Art Photography

With the wedding day being a very important part of a couples’ life, the wedding photographer has a very essential roll to play to provide a record of that happy day. The bride and groom now have several wedding photography styles to choose from. This may involve a strong focus on one or a combination of several ranging from the traditional to the more modern styles such as contemporary, reportage, and artistic.

The traditional style is probably what most people particularly the older generation are familiar with. Here, the photographs are highly posed with the photographer having to arrange groups and generally direct people as how they should pose. This can lead to stiff portraits and may be considered too rigid for such a happy day. Nevertheless, older people such as grandparents would probably appreciate this style better than the more modern styles and it will a permanent record of your special day.

With the reportage style also known as photojournalistic, the photographer has a much more hands-off approach. Here the photographer will be very much in the background and he may not even be noticed. He will record the events of the day in a chronological order but with little organising of groups and individuals. The results, however, can be unpredictable as it is really is up to the photographer’s interpretation of the day. This allows everyone especially the bride and groom to relax and enjoy their day better. It can give an interesting record of the days events but some people particularly the older folk may not like the results.

Contemporary style can mean different things to different people. This is the type of style you see a lot in fashion magazines. As with the reportage style the photographer will have a more hands-off approach and will seek out great backgrounds and settings. It should capture the spirit of the day along with some more formal events. The photographs can be quite stunning but can date quickly and may not be suitable for hanging on the wall.

Artistic wedding style is the least popular but can produce some unique pictures. Its very much up to the photographer’s own taste as what an artistic photograph will be. This style used in conjunction with one of the others can add to an album.

Are you a diver? Have you ever thought of showing what you see underwater to your friends? How does underwater photography work anyway?

It was said that underwater photography started around 1800 when William Thompson took an underwater photograph with a camera mounted on a pole. But it was not until 1957 that underwater photography started to bloom when the first waterproof camera was invented.

As good as a waterproof camera may sound, underwater photographers nowadays generally use a casing to protect their camera so that they don’t need to have two cameras for land and underwater. Furthermore, these casings are usually made of plastic so they are light in weight and your wallet.

And to make underwater photography more enjoyable, compact digital camera manufacturers nowadays are looking into the possibility of water resistant camera. Very soon, you will see cameras that have stronger water resistant capability and good for diving even without any casing.

The next underwater photography equipment you will need is an underwater flash unit.

This is because as you dive deeper, you will start to see the loss of color in your surrounding hence the blue green color you often see underwater. A lobster will look dull and dark brown because the red and orange colors are absorbed by the water. So, an external light source is important to restore your subject’s color so that it will look more alive and real. One of the reasons for underwater photography is to amaze the viewer of the marvelous underwater world and you can’t do that with a boring picture.

Then, do you know that underwater photography is more than just about marine life? You can take pictures of the amazing cave system and some divers even become experts in underwater landscape photography. Who says landscape photography is only limited on land?

A very important tip about underwater photography is that you will want to learn to be good in diving before you take up this hobby. Not just that your diving skill will affect the quality of your pictures, your safety is also dependent on your diving technique. After all, you are the stranger in the sea and if you look at this from the marine’s eye, you are invading their territories and they have all the right to attack you.

The last underwater photography tip for you is that you will want to get as close to your subject as possible. This is again caused by the fact that water will absorb light and make your subject loss its true color. That is why you need to be a good diver so that you can stay calm when you are approaching your subjects without provoking them.

Canon 5d Mark II Review



I started out in photography using a canon powershot A50. I had bought the camera in 2000 because that is when my first son was born. I did not want to miss anything as  he grew up and I had never owned a camera before. I had heard of digital cameras but had not really ever used one. This canon powershot A50 was a 1 mega pixel camera  that had some neat features for the cameras at this time. No video or anything like that but I learned to use some of the features of the camera fairly easily. It was  quite expensive for my wife and I to buy this camera as it was around $250 and when you have just been married a few years and have a new baby that is a lot of money.

