This is how nature photography can become dynamic:

Every photographer, from amateur to professional, will take pictures of Christmas Decorations because these are beautiful, eye catching, and most of all, memorable.
From the view of the entire Christmas tree, to close-ups on simple and sophisticated decorations, it’s all sparkle and lovely. For the shots, remember to have a tripod and a remote controller.
For the first Christmas tree picture, my friend Tudor used flash (with -2 exposure) in rear mode, in low light. Picture was taken in “Program” mode.
The second Christmas tree picture has +3 exposure, no flash, and low light environment. Longer exposure time in this case: 20 sec.. Picture was taken in “Shutter Mode”.

The white balance in case of such photographs is better set to “auto” since the colors from the lights differ from the environmental light and other lights coming from nearby. After all, the multitude of colorful lights is what makes Christmas beautiful.
Now let’s see the close-ups: the most simple setting scheme is: “Program” Mode, rear flash, adjusted exposure (differs from scene to scene), tripod and remote control or 2 seconds shutter delay. For brighter scenes you can put the flash off and increase ISO.

On most of the photos, on post-processing, I added a warm filter to make the tree have a yellowish green, and to make the red color stronger.

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.

Balancing Point from DANNY BROWN on Vimeo.

During the Photo-Tour I encountered nice places and scenes that I wanted to photograph but could not get out of the car because the road and traffic did not allowed me to stop the car. Also, sometimes, pictures taken from a car can be more creative, more interesting than a normal snapshot of the landscape. Here is what I mean:
1. TIP: By shooting from inside the car, frame your picture with the car elements: mirror, or, the lateral window. However, don’t focus on these element: they represent just the frame, not the point of interest. The point of interest is the environment outside the car.

2. TIP: The picture from inside the car is interesting when motion blur is present. Not hard to do that: there are two key factors that you should know when hunting for the right moment to get the most spectacular blur:
FIRST: near objects get more of the motion blur

SECOND: the greater the speed, the stronger the motion blur

3. TIP: Considering the speed of the car, and the fact that inside the car there is less light than outside, you should set your camera on shutter speed priority – fast shutter speed. The kind of motion blur you want is not the one caused by your camera shake (which is an up-down movement), but the one caused by the moving car (which is horizontal).

4. TIP: Some animals tend to approach the car. Prepare something to eat and ask someone inside the car to hand it over the window, then catch with your camera the moment when the animal sticks the head into the car. Funny, isn’t it?


5. TIP: If the car is stopped but there is no need to get off in order to shoot something you like, then maybe you should not think about framing the picture with car elements: just open the window and take a normal shot. Without the motion-blur or middle of the road situations, it does not make much sens to fill the picture with unnecessary elements. However, the next pictures are some exceptions.

6. TIP: Watch out for the reflection and dust! The reflection of your body or other elements in the care window, and the dust on the window, can be avoided if you just open the window. Depending on the Sun’s position, you may not get any reflections thou the glass. Here’s an example of the situation when you can not open the front window of the car, so the is some dust…

Also, there are some situations when the reflection in the car’s lateral mirror can be interesting.

Kenneth William Caleno wrote to me about a neat way to use auto focus for wildlife or fast sports action. This setting lets you prefocus on a specific location, and once something comes into that specific focus distance the camera will take the image. To do this automatically you will need a remote release, preferably one on which you can keep the shutter button depressed. Set the release priority on the D200 for focus.
These are the settings for Nikon users:

Custom (pencil) menu:

Auto focus set to AF-S
AF area mode set to single
AE-L/AF-L set to AF On

Compose your shot and set the focus by aiming the centre focus icon at a exact target (Say, for example, a pre-focus point on a tree branch, where you are waiting for a bird to land) at the precise distance you want, and pressing the “AE-L/AF-L” button near the viewfinder. This will focus the lens- Now press and hold the shutter button. As soon as something comes into focus the shutter will fire, It’s a very fast action, far quicker than a human reflex!

Prefocus on the determined distance where you expect your subject to be, using the AF-ON button. You do not want the shutter button controlling focus as you are pre-focusing. You only want the shutter button to fire the shutter. Once you are focused, release the AF-ON button.

Now back away from the object. Fully depress the shutter button and the camera will not fire. However when something comes into focus, the camera will start taking pictures.

This is very useful for unattended photography for nocturnal animals, birds at feeders etc. Also quite useful for motor sports as you can prefocus on a spot where say a race car will be and then the moment is arrives the camera starts taking pictures. It is much quicker this way than tracking the object and focusing at the same time, the camera reacts much quicker than the human finger.

Step 1: Triple Check Your Equipment Before You Go Shooting

It always happened to me to forget something. The last “mini photo trip” had the impact on me to always check my equipment on every single and last detail.

We’ve taken with us two Nikon cameras, four lenses and one point and shoot digital camera (canon a640). We wanted to make a test. The most important test was to compare Nikon 70-300mm Vibrate Reduction lenses with Tamron AF-S 70-300mm lenses for Nikon. For this test we needed the tripod that we’ve taken with us. BUT I’ve forgot the head of the tripod. So there I was, with lot of equipment but with out that little piece I’ve need it. Mission Failed!

