I Learned From That

The New Year is just around the corner!  As I do every new year I silently vow to do something different, or change something I should, but haven't.  So, this New Year I'll be consistent with the past and I'll make a change.

In my previous blogs, I usually talked about photography in general, but nothing too technical, or in depth. This year I will talk about mistakes I've made and learned from, hence the name "I Learned From That". Basically, because I am not an instructor of photography, I think I can better serve those up and coming photographers and remind those that are professionals by sharing my blunders.

Recently while shooting the Honolulu city skyline I was doing all the right stuff, I thought. I arrived about an hour and thirty minutes before dusk, so I could take advantage of the late afternoon sun; which shines perfect on the skyline. This particular day was cloudy, but as the sunset lower it dropped below the clouds and worked its' magic.

As I walked up and down the harbor channel looking for a good spot, I was taking hand held shots, and occasionally mounting the camera on my tripod. I was using my Canon 70-300mm IS taking care to switch off the image stabilizer when I mounted my camera on the tripod.

After carefully selecting what I felt was the right spot, I set up shop. Although it wasn't extremely windy, there was a cool gentle ocean breeze flowing and I hadn't taken this in to account. My camera was mounted on my tripod to provide stability for low light situations thus allowing me to get clean focused shots.

After taking several shots I would pause and wait for the sun to set a little further, and take a few more shots; continuing this until I was satisfied that I had taken several quality photographs. 

Because I always leave the strap attached to my camera the wind became a factor. It was blowing strong enough to make the strap vibrate the tripod and occasionally hit the tripod legs. Usually not a problem, except for low light situations.

When the shutter speed is much slower, and the shutter remains open longer, it is very critical to ensure that the tripod is steady and nothing interferes like vibration. Satisfied with what I had I was off to the races.  If you've read my previous blogs you might remember, that I usually don't review my shots until I download them.  I do this because I believe it makes you a better photographer. 

When I downloaded my pictures I immediately began viewing the night shots and was somewhat dismayed because the majority of the photos were blurred. I am fortunate that I live in the same place that I took my photographs.  Although I will never be able to duplicate the lighting I will be able able to get similar shots and that will be sufficient for me.

The lesson I learned was very valuable, because had I been on some far away assignment, I probably wouldn't be able to get back to the same location anytime soon.  Next time I shoot in a similar situation I will remove the strap from my camera.

If you have any tips or have experienced similar situations pleas add your comments so all can benefit from lessons learned.  As always thanks for visiting my blog and please visit my website at www.dannylbaker.com

Christmas Lights

  (Honolulu City Lights Display at Honolulu Hale)

Have you every taken pictures of city lights at night and the sky is totally black? once you download the pictures it just doesn't look too appealing to me.  I took these photographs recently while waiting to meet my wife. 

I took advantage of this time while she was shopping. My intentions were to capture the Honolulu City Lights display just before darkness totally set in.  I call this the sweet spot.  You can see that there is still some blueness to the sky. I think this gives the picture added color while still being able to see the Christmas lights and background relatively clear.  If you notice the train with the smoke cascading from its' smoke stack gives the appearance that the train is moving. This is because the shutter speed was slow.

Although I did capture Santa Claus waving the Shaka sign (Shaka Sign is a hand gesture usually used in Hawaii as a greeting or to acknowledge kindness someone has shown you but is not limited to these two examples).   during daylight hours.  As a photographer you take advantage of every situation while on a self assignment or on any other assignment for that matter.

Overall it was fun and very rewarding and I think that's what it's all about just have fun. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year or Mele Kalikimaka and Hau'oli Makahiki Hou! Happy photographing and please send any comments or suggestion you may have. 

Books on Photography

Several photography books that have influenced me and the way I approach photography are what I would like to talk about in this blog.  Although the books listed here are not the only ones I've read, I do have most of them.  Several other books I read, I borrowed from the library and unfortunately are not available to me as a ready reference. 

I frequently reference these books because I'm constantly learning.  For new comers to photography and not I'm sure if this you, I recommend using the library initially because books are costly.  Many of the books the library has are recent and the information is relevant to photography today.  But don't discount the older books although many may be targeted towards film cameras the fundamentals are basically the same. The same is true for camera equipment maybe start with a point and shoot something you will be able to use regardless if you pursue photography as a career or just a hobby . Reading these books have provided me with a source of inspiration and has taught me many things that otherwise might have taken a long time to figure out on my own.  In general looking to those who have been in the business for quite some time is very valuable also. 