This camera lasted until my son was about 5 years old. I had began taking him fishing and hiking places with me and we took pictures along the way when we would go  hiking. So we decided one fall in 2005 to go hiking and exploring in the mountains of West Virginia, when I say mountains I mean the Monongahela forest. There were so  many areas to see and I was not sure really where to begin so we started at the falls of hills creek and immediately I knew that I was in love with nature photography  and particularly waterfall nature photography. We eventually made our way up to the Seneca rock area of the northern Monongahela forest and took a tour of Seneca  caverns, which was a great place to visit and a got a few pictures inside the caverns of bats and various rock formations. However, when we left I set my camera on top  of the car and was getting our things arranged in the car preparing for our drive and inadvertently left the camera on top of the care. We started down the road and  after about half of a mile I heard something go tumbling down the back of the car window. I looked in my rearview mirror and saw my $250 camera bouncing up and down on  the road and pieces fly all over. This was very disheartening as we had planned to continue to spruce knob West Virginia which is the highest point in the state.

I managed to gather the pieces of my canon powershot A50 from off the road and made up my mind that we were not going to get any more pictures on our trip. This was  pretty disappointing but I convinced myself that the trip was not about pictures but rather about my boy and his daddy spending time together. So we continued on to  Spruce Knob and while up there I decided to look at the camera and see if it could be used even though it was in a bunch of pieces. I began getting the pieces together  and believe it or not managed to get the camera to turn on by rigging the switch for the flash card door. Even though the LCD was cracked in many places it actually  came on and I actually was able to take pictures with this camera that was stuck together literally with a couple small sticks and some tape. From this point forward  not only did I realize that I loved nature photography but that Canon was the best camera I could have.

Once I began too look at other waterfall nature photos on the internet, I began to hunger for a new camera. I thought that I must be able to figure out how they made  the waterfalls look so smooth and silky. This gave me the unction to save up and buy a new Canon Rebel 350D in early 2006. This camera was in my opinion the best camera  I could have, although many others were much more expensive and had many more features, this was the first SLR I had ever held in my hand. I learned the different  settings and was amazed at what aperture and exposure time could do to the look of a waterfall or stream. This is when Forestwander Free Nature Picture Photography was  inspired one day walking home from work singing the gospel song “How Great Thou Art”.

After I had obtained a better camera I realized that the look and sharpness of a digital image did not depend solely on the body of a camera but largely depended on the  quality of the lens. This is when I became determined to get a better fixed focal length lens and realized the difference in a quality lens and a cheaper zoom lens. I  wondered can photography get any better and if so what would it take to make the very best images. Although I lacked the funding to obtain a high quality professional  full frame digital camera I had the passion to still explore and take more and more pictures refining my skills and beginning to document each expedition in greater  detail. I knew that I needed to begin capturing our hiking adventures on video but did not want to lug around a camcorder.

In 2007 we obtained a new Canon G9 which combined a high quality point and shoot lens with the latest technology video and audio capture built right into a very small  camera. This camera had the best of both worlds and allowed us to hike and take great wildlife shots and even great macro floral photography. This is when I learned  that RAW image format was the best way to shoot so that I could manipulate the exposure and color in post processing. Wow! I had thought jpeg was great until I  experienced the benefits of salvaging typically unusable images by processing them with Canon photo professional. The Canon G9 really is a great little camera but it  lacked the super sharp detail and range that my Digital Rebel 350D could attain. For the next two years I imagined how convenient it would be to be able to hike and  take great quality SLR images as well as take nature adventure video at the same time with the same camera.

One day in late 2008 I read about new model Canon that was going to be released and that this camera would combine super quality 21 mega pixel full frame Canon  technology with not only high resolution video, but HD 1080p quality video. I said to myself no doubt this camera would be far beyond my reach and must certainly cost  $5,000 or more. However, I learned that this new camera could be purchased for a little under $3,500 with a high quality low aperture f4 zoom lens that also sports  moisture resistant weather seals. This was without a doubt the answer to all of my needs and wants as a novice adventure nature photographer. After several months of  saving a planning I was blessed with a new Canon 5D Mark II and accompanying 24-105mm F4 zoom lens.

I have now been the proud owner of this wonderful camera for almost a year now and am convinced that this camera is all that I will ever need. Even though there may be  newer technologies that come out such as 3 dimensional holographic photography (think I am kidding, watch and see). The Canon 5D Mark II will always be my favorite  camera. This camera marked the camera that brought me into the full frame professional market. This camera takes amazing low light photography at higher ISO settings,  I often take low light photography in the forest and even take some night landscape shots from lofty mountain heights, it is imperative that the noise of these images  is kept to a minimum.

