Author: Cooper Strange

2009-04-02

Drawing Viewers into the Photo

I simply must start with the oft quoted Robert Capa: “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” Somehow, I think a lot of us already have a feel for the fundamental problem here, but we fix it the wrong way. We want to get closer to our subjects, but we do it by buying longer lenses.

One thing I love about photographs is that normal viewers can feel how close they are to the subject. And I am talking about everyman kind of viewers, not photography educated folk who talk about lens length and depth of field and all that jibberish. There is something really fundamental going on in people here, and we photographers have a chance to touch that gut level feeling.

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2009-04-01

What Photo Gear to Prepare for Bright Outdoor Shoot

Still preparing for the QingMing Festival shoot in my head. We will be traveling tomorrow so we can be there for an early morning start the next day, QingMing. Quite obviously (I think), we are not starting early for the photographer, but just because that is what you do for QingMing. It is usually an all day, heat stress, endurance test for everybody involved.

My first pieces of gear will be sunscreen and a hat if I can scrounge one up. I will take my backpack full of all kinds of gear, but will most likely need to leave that behind and carry a small choice of essentials. most likely, if it is like all the other days recently, the day will turn very bright and sunny. So, instead of uselessly cursing the brightness, I will embrace it as my friend and let it add to the feel of the day’s shooting.

So, what gear will I actually take?

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2009-03-31

Psyched up for QingMing Festival

QingMing is just a few days away. I could not tell you why the seemingly official English translation of this festival is the “Chinese grave sweeping festival”. Yes, they clean up the grave sites of their ancestors, but the real core of the holiday is solidly rooted in paying respect to their ancestors. You choose your word: respect, worship, veneration, honor, …you get the picture.

I will be returning to my wife’s hometown tomorrow and the next day heading to her Dad’s hometown for the celebration of QingMing. The whole Chinese side of the family will be there. Yes, it will be nice to finally meet all the family on my wife’s dad’s side, but I have to be totally honest, I am giddy with the thought of the photo opportunities.

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2009-03-30

How to Take Photos of Strangers

I should know: Strange is my…surname. [Awkward pause where nobody laughs.] Anyway, this is an area of photography in which I have been trying to stretch myself the past few months. I had a certain style of doing things for many years, and recently, I thought it wise to extend my tool kit of people photography. How do I approach strangers to take a photo? And honestly, how do I get the photo I want, the photo I picture in my head, and still show respect?

The old stand by for me is to do everything short of actually asking somebody if I could take a photo of them. Sometimes, I did get the tacit “ok” with eye communication, and that is fine, but more often than not, by the time the approval came, I had already shot the shots I really wanted. It all depended on the situation.

I am not trying to take advantage of anybody, but firmly believe that in most cases, the best moments are spontaneous: the best smiles, the most fun, the real person behind that face. Those are the moments I want to capture. There is more to it, though.

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2009-03-28

What Flash Should I Buy for My Camera?

Want to move into the world of flash and do not know where to start? What flash should you buy? Where do you even start learning how to use the flash? Do you just clip it on and set it to automatic, or do you dare explore the beautiful and expansive world of off-camera flash?

A couple days ago, a friend of mine mentioned (just in an off comment, he probably did not think I would blog about it) that his next purchase was going to be a flash. For me, that set off all kinds of alarms. I know he is just an amateur working on a budget like many of us, and I also knew a little knowledge about flash photography could easily save him a couple hundred dollars.

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2009-03-27

What Focus Points Do You Use?

Ok, that is not exactly a frequently asked question, as I claim, but…well…it should be! There are way too many accidentally out of focus pictures out there. Out of focus can be cool, sure, but only if it is on purpose. Some of the great photographers had out of focus shots, but that was for very different reasons.

The basic problem is that most cameras are set, by default, to a multiple focus point setting, meaning, a pathetic, little computer in your camera is deciding what in the scene needs to be in focus. I personally think my brain is a bit more sophisticated than my camera, and I would much rather choose for myself what is in focus. So, here is how I do that.

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2009-03-26

Maker of Idols

Finally, the kind of photo I have been looking for. I have been trying to capture the spiritual side of things. I am not talking about some visually appealing monks-in-a-temple shot, but the spiritual reality behind what we see with our eyes, and I am especially focused on the spiritual realm right there on the street and a part of everyday life. In a place like Thailand, it is everywhere, woven into every part of life.

2009-03-25

Shoot Too Dark and Improve Image Quality

Not too long ago, I was reading a great blog entry from a seasoned pro (though somehow I cannot find it again to give him credit and a link), and a little something he mentioned which “they used to do in the old days” sounded just like a trick I use. Evidently, I am not the first person to come up with this idea, but at least it made me feel a little more normal.

Maybe you have the same problem I do. You do not have the Nikon D3 or the Canon 5D or some other full-frame, no-noise wonder, and moving your ISO up just a little turns your image into static. Do you want to keep image quality at its best (or pretty close) and stop sacrificing your pictures to the ISO noise gods? Here is what I do.

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2009-03-24

Loading Your Camera Color Profile into RAWstudio

I tried out RAWstudio a couple times through the past year or so. I had to try it, because I knew how much time it could conceivably save me. Both times, though, the image quality of the output JPG was horrible in comparison to UFRaw. So, it would save time, but my photos looked nasty.

Then, I noticed some slick JPG output on the MeetTheGIMP videocast when Rolf (the host) gave RAWstudio a test run. It looked so much better than mine. What was I doing wrong? So, I decided I would give it another try, and I am glad I did.

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2009-03-23

The Patron Saint of Nikonians

Saint Nikon of Sicily — Martyr Nikon in Sicily

The past few weeks, I have been reading through the lives of some of the saints who have gone before us for encouragement. These folk, that great cloud of witnesses, were the real deal, and it does not take much reading from their lives to figure that out. Well, I saw that the first of the saints commemorated on this day is Martyr Nikon in Sicily. Nikon…that was just too good to pass up mentioning here. And no, he is not the patron saint of Nikonians, but he most likely is the patron saint of some Nikonians.

I will share below the excerpt on the life of Saint Nikon which I read this morning. He certainly is not your stereotypical Sicilian (neither mobster nor Princess-Bride-ish), but could certainly serve as an encouragement for those who remember hearing some of the faith as a child and then upon encountering hard times later in life again call on that faith of our childhood.

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