Photographing July 4th fireworks with your camera or smartphone

Thursday is July 4, Independence Day, in the U.S. The nation's second president, John Adams, is in large part responsible for how it's celebrated. In his July 3, 1776 letter to Abigail, his wife, he said that the day should be celebrated “with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”

The Pennsylvania Evening Post stated that in Philadelphia on July 4, 1777, “The evening closed with the ring of bells and at night there was a grand exhibition of fireworks (which began and concluded with thirteen rockets) on the Commons and the city was beautifully illuminated.”

Fireworks are extremely bright and persist for a few seconds, typically against an almost black background. Focus and particularly the exposure settings for fireworks' photos aren't straight-forward. If you're traveling in the U.S. this week, here are my fireworks' photography tips for digital cameras and smartphones.

The photography ban during White House public tours has been lifted

During the presidency of Gerald R. Ford (1974–1977) photography by White House public tour visitors was banned and stayed that way for about forty years.

The ban on photography, according to White House historians, was put in place to due to a range of concerns. Those entrusted with maintaining the White House's historic artifacts, artwork and the White House itself were concerned with the damaging effects of flash photography at the time. Others were concerned that visitors constantly stopping to take photographs would disrupt White House tours and could allow some visitors to become separated from their tour group and stray from the tour route itself.

Shooting new year's fireworks in cold weather

While it's not as cold in most of the northern hemisphere as it is in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska and Longyearbyen, Svalbard, it still can be frigid enough to affect your new year's fireworks photography.

To photograph new year's fireworks in icy weather, photographers must combine good cold weather practices, night photography techniques, and the specific exposure requirements necessary to capture fireworks images. If you don't have a DSLR, don't think you can't make great fireworks images. With intelligent use, quality digital point and shoot cameras can make these photos too.

Top Six Travel Photography Essentials

Today, travelers are often journeying to far-off lands and seas, many to “once-in-a-lifetime” destinations. During the past month, I was on such a trip to the Arctic. Most of the expedition trip was spent in Svalbard, an archipelago halfway between the North Pole and Norway, and in Greenland, with short stops in Oslo, Reykjavik and Paris.

Travelers can find themselves hundreds of miles from the nearest photo store or repair shop at destinations like Svalbard, and Greenland, and while in cities, where photo shops are available, who wants to waste precious time in them, for purchases or repairs.

Travel and photo gear self-sufficiency, while away from home, has become essential, especially for those for whom photography is an important part of their journeys.

Some photography gear is a waste of money

Often photography equipment, especially a DSLR with lenses, many travelers purchase to capture high quality memories of their treks, isn't inexpensive.

Sometimes, after spending substantial cash to purchase equipment some photographers try to conserve their remaining expendable photo gear money by augmenting that gear with “inexpensive” (read that “cheap”) gear. More often than not, when that occurs, some purchases turn out to be a waste of money.

In my early years of purchasing photo equipment, before I knew what I was doing, I goofed purchasing camera bags which didn't last or meet my needs, tripods which didn't hold my camera/lens steady, and filters which diminished my image quality.

I've got a list of some of the classic purchase errors photographers sometimes make to save some money. Unfortunately, in the long run, these purchases are too expensive, because they either need quick replacement with better gear, or are permanently relegated to a drawer or closet

Keep your DSLR/lens safe in May's "April Showers"

I don't know what it's like where you live, but in the US' Northeast those “April showers bring[ing] May flowers” have come a month late. It's been raining daily since Friday night, and its expected to continue until the coming weekend.

When we travel, rain or shine, our visits to parks, historic locations, museums, and other locations continue. Travelers get out umbrellas, rain coats, and other foul weather gear and trudge on.

Unfortunately, when it rains, many travelers leave their cameras at the hotel, or at best, put them in their pockets, except for indoor photos. I'm well aware that even inexpensive DSLR cameras and lenses aren't “cheap,” and if they're caught in a storm, they could be ruined. Not only would that be expensive, you wouldn't have their use for the remainder of your trip.

It's July 4th...time for the fireworks challenge.

