Lesson 3 - the colour in things - White Balance

Image taken from http://stylopics.com/tag/tumblr-photography/

Welcome to lesson 3 where we are going to let the hardware be and go a bit into software instead. I know you had to wait fro quite a long time to read that and I hope that it's worth the wait.

By now you already know important is to set the correct aperture and shutter speed to get a good exposure in order to get a good shot. Here we are going to talk about another 'minor detail' that can ruin things if you are not careful. That's white balance. 

By now you probably wonder what white balance is and why do we have to care about it. can whiteness can be balanced? Isn't white supposed to be only white? Yes and no. White balance stands for the way your camera sees the light regardless of what you see. It has to do with the computer inside the camera - remember that I mentioned that in the beginning? So that computer processes the shot BEFORE it gets recorded. Thus the light that to us may have no colour gets one in the picture.

So white balance matters -  it's name comes from the way the white colour changes when you adjust the different settings. Most people learn that setting first. Some never get past that post. If you are wondering right now if you have used the feature or not - look below. if any of those icons looks familiar - you already have.

Image taken from http://www.geofflawrence.com/white_balance.html

If you don't know where are they in the camera menu - take a look at the picture below:

When you click there you'll see this:

Image taken from http://blog.uniquephoto.com/quick-tip-how-to-set-custom-white-balance-on-a-canon-dslr/

So - here's the catch - the difference between those is measured in COLOUR TEMPERATURE - usually in degrees Kelvin -  THE SMALLER THE NUMBER THE REDISH IT ALL LOOKS. Check out the table below to see what I mean: 

Image taken from https://romangronkowski.wordpress.com/2014/10/22/white-balance-and-colour-temperature/

So we care about the colour temperature when we take pictures because if we do not select the right one - it will affect the way the whole picture looks like - and exposure will not correct things. Imagine it as an in-built Photoshop that works on your image before you can correct things. If you are not careful - you can get the whole thing wrong.

Image taken from http://www.fotozzoom.com/blog/top-10-photography-mistakes-avoid-beginners/

With some modes and some situations things are OK but sometimes you can get the whole picture looking red or blue or orange, Some photographers use it as a creative device (for example when you shoot a sunset you will want to get it as colourful as possible so you select a mode that would give you rich reds and oranges) but as a rule if you are a novice - TRY TO USE THE MOST NATURAL-LOOKING MODE.  You'll need to switch between modes a bit but in time you'll know what to use when you see the object.

Do you feel knowledgeable already?

Corinth Canal - part 2 - or why getting lost helps?

I've always wanted to take a picture of Corinth Canal with a boat inside it - you know, like the iconic picture below. 

Image taken from http://traveltamed.com/places-to-visit-in-greece/

If you have read the previous post, you already know what happened on day 1 and you probably know that I was dead-set on getting things right today. This part of the story starts in the morning at the hotel reception. 

Totally into the idea of getting a shot like the one above, I went to ask about ships. After all, they should know, right? The guy at the reception was very helpful but I doubt he understood much of what I had in mind told me that tourist boats go inside the canal but big ships are few and far between. Still, I was determined to go there and take my iconic shots. 

In the morning we went to Mycenae (which is the topic of another post) and at 11 am we drove back to Corinth - the distance is roughly 60 km. 

Where IS the canal???

There was a road sign on the highway but from Peloponnese there was none. So we got a panoramic view of Corinth and its streets. And the oil refinery. If you book a hotel - check where it is on the map because there is a very high chance of being close to the refinery. And that is HUGE! If the hotel is close - you will enjoy the smell of petrol derivatives 24/7. Corinth is a really nice town with plenty of things to see for it's size and no doubt - amazing accommodation and taverns - but the smell of petrol is not one of my favourites. Luckily we checked that BEFORE we went there. 

One of the beaches of Corinth that I managed to shoot along the way.

We went in and out of Corinth several times during some of which we came close to the channel. Twice we went over a submersible bridge at one end of the canal and we kept driving along one of its sides. 

