Trinkets or Accessories?

Greetings and welcome to Hohenfels Volks, THE place for our place!

The term accessories has come to include a host of photographic gadgets of questionable value...  Ansel Adams

A sucker is born every minute…  PT Barnum

The first accessory we’re going to look at seems to have some merit. At least, for the maker it has merit. It’s the Camera Clip. This is a clip that mounts to your camera’s tripod bushing. The other piece goes on your belt or backpack strap. The 2 pieces clip together to keep your camera in place for easy carrying. It has a quick release button, and when worn on the belt looks kind of like some space alien stun gun thing. I’ve always found the camera strap to work best at carrying the camera, and being slightly free, a painless way to get the shot. No fussing with a clip or having your belt stretched (or worse, your pants falling down) by the weight of your camera.

Then there’s the SLR Pin Hole Lens. This is the cap from an SLR with a pinhole in it. This allows for pinhole photography without a pinhole camera. It’s a good idea, and may have merit if you wish to combine pinhole photography with digital photography. There’s no way to change your aperture, and no way to focus, so auto focus is out the window. This may not be usable with some SLRs, as the focus point has to be acceptably sharp, even in manual focus. This would apply to many DSLRs, therefore check before using!

Next up is a device called the Super-Secret Spy Lens. This gadget has a hole in the side of the lens and uses mirrors to photograph through the side. It allows you to pint your camera one direction, pretending to photograph something, while actually sneaking a photo of something (or someone) unsuspecting. I can see someone getting into trouble with this really quick! By the way, this little lens add on says right on it “Angle Scope!” It even includes in the ad on Amazon a sample use, on the beach…

Last up, my personal favorite for the no merit award goes to the Bottle Cap Tripod. First, there was the tabletop tripod, which allowed folks to shoot their food in fancy restaurants without having to handhold the camera. Then cam the Gorilla-Pod thing that allowed you to mount your camera to leafy tree branches. The final step (I hope!) in this evolution will be this. It’s a standard sized “bottle cap” that mounts to your camera and allows you to put it on a water bottle, juice bottle, cola bottle, whatever bottle, and take a photo, presumably of yourself or your group.

Of course, no list can be complete. Many gadgets may be useful to you, even when no one else finds them to be. This list is only showing a couple money wasters that actually do nothing to help your photography. Who’s to say the bottle cap is bad, if you can get a family shot when you’re out to a special dinner or something similar. There are so many more items that purport to be useful, when they’re actually nothing more than trinkets to make you feel better about your photography.

The best accessory for any camera, of course, is the manual. Read it, learn your camera, learn your style, and you’ll have no need for many of these trinkets. Some good accessories to have include a multicoated circular polarizer, a UV filter, good storage for digital photography, a good camera bag, a good cleaning kit, maybe some black and white filters if you plan to shoot monochrome, a remote release cable, and a flash with a couple mods. These items will flesh a very nice little kit, and have you moving through your scenes with ease after some practice! A very important piece of gear is a meter. Since most cameras today have built in meters, that can come later, and be a life saver in tricky light! Although, whatever accessories you have or use, you have to keep them ready and practice them to get the most from them.


ISO 400, f/8, 1/30
One of the buildings at the Hermitage in Bayreuth. The feeling of being away from the world, even in the city, is something one can relate to in this age of stress! The feeling of splendor, yet remote contemplation make this place a winner. Shot with nothing but a Wratten #8, yellow, filter over my lens. No fancy tricks or gadgets were used, other than knowing what my camera would do and how the filter would alter the levels.

I hope that this will give you pause the next time you see that “magic bullet” device that will make all your photos super perfect! As any long time photographer will tell you, there are no magic bullets. Practice and knowing your gear is the closest thing to that magic bullet.

Get out and get making your photos! We’d love for you to share them with us on our Hohenfels Volks Facebook page. We’d love to see your work.

Is there anything you’d like to see here? Do you have a question? Share your thoughts here or at the Hohenfels Volks Facebook page. Of course, commenting on both Facebook and here is always appreciated, too! Don't forget, we're on Google+, too!

Autumn Care

Greetings and welcome to Hohenfels Volks, THE place for our place! Here in Hohenfels, the Sun made a couple cameo appearances but wasn’t able to stir up any kind of significant warmth. The rain put a damper on the spirits, as did the fact that it’s a workday!

With autumn’s brutally chilled arrival, we’re nearing the time to shoot some real color! There’s always some excitement about the colors, shapes, textures, and patterns that accompany autumnal photography. As I mentioned in yesterday’s quote, now’s a great time to think about negative space and the use of color to create tension, balance, and harmony in your photos, and bring about the connection you’d like to make.


