Class Tonight

Nikon D700, 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR lens @180mm, f/5.0, 1/40s, ISO 3200. This is one we did last week during class. 3200 is a very high ISO; I used noise reduction in Lightroom to smooth the grain out a bit.

This is a bit more like what we'll making tomorrow night. Bring a tripod if you have one. Anyone have colored hair spray?

Exposure Compensation and Class

Class will be at the Studio tonight, but I'd bring a coat, just in case we get crazy. Is anyone allergic to dogs?

Nikon D700, 300mm f/4 lens, f/8.0, 1/5000s, ISO 400.

This picture has some interesting things about the camera settings in it. First of all, I've been telling you that your sharpest pictures come about when you use your lens' sharpest aperture (two full stops smaller than the widest aperture). This is most important on stuff that's far away; I often shoot portraits at the widest aperture, but I stop down (close the aperture) when I want to shoot something farther away.

This was shot with a 300mm prime lens (that means it doesn't zoom--it's always at 300mm) wit ha maximum (widest) aperture of f/4.0. That's pretty big for a 300mm lens! But since I was shooting at a pretty good distance, and I wanted a sharp picture, I dialed it down two full stops. Remember these numbers, they are the regular stop intervals: f/1, f/1.4, f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, f/22. Even though my camera is capable of increments of one third of a stop, two full stops is required--that's six ticks of my adjustment wheel in 1/3 stop increments. So, from f/4.0, two full stops would be....

Next, The sky is usually a very bright thing in pictures, even if it was kind of dark in life because the camera wants to make dark things bright, so we should use the exposure compensation button (+/-) to under expose (-) the scene to the make the sky nice and rich. However, we should over expose (+) the scene to brighten the white spires because the camera wants to make bright things dark. However, since this scens is about half and half dark and bright, the camera's average was just right! I didn't have to use compensation at all. The best thing for this picture was using the camera's built in Landscape mode, which adds contrast and saturation to colors.

Any questions? I hope so. See you in Class.

Class Tonight

5:00 class: meet at the studio, and be ready to be outside.

7:00 class: meet at USU, and be ready to be outside. We will meet at the parking lot on 700 east, on the south side of 400 north.

To get there, go east on 400 north, throughout the light at 600 east, and turn right on 700 east, turn immediately left into the parking lot. There's a tunnel under the road there, and thats where we will start shooting.

Empty your cards, and charge your batteries!

At the Studio tonight

I'll see you at the Studio tonight! Remember, it's right behind Zion's Bank, just north of the Tabernacle.

Charge your batteries, and empty your memory cards.

Welcome to class!

This is going to be a great quarter, and we're going to have a very good time making some terrific images together. I love this stuff.

Be sure to check this blog each week before you come to class so you know where to meet and any special things you might need to bring along. We will usually meet at The Studio, 106 North Church Street, right behind Zion's Bank, and just next to Cafe Ibis downtown.

Also, find me on Facebook, or send an email anytime.

I strongly recommend joining the Cache Valley Photographers (link) so that you have other people here in the valley to communicate with, and join in other activities when ever you have time.

Be sure to charge your batteries and empty your memory cards. This'll be great.