It's A Small World

by Adrian Rachele This is the ultimate question for thousands of people of whom are switching to digital and for those that are upgrading from their compact or bridge camera’s. Seeing i myself never owned a film SLR, i can not speak for the film buffs. Although those that do use SLR’s, most will stick to the same brand, as they most likely have a range of lens they already invested in. Which brings us to the first topic. Lenses You may have a camera, or brand for you new DSLR in mind, just because it has all the bells and whistles you want. But before you make your decision, first have a look at what lenses are available, and at what price. Lens choice is not on peoples minds when choosing to upgrade from compact or bridge camera’s. The main reason being the lens was fixed, so there is no choice. So why start now? Because you are about to make a huge investment in your camera, and once you have made a choice on brand, you pretty much stay with that brand, because of the huge investment you will eventually make in lenses. Nonsense, i hear you scream. Yes, nonsense if you have the cash. But who has that sort of cash. Most of us do not. Today though, unlike in the past, if you had a Canon camera, you were limited (pretty much) to Canon lenses. Today you can choose from Tamron, Sigma & Tokina. Other brands are available, but lets stick to the affordable models. These three companies make models to suit all DSLR cameras, but you must check your choice of lens against your make and model of camera. Nearly all lenses by these lens manufacturers are compatible with Nikon and Canon, but even then, check the lens is compatible with your specific Canon/Nikon make of camera. Although there are the budget models, each DSLR manufacturer have their own lens range. These lenses are typically of a better quality, but not always. OK. What lenses will i need? Lens choice is not only about the wallet, but about the style of photography. For the landscape photographer, a good wide angle (10-50mm range) lens is a must. Do you love taking pictures of animals, a telephoto zoom (100-600mm range) is for you. Love being up close, a macro lens would be preferable. Just need it for around town or on holidays, a good standard zoom (18-200mm range) is very handy. You may not consider a fixed lens at first, but i have no doubt in the future you will purchase one. Why? Because they are ultimately better quality. You pay much more for good zoom lenses, for convenience, than you do for a top quality fixed lens (generally). So have a quick look at the range and prices of the fixed lenses also. When you think you have made your choice Lastly, have a look at the second hand market in your country. I know here in the UK, and in the US, there is a large second hand lens market. Not only is there an abundance of stores selling second hand goods, but sites like Ebay are flooded with them. So check them out also. So what did i do. I chose the Nikon D80 as my first DSLR. It is compatible with many old lenses (give or take), and Nikon at the time was the only manufacturer of a 18-200mm lens. I do most of my photography on the move, and when travelling, so this was the perfect first lens for me. Now you can also get these types of lenses from Tamron (18-200mm & 18-250mm) and Sigma (18-200mm). I also have other Nikon Lenses. The 14-24mm f4 (for landscape and architectural photography), 35-70mm f2.8 (for a sharp wander around town lens) and the 24mm f2.8 & 50mm f1.8 (for portraits and parties). / —-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-——- Please check out the author’s great portfolio of work here

by Dana DiPasquale Tip 1. The more the better. For every photograph you think you have taken perfectly, even after looking at it in your LED display, take 20 more at the same and different angles. You really never know the quality of the image until you can see it on a larger computer screen or printed. Better to have too many good shots when you get home than none. / / Vintage Series by Dana DiPasquale Tip 2. Bring your camera everywhere. Start thinking of it like your cell phone and carry it with you wherever you can. You never know when something seemingly simple will strike you as a possible photograph. Start looking at everything in your life as having potential to be something. A walk to the grocery store, that old dilapidated building you pass by everyday, and your parking space could produce new things you never noticed before. / / P4 by Dana DiPasquale / / Window into Budapest by Adrian Rachele Tip 3. Try not to center your subject. Consider the basic compositional rule known as the “rule of thirds”. Use an imaginary grid to divide your frame into 9 blocks, three across and three down. Objects should sit on one of the intersection points like the end of the pier in the photograph below. / / End of the Day by Debbie Black Tip 4. Occasionally center your subject. If you are taking an image where perspective is important, such as down a long hallway, place the opening at the end of the tunnel in the middle of your frame. This will give each wall equal weight and importance. / / The Journey II by Melanie McQuoid Tip 5. Try not to center your horizons. Again, using the rule of thirds, horizons should fall along one of the grid lines. / / The Old Milk Shed by Adriana Glackin Tip 6. Occasionally center your horizons. The exception to the rule of thirds is when you are photographing a scene and its reflection in water. To give equal importance and demonstrate the symmetry of the scene, a centered