How Much Is A Good Photo Worth To Your Safety?

Boy, it’s been so darn hot where I live in the southern part of Australia (Victoria) , its so hard to concentrate on work! Forget the camera and taking photos, I can't even go outside its too hot. Just gimme air conditioning and ice cream! No actually, just let me lie in a bath of ice cubes....that might cool me down.

Am I exagerating? The other week is was 43.8 C which is the hottest day on record since the 1880's. (Thats around 106-110F.) And 43.8 C bouncing off city concrete roads, pavements, brick houses and tin sheds just isn't funny. Its too hot even if you're a "Summer person" like I am.

Fires, or "bushfires" as we call them in Australia, really freaks us Aussies out. The trouble with heat in Australia is that is causes these uncontrollable bushfires in so many country regions. (That’s what happens when you get a couple of 40 degree Celsius days on a row-that’s about 106 F with hot, dry winds). I don't mean just little fires, I mean raging monsters that burn peoples houses down, burn animals alive, ruin crops, whipe businesses out of existance and destroy everything in its path for miles and miles.

Its not just Victoria that gets nasty monsters like this. Its NSW (the state where Sydney is) and those poor guys suffer just as much as country Victoria does.

Right now, there are 600 heroic Fire-fighters trying to control a 300 km fire in Victoria. These amazing guys work day and night to the point of exhaustion. These guys sometimes loose their lives. Can you imagine how tough that would be for the families?

And the temp doesn't go back to a nice 28 degress (85 F), it stays up at 33C, 35C, etc. That means it goes from about 106F to about 95Fand doesn't give us any releif. Then more fires start. Sometimes by sick people who think its funny, and most by natural heat combustion and increases in the bushland areas.

Before things got out of control in a small region of my state, Mick Davson, a nice young chap from the country has sent me photos of his work. He actually managed to capture some images of a fire raging near our city. As it turns out he wasn't supposed to get that close, (he didn't know at the time) but the shots were amazing. You can't help but look at them with sadness and awe. (Sadness at the destruction, awe at the how powerful nature can be.)

(They are all his work, which means they are copyrighted, so if you want to use them you must ask him first. Contact me and I will email him your email to discuss any commercial ventures. Thank you for respecting his wishes.)

If you have the opportunity to photograph something like a fire, a storm or something that has potential safety issues then please, be wise. Do what Mick did and stand a safe distance a way, take your photo and leave. I know some photography nuts (like me) will do almost anything to get a good shot but don't be crazy about it. If your safety is at risk forget the photo. You can't take pictures if you are injured, or worse.

Do what Mick did and be sensible. With fire especially its not only the flames that hurt you, its radiant heat and falling embers. I should know, my mother lives near these fire stricken areas. She's okay, but does give me the "update" most days at the moment. Its me that worries about her!

I emailed Mick and asked him if I could add these pictures in the blog to share with you. The photos are such a good capture of what parts of our state look like from a non-media persons perspective. A big thanks to Mick, for letting me share his work.

And to answer the question; "How Much Is A Good Photo Worth To Your Safety?" The answer is "it isn't". Your safety is the most paramount thing. Good on you Mick for being smart AND getting some good pictures.

Mick took these pictures at Victoria's east. Anakie, near Geelong. If you want to see a picture from the media here in Victoria then have a look at the photo at the bottom. It was taken from http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk. And for the real story and more excellent photos go to;
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au. (It's our city papers website.)

Cheers,
Amy

Fast Actions Shots In Low Light

You know recently I have been getting a few requests to please help with fast action shots indoors. I remember when I too was frustrated with not being able to get a response from professional photographers about this situation. They were always so elusive with how they conducted themselves out on the field and what they did to get a certain effect.

So now I'm going to tell you about how to master this. Do you want the good news or the bad news first?

Okay good news is that yes it is possible. Bad news is that you do need a good camera with manual controls to do it. Now since you have already bought the ebook I am assuming that you have either a point and shoot camera or an slr. Either way, its better than a cheap camera that does nothing.

