President’s Report

October Fun, friendship and Learning

OFFICE BEARERS President: Trevor Faulkes Events Organiser: Narelle Howard Vice President: Gail Douglas Secretary: John Van Rijswijk Shutterbug: Gail Douglas Treasurer: John Van Rijswijk Publicity: Narelle Howard

Buy, Swap, Sell

Presidents monthly report Hi Everyone, I trust you are all well and still following the Covid requirements. The annul Photo Challenge was postponed due to bad weather however the following weekend was dry and warm and although the turn out was low everyone said they had fun following the clues. Lunch was taken at the Golf Club. We will be judging the photo's at the August meeting. Schedules have been sent out for this years CFX. If you have not received one please contact John, Gail or myself. We are planning on running a couple of weekends on matting as soon as we have a date we will send out the details. Regards Trevor

Next meeting is the Subject/challenge is— Landscapes Just a note. Can members please bring a prize for the club night raffle (under $10.00). ______________________________________________

UPCOMING EVENTS No outings until further notice. The Battle with England has been judged. England won this year. The AGM will be held over to a later date. Hopefully November. We will have to see how the virus and lock-down treats us.

A GRADE – Subject— 1st – 2nd – HC – C – A GRADE – Open 1st - 2nd - HC - C – JUNIORS— Open 1st - 2nd - HC - C - C - JUNIORS – Subject— 1st – 2nd – HC - C – LARGE PRINT 1st - 2nd - Please note the change in the club competition: B Grade will be suspended. A Grade only subject/challenge and open class. Meta Data to written on back of photo. Junior and large print remain unchanged. Subject/challenge to be announced at previous meeting and included in Shutterbug. All photos must be taken within one month of comp. Photos must be sole work of entrant. Member must present photo in person or via a sibling only. Monthly comp to be judged/critiqued by guest presenter. Print sizes and presentation to remain unchanged.

Results —Camera Club Comp

12 Tips to Help You Capture Stunning Landscape Photos

By: Kav Dadfar

Whether you are an experienced photographer or just getting started, the amazing landscape photographs you see have all got a few things in common. The reality of landscape photography is that not only are you reliant on your own ability and skill of seeing and composing an image, but also on Mother Nature. But regardless of whatever weather you encounter, there are countless opportunities to be able to capture spectacular landscape photographs.

Here are 12 tips that you can follow if you want to capture stunning landscape photos.

1. Location, location, location

Landscape photography is as much about planning as it is about the actual process of photography. You should always have a clear idea of where you are planning to go, and at what time of the day you will be able to capture the best photograph. Learn how to read maps, and understand how you can utilize them to find the perfect location. By planning your exact location, you will be able to maximize your time there, and ensure not only that you get to your location safely and in plenty of time, but also that you find your way back (usually after sun-set).

2. Be patient

It’s amazing the number of times that the elements conspire to ruin a perfectly composed photograph. Landscape photography requires pa-tience, just in case that white cloudy sky disperses just long enough to allow the sun to break through for you to take your shot. The key is to always allow yourself enough time at a location so that you are able to wait if you need to. Forward planning can also help you hugely, so make sure to check weather forecasts before leaving, maximizing your opportunity for the weather you require.

3. Don’t be lazy

One of the reasons we are often stunned by impressive landscape photos is because it is a view taken in a way that we have never seen before. A photo taken from the top of a mountain which requires a huge amount of time and effort to get to is a view that most people won’t get to see for themselves. So don’t rely on easily accessible viewpoints that everyone else can just pull up to and see. Instead, look for those unique spots (provided they are safe to get to) that offer amazing scenes, even if they require determination to get there.

4. Use the best light

Light is one of the most important factors in any photograph, but even more so in landscape photography. It really doesn’t matter how great the location, is or how you compose your photo – if the light doesn’t do the scene justice, then the image will fail. The best light for land-scape photography is early in the morning or late afternoon, with the midday sun offering the harshest light.

But part of the challenge of landscape photography is about being able to adapt and cope with different lighting conditions; for example, great landscape photos can be captured even on stormy or cloudy days. The key is to use the best light as much as possible, and be able to influence the look and feel of your photos with it.