horizon is preferable in this scenario. / / Water Lily by Tamara Mason Tip 7. Straighten your lines. Make sure your horizons are perfectly straight. Any image with strong lines in it should have all lines perfectly horizontal or perfectly vertical. Otherwise, it is like having a picture hanging on your wall that you want to keep straightening. Although it is always best to straighten these things when you are taking the photo, many graphic editing programs have tools which can help you adjust any skewed lines. / / Unhinged #2 by Faith Hunter Tip 8. Extreme diagonals. If you have a situation where you cannot straighten the lines (maybe the wood is warped and not joining at a precise 90 degree angle or you have no choice but to stand at an odd angle from your subject), try for a very dramatic angle instead. / / Above Series 6.0 by Dana DiPasquale Tip 9. Working with shadows and light. If you are using a point and shoot camera it will be very difficult to work with extreme differences in light. Your camera will likely have a hard time judging the proper exposure required so that the details in the dark area can be seen as clearly as the details in the light area. It is best to use manual settings, like in the photo below, or avoid these lighting conditions if possible. This is why early morning and late day light is better than mid-day. / / Abstract Orange by lallymac Tip 10. Notice your surroundings. Try to keep your backgrounds clean and simple so that your subject stands out as the focus. If you are taking a photo of a specific tree and there are tons of like colored leaves in your background it is unlikely your tree will stand out and have much impact. Another alternative is to make sure there is a big contrast in shade between your subject and background. A light colored subject will stand out against a dark background and vice-versa. / / Retired by Miron Abramovici Tip 11. Colors and contrast. Remember that your camera will never be able to see exactly what you see. This is both because a camera lens is not the same as your eye and because we interpret the image and its meaning in our brain, which can affect how we see the image. Don’t be afraid to use a graphic editing program to increase the contrast and/or color saturation a bit – just don’t go overboard or it may look like a cartoon. / / Harmony by Leah Highland / / Subservient by Suse Tip 12. A different point of view. Most casual photographers fall into the rut of taking images that are common or expected. Try looking at things from a new angle. See what the same object looks like when you are laying on the floor or up on a ladder, an unexpected point of view. This can make photographs of common things more interesting and make the viewer ask ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ / / Waiting to Say Goodbye by Dana DiPasquale Tip 13. Sunsets, cats and flowers. These are probably the most common images taken by the casual photographer. While some may be beautiful, most may only be special to you. As these items are so common, you must really have the patience to wait for it to be such an incredibly unique shot that it will blow others away. For example, wait on that sunset photo until you have an interesting sky just like just before a storm. Take that photo of a flower to show off something different and unique about it – maybe its structure instead of the more common shot of its colors. / / Favored by Nikki Trexel / / Echinacea Dark Dreams by Karri Klawiter Tip 14. A range of tones. The best black and white images (or sepia/duotone) are those that have a range of tones – and by that I mean dark blacks to bright whites and everything in between. If you image does not have this then I would suggest keeping it in color or it may look flat. / / The Shack by Dana DiPasquale Tip 15. Color vs black and white. Color images are likely to show off vibrancy whereas black and white images are likely to emphasize shapes, structures, and specific subjects. Monochrome images can also convey emotion and mood. If trying to create a somber mood, try sepia. / / The Last Goodbye by myoriginalsin Tip 16. Chopping off parts. Be careful when composing your image to not create a situation where it appears you have cut off someone’s legs or ear. The same goes for objects. This does not mean the entire object or subject needs to be photographed but don’t leave off little odds and ends if you are photographing a majority of it. It is always better to take the picture zoomed out and crop it later to your liking than to go home and be stuck with a missing body part. Tip 17. Cramped subjects and negative space. The space around your subject is considered negative space. Where you place your subject in the frame will affect the negative space and the appearance of how cramped your subject may appear. Try not to have the subject take up 95% of the frame and only have 5% negative space. This will make the subject appear stuffed into a tight box. Also try to have an equal amount of negative space on at least 2 sides of the subject. For example, if your subject is in the top right of the frame, the distance from the subject to the top and the distance from the subject to the right edge of the frame should be equidistant. If you have followed the rules of thirds and place the image at the intersection point, this will occur naturally. / / Strength by Caroline Gorka Tip 18. To Flash or Not to Flash. In general, a flash on most point and shoot cameras may be too harsh and wash out your scene. If you cannot switch to manual modes or use