Recently I have learned that I can connect my Canon 5D Mark II to my laptop and store images directly from the camera to my 500 GB hard drive. This gives me hours and  hours of high quality video recording and thousands of 21 MP images. No doubt I have a lot to share with this new camera and I have only began to experience the  wonderful quality this camera provides. So far I have posted at least 100 new 21 MP images on ForestWander and I have to say that they are some of the best images I  have ever taken and they only keep getting better as I learn more about the 5D. The automatic bracketing features are really great and are helping me to experience the  wide range resolution possible with HDR.

The live view function is truly amazing as it allows me to set up my 5D on a tripod close to the ground for a macro shot of a mushroom for instance. It would otherwise  be impossible to focus on a small mushroom very close to the ground while looking through a view finder. Then I can press a button and focus and see the real results  directly on the 3 inch screen. This is not only great for live real-time viewing but it is great for post image viewing, as I can literally zoom in on a particular area  of a high resolution image and verify that it is in perfect focus before I even transfer and process the image on my local laptop. also, the automatic sensor cleaning  system is great for a nature photographer who frequently changes lenses in the field where dust and contaminants are inevitable.

Below I have listed some of the features of the Canon 5d Mark II but do not compare only the specifications to other cameras keep in mind that Canon makes a great  product and that their cameras are rugged, long lasting and even if other specifications on other Cameras that start with an N are slightly higher I will always be a  die hard Canon fan from the real world experiences I have lived through over the past 6 years as an adventure nature photographer.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II specifications

List price

(body only)     

US: $ 2,699

EU: € 2,499

UK: £ 2,299

List price

(EF 24-105 L kit)     

US: $ 3,499

EU: € 3,299

UK: £ 3,049

Body material     

Magnesium alloy

Sensor      

36 x 24 mm CMOS sensor

Full 35 mm size frame

RGB Color Filter Array

Built-in fixed low-pass filter (with self-cleaning unit)

22.0 million total pixels

21.1 million effective pixels

3:2 aspect ratio

Lenses     

Canon EF lens mount (does not support EF-S lenses)

No field of view crop (1.0x)

Dust reduction

“EOS Integrated Cleaning System”

Self-cleaning sensor unit (filter in front of sensor vibrates at high frequency at start-up and shutdown – can be disabled)

Dust Delete Data – Data from a test shot is used to ‘map’ dust spots and can be later removed using Canon DPP Software

Image processor

DIGIC 4

A/D conversion     14 bit

Image sizes (JPEG)      

5616 x 3744 (21.0 MP)

4080 x 2720 (11.1 MP)

2784 x 1856 (5.2 MP)

Image sizes (RAW)     

5616 x 3744 (21.0 MP)

3861 x 2574 (10.0 MP)

2784 x 1856 (5.2 MP)

File formats     

RAW (.CR2; 14-bit)

JPEG (EXIF 2.21) – Fine / Normal

RAW + JPEG (separate files)

sRAW1, sRAW2 (see above)

Auto focus     

9-point TTL CMOS sensor

6 “Invisible Assist AF points”

Centre point cross type F5.6 or faster

Center point additionally sensitive with lenses of F2.8 or faster

AF working range: -0.5 – 18 EV (at 23°C, ISO 100)

Focus modes     

One shot AF

AI Servo AF

AI Focus AF

Manual focus

AF micro adjustment

Adjust all lenses by same amount (effectively body adjustment)

Adjust up to 20 lenses individually

AF point selection     

Auto

Manual

Predictive AF     

As close as 8 m (with 300 mm F2.8L lens at 50 kph)

AF assist     No (only with external flash)

Metering     

TTL full aperture metering 35 zone SPC

Metering range: 1.0 – 20 EV

Metering modes     

Evaluative 35 zone (linked to any AF point)

Partial (8% at center)

Spot metering (approx. 3.5% at center)

Center-weighted average

AE lock     

Auto: One Shot AF with evaluative metering

Manual: AE lock button

Exposure compensation     

+/-2.0 EV

0.3 or 0.5 EV increments

Exposure bracketing     

+/- 2.0 EV

0.3 or 0.5 EV increments

Sensitivity      

ISO 100 – 6400

0.3 or 1.0 EV increments

Auto ISO (100-3200)

Expansion options:

ISO 50 (L1)

ISO 12800 (H1)

ISO 25600 (H2)

