It’s a very common thing to find street performers and carnivals in every big city in Germany if you happen to be in the market place during the weekend.
This is, for photographers, a great opportunity to capture spontaneous emotions of people, take advantage of the free show and the clothing.
Please comment about the feelings that these photographs have on you. Do you feel the music? Do you hear the drums? If you do, then it means that the shot is a succesfull one: your eye went from the happy faces of the players to their instruments and back, without any other distractions from the background.

In a Circus Show there are many factors different from any other kind of photography type. For example, the white balance does not matter too much, and you should also not worry about having too much noise: sure you will since the lighting environment is poor and the use of flash will only ruin the magic of the show.

The magic of the show is mostly based on motion and secondly on clothes. As a result, try to capture motion blur in your picture, but remember: slow shutter speed is not needed: fast motion in poor light is easy blurred at relatively fast shutter speeds. Try to capture the most expressive moments. In a show, the performers will always stop in a fixed position critical for the show, moment when they expect clapping. Be ready to shoot at this point of time.


I made these photos during the Aquatic Circus (from Italy) performance in my birth town. The main point of interest (for children more of all) were the aquatic animals. The gear I used is a Nikon D40x with Tamron 70-300mm lens. Tripod is not necessary.

The most important thing to remember when photographing a circus show is TO BE FAST. Prepare and test your gear before in such way that you will not have to change the lens or settings too often. There will be short breaks between different parts of the show, time to make some changes if needed.

Circus bring acrobats that move their body forming curves that look great in photography. Here is such a series. The difference of colors between the images is given by the lights used in the show.

Final note: remember these tips for concert photography too.

If you have just purchased your Nikon D80, the controls on the outside of the camera coupled with all the menus and custom settings can be … all » downright overwhelming. We give you a structure for looking at the controls as well as a repeatable ritual for taking great photos with your new camera. You spent a bundle on this camera. Let it be an extension of your hands rather than a struggle. The Nikon D80 is a powerful piece of equipment. A solid understanding of its features and controls can really unleash its potential. Once you learn how the camera’s components work together, you’ll have all the tools you need to capture the best image under all conditions.
Understanding AF Area Selections Topics include:
• Be Prepared (To Get the Shot)
• Shutter Priority
• Aperture Priority/Depth of Field
• Focus Alternatives
• Metering and Bracketing
• White Balance/Color Temperature
• ISO
• Playback Options / Image Review
• Understanding Histograms
• Exposure Compensation
• Flash Overview
• Custom Settings
• Tripods and Telephoto Lenses
• Programmable Buttons
• RAW (NEF) Files
• Composition
• My Menus
• Bracketing versus Post Processing
• Shutter Priority to Achieve the Effect You Want
• Self Timer and Delay for Rock Solid Results
Take great pictures with your Nikon D80! All you need is this training DVD and about 93 minutes, and you’ll have the knowledge and the confidence to create the images you want. The topics are arranged in chapters, so you can move at your own pace, and return later to individual subjects.

Nikon Understanding Digital Photography DVD You are ready to take your digital SLR photography beyond the automatic settings on your … all » Nikon digital SLR camera, this 45 minute Nikon School© DVD is the perfect guide. Join Bob Krist, award-winning National Geographic Traveler Photographer, on a day of shooting and instruction. Along the way, Bob will offer valuable insights on choices you can make to begin composing and shooting breathtaking photographs.

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.

This winter take your gear (and don’t forget your gloves with free fingers) and go hunt for winter sports! Make a reservation near a mountain sky-way and make sure you have everything you need to stay warm. The fact is you can not concentrate at shooting if you freeze. Also, remember that at very low temperatures, the battery gets consumed faster and the camera may present some malfunctions.
You will need a 18-55mm lens for landscapes and a telephoto lens for zooming the people in action.

For winter sports, midday shooting is ok (the main reason is the fact that in winter the sun is not very high and will always cast enough shadows to skip the thoughts of having plane images).
1. TIP: Early morning shots and sunsets over the shiny snow are very spectacular but don’t stay outside too long at those temperatures.

Do you have any friends who practice winter sports? Invite them to go with you and promises them to print some cool photos showing the best action moments of this vacation.
2. TIP: Use your friends as models for your action shots and make sure they have a great time. This way, it will be fun and spontaneous.

If you know something about the sports you are going to capture in your pictures, then you can anticipate the moves and shoot at the exact right moment.
3. TIP: Know what to shoot by learning about winter sports.

Another fact about shooting winter sports is how to correctly expose and white balance the pictures. Most of the images will have a large amount of show (white surface) in the composition.
4. TIP: Little overexpose the image and use custom white balance. This way you can make sure that the white is not too bluish or too yellowish, and either grey.

If it is a sunny day, the shadows will have a blue tone but that is cool. Also, at this weather, blow the snow and it will look great under natural light (sometimes like some kind of fog, but even greater).
5. TIP: Capture your subjects as they raise the snow in the air. For all action shots use short exposure time (the minimum you have – like 1/2000).

However, like all rules that can be broken, shooting short is not a requirement. For example, while at sky in low light conditions (very cloudy or evening/morning), the model will leave behind him a sinuous trace if you use longer exposure.
6. TIP: For best results, keep the ISO low and use a tripod.

During summer and autumn you got used to take beautiful images of water reflections. Now it’s time to use the same principles for ice reflections.
7. TIP: Get down close the ice surface and capture a skater with his/hers reflection.

At the end of such exhausting action day, you and your friends can gather around a fireplace.
8. TIP: Capture this moment too without using a flash – the fire light will cast silhouettes and creates a story-telling environment.

9. TIP: Hot chocolate in the hands can make the subject of some photos with narrow DOF.

You can even step outside for a minute and take advantage of winter nights.
10. TIP: Capture the lights of the houses over the blue snow and also capture the amazing clear sky full of stars. There is no better night sky than in the winter nights over the mountains.

Note: Some of the above pictures were taken by me last winter in Baisoara Mountains, Romania.

Tags: photography tutorial, photo tutorial, photo tips, photography tips, winter photos, winter photography, winter photo tips, snow photo tips, snow, winter sports, photography how to

Not new, but eternal… really eternal. As a journalist photographer, it’s something to look at and get inspiration. Pay attention on how are the pictures related to the spoken text.

Year 2005 Highlights – The top video clips of the week are here

Tags: photojournalism, press images, best press pictures, best press images