Okay good, so we got that established.

The secret is this: the reason fast action shots look blurry is normally because they are taken in level of low light, such as an indoor basketball stadium for example. What happens is the camera, if left on auto, automatically adjusts itself to low light levels, which means a slower shutter speed. A slower shutter speed occurs the camera needs time to get in as much light as possible due to this low level of light. Its great from the cameras point of view, but really, its annoying and disappointing.

So what can be done about it?

Well firstly, increase that shutter speed. You may notice an increase in digital noise but it will only be slight so don't worry about it. After all its probably worth it for that 'golden' photo you are trying to get.

Its going to be hard getting more light into the camera, because usually you'll be too far away for the flash to work appropriately anyway. This is why your shutter is the first consideration.

Something that might help further is this: Shot 1- take the shutter at a certain speed, shot 2- increase the shutter speed one notch, shot 3 then increase it again, and so on and so forth. If you have the patience and inclination, write down on a note pad exactly what shutter speed shot 1 was at, what shot 2 was at, etc. Then when you view the images on your computer later that night you will have the settings writing down so you know what shutter speed worked the best. Then you can apply that to other situations too.

So relax and work with what you've got. Increase the shutter speed or increase the light.

Best,
Amy

Picture courtesy of vb.game-host.com

A Tribute To New Orleans

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

A Tribute To New Orleans

No doubt no you've heard of the tradgic loss that New Orleans has suffered over the past week. Many people have lost homes, families, friends, and everything they own. To honour New Orleans as a wonderfully diverse city that it was- and will be again one day- I would like to share my photos of New Orleans taken a few years ago. Please post your pictures in here to, to honour the people of this wonderful city.

I have some black and white traditional shots (yes with film, remember film?) and I will get them transfered into digital images for posting up on this blog.

I think it is important to do this because we don't know whenNew Orleans will be the same fun loving city that it was- not for a while any way. So keep the people in your hearts and prayers and put your pictures up as a tribute to them and the place they call home.

Keep smiling,
Amy

Sunday, August 21, 2005

The Problem With Travel Photography

Hi lovely people,

I spoke not long ago about travel photography. I'd like to discuss a particulary problem with travel photography, and it's not with the camera, its with us.

One thing that you might notice whilst travelling is the lighting differences between the place you are visting and home. Your digital camera 'light settings' will still be set to where you came from, not where you are when you are travelling to.

Recently I went London and discovered something very important. I had my trusty Sony set to an E/V of 1.0+. This really means, in English, that I had the eye of the camera adjusted to reduce some light because light here in Australia is so bright. I realised what a bright environment we live in down under when I went overseas. In a nutshell I had my camera set to Australian 'light settings', not UK 'light settings.' Its not really called a 'light setting', but I'll use that term for the purpose of simplicity.

(You need sunglasses every time you go outside, where I live, even in the winter. Complaining? Not a chance! I do love the light in this country.)

When I got to London I looked at the veiwfinder and everything looked really dark. I was confused at first but had a theory. So I took a few test shots to try out my theory. I was right I had the camera on the wrong setting for London light. My first test shots I focused the camera at the brightest part of the object I was taking and took the shot. As a result my pictures came out either too bright or too dark.

"Excellent!" I said to myself at Trafalgar Square, "That's right then." In my Aussie accent- which I didn't think I had an accent by the way! (Just kidding.)

I then took the E/V up to 1.7+ and got the right shots. I got the right shots because I adjusted the amount of light that was coming into the camra. And to me, coming from such a bright place and going to London to me, seemed a darker place generally. Not bright, glary light like Melbourne. However this light is fanatstic for digital photography if you have filtered light like this. In Australia we are costantly ranting "the polariser! the polariser!" But in London, at times, I could get away with not having it on the camera at all.

So please remember the first thing you do with that digital when you are travelling is to look at what you have the camera set to to accept new lighting conditions . You may need to adjust the apeture if you are going from one continent and one season to another. Each season has a differnt light and varies from country to country.

