Chasing, "The Perfect Light".

As landscape photographers one of the things we often find ourselves obsessed about is chasing the light. And while this mindset can allow us to create some of the most amazing images it can also become a crutch limiting both our creativity and the images we images we produce.

Learning to appreciate the subtle transitions in texture as the light moves across the landscape not only not only allows us to better enjoy our time spent in the vast outdoors but also nurture greater opportunities to express ourselves more creatively.

Your Expectations can also create limitations

When I first began my journey as a landscape photographer, I was obsessed with creating images only when there was a burning sunrise or sunset. I would constantly check my weather apps daily hoping for conditions that would show promise of amazing colour and perfect clouds. And although every now and then I was blessed with the perfect conditions to make an amazing image I was often met with utter failure in less than ideal conditions forced to walk away unable to create the image I had hoped.

The expectation of ‘the perfect light’, can greatly limit our opportunities in the field

As a landscape photographer the expectation of, 'the perfect light' can create two possibilities; one you either head out to your location hoping for the perfect conditions only to be disheartened when the light doesn't take shape as you'd hoped or two, consult your 'trusty' weather app and if it doesn't forecast the conditions you hope for you stay indoors and watch TV. If you're thinking that option two seems the more practical approach the truth is neither mindset will help you become a better photographer. For myself, the expectation of, 'the perfect light' has been something which as all too often served as a disappointment limited my creativity and a landscape photographer and ultimately in the images I created.

When we commit our landscape photography to shooting in, ‘the perfect light’, we not only limit our vast opportunities to become more versatile photographers but also to shorten the time spent in the field experiencing the landscapes to find and refine our compositions.

Get out early & stay out late

If you're the type of landscape photographer who likes to shoot 15 minutes before and after sunrise or sunset, I urge you to consider shooting a bit longer. Try getting to your location a couple of hours earlier to find a composition you really like and continue shooting until the light has faded.

By doing this you'll not only be able to discover amazing compositions but also gain a better understanding of how the light interacts with the key elements within the landscape. Arriving to the location 10 or 15 minutes before sunrise or sunset is never going to allow you to find compelling compositions to make a great image.

There's never enough time

Any landscape photographer who has a full time job then you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. If you fall into that category then you have to ask yourself, "Do I want to create a body of images from several locations?" Or, "Do I want to create a body of work for my portfolio?"

Spending more time in any landscape allows you to better experience the scene as the light moves across the landscape. If you've never experienced it you'd be surprised just how much the light can change within the space of an hour before and sunrise to sunset often creating a soft yet moody atmosphere emphasizing the foreground and mid-ground elements of your composition.

Take the Challenge

Challenge yourself by spending more time in the landscape. I guarantee that you'll not only be able to find that compelling composition to create a stunning image but other compositions to open up opportunities to create other images you otherwise would have walked past.


Try not to fall into the trap of chasing, 'the perfect light'. If the forecast shows less than ideal conditions get out anyway. It doesn't matter if it's several hours before or after sunset, take time to explore the landscape.

How else are you going to find a compelling composition?

When shooting seascapes don't be afraid to take your camera hand held and get close to the waves. Shooting a wide vista? Try using your telephoto lens to pick out areas within the landscape you find interesting. Spend time looking for light and shadow (contrast) within the landscape and don't forget to include a human element in the frame to show scale. Use that 10-Second Timer and get yourself in the shot (you'll need a tripod for this). And when you cant find anything that strikes your interest, look at your feet. Take 100 steps from the point your standing and look down. I guarantee you'll find something to make a great abstract image.

Now get out there and Happy Shooting :)

Digital camera resolution options

Finding the best digital camera resolution to buy can be tricky if you aren’t sure of just how many pixels you need for you photos or not want to pay too much for an expensive camera that you really don't need.  A digital cameras ability usually depends on how detailed the resolution of the photo is that it takes, and it is measure by the pixel numbers that is accessible in its sensor, in spite of their other features. Even though the resolution of a camera might be 1600×1200 pixels , it would be represented and sold just by the sum of pixels it can take. Therefore they are grouped as 2 megapixels, 4 megapixels or 5 megapixels camera, and this would indicate that the resolution amount is the way the cameras value is measured. It can be seen if you look at some cameras in the supermarket shelves which one has a 4000 pixel per 1 dollar and another one 6600 pixels per a dollar which makes its obviously be the better deal to buy. In short, the resolution of a camera that you plan to purchase would depend much on your plans of how to use it with the pictures you will take using it. If you are planning to make a sharp 8×10 inch or larger images , then you would need a camera with the ability of taking at least 3.3-6 megapixel photos. It could happen that you plan to crop a section out of the center of the picture to print it out as a 5×7 inch image, to do this you would need a camera with a higher resolution. In another case if you plan to view your images on your pc screen or use it for some application or newsletter, print them out in a size larger then 3-6 inches.

