Digital Photography

Great photographs are made by creative photographers who stretch the envelope. You can enhance your creativity by trying new things. Schedule a time each week when you experiment with new techniques or new equipment. Julia Cameron, author of “The Artist’s Way” calls this an “Artist’s Date.” When I do this, I limit myself to 1 or 2 lenses and I often visit familiar territory.  When you photograph a familiar place and the goal is to enhance your creativity, do things differently. Shoot from a different vantage point and use a different lens than you’d normally use for the subject.  When I was out on a recent “Artist’s Date,” I spotted flowers that had fallen from a tree randomly scattered on the grass. Normally I’d photograph something like this from above and zoom in. Instead I put my Lensbaby Composer on the camera with the +4 and +10 macro attachments, placed the camera on the grass, and composed the scene through my LCD monitor using LiveView. 

Sunsets are special in Florida. I live on the West Coast of Florida, fairly close to the beach. About an hour before sunset, I poke my head out the door, note which way the wind is blowing, and see what the cloud formations look like. If it looks like a good sunset is brewing, I grab my camera and drive to the beach. The following photograph was taken a few weeks ago.

This image was photographed with a 17mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/100 second at f/16. In my image-editing application, I saturated the orange and blue colors to make the image pop.

Tip: When you photograph a sunset, don’t pack your camera away after the sun goes down. Wait a few minutes, and the clouds will take on wonderful hues of orange and pink as the sun reflects on the underside of the cloud.

When I show people photos I’ve shot at automobile races, they assume I shoot at a very fast shutter speed. Actually, the opposite is true. If I photographed a race car at a high shutter speed, it would look like it’s parked on the track. And how boring would that be? To capture the essence of speed, the background needs to be a colorful blur, but the details on the car such as the driver’s name, sponsor decals, and the driver’s helmet should be relatively sharp.

To achieve this, you pan your camera with the subject as follows:

• Point the camera at the place your subject will be when you take the picture, and then zoom in. If you’re photographing an automobile race, you can compose your picture a lap before you take it.
• Switch to continuous focus mode so your camera will continually focus on your subject as it moves closer to or farther from you. If you camera has a hard time keeping fast moving subjects in focus, you can manually focus on the spot where you’ll take the picture.
• Switch to Shutter Priority mode and choose a shutter speed of 1/125 second. You may have to use a slightly higher shutter speed if you’re using a focal length that is the 35 mm equivalent of 200 mm or greater.
• Spread your legs slightly and move your elbows to the side of your body. If you’re using a digital SLR, cradle the barrel of the lens with your left hand and position your right forefinger over the shutter button. This helps stabilize the camera as you pan with your subject.
• Pivot from the waist toward the direction from which your subject will be coming.
• When your subject comes into view, press the shutter button halfway to achieve focus.
• Pan the camera with the vehicle to keep it in frame. When you’re photographing an object in motion, it’s a good idea to keep more space in front of the object than behind it. This shows your viewer the direction in which your subject is traveling.
• Press the shutter button when your subject is in the desired position and follow through. If you stop panning when you press the shutter, your subject won’t be sharp.

This technique is great for capturing the essence of speed when photographing high speed vehicles, but what do you do when photographing relatively slow moving subjects like runners or bicyclists? Stay tuned for the next post.

Last weekend I attended the 12 Hours of Sebring auto race.  Photographing race cars traveling at high speed is an art. Your goal is to capture a photograph that conveys the sense of speed to your viewer. My next post will begin a series that shows techniques for capturing motion. The following image was photographed using a telephoto lens set to a focal length of 80mm. The exposure was 1/125 second at f/16. I panned the camera with the car, which is why the details like sponsor names are sharp, but the rotating wheels and background are blurred.

You may have a point and shoot camera small enough to put in your hip pocket, or if you’re like me you have more camera gear then the law allows. If own a digital SLR, a couple of lenses, and accessories, a camera bag is a necessity. But even if you’ve got a miniscule point and shoot camera and a lens cleaning kit, a camera bag is still a good idea. A camera bag protects your camera when not in use, and is the ideal place for your digital photography stuff. Here are some tips for finding the perfect bag for your digital gear:

• Get a bag that’s big enough for the gear you now own, and any additional equipment you anticipate buying in the near future.
• Purchase a bag that’s comfortable. Make sure you try the bag on for size in the camera store. Place your camera in the bag and put it over your shoulder. If it’s not comfortable, ask the sales person to show you a different bag. There’s nothing worse than a chaffed neck after a day-long photography adventure.
• Make sure the bag has enough pockets for your stuff. The bag should have a place where you can park extra memory cards, spare batteries, and other accessories.
• Make sure the bag is sturdy enough to protect your gear.
• Make sure the bag is made so that you can get to your gear quickly. There’s nothing worse than fumbling for a piece of equipment when your digital Kodak Moment disappears.
• If you’ve got a lot of gear, consider purchasing a hard shell case that’s big enough for all of your equipment, and a soft bag for day trips.
• Consider purchasing a customizable camera bag. These bags come with removable partitions that are held in place with Velcro.
• If it rains a lot where you live, purchase a water resistant camera bag, or one with built-in rain cover.

Tip: When you go on vacation, don’t carry an expensive looking camera bag. Thieves will know you’ve got expensive gear inside. Instead of carrying an all-singing, all-dancing camera bag, store your gear in a diaper bag and thieves will look the other way.

Hello photography enthusiasts. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Doug Sahlin (pronounced like: Celine, or for you car nuts: Saleen). I’m glad to follow in the footsteps of Julie Adair King who has created wonderfully informative posts for this blog. I intend to continue that tradition with my own spin.

Photography is my passion. I feel absolutely naked unless I have a camera within close proximity. When I’m looking through a camera viewfinder or gazing at the world on a LCD monitor, I’m more observant. I see something I’d normally take for granted in a new light, and then figure out how to turn the subject into an interesting picture. In my blog posts, I’ll share my enthusiasm for photography with you and some of the knowledge I’ve learned while photographing places, people, and things.  Some of the stuff you’ll find in my blog posts are:

• Information about how to photograph specific subjects such as flowers, landscapes, people, and wild things that run fast.
• Reviews and comments about interesting equipment or emerging technology.
• Interesting photography tips and techniques.
• Tips and tricks for getting the most out of your photos after you download them to your computer.
• Some of my own photography. I’ll tell you why I took the photograph, what settings I used, and any image-editing tweaks I performed in the computer.
• Surprises.  I’m constantly learning new things, and I experiment a lot. When I find something I think is Blogworthy, I’ll write a post about it.
• Fun. Life can be challenging. Photography is fun, and positively addictive.

One thing you won’t find in my blog posts are confusing terms (Can you say, “techno-speak”?). When a term or acronym must be used, I’ll follow up with a concise easy-to-understand description of the term or acronym.

If you’ve read this far into the post, you’re probably wondering why I’m the author of this blog. Well, I’ve written books about digital photography including: “Digital Photography Workbook for Dummies.” In addition, I am a professional photographer, the president of “Superb Images” ( a wedding and event photography company), and a member in good standing of NAPP (National Association of Photoshop Professionals) and PPA (Professional Photographers of America).  I also eat, breathe and sleep digital photography. I’m constantly thinking of new ways to photograph common subjects, and experimenting with new techniques in Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. In addition, I’m a card-carrying geek who thinks digital technology and photography is a match made in heaven.

Thanks for stopping by. Stay tuned for some interesting posts on digital photography.