Intelligent focussing
Focus is one of the 3 big issues in photography. With the ability to crop and adjust exposure in post-processing, focusing is one aspect which cannot be changed after the fact. In other words, as digital photography become easier and easier, the art of focusing is one of the few critical techniques remaining in the quest to make photos from single frames. “Focusing for a landscape is easy though, right? You just select f/22, auto focus, and everything is in focus.” Have you tried this technique? Yes you get a deep depth of field, the shutter speed is slower so you can get more...
Read MoreSimple cloth technique
Posted by Tony on May 1, 2013
in Magic Cloth Technique | 0 comments
Some scenes require only a very basic, unambitious technique. A basic magic cloth technique would involve simply covering the sky after a short period and working the rest of the exposure over the landscape up to the horizon line. To read about the basics of the magic cloth technique – see here. Equipment: Standard DSLr – might be possible on bridge camera – see ‘lens’ below. Lens with a large element 77mm is nice, 55mm is limited. Dark filter (ND) if you want to try this during daylight hours. Sturdy tripod – important for long exposures. Black cloth...
Read More20 second Reverse cloth technique
in Magic Cloth Technique | 0 commentsThe reverse cloth technique is useful if the middle part of a scene is notably brighter than the top part of the scene. This technique is to compensate for the graduated sky issue which can be an issue with images where the sky is exposed in a very short period (less than a second). Because of the short exposure time, the mechanical effect of the cloth movement can be seen where the top of the frame is darker than the rest of the sky. This can be desirable, but if you want to overcome the issue, then it is useful to practice the Reverse Cloth technique. The technique requires a bit of extra...
Read MoreFeel the landscape
Become one with the land. Just like an actor who becomes possessed by their character, a photographer should allow their subject matter to haunt themselves. So, if you are a landscape photographer and you want to really convey the ‘feeling’ of the land, you should allow the landscape to possess you. How do we do that exactly? A professional actor would live as their character for some time. They might eat, breathe, sleep in character to the point where they become the character. In a similar way, stepping straight out of the city into the Icelandic tundras is not going to yield...
Read MoreThe coffee pot shop stop
As you may know, my main income is from running photo tours which involves taking people to great photo locations at great times. But sometimes, customers want to try other parts of Icelandic culture such as remote coffee stops in fishing villages. One of these coffee stops exists in the little village of Arnastapi on the Snæfellsness Peninsular. The region had been hit unexpectedly by some April snow and after such a mild Winter, this April snow was the talk of the town. We were in the middle of a great Snæfellness tour and we swung into a snow covered drive up to the door of a cottage...
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