American Kestrel
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)
© 2009 Russell G. Campbell
All rights reserved.
Archive for PhotoTip
DTown TV set to return in January
The popular Web TV show, DTown TV, hosted by Scott Kelby and Matt Kloskowski is set to return on January 7 after a hiatus of several weeks. The show originally covered only Nikon products, but the new version will be expanded to cover DSLRs in general, including lighting, studio, on location, post-processing and other digital photography topics.
To see a video of the announcement visit Scott Kelby’s blog, Photoshop Insider. For those of you who might have been in outer space for the past decade or so and don’t know who buy generic viagra buy levitra viagra professional buy generic viagra buy cialis online order cialis professional buy cheap viagra the co-hosts are: Scott Kelby is the president of NAPP, the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. He has written several excellent books on Adobe® Photoshop, Adobe® Photoshop Lightroom and other digital photography topics.
Matt Kloskowski is the Education and Curriculum Developer for NAPP. He has written several books on the Photoshop and Illustrator Adobe® applications, and is a trainer of international reputation.
I watched all 24 of the show’s original episodes and found them entertaining and informative.
© 2009 Russell G. Campbell
All rights reserved.
Barn Owl part 2
The thing I enjoy almost as much as taking pictures of birds is to browse through pictures I have already taken. I have almost 11,000 images on my computer and I’ve started to process some of my favourites as prints to hang around the house.
Printing is a new ballgame, requiring a separate set of acquired skills and a whole new respect for patience. Trying to match what comes out of the printer to what one sees on the screen can be daunting at times. But my motto is, Persevere, so I do, and am slowly getting the hang of it.
I use a Huey to calibrate my computer screens and download paper-specific profiles for my Epson R1800 printer. This has cut down on wasted paper from test images. I now usually do one test, then make final adjustments and print away.
I find it convenient to use Adobe Photoshop Lightroom for most of my “lab” work, including making prints.
The weather is not cooperating so I had to dig into the archives for today’s image, which is another Barn Owl (Tyto alba).
As with most images on this blog, if you click on it you will be taken to Flickr.com where they are hosted. Once at Flickr, your can select the “ALL SIZES” option above the image to see a full size version of the photograph. Unfortunately, I have to limit maximum dimensions to 600 X 800 to discourage misuse.
Nikon D300 DSLR with 300mm f/4 lens
1/500 sec at f/4.5, ISO 200
© 2009 Russell G. Campbell
All rights reserved.
Sunny 16 Rule
Back in the day when we took photos with a film camera that did not have a built-in light meter, we needed a quick way to estimate our exposure settings and many of us used the Sunny 16 Rule. Even with today’s sophisticated cameras and their powerful built-in computers and metering systems, the old rule of thumb can act as a valuable teaching aid for learning more about the exposure value (EV) system—the very core of photography.
So what’s the Sunny 16 Rule? It’s a method for estimating correct daylight exposures without a light meter. And, even when you are able to meter the scene, because the rule is based on incident light rather than the reflected light that most camera light meters measure, the Sunny 16 Rule can also be used to estimate exposure values for difficult subjects, where, for example, very bright or very dark subjects have to be compensated for.
The rule states that on a sunny day set your aperture to f/16 and your shutter speed to the ISO—or more correctly, the reciprocal of the ISO.
Following the rule:
- On a sunny day and with the camera set to ISO 100, set the aperture to f/16 and the shutter speed to 1/100 (on many cameras 1/125 second is the available setting nearest to 1/100 second).
- On a sunny day with the camera set to ISO 200 and aperture at f/16, set shutter speed to 1/200 or 1/250.
- On a sunny day with the camera set to ISO 400 and aperture at f/16, set shutter speed to 1/400 or 1/500.
Shutter speed, of course, has to be adjusted to suit the circumstances. If such is the case, alter the aperture (f-stop) to compensate, e.g., 1/250 second at f/11 gives equivalent exposure to 1/125 second at f/16.
The above works very well for most situations on sunny days. So what about cloudy or overcast days? Well, for those days we use a sliding scale as outlined in the table below.
|
Aperture |
Lighting Conditions |
Shadow Detail |
|
f/16 |
Sunny |
Distinct |
|
f/11 |
Slight overcast |
Soft around edges |
|
f/8 |
Overcast |
Barely visible |
|
f/5.6 |
Heavily overcast |
No shadows |
For quick reference, here’s a list of the (full) f-stops:
f/1 f/1.4 f/2 f/2.8 f/4 f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 f/22 f/32 f/45
That’s it. have fun.
