Sullivan J Photography

Hello everyone,

I’m back from my vacation and I’m happy to introduce Adrienne Carlson as my guest author for today.  If you’re interested in various photography colleges, email her or check out the link she provided in the by-line.  The photographs are provided by me using my daughter’s Nikon point and shoot camera set on Macro Mode.  If you want a better view of the pictures, click on them. To get back to the blog use your back arrow key.

My Daughter's camera. Photo from B&H.

See you next Thursday!

Enjoy…

A Few Tips to Become a Good Macro Photographer

If you’ve never heard of macro photography, now is a good time to educate yourself – this form of photography is nothing but the close-up shots of simple things that seem so beautiful because of the depth of the picture. If you have always admired this form of art and have wondered how you, an amateur photographer, could also create works of beauty from seemingly innocuous objects and life forms, here are a few tips that will help you become a good macro photographer.

• Check your digital camera to see if it has a macro mode. If so, you can use it to shoot pictures at a distance of 3 to 10 cm from the subject. If you’re an amateur, you don’t need to shell out money on more expensive equipment when you can play around with the one you already have. Once you think you’re ready for more professional shots, you could buy a macro lens that provides more than 1:1 ratios or choose to use a close up filter on a 1:1 macro lens.
• You need to have immense patience when taking pictures in the macro mode because it is harder for your camera to focus in such depth as required for close up shots.
• If you want a sharp photograph with a handheld camera, you need to use equipment that has fast shutter speed. So if your lens has a focal length of 100 mm, your shutter speed needs to be at least 1/100^th of a second if you’re using a handheld camera. On the whole, it is better to use a steady tripod for most of your shots.
• Lighting is very important in macro photography, so you need to be skilled at using external flashes or artificial lighting to set up the shots you want. The more the light, the better the shot.
• While most macro photography focuses on micro objects like insects or inanimate objects, some photographers concentrate exclusively on photography water and the exciting shapes it makes as droplets. If you want to showcase water in all its glory, try using extension tubes on your camera. To do this, you’ll have to switch to focusing manually because most equipment does not focus automatically when these plastic tubes are attached.
• As with any other kind of photography, keep practicing and experimenting with angles, lighting, frames and shots till you achieve the one that you think is perfect.

Hand held Nikon point & shoot macro mode.

Hand held shot of Liken on rock - Nikon point & shoot camera.

Example: Hand held - should have used a tripod, has some blur to the flower.

By-line

This guest article was written by Adrienne Carlson, who regularly writes on the topic of photography colleges. Adrienne welcomes your comments and questions at her email address: adrienne.carlson1@gmail.com

Hello everyone,

If you have been reading the steps on, “How to Photograph Up Close” then you should know how to process your photographs and have some basic knowledge on macro equipment.  Did you do your homework and photograph in natural light?  Did you notice that the closer you got to the subject, the depth-of-field shortened (less in focus)?  Did you also notice that when you used apertures that ranged from F14 – F22 gave you more depth-of-field (more in focus) and that you had to let more light into the camera by making your shutter speed longer?  Also, did you notice that the auto focus on your lens doesn’t work well with macro photographing… setting the lens on manual gave you more control of what you wanted focused in your picture? Now that you have practiced… let’s have some fun with some creative macro techniques.  If any of you reading this haven’t done your homework…no worries just click here and start from the beginning.

First I would like to give you some basic art terms so you will understand what I’m talking about in the future posts.  One of the main design techniques I learned in school was the, “Rule of Thirds”.   Trust me, this rule works… be creative and photograph on all intersecting areas to see what you like. All of the photographs below have the focal point on one of the intersections.

The photographs above may not be exactly on the intersections, but they are close and do make an impact on the photograph.

I would like you to also read up on Color Theory.  It’s important to understand how colors work together, you will use this more when I talk about advanced digital darkroom techniques.  Today, I want you to pay attention to complimentary colors. When you see the color wheel (click on Color Theory), whatever is opposite to the color you’re looking at always works well when you combine them in a photograph. This is why, I believe, sunsets and sunrises are such beautiful pictures.

I have mentioned this before and will again, Depth of Field (DOF) is important when photographing Macro. Take a look at this photo of an eye (below). We see eye photos all the time but when you tell a story in the photo like this one, showing us that this person is dreaming about something….makes this photo powerful, DOF made this possible.