On Sunday, we in the US celebrate the birth of our nation. If you've traveled to Philadelphia, the nation's first capital and America’s birthplace, immediately after the Life, Liberty & You Concert in front of the steps (Some call them the “Rocky” steps from the Rocky movies in which the fictional character, Rocky Balboa runs up the steps.) to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, more than 500,000 people will enjoy one of the largest and most spectacular fireworks displays in the nation.

That’s my segue for my tips for photographing fireworks. Here’s what you need to do to capture them this July 4^th.

Photographing motion with your still camera

“Photographing motion with your still camera” sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it.

Actually photographing motion with a still camera can produce startling photographs showing details you can’t see with your eye, or in a standard speed video. Not only that, you can make a still photograph of motion which can even give you the feel of motion.

You can use your DSLR, SLR, or Point and Shoot camera to either stop motion completely, freeze everything in motion in your photograph, which is the option most travelers take, or you can capture motion itself, by showing a bit of a blur, where you control what’s blurred and how much blur you show.

Travelers often find “motion” photo opportunities during their journeys. This week I will discuss some basic ways to capture motion, and in a later article, discuss more advanced techniques to capture the feel of motion in a still photograph and have some fun and extra creativity while making the photos.

Will the iPad fulfill photographer's travel computer needs?

Last week, I watched Steve Jobs introduce the Apple iPad with great anticipation. As the iPad presentation continued, I wondered if it could meet the photographic needs of travelers; vacation, amateur enthusiast, or professional photographers.

Since its introduction, I've analyzed how well the iPad might fulfill my needs as a business traveler, and travel photographer. While there is no doubt the iPad is built for travel, I’m not so sure it’s right for the travel photographer.

Photographing Water: Reflections and the Deep Blue Sea

Many travelers think the secret to successful reflective water photographs is pure luck, nothing more. Of course, you already know, if for no other reason than I’m writing this article, that it’s not true. Then again, for the traveler, luck does play a part in making successful water photographs, but you can make your luck to an extent.

A significant problem for travelers wanting to make great water photographs is the serious time constraint in which we often find ourselves. Sometimes you can’t possibly schedule yourself at a particular location at a particular time. Sometimes when we’re at a great place for a photograph, the weather, wind or rain, for example, won’t allow us to create the photograph we’ve been looking forward to making. And sometimes despite our best efforts we just never get a chance to return to a great location a second time.

Night Photography: Overcoming the Obstacles, Reaping the Rewards

In last week’s article, Night Photography: Pushing the Limits, Understanding the Obstacles, I discussed some of the difficulties encountered in Night Photography.

In this week’s article, I’ll discuss how to overcome those problems to produce wonderful night images which help tell one’s travel stories.

When it’s possible to use one, the tripod is absolutely the best tool for photographers to make great night photographs. A well-chosen tripod with a quality “head” can enable photographers to hold their cameras motionless to create high quality night photographs.

Night Photography: Pushing the Limits, Understanding the Obstacles

Photography at night has plenty of obstacles, but is also full of rewards for travel photographers.

Many locations have interesting sights and looks during the day, and a whole host of different sights and looks, and another atmosphere in the evening. Las Vegas many interesting photographic opportunities during the day, but it seems as though it’s at night that Las Vegas really comes alive. The night photography opportunities in Las Vegas are almost limitless.

Another location with great night photography opportunities is the “La Ville-Lumière” (The City of Light). While Paris, France, was originally given that nickname due to its fame as a center of education and thought during the Age of Enlightenment (eighteenth century), its early adoption of street lighting (In 1828, Paris began lighting the Champs De Elysées with gas lamps. It was the first city in Europe to do so.), and its use of electric light beginning in the 19^th century for street lighting and later to illuminate monuments established the nickname forever.

NSL's Annual Holiday Photography Gift Suggestions

It's the holiday time of the year, time to think about gifts for friends and family who include photographers; beginners, through serious amateurs.

Purchasing photography gifts can be difficult, especially for serious amateurs, as many prefer to carefully choose each component of their "kit" themselves, but I think there are some possibilities that almost any photographer would say, "Thanks very much!"

I'd stay away from choosing cameras, lenses, tripods, most bags, and software, unless you know of a specific item they want, but have held off for some reason. Instead, look for items which could augment already existing equipment or other items which might help.

