Tamron Blog: Angle of View

Bokeh For Beginners

   By Patrick Nagle

Bokeh is a term that has become very popular in the photographic world. It is the way a lens renders out of focus points of light. It may be intimidating to some, but it is actually very simple to do. All we are doing here is shooting with a very shallow depth of field. First you need some points of light; Christmas lights are perfect for this. You then want to put your subject far from your background. The photograher needs to shoot close to the subject that is intended to be in focus. Turn the camera onto Aperture Priority and open up the aperture as wide as possible. From there it's then just a matter of how you want to compose the image against the light source.

 

Tamron 60mm f/2.0 @ 1/2 sec. - f/2.8 - ISO 100

It was mentioned that a wide aperture is best for good bokeh. However, this effect can be achieved with any lens....

 Tamron 16-300mm VC PZD @ 135mm -  2 sec. - f/6.0 - ISO 100

Typically other photographers will say that you have to shoot with a fast prime such as a f/1.8 or f/2.8 lens, but the above image was shot with an all in one zoom at f/6.0. It was mentioned earlier that bokeh has to do with a shallow depth of field. It is critical to remember that our f-stop is not all that affects DOF. It is also the focal length and focus distance. To get the above effect, all that was needed was to zoom and change positioning.

Bokeh can be very rewarding when done correctly. As always, practice and experiment with it. But most of all, have fun!

Shooting Fireworks Anytime

By Jeff Allen

Firework photography isn’t just for patriotic holidays anymore. In addition to Independence Day, there are shows on New Year’s Eve, at fairs and carnivals, sports team championship celebrations and season openers, business or civic grand openings and dedications, amusement parks and many more throughout the year. There are slightly different challenges shooting fireworks from a distance versus shooting displays nearby.

The photo below was shot at an early New Years Eve event with the Tamron 18-270 Di II VC PZD. As always, dress for the weather. If outside for long periods, keep back-up batteries inside a coat to keep them warm. Choose a spot safely away from the fireworks, and scout locations in advance of the show if possible. Choose a location with the breeze at your back, so the smoke is blowing away from the display for sharper results. Focus manually and leave it set once the distance is determined, so the camera isn’t trying to hunt for focus in the dark.

Use a steady tripod and a release cable, or remote, for the sharpest results. For long distance shots a telephoto lens is necessary. Use a low ISO like 100 or 200, as the bursts are very bright. Try using manual exposure. The best results are usually shot with exposure times from about 5-30 seconds because the camera records everything that happens for as long as the shutter is open. The longer the shutter speed, the more visible the firework trails will be. Try different shots, allowing only one or two bursts, then allow several bursts to expose on each frame. A noise reduction software program in post-production can help eliminate the digital noise seen in shots like this.

Shooting Motion with Panning

By Jeff Allen

 

A great way to photograph “night light” subjects is to follow, or pan, with the subject as it moves past you. The best results are achieved when using the continuous shooting mode on the camera, so there are more frames to choose from. Experiment with shutter speeds, but the results are generally created with shutter speeds ranging from 1/10 sec. to 1/60 sec., depending on how fast the subject is moving and the amount of available light. When panning, leave a bit of room in the frame for the subject to “move into”. This shot of a carousel horse was the third frame of a of five-shot burst shooting as the horse approached and passed by. Good results can be achieved with this technique whether hand-held or panning on a tripod.

Wild Poinsettias

By André Costantini

 

The poinsettia as a Christmas flower allegedly traces its roots to the 16th century in Mexico, it's popularity in America is largely a 20th century phenom. In many parts of the world, such as Mexico, India and parts of Nepal, the flower grows in the wild and is more of a shrub or a tree. And it was on a hike in Nepal, specifically Pokhara, at the base of the Himalayas that we came across a huge plant towering over us with the sky behind. Though I am used to seeing poinsettias in December in America, I was not used to a large plant hanging ten feet overhead. I had my new Tamron SP 70-200 f2.8 VC lens with image stabilization already on the camera and was able to take this image at 181mm at 1/40th of a second hand held. The aperture was f7.1 and the ISO 125. The camera was set in Manual mode.

Depending on the situation, I use my camera in different modes. In this case Manual not only allowed me to control the camera to properly expose the flower, but also to maximize my depth of field and image quality with a lower ISO. In general the lower the ISO the better the image quality but because there is a relationship between ISO and shutter speed, one has to make choices to optimize your picture. Having Tamron's VC (Vibration Compensation) stabilizer in the lens allowed a shutter speed of 1/40 of a second hand held at 181mm. 10 years ago this would have been almost impossible to get without a tripod.

