Pop-and-Drag (photo lesson #2)

My friend, Crisco, and I went to a gallery show of photos on Saturday. Amazing stuff! Photographs I have only seen in books and not in person. This is at the Vancouver Gallery of Photography until 31 March.
Photographers like: Dorothea Lange, Edward Steichen, Man Ray, Herb Ritz, you get the idea. What impressed me is that these are a private collection from a Vancouverite! (Thank you Yosef Wosk!) I never knew Vancouver actually liked to pay for art never mind photography! There may be hope for this city (and this photographer) yet.
After the gallery I was teaching her some photo skills and one skill she has been having difficulty learning is the pop-and-drag.
Pop-and-drag has been used for ages by photographers to still a moment but also show movement within the photograph. For example:
It is possible to do this with an automatic Point and Shoot camera (like we did).
1) You have to know your flash settings. Change your flash setting to the one with the flash symbol and a letter (or some other such symbol) beside it. This is the flash at night setting. When you take a photo on this setting the flash will go off right away but the shutter will stay open longer than normal.
2a) (This part takes practice.) Take a photo of the subject you want stopped in motion however after the flash goes off move the camera right away. You have to be very fast and know the time delay before and after the flash. It takes practice but looks funky!
2b) You can hold still and take a photo of a moving object. Make sure your flash goes off where you want the action stopped.
2c) Move the camera during the whole exposure. Make sure (as in 2b) your flash goes off where you want the action stopped.

Thank you to Crisco for taking this wonderful photo! It seems Crisco learned the lesson well! Well done!

Whistler 6 March 2006

So, Mom and I were skiing/snowboarding up at Whistler last weekend (March 6th). It was amazing because it was so sunny and beautiful. There was also some powder that others hadn't touched yet. Apperently the past week it had snowed 100cm! (I don't know what that is in American.)
I took some photos which showed how amazing the view is from 7th Heaven.
The nice thing about shooting something so beautiful is that it is so easy. All you need to worry about is composition and even then...

Shooting into the Sun (photo lesson #1)

Since I promised to teach on this Blog as well as share photos, her goes...
I used a digital Point & Shoot camera for my Whistler photos. It is easy to shoot into the sun when photographing the sky. There are two things you have to remember.
1) Move the camera around your scene a bit. After each change of position push the shutter down 1/2 way. You will see the image lighten and darken. The camera is adjusting the amount of light it will permit into the camera. Find the point as to where the exposure looks correct, keep your finger on the shutter button 1/2 way and re-adjust your composition. Take photo. Make sure after you find the proper exposure to not let go of the shutter button but to then reposition your composition and finish the job.

2) While taking a portrait into the sun is fun and inventive remember to always use a flash! You have to make sure the flash setting is in the on position and not in the automatic position.

Room Divider from Hell / Heaven

I was given this project from http://backsplash.lightcouture.com . They hired me to take a photo of their new room dividers they are making for this season. These dividers are beautiful! They are painted with car paint (i.e. very reflective) and have lit etched glass inserts (i.e. hard to light). So, I gave them a polaroid test (a pro polaroid is different from consumer polaroid) to see if they like the direction I am taking with the lighting. Low and behold, they love it! Only one test and everything is working out! Excellent!

Welcome

Welcome to greysquare photographics!
At greysquare we take the photos of life as they happen.
This blog will teach, show and basically blab about photography; what I am doing, what is happening, trends, etc.
I hope you enjoy the show.....