Weather And Photography - What You Should Know

Oh man, I’m so excited! I’m gonna take a picture of the sun!

Well, that’s what happens when you get overexposed pictures. (This is a worst case scenario, so don’t expect to get a full white screen…and never expect to get…The Beatles… in it as well)

In reality, exposure is what you need to worry about in pictures. most pictures undergo special treatment to avoid overexposure, but some just seem to love exposure as it compliments everything. (And in reality, overexposed pictures are more… bumpy than that white screen.)

So, in this post, we will talk about weather, and your camera.

WEATHER AND YOUR CAMERA

From skylightweb.com:

These familiar occurrences of nature, such as; rain fog, wind and sunshine, always add a special touch to any scene. And make no mistake; the non-photographer will always welcome such low-budget special effects.

So, here’s a detailed list shortened:

Rain-Mysterious/Romantic/Unique
Sunny-Cheery
Low light-Dreary/scary
Fog-Mysterious with a dash of sadness
Night-Tense/scary/beauty
Snow-Fun
Winds-Jolty
Underwater-Cool (Yes)

So, that’s my very own detailed list on what weather (In photos) makes me feel.

So, if you’re looking to add emotion to your photography, weather is a think to keep your eyes out for.

Here’s one example. Just copy and paste the other links.. for some reason, they aren’t working..

Rain-

Sun-

Low light-

I miss home :(

Fog-

From a P&S (Mine)

Night-

Snow-

Windy-

Underwater-
<img src=”http://farm1.static.flickr.com/199/524677648_8632ce9f8d_m.jpg” alt=”" />

**Note:Only the fog picture is mine

My Daily Adventures: Photography Failures

I know you’ve been there: the perfect shot just slips away as you grab your camera, and what do you get instead? Some old guy eating ice cream. Great.

Seriously though, even after all these years, photography isn’t perfect. For example:

• Weather affects battery life. We should never forget this fact.
• Lighting affects automatic shutter speed.
• Direct flash can cause color loss. It’s best to bounce the flash, but I’ll get into that later.
• You (your hands) can affect the stillness of a picture. I mean, you don’t want your hands shaking all the time. This is the number 1 cause of blurry pictures.
• Your camera cannot control what it sees (That’d be really great though)

So yeah, we got that covered, some basics on why photography isn’t perfect. So, here are some tips that would help you in the long run:

• When it’s cold, bring extra batteries. Cold temperature robs batteries of their battery life. That is another reason why my NDS dies quickly when I go to the snow.
• Make sure you’re on manual in low light. Usually, this presents the best quality, unlike automatic, which is most likely give you a really weird exposure… Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it isn’t. Go ahead and try your luck. Just make sure to bring along a tripod.
• Direct flash. It sucks. Buy an external flash bulb, and let the light bounce off an object onto your focus. We need indirect light here, because you’ll be losing precious color without it.
• Your hands… Only on shutter speeds above 25. If it’s any lower, use breathing techniques, or use your tripod.
• Your camera can’t control what it sees. You can’t rob a bank with it, so quit trying.

So, those are a few basic tips on your camera.

Oh and do me a favor, If you’re gonna try to rob a bank, don’t call me.

High-End/Advanced Digital Cameras

It’s pretty awesome that my co-contributor Karl wrote his own version of a buyer’s guide, as I believe that it would go hand-in-hand with my own sort of buyer’s guide. Although his is a bit more targeted for people who consider buying DSLRs… you can always take it out of its original context and apply it to the three general types of digital cameras.

Speaking of, I’m back with the high-end / advanced digital cameras. I think that some people have to know that this type of camera exists, because others shoot directly to DSLRs without consideration of what they want, or more importantly, what they need — and in the long run, can they really afford it? (I don’t have anything against shooting to DSLRs though, both have their pros and cons, and some people feel like they are more than ready to take the big leap,  if you have the money, then why the hell not?) But still.

*Drum roll, please.*

The High-End Digital Cameras!

