Tamron Blog: Angle of View

Macro Flowers Part 2, Keep it Simple

By Ken Hubbard

 

Some orchids can be very complex flowers with curving lines overlapping one another and colors galore. Having so much to work with, in such a small flower, sometimes it can be difficult to find a point of focus. So I am going to keep this blog nice and short with a simple technique I use to keep myself from getting frustrated.

Keep it simple

We all go through periods where we look at something we want to photograph but just don't know where to start. When I have a tough time finding an interesting image with the more complex orchids, I turn to the very simple ones. A perfect example is the image above, what caught my eye was the perfect curve of the fuzzy stem leading to the slightly opened bud which revealed just a little bit of pink color. That's it, nothing more, so I framed the flower nice and tight accentuating the curve and size of the bud.

I captured this image using Tamron's SP 180mm 1:1 Macro lens with the following settings: ISO 400, F/32 at a 1/2 sec. shutter speed. This was shot in one of Parkside Orchids (Ottsville, PA) greenhouses, so the sunlight was nicely diffused by its translucent roof. I placed a yellow piece of craft paper about 24" behind the flower to add some color and a white panel reflector to bring in a touch more light.

Tiny Bit of Winter

By André Costantini

 

It doesn't matter where you are in the United States this year, one thing seems pretty certain, 2012 will not be remembered for a harsh winter. I was out in Colorado a few weeks ago and even in the mountains you could see the grass poking through the lack of snow.

Last weekend, in the Catskill Mountains there was finally a day that looked and felt like winter and to celebrate this glorious occasion my fiancée and I hiked up Slide Mountain. It wasn't until the sun briefly managed to break through the clouds that I noticed that all the trees were completely encased in ice, making it truly a "Winter Wonderland."

Halfway up the mountain we came across this easily accessible subject and took turns looking for compositions with the Tamron SP 60mm F/2 Macro. Inherently, macro lenses have less depth of field at closest focus especially at wider open apertures. This makes focus critical but also allows you to select a specific point of interest.

It's funny that the images seem to convey calmness, which completely does not depict the reality of the windy conditions and snowfall that was actually occurring at the time of capture. Anyone that has macro experience knows that when even a slight breeze can blur your subject, high winds and snow would make it a bit more challenging. When I downloaded the images I noticed that these two looked great together because they had a similar rhythm even though they were from different perspectives and decided to create a diptych. Often the placement of images next to each other can change the meaning or the mood. In this case, the curves of the individual images become more lyrical and accented, more like music instead of merely notes. And that is my brief and tiny bit of winter.

Pike National Forest Sunset Silhouette

By Rob Moody

During the days of shooting film, sunsets and sunrises were easier to shoot correctly. Your image had all the color and vividness you remember standing there witnessing the scene. There is no question that digital cameras have made taking most pictures easier, however this isn’t always the case when it comes to sunrise and sunset. This is because the camera gets fooled into thinking the vivid colors are an undesired colorcast over your image and therefore tries to correct them out. This results in the colors being different from image to image as you shoot.

The solution here is to study white balance and how to set it using the WB button on your camera. In the olden days of film, the white balance was built into the film. You bought either daylight film or tungsten corrected film and then used filters for any further color correction. In digital cameras today, the white balance is selectable at anytime. Adding to possible confusion, there is also now an automatic white balance mode where the camera automatically selects the setting it thinks is right. Well, despite modern advances in state of the art cameras, auto white balance or AWB is not accurate in certain shooting scenarios including sunrise and sunset.

Did you know your camera came with a manual? All kidding aside, inside your manual you can study different white balance settings that include auto, daylight, tungsten or incandescent, shade on a blue sky day and several settings for florescent lights. If you are new to this don’t worry! Your camera may have scene select modes like portrait, landscape and night scene. If it does, it more likely than not has a sunrise/sunset mode inside the menu. If so, that mode does exactly what we are about to learn.

The key for beginners may be to shoot images in auto white balance. Then when the colors go haywire, use that sunrise/sunset scene mode or learn to set your camera to daylight white balance. The icon for this is a sun in your WB settings area in your camera. What this does is set the camera to a known value of white balance, in this case daylight. With this reference, your camera will capture great colors in your sunrise and sunset images like the ones you remember standing there.