ISO 800, f/11, 1/60
These flowers were shot at the Hermitage in Bayreuth. A Wratten #8, yellow, filter was used. By using the filter, the green was brought up slightly, and the white flowers separated from both the red flowers and green leaves. By allowing a rich grey-black to fall on the leaves and red flowers, a velvety feeling of negative space results. While fragmented and carrying visual detail, it is by no means the subject, and yet becomes a subject of its own.

Along with the march of color into the dreariness ahead, comes other factors that photographers should take note of. First, is the rapid decrease in temperatures, the drop in temperature can take the starch out of an exciting day. Another factor is the rain, always something to be ready for in our Hohenfels area. Getting your camera wet can lead to issues that no one wants!

One of the biggies, I’ve found, is the increase in static. For the most part, photographers don’t have to worry about while photographing with digital cameras. It’s when the time comes to change cards or clean your sensor, or even change your lens that it becomes an issue. A typical “zap” can have as much as 30,000 volts jumping from one surface to another. Enough to ruin your day if it arcs over onto your sensor. Since most folks don’t clean their sensors beyond a squirt from a bulb blower, it’s pretty reasonable to say that the standard precautions are sufficient.

With film, though, static can be a big problem. Advancing film, rewinding film, activating the shutter, removing a dark slide, all these things can cause an arc that will ruin your shot. The can also damage your shutter curtains if your camera uses cloth. In the driest and coldest weather, it could damage your sensor, but that’s unlikely.

The biggest threat to digital cameras during this time of year is the condensation from thermal transitions. That’s a fancy way of saying going inside from outside. I’ve found one of the best ways to protect anything is a Ziploc bag and 30 minutes. Don’t plug your camera in, put your card in your reader, or power on your camera when you first come in. The temperature change can cause moisture, which we all know, doesn’t sit well with electronics! Think about glasses fogging over when you come in from the cold!

Another awesome tip- when you get in from the cold, make a big cup of hot cocoa, with extra chocolate. It’ll warm you up, and give time for your gear to reach a suitable temperature! It helps if you have someone to share it with. A nice cup of cocoa with my little princess makes for some fun talk time, and 30 minutes is gone before you know it!

Now’s the time get scouting and planning your autumn shots. Figure out where and when, the rest will follow. Then, make your shot and share it with us on our Hohenfels Volks Facebook page. We’d love to see your work.

Is there anything you’d like to see here? Do you have a question? Share your thoughts here or at the Hohenfels Volks Facebook page. Of course, commenting on both Facebook and here is always appreciated, too! Don't forget, Hohenfels Volks is on Google+, too!

Tools of the Trade- More on Lenses

Greetings, Hohenfels, welcome to Hohenfels Volks, THE place for our place. Here’s hoping today sees you starting on the downhill run of a great week!

Today it’s time to talk a little about lens attributes and traits.

We’ve already talked a little about lenses, so today we’re going to concentrate on some of the quality issues and features of your lenses. It’s a little long, for which I apologize.

One of the first things most folks need to know is that your old film lenses will work on digital cameras. They may have a crop factor, for instance 1.6X for APS-C, but if they can mount on your camera, you can use them. On the other hand, your newer digital lenses are unusable on full frame or film cameras. When you put a film lens on an APS-C sensor, the crop factor comes from the distance from the back of the lens to the sensor. The film lenses cover a larger area than the sensor; this in turn causes an apparent increase in focal length and the crop. Canon’s recent systems, the EOS cameras, use EF lenses, which have a 1.6X crop on your APS-C sensor. Their digital line of lenses for the EOS system is the EF-S line. They require no crop factor and apparent focal length is actual focal length. The reason the digital series of lenses don’t work on full frame or film cameras is due to their smaller projection of the image onto a smaller sensor. They won’t fill the frame or film, and most likely won’t even focus properly even if they could be mounted.

Another concern about your lens on zoom lenses is often the aperture. Less expensive lenses read something like 28-135 f/3.5-5.6. This is because the aperture size doesn’t change during zooming, that is the largest it can go. The area of the aperture remains constant, requiring a change in f-number. If you remember, your f-number is a ratio of focal length and aperture. It represents the focal length divided by that number, that’s why it’s written f/2, f/5.6 etc. The longer a lens is, the less light reaches the sensor. That’s why the f/number changes throughout the range of zooms. If your area doesn’t change, your f-number must. The reason for this is the cost and weight added to vary the aperture size throughout the zoom range. That doesn’t mean a constant aperture means a cheap lens, it doesn’t mean less quality, it just means less light as you zoom in.