© 2009 Russell G. Campbell
All rights reserved.
DTown TV: Nikon in a nutshell
The photographer, blogger, author and Photoshop guru, Scott Kelby, and his sidekick, Matt Kloskowski, offer a free podcast featuring Nikon gear. Each week, they bring us tips and tricks, news and accessories for Nikon’s Digital SLR cameras. The show is called DTown TV.
This is a first-rate video podcast series, which unfortunately only ran for 24 episodes. Taken together, however, the series provides a pretty comprehensive training program for new and intermediate Nikon users. Episodes 16 through 20 are a must-see roundup of Nikon lenses that even professionals could benefit from.
I’m a fan of both Kelby and Kloskowski so am a bit biased. Even then, I can virtually guarantee most Nikon users will benefit from the show.
© 2009 Russell G. Campbell
All rights reserved.
Chimping with Histograms
Those of you who are relatively new to digital photography, might sometimes wonder about the little graph labeled “histogram” that shows up in your camera’s display after you take a photograph: What is it? How/when should I use it? you might ask. Experienced digital photographers use this helpful tool a great deal. Some use it after every shot—a practice known as “chimping.” I’ll try to explain why.
Many of you will remember using “Bell Curves” in school and will be familiar with the basic nature of histograms. In digital photography, histograms are used to display a summary of the range of light values, in 256 steps, recorded by your digital camera’s sensor—0 = pure black, and 255 = pure white. 
Dark values are summarized on the left of the graph and white values are displayed on the right. The middle of the histogram contains the mid-range values that represent colors like grays, light browns and greens. A histogram with lots of dark pixels will be skewed to the left and one with lots of lighter tones will be skewed to the right. The values just above zero and just below 255 contain the details of your photograph.
The histogram graph often looks like a mountain peak, or a series of peaks—the statisticians among you will recognize these as bell curves. The more of a particular color, the taller the peak. At the extreme of either end of the histogram, the light values contain no detail at all—in your photograph, they will be either completely black, or completely white.
Try to avoid histograms with tall spikes to the extreme ends of either side of the graph. This we call “clipping.” Such graphs indicate that a lot of pixels are either pure black or pure white and that your image will be either over or under exposed.
The left (dark) to right (light) directions are important in evaluating your image. If the image is too dark, the histogram will show that by stacking up and “clipping” off the light values on the left, or, if too light, by “clipping” on the right.
The best way to correct clipping at the ends of your histogram is to increase or decrease the exposure compensation setting on your camera. Increase compensation to avoid clipping on the left and reduce compensation to avoid clipping on the right.
While there is really no perfect histogram, many photographs with the best exposures will have a histogram with values starting just above zero and ending just below 255 with most of the values in between in what might look like a mountain peak with slopes on both sides.
Most photographers expose for the highlights and accept shadows as normal. Images with sections that are so bright that all detail is lost are not usually pleasing to the eye. Experienced photographers will almost always expose the image so that the right side of the histogram graph just touches the right side of the histogram window—i.e., no clipping on the right. When this happens, the image will look more normal. Dark areas generally retain detail better than bright areas, and an under exposed image can usually be edited later to pull out details in the darker portions of the photo. In over exposed images, details in the really bright sections will be lost forever.
The histogram is a tool that gives you information about an image and to help you avoid or correct over/under exposure. Setting your camera to show histograms during the view process will tell you how well your images are exposed, and give you the opportunity to correct any clipping you see in the graph.
© 2009 Russell G. Campbell
All rights reserved.
Adobe Updates TV Site
For those of us who use several Adobe software programs—in my case Photoshop, Lightroom and Dreamweaver—the Adobe TV Web site has been a useful resource for using these steep-learning-curve programs. This popular Web destination has recently been updated to make it even more useful.
The site has a new look and feel, and many new features, including:
• User-customizable homepage
• Improved navigation and search
• Save your favorite episodes to “My Library”
• Share videos on social networking sites
• Subscribe to the RSS feeds of your favorite shows
• Pop-out video player to view videos at any size
• Commenting & Rating
• Tags
This terrific resource just got a whole lot better.
© 2009 Russell G. Campbell
All rights reserved.
