Standard lenses (also called normal lenses) have a kind of mystique amongst photographers. Perhaps it’s because Henri Cartier-Bresson was famous for using one, maybe it has something to do with nostalgia for the times when most cameras came with a 50mm kit lens rather than the zooms that are common today. Regardless, if you are […]
Focusing on Aperture The primary purpose of the aperture setting is to regulate the amount of light that passes through the lens. Along with the shutter speed, it determines the quantity of light that reaches the camera’s sensor (or film) and forms a third of the ‘exposure triangle’. But, of more interest to most photographers is […]
Whether you’re new to Lightroom or have been using it for years there are certain things you need to know in order to ensure that everything runs as smoothly and efficiently as possible. Do these properly and you can look forward to many years of hassle-free and effective Lightroom use. Let’s start with what is […]
The purchase of a nine stop neutral density filter two years ago changed my approach to landscape photography. It allowed me to take photos using shutter speeds of one minute or longer and gave me a new way of photographing the sea (I live on the coast at the bottom of New Zealand’s North Island). […]
In order to be a truly creative photographer, you need to take your camera out of the automatic exposure modes and put it into either Programmed Auto, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, or Manual mode. These four modes give you total control over the camera settings that make up exposure: aperture, shutter priority, and ISO. Out […]
The concept of the pancake lens has interested me for a while now, so when Canon announced its 40mm pancake lens I bought one. So far it has proved a useful addition to my lens collection. But what exactly is a pancake lens? Is the lens as good in practice as I hoped? Here are […]
As the internet grows and grows, photography tutorials are becoming more and more abundant. All that information can be a good thing, but it can also create problems as it sometimes has the magical effect of turning one’s opinion to fact over time. Read around about digital photography and you will come across the ‘stock’ advice […]
Wide angle lenses have tremendous creative potential. The way they affect perspective and line helps you make dynamic and exciting images. Yet, care is required to get the best out of them. It takes a little thought to avoid the messy compositions characteristic of photos taken with wide angle lenses by careless photographers. These tips […]
The shutter speed setting on your camera has two purposes. The first is to help you obtain the correct exposure. The second—and this is the one of interest to creative photographers—is to determine the way that the camera records movement. Freezing Motion This is perhaps the most obvious example. You can use fast shutter speeds […]
Imagine that you have just processed a color image and that you are happy with the result. But you’d also like to experiment with it a little. Perhaps you’re curious to see how it will look if you convert it to black and white. Maybe you’d like to give it a different look using a […]
No, my photos are the best, close this forever