The bridge I was talking about

The lagoon - the black and yellow thing on the left is the bridge

You can see it's there but you cannot reach it. You see where it is but you don't see where to turn for the viewpoint. 

The end of the canal as seen from the submersible bridge. The image is taken from a car in motion - you cannot stop there

Time went on and the sun went down - and I got nervous. Meanwhile we kept circling the streets of Corinth. 

One of the views of Corinth I managed to capture

 After all, we had only two days in that part of Peloponnese and it was already day 2! Bearing in mind that the pictures from yesterday I can happily delete at any instant because they show nothing of the canal that I wanted to capture.  (you can see the previous post to get the impression of how bad things were). 

The view from the submersible bridge - again!

After a few zig-zags in and out of Corinth - AGAIN! - we got to the viewpoint. Time: 12.30. Not too late, I hoped. I got out of the car and started running - at 30 degrees plus Celsius - and started frantically taking pictures of practically everything I got my lens on. Thank God I got the wide angle lens!!!

The canal from the other side of the bridge

Time went on and I got to the other side of the bridge (remember what I told you about the viewing platform being nonfunctional). 

This is the iconic view of the canal. Shot from the pavement of the car - bridge. Basically hanging on the safety fence for the shots of that side of the canal because the viewing platform was closed. 

By the time I was done with preliminary shots, it was around 1 pm.
Guess what??? At the far end of the canal I saw a boat approaching! A BOAT! No matter the time, I was totally into waiting for the boat to come to me - and even to get out of the canal.

One of my favourite shots from the day and roughly what I came to Corinth for :) 

 It was the picture-postcard thing I wanted to do!!! So I waited - it turned out that I didn't have to wait for a long time - some 15 minutes.
It was a miracle! My dream came true (well - sort of - it was a big ship but this little boat was ideal to show ho big th channel is). 

Another of my favourite shots

So I started snapping as if I had a machine gun - click, click, click, chat, chat, chat, chat! I LOVED IT!!! I was glad we got lost, after all - because otherwise we would have gotten to the canal earlier and we wouldn't have seen the boat. 
Sometimes getting lost helps.
Now, the technical information: how to get a picture like that?

The boats

There are several tourist boats that get inside the canal - either to show it to the tourists or just for the fun of being photographed from above (the people in the boat were having a great time while I was taking those shots). The boats have different schedule - so make sure you check it out first before you get on location. I think that there is at least one of them that gets inside the channel at midday - which means - somewhere between 12.00 and 13.00 pm and I think that there is another one later on during the day. 

The light

Make sure to be on location at midday - when the sun falls directly from above and the water inside the channel looks azure. Trust me, you won't regret it. 

If it is cloudy - any time would be suitable. But the water is less likely to be azure. 

Clothing

It is generally HOT in Peloponnese 7 months out of 12 and temperatures rise up to 30 degrees Celsius (and often higher - when we were there temperatures ranged from 30 to 38 in different parts of Peloponnese) so make sure you have sunscreen, a hat (it's windy at the bridge so make sure you keep it ON your head in some way) shorts and a T-shirt. Sneakers are a must - you'll need all the stability you can get while on the bridge. 

The bridge - again, in case you didn't pay attention last time

Gear

Any camera would do but let's try to get the DSLR settings:

• manual mode - f/8 - f/18 (depends on your ideas and the amount of light) - you need a BIG f/ number to get the bottom of the channel sharp; shutter speed - 1/320 sec + (in case there is a boat around - they move quite fast)
• images shot in RAW (or the highest quality JPEG) - so you can use your files later on.
• lens - wide angle is a must - you don't have much space to move around either way. 10-18 mm is a good choice but if you don't have one - use the widest setting of your lens (normally that is 18 mm). Forget about telephoto lenses unless you want to get a portrait of someone in the boat below.  

Safety precautions

Corinth canal is one of the two entry points from mainland Greece to Peloponnese (I keep repeating that, I know, but I hope that it gets stuck in your head) - the road that hosts the railing is VERY VERY BUSY!!! You can see trucks, buses (tourist and municipal) and cars of all brands and sizes driving over it at any minute. So:

• Do NOT go in the middle of the road for no reason (it is narrow enough)

The railing of the bridge in detail. 

