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Fine Art Photography by David Morefield from Houston, Texas

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Home » Photography Tutorials » Page 2

5 Tips for Beginners in Landscape Photography

Sunrise at Steinhagen Reservoir

 

 By David Morefield

1. You do not have to live in some exotic location in order to produce great landscape photography that people will like and appreciate. Last year, I went to Israel and got some amazing shots. Yes, I have sold some of them, but my best selling print is of a location in Central Texas not far from where I live. Not sure where to go in your area? Hop in the car and go find something.

2. You do not have to have $12,000 of camera equipment in order to get great landscape photography shots. Currently, I am shooting the Nikon D7100, but I got started with the Nikon D5100. Learn to master what you have and enjoy shooting, don’t obsess on your camera envy. I was on a shoot once when a guy with a Nikon D800E and about $13,000 in glass walked up and asked me, “What settings are your shooting for the sunrise?” I asked him if he was shooting JPEG or RAW. He gave me a deer in the headlights look and I suggested that he keep it on Auto. You think buying a $300 pair of basketball shoes will make you into an NBA player? Just because someone has a bunch of equipment, it does not make them into a photographer.

3. Read the Manual to your Camera – Yes, I said read the instructions. You really should know all of the functions of your camera even if you do not plan to use all of them. You never know in Landscape photography, you may see something and have an “Ah, ha! Moment” where you quickly roll the dials and get a very special shot that you would have missed otherwise. Being that I like to shoot early in the morning or late at night, it is during those times as the light is changing, that I need to be quick to make adjustments before the light changes even more.

4. Shoot with other photographers. Not only is this generally good advice for just learning from one another, but you will make lifelong friends with the people that you go out and shoot with. I know that some of my favorite moments in the past years have been on photoshoots with friends.

5. If you are like me, the only expectations that you have to consistently meet are your own. I love the fact that I get to shoot what I want, when I want and how I want; it’s freedom. People will come to recognize this in your work and if they like it, they will will likely buy it. Learn from others, but develop your own unique style through experimentation.

7 Tips How to Photograph Fireworks

 

Freedom over Texas

 By David Morefield

The 4th of July is just around the corner and if you are like me, you are looking forward to watching the fireworks with your family and having a good time. But, if you are reading this article, you are also looking for tips how to photograph fireworks.

1. Use the Fireworks as your Flash

Keep in mind that when shooting fireworks, you will be in the dark and then the fireworks are going to be a brilliant source of light, much like a flash. As Fireworks explode into the air, they will often light up the surrounding area, so you will want to make sure that your frame is not so tight that you miss the surrounding scene. I have made the mistake of just having a great picture of fireworks, with nothing else in the picture… It was time wasted and I would not recommend it. Find something of interest to be in the background or foreground to add an element of depth and interest.

2. You really need a Tripod and Remote Shutter Release

When doing any kind of timed exposure, you really should use a tripod for stability, otherwise your images will not be crisp and in focus. Triggering the shutter with a remote shutter release is a great way to reduce camera shake as well. If there is wind, you may consider hanging a sandbag or camera bag from the center of your tripod.

3. Time your shots with the fireworks show

Professional fireworks shows should have a rhythm that they will follow, many times this is set to music. While this is important, what you want to be looking for is the streak of sparks headed for the skies. Once you see that a mortar has fired, open your shutter. Once the mortar explodes, give it a second or two before closing your shutter, this will capture some of the great streaks and bursts of light.

4. Shoot in Manual Mode

If you are not comfortable shooting in manual mode, then it is time to break out of your comfort zone. If your camera has a timed exposure setting, I would experiment at night with an aperture of about f/8 and ISO of 100 to start and then find out how long you need to have the shutter open for a decent exposure at your location. You will be able to do this just a couple of minutes before the fireworks show start. Keep in mind that even though the sun goes down, the lighting will most likely get a little darker between sundown and the start of the fireworks. Be ready by the time the fireworks start.

5. Scout the area prior to the fireworks display.

There is nothing worse than figuring out that you don’t have a good vantage point for the fireworks and then you miss the best part of the show. Make sure that you allow yourself plenty of time to get to your location and find the best vantage point. Many times, fireworks displays are going to draw lots of people, most of which could care less that you are trying to get pictures. Claim your territory and try to eliminate people standing directly in front of you by using parking garages, bodies of water, etc…

6. Take pictures during sunset before the sun sets

One of the best ways to make sure that you have the right focus and have your shot framed correctly is to shoot the scene in daylight. I prefer to shoot buildings as the sun is setting because many times, you have enough light to see the building’s colors and you also have the lights of the building. This is useful later in post processing if you want to do some blending of the exposures.

7. The start of the fireworks show is usually the best time for photographs

If you think that you should save the best for last, then you probably haven’t shot many fireworks shows. As the show continues, the smoke in the air will likely gather into small clouds that can affect your shot. Try to get as many shots at the beginning of the fireworks show in order to make sure that you get some nice clean shots without a bunch of smoke hanging around.

