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Hang
on tight:
Keep the camera strap around your neck. By keeping the camera carrying
strap around your neck or over your neck and one shoulder you'll avoid
dropping it. Even if the camera slips off your lap to the ground, say
18", it can cause damage. An SLR mirror assembly is a delicate part. When
you pass your camera to another place the neck strap around their neck
and remove the camera when you want it back.
Film Washer:
A large coffee can makes a lab quality film washer for 35mm and 120. Pound down
sharp edges in the open end. Drill three 1/16" holes in the bottom and paint.
After fixing, keep the film on reels and place it in the can. Allow water to
flow in the top and keep the water above the reels. The rate of water through
the wash system can be regulated by adding holes or partially.
Safe Camera Bag:
To avoid camera bag theft, stow your gear in a diaper bag. They have compartments
for bottles that can be used for lenses. There are other small compartments,
too. The bags come in many sizes, often are padded and some are insulated. I
promise nobody will steal it!
Save Lab cost:
Composing and cropping a subject in the viewfinder, along with proper lighting,
can save you a bundle of money in lab costs.
Keep your film Cooler:
Pick up an extra window sun shield at your local automotive store. When traveling
in hot weather, cover your camera bag and notice the difference in how it feels.
Of course you would use the silver foil type. Even with AC in the car the sun
through the window gets warm. Also, it makes a great in a reflector for a photo
shoot.
Personalize Your Photo's:
Personalize your travel pictures. The Acropolis is awesome and so is the Great
Wall of China. It's difficult to get significantly different pictures from those
taken over the last 150 years, unless you put your spouse in them. It helps
to have an interesting subject to reflect upon. This is true for just about
any place you go on this planet.
Heads and Feet:
Don't cut off their feet. Don't mar your pictures by concentrating too strongly
on faces. Not only beginners, but pros also leave too much head room above their
subjects and cut off their feet. Frame the entire subject by adjusting your
zoom lens to a wider setting or by stepping back a few feet if you have a fixed
focal length lens.
Get a Good Grip:
Hold on to the camera, when you push the shutter release does not move the camera
down with the shutter.
Steal a Good Shot:
Steal shots. When a photographer is setting up a shot with a model, arranging
a backdrop or preparing for a photograph on location, take pictures of his or
her setup. It may not be in good taste, but you'll get the shot.
Excerpted from:
PhotoSecrets San Francisco and Northern California.
Copyright 1997 PhotoSecrets Publishing. All rights reserved.
Photographs
of fireworks
Photographs
of fireworks are spectacular, colorful, and fairly easy to do once you know
the tricks. For best results, you will need: an SLR camera, tripod, cable release,
1-2 rolls of film, a long lens, and plenty of patience.
Since you don't
know exactly when the fireworks will explode, and you are aiming to capture
their trails, you will need to hold the camera shutter open for 2-30 seconds.
Compact cameras don't offer this long exposure feature so you will need an SLR
camera with a manual exposure mode called 'Bulb' (often marked 'B').
To get sharp
images, you must keep the camera perfectly still. Propping your camera on a
wall, car-top or table may suffice, but nothing beats a good, solid tripod.
You'll also need a cable release to activate the shutter without touching and
moving the camera.
Despite the
low light, the best film is actually slow film as it holds stronger colors.
Use 50 or 100-speed print film or, if you want to publish your results, a 50
ISO slide film.
Waterfront
settings are good as you can include the reflections of the fireworks in your
shot. Cityscapes, landmarks, or people add context to the shot, but remember
that they'll come out as silhouettes, so don't include faces or other details.
High viewpoints, upwind from the smoke, are usually best. Get there early to
secure your spot and select a lens (usually a telephoto) that will fill the
frame with trails. Use the first burst to focus the lens (don't rely on your
'infinity' setting).
To photograph
the fireworks, open the shutter, wait for some bursts, then close the shutter.
That's it! Shoot off a whole roll of film to get a few good shots. Try different
apertures (f8 is the safest) and different zoom settings. Include only a few
bursts to fill up the frame; too many will look messy. To reduce the effect
of street lighting, cover the lens between bursts with your hand, a black card,
or a black cap.
Looking
for a truly spectacular shot? You can double-expose your film to include
the full moon with the fireworks. Shoot a full roll of film of your subject
(moon or fireworks), then rewind the film and re-use it to photograph the alternate
subject.
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