Some of the books, I've listed here the photographers have websites, but others I guess they must be very successful because they don't have a website.  I've done extensive research to find out if these books are still being published or in circulation and I have annotated next to each along with various other information.

"How to Make Money with Digital Photography" book is still in circulation.  This book is not about the technical but business side of photography. Very insightful and an often overlook aspect of the photography world. (Author Dan Heller, website: www.danheller.com)

"Profitable Photography in the Digital Age"  Dan Heller again illustrates the importance of the business side of photography.

"Designing A Photograph, Visual Techniques for Making Photographs Work". (Author Bill Smith, book is still in circulation but no personal website available).

This book covers you guessed it on how to design a photograph. It includes architecture, landscape aerial the whole gamut and is very helpful. 

"The Photographers Guide to Exposure" (Author Jack Neubart  book still available on line but no personal website available).  Although this book was published in 1988 the techniques illustrated in this book is still relevant today. Many of the large books stores offer this and other books of Jack Neubart on line.

"Photographing the Landscape The Art of Seeing" (Author John Fielder, book is still in circulation website: www.johnfielder.com) John Fielder is a photographers photographer. From reading his book I get the feeling he lives, and breathes photography. I could only hope to be as successful as he.

"John Shaw's Nature Photography Field Guide" (Author John Shaw, book is still in circulation website: www.johnshawphoto.com). This book focuses on technique as well, and again is a great reference.

"Understanding Exposure" (Author Bryan Peterson, book is still in circulation website: www.bryanfpeterson.com)

"Learning to See Creatively" Bryan Peterson has several other books also. He is a very talented writer and photographer. Unfortunately these are two books I borrowed from the library so I no longer have them as a quick reference. Reading these books are what reignited my interest in photography.

These are books I highly recommend.  Not that they are the sole source to photography and the business of photography but I've read them and use them as a reference.  I don't have a particular interest to see anyone of these fine photographers become more successful than they already are so if your are wondering, here is my disclaimer I don't benefit by promoting their websites or books. My only benefit and most important is that by reading these books they have made me a better photographer and artist.

I hope you too will benefit by not only reading these books but by reading my blogs also. So happy photographing and please make any comments or suggestion you have.

PHOTOGRAPHING PEOPLE

(Japanese Lady)

(Hula Dancer) (Keeping Cool) (Orange Hat)

Photographing people is an art and science(Technique) wrapped up in one. Let me explain. Photographing a person/model that is posing is somewhat difficult. Not all people are, to use the old cliche, "Photogenic". So to have someone pose so the end result will look natural and appealing, you must be able to combine the artistic side of you with the technical side and meld them together.

For example the picture labeled Japanese lady was a posed shot, albeit she was not posing for me. I intentionally included the Japanese man taking a picture to add a different perspective.

On the other hand some people feel very comfortable in front of the lens and do quite well without assisting them as you can see from the posed picture I took labeled Hula Dancer. She was sitting in a very relaxed position waiting for her hula event to take place. I approached her and asked If I could take a picture. She immediately responded and posed for the camera without me coaching; and as you can see the end result is very nice photograph.

Along with posed you have candid shots, catching people reacting to certain situations and doing things naturally. Of the two the latter is my favorite. So, how do you find these spots? I like to go to parks, water fountains on hot summer days, and special events. Parades are also a very good place to catch people doing things naturally. You can also get posed shots from parades and cultural events. Another spot, if you live in a large metropolitan area you can go downtown during the business hours and find many opportunities.

Photographing people is not a shy mans game. You must be able to approach people and ask permission to get their photograph at times. This is a work in progress for me. But as I do it more and more, I find that most people are very accepting of you as a photographer; as long as you give them a brief introduction of what you are doing. Other times it is not necessary, but depending on how you plan to use the photograph, if you can recognize the person then you may need to get a model release. Model releases are a whole different subject and if you visit www.danheller.com he has a book on model releases but also on his website you can find the necessary information you are looking for. Although these are not the only places to capture photographs of people, let the creative side of you determine where you would like to go.

One of the other pictures posted here is at a cultural event in Waikiki. I intentionally included the gentleman in the photograph because he was taking a picture of the Japanese lady. I wanted tell the story of what was taking place.

Sometimes taking photographs of people you need to find a different angle. The next photograph is taken from behind, the zebra stripe shirt with the orange hat and black braided ponytail all contribute to the effectiveness of this picture.