Shutter     

Focal-plane shutter

150,000 exposure durability

30 – 1/8000 sec

0.3 or 0.5 EV increments

Flash X-Sync: 1/200 sec

Bulb

Aperture values     

F1.0 – F91

0.3 or 0.5 EV increments

Actual aperture range depends on lens used

White balance

Auto

Daylight

Shade

Cloudy

Tungsten

Fluorescent

Flash

Custom

Kelvin (2500 – 10000 K in 100 K steps)

WB bracketing     

+/-3 levels

3 images

Blue / Amber or Magenta / Green bias

WB shift     

Blue (-9) To Amber (+9)

Magenta (-9) to Green (+9)

Picture style     

Standard

Portrait

Landscape

Neutral

Faithful

Monochrome

User def. 1

User def. 2

User def. 3

Custom image parameters     

Sharpness: 0 to 7

Contrast: -4 to +4

Saturation: -4 to +4

Color tone: -4 to +4

B&W filter: N, Ye, Or, R, G

B&W tone: N, S, B, P, G

Image processing options

Highlight tone priority

Auto lighting optimizer (4 settings)

Long exposure noise reduction

High ISO noise reduction (4 settings)

Auto correction of lens peripheral illumination (vignetting)

Color space     

sRGB

Adobe RGB

Viewfinder      

Eye-level pentaprism

98% frame coverage

Magnification: 0.71x (-1 diopter with 50 mm lens at infinity)

Eyepoint: Approx. 21 mm

Interchangeable focusing screen (3 other types optional)

Dioptric adjustment: -3.0 to +1.0 diopter

Mirror     

Quick-return half mirror (transmission:reflection ratio 40:60)

Mirror lock-up (once or multiple exposures)

Viewfinder info

AF information:

AF points

Focus confirmation light

Exposure information

Shutter speed

Aperture value

ISO speed (always displayed)

AE lock

Exposure level/compensation

Spot metering circle

Exposure warning

AEB

Flash information

Flash ready

High-speed sync

FE lock

Flash exposure compensation

Image information:

White balance correction

CF card information

Monochrome shooting

Maximum burst (2 digit display)

Highlight tone priority (D+)

LCD monitor     

3.0 ” TFT LCD

920,000 pixels

Automatic 3 level brightness adjustment plus 7 manual levels

170 ° viewing angle

Dual anti-reflection (‘Clear View’)

LCD Live view      

Live TTL display of scene from CMOS image sensor

100% frame coverage

30 fps

Real-time evaluative metering using CMOS image sensor

Best view or exposure simulation

Silent mode

Grid optional (x2)

Magnify optional (5x or 10x at AF point)

Three AF modes – Live mode / Quick mode / Face Detection

Live histogram (Luminance or RGB)

Remote live view using EOS Utility 2.0 (via USB or WiFi/Ethernet using WFT)

Movie recording     

Available optionally during Live view mode

1920 x 1080 (16:9) up to 12 mins (Quicktime 1080p H.264; 38.6 Mbits/sec)

640 x 480 (4:3) up to 24 mins (Quicktime 480p H.264; 17.3 Mbits/sec)

Max file size 4 GB

Quicktime MOV format (H.264 video, PCM sound)

30 fps

Record review     

Off

On (histogram via INFO button)

Display mode same as last used Play mode

2 / 4 / 8 sec / Hold

Playback modes     

1. Single image with exposure, file number, storage slot

2. As 1 but also image count and quality

3. Detailed exposure information, thumbnail and luminance histogram

4. Less detailed exposure info., thumbnail, luminance and RGB histograms

Playback features     

Optional blinking highlight alert

Optional AF point display

Magnified view (up to 10x)

2×2 or 3×3 thumbnail index

Jump (by 1, 10, 100 images, screen, date, folder, movies, stills)*

Delete / Protect

Flash     

No built-in flash unit

E-TTL II auto flash / metered manual

Flash compensation +/-2.0 EV in 0.3 or 0.5 EV increments

X-Sync: 1/200 sec

Hot-shoe & PC Terminal

External flash     

E-TTL II auto flash with EX-series Speedlites

In-camera flash configuration (currently only 580 EX II)

Wireless multi-flash support

PC Sync

Shooting modes     

Auto

Creative Auto *

Program AE (P)

Shutter priority AE (Tv)

Aperture priority AE (Av)

Manual (M)

Custom 1

Custom 2 *

Custom 3 *

Drive modes     

Single

Continuous: 3.9 fps *

Self-timer: 2 or 10 sec (2 sec with mirror lock-up)