Adding borders to photographs using Photoshop CS4
Acommon question I see in forums on the Web is how to quickly add a border around a photograph. This isn’t surprising, of course, because borders can make a big difference to the look of a photograph. For Photoshop users, adding borders is easy—I happen to use Adobe Photoshop CS4. A similar technique can be used with any image processing software that has the ability to increase the canvas size and colour of an image.
After adding a border, I sometimes increase the canvas size at the bottom of the image so that I can add a copyright notice, title and description to my photograph.
Follow these steps to make your image stand out from the rest of the page with a border of any colour you choose.
Step 1
Start up Photoshop and open the image to which you want a border added.
Step 2
To create a border around the entire picture, open the “Select menu” and choose “Select All.” If you only want to create a border around a certain area of the image, use the Selection tool in the toolbar to select the area.
Step 3
From the “Select menu,” choose “Modify” and then “Border.” In the dialog box, choose the size in pixels you want your border to be.
Step 4
Locate the colour palette on the left-hand side of the screen (foreground/background squares near the bottom of the toolbar). Click on the top (foreground) square and select a colour for your border from the pop-up palette. Then click OK.
Step 5
Select “Fill” from the “Edit menu.” In the dialog box, choose the options to apply to the border, i.e., colour, blending mode and opacity.
Step 6
Click OK to view the border.
If you don’t like the results, simply use “Undo” from the “Edit menu” to remove the fill colour and effect and try again until the border looks the way you want.
Step 7
Finally, remember to use the “Save As” command in the “File menu” to save the new version of your photograph.
Harris Hawk
Taken at a Ray Barlow (www.raymondbarlow.com) flight shooting workshop near Simcoe, Ontario, Canada.
Nikon D300 DSLR, Nikkor AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4 IF-ED
© 2009 Russell G. Campbell
All rights reserved.
Birding in Burlington, Ontario, Canada
It’s early spring and today it really felt like it. So nice was the weather, I really didn’t mind that there weren’t many birds about. The lake was glassy calm, but had few waterfowl to show off on it. Better luck next time, eh. I saw the mergansers at LaSalle Park marina and the Rock Dove at Valley Inn Road. At Valley Inn Road, I also saw a Bald Eagle, but I had just gotten out of my car and did not have my Camera ready.
Photos taken in RAW format with a Nikon D300 D-SLR and a Nikkor AF VR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED Zoom lens at 400mm, handheld.
Two males and a female Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)
Rock Dove (Columba livia)
Caspian Tern
Caspian Tern (Sterna caspia) taken at Burlington, Ontario, Canada. These birds are fast flyers and provide good practice for in-flight photography.
Nikon D300 DSLR
Nikkor AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4 IF-ED (Kenko N-AF 1.4x teleconverter), ISO 220
1/1500 sec at f/5.6 – handheld
Nikon D300 DSLR
Nikkor AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4 IF-ED (Kenko N-AF 1.4x teleconverter), ISO 200
1/1500 sec at f/6.7 – handheld
Lightroom® 2: Graduated Filter
Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® 2 has become an indispensable part of my workflow. One new feature in this latest version of Adobe’s software is a digital graduated filter, which virtually eliminates the need for carrying around an optical filterin my case it eliminates the need to buy one.
Today, I saw an article at dolcepics.com covering the use of this handy tool. Pretty good stuff.
Firmware fixes for the D3 and D300
Digital Photography Review reports that Nikon has released new firmware for their high-end D3 and D300 digital SLRs.
The latest D3 firmware adds new function button customization options though not the ones featured on the D700. In addition to these and a virtual horizon in live view mode, Nikon has also addressed the problem that some users experienced in which the battery indicator would incorrectly register an empty battery. This problem, which has come to be known as ‘Dead Battery Syndrome,’ has also been addressed in new firmware for the D300.
For details about the D3 changes, here’s a PDF from Nikon.
Firmware updates are available for Mac and PC here from Nikon (Canada).
Scott uses a Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S VR
I posted about the versatility of Nikon’s AF-S VR DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED a few days ago, and so it was interesting to see Scott Kelby’s blog today, where he has posted several 
images taken with the 18-200mm.
Like many of us, Scott seems to like to travel light and this lens fits just about any situation. When I’m not sure what I’m likely to encounter—such as when on vacation—this is the lens I take with me.