I can't recall who said it, but they said it best "Make pictures don't take pictures" and that sums it up. I hope you enjoyed reading my blog and found some useful information. As always please make any comments you have, and happy photographing!

Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle

Honu

Danny Baker's Photography

dannylbaker.com

Although my blogs are about my experiences while I'm out photographing nature or just being creative, I'm going to depart from the norm; and use this forum to educate the readers about a subject I often photograph when I'm in a slump.

One of my favorite locations to shoot is Laniakea Beach on the North shore of Oahu. Oahu is the third largest island of the Hawaiian Islands. Laniakea is a place I go to stimulate the creative artist in me.

On a daily basis the Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle (Turtle means Honu in the Hawaiian language) come here to feed and rest. The turtles come here to feed on the abundant source of limu (Hawaiian for sea weed). The Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle is a threatened species and is protected under Hawaii state law, but they are relatively safe at Laniakea Beach. Malama na Honu (Protect the Turtles) is a non profit organization designed to educate the public and keep a watchful eye on the turtles. I gathered some of the factual information from their web site and I encourage you to visit it at http://malamanahonu.org .

The most important thing to remember is you can photograph and watch the turtles until your heart is content, but never touch or disturb the turtles. Just watching and observing these beautiful creatures or more appropriately called reptiles, is very enjoyable; but equally it is enjoyable to watch the reaction of people that have never seen sea turtles in their natural environment.

Although I'm not in a slump I will be visiting Laniakea Beach this weekend. Even though I've photographed the turtles many times, it just seems that I'm always able to get a different shot of the same subject. I hope I've sparked an interest and whereever you live I'm sure you will find some type of wild life equally enjoyable to you to.

So happy photographing and as always please make any comments or suggestions you have, but be kind and gentle.

UP Close and Sometimes Personal

Danny Baker's Photography

www.dannylbaker.com

One of my favorite photography subjects is up close.  Although I like using Macro lenses and tube extensions,  getting up close and sometimes personal without the aid of the aforementioned is often rewarding as well.  The personal side of my theme needs a little clarification. We all have an area of space around  us that we consider personal.  

(Rose Petals shot with 75-300mm ISO 100 1/80 f/4.5 @ 105mm) (Turtle ISO 100  1/60 f/5.6 28-135 @ 122mm) 

Now I didn't physically get inside the area I define as personal, but in a sense; I did with the lens.  The four pictures offer very different views of subjects but are keeping with the theme of up close and sometimes personal. The rose petal, plumeria, and the Aboriginal Native were photographed using a 75-300mm telephoto Canon lens with image stabilizer.  The Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle was shot with a 28-135mm Canon lens with image stabilizer. So when you are capturing images of different subjects, when you think you're close get a little bit closer.

 

(Plumeria shot with 75-300mm ISO 400 1/1600 f/4.5 @ 120mm) (Aboriginal Native no data available)

Interior Shooting

Recently while shooting an interior project for a client I discovered the lens I was using, was going to be my primary lens for this assignment.  I had brought along several other lenses that I was intending to use but didn't.  

Before I begin, I must admit, I have zero experience with interior shooting.  Normally I would have declined this offer because of my lack of experience.  However my client and I agreed I would work quid pro quo.  Although I did not get paid for this project I learned some very valuable lessons that I would like to share with you. 

For the shoot I used an AF 11-18mm 1:4.5-5.6 Tamaron Aspherical LD Di II SP lens with a Canon 20D Camera. I must say that the Tamaron 11-18mm is a very capable lens and if I were to exclusively shoot interior products then this is a lens I would highly recommend to have in your camera bag.

As you can see by the photographs I've posted the 11-18mm gives you the ability to shoot close range and very tight and narrow shots. I used only the available lighting and the natural light from the windows. My camera was set on AV mode and the white balance was set on auto white balance.

While shooting I noticed I was filling my CF card very quickly so I recommend you either have enough CF cards are find an alternate source to download your pictures. A few years back I purchased a SmartDisk manufactured by ScanDisk. Although this company was bought out by Verbatim and no longer I'm sure there are other resources that are comparable. The most import feature of my SmartDisk is that is 80GB's that is a lot of compact flash disks. This piece of equipment has more than aid off it's $250.00 price tag.  Once a disk is full you simply remove it from the camera insert it to the SmartDisk and press copy.

I really found this project to be fun and rewarding as I continue to learn more and more I will share my experiences with you.  As always I would like to make a disclaimer that I am by no means an expert but I am not the rookie I use to be.

