Monthly Archives: October 2011

Happy Halloween

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Michael Willems

And don’t forget, turn your camera upside down and bounce off the ground. As I did in this slightly post-produced image of a student the other day (you know who you are, D:-): I’m off to go teach!  

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Star burst

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Michael Willems

How do you create a star burst like this? You may want to edge or window the sun or light – but the most important technique is very simple: use a small aperture (a high “f-number”). I used f/22 in … Continue reading →

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Posted in Light, Technique | 3 Comments

Evolution of an exposure

Posted on October 30, 2011 by Michael Willems

To help you see how to expose something well, here’s a way – the thought process that might go through your head. Of course the way to guarantee a right exposure is one of: Use a grey card and spot meter off … Continue reading →

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Posted in Digital Darkroom, Light, Technique | 2 Comments

Hallowe’en Challenges

Posted on October 29, 2011 by Michael Willems

So. You want to go out and shoot pics of the kids trick-and-treating at Hallowe’en? Challenges, challenges. It is dark. Backgrounds get very dark. Slow shutter speeds result. But bright bits are too bright. And flash can blow out everything. … Continue reading →

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Tip: Underexpose for saturation

Posted on October 28, 2011 by Michael Willems

“Saturation”, as I have pointed out here before, means “mixing with white light”. The higher you expose, the lower your saturation. So a “normal” exposure of a phone box against an ochre yellow wall may look like this: Fine. I … Continue reading →

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Angle for interest

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Michael Willems

I don’t mean you requesting it – I mean you are creating it. See this boring shot of an alley? No interest point, no interest. I suppose we can wait for a street person and make it black and white. … Continue reading →

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Posted in Composition | 1 Comment

Lightroom Top Tips #213

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Michael Willems

Another Lightroom tip. Imagine you have done a shoot with two cameras, but one was set to the wrong time – you forgot to set it to the right seasonal time, perhaps? Easily solved. Go to the LIBRARY module. Select … Continue reading →

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Stop!

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Michael Willems

Before you take a picture outside, stop and think a moment. You know you do not want a picture with your subjects squinting into the sun. So, turn subjects away from the sun. But you also do not want this … Continue reading →

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Hallowe’en

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Michael Willems

…a couple of shots from Oakville, on Sunday’s walk: Happy hallowe’en next week. I’l be teaching at Sheridan College that night!

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Posted in Picture of the day, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Fuji X100 update

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Michael Willems

Those of you who have a Fuji X100: the new 1.11 firmware is out. Download it from here. Then upgrade, ignoring the Fuji instructions – you do not need the extra file. Just the FPUPDATE.DAT file. Once you have that: Insert a … Continue reading →

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Posted in Gear | Tagged | 2 Comments