Now that we know the color will be correct. The final piece of the pie is to use your over/under exposure compensation to dial in the exact exposure you want. I find in this situation that under-exposing by 1/3 to 2/3 of a stop or 0.3 to 0.7 on the compensation reading in your camera, results in images that most resemble the scene as it was when I was standing there. Also, try under-exposing more to create a silhouette with foreground objects such as trees as I did in the last example image. This is a good thing to do as the sun sets behind the ridgelines. As you do this for a few minutes you will come to a point where the images are too dark. At this point, start moving the exposure compensation back toward neutral or 0.0, reviewing an image every couple of minutes, keeping your trees silhouetted, but the sky as bright as possible. With a little practice, you will have it down. It’s important to remember to change the settings on your camera back to their neutral or automatic positions if you don’t want to encounter a surprise at your next shoot.

These images were taken in Pike National Forest in the Rampart Range of Colorado with the Tamron 18-270 VC PZD. This can be a difficult area to shoot in because you are in the forest with few open areas to the sky. Forest roads work best for finding optimal spots to shoot. Use a tripod and a hot-shoe bubble level for best results. A circular polarizer is also handy for removing undesirable atmospheric particulate reflection if the sky seems hazy. Bring your coat, its cold this time of the year.

South Platte Moon Shot

By Rob Moody

One of the things that used to frustrate me about nature photography was that whenever a picture included the moon, it was always washed out. To me, having the moon in a landscape adds interest and balance to the composition. Ironically, many people think you added the moon in a computer when it is properly exposed in your image.

While you can just show up anytime and hope for the best, for optimum results plan in advance to shoot images of the moon with a little knowledge beforehand. Look up the moon phase on your computer or smart phone, there is an app for that. You may have noticed that you can see the moon in the sky during daylight hours. This only happens during certain parts of the year. Sometimes it’s in the morning and sometimes in the afternoon. Furthermore, with programs like Google Earth, you can determine the path of the moon and the sun in the landscape. This helps you to determine the location and the time that will give you the best chance at getting the shot.

I’m often asked what settings I use in the camera to do this. The answer is the same settings I use for the landscape. The trick to making this easier is changing your thinking about a picture of the moon. It’s easy to think that you have to expose for the moon and that it’s complicated. However, the solution is to shoot the moon in the landscape when they are both in the same light. Notice in the images included that the same value of light is falling on the landscape, rocks and the moon. When this is happening, I shoot several images in various compositions.

The time of day is key because there is a limited time that both the landscape and the moon will be close together in exposure value. It’s best to show up an hour before you think will be the right time for insurance. This is where homework on the computer saves time and enables better results. As you move further away from this key time window, the exposure becomes more about the moon and less about the landscape limiting the types of images you can create. That doesn’t mean you have to quit shooting, you just have to change your exposure if you want detail in the moon instead of a bright blob. I have found that after the key time window has closed, changing my plan to silhouettes in the foreground with a properly exposed moon creates compelling images.

This is where photography can be more difficult to understand and knowledge of how your camera obtains exposure readings can be a plus. Using full or whole screen metering will result in an over-exposed moon because your camera is considering more of the landscape for the exposure and less of the moon. Using spot metering on the moon can be difficult because it’s challenging to put the spot meter on the moon and even when you can, you usually still have to compensate for over or under exposure of the moon. Therefore, while there are several ways to arrive in the same place with a camera, I have found that using center-weighted metering in combination with over/under exposure compensation quickly gets me the images I’m after. I take the first shot like a Polaroid and analyze it. Then I over or under compensate to dial in the exposure of the moon. Once I have it dialed in, I shoot several images in various compositions.

For best results, I use a tripod. If reflections in water are in the image, I use a hot-shoe bubble level to level the camera. A hot-shoe bubble level is better than a bubble level on the tripod for landscape photography because it can be used to level the camera no matter how the tripod is positioned. If you don’t own a cable release or a remote yet, use your cameras self-timer to release the shutter. Use a circular polarizer to remove any unwanted reflection from the scene.

These images were taken in the South Platte River area of Colorado using a Tamron 18-270mm VC PZD lens. This is a great place to photograph during the winter months and it is close to Denver. From a pebble to as big as a stadium, the size and the quantity of rocks in this area will amaze you. With over 310 days of sunshine every year, it seems the sky is always blue around here.