So check:
- batteries (back up batteries)
- tripod and the head of the tripod
- lenses
- filters
- settings of the camera (why would you shoot the first picture with the settings left from home?)
- camera and lens hoods

Step 2: Travel

Now you are prepared. The next step is to travel. Go to places where you never been before. It’s true that a good photographer can make from one scene thousands of good photos but a smart photographer will travel. Traveling will help discover the world and always have interesting and new pictures.

You can’t go to the same park and expect to always have killer photos. Change places!

Step 3: Try to Avoid the Mid of the Day

A definition of photography says: paint with the light. In photography it’s all about the light. In the mid of the day most of the time you’ll have a white sky and the objects will have no shades, these means: no story to tell (in most of the cases).

Step 4: Always Shoot a Scene from Different Angles

Don’t get satisfied with just one angle. Try more angles and different settings.

Step 5: For Snapshots on Moving Targets Try to Avoid Manual Settings

If you shoot birds, children, moving objects you should use the auto mode or pre-programmed modes. Try to avoid manual settings, because the object is moving so you will have different light, shutter speed and aperture.

Step 6: A Good Photographer Knows that Not All Photos Are Astonishing: Be Very Selective

If you want to be considered a good photographer be very selective, edit your photos and include in your portfolio only the killer photographs.

You could go in a trip and make 1000 photos where would you get only three astonishing photos and 50 OK photos. Include in your portfolio only the best ones.

The photos are from one of my trip around the country. 2 days – 600 photos.

I always recommend to buy a dslr.

Written by Tudor Mateescu.

If you want to write an unique guest post to my blog shoot me an e-mail at laurentia.fr [at] gmail.com

Soft Focus: this simple technique can take much time to master, but can be experimented with simply and cheaply, either with photo excising software or using standard fi1m techniques; and can lead to impressive results.
But let’s start by clearing what I mean by soft focus: Soft focus is the effect by which the edges of the subject(S) in an Image appear III be slightly blurred, or as tile name suggests, softer. A “soft focus” Image is normally composed of a slightly out of focus Image combined with a sharp normally focused Image. It is the combination of these two Images which gives the soft focus effect.
This combination can be obtained both while taking the picture, or as I digital after effect.

The analog technique

I called the technique that does not use a computer “the analog technique” because It is performed on the picture as It Is taken, in the analog world so to speak. This being the case, it allows the technique to be used for both digital and film cameras.
The three pictures below, Figures 1-3 are crude examples of a homemade soft focus filter. Commercial soft focus filters (such as the Cokin A-091 and A-092 filters) are available and their prices range from the very cheap to the very expensive. Whilst they are perfect if they are set to produce the exact effect you want, they are often static, meaning that their properties cannot be changed.
But let’s continue with this basic: homemade Soft focus filter:
A piece of cling film, which whilst not having the mast fantastic optical properties, will do for our purposes, was stretched across a Card frame and then a small amount of washing up liquid was smeared onto the center. The first example, fig 1, was taken without the homemade filter in front of the lens. The second shot, fig 2, was taken by smearing the washing up liquid in a circular motion. While the last photo, fig 3, was taken by smearing the liquid in straight lines across the cling film.
As you can see the effects are quite different.



Please note that when using the filter I am only creating the blurred Image. To create the composite Image manually, you would simply leave a small hole in the middle of the cling film, without any liquid on it. By varying the size or the hole, the balance between soft and hard Images can be controlled and therefore the overall effect can be adjusted. This balance is rather tricky to perfect and even more so when using house hold Items but a wide range of effects as possible.
How did the washing up liquid affect the Image entering the camera? The answer is that the filter “diffused” the light in different directions, much as a light diffuser for lighting equipment does. The liquid that was added on the cling film changed its optical properties making it react slightly differently to the incoming light. The digram below, fig 4, shows how this occurs.

With the first filtered example, the Image is softened in all directions. Take a closer look at the door handles and notice the glow surrounding them. As the diffusing liquid was smeared in a circular fashion, the light was bent in all directions.
In the second filtered Image, the diffusing liquid was smeared only in one direction, horizontally. This had the effect of bending light in the vertical direction, but largely unaffecting light in the horizontal direction. Again, look at the door handles to see the effect.
By varying things Ike tile liquid used, the amount used, smear directions and central hole diameter, you can create a wide range of filters to suit your needs. It is worth trying out this technique if only to satisfy your own curiosity. It takes only half an hour to create the filter and start taking some shots with it.

