“Take 5” – Week 44
2015/10/28
Today I’m starting a weekly Blog called “Take 5”. It’s basically a bit of indulgence on my side, posting the Top 5 pictures I took in the past week. Feel free to comment or suggest. Here we go…
Mpumalanga School Trials Gala – 2015/10/03
2015/10/07
Last weekend I attended the Mpumalanga School Trials Gala that was held at Van Riebeeck Park, Nelspruit. Swimming is quite an interesting and difficult subject to photograph. The water and subject constantly changes shape and position thus creating interesting reflections, splashes and light bends. Focusing is a challenge due to the swimmer’s continuous movement and the camera sometimes hunting the water droplets.
It was therefore a fun-filled morning experimenting with new techniques. Blue is a beautiful colour but I tried something different by going for the chrome look. I can definitely recommend shooting swimmers as a way to get a much better understanding of how your camera works. Just make sure the dial is not on AUTO. The question to ask is whether to shoot in Aperture, Shutter or Manual Mode. The rule of thumb for sports photography is Shutter Speed Priority but nothing stops you from also trying Aperture or Manual mode. The advantage with Shutter Priority is that your shutter speed is set and the camera then decides what your Aperture should be once you’ve dialed in the ISO number. Here’s a cheat sheet to better understand the relationship between ISO, Aperture and Shutter speed.
You’ll need a telephoto lens to get close to the action, preferably more than 100mm. To freeze the action you need a shutter speed of at least 1/1000th of a second or faster. With an aperture of f/9 to get an adequate depth of field on the subject the ISO inevitably has to go up to get a good exposure. You could go the other way though and convey motion by slowing the shutter speed considerably. You can then bring the ISO down for a better quality picture but a deeper depth of field (higher f-stop) would be required to maintain a balanced exposure on your histogram. I found it beneficial to focus slightly ahead of the subject before pressing the shutter as this ensures the focus point is on and not behind the swimmer by the time you actually do press the shutter.
EJ
Heritage Day / Make a braai of it (Proudly South African)
24 September marks Heritage Day in South Africa. South Africans across the spectrum are encouraged to celebrate their culture and the diversity of their beliefs and traditions, in the wider context of a nation that belongs to its entire people. That’s according to Wikipedia. Most people though prefer to just come together with a couple of friends and have one BIG braai.
But, in the spirit of all things South African I’d like to share three photos, each showcasing the breathtaking beauty nature in our beloved country has to offer. The first two photos were taken practically on my doorstep and the third from my porch. Which just go to show that us Lowvelders don’t need to travel far to experience nature in all its glory.
Heritage need not be physical. What does Heritage Day mean to you as a South African? What makes you proud to be South African? For me it is:
- Standing on the escarpment of the mighty Drakensberg, seeing the distant rolling hills of Natal far down beneath me.
- My ancestors trekking north from the Cape to start a new life, fighting every day for survival in a wild land.
- Singing the national anthem during a Springbok vs All Black rugby test.
- Visiting the Kruger National Park and experiencing the bushveld with all its dangers and spectacular sightings.
- Making a fire in the bush with something cold in the hand while watching the sun set.
As I’m writing this a late afternoon thunderstorm hits us with accompanying wind, lightning and hail. Thunderstorms aren’t endemic to South Africa but there are few places where a thunderstorm can shake the foundations of your house or heart like here.
Have a happy Heritage day and remember, whatever you do keep those lamb chops juicy.
EJ
How to capture a flower in high key lighting
A fun indoor photo exercise is capturing a flower of your choice in high key lighting. High-key lighting simply refers to images that are mostly bright, with a range of light tones and whites and not many blacks or mid-tones.
What you’ll need:
1. Flower with its stem
2. Clamp
3. White background
4. Tripod
5. Camera
6. External flash unit
In a room well-lit with natural light set up your flower in front of a white background. I used an A2 white sheet of paper. I also used a 105mm macro lens for this picture but any 18-55mm kit lens will work just as well. Zoom out as far as you can so the flower nearly fills the frame and then set up your tripod at this spot.
Make use of manual focus on LIVE view and choose the focal point. Shoot in Aperture priority mode with ISO 100 for the best possible quality and f-stop of 5.6 for a shallow depth of field. Overexpose by 2 stops (+2EV) with your exposure compensation. All that’s left to do is aim your external flash at a white background (like the ceiling) that will bounce the light towards the flower. Make use of TTL (through the lens) mode on the external flash and adjust the flash’s exposure compensation to achieve the desired result if the first few photos are either too dark or too bright.
Once you master the technique your portrait and product photography will greatly benefit from the high key treatment.
If you’re looking for more info on how to shoot different subjects in high key here’s a more detailed tutorial at Photography.Tutsplus.com
EJ
Picture perfect sky
There are few things as depressing as a blue sky for a photographer . Where I live in the Lowveld the scenery is above average, but unfortunately the climate lends itself to maybe 100 cloudy days per year. So when I woke up this morning and saw cirrus clouds streaking across a deep blue sky I hoped to get a decent picture of anything sometime during the day.
This fig tree stands close to our home. Pristine bushveld has been obliterated to make way for profitable agriculture. A sad but undeniable death knell for the Lowveld bush. It will only stop once there is nothing left to bulldoze over. This tree has somehow avoided the chop up until now. How, I don’t know. Maybe it is its size, shape or age.
A blocked water pipe from the canal have had us digging now for close to two weeks to find the problem. The roots from another fig tree higher up the road made its way into the pipe and caused the blockage. This pipe also runs close to the pictured tree. Its days might therefore be numbered…
Instead of using a wide angle lens I stitched eight portrait photos together with a 24mm lens to make this panorama.
Another pano close by in colour of Likweti Estate that was once a private reserve but will now soon be covered by Macadamias.
EJ