Tall Ships

We were in Chicago for the "Tall Ships"  and I got this picture.  I like the way the ship in the foreground melts into the dark and enhances the other ship.  After this photo was taken, I did some photoshop work on it.  Darkening the surrounds and adding some gaussian blur to it.

Canon 40D 70-200 lens

This wedding was in Mid-November.  In the afternoon.  It was raining when the bride arrived and I was worried that we would not be able to find a photogenic location for photos.  I shouldn't have worried.  The church was very pretty and we were able to get some great photos there but the best place was a simple doorway at the reception hall.  I love the spotlighting.  I added a little of my own and this is the result.

Canon 1Dmarkiii 24-105 lens iso 3200 1/60 f5.6

Another beautiful bride.  Before the ceremony we went to Millenium Park in Chicago.  There were a lot of wedding parties waiting by the "bean" to take photos.  We wanted to do something different and the bandstand seemed like the perfect place.  I like the way the bandstand wraps around the bride and points to her.  I also like the colors of the chairs and the piece of sky in the background.
Canon 1Dmarkiii-24-105 lens at 35mm 1/60 f5.6

I try to have an idea of what I want the photos to look like when I go into a photo shoot.  This wedding was at Eagle Point Park in Dubuque Iowa.  It was pouring that morning and the wedding was to be outside.  I was really worried about it not clearing up.  The wedding was in the afternoon and luckily it cleared up and was a beautiful day.  It is hard to get a nice blue sky and detail in the foreground.  Some light was added to achieve this.  I love environmental portraits.  This turned out great.  Love the faces of the bride and groom.

Canon 1dmarkiii, 24-105 lens

Last week I did a fashion shoot for Very Tres Chic.  We had a great time.  The models did a fantastic job mimicking the styles of the decades. The dresses were awesome.  It was a very hot day and we started at 9:00 in the morning.  We finished right in the middle of the day.  I got some great shots and a good sunburn out of it too.  Check out the dresses at www.verytreschic.com.

I love the backlight in this photo.  I think it really adds a lot of drama to the shot.  I liked the contrast and light in the original shot but wondered how it could be improved on.  I changed it to a black and white photograph and then added a little color to give it an aged look.  I then added some texture and edging to the photo.  Now I can't decide if I like this one or the original better.
Canon 40D 28-135 f5.6

Romantic Bride

What a beautiful bride and a great couple to work with.  I noticed the lines of the ceiling as soon as I entered the church.  This would be the perfect place for a bridal portrait and as it turned out it was.  I love the way the ceiling lines surround the bride and the railings diagonal lines.  I applied a little softening to add a romantic finishing touch.
Taken with a Canon 1Dmarkii 70-200 f2.8 lens @85mm 1/60 sec. f5.6

Falls at Starved Rock

These waterfalls are actually in the state of Illinois.  They are located in Starved Rock State Park about 2 hours from Chicago.  It was a beautiful week and we camped at the park.  The reserved camping area is very nice with isolated camping spots.  Though it gets a little busy on the weekends.  We always camp and hike during the week to avoid the crowds. 
To get that soft look to the water, you have to use a slow shutter speed and to get the detail you must use a small aperture.
Shot with a Cambo 4x5 90mm lens 1/2 second @ f32

What a great day we had doing these engagement pictures.  This couple was so much fun to work with and we got some great shots.  This was taken at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville WI.  Universities are some of the best places to shoot.  They always have some interesting architecture.  We did some shots in the backyard of the couples parents then went on to the university.  We tried to time it so that the blue lights would be coming on when we arrived.  I would have liked it to be just a little earlier than it was but we got some really great shots. 

Shot with Canon 1Dmarkii 28-135is lens 1/25 second @ f5.6

A Beautiful Day

What a gorgeous day we had for these photos.  The sun was shining and it was a nice 70 degrees.  We went to a city park in Galena Il and luckily everyone was in a very good mood.  The challenge at the park is always to find a nice shady place with no dappling from the sun.  This was done with all available light.  The subject is placed in the lower left quadrant an we have very nice diagonal lines.  I love the happy looks on everyone's faces. 
I wanted the subject to stand out so I chose a small aperture and I had to be concerned with movement so this was taken at a faster speed.  I am very happy with the results.

