Sorry for not posting much during February. I’ve been spending most of my time working on PhotoTube.info and I’m starting to see results. For one thing, it now contains over 800 instructional photography videos. Be sure to check it out. Here is a list of current categories and the number of videos in each category:
PhotoTube.info is a website dedicated to photography videos containing tips for producing HDR, infrared, landscape, portrait, flash, macro, night, and product photographs. It is a relatively new website but already contains hundreds of instructional videos. Here is a list of some of the most viewed videos:
DSLR Tips: Night Photography
Strobist Preliminaries
DSLR Tips: How to blur backgrounds on portraits
DSLR Tips: How to blur water for a dreamy effect
Merge to HDR in Photoshop
Long Exposure Turorial
DSLR Tips: Using polarizing filters
Secrets of Amazing HDR Photography
Night Photography: Finding Your Way in the Dark
HDR Photography
Strobist Softbox Technique Tutorial
In-Camera HDR Using Multiple Exposure
Photoshop Tutorial: Creating an HDR Image from a Single RAW File
Canon T2i 550D HDR Tutorial
Shooting the Moon
Landscape Photography Tips: Creative Composition
20 Essential Things for Landscape Photography
It is easy to see which videos have been Recently Added, Most Viewed, and Top Rated as well as many categories. PhotoTube is definitely worth checking out! Oh, by the way, it is completely free!
“Canon Speedliting with Multiple Flashes” is a two hour video by Syl Arena uploaded to YouTube by B&H Photo Video Pro Audio. Many of the concepts in this video apply to any flash setup that you might have whether you use Canon, Nikon, or studio flashes.
Key Concepts
Master/Slave
Groups
Ratios
Enabling/Disabling Master
Channels
In this Canon-specific video, you will learn the how and why of using multiple Speedlites off-camera. The emphasis is on the wireless system built into Canon Speedlites but Syl mentions how Nikon flashes differ from Canon flashes throughout the video. He explores the settings on both the master and slave Speedlites as well as the in-camera settings that can be made by recent Canon cameras that can act as the master for Speedlite flashes. Click to continue »
There will be three opportunities to shoot the moon in August. On August 1, the moon will be full and rise before the blue hour. On August 2, the moon rises during the blue hour.
Other than your camera, the most important piece of equipment is a tripod. The exposures required for fireworks are too long to handhold your camera. I found an excellent video for how to shoot fireworks on YouTube from phototips.biz.
Basic Settings for a DSLR
Manual Mode
Aperture: f/5.6
Shutter speed: 1 second to start
ISO: 400
Focus: Turn off auto focus and manually focus on infinity
I agree with the video’s suggestion to just change the speed if you need to adjust the exposure. Increase the shutter speed if your shots are too bright or slow down the shutter speed if your shots are too dark.
Even if you don’t have a DSLR, you can still take photographs of fireworks. If you have a compact digital camera that doesn’t have Manual mode, look for a Scene (SCN) mode for Fireworks. As with a DSLR, it is manditory that you use a tripod.
Feel free to post links to your fireworks photographs in comments.
Summary: I highly recommend Digital Landscape Photography by John and Barbara Gerlach. If you are at all interested in landscape photography, get this book! Digital Landscape Photography covers cameras, lenses, exposure, composition, HDR, and panoramas.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1. Landscapes are Everywhere
Chapter 2. Cameras and Accessories
Chapter 3. Choosing and Using Lenses
Chapter 4. Mastering Exposure
Chapter 5. Techniques for Sharp Images
Chapter 6. Light on the Landscape
Chapter 7. Composing Pleasing Images
Chapter 8. Special Subjects
Chapter 9. High Dynamic Range Images
Chapter 10. Panoramas
Review: The chapter on cameras and accessories emphasizes investing in a camera system not just the camera. The authors recommend Canon and Nikon cameras because both brands have an excellent selection of lenses and accessories. This is the same advice that I give my students. The book is filled with excellent tips such as how to use a back button to auto-focus rather than having the shutter button initiate the auto-focus function. 34 out of 36 customer reviews on Amazon, give Digital Landscape Photography 4 stars and above with 26 5 star reviews. This is an outstanding book that is clearly written and informative. Click to continue »
Night Photography: Finding Your Way in the Dark is a amazing book that has many examples of fantastic night photographs as well as step-by-step instructions for how to get the same kind of results.
The Top Three Things to Do When Photographing Children
Spend a lot of time with your subject
Get down on their level
Use a wide open aperture for limited depth of field
The photograph on the right was taken by Maria Henderson, one of my students. This a wonderful example of the top three things you should do when photographing children. The depth of field is shallow with the eyes in sharp focus and her angle of view is nearly level with her subject. The composition enhances the immediacy of the shot and emphasizes the child’s enthusiasm. Click to continue »
Crafting Reality: Painting with Light is an inspiring eBook by Eric Curry. The photographs in the eBook look like HDR images but they are created in quite a different way. Small sections of the subject are illuminated from different directions then merged together with Photoshop. Eric goes into detail about how to take the photographs and the settings to use in Photoshop.
Throughout his eBook, Eric emphasizes that you should think and plan your shots.
So often during my public presentations and coaching new photographers I advise them to think in terms of “concepts.” Do not just go out into the environment and photograph neat stuff you happen to see, but take the next step and envision an idea first, then try to create that vision you see in your mind’s eye.
This is good advice and Eric spends a lot of time telling you how to plan a photoshoot. He tells you what he does and why as well as which equipment he uses. Crafting Reality: Painting with Light is an extremely thorough how-to book and I highly recommend it.
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November will have many opportunities to shoot the moon. On November 28, the moon will rise during the blue hour.
The photograph on the right was taken by Maria Henderson, one of my students. This a wonderful example of the top three things you should do when photographing children. The depth of field is shallow with the eyes in sharp focus and her angle of view is nearly level with her subject. The composition enhances the immediacy of the shot and emphasizes the child’s enthusiasm. 