Even though my lens can open to an aperture of f2.8, sometimes you need additional depth of field to get the image you want. In order to get the central poinsettia sharp and the surrounding ones a little soft, at 181mm the aperture was stopped down to f7.1.

When exposing an image that is back lit, it is necessary to over-expose, from what the cameras meter will tell you. This is because the meter, if you leave it in an evaluative or matrix setting, is looking at the entire frame and does not know you want to expose for a back lit subject. By overexposing, the blue sky turns white and the black flowers turn red. The image below is how the camera wants to expose it automatically. Often, great images are all around you, even if you are not in Nepal, but sometimes you have to manipulate the camera to make pictures the way you see them. Until next year...

Photographing Holiday Lights

By Jillian Bell

Driving around, looking at holiday lights is one of my favorite things to do in December. It's not too late to show off your own hard work. I find to get the best color, photograph your lights after sunset and underexpose the exposure by at least a stop (-1) to keep shadows dark. Also, having an ISO setting at 100-200 will allow for better saturation and detail of the lights. Use a tripod for the best stability, turning your lens stabilization (VC) off in the process. This method is ideal and will create beautiful night photographs like image #1 (F11 ISO 200 2.5 Seconds). Now 2.5 seconds is great, but let's face it, you do not always have time to set up a shot like this. In a more practical situation, the other photographs were taken while caroling the other night. With luminaries lining the streets, and festive garland everywhere, it was hard not to stop in-between houses.

No tripod, no time, how did I capture these photographs?

The secret is in your ISO settings. With a higher sensitivity, you can speed up your shutter speed and take good low light photos on the fly. ISO 1000, shutter speeds closer to 1/4^th or 1/20^th, I am using the Tamron SP 17-50mm F2.8 VC lens wide open. Granted the lights do not stand out as much, and any movement is blurred, but they turn out pretty good. Again with the VC off, I am using a light pole, or park bench to stabilize myself.

Happy Holidays everyone! See more light related photographs on my Facebook page: BellTamronUSA.

I would love to see some of your own holiday displays – share them on my page!

Adventures with Tamron : Holidazzle

by Jillian Bell

This post is a little late for the holidays, but still worth sharing.

Celebrating it's 20th season this winter, the Holidazzle Parade brings a festive reason to venture out into the cold. It is sponsored by local businesses and is made up of about 15 floats, choirs singing, marching bands, and of course an appearance by Santa Clause to finish off the night. It runs Thursday - Sunday the weekend after Thanksgiving until the weekend before Christmas. Holidazzle is rather unique in the fact that each float, and those walking in the parade are completely covered by lights, glitter, and costumes. The excessive light displays are essential because here in MN the sun is setting by 5:00pm. It has a family friendly atmosphere, all of the floats have storybook themes and if it's too cold, there is plenty of hot cocoa, or a sky way system to watch from above. Personally, I am a fan of holiday light displays. There is a challenge to get good exposure having high contrast, and moving subjects, but I think these turned out well. The exposure for these images floated right around F6.3 @ 1/60th of a second, with my ISO ranging from 1000-3000. For best results, keep your camera on manual mode and under expose by a full stop. Once you figure out what exposure the scene is, setting the camera in Manual over Aperture, Shutter priority, or another mode will keep your exposure consistent. Keep the same rule of thumb for photographing holiday lights on your home. Underexpose slightly, but in this case, you can use a very low ISO to reduce noise, and achieve better detail. Tripods are a must for this application. My favorite part of all these photos, is how vivid the colors are. I don't decorate much at my house, so being able to celebrate the season by other means is appreciated. Wishing you well, whichever season you are celebrating. Thank you for reading.

"Tis the Season"

 By Ed Heaton

It's that time of year when the mood of our country becomes joyful and festive. Along with this joyful atmosphere comes holiday decorations and lights which are always good for photo opportunities. For me the holiday season wouldn’t be complete without a visit to Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania to see the amazing holiday display of lights and flowers.

 
Now, working in a controlled public area such as a conservatory or greenhouse always presents equipment challenges because there are limited space and sometime company regulations prohibiting a lot of gear. You need to select your equipment carefully and be prepared for the variety of images you'll have a chance to capture. A good choice for an all-inclusive lens would be the Tamron 18-270mm (for the APS-C sensor cameras) or the Tamron 28-300mm (for the full frame/ FX cameras).

