Summer is almost over, but I’m still on the roads, going around Romania, visiting places and taking pictures. So last week I’ve been to the salt mine from Turda (one of many salt mines in Romania, not the biggest and most beautiful, but still worth).

The environment and what you need in the photo bag. Mines and caves are very similar then taking pictures inside them. The light is pour and even if there are some lights placed by humans for visitors, you still need to take with you your own lights. And I really have to remember you to don’t forget the tripod (it seems like I always forget that…)
1. external lights
2. tripod
3. external powerful flash
4. remote controller (long exposures will only work with this on some cameras)

What’s here to shoot? So there mines have formations similar to the ones in the caves (formed in the same conditions by the water), but also new man made formations which you should consider photographing. (tunnels, excavations and mining gears). As for a salt mine, this is something special: people come here for treatment, football playing (this is no joke), so here it is an interesting subject for a photojournalist. As for the mines in which the mining activity still goes on, talk to the workers, they will not hesitate to let you photograph them when at work – it changes their everyday routine.

Now let me tell you a few words on the camera settings that work under this environment: it’s mostly similar to cave photography. But when there are people in action inside the mines, you should keep the shutter speed fast, increase exposure compensation and grow the ISO (light sensitivity). Some parts of the mines are huge galleries where the flash won’t work because of the distance. I could not manage to take a very decent shot under these conditions, at least not without powerful external lights placed all over the place.

One interesting tip: in one of the tunnels of the salt mine, where the walls were strongly reflecting the light, I increased the exposure (at the limit of overexposure), and obtained an effect that I call: alien spaceship. Here are some examples:



Salt mines are well know for the textures on the gallery walls. I took hundred of photos of the walls but here’s one which I find to be the most complex:

What’s the best way to take “great” firework photos? According to Chuck DeLaney, Dean of the New York Institute of Photography (NYI), the world’s largest photography school, it’s easy if you do a couple of simple things. “Most of all you need a steady camera, a long exposure, and medium speed ISO setting,” DeLaney explains.

First, you’ll want to take a time-exposure. If you have an SLR camera, this should be no problem. Many point-and-shoot cameras have a special Fireworks setting, but if the camera you are using doesn’t, try to “fool” the camera into keeping the shutter open. Here’s how: When you see a rocket shoot skyward, press the shutter-button. The darkness of the sky should cause your camera to keep the shutter open for a time-exposure, and you can end up with a splendid picture.
What about using a single-use “cardboard” disposable camera? NYI says, forget it! These cameras usually have a fixed shutter speed, and you can’t “fool” them into doing the right thing no matter what you do.

Second, and equally important, since you are taking a time-exposure, your camera should be on a solid, unmoving base throughout the exposure. A tripod is best. If you don’t have a tripod, try bracing your camera against some solid structure – for example, a wall, a post, or a railing. They’re not as good as a tripod, but they’re better than hand-holding your camera. And hand-holding is the road to disaster – no one likes blurry fireworks photos.

Third, to add an extra-special touch to your picture, try to include something on the ground to give a sense of location to the firework display in the sky. For example, across the bottom of your frame you might show silhouettes of the crowd, or a statue (George Washington on horseback?), or the skyline of thecity. This one trick will do more to make your fireworks pictures stand out than any other single thing you can do. “There are some special do’s and don’ts that will help digital photographers get the best results,” notes DeLaney. “We
written a special article just to address those issues.”

For lots more advice on how to take “great” fireworks pictures, and some great fireworks photos, visit http://www.nyip.com/ezine/holidays/firewksintro.html or read the other photo tips on the New York Institute of Photography (NYI) Web site at http://www.nyip.com.

Reprinted with permission from the New York Institute of Photography
Photos by Lau

While on a variety of locations, Bob will share his vast knowledge of photography and Nikon digital SLRs to educate you on:

· Camera settings for best quality in various situations
· Lens choice for creative and practical shooting
· Utilizing the Retouch Menu for in-camera editing
· Exposure fundamentals and shooting options

During the day’s shooting, Bob takes us to familiar situations around the home and demonstrates a variety of creative photographic opportunities. Understanding Digital Photography covers the use of the Nikon Creative Lighting System, using Nikon Speedlights for portraits and small groups. Bob continues removing the mystery of overcoming photographic challenges in a variety of environments including the difficulties encountered with twilight portraits and landscapes.