Burst buffer     

Large/Fine JPEG: 78 frames (310 with UDMA card)

RAW: 13 frames

Orientation sensor     

Yes

Auto rotation     

On (recorded and LCD display)

On (recorded only)

Off

Custom functions     

25 custom functions with 71 settings in 4 groups

Menu languages

25 Languages

English, German, French, Dutch, Danish, Portuguese, Finnish, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, Spanish, Greek, Russian, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Romanian, Ukrainian, Turkish, Arabic, Thai, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean and Japanese

Firmware     

User upgradable

Portrait grip     

Optional WFT-E4 (WiFi / LAN / USB mass storage)

Optional BG-E6 battery grip

Connectivity     

USB 2.0 Hi-Speed

AV out (video & audio *)

HDMI connector

Microphone input

PC Sync flash terminal

Communication terminal on base for WFT-E4

InfraRed

Storage     

Compact Flash Type I or II (inc. FAT32)

Supports UDMA cards

Copyright metatag support

Canon Original Data Security Kit supported (“Original Image Data”)

Power     

Lithium-Ion LP-E6 rechargeable battery (supplied & charger)

CR1616 for date & settings

Approx. 850 shots at 20°C

Battery indication 6 levels & percentage (memorized)

Dimensions     

152 x 114 x 75 mm (6.0 x 4.5 x 2.9 in)

Weight     

No battery: 810 g (1.8 lb)

Accessories     

Viewfinder: Eyecup Eb, E-series Dioptric Adjustment Lens with Rubber Frame Eb, Eyepiece Extender EP-EX15, Focusing Screens Eg, Angle Finder C

Wireless File Transmitter WFT-E4

Battery Grip BG-E6

All EF lenses (excludes EF-S lenses)

Canon Speedlites (220EX, 380EX, 420EX, 430EX, 430EX II, 550EX, 580EX, 580EX II, Macro-Ring-Lite, MR-14EX, Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX, Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2)

Remote control with N3 type contact, Wireless Controller LC-5, Remote Controller RC-1, Remote Controller RC-5

Original Data Security Kit OSK-E3

An art form undergoing reevaluation is portrait photography. An artist whose work is currently being displayed at the Pittsburgh gallery tells us that his work is driven by his reaction toward the nature of traditionally being confrontational in portraiture. This photographer took a number of portraits in his lifetime, but was not satisfied by the lack of substantial characterization in the shots he took.

He seems to have raised an idea. Media portraiture can be quite bland even if it has a large following as well as a perception of being cool. The photographer directs the models to adopt curious gestures and poses in surprising settings.

His solution to the banality common in this type of work has been to engage the sitter in a more extensive way. On display at the exhibit were 13 portraits of people from Pittsburgh which were done in a collaborative effort. The sitter is allowed to make suggestions and even to choose where he or she is to be photographed. This is a practice quite unusual in this profession.

When he does a project, he has no preconceived plan. Essential to the collaborative effort is a preliminary in which the photograph is conceptualized. He then tries to find a suitable setting, usually with the assistance of a sitter. A set, made to look a confined cell, is usually built with a steel sheet and mirrored glass box.

A sculptor decided to have his photograph along with his work, and a writer picked a bar scenario. Bridges was a suggested site for a photograph, but in the actual photographs, it came out too weak.

He is able to create complex and difficult lighting effects in his photographs, which displays his great skill. These effects were not additions made on the photograph during the processes of developing and printing. The effects of color become pervasive and appealing in the picture because he uses colored gels with his lighting equipment. The exposure times for these photographs would last for a long period of time. It took 15 minutes to expose the nocturnal portrait of person outside a bar, giving the sitter enough time to walk into and out of the camera’s range.

He could then return and with a wand of light trace letters in the air, eerily recorded by the camera. There is hardly any indication of the presence people leaving or entering the bar which can be found on film during the exposure. Another series of photographs, taken in the garden of a factory on the North Side, again nocturnal, indicate that for all the chromatic luxury, there is a relatively simple, perhaps austere, sensibility in the lighting.

All his photography education was self taught, yet he is very professional in his work. The sense of absolute control which he seems to exert over his work meets an interesting challenge when collaboration is undertaken. Of course, the final decisions have to be those of the artist, and this exhibition makes that clear. The photographs on display are all professionally printed and are reversal prints.