A technique for creating a digital sandwich

Today I was fooling with my DSL trying to get the zoom exlposion (zooming out during long exposure) technique perfect. After several attempts I got the second shot to my satisfaction. However, contrary to my imagination that I would start with a well focused shot that would result in an explosion radiating outward, I failed to get a crisp image.
Not wanting to give up, I took a normal shot of the subject from the same focal length that I stopped at upon completing the zoom explosion shot . In photoshop elements using the zoom exlposion shot as the basis, I imported the normal shot as a seperate layer and adjusted the opacity of the normal shot on top of the zoom explosion shot, I experimented with different blending modes finally settling with Linear light. The result was the third picture, providing what I had pre-concieved when I began shooting.

Am sure the same effect can be achieved from any still shot using one of the many filters or special effects in photoshop elements. However, I have the satisfaction of not using any of those other than pictures I had shot. Your comments are most welcome.
- KD
Equipment - Nikon D70 with a 70-300 ED IF Nikkor Lens

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Importance of Perspective

On a recent visit to Rialto Beach in the pacific northwest coast I was looking for something different to shoot. On that particular afternoon the sunset turned out to be obsured by thick clouds. As I started walking back along the beach, I observed the retreating waves and the patten it was creating. That was all I needed to squeeze a couple of shots above. I liked the lay of the tree debris in the first shot above pointing towards the sea and the patterns formed by retreating wave added something to the second shot. Not to mention the rich colors rendered on a fuji velvia transparency film. The second shot was a mere few paces away from the first. Hence it goes to show that a simple change or perspective can crate an eormous differnce in the mood conveyed by a simple shot
Your comments are welcome.
By Kaushik Dwarakanath

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Phoenix 100mm f 3.5 macro lens for a Nikon D70 - A testimonial

A Salute to Phoenix 100mm f3.5 macro lens
One of the most inexpensive macro lense out there for Nikons AF. As the above test shot on a Nikon D70 shows this lens is a winner for those who cannot afford $1oo's on a brand name macro lens. The phoenix (same as Vivitar) is tack sharp and produces stunning results. The build quality is suseptible to damage in the hands of a klutz. But with care this lens would be an asset to those getting their feet wet in marcro photography.
For the experimental kind the above lens produces magnification in the order of 1:2 if used reversed with a 50 mm normal lens. However for such a set up, the focussing distance becomes very close about 0.5 - 1 inch from your r subject. With that type of focussing distance it would not be adviseable to shoot anything that moves. But the results produced were anything but stunning. More in following posts.
The above shot was taken in daylight flourescent lighting indoors and an off camera external flash to fill in the shadows.
-By Kaushik Dwarakanath
email : kdphotoman@yahoo.com

Photography lighting

Everyone thinks if you have the most expensive and fancy camera in the world, you're going to end up taking pictures that are ready for Vogue magazine. The truth is and most people just won't admit this, without proper lighting your photos could turn into pure disasters quicker than Custer's last stand. What follows are some tips on lighting that, even if you don't have the most expensive camera in the world, will give you the best possible photos for the equipment that you do have.

For starters, you need to know the difference between indoor and outdoor lighting. It isn't just that one is indoors and one is outdoors. Sunlight, which is natural light and lamp light, which is man made light are quite different and will give you a different look to your photos.

If you're taking photos in sunlight, for one thing, you're not going to need a flash. Even on an overcast day the light from the sun is still stronger than anything you're going to be able to hook up in a studio or home, unless you've got some serious heavy duty lighting that is sure to set you back a pretty penny. For photos in sunlight, you're not going to need a flash at all. However, when taking photos in the sunlight you want to make sure that your back is to the sun, otherwise the glare that you're going to get off the lens is going to destroy your photos. If you're photographing a moving subject, like a model, this is always within your control. But what do you do if the subject you want to photograph, say a house, is right in the line of fire with the sun directly in back of it? Simple. There are filters that you can buy for your camera that will filter enough of the sun out so that your photos don't look like one big sun spot. If you can't afford a filter, or you have a camera that can't be used with one, another technique that will work just fine is to shoot the object from an angle instead of head on.

What about lighting for indoor photos? Well, this is critical and unfortunately your photos indoors are only going to be as good as the lighting itself. With poor lighting your photos will turn out grainy, even with a high resolution digital camera and the colors will be washed out to the point where your photos almost look like they were taken in black and white.

So how much lighting is enough? It depends on how strong the lighting is and how close to it your subject is. You can get very good photos from a 100 watt simple living room lamp if your subject is standing right under it, sure. But sometimes this isn't practical. The fact is, your common ordinary house lights, even 150 watt, are not going to be strong enough to get good photos. Professional lighting will be needed. This is going to require you to shell out a few bucks, but it will be worth it. Also, as with photographing a subject outdoors, you want to make sure the light is shining on your subject from either the sides of the subject of from in front of the subject, which would require the lighting to be set up behind the photographer. Never have the lighting set up behind the subject, especially if it is very strong lighting. The glare will turn your photo into an indistinguishable mess.

Of course lighting is much more complicated than this if you want to be a professional photographer, but this should at least give you the basics so that you can take some decent photos without having to get a major education in photography.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Photography

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Russell

Why not Digital?

A few compelling reasons to ponder.

No more film required.

I remember how painful it used to be buying all the film. You would have to start from selecting the speed of the film. If you were serious photographer you would need to choose daylight or tungsten.

I remember carrying large rolls of film on each trip and after processing finally got to hand pick a few perhaps amounting to a single roll. So few that I would often wonder what I was going to do with all the rejects.

You can afford to make mistakes and correct them.

As the previous point illustrates it was painful to get the shot right in the first place. If you had bracketed your shots and were lucky to get the right exposure you might have patted yourself on the back. But you would not have learnt how you arrived at that exposure analogous to shooting a soda can with a shot gun.

With a digital camera, if you shot something and it was not up to your satisfaction you can always improvise on that shot after the fact or yet shoot another with a different setting. Most digital cameras also store the information about the shot and the exposure with a histogram.

Your creativity increases

Since you are no longer restrained by the fact that you are wasting film, you feel bold to take chances that you would not have thought about with a film camera. As you can now afford to erase the shots that turn out bad.

You might even be curious to take the same shots with different setting on the camera and see a different mood on the picture

Instantaneous feedback

This is one of the biggest advantages of a digital camera. The chance to review the shots you have taken instantaneously to check if it has the right look and feel.

This was available only with Polaroid cameras. However you would still have to use expensive film.

Easy to publish to the world what used to take a few days

With the Digital cameras you are just a click away from sharing your pictures with the world at large. Since the transfer medium is compatible with a PC.

In the time that would have taken get the film back from the lab, you could have designed a cover page with your photo and a proof print.

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