#975 Exposed! Photo Newsletter – Photo Tips = Better Pictures

Posted on July 23, 2013 by admin

Photos are easy to make – aim and click. Almost everybody has a camera device and there are trillions of, erm, bad photos out there.

Good photos take time and patience and learning…

How would you:
• make white snow white? (most people produce gray snow)
• make a waterfall turn into a milky smooth masterpiece?
• showing a hint of motion in the water and oars while keeping the boat and background crisp?

Regular photo tips can help!

In this edition of Exposed! we offer some of the most important (and fun) tips.

Read the tips.

Photo Tip #201 – Anticipate your subject’s actions.

#973 Traditional Technical Training for Modern Industrial Applications

Posted on July 19, 2013 by admin

This spring we were contacted by Ontario Power Generation in Southern Ontario about some specialized technical training for their staff. We developed a Custom Course to meet their needs.

Specialized Photo Training – Old technology for modern testing.
They needed training in traditional dark room skills to perform the (almost) 100 year old test that involves traditional photography. Steve explains it better himself:

“We work in a Performance and Testing department with Ontario Power Generation. Our group provides experienced engineering and skilled technical personnel to consistently provide high quality services in data analysis, performance verification, regulatory environmental emission data, and to support aspects of operation and projects.

The Gibson Test
The Gibson Test is one example of a performance test that our group offers. It is a method that was developed almost 100 years ago, that uses a pressure-time graph to determine water flow through a pipe.

Interestingly, the pressure-time graph that is produced during a Gibson Test is done through photographic means. A large piece of photographic film is wrapped around a column inside a canister. The narrow slit along the side of the canister allows light to strike the film.

Gibson Photography Graph

Technically…
A column of mercury is used that rises and falls as the pressure inside the penstock changes; this mercury blocks a portion of the light entering the canister. The canister rotates slowly, and the mercury rises and falls, creating a pressure-time graph on the photographic film.

The film is developed on site in a darkroom built and set up by our technicians. Since these Gibson Tests can occur at any of the remote hydroelectric stations across Ontario, creating an adequate darkroom setting can be challenging at times.

Results!
Thanks to Harry and Marie-Helene, we now have more of an expertise to create a darkroom and the skills necessary to develop this photographic film in the non-traditional settings we encounter with our work. Thanks guys!!”

And thank-you for coming from Southern Ontario for your taining!

1923 Gibson Photography - Film Canister for 20x24

1923 Gibson Photography – Film Canister for 20×24″ film – capture on an iPhone!

#968 Prime Photo Tips for Better Pictures!

Posted on July 4, 2013 by admin

For about a year now we have been posting photo tips on our Facebook page to help you take better pictures.

People keep asking “Where can we see all the tips?!”
Why PrimePhotoTips.com of course!
Here’s a sample of tips:

Photo Tip #1
Turn the camera on.

Photo Tip #32
Take one photo at a time. 11 frames a second creates huge editing workloads and, with a little practice, clicking once will get you your shot.

Photo Tip #32 – One photo at a time…

Photo Tip #34
(Thanks to Quinton Gordon) Edit your photos before you take them.

Photo Tip #49
Cut a rectangle out of a piece of paper or cardboard and start looking at the world as if you were looking through a camera. It’s amazing how different things look through a rectangle – and it’ll help you engage your photo brain.

Photo Tip # 64
When photographing in a new city – travel light and by bike – you’ll see way more!

Photo Tip # 71 – Stay warm while winter shooting in the winter!

Photo Tip #71
When shooting in the cold have two clothing systems:
• When moving where enough clothes to be warm but DO NOT SWEAT! (it’ll make you very cold later.)
• Once you’ve stopped for some shooting add lots of warm – extra hat (sheepskin = ahhhh!) and a big poofy jacket or two.

More tips @ PrimePhotoTips.com!

Photo Tip #92
Try something photographically that scares you – just a bit.

Photo Tip #107
Always keep balloons in the photo studio for the kids – instant smiles when you pull them out.

Photo Tip #115
Big aperture (like f4) for moody portraits.
Small aperture (like f16) for landscapes.

Photo Tip #128
Shoot with a wide angle lens from the hip for an unusual portrait experience. It takes some practice…

Better pictures through prime photo tips

Photo Tip # 128 – Shoot from the hip with a wide angle lens for fun portraits.

Photo Tip #142
Shoot in RAW.
Store as TIFFs.
Send as JPEG.
…JPEG files will lose data when you save any changes.

Photo Tip #177
Be playful & allow mistakes to let the fun out of your camera!

Photo Tip # 177 – Be playful!

Photo Tip #195
That little flash built into the camera?
Leave it off. It’s anemic (underpowered), causes red-eye and pushes out a harsh burst of nasty light.
… Sorry, little flash but it’s true!

Photo Tip #200
Stop reading photo tips and go take some photos!!!

Photo Tip #200 – Stop reading photo tips and go take some photos!

See more photo tips at PrimePhotoTips.com. We’re posting 3-5 tips per week.

#967 Custom Photo Course Review – Macro & Fundamentals

Posted on July 2, 2013 by admin

So last week we ran a custom course for Christine who wanted a refresher on photography and an intro to macro photography. We met at a public ornamental garden and covered elements of Creative Fundamentals and Macro work.

How’d she do?
Her photos improved and her confidence grew!

Custom Photography Course – © Christine Payant

And it sounds like she loved it…
(Ok, ok… now, I know I am a good teacher and photographer but comments like these make my teaching worthwhile!):

“Thank you so much for the great Creative Fundamentals custom course yesterday. It was absolutely worth every penny.