Also known as prosumer or bridge cameras, they are designed for those whose skill levels lie between a professional and a regular consumer. (If you’d ask me, they’re targeted for people who are trying to transition to Digital SLRs but without the proper knowledge or skill level.)

I would like to think of them as a good union of the good sides of the compact digicams and the DSLRs. It has many of the usual advantages of an SLR camera—numerous exposure and focus modes, versatile flash set-ups (meaning that you can attach accessory flashguns and the like), and medium-to-large aperture lenses—a multitude of manual controls but with more enhanced automatic settings. They are usually smaller in size and lighter in weight, which makes them more portable compared to a DSLR, which in addition to its hefty body, also has lenses which you also have to carry all the time. (As you can see, there’s also a stark similarity in its physical appearance with the DSLR. So if you’re in it for the ego power, then surely this has got pogi points.) Basically, you can do more with a prosumer digital camera than you can with a basic digital camera with almost the same image quality as that of a DSLR’s.

High-end digital cameras, however, have fixed lenses as opposed to the interchangeable lenses of a DSLR—one of the latter’s top features. They also lack the mirrors, larger sensors and reflex systems which characterize any DSLR.

Compared to the compact digital camera, it has better light-catching ability due to the premium optical glasses crafted by its manufacturer. They usually have resolutions that start from 5MP and…well, we just know it starts there.

Some examples of prosumer digital cameras lines are: Canon’s Powershot G line and Fujifilm’s Finepix S series. Their price ranges from moderately expensive to highly expensive.

How To Choose Your “Dream” Camera - The NCGVF’s

These are the moments when eenie-meenie-miney-mo’s are completely useless. I mean, you aren’t shooting a bullet in the dark here, am I right?

In choosing your “dream” camera, you have to keep these in mind:

1. Necessity: WHY Do you need a camera? Are you just gonna buy it to brag it? Or do you want to capture the true essence or reality, the mood, the aura of every single aspect of life, and post it up on Flickr, making everyone else with a boring old digital camera green with envy? We all know that holding one of these babies makes you feel HIGH &MIGHTY (I know it makes me) but do you really need it?
2. Cost: How much money have you set aside to actually buy this contraption? Is it worth it? Can you still afford dinner right after buying this?
3. Guarantee: Is it a sturdy camera? Will it last long? Does the guarantee cover meteor damage?
4. Value: How will you treasure your mechanical child? Will you leave him on the shelf for the dust bunnies to devour? Or will you give TLC (Tender Loving Care) and keep him with you 24/7?
5. Favoritism: Which brand do you like?

So, there you have it, your NCGVF’s of choosing a camera. (Yes, I know it’s not very catchy)

Here are some added Do’s and dont’s:

DO

• Buy new lenses, they help a lot in professional photography.
• Choose carefully amongst the cameras, and make sure to research before buying anything.
• Make sure you aren’t getting ripped off.
• Not give into peer pressure. (If you’re still awake, you’d notice this should be under Don’t. I’m not an idiot.)
• Pursue this career with livelihood.
• Make sense in what you are buying.
• READ THE MANUAL [exclamation mark][exclamation mark][exclamation mark][one][one][eleventy one]

DON’T

• Be careless.
• Play guessing games on buying these things.
• Buy a camera to impress your girlfriend/boyfriend (It’ll turn out HORRIBLE)
• Be heartless to your cold-unfeeling mechanical son.
• Live a lie.
• Go hunting for ghosts… Or maybe this is a do, if you’re a paranormal investigator, then do. If you aren’t, then don’t.
• Don’t go swimming with this camera, unless you have an underwater cover.
• Drop
• Blend
• Don’t- Seriously, I could come up with a MILLION dumb suggestions, and you’ll never get the point. Just don’t do whatever you think is bad.

Author’s note:

I suggest Canon as a starting brand, except it may be a bit too expensive… But don’t take my word for it.

[Reading Rainbow reference... Hardy har har]