Let’s talk a bit about telling a story.  Most photo editors, art reps, etc… say that we must tell a story. I agree, but…when you first begin to photograph Macro, I feel you should photograph anything anyway, use a variety of views and techniques. Once you understand the basics of exposure and composition, you will then start to look at your photographs differently. Play, play, play…this is how you learn. Yes, reading books, magazines, and my blog help, but to really learn you must photograph up close to understand the whole process of Macro photography. Ok, now that I have lectured you again, lol…let me show you some creative techniques using natural light.

Because we are focusing up close, water drops can be a lot of fun! The viewer can enjoy the photo composition and then a whole new composition in the drop of water.  Definitely play with water drops!

Another creative technique is photographing a variety of textures.

Pay attention to the repetitive lines and shapes. Not only are you having fun playing with this creative technique you also will have the fun of seeing what our eyes normally cannot see.

Let’s end with my favorite technique, back lighting. Macro back-light is really exciting…especially when you focus on leaves and flowers. You can see the details in the life of the subject. You can also silhouette your subjects just be careful of lens flare but try it, you’ll be happy with your capture.   I found this great site that talks about back-lighting, check it out for more info.

Backlight using Natural light.

Today I talked about some of the various compositions of visual arts; Rule of Thirds & Color Theory.  I also would like you to shoot waterdrops, textures, and play with back lighting.  I would  like you to read a great column that photographer Harold Davis posted, “Focusing on What Matters”.   He has various projects for you to work on but what I like best about this post is that it will help you think about what you are photographing.  Have fun playing with natural light this week.  Next week we will discuss alternative lighting techniques.

Cheers,

Janice

Hello,

Did you have a chance to read your manual on your camera?  If not, you should, because to photograph a great macro shot you really need to know your camera.

Read up on F-Stops and Shutter Speeds so you understand what you will need to do to make adjustments to the camera to get what you want.  The F-Stop is one of the most important aspects of photographing up close.

Today my post will be about basic Macro photographing in natural light.  My next post will discuss software to process your photographs, basically, when you work on your photos using your computer,  you will be able to achieve a more professional look to your photographs.  So don’t be discouraged if you’re not seeing the photographs you thought  you were going to shoot now.  Trust me…I will get you there

I would like you to play with your camera this week and focus on the various f-stops and shutter speeds to see what is in focus and what is not in focus.  When you shoot, for example an f-stop of F8 compared to F1.4 you can see that the F8 has more in focus, see below:

FYI: A variable to remember is that the closer you get to a subject with your lens the harder it is to achieve a sharp focus from edge to edge.

If you want your photograph to be more in focus change your f-stop to F22 and see what it does.  Be careful to not increase your f-stop more than F22 because of the Reciprocal factor.  Just be aware that anything above F22 may have a dark ring around the outer edges of the photograph.  Of course you will need to make sure your exposure is correct. Due to digital technology you can see the exposure at the moment you take the picture.  An easy way to check your exposure is to set the aperture to your liking, move your shutter speed so the exposure guide in your viewfinder is in the middle (read your manual if you don’t know what I’m talking about) shoot the photo, if the photo is too dark slow down your shutter speed (say from 160 to 100) if the photo is too light speed up your shutter speed (say from 160 to 200) each time looking at your photo to see how it looks. Again, later in our posts we can talk about more detailed info on exposure, but for now play with this and USE YOUR MANUAL MODE.

I like to shoot with an ISO of 100 in natural light.  You can read about ISO here.  Basically, the lower your ISO the better the photograph.  If your light is limited go to an ISO of 400 or use lights.  I rarely use an ISO higher that 400 because of the grainy look to the photo.

When you photograph with natural light, pay attention to the light hitting your subject. Try not to have too much shadow on your subject, for now… when we talk about lighting (later) we can play with shadows. I begin my macro mode by photographing the subject in full – no macro.  I guess for me it’s getting to know the subject with the camera.  See how the dog is in the light and the backgound is in shadow. This drawes my attention to the dog – so cute isn’t she!

Pay attention to the light hitting your subject.

Ok, I’m going to confess! I am handholding the camera on the dog shots, but I’m not getting really close to her so I can wing it. The next two photographs I want you to see the difference in the aperture setting. This is what defines the photograph’s depth-of-field.