 
Now let's not forget about making a few macro or close-up images, and for this I'd bring along either my Tamron 60mm, Tamron 90mm or my Tamron 180mm macro lens. This has me traveling light and still being able to cover a large range of focal lengths with just two lenses and my tripod which is very manageable inside close quarters.

  
Happy Holidays!

Best of Light,

Ed

The Cuyahoga Valley National Park: Part 2, A family farm survives and thrives.

 By John VanSteenberg

Just a couple of miles south of Peninsula, Ohio; deep inside the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, on the corner of Bolanz and Riverview roads, close beside the river and the heavily used bike and hiking path, sits another of the main summer and fall draws for the parks millions of visitors.

Rarer than ever today, a small family farm survives deep inside the park by filling a unique niche. It grows and sells some of the world’s best corn and fresh produce: really fresh.

 

Through nearly 70 years, the Szalay family has farmed the rich bottom land of the Cuyahoga and sold corn from a road side stand. Once the Park surrounded them and the bike path ran behind the farmhouse, they expanded the produce stand they ran and created a true farm market, selling the corn and vegetables they grew in the fields nearby and hundreds of other exquisite items from around the world.

Today, thousands of people flock to Szalay's to pick up corn just minutes from the stalk and a wide selection of other fresh vegetables, fruits, baked goods and specialty foods. Or they come in for a lemonade, or cider, or fresh baked corn, sausage sandwiches, baked turkey drumsticks or an ice cream cone (or two). Or they come just to take a break from the trail. They come by car. They come by bike. They hike in. They come by every way and from everywhere.

From the outside it all looks pretty benign. A classic farm house, a pole barn building used as an open air store. A hundred or so cars in the parking lot… with dozens of people scurrying about. The approach is outfitted with few traditional log chairs and tables and some rather unique seating arrangements (on covered farm wagons, covered swings, metal forged wagon-wheel rocking chairs with tractor seats, huge ‘family size’ swings that hold 6 people). Kids climb onto and off converted corn wagons and other unique serving areas (some think it's more fun than the circus).

 

Inside, and under the awning, things change fast. The place is a riot of color. The foods vary in every way: size, shape and color. The produce comes from as far away as South Africa, and as close as 100 yards from the stand. Dozens of people labor constantly restocking bins with hundreds of different items; cooking sandwiches and corn and piling soft serve into cones for the kids, big and small. Wagon loads of corn are being snapped up by shoppers and are constantly rotated and refilled.

The Szalays were nice enough to allow me to photograph things and in a few minutes I got an eyeful of color, shapes and sizes.

All of the images were made with the Tamron 18-270mm VC zoom.

Cool Carnival Sights

 By Jeff Allen

In a previous blog post, I wrote about motion in lights in amusement rides. There are still plenty of opportunities to visit a local county or state fair, traveling carnival, or amusement park before they start winding down for the year. Another technique I like to try when shooting rides or lights is to pan with the subject firing the shutter as the ride moves and attempt to match my panning motion speed with the speed the ride is moving. This effect allows for sharpness in some parts of the subject and motion blur in others.

A carousel or merry go round is a great subject to experiment with. I am told for what it’s worth that the difference is just directional. Carousels go counter clockwise, merry go rounds go clockwise. Hmm.

Anyway, remember that you will truly be shooting in three dimensions. The subject is moving toward you, in front of you and away from you, and possibly up and down on a pole. You will need to shoot lots of different images to get just the right combination of sharpness and blur, and centering of the subject in the frame.

For this subject I chose the Tamron SP AF17-50 f2.8 with VC stabilization. After some test shots I determined that the best exposures were, at this carnival, ISO 400, shutter speeds of 1/10th sec and 1/15th sec, apertures at f2.8 and 3.2. Not much difference in exposure. I just played with a slight variance in speed to try with a bit of a difference in blurred and sharp areas. I did leave the VC stabilizer turned on as it works well with panning. See the example images below. Be careful as not all brands of stabilized lenses work well while panning with the stabilizer turned on. You may need to turn yours off. Sometimes a monopod or tripod can be handy to help steady your camera. The VC stabilization helps a bit with camera shake at slow shutter speeds when panning. Also experiment with the follow focus or predictive focus mode in your camera. You may want to turn the auto focus off as it can easily be fooled in these situations and manually focus. I usually will determine my focus point and let the subject come to me, starting to shoot just before and continuing after the focus point, again to allow me the maximum possibility of getting what I want. Amusement rides are great for learning how to pan and shoot. When you are comfortable with the basics of slow shutter speed panning, it’s fun to experiment with all sorts of moving subjects, like sports and even children at play in the back yard. Notice I didn’t say “master.” There are always enough variables in exposure that you will probably always need to shoot a bunch of images to get what you like. But… that’s true of almost all photography. Shoot lots, learn what works, and improve your technique.