Scott’s images are of a variety of subjects and, I suppose, lighting conditions—very typical of what one sees when on vacation—especially in as exotic a location as Northern Italy. Scott Kelby is no ordinary photographer, and I’m sure we would be just as impressed with his images if he had used an old Kodak Brownie. But the focal range of this lens is truly impressive. Here’s a quote from Scott’s post:
True to what I learned from carrying all my gear to Dubai on that trip (and still never having the right lens when I needed it), I essentially took one camera, and one lens; My Nikon D300, and the 18-200mm f/3.5 to 5.6 VR lens. It’s not the sharpest lens ever made, and it does sometimes vignette the edges a bit, and it’s not the fastest lens either, but I LOVED IT!!!!
Instead of constantly changing lenses, and wondering if I had the right lens on, I could just sit back, relax, and shoot. I ALWAYS had the right lens with me with that lens, and in fact, I only used the 2nd lens I brought (a small 12mm-24mm Nikon) one single time, for about 8 shots. That’s it.
When Denisé is with me, we usually take two camera’s with two or three lenses between us, and the 18-200mm is almost always one of those lenses. But on solo walkabouts it’s the 18-200mm on my D300—that’s all I will generally need.
My camera bag — Nikon all the way
Let me start by admitting my bias towards Nikon cameras. Undoubtedly, other manufacturers—especially Canon, Olympus, Pentax and Sony—make fine products; however, I have made my choice and, given the level of my investment in Nikon gear, I’m not likely to make a change unless Nikon goes out of business.
In the days and weeks to come, we’ll go through my camera bag together and I’ll let you know what I use and why I chose each specific piece of gear. Our emphasis here is on digital single lens reflex (DSLR) cameras and lenses—these are the most effective for wildlife photography, and especially bird photography, which is our focus.
The very first and most important choice to make is the system (manufacturer). Since lenses generally are not interchangeable between systems, once we choose a manufacturer, we’re pretty well stuck with it, if we want to protect the investment in lenses we are likely to make over the lifetime of our interest in photography.
Canon is the leader in the overall digital camera business and certainly one of the very best. Nikon is in second place, however, they are in or near the lead in the digital SLRs segment. Runners up are Sony, Pentax and Olympus, in I’m not sure what order.
Conventional wisdom suggests that most experienced photographers recommend either Canon or Nikon to anyone who is serious about the craft. And these two companies together have such a commanding position in the marketplace, it’s hard to argue with this advise.
As I stated above, I have chosen Nikon. I am now using my third digital SLR (with a fourth as my backup), and I am extremely satisfied with that decision.
The Photoshop Insider — Scott Kelby
I just read the latest post at Scott Kelby’s Adobe Photoshop Insider Blog—a guest post by David Ziser. While wedding photography is not really my thing, the post got me thinking about the wealth of expert knowledge that is freely available on the Internet. There are hundreds—probably thousands—of Web sites offering information about photography and several dozen of these are published by professionals.
Among the top of those professionals is Scott Kelby. His blog describes his as:
Scott Kelby is the editor and publisher of Photoshop User Magazine, Layers magazine (the how-to magazine for everything Adobe®) and President of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP).
Scott is also the author of several books and is a regular participant in audio and video podcasts, many of which are available for free.
His books, though not free, are reasonably priced, easy to read, and can be of benefit to the beginner to professional. I have learned Photoshop and Lightroom primarily by reading his books—and a few others, of course. Here are a few of the titles I have read:
- The Digital Photography Book, Volume 2
- The Adobe Photoshop CS3 Book for Digital Photographers
- Scott Kelby’s 7-Point System for Adobe Photoshop CS3
- Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Book for Digital Photographers,The
If one is serious about becoming a professional in some field, I’d always recommend going to a reputable university to study in that field. However, for many of us, that just is not in the cards. Fortunately for those of us interested in digital photography, the route to becoming competent photographers can be eased significantly by the resources on the Web. And we have experts like Scott Kelby to thank for this.
Dragonfly at the RBG
Wondering through the Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) on the border of Burlington and Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, I saw this dragonfly. I’ve done very little macro photography in the past, but have become more interested recently.
Image © 2007 by Russell G. Campbell, all rights reserved.
Nikon D70s DSLR
Nikkor AF VR Zoom Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6D ED at 300mm, ISO 400
1/500 sec at f/9
Question is: what gear would be best for me? I’ve sold both the camera body and lens this dragonfly image was taken with, so they are no longer a factor. My current Nikon camera bodies are a D300 and a D50, both DSLRs that are well capable of excellent macro work. Boils down to the glass then doesn’t it.
