and the camera sets an appropriate shutter speed.
Low light events #photography
I photographed the Remembrance parade on Sunday. It was freezing cold and low light and my shots weren’t the best I have taken but in difficult conditions, I’m lucky to get even reasonable shots. One professional photographer asked if I had got some good shots so maybe he struggled too. Low light events are more difficult.
Raising the ISO #photography
Quite often there isn’t enough light and you don’t want to use your flash. The answer is to make the sensor on your camera more sensitive to light. This is easier with my DSLR than my bridge camera and it can help you take sharp shots indoors or when there are dark skies. I went to the art gallery this week to collect a picture that was in an exhibition and wanted a few shots of a tablet honouring Boer war participants. Raising the ISO on my camera to 400 did the job and I didn’t need to use a flash.
Thinking about composition #photography
“In the visual arts, composition is the placement or arrangement of visual elements or ingredients in a work of art, as distinct from the subject. The term composition means ‘putting together’ and can apply to any work of art, from music to writing to photography, that is arranged using conscious thought.”
Art on my mind #ramble
It is Sunday morning and so once again you get an exclusive pass that allows you into the labyrinth that is the neural network that I call my mind. Yes, I will share my thoughts once again and today, I have art on my mind…
Choosing a location #photography
Last week, I was going shopping and I happened to be going near Bescot station in Walsall and so decided to make that my location for a photo-shoot. The motorway runs alongside the station with the river in between and so there are lots to photograph.
Getting out of Wednesbury #ramble
Here we are again, it’s Sunday morning and once again I give you a VIP pass into the labyrinth that is the neural network of my mind and share my thoughts with you. What’s going on in mind this morning as I listen to the rain drip into a puddle outside and drink my tea? Well, I would like to go out today and take some photographs while there is a lull in the traffic chaos we experience in the Black Country every other day. I was even thinking of venturing out of Wednesbury.
Exposure compensation #photography
Most photographers know the photographer’s triangle is shutter speed, aperture and ISO. Exposure compensation confuses people new to DSLRs but it is simple to understand. It’s cloudy this morning and the light is poor and I intend to photograph an event. I’ll probably shoot with a wide aperture on aperture priority. Aperture priority means, I set the aperture and the camera sets the shutter speed. What if the shutter speed is too slow for a sharp image? I can set the ISO higher and so the sensor is then more sensitive to light and I get a faster shutter speed. When I take the first picture, if it’s a little bit dark then I can adjust the shutter speed slightly using exposure compensation. On my Nikon D3200, the +- button is pressed and then the exposure compensation is adjusted using the thumb wheel. I can adjust it slightly for a slightly slower shutter speed and my picture will be lighter.
The autumn colours #ramble #photography
It’s Sunday morning again and so what is going on inside my head this week? The neurons are buzzing but I can’t decide what to do with my day. There is a car boot sale in the marketplace so I might go and look at that. The trees near there are turning to autumn colours so they might make a good photograph. I definitely need to go to Teddy Gray’s shop and stock up on herbal tablets now the colder weather is coming. The autumn colours are beginning so this could be the best time to take photographs. What shall I do?
Trying a different approach #photography #art
It was the Tipton Canal Festival at the weekend and so a great opportunity for me to continue my development of photography into art. The historian will look at finance from a different perspective to a mathematician. An artist will look at the creation of images from a different perspective to a photographer. I want to try a different approach and look at my photography from the perspective of an artist rather than thinking just about the technical aspects of creating an image. My project involves photographing people, places and things with a zoom lens and I want to zoom in quite close up. The people are easy and now I’m getting an idea of what things I want to photograph. I couldn’t park my car anywhere near the canal festival but I still got some shots from the bridge near the Barge and Barrel with the 300mm lens.
Developing photography into art #photography
I want to start developing photography into art with a series of images shot with a longs lens. I have in mind, people, places and things. This weekend I went to West Bromwich Manor House to a medieval re-enactment where I could photograph people in quite unusual roles and I used my 55 – 300 mm zoom lens.
Developing your art #photography
It has been about 10 years since I decided to take up photography and only 4 years with a DSLR so I’m not an expert but I think of myself as an artist now. I strive for images that will inspire others. I know now it isn’t the camera that decides whether an image is inspiring or not. I have taken prize-winning photographs with my cheap bridge camera and I have some great photos I’ve taken with a DSLR. I want to do more than taking snaps, however. I want art. I want big prints for people to look at and be inspired by. It costs money and it also costs money for expensive lenses. For now, I just try to recognise the shots and experiment with different lenses. I like to shoot with a wide aperture now to get my subjects into sharp focus.
Looking for something different #photography
I was looking for something different on Sunday and decided to use my 55 – 300mm lens to give me more reach. I have an art project in mind but haven’t quite decided on what kind of shots I need. I’m getting closer to what I need, though. I need something quite different from my usual images and I want to zoom in with a 300mm lens.
Shooting wide open with a long lens #art #photography
I’ve had an art project in mind for a while and I want to shoot wide open with a long lens. I would like to shoot with an 18 – 300mm lens but I make do with what I have. At the weekend I took some pictures at our 40s event in the park. I wasn’t too well and carrying lots of equipment was out of the question. On Saturday I used my 18 – 105mm lens which is very versatile for events. Then on Sunday, I had an idea that I could practice for my art project and shoot wide open with my 55 – 300mm lens. It also saved me walking around so much! Wide open with a long lens worked out well.
The Oak House #photography #art
I’ve been thinking about art this week. Many of those early photographers were artists and were fascinated by the new medium. Now many photographers specialise in fine art photography. I want to do an art project but I’m not quite sure what I want to do. I know that the images that I produce must elicit an emotional response from the viewers. I have a photograph printed on canvas on display in Wednesbury Art Gallery and that does produce a response. That artwork is called “Bluebells in the Hedgerow” and is in the Sandwell Art Trails exhibition. I hope you’ll vote for it if you visit the exhibition. I now want a work that is more than one image and I want more of a response than people simply liking it. I want people to relate to the images. I went to the Oak House at West Bromwich to take a few shots on Sunday and to get ideas.
Shooting with low-light at events #photography
I did a few photo-shoots at the weekend and needed to cope with low-light conditions. The first event was part of the Birmingham and Sandwell Jazz Festival and was a performance by Chickenbone John playing an amazing guitar made from a cigar box.
Conveying a mood #photography #art
There are always interesting things to photograph and photography isn’t just about taking snaps. I look at photography as an art in itself and I look for unusual things to photograph. I found this little chapel down a side street in Bilston and took a few shots early in the evening. The art of photography is imagining what mood an image will convey and I thought this chapel looked cold and lonely.