12 Tips to Help You Capture Stunning Landscape Photos Cont)

5. Carry a tripod

Simply put, if you want to capture the best photographs, at the best time of the day, at the highest quality possible, then a tripod is an essential piece of equipment. Photography in low light conditions (e.g. early morning or early evening) without a tripod would require an increase in ISO to be able to avoid camera shake, which in turn means more noise in your images. If you want to capture a scene using a slow shutter speed or long exposure (for example, to capture the movement of clouds or water) then without a tripod you simply won’t be able to hold the camera steady enough to avoid blurred images from camera shake.

6. Maximize the depth of field

Choosing your depth of field is an important part of capturing stunning landscapes. Landscape photos usually require the vast majority of the photo to be sharp (the foreground and background) so you need a deeper depth of field than if you are taking a portrait of someone. But a shallower depth of field can also be a powerful creative tool if used correctly, as it can isolate the subject by keeping it sharp, while the rest of the image is blurred. As a starting point, if you are looking to keep the majority of the photo sharp, set your camera to Aperture Priority (A or Av) mode so you can take control of the aperture. Start at around f/8 and work up (f/11 or higher) until you get the desired effect.

7. Think about the composition

As much as possible you should always aim to get your composition right when taking the photo, rather than relying on post-production. If the scene doesn’t look right when you look at it through your viewfinder, then it won’t look good in the final output. There are several techniques that you can use to help your composition (such as the rule of thirds), but ultimately you need to train yourself to be able to see a scene, and analyse it in your mind. With practice this will become second nature, but the important thing is to take your time.

8. Use neutral density and polarizing filters

Neutral Density filters and polarisers are an essential piece of kit for any landscape photographer. Often you will need to manipulate the available light, or even try to enhance the natural elements. For example, if you are taking photos which include water, you may find you get unwanted reflections from the sun, which is where a polarizing filter can help by minimizing the reflections and also enhancing the colours (greens and blues). But remember, polarizing filters often have little or no effect on a scene if you’re directly facing the sun, or it’s behind you. For best results position yourself between 45° and 90° to the sun.

One of the other big challenges of landscape photography is getting a balanced exposure between the foreground, which is usually darker, and a bright sky. Graduated ND filters help to compensate for this by darkening the sky, while keeping the foreground brighter. This can be replicated in post-production, but it is always best to try and capture the photo as perfectly as possible in-camera.

.

12 Tips to Help You Capture Stunning Landscape Photos Cont)

9. Use the histogram

Histograms are an essential tool in photography, which you should aim to learn how to read and utilize the findings to im-prove your photos. A histogram is a simple graph that shows the different tonal distribution in your image. The left side of the graph is for dark tones and the right side of the graph represents bright tones.

For instance, if you find that the majority of the graph is shifted to one side, this is an indication that your photo is too light or dark (overexposed or underexposed). This isn’t always a bad thing, and some images work perfectly well either way. However, if you find that your graph extends beyond the left or right edge, this shows that you have parts of the photo with lost detail (pure black areas if the histogram extends beyond the left edge and pure white if it extends beyond the right edge). This is something you should avoid, so by seeing the evidence in the histogram, you are able to correct it by either recomposing the image or compensating for the exposure.

10. Never settle for a good photo

This is true of any photograph that you are taking. It doesn’t matter if it is a landscape or a portrait; if you can do it better, then you should. But often because of the time and effort that landscape photography requires, people settle for a good photo, rather than waiting or coming back to take a better one. You should always aim to photograph any-thing at the best possible time, in the best possible way, even if that means waiting or coming back later.

11. Shoot in RAW format

Simply put, if your camera is capable of capturing photos in RAW format, then I recom-mend that you always capture RAW files. They contain much more detail and informa-tion, and give far greater flexibility in post-production without losing quality. Remem-ber, you can always save RAW files in whatever other formats you require, but you will not be able to save JPEGs as RAW files, so ultimately you are limited to the quality at which the JPEG was shot.

12. Experiment

For all the techniques and rules that exist to help aid composition and the process of taking the photo, there is always room to experiment. Digital photography means that taking a photo isn’t wasting a negative (and costing money), so there is ample opportu-nity to break the rules and your own style sometimes. Even if the majority of the time it doesn’t work and the image doesn’t look great, every now and again you might uncover a gem.