The way I see it, the choice is to buy something like a 60mm (or 105mm) macro prime lens or a conversion filter like the Canon 500D Close-up Lens. Nikon’s versions of the macro lenses both have maximum apertures of f/2.8, which is terrific for this sort of work. Downside is price—$650 and $940 (Canadian) respectively, which is steep if I end up not doing much macro work. At the 77mm size, the Canon 500D Close-up Lens has a Canadian retail of about $250, which, although not trivial, is much less than a macro lens.
The Canon 500D Close-up Lens is a double-element lens that screws onto the filter threads of a non-macro lens, allowing that lens to be focused at a much closer distance and resulting in higher magnification of the subject. The Canon 500D Close-up Lens is intended to be used on lenses with a focal length of from 70mm to 300mm. Apparently, the quality is very good, but probably would not be quite as good as a dedicated macro lens.
Mounted on my Nikkor AF-S 300mm f/4 telephoto lens—normal minimum focus distance of about 5 feet— the The Canon 500D Close-up Lens is said to reduce focus distance to less than three feet and to provide a maximum reproduction ratio of 1:1.1 (true macro is 1:1). This sounds like the way for me to go. I’ll save space and weight in my camera bag and some money, with only a minor sacrifice in image quality.
Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED zoom lens
My most versatile lens has turned out to be an 18-200mm VR zoom, which Nikon calls the AF-S VR DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED. This is a super walkabout lens (equivalent to a 27-300mm lens in 35mm format) that covers a broad enough focal range that you almost 
never have to switch lenses. You’d need two, or even three, lenses to cover the focal range of this zoom. And bearing this in mind helps justify the $799.95 (Canadian) list price that many will find a bit steep.
When I ordered the lens in 2005, there was a long waiting list that took several months to clear—the lens was so popular that some retailers were even charging a premium over Nikon’s list price. And once in my hands the 18-200mm VR did not disappoint.
The 18-200mm VR is compact, fast focusing and sharp enough for most purposes. I use it for everything from close up work with flowers and insects (it focuses from as close as 20 inches) to landscapes and larger wildlife. And the VR (Vibration Reduction) is so effective that this can all be done while hand-holding the camera. With this lens, you only need a tripod for night photography.
The 18-200mm VR is an ideal lens for photographers who only want to take one lens. It’s the perfect lens for those times when you have no idea what you’re going to be photographing. On trips, I pair it with a 300mm prime lens and take along a couple of teleconverters for the prime. With that combination, I can handle an almost limitless range of photographic opportunities. I highly recommend this lens.
PhotographyBB Releases Free PDF Magazine
PhotographyBB, of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada yesterday released the fifth edition of its free PDF magazine.
Here’s a quote from the Web site:
By way of download in either PDF or ZIP formats, PhotographyBB continues its trend through the future of free downloadable magazine distribution. In a completely ad-free format, each issue contains informative and educational tutorials for amateur and intermediate level photographers.
In addition to articles which aide beginners in getting the most from their DSLR cameras, the PhotographyBB Online Magazine also features useful and applicable tutorials on how to use post-processing tools such as Photoshop, Elements, and more, to build on digital photography post-processing skills.
I’ve taken a quick look at the magazine and it seems worthwhile. And you can’t beat the price—it’s free.
AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED
Nikon’s AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED lens is a little gem that is available in Canada for about $130. Think about it: Nikon glass, of any kind, for less than $200. That’s less than you pay for some filters.
This small, light plastic beauty is now the walk-around lens on my Nikon D50 digital SLR. The 18-55mm focal length on the D50, which has Nikon’s DX sensor, gives a 35mm equivalent of 27-82.5mm, a very useful zoom range. With this I get a moderate wide angle through to a portrait lens range.
No doubt about it: this lens feels cheap. However, there is nothing cheap about the image quality you get with it. And when I mount this on my D50 I have a compact, lightweight package capable of serious photography at a bargain price that I’d recommend as a prime kit for the beginning amateur or—as in my case—a back for serious shooters up to the pro level. I have seen D50s used at weddings by pros, and the resulting images have been excellent. This combo beats most point and shoot systems in all respects except perhaps compactness.