• Do NOT hang over the railings!!! You don't want to risk a 70-meter fall down to the 8-meter deep water. (I am myself afraid of heights and that one took my breath away but still...) If the other viewing platform is still closed (as it was when I was there) DO NOT TRY TO GET ON IT!!! If they closed it - they probably did it for a reason - probably it is not stable enough to host ANYONE. DO NOT play the hero!

A side shot of the canal to show you ho deep it is.

Last note - Corinth Canal is one of the most spectacular places I have been to. If you are in the area - do go there. It's worth it!
Corinth has other places to see as well - Ancient Corinth is a must - see and has a great view and they have to have a museum or two. 

For those in love - bring a padlock and lock it on the bridge - many couples do that like they do it in France. As you can see from the picture above - they are quite a few. 

When do you know you have photography under your skin?

1. When you see the place you have been to through the camera lens and subsequently through the pictures you have made and you wonder if you actually took the photos because you don't actually remember the place.
2. When you plan your next vacation according to the places you want to take pictures of and not whether you'll be able to relax there.
3. When you see someone's picture on Facebook, Instagram (you name it) you start thinking about lighting and focus instead of how they actually look.
4. When you start grumbling the moment you see someone walking towards the thing you want to take picture of or when someone takes the camera away (normally to take a picture of you).
5. When you realize that the cloth you use to clean your lenses is way cleaner than the actual cloth meant to clean your glasses. 

Image taken from www.photography-cameras.org

6. When you have nothing against going somewhere in 37 degrees Celsius at noon just to get the right light.
7. When you take 2000 pictures and you yourself appear in no more than 30 of them.
8. When rainy clouds start meaning amazing pics for you. 
9. When you get annoyed by the lame pictures you see on the postcards in the bookstore. 
10. When you start getting more tan on the beach with camera in hand than actually sunbathing.

Image taken from www.brunch.co.kr

11. When all your hand luggage limit gets filled by camera gear. 
12. When you are able to spend more than 3 hours photographing a single strawberry and less than 5 minutes talking about anything that is not photography. 
13. When you start spending more time reading and/or practicing photography than actually talking to your family/ friends.
14. When you make your loved ones visit a place twice because you couldn't take the picture you wanted the first time.
15. When you feel the urge to photograph ANYTHING (from rocks to flowers and garbage)
17. That one is for girls only :When you don't have a lipstick but you have 5 filters and a remote trigger in your purse.
18. When you don't care about the way you actually look - how sweaty, baggy or dirty you look at the moment as long as you take the shot you want. 

Image taken from www.tofurious.com

19. When you normally can't climb a two-meter ladder to change the light bulb but you willingly hang out of a rickety 50-meter metal bridge just for the sake of taking that iconic picture. 
20.  When the first thing you cover when it rains is not your head but the lens.
21. When your definition of an informative conversation includes at least 5 photo techniques and as much camera gear specs. 
22. You were so immersed in reading this that you didn't even notice that the number 16 is missing. 

Lesson 2 - Get moving -part 1- Aperture

Lesson 2 - Get moving -part 1- Aperture 

Image taken from https://sites.google.com/a/sduhsd.net/mr-jordon/photography

Welcome to lesson 2 where we'll look at another very important aspect of photography - aperture and shutter speed. If you have read lesson 1 you already know that aperture is important for getting the correct exposure but you may wonder what it is. But first things first. 

So what is aperture and why do we need it? According to Wikipedia (again!) aperture is:

'The iris of the lens that controls the size (diameter) of the aperture is called “diaphragm” in optics. The sole purpose of the diaphragm is to block or stop all light, with the exception of the light that goes through the aperture. In photography, aperture is expressed in f-numbers (for example f/5.6)' 

OK, we started with the Chinese again... Still, let's try to break that into pieces - meaningful bits if possible. 

But before we do that we have to know ho the camera works...