For this case a camera with 2-4 megapixels might be able to do the job for you, instead for paying for more pixels you could use your money to buy one with a better lens or one with more digital film available. Maybe you plan to take photos of the products you plan to sell on ebay, or for lots of images on your own web site, for this a camera with just 1.3 megapixels would be the best choice. Small size digital cameras for this range can be found in many stores for a cheap price and are easily able to fit in our pocket for those special moments when you need a camera ready with you.So while you are thinking of how much resolution you need, don't forget that digital cameras are downward and able to be used together. The camera with the higher resolution can also make photos with a lower resolution so a 5 megapixels camera could also take a lets say 2 megapixel photo, which could even save you some space in the memory film or hard disk, whenever there is no need for a higher resolution.

Dodging and burning in photography tips tutorial

The dodging and burning in Photography is a printing technique used in the darkroom for giving some areas of an image more or less exposure. Those burning areas of the image give it more exposure as a result it darkens the area, and the dodging does the opposite it gives less exposure so the area lightens up. Our goal with this technique is to recover lost information that is caused sometimes due to high contrast exposures.
It is very simple to do this technique using Photoshop and is helpful to restore our images. If you ever had a print where the highlights have been blown out, or maybe a landscape where some details have been lost in the shadows. Than this technique could come as a lifesaver in moments like this and can be done in tonic correction of certain areas of images.

The followings are a step by step tutorial of this technique in Photoshop:

Step#1 Adding an adjustment layer level: Open the image in Photoshop and use the Adjustment Layer button on the layers palette, and add a Levels Adjustment Layer to it.

Step#2 Making Tonal Adjustments: Because our main concern with the dark area underneath our object we will use a mid-tone stunted slider for the middle of the histogram by making our tonal adjustments, Sliding the scrubby slider to the left side will make the area lighter . Observe how all of your image becomes more lighter. Don’t worry, later on we’ll be using a layer mask to correct it. For the time being, pay attention to the areas that you are try to dodge. When you are satisfied with the tonal degree that area, push the OK button.

Step#3 Adding a Layer mask: If you add an Adjustment Layer it will also add a Layer Mask to that layer on its own. You will see how there are 2 small windows in your Adjustment layer. The right side window is the Layer Mask. First make sure to have the right window selected, than click the paint bucket tool and choose the color black from it. Position the cursor over your image and click the inside of it. When you add the color black it helps to hiding the adjustment layer. Now we’ll choose the color white to expose the Adjustment Layer anywhere we need a lighter shade.

Step#4 Revealing the Adjustment Layer: Choose a brush with a proper size for the area and make the opacity go low to about 15%. Pick the color white and start cautiously to paint on the area where you want it to lighten, keep painting until you reach the preferred dodging level. If you think the amount of dodging is more than you want, just double click the Adjustment Layer option and keep moving the scrubby slider more to the right to make it darker. If it still isn’t enough for you enough, than move the scrubby slider more to the left.

The similar technique can be done to Burn. Use the same instructions, just this time make the adjustments to the opposite direction. Now add a new Adjustment Layer and rather than moving the slider to the left again, move it to the right side to make the image darker. Adding the Layer Mask and use white, painting the parts that you are trying to make look darker.

Rain rain go away……

Well, fall has come and with it brought us rain and cold weather which makes it harder to take photos outdoors specially if you have expensive equipment and don’t want it to get wet. So what would be a suited camera to take with you out for taking some shoots in that bad weather. Although i don’t own one myself i have heard that the Pentax Optio W60 is a camera you can vouch for when it comes to the cold and the rain and moisture. The Pentax Optio W60 camera is as almost as good as water proof,cold proof and shock resistant, plus it can endure sub zero temperatures. For a long time Pentax has been leading the market of producing weather resistant point & shoot cameras also this addition entirely exceeds the previous ones. The predecessor for the W60 camera was the Pentax Optio w30. 