I learned so much in just one day and can’t believe I never learned or knew about these skills before. This proves to me just how important it is to continuously upgrade and maintain photography skills in order to get better and better.

Better Photos © Christine P.

You are a wonderful and very patient teacher and obviously a gifted photographer.
Thanks so much for the great custom course.

I will definitely be taking some more courses this summer and fall. I will probably start with the on-line course, to keep me pushing to take more pictures and improve my skills.

Thanks again so much.”

Thank-YOU Christine! I love teaching and I love creating beautiful pictures. I feel so lucky to do what I do!

Better photos through HarryNowell.com! © Christine P.

UPDATE: Christine just sent us an email – she’s been enjoying her new skills! Nice work Christine!:

Macro Custom Photography Course © Christine P.

#966 – Rowing Photo Safari

Posted on June 30, 2013 by admin

Ottawa Rowing Photography – © HarryNowell.com

We hosted a custom Rowing Photo Safari last week with Kelly McKean who works as a performance analyst with “Own the Podium” an organization working with athletes to achieve greater success at international events.

Want the same photo coaching experience? See below.

Kelly wanted to learn some hands-on practical experience shooting sports – photographing a rowing crew from metres away with the support of a veteran photographer (I’ve shot rowing for stock and editorial use…)

The Ottawa Rowing Club deserve a big thank-you for allowing us access to the action – THANKS!

Kelly: “The workshop helped bring my photography skill to the next level allowing me to capture precise skills of athletes in motion. This is key for providing our olympians with feedback on their performance.”

How did the shooting go? We spent the evening reviewing some important photo elements for shooting sports and then following a rowing crew for their evening training session. She did well…

Kelly: “Learning in the uncontrolled environment of a rowing coach boat was really valuable for me. There was a constant need to adapt the camera settings and composition of the photo to the changing environment (light, water, waves, motion of the coach boat, speed of the rowers, etc.).

Harry taught techniques that were specific to capturing the movement of the rowers and to telling a story. I was given several assignments during the photo shoot and Harry provided feedback on the spot.

It was a great learning experience.”

Congratulations, Kelly!

Want the same experience?
The Ottawa Rowing Club is allowing us privileged access to offer this experience to others!

Dates possible are Thursday evenings – July 18, 25, and August 1st.The cost for three hours of one-on-one photo coaching alongside rowing crews is $275 + taxes. One person joins me per evening.

Interested? Let us know…

#933 Photo News this Week from the Web…

Posted on April 11, 2013 by admin

Here is some photo news from the web:

Lightpainting and Wakeboarding?
Yep. This video shows how an inventive team of technicians, photographers and wake boarders are pumping up the night! Thanks to reader Chris P for the tip!

PhotoKibitz.com
I did mention PhotoKibitz last week but Michael Vukovic has offered another photog interview this week and, erm, it features me! Neat to hear myself in an interview!

Photo Club
I found a new (to me) Facebook group called Photography Club. Very fun, huge following and lots of photo community! Worth a visit.

Car Streak Photo

Photo Facebook Page
And talking about Facebook, we started a Facebook Page for HarryNowell.com last year. It’s growing in people and photo tips!
Why’d we do that?
We wanted to separate photo from personal and offer a photo-only outlet with photo tips, links and photo community questions. ‘Like’ the fun!

Work for Free … but for Pay
I met with Justin Van Leeuwen last week and we talked about the business of photography and his innovative approach to building clients and a portfolio. I found the link to his related post.

#928 Photo News from the Web

Posted on March 31, 2013 by admin

We are highlighting some photo fun that we find during the week on the internet. Here are some highlights from the past week:

Overload of Photo Links!
We stumbled upon alltop.com recently with links to many of the top photo news sites and other miscellany. Be warned! – there are tons of links that could suck you in and keep you from actually taking photos.

Photography Interview Site
There’s a new site on the web with photographer interviews by Michael Vuckovic. PhotoKibitz.com featured an interview with engaging photographer Ari Tapiero last week – worth a listen!

Humans of New York
There’s a very fun website gaining momentum. Humans of New York photographer Brandon Stanton started photographing people in NYC. He says:
“HONY resulted from an idea that I had to construct a photographic census of New York City. I thought it would be really cool to create an exhaustive catalogue of the city’s inhabitants, so I set out to photograph 10,000 New Yorkers and plot their photos on a map. I worked for several months with this goal in mind. But somewhere along the way, HONY began to take on a much different character…”

Doing Something Differently
Watch a video of an architectural photographer as he captures his work – differently. Back to traditional ways but on a digital platform, Nic does all his post processing “in the camera” while shooting – dodge, burn, etc. Thanks to reader Jonathan B. for the link!

I like it!

… All worth a visit.

#921 Photo/Arts Awards and Other News

Posted on March 14, 2013 by admin

We started this feature a few weeks back – some posts discovered from photo sources I like to check on the ‘net.

This week I found:
• France Rivet’s Polar Horizons research (& photo project) of five Innuit featured in European zoos 132 years ago: “In the footsteps of Abraham Ulrikab.” We’re especially proud – France Rivet is a graduate of our ProProgram!

• Hasselblad photo award (worth $big) awarded to Catalan photographer Joan Fontcuberta for his “30-year achievement of constantly investigating and questioning the photographic medium” according to Photo District News.

• Canada Council for the Arts announces the Governor General’s Awards in Visual & Media Arts.

Congratulations all round!!