HDR Photography

HighDynamicRange photography is a process of gathering more light than a camera can take in a single image. HDR images are closer to the amount of light range our human eyes can see. The range of light that a camera catches is about 1/4 of what our eyes see.  If you have taken a photo of a landscape before and didn't feel the photo looks as vibrant as it was in person, it might be do to the limitations of the camera. 
Creating a final HDR image leaves a lot up to the person taking and processing the photos. It is easy to go over the top with HDR photography, but it is up to you to determine your style & how the final image looks. To me a good final image is not noticed as a HDR photo to viewer. 
Here are a couple situations where using HDR technique helped get a more pleasing result.BEFORE

• ​Here is a normal exposure with trees in the foreground.

• Here is a situation where there highlights and dark areas in the image and the image is not very vibrant. 

These images where done with HDR.

AFTER

• This image was made by taking 3 photos.  -2 EV,  0, and +2 EV.  All 3 photos were combined in Photomatix and Light Room to produce the final image below.

• This image was made by taking 3 photos.  -3 EV,  -1EV, and +1 EV.  All 3 photos were combined in Photomatix and Light Room to produce the final image below.

HDR Photography can produce images that we would not have been able to capture with one shot.  Working with HDR photography you create an image and style.  HDR photography leaves a lot up to the users interpretation and style.

Thanks for checking out the article.

Eric 

Caribbean Boat

Settings: Manual Mode f16, 1/80 sec, ISO 200            White Balance 5850K, focus mode single point, Al ServoEquipment: Canon 5D M3, lens 24-105mm, B+W circular polarizing filter, Gitzo tripod, Canon cable release                                                 Editing Software:  Adobe Light Room 6.1 Subject : Row boat, St Maarten Pinel Island    
Capturing the image:  This photo was taken on an early morning walk in St Maarten on Pinel Island.  I wanted to capture the beautiful setting and remember it as a relaxing walk along the waters edge.  Taking the photo in the early morning created a nice soft light for the image.   I used a Canon 5D M3 with a Canon 24-105mm@105mm, with a polarizer to help reduce the glare on the water and  to help bring out the blue in the sky between the clouds.  Focus point was on the front of the boat.  The camera set up was mounted to a Gitzo Tripod to reduce movement and get a sharp image.  I used a small aperture to help with the depth of field. 
Thanks for checking out the article,Eric

Landscape Photography - Traveling with photo gear

When traveling with photo gear you just want to bring what you need.  Bringing your complete camera bag isn’t always ideal. First determine what you want to take photos of landscape, wildlife, street photography or sports to name a few.  This article focuses on landscape photography.

Packing for landscape photography and what you need.  

Camera body 

-Camera body (full frame camera is ideal, but not a must). A good DSLR or mirrorless camera would be great with interchangeible lenses. 

Lens choice

-Wide angle lenses 24mm for full frame camera or 17mm or wider for a crop sensor camera

-Fixed focal length lenses (prime lenses) are great for quality, but can be limiting. 

-Full frame camera lens options 16-35 and 24-70 are a great combo or a 24-105mm

-Crop sensor cameras lens options 10-18 and 18-55  work well together or 18-135mm

Tripod 

Keeping your camera steady helps create great shots

-a full size tripod is worth taking if you fit it in your bag

-using a mini tripod (pocket size) can work well, but you will be on the ground or need a table to mount.  Just remember to turn off any stabilization on the camera and/or lens.  Stabilization will try and find movement and adjust, not good when you have a tripod that is steady.

Camera Bracket
Making a secure mount to the tripod is key.
-Kirk L Bracket gives options for mounting horizontal and vertical

Filters

Bringing a filter or 2 can help create great photos

-polarizer helps bring out the blue skies or minimize reflections

-a graduated neutral density filter can help when the sky is brighter than land or the opposite

Media cards

Pack your camera media cards and extras enough to take the estimated amount plus 50% of that

-Extra cards 

-Lens clothe

-Wired or wireless remote trigger

Batteries

Pack extra batteries and charger

-Packing at least 2 batteries is necessary so you can swap power on the go.

Compass

A compass is great to use when scouting out an area for a sunrise or sunset shot

Camera bag

Although you may not bring your normal camera bag you need to bring a bag to use for you time while traveling

-A medium size Backpack is my option.  I get the benefit of convenience for camera gear, extra stuff for the day and it is easy to carry by hand, one shoulder or 2 when the load gets heavy.