Have a great day.

Amy Renfrey
www.digitalphotographysucess.com

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Denis, You must be Austalian, you're using my language! I'm very pleased you like the ebook. And thank you Marguerite for adding your lovely feedback too, I'm very glad you like it as well. I spend a few months writing the book and refused to release it until I was certain I had everything in it. But please, if there is something, anything at all, please leave a message here on the blog and I'll answer your question.

I'm always learning. I think its important to see your photography this way to retain a sense of excitment and stimulation about it. And really the best thing you can do in your photography is be as creative as you like. And this will give you confidence with it and a direction you can follow.

My cat here, who is now a celebrity (I'm positive she knows it) because of the eBook is another thing that maks photography worthwile. I swear out of the corner of my eye I see her roll her eyes when I whip out the camera again- then when I look she is looking so innocent.

Oh and one more thing, I'm investigation what the Nikon D50's are like. I'm doing a bit of research and nutting out somethings about it. So I will let you know what I find. Getting a great camera is worth while as long as you don't have to mortgage your house to do it!

I'm just putting the finishing touches on the black and white photography ebook. So if you are interested in B&W then 1) don't use my picture of the church as an example and 2) let me know and I'll put you on my special Black & White VIP list and you'll get it for a special price.

The website will be up soon for you to look at. It's not quite ready yet!

Amy

Thursday, August 11, 2005

Thanks Everyone

Thanks everyone for adding your pictures and contributing.

Since Gary has taken some good travel pics, over the next few weeks why don't we add our travel pictures? I know that everyone has been away at some stage and it would be good to share them and comment on them.

Okay here goes......

This was taken in Christchurch New Zealand on my recent travels in June 2005. This place is called "Cathedral Square." On my camera I set the E/V at 1.3 and shot in B&W. I've got a real thing for B&W, especailly Churches in B&W.

I am not sure if I need to crop the bottom slightly for composition, what do you think?

Amy

Monday, August 08, 2005

Adding Pictures

Okay I'm now seeing if adding this picture works....... I'll just grab anyone to try it.

tesing, fingers crossed.....

Hey it worked. Gary, you are a legend! I didn't say it'd be a GOOD photo! This ones' overexposed, but at least I know we can all add photos in here!

Cheers,

Amy :)

Monday, August 01, 2005

A Very Warm Welcome!

Hello Photographic Enthusiasts!

Thank you for stopping by. It's lovely to have you here.

I thought I would start a blog and put some great articles in for you to read for no charge, on how to improve your digital photography in easy ways.

I've got some great stuff I'm going to post in here such as:

Getting better indoor shots
Taking that perfect picture of your pet (good if you are as in love with your animals as I am!)
Handy ideas for digital printing
Editing digital photos

....and a lot more!

I'd love to hear your thoughts on what you want to know about, so please leave me a post and also get to know your fellow photographers. Also if you've got some cool tips you have found that work well, please share them. You are very welcome.

And yes, please, post your pictures for me to review, for others and myself to enjoy or for some positive improvement feedback. I'll also be putting some pictures in here of my recent travels to Hong Kong, London and New Zealand in the next few weeks.

I'll also be doing another eBook on Travel Photography in the next month or two, keep your eyes out for that one! Also I'll be bringing out an eBook on Flower Photography, Black and White Photography For Enthusiasts and People Photography. All on digital of course.

I've developed a series of digital images called "The World Up Close." It'll have abstract, black and white, colour, sepia shots and much more. (I could have titled it the "What The Hell IS that?" Series, but I thought I'd better be professional.......After all we're artists, don't let anyone tell you otherwise! :) And who says we can't have a sense of humour with our photography?)

And please post some pictures for everyone to see. So that you can share your photos with the world, or just other digital photography enthusiasts. By the way ALL photos posted in this blog are copied righted to the artist who took them. And be honest, if you see a picture you like, just email and ask to use it. Always get permission first.

Enjoy and be creative!

Have a great day,

Amy Renfrey :)

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