Thursday, December 28, 2017

Happy New Year 2018 - Time to change your copyright notice in your camera!

Copyright? Happy New Year. I hope it's a healthy, happy and prosperous new year for you and your family.

It's January 1st so it's time to reset the copyright notice in your camera(s) to reflect the new year, so your 2018 images will have the correct information.

Most digital cameras today, can automatically insert your copyright notice into the metadata of every image you make as they are stored. Each of my cameras have been reset this morning to insert “Copyright © 2018 NSL Photography. All Rights Reserved.” into every image I make.

If you haven't been inserting your copyright notice in your images, to date, to help protect them, I suggest you consider start doing it today.

I'm often asked the question when I run workshops, or anytime I'm with enthusiasts and we're talking photography, “You're a pro, so I understand why you place your copyright on your photos, but why should I worry about it? I'm not selling my photographs, nor using them in my work.”

Friday, December 22, 2017

Capturing cityscapes "under glass"

Cityscape of Philadelphia made shooting through the windows on the 34th floor of the Murano CondominiumSome of the best potential cityscapes a photographer can capture are “under glass.” Whether you're shooting from a hotel room, an observation tower, or an observation deck, the glass between you and the cityscape creates photographic problems when making your images.

From the highest observation deck in the world, on the Shanghai Tower's 126th floor, to the One Liberty Place observation deck in Philadelphia on the 57th floor, the spectacular views from most urban observation decks can only be seen and photographed through glass.

Shooting through glass is an important skill for travel photographers.

There are a few glassless locations from which to shoot wonderful cityscapes, such as the top deck on the “Top of the Rock” in New York City and the Eiffel Tower in Paris, but most are glassed-in.

Dealing with glass reflections at observation decks is the main problem for photographers there. It comes from the deck's internal lighting, plus interior surfaces reflecting sunlight on to the glass. Additional problems can come from visitor restrictions and maintenance.