Brook Forest Backlight

by Rob Moody

I really enjoy the mountains and the forest. Whether it is on skis, snowshoes or on foot, there is something mystical about hiking through it on a crisp winter day. I often marvel at the way the sunlight looks through the trees as it paints its path. Late in the afternoon a few days ago, I drove to a close by trail near Brook Forest, Colorado to take a hike. I always bring a tripod when I intend to shoot in the forest. While it seems bright as you hike along, it’s amazing how dark it is when you shoot into the trees.

For me, there is something compelling about the challenge of shooting into the sun. This is probably because I was always taught not to do it by my father and eventually teachers as I grew up. Just like touching your tongue to a freezing metal light post outside in the winter, I had to try it at least once. While I found out the hard way that others were right most of the time, today I still shoot into the sun.

Here are a few things to think about while shooting. Blocking the sun out entirely with part of a branch or trunk can be compelling. Partially blocking the sun can also be interesting. If you want the direct sun to be more like a star burst, use higher f-stops or close down your aperture. If your color is getting messed up, use daylight white balance. Use your over/under exposure compensation to dial it in. Make sure to set the over/under exposure compensation back to 0.0 afterwards.

If you haven’t tried this before, consider it. The worst thing that can happen is you have to delete the image. It’s a lot of fun, especially when you get a really good one. Good shooting. Both images were created using a Tamron 18-270 VC PZD.

What’s in your own backyard?

by Rob Moody

We’ve been getting a bit of snow in Colorado lately. One morning as I was drinking my coffee, I noticed that the snowfall from the night before looked very interesting on the trees against the blue sky. Doing presentations to the public, I often get statements like, “You live in Colorado and it’s hard to take a bad picture there.”

While I admit I’m closer to the action when it comes to nature photography, you would be surprised what’s in your own backyard. Often times we think we need to travel to a far off land to take great pictures. You are used to your surroundings and don’t find them as photographically interesting as that distant far off land. However, I might however come to your neighborhood and find it incredibly interesting to photograph.

Shooting in familiar surroundings causes you to actively seek out interesting photographs. This is a great exercise. Take a fresh look in your backyard… you might be surprised what you find. All images were taken with a Tamron 18-270 VC PZD Lens.

Timing is Everything, but Luck is Good too!

By Ken Hubbard

So there you are in Kelso, Washington and you don't have to be at the airport until 1:00pm the next day, what do you do? Oh yeah, it's also been raining pretty much for the past 4 days straight, I ask again what do you do? Well, if you happen to be with another professional landscape photographer, in this case Ed Heaton from PA, you will convince yourselves it's a great idea to wake up before sunrise and head out to Mount Saint Helen's. Since I've always wanted to see the blast zone area of this amazing place, it didn't take much to talk myself into getting up to see it. Even though the clouds where low and it was raining (of course it was) we still made our way up highway 504 which headed towards the Johnston Ridge Observatory. To tell the truth, for me there is a nervous excitement that surrounds places like Mount Saint Helens, the sheer magnitude of destruction that took place within a few minutes, is amazing to me.

On May 18th 1980, Mount Saint Helens erupted, creating a 5.1 mag. earthquake, collapsing the entire north face of the volcano, then a slab of rock and ice slammed into Spirit Lake, crossed a ridge 1,300 feet high, and roared 14 miles down the Toutle River, and finally a lateral explosion occurred and nearly 150 square miles of forest was blown over or left dead and standing.

Knowing these facts and getting our first few signs of destruction, we continued to march on, hoping the clouds would break. As the altitude started to rise, every now and then we would get a good glimpse of the valley and our hopes would rise and fall with every bit of bright light but then the skies would darken and clouds would impede our view. I was starting to convince myself that this trip was going to end up being a scouting trip, and there would be little to no chance of capturing anything worthwhile. Boy, was I wrong.

As Ed and I pulled into a vantage point just before the Observatory, we planned on stepping out for just a second then continuing on. I stopped my car and we looked out into the valley that led to the volcano, I got a familiar feeling, it was that feeling of being very small compared to mother nature. The clouds were moving extremely quick and in many different directions from the strong winds, slowly a small bit of the volcano started to show itself. Then, all of a sudden a burst of light filled the valley, it took us both by surprise and Ed's exact quote was "I think we better move quickly". We did, grabbing our gear, setting up and trying to fire off as many images as we could before the light disappeared. We were lucky enough to get about 10 minutes of shooting before the clouds took over and covered up Mount Saint Helens once again. If we were there 5 minutes earlier or 5 minutes later, we would never have captured what we did. No matter how much you plan or try and figure out every equation, luck still comes into play every now and then!