Have fun and good shooting.

@ 17mm, 1/10, f2.8   Great motion blur, and f2.8 subject isolation 

@19mm 1/15 sec, f2.8   Try to get the horse at the top or bottom of its travel up and down the pole. There’s a pause, so there’s one less motion action to think about.

Don't forget to zoom in or get closer and shoot vertically. Though at 1/15th sec and f2.8 here at 50mm, the background motion blur is unseen.

 

 

Fireworks and Epiphanies

  By Jeff Allen

I discovered a few years ago when photographing a fireworks show, the benefit of shooting RAW files in addition to, or instead of shooting just jpeg files. Actually I discovered why when I downloaded the images and opened them.

The jpeg’s were about what I was used to when viewing fireworks photos. Most shots looked ok, but typically washed out and lacking much of the brilliant color I saw through the viewfinder.

I had also decided to experiment with images shot in RAW file format, which I had captured along with the jpegs. I had played with RAW files in the past, but wasn’t convinced of their benefit, much beyond having an uncompressed file for better cropping and enlarging, and the ability in RAW to correct for mistakes made in shooting, such as fixing mistakes in settings, like fixing an incorrect color balance.

My experience with fireworks changed my mind about RAW shooting rather dramatically. I discovered that even with the basic file converter software included with my DSLR, after making a couple of quick, easy “slider” adjustments I could get the saturated color that I was never able to get when shooting jpeg’s, or even with film! Colors I saw at the event, but thought were lost due to exposure limitations of digital sensors (and film), turned out to be there. Color that was easy to reclaim!

I discovered that jpeg’s just don’t cut it for fireworks, and subsequently most subjects. I think you will, too, if you try RAW shooting.

If you rarely or never use your camera’s RAW file shooting capability, embrace your independence this year and try it for your holiday fireworks photography. I think you will be pleased with the results. You might experience an epiphany like mine, and change your shooting habits for the better.

Here are some shooting tips, plus some before and after examples of raw and jpeg images.

Shooting Basics:

Set your camera to the lowest ISO setting, usually 100 or 200. Use a sturdy tripod or something really solid to support the camera. A release cable for the camera is also helpful to get sharper shots. Experiment with a couple of hand held shots, or try zooming during the exposure. Abstracts can be interesting.

Set the camera for manual exposure. If you have not tried making these adjustments before, check your manual, or ask your favorite photo professional for help. Also set the camera lens to manual focus, and pre-focus on the area where the fireworks are being shot from as a starting point. Re-adjust as necessary once the show is underway, and check focus occasionally in case wind or the design of the show changes your focus point.

Set the aperture to f8 or 11 to start. Try exposures of a couple of bursts once you find where in the sky they are exploding. Try longer exposures with more bursts. Change to smaller or larger apertures to see what effect it has on your shots. I have found exposure times of five to 20 seconds produce my favorite results. Also, try to get the western sky at your back so ambient light is less of a problem.

Remember to shoot both horizontal and vertical images. Vertical really works well with the subject matter.

JPEG - Shot at 17mm, 11 seconds @f8

RAW - Shot at 17mm, 11 seconds @f8

JPEG - Shot at 26mm, 20 seconds @f8

RAW - Shot at 26mm, 20 seconds @f8

Zoom in to fill the frame, shot at 70mm, 10 seconds @f11

Zoom in to fill the frame, shot at 70mm, 10 seconds @f11

Fireworks from about 5 miles, shot at 200mm, 9 sec. @ f8. Avoid street light lit foreground if possible.

Fireworks from about 5 miles, shot at 200mm, 9 sec. @ f8. Avoid street light lit foreground if possible.

Again, try zooming in for a vertical shot. Shot at 70mm, 8 seconds @ f11

Again, try zooming in for a vertical shot. Shot at 70mm, 8 seconds @ f11