Thanks for visiting my website www.dannylbaker.com and reading my blog.  If you have any comments please share them with me. Until the next time keep shooting and have fun

Photographers Who Influenced me the Most

Each of us have been influenced by someone at one time or another. I'd like to share with you what photographers influenced me most and why. I'm sorry but Ansel Adams was not one of them.

A good friend of mine by the name of Oliver J. Bochantin (O. J.), introduced me to photography while we were stationed together in Belgium in the early 80's. I have since lost contact with him but if not for him, I wouldn't be writing this blog and you wouldn't be reading it. Not to infer that millions of readers are reading this anyway.

Although I learned from O. J. we were both transferred to different parts of the world and I was left to figure out the rest on my own. I didn't really produce any quality shots consistently until I read several books years later.

The first book I purchased was Michael Langford's 35mm Handbook "The problem-solving book for every photographic situation". This book is mainly for the amateur photographer but none-the-less it was a good start.

Bryan F. Peterson, who by the way is an excellent photographer, wrote 4 books but I can only comment on two: Understanding Exposure and Seeing Creatively. Understanding Exposure really defined what mode I shoot on a regular basis, which is the AV mode. There are many times that I change the mode but if you were to open my camera bag you would find my camera set on AV. Seeing Creatively another excellent source helped me understand to not look at things for what they are. For example oil spots on the road after a rain. If the sun is hitting them just right it makes an interesting photo. I must admit I haven't taken such a photograph yet, but who knows, maybe someday I will.

Another outstanding photographer and author is Dan Heller. Of all the photographers he has inspired me the most, not because of his technical expertise but because of his business sense. Don't get me wrong his photographs are very inspiring as well. Dan is also the author of several books but the two that I have read are: Profitable Photography in the Digital Age and How to Make Money with Digital Photography. By far Dan is an out of the box thinker and it's probably the reason he is so successful.

So by now, if you've made it this far, you've probably realized that the only training I've had is self-taught with the help of many good books published by excellent photographers. But it is thru these photographer's books and websites I obtained valuable information that has helped me grow as a photographer immensely; and I still use them as a source of reference.

If you are a budding or established photographer I highly recommend the above photographer's books as a must read. There are several other good books by Lee Frost, Bill Smith, and John Shaw that you may find valuable in your quest to become an inspiring photographer.

Happy photographing and please share your thoughts and comments.

Photographing Parades

Usually I would get straight to what I'm blogging about but, because this is my first blog, I'd like to give you a brief introduction. Digital photography is what I blog about. However, if you still use film many of these techniques still apply. So let's move on. Oh! One more thing, you can visit my website at

dannylbaker

Photography is an amazing art. If you are a photographer, professional or otherwise, we all have something to contribute; and can always learn from one another. So please enjoy and I hope what I write will help you. Keep in mind I am not the definitive source of photography but what I've learned through my trials and errors I would like to share with you.

I recently photographed the Honolulu Festival Parade in you guessed it Honolulu, Hawaii. I photographed this and other parades but I was much more successful because of the lessons I've learned from previous parades. Photographing parades can be somewhat challenging, because just when you think you've framed the perfect shot someone stands up and either partially or completely blocks your shot. On the other hand parades can produce some very interesting and unique photographs.

Once you've decided to photograph a parade, the day before walk the route of the parade at the same time of day the parade will take place. This will allow you to look for spots you think would be a good location to shoot from. Also find where the parade begins and ends.

Walking the parade route gives you several advantages such as determining how the sun will effect your shots. Depending on the time of day the sun will be an important factor. Also it is a good idea to find where the parade begins and ends. Here you can find some very good candid shots and if you are photographing people you may need a model release. These are good locations to get the model release. One more thing, be mobile which brings us to our next consideration.

There are times you will be stationary but you must be able to move when necessary. Too much camera gear is just as bad as not having enough. So select the lenses and accessories you need and leave the rest at home or in your hotel room if you're traveling. I highly recommend at a minimum bring a tripod, a zoom lens (preferably 24-105mm), and a gadget bag. Two additional lenses to bring along are a 70-300mm and a 50mm f 1/8 which is good for low light situations. Also don't forget to bring 1 or 2 additional memory cards.

During the parade things will be moving and I've found that if your camera is equipped with the sports function it works pretty well with this setting. But, as always experiment with different settings because no one setting is perfect for the whole shoot.

Although this is brief and doesn't go in to detail about photography techniques it will be very helpful the next time you photograph a parade. Happy photographing and please share your thoughts and comments.