What calls to you?

Sometimes, a single image is a great day in image making. I have selected a couple from recent trips that sort of show that.

The first image is about being aware of the final output and separating what's important from the clutter around it. (Inclusion/exclusion). I was on my way to the Denver airport from Colorado Springs with a little time to spare, so I stopped at the Garden of the Gods. Unfortunately, traffic was intense and time was short. So, I couldn't go into the park. But I decided to stop at the visitors center outside the entrance. From the second floor balcony, this was the scene:

As soon as I saw the scene, I saw the final image in my mind. It just said: "HELLO!". Not the entirety of what was there. But, just what was calling to me, the entrance to the park, backed by Pikes Peak:

Also, recently, while in the Northwest with the 4Cs PSA convention, I had a side trip and found two images that I did not have to search out. They screamed out at me to be explored.

Nothing was done except to remove the extraneous elements in the scenes and some tonal adjustments. All that was done was to be open to not just looking, but seeing what wanted to be seen.

Focal plane and controlling your depth of field on somewhat flat surfaces

By Ken Hubbard

When capturing images with a macro lens, such as the Tamron SP 60mm F/2.0 1:1 Macro, focus is always critical. As with any lens, the closer you physically move towards your subjects the shallower depth of field becomes. Since you can be as close as 9 inches to your subject (measured from your camera sensor to the front point of your subject) with this macro lens, depth of field is extremely shallow. Now, the test is how do you control that depth of field and keep as much of your subject in focus as possible? For this blog I will start with a somewhat flat surface subject, a very small fern growing on a split rail fence. I position my camera and lens so that the front element of the lens is parallel to the flat subject, being the rail and fern. With the lens and subject now being on the same focal plane, no part of the subject (corner to corner) is any closer or further away to the lens, allowing for a in focus image through out. If I was off parallel (Lens to subject), part of the subject would be closer and part would be further away, causing some of the image to be out of focus. See diagram and image below.

The Pacific Northwest for a day...at the end of Lewis & Clark's great adventure

By John VanSteenberg

Recently, Tamron sent a team of us to the Northwest to work with the Columbia Camera Club Council. I got a chance to spend one day on the coast of the Pacific northwest (where I had not been), around Cape Disappointment, the end of the trail of Lewis and Clarks’ great expedition to the Pacific at the dawn of the westward movement of settlers.

The coast is sparsely populated. The drive along state highway 4 and US 101 west from Longview, beside the Columbia river, is a tale of twists and turns through tiny villages and great scenery. There are thousands of acres of rainforest and rugged mountains. There are tugboats pushing great barges along the river, funky country stores and diners to explore. Eventually, it ends at Cape Disappointment and the Long Beach peninsula, where the Columbia empties into the Pacific. The peninsula runs straight north and south facing the Pacific Ocean. It is bounded by Leadbetter Point State Park covering its north tip, the Willapa Bay on the west and Baker Bay on the southwest. The Columbia River is on the south and is connected to the mainland by a land bridge.

I had never seen the confluence of the Columbia and the Pacific. I have to say, it is amazing. I got to spend an evening and part of a day around Long Beach, Washington. It’s a wonderful village smack in the middle of the longest beach in the world, fronting on the Pacific Ocean. At about 50 miles long, the beach is over twice Daytona’s famed length. And like Daytona, the public is permitted to drive on it. In addition to being long, it is wide, really wide. The surf is often really rough. (Consider that the Columbia forces massive amounts of outflow into the ocean, conflicting with the southbound flow of the ocean’s coastal stream.)

Long Beach Peninsula is a really interesting town to visit. From the funky and fun tee shirt emporiums (like Stormin’ Norman’s) to the ice cream shop, with the HUGE servings (Scoopers) to the fudge shops, to the more upscale eateries, it takes one back in time. Cape Disappointment is home to two lighthouses, though I had to miss them this trip. A side trip to Oystertown produced a great dinner of clams and a few cool photos.

When I left Long Beach for the three-hour drive to the Portland airport, I had the chance to stop in Ilwaco and see the Pacific from just about where Lewis and Clark viewed it hundreds of feet above the shore, after their amazing adventure. I also visited the Ilwaco fishing fleet port, crossed the mighty Columbia to Astoria Oregon and then to Portland.

Then, it was off to Portland and the overnight flight back to Ohio.