external lighting sources, you can try diffusing the light from the flash by wrapping it with tissue or parchment paper. This will help reduce harsh shadows and bright spots caused by the flash. Most images which appear as thoughtless snapshots instead of a work of art are the result of poor lighting conditions. / / Finding Wild Flowers by Jennifer Woodward Tip 19. Positioning of portraits. Portraits taken straight on with the subject looking into the camera appear documentary. When the subject is looking away, they can appear more candid and omnipotent. If you take a photograph looking up at someone, he or she will appear dominating or powerful. If taken looking down on someone, the subject appears vulnerable. / / Another World by Mark German / / reflections.2 by Jan Cain Tip 20. Be adventurous. No, you don’t have to climb Mount Everest to get an interesting photograph, and you don’t have to be on vacation and take the usual scenic images. Try looking at everyday objects in new ways: the lines of a set of stairs in the Bahamas, a desolate road on your way to work, a simple rock in a Hawaiian stream, a fork in your kitchen drawer, a single tree branch in a national forest, the tattered shoelaces of a little boy, a single window of a 117 foot lighthouse. / / Tines by Dana DiPasquale / / Double Vision by Tom Vaughan / / Quiet Barn by Karri Klawiter / / The View by Dana DiPasquale

So you’ve finally installed your copy of Photoshop CS2, the one your friends have been raving about for months now and telling you how good it is and how you won’t be able to live without it. Yet, once installed, you can’t make heads or tails out of it? The language seems so foreign and you have no idea just where to start. Here are 10 very basic tips on getting to know and love Photoshop CS2 – you’ll see that in no time, you’ll agree that your friends are right on this one – you won’t be able to live without it! Let’s begin: / 1. When you open up an image for the first time, make a copy of that image and give it a name. Then promptly close the original image so that you have a record of it. To do this, simply go to the “layers” panel, right click on the background image and then select “duplicate layer” and select “new” in the destination bar. It’s good practise to do this each and every time, so that you maintain a record of the images in their original format, to those that have been edited. 2. Digital cameras use their sensors to see the images we see with our eyes. Sometimes images captured with our cameras aren’t as we remember them. That’s because no matter how sensitive the sensor, they’re still no match for our own eyes. To try and replicate the image we saw with our own eye, we need to tweak the levels, the contrast and the colour. When you’re just starting out, simply select “image” from the toolbar, go to “adjustments”, then select auto levels, auto contrast, and auto colour. You can always undo these steps in the history panel. And when you get more comfortable with PS, you’ll be able to tweak the levels, contrast and colour yourself from that same “adjustment” menu. 3. Is the photo still lacking that little something? Perhaps you need to apply “curves” to it. No, it won’t warp it into something unrecognisable (unless you want it to…) curves will simply help with the tonal range of your image. If your image is lacking contrast, it could be that the curve is a little flat. To remedy this go to “image” in the drop down menu, select “adjustment” then “curves”, a graph will display and you will want to make that line follow an “S” shape. As you’re tweaking it, watch the changes on your image, then simply select ok when you’re done. / 4. Now, speaking of warping images. You’ve taken that perfect shot of that sunset. Compositionally it’s perfect, the colours to die for, but your horizon is crooked. Do you delete the image? No, of course not! Do you live with the image as is? No, of course not! To correct something like a crooked horizon line, go to “Select” in the toolbar, select ‘all” – you should have marching ants surrounding your image (hoorah!), go to “edit” in the toolbar and select “transform” from the menu. Now you have a selection of different methods of transforming your image – and it will depend what you want to do with it as to which method you choose. For this example, let’s select “skew”, then use your cursor to straighten up that horizon. When you’re done, just hit enter, the computer will have a think and you’re done. 5. If you’re still not sure whether that horizon is straight or you simply want to see if you’re following the “rule of thirds”, then go to “view” in your toolbar, select “show” then “grid” – these gridlines will tell you just how straight the lines in your image really are. / / 6. Get to know and love “Layers”. That is the one big mystery that catches beginners in PS time and time again. I’m sure volumes can be written about Layers alone, as they are crucial in turning an ordinary image into a WOW image. Layers means that you can divide your creation into different parts by assigning these parts to different layers. Different “layer effects” can be applied that can enhance your image, and you can blend more than one image together to create a totally new image – this is all possible by using layers. If I have an image of a flower and the background isn’t especially pleasing, then I can create a layer, position this above the flower image, select a brush and colour of my choice and begin to paint on that new blank layer. You haven’t destroyed the flower image, and