Image taken from https://blog.cameralends.com/2014/07/21/8-photography-terms-that-commonly-confuse-beginners/

In the picture above you see a normal lens (OK, I know that some of you who have compact cameras can't exactly imagine what that is but don't worry - the built-in lens of your camera has the same thing). So - see that strange shape in the middle - pentagonal - like hole? Well, in plain English the HOLE that is formed is called the APERTURE of the lens and the  THING  that forms it is called the  DIAPHRAGM. 

Remember in lesson 1 where I told you about exposure and there was a diagram? If you don't - here it is again: 

Image taken from http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photography-exposure-diagram-photography-image25034157

So - in that diagram under APERTURE it says SIZE OF THE OPENING THROUGH WHICH LIGHT TRAVELS TO THE SENSOR. Basically the aperture controls how much light would get to the sensor and the diaphragm controls the size of the aperture. So far, so good. But as with anything else in photography (I guess in anything else as well) there is a catch. 

THE LARGER THE APERTURE THE LESS THINGS ARE IN FOCUS! In our diagram that is said in photographic as DEPTH OF FIELD  or as photographers love to abbreviate things to get people confused - DOF. Chinese again, hah?  Here is the point - aperture is measured with F numbers. THE BIGGER THE F NUMBER, THE BIGGER THE DOF. You still don't get me, do you? 

OK, imagine you're shooting a portrait - and you know, portraits have those nice blurry backgrounds - so you'll need a SMALLER F NUMBER (say f/2.8; f/3.5 or something of the sort) to GET THE BACKGROUND OUT OF FOCUS. Here it gets a little messy because SMALLER F NUMBER MEANS BIGGER APERTURE. That is so because you need a lot of light to go through the lens in order to blur the background (in photographic that's called 'out of focus'). See what I mean below:

Image taken from Google images - forgot where I downloaded it from, sorry to the author - meant no offence - If you recognize the author - contact me to change the caption

By analogy, if you want to take picture of that vast landscape you'll want everything in focus (photographic for that - 'pin sharp'). So you'll need a BIGGER F NUMBER (normally ranging between f/8 and f/22) to GET IT ALL IN FOCUS. Confusion continues because BIGGER F NUMBER MEANS SMALLER APERTURE. That is so because the hole needs to be very small in order for the sensor to get it all OK - like the method of camera obscura (I'm not gonna explain that here, just Google it).

Image taken from http://www.freelargeimages.com/landscape-2332/

So let's try to recapitulate what we know here:

Image taken from http://www.robertmackin.com/tutorials/photography/camera-aperture-explained/

Image taken from http://www.crafthubs.com/f-stops-apertures-for-beginners/12520

If you wonder where to find that in the camera menu - look below:

There is only one thing you should know about aperture - THE BIGGER THE APERTURE THE MORE THE LIGHT AND VICE VERSA. That means that at f/2.8 you'll not need abundance of light whereas at f/16 you'll do.

Back to Shoot Like a Pro

Lesson 1 - Understanding light - Exposure, ISO sensitivity

Lesson 1 - Understanding light - Exposure, ISO sensitivity

Image taken from http://7-themes.com/6876390-photography-wallpaper.html

In Greek Photography literally means 'painting with light' so if we're going to learn a few skills, the first thing we need to get acquainted with is light. Don't get panicked - no Physics involved here - at least no equations. I am hopeless at Physics myself so I'll try to stick to plain English and leave that particular science out of our work. 

So what determines whether the shot (that's photographic for 'picture') you've taken is light or dark? No. not only the light outside or wherever you are. It is (sorry about complicating things a bit but it can't be helped sometimes) how much of the light you see you let to get to the sensor of your camera (if you are old-fashioned - to the film). The photographic for that is EXPOSURE. That comes from how much you EXPOSE the sensor/film to light.  Here is what Wikipedia has to say as a definition of exposure: 

'In photography, exposure is the amount of light per unit area (the image plane illuminance times the exposure time) reaching a photographic film or electronic image sensor, as determined by shutter speed, lens aperture and scene luminance.'

