I shutter at the light

Light travels at 186,000 miles per second, it travels in waves and can be directed by reflectors and can vary in hue based on the source.  Then we take our boxes we call camera's and attempt to capture the essence of an event, person, or place.  It could be a macro, or a panorama, we are really capturing light reflected from those we love, or are paid to photograph, or simply some beauty we want to share.  I am guilty of  focusing on the camera, lens and other equipment, and it is really light that is the core of great photography.   I talk to folks all the time that have a great camera and no concept of aperture, or shutter or bokeh, and still get some great shots.  If photography interests you the intent is to get those shots intentionally.  It requires a study of light and reflection.  Light, gotta have it for great photography, what kind of light?  That is the fun thing to figure out.  Above is a shot with an LED flash light as the only source of light, with the camera set for 6000k
Like it?  I do. It is not your everyday portrait.... Light, love it, play with it, learn it.

Nikon d800 here it is!!!!

http://www.pcworld.com/article/249370/nikon_d800_fullframe_dslr_packs_36_megapixels.html   WOW look what 3000 will buy  you.... Not as fast for sports but a great addition to wedding and portrait photography.

August till now

A lot has happened so since my last blog.  In terms of living space I relocated to Austin Texas.  So Jack Art Photography will be up and moving in Austin in about two weeks.  Look out!
Over a year ago I thought the Nikon D800 was coming.  Now it looks like it will finally be announced tomorrow Feb 7. http://nikonrumors.com/2012/02/06/nikon-d800-official-pictures-leaked.aspx/  who would of thought?   They announced the Nikon d4 about 3 weeks ago.  The D4 is a16 mp camera, looking interesting and expensive about 6000 dollars.  Tomorrow we should have the info on the D800,  it looks like it will be a 34mp camera and how they price it.

Digital Camera Symbols 2.

What are those symbols on  your camera?  What do they mean?  Let's look at a couple more.  Let's begin with the   the Auto mode Symbol.  Basically on this setting the camera will do the thinking for you.  You simply point and shoot.  Perhaps the easiest way to use your camera.  Using this usually stops you from making minor adjustments with your camera, and certainly can lead to out of focus shots if your focus sensor doesn't hit the right part of your subject.  Certainly this setting makes your camera easy to  use.  Yet has it limits.

the "S" mode  that stands for shutter priority.   This is the best mode for shooting action, or where you wan to control the shutter speed for effect.  The shutter speed is chosen on the menu and the other functions automatically adjust to compensate various light by automatically changing the aperture.  You can use this to intentionally blur a picture or freeze a scene with action.  All by controlling the shutter speed in the "S" mode.  

Got a new digital camera and not sure of the symbols?

 This is the macro symbol.  It means that you are taking pictures close to your lens.  That is usually small objects close up.  Most point and shoots have this symbol.  Check your manual, to understand your camera's limitations in this setting.  Use this to shoot flowers, butterflies and anything you want a very close up picture.  The depth of field will be more limited as you are closer and holding the camera steady may require a faster shutter speed, or very steady stance.

A  refers to Aperture Mode:  Aperture is the width the lens opens when the shutter is released.   The guide numbers are also called F-Stop, the  focal ratio which technically is a the focal length divided by the aperture.  What it means simply is that on most SLR"s including digital SLR's your fstop is the number on the lens or on your display represented in numbers such as 1.4, 2, 22, etc.  It is a representation of how wide the shutter opens the aperture when the shutter is released and therefore how much light enters the camera.  The smaller the number the bigger the opening the more light that comes in.  The larger the number the smaller the opening and less light comes in.  Shooting inside, the f stop would be in the low numbers such as 1.4 or 1.8  on a bright sunny day it would be higher such as 22.   Some basic issues with fstop is that the smaller the number the less depth of field you will have in your photo's the larger the number the more depth of field you will have.
So when the camera is on A the priority is the aperture, size the shutter opens the lens or fstop, is set and  the adjustment point then becomes the shutter speed.  So if you have your camera set on A the aperture stays static and the shutter speed is adjusted to compensate for different lighting.  This allows you some level of control on the sharpness or lack of sharpness of the images in the back ground of your pictures.   

My new Favorite Point and Shoot

Model Highlights: 16.2-megapixel, Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonar T lens with 30x optical zoom, Full HD 1080/60p movies, "Exmor R" CMOS sensor, Hi-speed Linear Focus, 3D stills and Sweep Panorama  
Model Sony HX100v  sells for 449 currently on sale at BB for 399.  A very functional camera,  I would recommend for almost anyone who wants to take great stills, video, or do panorama.  Sure it is a small sensor,  it will still do a great 16x20.  With a 30 time zoom it is a great value.  My wife has ordered one for herself.  Don't mean to sound like an advertisement, I am really that impressed. 

The Spirit of Photography

Capturing the images with the right lighting is fun.  And just the beginning of photography.  Getting the clients to step out and be themselves and capturing the spirit of their relationship is much more difficult.  I find most wedding and portrait photography falls some where between event photography and art photography.  Event photography is capturing the flow of events, group shots and individual shots.  Art photography is capturing the spirit or personality of the people involved.  Approaching a wedding as art will change the photography significantly from one wedding or portrait to another.   As the art of a person is unique to each individual and the photography of that person or group will be individually approached as well.   www.jackartphotography.com  See the Adam and Bee gallery.  Not the most technical pictures but most filled with their personality.