Even though the W30 has been a neat weather proof model that acquired great pictures, it caused a bothersome lag time whenever the auto focus was correcting itself. Although, this issue hasn’t been entirely solved there’s a marked improvement to the W60 camera. The speed in the shutter has been improved from 1/1500 to 1/2000. Same as the earlier model before, this camera is able to be completely sunken in water however the limitation of 10 ft before is now increased to a depth of 13 ft. This camera is awesome if you like to take pictures under water, in rain and extreme temperatures or perhaps just to take pictures of family & friends. An improvement has also been done to the its zoom capacity of 3 x to 5 x, that surely is a huge difference for the cameras capability to take close up pictures. The W30 model already was able to take great shots of landscapes however currently with the wider angle of 28mm zooming lens it has pushed tits potential to a whole new level. The Optio W60 camera can still capture a great image except something tto be remembered is that the features which allow a camera to take great underwater pictures might not be so useful of taking dry shot pictures. W60 has raised the resolution to 10 megapixels that is more sufficient if somebody wants to enlarge the pictures. But, with the extended resolution in addition to the wider lens possibilities there’s alittle of barrel distortion with it and the corners could come out a little soft too. This aren’t things that are deliberately apparent and alltogether appearance the W60 produces is still crisp and clear. The image quality is probably about average to most. By and large, when looking at the the features offered with this camera still make it an outstanding buy. Furthermore, I was somehow worried about the battery life because of the increase to the zoom function along with advancements to its automatic features, still, Pentaxalso did improvements to the battery as well. It still comes with the same Li-Ion battery except now it increased the battery life expectancy before it needs a recharge. This is a significant feature to take into account whenever you’re taking your camera on a trip but have nowhere to plug it in. It’s merely one of themany things that the people at Pentax thought about when making this camera for the adventurous & bold consumer. Fine points like the anti-reflective coating on the LCD could make a clear difference to the user if they’re outside and exposed to the essentials. Either if you’re some surfer snapping photos while on your board, or taking pictures in winter of your kid(s) building a snowman this model camera is a good in allweather choice.

How to do close up photography

Close up or also called micro photography could be one of the most fun form of taking digital photos.  Any advanced digital camera has the right features that you would need to take awesome close-up pictures that would  surely impress the people around you.  It can be a beautiful portrait of a person or a charming scenic one, or perhaps you are a fan of insects and like to take large images of those bug creatures that look like aliens from another world through the micro photographs.

Macro photography and digital cameras are really a true match in heaven in so many ways…. the digital cameras are have made it really easier to take close up pictures from objects considering the following advantages, Close -focusing lenses: Digital cameras are great for zooming up close , without the photographer having to get to technical, macro photos can be taken with a camera by moving its lens farther and farther away from the film or sensor. Usually film cameras need to move the lens out to get a good micro effect from it . Like a 50 mm lens on a 35 mm single camera reflex lens has to be moved 4 inches away from the film in order to get a life size 1:1 image.   So in comparing an 8 mm lens which could be equal to the 50 mm lens of a SLR camera only has to be moved by 5/8 inches to give the same magnification, so undoubtedly it is much easier to focus in on an object with a digital camera than a regular one.  In the micro photography world , you would see the capability of close focusing being described in terms of magnification  and not how far it is from the object. Bt being a beginner macro  photographer maybe you would be more interested in how close you can get :3 inches or 6 inches or whatever other distance.

Nonetheless, know that the final size of your image  given for any distance is different and depends on how you set the zoom of your cameras lens.  The location that you choose for shooting your macro photos can be as important as the object.  You might like to take your pictures in a close and small environment such as your home kitchen  by using your tabletop as a platform for your objects or you might  choose to go outdoors to take shot close up shots of mother nature.  Sometimes we have the option where we want to take our photos and sometimes we don’t, like if we wanna take some sea  life pictures we have to do it at the beach or a frog at a pawn where it is the natural habitat  or maybe as somebody’ s pet in a glass jar. Those are some of the disadvantages and visa versa of location vs  shooting in a studio.

Digital Photography Usage in Everyday Life and at Work

Not too long ago digital pictures were something used mostly by professional photographers or gadget lovers, i remember my art teacher in my graphics school giving me this bilk bulky camera in the mid 90′s to go work with for our project, since then there have been a lot of new changes and improvements, nowadays we get to take digital pictures with a snap of a finger with our cell phones and email them around or put them online and share them in places such as flickr, Facebook etc…… While many of us look upon digital images as something more for entertainment , it has made the work easier for many places in the job industry such as the medical field and legal science.

What used to be nearly unworkable even 2 decades in the past times is possible now through digital photography technology. Have a look at the complex suspects drawing at the police stations , now it can be performed easier and faster on a computer with digital technology. At a Medical facility they’re used for X-rays along with other kind of visual testing processes.