A great feature of lenses over the past few years is the addition of IS. The affordability of technology has made it possible to use feature that used to be unavailable to the hobbyist. IS allows slower shutter speeds when enabled. Using it hand held, you can get down to about 3 stops lower that the handheld limits. The systems work by compensating for motion with motion in the opposite direction. When hand holding your shot, using proper shooting styles, with arms tucked in etc, will enable the IS to really slug it out with vibration. The most important thing to remember is turning it on for handheld, and ALWAYS turn it off for tripod shots. When on a tripod, the IS searches for motion in the lens and can cause vibration rather than reducing it. The big drawback to IS is that it uses your camera’s battery for power.

The last thing I’ll bring up for now is a quality issue. The problem is chromatic aberration or CA. This is distortion caused by different colors, or wavelengths, of light focusing at differing areas on your sensor. There are several types and names, but we’re not going into it that deep here. It often causes the purple fringing that you see along borders with bright highlights and dark shadows together. Using a smaller aperture can help mitigate this, as can a longer lens. Low dispersion glass and good coatings can combat this effectively. There seems to be many complexities involved in CA, including the types and calculations. The best practice when purchasing a lens, if possible, is to take a test shot using that lens of a high contrast area, and zoom in looking for fringing. CA can also cause blurriness in Black and White photography, so keep that in mind. You can see examples on Google to get more information and some idea of what to look for. According to the reviews I’ve read, Canon makes the most advanced software correction to mitigate CA and other distortions available. Because Canon’s EF lens system is actually all electronic, and records the information on individual lens models, Digital Photo Pro can compensate for it. Yet another advantage of shooting RAW!

Whenever you look to purchase a lens, make sure you read a variety of reviews, and look at loads of test photos taken with that lens, it could save you some headaches! If you have a lens that you favor and would like to write it up here, let me know, and I’ll get it posted for you!

Now on to other things, remember to get your votes in for next week’s theme. This week our theme is “Morning Moments.” Dazzle me with your work! Get shooting and start posting at the Hohenfels Volks Facebook page. Of course, commenting here is always welcome, too!

Tech Talking

Greetings, Hohenfels, welcome to Hohenfels Volks, THE place for our place. Here’s hoping your week is off to a good start and Tuesday didn’t turn in to Monday part 2.

Today we’re going to introduce the concept of “Dynamic Range.” If you remember our introduction to the Zone System, there are 11 zones, 0-10. Ansel Adams considered this the full range, zones 1-9 were the dynamic range, and 2-8 the textural range. Zone 2 is the lowest value that retains discernable texture, and zone 8 is the highest value retaining usable texture, and in both cases the values where detail is preserved and recorded.

When we speak of dynamic range today, this still in some ways holds true. Metering from a gray card, it’s how many stops of exposure above and below middle gray that are usable. For instance, the EOS 7D has about 8 stops. Its range consists of 5 stops below gray before clipping to black or solid noise, and about 3 stops above middle before blowing to white. This means it runs from about zone 1 to zone 8, maybe a little higher. Each camera’s range is different; so don’t use one camera’s range to guess another’s. "Dynamic Range" determines the amount of contrast an image can have and how sharply that gets applied. It also can effect how you change the sides on your exposure triangle, based on your intention.

When you know your camera’s range, you can adjust your exposures appropriately. If you wish to increase middle gray, zone 5, to zone 6, you have to know your limits before the higher zones blow out. Taking 5 to 6 brings zone 7 to 8, and anything starting at or above 8 will be blown to solid, textureless white.

A camera’s range often times is limited by the size of the photocells or photosites. These are the individual receptors on the camera sensor. A larger frame sensor will usually have larger photocells, allowing more light to be received and detail retained. There are millions per most of today’s sensors.

Another way to expand your “Dynamic Range” is to always shoot RAW, as your camera records more information. You can add up to a stop and a half shooting RAW. Shooting automatically and in JPEG mode can cost you that latitude in your exposure. Keep that in mind when shooting in very bright or low light conditions.

Well, that about wraps up our discussion. Try to keep that in mind when you’re out capturing the beauty of Hohenfels, our area, and your holidays. The results will amaze you.

On to other things, I’d like to remind all of you to get your votes in and get working on your photos for this week’s theme, “Morning Moments.” I can’t wait to see what you amaze me with!