I hope that you have found this tutorial helpful on how to photograph fireworks. As we celebrate our Independence Day on the this 4th of July, please remember to thank those who have served our Country.

8 Tips for Urban Landscape Photography at Night

Going Home in Tel Aviv by David Morefield

 

By David Morefield

1. Use a Tripod

In order to capture the true essence of a city when shooting Urban Landscape Photography, I prefer to shoot at night.  At night, you can capture the lights and the shadows of the city and get a sense for the movement of the nightlife. I like to catch the movement of the lights with as little people in the frame as possible. Utilizing a tripod, you will be able to keep your shutter open much longer and still have crisp clear pictures – this is especially helpful when you are shooting in the dark.

2. Shoot early in the morning starting around 3am

I like to shoot during the early morning hours. This usually minimizes the amount of pedestrian traffic that I would have to otherwise work around. Of course, if you are looking for people to be in the shot, you could always go earlier. I find that usually by 3am, most people have made it to where they are going for the night, so I have the streets almost to myself so I can concentrate getting shots of the architectural aspects as well at the lights of the city.

3. Take a Friend

I have always found it to be a whole lot more fun to drag someone out with me when I shoot at 3am. There is a certain wisdom to travelling in groups at night, especially when you are toting around thousands of dollars of photography equipment. The best part is, after catching the sunrise, you and your friend can then go to breakfast.

One of my fondest memories of shooting early in the morning was with three of my pals in New Orleans. Around 4am, this drunk guy who was rather loud approached my friend and said, “Hey, what are you guys dong?” My buddy quickly responded, “We’re playing Baseball.” We are still laughing about that. So by all means, go out and enjoy with friends. It won’t matter that you are shooting the same locations, you will end up with something different, I guarantee it.

4. Be Creative with the location where you shoot

Tel Aviv at Night by David MorefieldDon’t be afraid to get creative with the location from which you shoot. For instance, I was visiting Israel and the view from our hotel pool was amazing. I climbed into the planter box and set up my tripod – I got some great pictures and some interesting looks from other guests at the hotel.

Every time someone comments on the picture that I took, I like to tell them I was standing on one leg, in the planter box of my hotel on the pool deck. You’d never know that I was that I holding back a bunch of palm fronds out of the way of the camera. If you see and opportunity for a good shot, take it!

5. Use a Remote Shutter Release

Aside from the using a tripod at night as previously mentioned, I suggest using a remote shutter release. When shooting Urban Landscape Photography, you want to minimize movement of your camera by all means necessary, so a remote shutter release allows you to fire your shutter without even touching the camera. This is definitely the optimal solution. If you do not have a remote shutter release, then you can always use the 2 second shutter timer in order to fire the camera and then let go.

6. Shoot with Manual Settings for complete control

You may have a great camera that is very intuitive to use, but when it comes to shooting Urban Landscape Photography at night, I would suggest shooting with manual settings.  Shooting on Manual will assure that you have complete control over the scene that you capture and allows you to make fine adjustments along the way.

7. Use Live View to fine Tune your Focus

I see many photographers look though the viewfinder to fine tune their focus and if that works for your, then great. Personally, I prefer to utilize the Live View on the back of my camera and then digitally zoom into a particular subject in order to fine tune my focus. Generally, I will use something with straight lines such as a window or a corner of a building. Once I am focused to where the corner is a well defined straight line, I know that I am good to go.

8. What ISO should you shoot?

When shooting Urban Landscape Photography at Night, I try to shoot at 100 iso as much as possible. This usually will give me the cleanest image. Of course, shooting at 100 iso in the dark means that I have to increase my shutter speed to allow more time for light to get to the sensor and get my exposure. If you are shooting from a tripod, this is not an issue.  When shooting urban landscape photography at night, I will generally start with an aperture somewhere between f6 and f8, depending on the depth of my subject. That ought to be a good place to start.

 

How To Make Pictures Like A Fly On The Wall by Frank Casella

When Men Put God First by Frank Casella

By Frank J. Casella

Most of my life as a photographer has been to document public figures: statesmen, celebrities, professional athletes, and leaders of the world religions. This is important work because what your camera is doing is telling the story of history in the making in ways that words cannot.  It takes a tight-lipped and trustworthy person who has excellent relationship skills, yet is unnoticed and doesn’t get in the way of the moment — a fly on the wall. You have to remain humble and not let the “power” faze you. They will pick up on it, and this will show in your pictures.

Many of my pictures from over the years have become fine art photography. There is an interest in street photography as fine art, which are pictures that illustrate a society or a culture. Though I try to tell a stronger story with my pictures and go deeper to transform a person with simple life moments that make a positive and lasting impression.

