Gas Prices Hurting Your Photo Ops
Have the gas prices of today put a pinch in your pocket? Well, I can tell you they have in mine. But that does not stop me from driving the car of my choice. A 1997 Olds Bravada(93000mi.) that used to get only 15.5 MPG. Now, I am getting 19.75 MPG and still climbing. And that is without my 100,000 tune-up that should improve my MPG also.
You what that means, I am still out looking for them photo ops you just don't see everyday. Probably even more so now than ever, as you can probably tell by my not so frequent blogs.
Well, that is all about to change. I will be visiting this site more frequently with ideas and walk thru's of different photo techniques.
Now, back to that gas thing. Did I mention that those were city miles as I have not yet taken a road trip. That will all change once rugby season starts as the first two games are 5 and 3 hour trips one way. Can't wait to see the MPGs on the highway.
You want to no more, it is no secret. Just ask, I will be happy to share.

Interest is low for Digital Photography Blogs

Interest seems to be pretty low for tips on how to use a digital camera. I am not sure how many views there were on my post, but there were no comments leading me to believe that the subject needs to change. I am a little green when it comes to writing blogs, but have a vast array of knowledge and info in many areas that we will get into later. My problem is putting this knowledge and info down in writing for others to understand.
For know, I believe I will stay with Digital Photography blog. But, will move on to other aspects of the subject. I am trying to decide between "Light and Lighting techniques," "Basics in Understanding Exposure," or some "Tips and tricks in Photoshops CS2 and CS3." If you have a preference on a subject or subjects, feel free to leave a comment.

Tip Sheet

Here is a pic of a Tip Sheet I was givin a while back to get an idea of what I needed to know when shooting with my Minolta A2 or Canon XTI. I do not recall my Minolta A2 coming with a Tip sheet, but my Canon came with what Canon calls a pocket guide.



Since digital cameras do so well selecting settings for you, why would you want to step in a make changes? Mainly because there will be many situations where an experienced photographer will do a better job selecting settings than the digital camera itself.

You may want a special color effect obtained by adjusting the white balance. Or, maybe a black and white, sepia or any other color filter you camera has to offer.



You may want to isolate your subject with a selective focus,with fore and back ground objects blurred and a clear sharp subject.This can be acheived with a combination of a large F-stop, manual focus and a telephoto zoom setting.



Perhaps you would like a certain shutter speed to produce a special look. With a slow shutter speed you will produce a fluid blurry look in running water. If you want to freeze the action, you will want to use the fastest shutter speed available.



You can create silhouettes using your backlight scene mode and adjusting your EV settings. This will help by not allowing the background to wash out and produce a true silhouette.

Point and Shoot or Camera Control Master pt.2

As I stated earlier a Cheat Sheet, better know in the real world as a Tip sheet or Canon calls them "Pocket Guides" will come in handy in them tight situations. So, why take a chance and lose that once in a lifetime photo opportunity because you are not familar with you cameras controls. You can not always rely on Auto mode to get that special effect that you want to acheive. I will upload a photo of a Tip sheet later today.

Point and Shoot or Camera Control Master

Point and shoot digital cameras are very similar to the first Kodak handhelds, you aim, press the button and the camera does the rest. Your digital camera will set the focus, color balance, exposure and other parameters for you automatically. Or, you can take control and make these adjustments yourself. Why get caught in a photo taking situation with no idea of how to use a feature you seldom or never used. Chances are you won't have your camera manual or the time to read it if you do. So, I suggest that you master the controls of your camera. If there are to many to remember, you can always make a Cheat Sheet. You might check to see if one was included with your camera. If not, CS's are not hard to put together.