This DVD offers valuable instruction to anyone interested in digital SLR photography, particularly those who have some familiarity with a digital SLR’s basic functions. For those unfamiliar with basic digital SLR operation, I recommend beginning with the Nikon School© DVD, Fast, Fun& Easy: Great Digital Pictures.

Spot the Patterns

Patterns of all kinds occur at all scales throughout nature, but also throughout human constructs too – and this is what I’m focusing on now.
If you live in a big city and don’t feel too attracted to street photography, then you probably think about abstract photography. By looking for patterns around your home you train you eye to see in a more abstract way.
However, note that abstract art not only includes textures and patterns, but also minimalistic lines and color spots/shapes. The keyword for a successful urban pattern photography is repetition.

Accentuate the Pattern in Your Photo

Try to zoom in close enough to the pattern so that it fills the frame and makes the repetition seem as though it’s bursting out. In some rare cases you can brake this rule to give the viewer a comparison for the patterned object.
One of the most commonly seen pattern in a city is made by the arrangement of the windows. You can photograph this scene normally (horizontal view) or in diagonal, from different angles. (examples sourse)

Stairs also create interesting shapes: different spirals, curves and lines.

Example by Yitzhak Avigur

Alex Wasilewski from Springfield, Illinois and his image ‘A Record in Stone’:

Night lights: dots from the standing reflectors and lines from the moving vehicles.

Any other objects that come together in a group in public places: like baskets in shopping malls, sits in an empty room, boxes and books on shelfs, the same product repeated in a shop, dishes, wheels and wheel patterns, bricks and so on.

Original Image

Industry (not just construction industry that I mentioned at the beginning) and agriculture (however, this goes under rural patterns) present activities which have as a result a man-made work full of patterns. Some of these are only visible from a plane or some high building.
One of the most famous picture of this kind illustrates parked cars (by Alex MacLean).

And one last note: you can also try some macro shots on electronic circuits (and any other man-made little objects) and include them as urban patterns.

Last one by arhitectural photographer Ross Langdon.
More:
Charles Webster Patterns:

The 10 Tips

By trying to make a resume of how to acieve great photos in autumn I came out with these tips:
1. Try to take photos in the early morning or late evening (however, shooting directly against the sun will only cause a mixture of overexposed and underexposed areas – you don’t want that, but if you are lucky, you might get some spectacular sun rays through a golden forest)
2. Combine colors: take together red, yellow, green, and maroon leaves
3. Look up, look down and try different angles and backgrounds (I admit I climbed a tree to get one of my ideas done)
4. Follow the rapid changes of nature day by day on a near foliage
5. Look for contrasts but also fill one frame with just one color (same leaves)
6. Set the white balance to cloudy (even fluorescent might work) to get more vibrant colors – ah and by the way, also choose the vivid option for the pictures
7. The sun might be very powerful over the yellow leaves, and, in order to obtain more vibrant well-exposed colors, slightly underexpose your shots
8. A polarizer also helps allot, if any
9. Shoot near a lake and capture the colorful reflection
10.When editing your photos, saturate in yellow and red channels and add a yellowish photo filter to warm up the scene (if the cloudy white balance didn’t done well enough)

Tags: autumn photos, leaves photos, autumn photo tips, photo tips, macro leaves

However, here’s the list of all the books on this matter:
1. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Book for Digital Photographers
Author: Scott Kelby; Price: $26.39
2. The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Book
Author: Martin Evening; Price: $26.40
3. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Workflow
Author: Tim Grey; Price: $26.39
4. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom for Digital Photographers Only
Author: Rob Sheppard; Price: $23.09
5. Photoshop Lightroom Adventure
Author: Mikkel Aaland; Price: $26.39
6. Digital Photographer’s Guide to Adobe Photoshop Lightroom
Author: John Beardsworth; Price: $19.77
7. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 1.1 for the Professional Photographers
Author: David Huss, David Plotkin; Price: $23.07

And my recommendations:

Tags: Rob Sheppard, Scott Kelby, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, Lightroom, Lightroom book, photography book, photo editing book

Tags: smoke, photo, photography, jefferey graham, fog, incense sticks

Tags: abstract art, abstraction, nature, texture, sensation, pattern