Most of you will not be in the position to photograph public people in private moments, but you may be in situations that call for you to be like a fly on the wall. The key to photographing people in this way is the element of waiting.  I’ve mostly learned ( how to do ) this because I was born in an Italian Catholic family so my camera has found its way into photographing in churches. People here are deeply personal, reverent and holy, and its important to be sensitive yet understand that a click of the shutter in the right moment will tell a great story in the next decade or century. When I start walking around a church with my camera people will usually watch me, but then after some time I start to fall into the background and they forget I’m there. I then have their trust, and, it is at this moment their heart and Soul comes to life … An outward expression of their inner beliefs.

Back when I shot more film, my workhorse camera was the Nikon F3HP. It was important for my lenses to have a lot of glass ( I mostly used the 85mm f/1.4 ), which means they need to be really bright with a very wide aperture. Now that digital sensors see a lot more light this is a bit easier, but the rules are still the same to prevent motion and un-focussed pictures. You really need to be one with your camera and feel the light as your camera sees it. Sometimes I will be propped discreetly in a corner with my eye on a moment, and to capture it I’ll need to hold the camera at waist level.  I may only get one shot so it will have to be right. You learn this by practicing it and making all the mistakes so that you know what not to do in the ‘real’ moment.

My present workhorse digital camera is the Pentax K-10D.  It has a CCD sensor and rendering engine that collects the image as analog then converts it to digital. The results are images that look like film to me. This is how I want my images to look and feel, because I usually don’t post process any more than a slight tweak. I do most of the work ( composition, lighting, and exposure, etc.) in-camera through the viewfinder.

One of the great documentary photographers, Edward Steichen, whom I studied as a student at Columbia College Chicago, has said “ Photography is a major force in explaining man to man”. It is these words that really have made a lasting impression on every time I click the shutter. Humanity needs images that are examples of hope and goodness.  Art is not a luxury, and my mission is to put a ‘smile’ on the walls of humanity.

Growing up as a Catholic it was impressed on me that many of the Catholic Saints were born with shortcomings and how they are recognized by the Church, through icons and illustrations, for transforming their shortcomings into virtues or goodness. Likewise, all of us possess goodness, and we need ‘fly on the wall’ examples in photography, and in art, to help each other make it though life.

About Frank J. Casella

Frank CasellaI am Frank J. Casella, a Catholic man, husband and father, and an award winning photographer living in the Greater Chicago Area (USA). I have spent my lifetime perfecting how to make great photography, to put my audience where my subject is [ Pictures People Listen To ].

I was born and raised in a Family-Owned Business, photographed the Chicago ministry of the late Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, and was mentored by John H. White, Pulitzer Prize photographer.

Since 1988, my business specializes in producing and selling Fine Art Photography for personal and enterprise, as well as visual storytelling and print solutions for Catholic Organizations and Family-Owned Businesses.

My greatest reward, though, is when my artwork transforms a person from good intentions into right-action ~ simple life moments that make a positive and lasting impression.

What makes a Photographer an Artist?

Houston Across the Bayou by  David Morefield

 

By David Morefield

First, I think one needs to define what an artist is then we can determine if a Photographer is an artist.

I would define an Artist as someone who is able to convey the way they see the world, or at least they way they would like to see the world, to their audience through their art. This does not mean that the Artist will give you the complete picture, the whole idea is to give you enough information so that you will fill in the rest with your interpretation. Art is cerebral and intuitive.

An easy example of this would be the works of an impressionist painter like Claude Monet. Did he give you a clear image as to what he was trying to convey? Absolutely not. What Monet did was give his audience just enough information so that the picture told the rest of the story and his audience could fill in the details. Art is very personal and may mean different things to different people. There are times where some art is completely lost on some people and that is fine too

With regards to photographers, I do not believe that all Photographers are artists. For example, a person simply snapping pictures doesn’t make them an artist. It is what is contained in the images that are captured by the photographer that defines them. Those photographers who can tell a story or convey emotion through their photography does meet the definition of an artist.

When I go out and shoot, I do it with the intention of finding something, maybe even boring or mundane, and then I try to bring life to it or communicate a message through the image. Many of my shots of Texas show the true beauty of my home state. I am proud to be a Texan and anyone who has lived in Texas can understand my love for the Lone Star State. Let’s face it, Texas is like no other place on the planet.

Although I know the rules of photography, as a photographer and artist, I regularly bend the rules in order to achieve the effect that I am looking for. This is what makes photography exciting and enjoyable for me. I do not go out and shoot in order to put food on my table; I go out with the motivation to please myself with the result. If others enjoy my work, then that is just a bonus.

Do you see where I say that your equipment defines you as an artist? No. It makes no difference whether you use a camera phone or a $50,000 rig to capture your images, it is all about the message of your images.

So what is my point? Simply this – If you want to express yourself through photography then go out and do it. Sure, you can learn the rules and ask questions of others, but experiment and express your photography in your own way. I do and I love it.

 

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