Shoot for the love, of photography, your subjects, and your art, it really will show! Get shooting and start posting at the Hohenfels Volks Facebook page. Of course, commenting here is always welcome, too!

Gear Day- Pop Goes the...

Greetings, Hohenfels, welcome to Hohenfels Volks, THE place for our place and our Volks. Another day, trees covered in white and ready for the icy grip of winter, closes around us.

Today we’re going to talk about flash. Learning to use flash is one of the major steps you should take in getting your photos gallery ready.

Today’s electronic flashes work amazingly well and can put a great deal of light right where you need it. The secret to using flash to get the right exposure is knowing how to meter and knowing how to balance your lighting.

First, let’s talk about several terms and features of an average flash.

The first term to know is Guide Number or GN. This is an indication of your flash’s power. It means your flash can provide light up to that distance at maximum zoom, for ISO 100. It’s usually measured in meters. The Canon 580EXII has a guide number of 58, as does the Yongnuo YN-560. This is used to calculate manual flash settings for your camera.

The second term is zoom. Your flash can often zoom to a preset distance to match the zoom of your lens, allowing it to throw light more in line with what you are shooting. This is extremely useful in auto flash; the drawback to that is the camera must be connected to the flash. The longer the zoon, the further the light will travel, and the less it will spread out.

The third term is sync speed, or shutter sync speed. On most higher end cameras, like the EOS 7D and 60D this is 1/250. For the lower end cameras, like the Digital Rebel series, this is 1/200. Some cameras won’t sync above 1/125 to 1/160. The slower the maximum sync speed, the slower you have to shoot. At speeds above the sync speed, either you will need a flash with high-speed sync, or you will get dark bands on your image.

The fourth term is rear or front curtain sync. In rear curtain sync, your flash fires at the end of the exposure, and in front curtain it fires at the start. This really only applies beginning at 1/30 – 1/60, depending on your model.

The last term I’ll introduce is TTL. Most of today’s automatic flashes are capable of being controlled by the camera, provided they are mounted to the camera. Today’s cameras meter through the lens, and pass that information to the flash to set output power and zoom. Many cameras use a more advanced feature called E-TTL, which is electronic metering through the lens. Using this method can improve your flash exposures. The downside is using your flash on camera can be disappointing, as it flattens the light and removes depth and character.

The range of a flash is limited by inverse square law, which states that light drops off from a source rapidly. For instance, a flashlight shined into the dark starts out quite bright, but ends up not even visible beyond some distance based on its power. This law states that doubling the distance from a subject to a source reduces light to ¼ its original level. Almost all light sources follow this rule.

When using your flash on camera, use your E-TTL features to get the best exposure. To correctly expose flash manually, you will need to adjust your aperture to control exposure for the light from the flash and your speed to control ambient light. To find the required to take a photo of a subject use this formula- f-stop number = GN/distance to subject. To figure out the distance to place your flash for a preset aperture use this formula- distance = GN/f-stop number. These are usually measured in meters, so remember to set up accordingly. Guide number is at ISO 100, so any change in ISO, must be accounted for.

A couple points- on camera flash gives a hard light, which results in a loss of shadows in the image making the subject appear flattish. On camera, or flash on the axis of the lens, gives red-eye effect, which is when the eye reflects red light straight back in the direction it came from.

Another thing to mention about off camera flash, besides adding depth, character, and bringing out detail, when used properly it can bring out the eye colors and make them stand out a little. This is especially true in brown and dark eyes. It takes some practice, but the results are worth it!

I like to use the YN-560, as this a nice, inexpensive, and powerful manual flash, paired with my with radio triggers. This allows for shots on camera can’t get, and it creates a nice direction to the light. Having directional lighting on a portrait really adds to the magic. That’s why you see it even in the paintings from the old masters. Next time we talk about flash, we’ll discuss fill, main, and lighting ratios. We’ll also discuss basic lighting patterns for portraits, and how to take the guesswork and mathematics out of getting your manual flash exposures.

I hope this information brings you another tool in our quest for the perfect picture. Let me know if it has! Remember to share your pics and post your questions at the Hohenfels Volks Facebook page, and or by commenting here!

Tools of the Trade, Powering Up

Welcome to Hohenfels Volks. I hope Monday was good to everyone. I was off and went to Regensburg to buy some gear and a hamster for the princess. Of course, time limits prevented getting the gear, so I’ve ordered some online. The weather was extremely nice today, and made for some great photo ops. Tomorrow should be some great autumn pics coming! I’m hoping to get out and check out some areas between Hohenfels and Regensburg I discovered today.