any excess painting can simply be erased. Which brings me to the next point, 7. Make “Layer Masks” your next best friend to using layers. Using the analogy of painting a more interesting background for your flowers, there is an icon in your layers palette – the circle in a square, select that icon and you will see it will appear on the layer you had active. Making sure that the mask is the active of the two images on that layer, now select the “eraser” tool and make sure that the colour selection in your toolbox is set to black and white. White will erase what you have painted, and the black will add the paint back again. What this means, is that you won’t lose the image as it stands. There is nothing worse than making changes, finding you don’t like them, then finding you have to start all over again as the history panel has only gone back so far. Using layers and layer masks will help save a lot of time and effort, as what they do is act as a record for each editing change you make on your image. 8. Again discussing layers, don’t be afraid to select a choice other than “normal” when applying layers. One effect that is popular and creates a dreamy, diffused effect to your image, is the “Orton Effect”. To do this, you will need to duplicate your background image. Now with your duplicate, go to your “filters” toolbar and select “blur” then “Gaussian blur”, depending on your image and the effect, choose any number of pixels here. The greater the pixels, the more diffused and exaggerated the effect. Select ok, then go to the layers panel, select “multiply” and you now have a soft, dreamy, moody image. Selecting other effects such as overlay, soft light, hard light and so on will yield you different results, so have a play with the effects. You can always tone it down by moving the slider from 100% opacity to a lower amount. 9. Could your images use a little more sharpness to them? There are several ways of sharpening your image, but for me the easiest and most effective is the “High Pass” method. Begin with your background image, then duplicate. Go to the “filters” toolbar and select “other” from the drop down menu, then select “high pass”. Here is where you don’t want to overdo it. Only select between 1 and 2 pixels for a realistic look. The image shown should be quite grey with only the sharpest areas highlighted. Select ok, then in the layers palette, select “overlay” and your image is now sharper and crisper. If you still want to retain some areas that aren’t as crisp, simply apply a layer mask and erase the part of the high pass image you don’t want (remember to make sure you’re erasing the mask, and not the image). 10. Lastly, don’t be afraid to explore and play with his wonderful program – it has so much to offer, that these 10 basic steps really don’t even do it justice, but they’re a way to slowly introduce you to the joys of Photoshop. Keep a pen and notebook beside you so that you can record your steps and discoveries – there’s nothing worse than trying to remember exactly what you did last time. / Most importantly, have fun, enjoy and create!

A very funny interview conducted by shawhouse about The Gift of Art contributor, Faith Hunter. / Our featured artist is Faith Hunter, an immensely gifted photographer and a woman of wide and varied interests. Faith claims with no little pride that she can “cook while barefoot and pregnant,” an impressive feat of multitasking that we advise the reader to accept, along with all you will read here, as (damned right I’m going to say it) an article of Faith. Ms. Hunter is also an admirably unrepentant “long-term layabout and dilettante,” traits warmly embraced by a vast majority of redbubble habitués and elevated to quasi-religious status by the rest of us. I recently sat down with Faith to ask her a few questions about her craft. For the record, we reside in different countries, so the following interview was conducted via email, but this correspondent was sitting down while banging out the questions and anyone of reasonable temperament would have to assume that Faith was seated as well for the answers. Who knows, maybe even laying about. How long have you been practicing photography? / I’m still practicing. / I was always intrigued by photography but thought it was some mysterious dark art I could never aspire to understand. About twenty years ago I got brave and bought a secondhand Pentax K1000 as I’d read that this was the best way to start and learn. I shot off a roll of film and had it developed, my only criteria being that I had read in a book that 125 was the exposure to aim for. The guy who developed it for me remarked that almost every short had ‘’perfect exposure’. The fact of having achieved something while not really understanding how I’d managed it do it let alone why I should or what it meant terrified me and I gave up photography for quite a long time! I started again in 2002, undertaking a Photography course conducted in Dutch with the same old Pentax K1000. I figured if nothing else the course would be good for my Dutch! I understood more than I expected and was also a bit surprised at what I seemed to be able to do with DOF once it had been explained to me but the camera didn’t last the course and I had to drop out, cameraless, after only one session in a darkroom. Since getting my Canon 300D I have become an obsessive photo-taker, albeit more sporadic as other aspects of life keep getting in the way. What was your first camera, and how have you progressed with respect to photographic equipment? / My first camera