Bonus

If you have the room and the time on your trip, a laptop computer or iPad are great to bring to see what you are capturing.  Just remember your power cord, card reader, enough free space, and favorite software. 

Here is a list of what I bring on a photo vacation:

-Backpack medium size

-Canon 5D body

-3 extra batteries (no charger)

-Extra media cards 32G

-Media card case

-4 32G media cards

-Canon 24-70mm 2.8

-Polarizer filter

-Graduated Neutral Density Filter

-Gitzo tripod with 4 sections for reduced space when collapsed & folded up
-Kirk ball head
-Kirk L Bracket

-2 Lens clothes

-Suunto Compass

Thanks for checking out this article !!

Eric

Strohm Photography

www.ericstrohmphotography.com

Buying a new Camera

I get a lot of questions on what camera to buy when people want to step up from their point and shoot or entry level camera.  Here are my thoughts on what brand and model to buy broken down by cost.  A year ago I would have directed people directly to a DSLR, but now that is not the case with the advancements in mirrorless cameras.  So you will see a mix of DSLR and mirrorless picks.  My top picks will not be filled with a bunch of technical details, but will in include some plus my thoughts on the better option and why a camera is the best in its price range.

Around $500

Nikon D3300 DSLR with 18-55 lens 

Nikon D3300 BH Photo

Best uses:

-Entry level

-Sports and family

The NikonD3300 is a great camera package for capturing your images in this price range.  Highlights 5 frames per second (5fps), decent for capturing fast action on the ball fields,  Large quality sensor 24.2MP for good details. Good focusing for action and low light.  Video capability  Base kit includes an 18-55 lens that is okay if your subjects are close, like portraits, group shots and action shots when you are close.

What it is missing:

-WiFi (adaptor available)

-Longer zoom for bringing things close (available in the the dual lens kit or separately)

-Tilt LCD screen (good for viewing your shot at different positions without using the eye piece example:placing the camera down low on the ground)

Around $750

Sony a6000 with 16-50 lens Mirrorless

Sony a6000 BH Photo

Best uses:

-Entry level

-Travel

-Sports 

-Hobby

-Family

The Sony a6000 kit is one of the top mirrorless cameras and tops some DSLRs in the same price range.  The only thing lacking is low light performance with focusing and sensor sensitivity (basically getting good shots in lower light).  But Sony mirrorless cameras come with focus peeking (allows you to manually focus and the LCD and view finder show what is in focus), this is awesome feature something the DSLRs do not have. Includes WiFi, video capability and tilt LCD screen.  As an added benefit the a6000 view finder and LCD show you what your picture will look like because you are seeing directly from the mirrorless sensor.

The Sony a6000 is a really good quality package and image quality is outstanding (many compare this cameras image quality to others costing over $2500.  This camera a is mirrorless.  In general mirrorless has less moving parts, in turn equals smaller and lighter body.  As with all mirrorless cameras the battery life is shorter than that of a DSLR (generally the battery is smaller than a DSLR camera, for most this isn’t a problem because it will generally give you over 300 shots on one battery)

What is missing:

-Longer zoom

-Low light performance 

Around $1500

Canon DSLR 70D with 18-135

Canon 70D BH Photo

Best uses:

-Sports

-Entry level professional work

-Hobby 

-Family

The Canon 70D comes in on top in this price range with a 20.2MP sensor, video capability, fast focusing, tilting LCD screen, built in WiFi and rate of 7 fps.  The 18-135mm lens is a great all around lens that you can take a group photo with and then zoom in and get close to sports action or wildlife.

What is missing:

-Nothing big missing

-Longer zoom would be nice to get things closer

Around $2000

Sony A7II with 28-70 Mirrorless

Sony A7II BH Photo

Best uses:

-Travel

-Landscape

-Professionals

-Advanced hobbyist 

The Sony A7II is a great choice in this range with 24.3MP sensor, 5fps, image stabilizing sensor (keeps your images sharp minimizing hand shake), WiFi, tilting LCD screen, and video capability.  Sony makes some of best sensors on the market and used by other camera makers.

What is missing:

-faster frame rate fps

-fast focusing in low light

-low light sensitivity 

Hopefully you found this helpful, Comments are appreciated.  

Thanks for stopping by !!

Eric

Strohm Photography