Landscape photography is one of the most common genres that amateur and profes-sional photographers get into. With practice, hard work, and patience you can capture stunning landscape photos that will look great in your portfolio.

So come on, show us your great landscape shots.

Three Mistakes That Kill Image Quality (and How to Avoid Them)

By: Adam Welch

We all want to make the highest quality photographs we possibly can, right? Hopefully, you just gave a very slow yet very serious head nod in agreement to that statement.

There are a host of factors that play into the final quality of your digital images. Even the phrase “image quality” seems to be the best way to sum up all the pieces that have to come together for us to consider our photographs to be of high quality. Sharpness, composition, color balance and contrast are a few variables that jump to mind along with a multi-tude of others that we can and cannot control.

In this article, we’re going to look at three mistakes that you could very well be making with your photography right now which could be sabotaging your image quality before they ever leave your camera. Luckily, all of these mistakes are easily remedied once you realize they exist. Let’s get started.

Shooting “wide open” all the time

Make no mistake, from a lens standpoint, we live in an extraordinary time. Lens manufacturers have evolved to the point where we currently see extremely well-constructed optics with beautiful sharpness capable of shooting with relatively enor-mous apertures.

Not even a decade ago, you virtually could not find a “fast zoom” lens with a maximum aperture wider than F/4 for less than a $1,000US – at I least I never did.

Now, it has become blissfully common to acquire an outstanding F/2.8 or wider lens without taking out a second mortgage on your home.

This new age of lens evolution comes with a few caveats, though. Just be-cause your lens is a low-light beast capable of shooting at F/1.4, doesn’t mean that is an ideal aperture for every situation. You see, lenses have certain “optimum apertures” which provide the sharpest results for that particular lens.

In most cases, the widest aperture of your lens, while providing the best light gathering and arguably the best bokeh, is usually the worst optical setting for your lens. The widest aperture setting of your lens often makes nasty little image problems more apparent. Chromatic aberrations, edge softening, and vignetting all become more pronounced when you shoot wide open.

The solution:

Stop down your lens, even if it’s only by a stop or two. You’ll lose some light, but you will also likely see a markedly visible increase in image sharpness and overall quality. While it’s true that not all lenses are cre-ated equal (some show shockingly fantastic performance even at their widest apertures), the outcome will probably only become better if you stop down.

A good F/1.4 lens will be great at F/2.8 and likely outstanding at F/4. If you’re worried about losing that “creamy” bokeh, you may be surprised to see how little background blur you lose with a couple of stops on the wide end of your aperture. It depends on the relative distance of objects in the scene as much as it does on the aperture.

So if you’re suffering from a lack of sharpness and heavy vignetting try stopping down that lens and observe your results.

Three Mistakes That Kill Image Quality (and How to Avoid Them ( Cont)

Poor body mechanics

No matter your gear, conditions or subject matter, if your camera is moving unintentionally, then your images will likely never be as technically qualitative as they could be. Camera shake robs sharpness and can make an otherwise strong image unusable.

Some of us can naturally hold our cameras more steady than others. In-camera or in-lens image stabilization can help, and of course, a trusty tripod is always a good shooting companion.

All of those things aside, simply being conscious of your body mechanics can go a long way to improve the quality of your photographs. At the same time, a bad grip on the camera and poor bodily positioning can cost you a photo.

The solution:

Whenever you’re shooting handheld, be mindful of how your hands grip the camera and the position of your arms and legs. Keep a flat-footed stance with your legs about shoulder-width apart. If you’re using a DSLR or other inter-changeable lens camera, grip the camera body firmly with your right hand with your left supporting the lens. Also apply slight opposing pressure (push with the right, pull with the left). Tuck your arms in close to your body for maximum sta-bility.

This will work to help steady your shot. Along those same lines, gently press the shutter button instead of sharply pushing down, which can lead to the camera jerking.

Bonus tip:

Be mindful of a handy little formula called the “Reciprocal Rule.” This rule will help you approximate the slowest shutter speed based on your focal length to avoid moderate camera shake. The Reciprocal Rule is incredibly simple:

So, if you’re shooting with a 50mm lens, the slowest shutter speed you should use would be 1/50th of a second. Shooting at 100mm? Your slowest shutter speed should be 1/100th of a second and so on and so forth. This is not an ironclad rule but it is a highly practical one.