Frankly, I don't get much of that myself so let's break that into meaningful bits  - it's the amount of light that gets to the camera sensor - we arledy got that. Shutter speed is the speed in which you camera can take pictures, lens aperture stands for that opening in the shutter (the thing that actually takes the pictures in your camera) that lets the light in and the luminance of the scene simply means how light it is. 

Here is a diagram explaining things in pictures - don't worry if you don't understand things now - it would get clear later.

Image taken from http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photography-exposure-diagram-photography-image25034157

No, don't tell me that your camera doesn't have that - ALL cameras do - whether they let you change it yourself is another matter. Even if you don't have a full manual (displayed as the letter M in the menu or on the control button of your camera) you'll still have some semi- manual mode available. 

So how do we control exposure then and what does it mean for us and our pictures?

Say you have a camera that has full manual (or something close to it) - when you turn on the screen (I am assuming that you have a digital camera) you'll see something like that:

OK, maybe not exactly something like that but still - you see the grid line? If you are taking picture through the screen it would appear at the bottom of the screen. 

Let's take a look at the grid line itself - you see the arrow there? It is normally set at 0. That means that the sensor of your camera 'sees' relatively the same amount of light you do. (I'll keep repeating throughout that the human eye is the most sophisticated photographic equipment on earth but still I'll use that for convenience's sake.) So that 0 is called - or at least I will call it - NEUTRAL EXPOSURE. Other photographers, however call it CORRECT EXPOSURE - assuming that when the arrow is at 0 there are no light issues. 

So - what happens if you move the arrow LEFT then? You see there are numbers there (in some models they are written with a minus: -1;-2;-3 etc.) each number means that the picture will be ONE TIME (Stop in photographic) DARKER than the neutral one. So thus a picture shot (photographic for 'taken') at exposure -3 (they call it 'stops') is 3 times darker than one shot at 0. 

If you go RIGHT - you'll notice the same numbers (written with a plus in front of them in some models - +1;+2;+3 etc.) Here the situation is the opposite - the shot gets LIGHTER than the neutral one. 

So - why did I post that awful diagram in the first place? Because the exposure is closely linked to other functions and is in a way dependent on them. The longer the exposure, the slower the shutter speed (the speed with which your camera can take pictures) and vice versa (you need more light and in order to provide it for you things slow down). 

Basically, photographers say that any picture that is TOO dark is UNDEREXPOSED  and any picture which is TOO light - OVEREXPOSED. 

Since a picture says a thousand words - here is one to make things clear: 

Image taken from http://photoinsomnia.com/photography/shoot-bracketed-for-better-landscapes/

The picture on the left is underexposed, the one on the right is overexposed and the correct exposure is in the middle. As you can see there is a red number on the shots to the sides indicating how much do they differ - in our case - two stops from the neutral. 

What's ISO?

Another thing that is closely linked to exposure is ISO sensitivity. No, it's not a spy code but even I don't know what the ISO abbreviation stands for. In plain English ISO sensitivity stands for the sensitivity of the sensor to light. Those who have used film know that films have limited or fixed ISO (say, one or two numbers). Well - good news - cameras have many. 

The rule is that THE HIGHER THE ISO THE LIGHTER IT GETS - IF ALL THE OTHER SETTINGS ARE THE SAME. So the higher ISO is determined by the bigger number - some cameras have options to have ISO of 12000 and even more.

Image taken from http://www.macrominded.com/iso-settings.html

OK, so here's the catch - THE HIGHER THE ISO THE LOWER THE QUALITY. When the sensor is more sensitive to light the quality of the picture gets worse. That's so because the sensor has to compensate for the lack of light - and you see the poor quality by seeing differently coloured pixels in the image. Photographers call that NOISE. THE LOWER THE ISO THE LOWER THE NOISE. Generally, it's recommended to use the lowest possible ISO in the circumstances. However, LOW ISO MEANS SLOW SHUTTER SPEED AND LONG EXPOSURE. 

See the difference below:

Image taken from http://www.exposureguide.com/iso-sensitivity.htm

So let's sum up ISO:

Image taken from http://www.suggestkeyword.com/cGhvdG9ncmFwaHkgaXNv/

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