Once we take a look back at the past and the ways that have been available for digital images in the first 8 years of the 21st century, we’ll simply think of what it could potentially sustain for us in the time to come. In numerous areas the use of digital photography has altered techniques which used to be less accurate and defined, in particular in the medical area. There’s a certain necessity in favor of this matter to be extended as well as constantly revivified for the reason of the approach we have to our living . We’re a rather fast paced group plus with that prompt tempo there will also be the demand for more convenient technology. Professional photographers aren't the only ones who require  to persist on highly with this innovations however in addition anyone in any area that and requires the usage of digital photography.

In counterpoint to the movies we are accustomed to taking pictures, digital pictures got several additional areas by which to be improved. Traditional Film cameras reached their limit once digital photography came in the market but we have only reached right into a little part of its capabilities at the current times. How big that information and capability will Improve into is unspecified at the present time and would only be acknowledged as the time will lapse as well as the people see the modifications it creates. What is certain is that digital photography is an field that’s nevertheless still enough new for us to give a lot of improvements to it over in the future.

In behalf of many people on the greatest benefits of digital photography is that it gets rid of the need for photo processing. Just about all of the worthiness of digital photography is its cost of capital, that defines the cost used for the tools required to copy and store the pictures, also when purchased it doesn’t need any further expenses. In conclusion, digital photography is the future, in that respect no getting around it, and the earlier you begin to take pictures digitally, the better geared up you will be to adjust with new technologies as they comes out. Anyhow, digital photography is merely just another tool of modernization showing the progress of photography in an ever modernizing world.

Introducing digital photography

The digital photography tips and tricks techniques that are mentioned here is written for mostly for people who have a good grasp of using a computer and how to operate their  camera.   So why get into digital photography? there are many advantages of switching to digital .  Amongst them, the most important one is how we have more control over the finishing outcome of our pictures. With the traditional way of handling photographs, once you have clicked the button there wouldn’t be much that you can do, you depend on the film negatives and the quality of the service that processes your photos.  We needed to wait for days to get our photos back just to find out that many of them ended up useless, before being able to do save them. In my blog I will try to guide you throughout the methods that  I think that are they best of learning to use the advantages of taking digital photographs.  Each digital camera has a memory card where your pictures are saved, you could use the memory card inside your camera or with a transfer-cable to view them on your computer. You got to do that because some print service places ask you to upload your photos to their web site through your account with them. It is better to set up an account there in advance to cautiously go throughout the instructions of how you should upload your pictures.  This will make the procedure of sending your photos to their service more quickly .  Most  home computers today have a photo and graphics viewing program pre installed that lets you to look at the photos by just double clicking the file and open it for viewing. You might choose to change your photos a little to improve the final results, do be able to do that you need a software for photo editing.   Some of those basic softwares,that are most free of charge and can be downloaded on the internet, have an option that allows you to alter and change to your photos, some of those include such as cropping,changing the size and rotating before saving your picture with the new properties. Some more complex applications give you more options to alter the looks of your image. You can change the colors or add special effects to it.

After experiencing this problem or other inconveniences from developing our photos, comes the time where we think we should switch to taking digital photos and production.  It might feel a little challenging for some of us , specially the ones who aren’t very tech savy, yet using digital photographs and altering our photos the way we want is more simple than many imagine it to be for any person who has ever used a computer.

One of the first and most helpful tools with digital cameras is that you look through a small screen that would show you how your photo would look in your camera before you take it.  This gives us the advantage to take another picture again if we are not to pleased about how the first one turned out. It more easier to take better pictures this way, perhaps you do not have enough time to do this every time after you take a new picture, but don’t worry because you can go through all of the photos that you have taken later on your memory card to look at which ones you like to keep or get rid of.

When you are finished to choose the selection of the photos that you want to keep, you transfer those photos from your camera to your computer

By the time you have your photos on you computer, you are able to go through  them all to see which ones you like and are want to have printed out.  After finding the software that you think gives you the best outcome of what you want to do with your images then all that is left is to you is save your pictures in the format of you choose to such as jpeg,tiff,png…. and upload it to the digital photos printing website through the page where you login in to your account .  All together this is very simple task to do and should not take more than a couple minutes, it depends on how many images you plan to print out .  And when the uploading is done, you can advance on to the next ordering step of the image printing web site and have your pictures sent back straight to your home pc. With this you got the pictures you want and never even had to leave your home to go to a photo processing studio like in the old times.