Three Mistakes That Kill Image Quality (and How to Avoid Them ( Cont)

Neglecting your settings

As simple as it sounds, not being cognizant of your camera’s set-tings is one of the most frustratingly preventable image quality killers that you will ever encounter. Consistently out of focus im-ages? Check that your viewfinder diopter is adjusted to your eye-sight – especially if you wear corrective lenses. Are your photos suddenly pixelated at high magnification? Make sure you haven’t accidentally changed your camera’s resolution (happens more than you might think) to a lesser megapixel count.

These are just a couple of points to consider, but there are many more. The bottom line is that if you aren’t continuously aware of what your gear is doing, not only are being a sloppy photographer, but you are also limiting yourself and your work for vir-tually no reason at all.

The solution:

Brace yourself for a huge surprise! Just kidding.

The easiest way to fix a neglectful mindset towards your shooting is to force yourself to remain vigilant. This means con-stant checks of your deep camera settings such as image and video resolution/format, camera firmware, and micro AF lens adjustments. Sure, keeping track of all these things isn’t an immersively fun experience, but neither are bad photographs.

Do yourself and your photos a favour and never fall into the trap of complacency when it comes to your camera’s settings.

Summing up…

We all could be better at doing the things we love. Each one of us, no matter how experienced or accomplished, will always make mistakes with our photography. The only way we can prevent those image quality mistakes from constantly occur-ring, and improve the quality of our photos is to make sure we are aware that anything is wrong in the first place. If you do not see the quality of images you would like, the first step towards finding out the problem is realising that there is one. From there it’s just a matter of working the problem until you resolve it or significantly mediate it.

Put the tips we’ve listed here to work, and you’ll see your image quality improving immediately.

Have you ever read Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers?

It’s a book on why experts become experts.

Why did Mozart become a child prodigy in music?

Why does an NBA player get so good at basketball?

Why did Ansel Adams become the best ever photographer?

Put in very simple terms, Gladwell’s researched opinion is that a certain type of practice that pushes a person’s boundaries is what makes somebody extraordinarily good at something.

10,000 hours of practice at pushing the boundaries of you knowledge of the thing you are practicing is key.

Now, there is a bit of debate about whether that number 10,000 is right and what the “right type of practice” actually is, but it’s pretty undeniable that that much practice in a way that pushes your boundaries is going to result in you being much better at the thing you’re practicing.

Where things get difficult (which Gladwell happily admits) is the quality of practice.

In photography that is doubly so. What do you practice to get better?

Twiddling a few settings while photographing your feet probably isn’t going to cut it.

You need to be photographing new genres in new ways. And you need to be doing it constantly.

That targeted, meaningful practice means those two main things in photography.

But how do you get across different photography genres quickly? A landscape photograph is very different to photograph-ing a child or macro bug.

And each has its quirks that you won’t know until you get a bit of experience under your belt in that genre.

One way to know them in advance is good old fashioned research.

Read a couple of blog posts, magazine articles or pick up a book.

But be specific.

Narrow down a particular shot type that you want to take (for example a window light portrait or a classic landscape).

Then start taking notes on that singular shot type. Pay attention to the obvious things you will need to know (and be sure to jot them down) like camera settings and lighting arrangements (sketch a light map if you can).

You will also want to take note of the “gotchas” in the shot type. For example, with a portrait you almost always want to shoot from the eye level of the subject. With a landscape you almost always want to shoot during golden hour. With a pet portrait, you will certainly need to consider avoiding distracting backgrounds and “freezing” the pet with shutter speed to avoid motion blur.

There are many gotchas for almost any type of photograph genre or classic shot.

As you work your way through these exercises you design for yourself, you will begin to see patterns. Recurring problems with the same solutions will pop up. You will begin to anticipate issues around new shots and genres.

It’s a rewarding process.

And it’s one that builds upon itself. The more of these genre shots you do, the better all round photographer you will be-come. It also increases the chances of you finding your real passion for a sub-genre of photography.

Meaningful practice.

It’s how you get better at photography.