I had the idea to inform myself (and you) about this camera accessories because I felt the need of a remote control while shooting night Christmas scenes. To explain better, my Nikon D40x, like many other cameras, can not make an exposure longer than 30 seconds without a remote – at least that’s what the manual says. I did managed to get to “bulb” option on manul mode, but, for that, I needed to keep my finger on the sutter, fact which causes the camera to shake and the picture gets blurry. Therefor, I’ll start with pointing out the advantages of a remote control and then I’ll give you a list of remote controls to choose from according to your camera.
A remote switch is a cable with a switch on the end – just as simple as that. It duplicates the action of the shutter button − half pressure activates the exposure metering and focus while full pressure fires the shutter. The units differ simply in the length of the cable and the type of connecter plug used to attach the cable to the camera.
A remote switch will allow you to fire your camera without the need to touch it. This is very useful when the camera is fixed to a tripod or supported on a wall. It eliminates the movement that can be transmitted to the camera as the shutter button is pressed.
One of the question you might have is “why are some cables longer than others? why is lenght important?”.
The answer is that when you are further away from the camera, you have more chances to remain unnoticed by the photographed subject – speaking of wildlife photography. Extension cables are suitable for such situations.
So let’s go back to the situation I mentioned at the begining: I want to make a long exposure using a remote controler. With a remote release, once you have pressed the button you can lock it down by sliding the button forward. Now the shutter will stay open without you having to keep pressure on the button. This ‘running lock’ means you are free to work with very long exposures, limited only by your camera’s battery life. To close the camera shutter, simply slide the remote switch button back and let go.
So war I’ve been talking about the traditional way of remote picturing, but, the’s a new and more effective way these days: A wireless controller not only acts like your television remote controller, but it also works in the same way − by infrared. More than that, a friend of mine has an universal remote controller which is his TV controller and camera controller in the same device. A wireless controller has a transmitter and a receiver. The receiver is connected to the remote plug on the camera, and an extension cable can be attached if you need to be even further away.

Question: How long can this exposure be?
Answer: Digital cameras need power when the shutter is open to keep the CMOS sensor active. This means their maximum exposure time is likely to be shorter than that for film cameras.
IMPORTANT TIP FOR LONG EXPOSURES: If you are interested in shooting star trails, you will reduce the noise levels in the images by shooting on cold winter nights rather than warm summer evenings.

For Canon users:

RS-80N3: 80mm cable with N3 connector for professional and mid-range digital EOS cameras
RS-60E3: 60mm cable with E3 connector for entry-level digital EOS cameras
RS-60T3: 60cm cable with T3 connector for early EOS models
TC-80N3
Wireless Controller LC-5

More complex remote controler like the TC-80N3 have a few extra features over and above other remote switches: a built-in self-timer, interval timer and long exposure timer, which can all be set in one second increments from one second to 99 hours. It also features an exposure count setting.
As for the connectors, take a look at E3 and N3 in the firts place, but note that there is no adaptor that allows you to use a N3 remote switch with an E3-compatible camera. This means that it not possible to use a TC-80N3 with any of the E3-compatible cameras, such as the EOS 350D or 400D.

For Nikon users:

NIKON MC30 and MC-36 Remotes (designed for use with Nikon SLR cameras equipped with a 10-pin remote terminal) are compatible with Nikon D300, D200, D100 (with MB-D100 grip attached), D3, D2H, D2Hs, D2x, D1, D1H, D1x, F100, F6, F5, F90X and F90.
Nikon MC-DC1 Remote Cord is for Nikon D70S & D80 Digital SLR Cameras.
Nikon ML-3 Compact Modulite Remote Control is mostly useful for wildlife photography up to 8m. Can Also Fire The Camera Remotely When A Subject Moves Between The Transmitter And Receiver
Opteka Wireless Radio Remote Release for Nikon D300, D200, D100, & D2x SLR Digital Cameras – 100m range, and it can activate auto focus, release shutter, activate continuous drive mode or keep the shutter open for bulb photography as well.

A darkroom is what most people refer to as the photo lab. As the name implies, a dark room is a room or a space which is made to be dark in order for photographers to be able to use materials that are light-sensitive to develop films and photographs.

These rooms were first used in the late 1800s up to the early 1900s. However, due to the advancing technologies, the use of these darkrooms for developing photos is continuously decreasing. However, it has found a niche in the hearts of many hobbyists.

Printing your own pictures is one of the most rewarding experiences for photographers. It gives a certain feeling of fulfillment because the picture as a whole, is created by the same hands.
Here are the basic tips you should do when building your own darkroom.

Tip 1. A darkroom is most effective if it can be made totally dark. There are many places in the house which can be converted into a darkroom. You can look at using the spare room or the spare bathroom to be able to build a darkroom.

Tip 2. You must make sure to ventilate the dark room well so as to make it comfortable for working.

Tip 3. Seal off the different parts of the room where leaking light can pass through.

Tip 4. You should buy the necessary supplies for the development of films and photos. The basic things that you need are: enlarger; trays which are adequately sized; tongs; easel; concentrated developer fix and solution. You can go to eBay to be able to purchase some good and cheap supplies.

Tip 5. There should be two partitions in the darkroom, a “wet” one and a “dry” one. The separation is very important so as to avoid mistakes which can damage the photos.

Tip 6. Use the trays wisely and appropriately. One tray should be used to hold the developer solution, the other one should be used to hold the stop solution, and the other one for the fix solution.