Speaking of gear, today we’re going to do a paragraph about battery grips and their benefits.

DSLRs use rechargeable batteries, and those batteries are good for somewhere between 300 and 900 shots usually. I’ve gotten 600 in one night, and 300 more the next. It sounds like a lot, eh? Sometimes, though, the extra power comes in handy. If you chimp a lot, then that extra bit helps. It also helps when shooting bursts, as the buffer can clear a little faster.

Another advantage of the battery grip is that using 2 batteries means half the charging. If you have either 2 chargers or a dual charger, you have the same time to charge them, but get twice the shots between charges.

The other big advantage is the addition of controls to portrait mode shooting. You have full access to your camera controls from portrait orientation, allowing for continued shooting without rotating your camera to make changes or view settings.

An unsung plus is the weight. For some volks, the extra weight is too much. The reality is that having the extra weight, adds anywhere from 1/3 stop to a full stop of stability to your handheld shots. It’s a trade off, the choice is yours to make. I like the thought of extra stability. If you’re using a string-pod, it’s even better in low light!

Well, that’s it for today. Thinking about traveling? Check out the battery grip for your camera and keep shooting longer.

Keep shooting, both Hohenfels and beyond. Remember to share your pics and post your questions at the Hohenfels Volks Facebook page, and or by commenting here!

Tools of the Trade

Today we’re going to talk about the tools used in photography. It doesn’t need to be expensive to get good images!

Camera

Let’s start with the camera. There are lots of options in this area. From the Canon ELPH and Powershot at the point and shoot category, through the Digital Rebel T3 and the EOS 1000d in the entry level DSLR, to the EOS 7d and the EOS 1d at the pro end, options abound. The important thing is to get one that allows you the option of manual control.

Canon’s S95 and PowerShot SX230HS make for great models in the point and shoot area, with manual modes. The 1000d and Rebel T3 are quite reasonably priced beginner DSLRs. Although they seem to have the features of higher priced cameras, you may outgrow most of the lower end DSLRs before too long.

The mid-range DSLRs, like the 50d and 60d, are something that will make your time behind the camera even more enjoyable!

The important thing to remember is that you can take shots that are breathtaking, even with a point and shoot. Don’t become trapped in the technology pitfall. So many people are fooled into thinking that a more expensive or higher level camera means better photos. The fact is, the higher-level cameras require more knowledge and experience to get it right. The higher end cameras usually don’t offer the automated modes, other than P, which is fully automatic.

The most important thing in the camera is the user’s manual. Read it, study it, and learn it! If you know your camera, you can make images that stand out.

Flash

The first piece of gear you should get, after a camera, is a flash. Even with a point and shoot, you can use a flash. Most of your lower priced flashes have a slave mode that will trigger the flash from your on camera flash. Getting your flash off camera is the first step to getting good light.

You can get a great flash from Yongnuo, for less than a cheap OEM flash, with most of the features. The YN-560 is a fully manual flash that costs around $70.00, and has the power of Canon’s 580EXII flash. It doesn’t offer TTL or HSS, but gives some great light to your image. Their YN-565 offers E-TTL and a modeling light for around $200.00, and it will work with the built in flash remote control on the 7D or as a slave to a canon 580EXII with full E-TTL.

Another good thing to get at the same time is a flash RF trigger. You can get a set of two receivers and one transmitter for around $50.00. This increases your range and allows you to use the flash in interesting places and ways. It’s also more reliable than using a trigger from a flash or your on camera flash.

Tripods

A good tripod is a requirement for long shutter speeds. Without one, your images will be blurry when handheld at slow speeds. The high end ones can run several hundreds of dollars, but even a $30.00 tripod will produce what you need.

You can also use your tripod for holding your flash, so a second one is a great investment.

One more thing to get is a remote shutter release. They come in wireless and wired varieties and are reasonably priced. When you set your camera on a tripod, it’s necessary to use one, as it will reduce camera shake quite visibly.

What I wrote above is just a basic intro to getting your kit together. Look for more articles on tools and accessories for photography in future posts. I’ll also try to provide some reliable reviews. If you have a favorite piece of gear and would like to write a review, let me know. We’ll get your review on here.

Should you have a question, post it to our Facebook account. Also post it here as a comment on the related post, I’ll review it and get back to you! If you have a photo you’d like to share, add it to our wall on Facebook, and we'll try to get it up here!

Have a great day!