Markham Village Art Show - 2008

The Markham Village Art Show is here again and it is becoming an almost summer tradition. I will be exhibiting/selling some of my photographs. I am planning to make 12" X 30" panoramics the centre of my contribution. The rest will be in 11"x16" but framed in 14" x 20" acid-free frames and materials.

There will be some other photographers and painters so, I cordially invite you to drop by to appreciate the local Markham artists.

I will update this announcement with the number of photos once I decide about it.

Conveying Space

Grasping the real life emotion of wide and majestic space within the limits of a small photo frame has always been a challenge. It could also be a great source of frustration that when you compare the resulting photo with the actual landscape or object and realize that it doesn’t do justice.

A good technique to convey space and distance is to include objects of known or appreciable size in a foreground plane. As you may have already noticed, this is a variant of the technique to convey scale discussed in the previous issue. This effect can be greatly enhanced if you can use the horizon to add to the perception of distance. A high horizon emphasizes space and distance, which unfortunally was not possible in the photo at right.

Conveying Size

(As published by The Cornell Crier Vol 4, No.2 April/May 2008)

The size of an object in a photograph is not always easily perceived by the viewer. A photo of a ball, a building or a shape without a context or reference can be confusing.

The photo at the top right was taken at the Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park in New Brusnwick. The rocks have been formed by the strong tides of the Bay of Fundy and they are huge. However, without a reference it is quite difficult to appreciate their true size. In the photo at the right bottom I included a strolling couple in the left lower corner to provide a reference. The easiest way to convey size is to include an object of known size for most people e.g. humans, boats, houses, horses, etc

Composition: Blurring photos by design

(As published by The Cornell Crier Vol 4, No.1 February 2008)

Since blurring in photos is mostly caused by moving objects, why not use it to convey the movement of the subject? This is another case of leveraging something that is normally seen as a technical defect; to tell a story or add interest to an otherwise plain photo.

The photo at the right is a good example. I took it last year during the Markham Festival of Lights. The entertainer was moving the torches very fast and I wanted to tell the story of what he was doing. All I had to do was to slow my shutter speed to allow the torch to travel a full circle while the shutter was open. This can be done even with point and shoot cameras (provided that you have read the instructions). Note that I did not follow my own advice of placing the camera on a tripod; hence the slight blurring of the crowd. As I said before, tripods are heavy, cumbersome and you never have them around when you need them. Still, I was quite happy with the resulting photo, because it conveyed exactly what the entertainer was doing.

Markham Theater for Performing Arts Exhibit

For the month of January, I am exhibiting 22 photos at the Markham Theater for Performing Arts. Of these, four are 12" x 32 " (panoramic) and the rest are 16 " x 20" . Feel invited to drop by.

Markham Village Art Show

Ok for those who would like to see some of my more serious work, this is a good opportunity. I will be exhibiting/selling in three main formats. Museum, Gallery and Decor. What's the difference?

All formats are offered in a acid-free environment, however, the actual frames and glass are different qualities. In the Museum format I will have 7 limited edition fine art prints.


See you there.....

The “path” to sharp photos. Part II

(As published by The Cornell Crier Vol 3, No.6 December 2007)

In the last column I revealed the holy grail of sharp photos; the tripod. This time I will discuss another basic yet effective technique to obtain sharp looking photos: shutter speed.

Cameras capture images by opening and closing a window called the shutter. The time that this window is open in combination with the opening size of the window determines the exposure of the sensor to light. The faster this happens the less opportunity for the subject to move, thus securing images with less or no motion blur.

If you are capturing flowers, bugs (yes, for some reason lots of people like to see bugs magnified) or other prone to move subject; make sure that your camera uses a fast shutter speed. Shutter speed is measured in fractions of a second or seconds. For example 1/10 means a tenth of a second, 1/30 one thirtieth of a second and so on. Generally speaking when photographing people 1/60 is sufficient to obtain a sharp photo. Those of us who have kids would know that kids move a lot. Maybe it is the sugar...Anyway, you will almost certainly need a faster shutter speed for kids photos, depending on what they are doing 1/125 or 1/250 will do depending whether they are walking or running. The photo at right was taken at 1/160, check your camera for speed settings, learn them and use them, it will be worthwhile.

Next column we will discuss cases where blur is desired...stay tuned.

The "Path" to sharp photos

(As published by The Cornell Crier Vol 3 No. 5, October 2007)

Blurred photos are normally very disappointing, especially because this is a very common problem. There are several reasons why a photograph will turn out blurry. The most common are:

• The subject was moving faster than what the camera could capture
• The camera moved during capture
• There wasn't enough light
• The combination of some or, all the above

The most secure way to take sharp images is to make sure that the camera won't move during the capture, specially under poor lighting conditions. This also allows you to increase the time the camera will take to take the photo. The simplest solution is a tripod, however, they are expensive (the good ones), normally bulky, they need time to set up and they are not welcomed in many places. Moreover, for some reason, you normally leave them at the hotel or at home.

No reason for despair, here are some tips:

• Place your camera on a table or steady surface, if you look around hard enough you will find something.
• Make a bean bag from a sock or bag and rice. This will not only allow you more flexibility in placing the camera on any object, but also in getting the camera to look up or down.
• In any case, instead of pressing the shutter which will almost for sure cause some camera shaking, use your self-timer feature. Waiting 10 seconds is not a lot to ask if you want a better picture.

As always, here is an example. I took this photograph by placing my camera on the wall in front of the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas.

If you have photography experiences, tricks or tips that you want to share with our Cornell Crier readers, please email them to Levin.rodriguez@sympatico.ca

Reflections galore

Just came back from my annual trip to the Canadian Maritime provinces. We visited Mount Carleton Provincial Park in New Brunswick, Scuminac Beach and other beautiful, yet almost unknown places for most Canadians. The weather was just about perfect, cool but not chilly. It was mostly sunny with beautiful saturated blue skies and most important, no wind. As far as photography is concerned, it was a reflections galore. See on the side for your own appreciation.

It was also a good oportunity to keep experimenting with my night photography sessions. I recruited David my father in-law as an assistant, which was a good idea, in small towns people get suspicious quickly of alien-looking individuals with equipment placed on tripods. Night photography is becoming quite an interest and I must admit I love it.

From the air

(As published by The Cornell Crier, Vol 3, No.4 August 2007 )

Have you ever been in a window seat of a plane and wished you had your camera with you? Here are few tips to make sure that you can make the best out of the opportunity:

• Wear black clothes all around. Normally, light color clothes will create reflections on the window spoiling what otherwise would be a good picture.

• If your camera is silver, use a black construction paper sheet with a hole in it for your lens to go through. This will avoid the above mentioned reflections.

• The best chance to take the photos is when the airplane leans towards your side. This normally occurs near the landing or right after takeoff.

• Try to get the objects that are closer to you, otherwise because the thickness of the atmosphere your photos will end up with a blue cast.

• If your camera can shoot RAW format, this would be a good time to do it. Photos taken in RAW format contain more detail than JPG and allow for more fine-tuning and post-processing options than JPG. In other words RAW is a more forgiving format.

On the side, the Grand Canyon at best taken from the air during my last trip to Las Vegas.

If you have experiences, tricks or tips on photography that you want to share with our Cornell Crier readers, please email them to Levin.rodriguez@sympatico.ca