This photograph was taken at F8 @ 1/160 of a second:

F8 @ 1/160

The photograph below was taken at the same speed but with an F-Stop of 2.8:

F2.8 @ 1/160

Notice that her eye is in focus and the face is out of focus on the second photo (F2.8).  Remember,  you have the control!  Just change your f-stop to achieve what you want.  Take a look at the two photographs below with the same F2.8 stop.  The first flower is flat to my camera, notice that the flower is more in focus than the other flower.  I moved my camera to view the side of the flower (second photo) to show you how drastic this stop (F2.8) is.  Yes, I had to use my tripod, cable release, and focusing rack, for the flower shots. I had fun playing with the focusing rack…you can determine what you want the viewer to see in focus.  It’s a perfect toy for creativity!

front view f2.8

Side view:

side view F2.8

So your homework this week is to play with your apertures. Remember that an F22 will be in more focus than F2.8, but because of the small amount of light coming into the camera at F22, you will need to slow your shutter speed to add more light into the camera to get the exposure.  The next post  I will have photographs with F22 and some details about processing your photographs.

One more thing….because you need to slow your shutter speed…you may need to wait for the wind to stop blowing if your subject is outside.  I had to wait until just the right time to achieve a sharp focus on the flowers below.  I also suggest that you read up in your manual how to lock your mirror on your camera and use your tripod and shutter release cable.

Two more photos…can you tell which one has the f-stop open more? If not ask me:

Used a tripod and waited for the wind to stop for a sharp focus on flower.

Used tripod and cable release for a sharp focus on flower.

Remember, the f-stop is one of the most important parts of macro photography.  Play with it so you understand how to create awesome macro photographs.  A great book to read is, “The Complete Guide to Close-up and Macro Photography” by Nicki Wheeler.

Cheers,

Janice

As most of you know Janice and Kevin enjoy taking time to hike around California.  Janice will photograph while Kevin roams around helping her find new things to shoot.  Recently they went to Antelope Valley in Southern California to enjoy the California state flower, the Golden Poppy.  These are some of her photographs of the day.  They are available in her archive.

She recommend the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve.   Taken from their website:

Each spring, the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve comes alive with the seasonal surprises of the Mojave Desert Grassland habitat.  The duration and intensity of colors and scents vary from year to year, affected by differences in winter’s precipitation.  Wildlife includes gliding hawks, singing meadow larks, lots of side-bloched lizards zipping across the trail, gopher snakes and rattlesnakes.  If you’re lucky, you may spot a coyote or bobcat.  Benches located along the trails make good places to sit quietly and watch for wildlife.  Numerous burrows around the trails may house mice, gophers, kangaroo rats, beetles, scorpions, or snakes that have taken them over.

Facilities
The Jane S. Pinheiro Interpretive Center, offering a short video, wildlife and plant displays and gift shop, will be open daily for the duration of the wildflower season.  Nearby, shaded picnic tables are available on a first-come, first-served basis, with an interpretive display and a serene view over the valley to the San Gabriel Mountains.

Tours
During the wildflower season, free guided public tours are offered if staff is available at:
10 AM & 2 PM weekends
11 AM on weekdays

A couple more photos:

We at SJP wish you all a happy Spring!

Drop, originally uploaded by Janice Sullivan.

Hello all,

Spring is around the corner, especially in Southern California. The dandelions are everywhere! I love dandelions…as a child I would always pick as many flowers as I could and wished for everything

Cheers,

Janice

For fun Janice hikes with her husband and photographs. She has just added some Red Rock Canyon shots to her stock site. Red Rock in Southern California is a historical site. For millions of years sediment washing down from surrounding mountains formed layers of sandstone, each layer faithfully recording the Geologic history. Earthquakes, volcanoes, floods and droughts were recorded in the individual layers of stone.

Pioneers of the westward movement recorded their presence in Red Rock Canyon as early as 1850. Members of the 49ers, who were temporarily stranded in Death Valley, passed through Red Rock Canyon on their way to the settlement of Los Angeles.

From 1920 to 1968 Red Rock Canyon was in private ownership and was used extensively by the movie and television industries to film more than 130 movies and numerous TV commercials.

The Red Rock Canyon area was acquired by the State Park System in 1968 and has been carefully protected ever since, for all to enjoy