Taken with a Canon 1Dmarkii 70-200f2.8 lens 1/250 at f4

YUM

This was taken at a restaurant in Antioch Illinois called David's Bistro.  David is an up and coming chef in the area and a blast to work with.  He has such a great sense of humor and an excellent eye for designing his dishes.  His food tastes great too.

Because this is a food shot the first thing we had to consider is the depth of field.  We wanted a fairly shallow depth to bring out the mushrooms and de-emphasize the background.  The shutter speed did not matter as we had a tripod and food does not move.  This was shot with a Canon 40D with a 28-105 lens set at 80mm with an f-stop of 4.  The closer the object of the photo is, the shallower the depth of field.

Okay, now as for the corrolation between the shutter speed and f-stop.  To maintain the same exposure on your subject, each time your shutter is closed down a stop your f-stop must be opened by 1 stop. Example, if you are shooting at 1/125 at f5.6 and wish to have a shallower depth of field-say f4, you must close the shutter down one stop-1/250.  So the first thing you need to do is decide whether shutter speed or depth of field is the most important aspect of your photograph.

Autumn Colors

This was a beautiful wedding.  It took place at the Birdhaven Greenhouse in Joliet, IL.  It was a chilly autumn day towards the end of the leaf season.  We went to a small forest preserve and this is one of the shots that was taken there.

You will notice that the leaves in the background are out of focus.  This allows your subject to pop.  This is achieved by the correct use of the f stop or aperture on your camera.  Your f stops show on a ring around the lens on your camera and run from 1.0 to 32, lenses vary in the starting and ending points for f stops.  Generally the smaller the number (1.0) the more expensive the lens as this can be used in lower light situations. There is a diaphragm inside each lens and the smaller the f stop the larger the opening is on the diaphragm.  This allows more light in.

The aperture not only affects the amount of light that enters the camera, it also affects the look of your photo.  The smaller the number-1.0 (by the way this is considered a larger aperture not a smaller one) the less of your photo will be in focus.  The photo above was taken with an aperture of 3.5 had a used an aperture of 16 the leaves would have been in focus and the bride and groom would have blended in with them. 

Next week we will talk about the corrolation between f stops and shutter speed,


Canon 40D 70-200 f2.8 sigma lens, 1/125 second at f3.5

Leaf in Pool

My favorite place to photograph is the Cohutta Wilderness in Northwest Georgia.  This wilderness area has over 43000 acres.  This is a photograph on the Conasauga River located on one of the many trails in the area.  

We started down this trail on a nice sunny day, by the time we left it was pouring rain; that's Cohutta for you, the rain can move in quickly and leave just as fast.  I love to shoot early in the morning or late in the evening but that is not always possible and we have to make the best of the situation we find ourselves in.  Being in a valley there was a lot of shade.  I loved the way the water played with the rocks on this river.  I wanted to show the strength of these rocks and the beauty of the river flowing so I chose to use a slow shutter speed to make the water blur and have a slight romantic feel to it.

The first thing that anyone needs to know when learning how to shoot good photographs is the correlation between shutter speeds and apertures (also known as f stops).  If movement is the most important objective one of your first decisions will be what shutter speed do you need to use.  A shutter speed is not only a factor in the amount of light that your sensor receives it is also a factor in the movement of your subject.  The faster that your subject is moving the shorter the shutter speed should be.  In order to stop a moving object you must shoot at a shutter speed that will allow you to stop the movement.  Also, in order to blur things such as the water in the river above you must use a slower shutter speed.  Depending on how fast the water is moving this can be as slow as 1/2 second.  The best way to achieve this is to use a tripod, this will hold your camera steady so only the things you want moving will blur.
 
That's all for now.  Since this is our first post we will post again on Monday the 2nd of May.  We will discuss a little about apertures then.