was a Kodak instamatic thingy that I begged my parents to buy me for my 16th birthday. No sooner did I have it than I realised it’s limitations and stopped using it out of frustration. Several years later I saved up and bought myself a second-hand Pentax K1000. This lasted me until 2002 (almost twenty years!) when the mechanism for winding the film on started failing. After a couple of repairs jobs that cost more than the camera was worth I bought a Canon Powershot G2, as it would allow my husband to use the fully automatic functions and me to use it manually. I loved this camera but missed an SLR. Luckily, by the time the G2 was stolen a couple of years later, the Digital SLR’s had become much more accessible and the insurance covered the cost of a Canon 300D. So you can see progression has been slow and painful! I have meant to buy more lenses and I would love to upgrade my camera, I have also collected a couple of old cameras that I intend to ‘play’ with one day but as I feel I still haven’t even started to push the boundaries of what I have I also don’t feel a great sense of urgency about these things. I know I could be doing heaps more just with what I have! As for Photoshop I have CS2 and again, I am only scratching the surface in terms of what I get out of it. I have done one intermediate PS course but it’s more a question of finding the time to spend actually using and exploring with it. What is your favorite subject to photograph (and why)? / I would take a photo of pretty much anything. At the moment I seem a bit obsessed by the laneways around our house. I tend to find myself ‘obsessed’ not so much by a subject as a technique or effect. I guess at the moment I really love the idea of textures in photos, I often shoot using very high ISO settings because I like the grain (and the blur!) and I love very rich tones and being able to create different spaces within a photo. One obsession I did develop from using the Powershot (with the flip-out-and-rotate-viewscreen) was that of taking photos from closer to the ground. I developd the habit of using the Powershot at hip level and when I moved on to the 300D and bought it up to my eye was instantly disapointed. Everything at eye-level looked so bland! Since then I have spent an inordinate amount of my photo-taking time on my knees or (much to my husband’s amusement) lying on the ground, often a gutter somewhere in Europe! The 4 year old has learnt to ignore me and ‘pretend you don’t know her’ although more recently he is joining me with a little Canon digital. Do you have a favorite image in your own gallery? What is it, and why is it your favorite? / I don’t at the moment as they are all a bit ‘not finished’ in my eyes. If I had to pick one it would be Yellow #1. It just seems the closest to ‘finished’ / But if you ask me in five minutes time that would change. If you were to die and come back as a tree, what tree would you be (and why?) / I’d love to be a Jacaranda. Have you ever done anything extreme to get that “ultimate shot” – or have you traveled anywhere remote to take photographs? / No, except, as I mentioned, that I have probably spent more time lying in gutters or on pavements than might be considered normal. Actually, considering the volume of dog poo on the pavements of Amsterdam that is quite extreme after all. If you were to die and come back as a beverage, can I have your photographic equipment (and why not)? / Now that you’ve read about it do you want my photographic equipment? Have you got your own website, if so what is the url and how long have you had it? / I have several but none of them have anything to do with photography really. / Vaguelyspecific.com is a personal blog in various states of disrepair. / Faithslist.com is my ‘professional’ site and has been focused on translation and writing. I have only started re-vamping it to include some photography very recently but it still needs a lot of work, don’t look! Which image from my body of work has most inspired you? Take as long as you need. / But you said I only had five days? ;-) / At the moment I really like this Are you a member of Gift of Art? What would you say to help promote the charity account? / Yes. / I don’t know that I can add a lot, there are other people involved who are more eloquent on the subject. I do however think that harnessing something as powerful as art to assist in raising funds reflects some very important things that people too easily forget these days. That art does speak about the human condition and that this does still involve illness, loss, sadness and grief as well as many very inspiring and wonderful things. Art is one of the ways we can learn to live with and resolve all these aspects so it seems very fitting that we use it as a tool to raise people’s awareness. Do these pants make me look fat? / Yes, but I can photoshop it out. Is there anything you would like to add about A Photographer’s Craft group, Rebubble in general, or anything else? / I’m still in the honeymoon phase with RedBubble and find that compared to a lot of other similar sites it manages to straddle a space that includes accessibility and a positive atmosphere while also maintaining a standard of quality that is inspiring. Groups like A Photographer’s Craft refelect exactly this and that is why I am very happy to be a part of it. I can see so many people here from whom I can learn so much! Would you ever buy stolen photographic equipment? What do you need? / Of course not! …. What have you got?

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