I have a few choices below that I think most would find very welcome in a wide price range ($18–$300 or more, if you want to go there).

Photographing Stained Glass Windows

With the tremendous technological improvements in DSLRs and even digital point and shoot cameras, coupled with the improvements in software used to remove lens and positional distortion as well as edit photographs in general, it’s now possible for travelers to make wonderful photographs of stained glass windows in the churches, synagogues and mosques they visit.

In most instances you’ll be able to get very good exposures of incredible stained glass windows while you travel, but there will be pitfalls, and most of the time there will be distortion to deal with in post processing once home.

If you’re going to at an out of the way church or museum you may be fortunate enough to be permitted to use a tripod and remote shutter release, but if you go to busy places like I’ve visited recently in Paris, such as Notre Dame de Paris, Musée de Cluny, or Sainte-Chapelle, that won't be possible.

Slowing down your camera's battery drain!

I don't know about your digital camera, but my Nikon D-200, a DSLR, seems to eats up its battery charge too quickly. That's one of the major reasons I have a vertical grip on my camera. The grip allows me to use two batteries at a time, doubling battery life.

Today's digital cameras, whether DSLR or Point and Shoot units depend upon batteries to power the camera and its variety of moving parts and electronic circuits; no battery charge, no photos.

You should be aware of what you can do to extend the life of your camera’s battery. I also recommend carrying a spare battery at all times when taking photographs.

Photographing Sacred Spaces

When we travel we certainly see and often visit churches, temples, mosques, synagogues, and other religious shrines. Many contain some of the world’s great artwork. Many are architectural gems unto themselves. Many have extensive grounds. Many are important for their history, or their part in historic events.

Some are the center of their town’s or city’s culture, and attract visitors from across their region, country, and some attract visitors from across the world.

Often we find shops, vendors, and other places supporting the sacred space. That means many photo opportunities besides the place of worship itself, and those of its grounds and interior.

Gaining access to a place considered sacred by those who maintain and belong to it, brings responsibility to behave with sensitivity to the place of worship itself, those who worship in it, and those responsible for running it. The building, grounds, and the people must be respected.

Traveling with a tripod: It's love — Hate

You know, it really is a love — hate relationship between travel photographers and their tripods. Some weigh so much you get tired just looking at them in your room. When traveling with a group, you may get some “evil eyes” staring at you while you take time to set them up and take them down.






 Unfortunately, without a tripod, you can’t get really good night photographs, multi-image panoramas, sharp wildlife photos at distance, or sharp macro photographs of beautiful blooms, even with lens vibration reduction or camera image stabilization.

If you don’t have a tripod, or are considering one, but haven’t yet purchased one, it’s time to look at what benefits to travel photography you can derive from taking a tripod with you.

• Enhance sharpness — The “Photography Hand Holding” rule of thumb, for 35mm camera “equivalent” focal lengths, is the slowest hand-holdable shutter speed is 1 divided by the focal length of the lens. A 200mm lens can be hand held no lower than 1/200 sec. For print sizes of 8x10 inches and larger, even 1/200 is too slow. While some people can hand hold better than others, and lens vibration reduction / camera image stability can help, when you get to it, the rule is accurate. A sturdy, stable, properly sized tripod will get you sharper pictures every time.
• Create photographic opportunities — There are many photographic opportunities for which a tripod is essential; night photography, time-lapse photography, macro photography, wildlife photography, timed delay exposures, panoramas, etc. You might use a tripod to be creative such as in action photography where you pan with the subject and blur the background to show movement.
• Use lenses with longer focal lengths — The longer your lens’ focal length, the higher the magnification of your image, the more difficult hand holding the lens will be, and the more likely the image will be blurred by even a minute amount of camera shake. The longer the lens, the more the shake will be amplified. Vibration reduction and image stabilization cannot eliminate camera/lens movement as effectively as a properly sized tripod.
• Enhance photographic image quality — When you hand hold your camera in low light conditions, you often must either use faster film, or set your sensor ISO setting higher on your digital camera, since there is a lower limit in reducing your f/setting, when you try to keep your shutter speed high enough to hand hold your camera. By placing your camera on a tripod, you can keep your film speed or ISO setting low, improving your photograph’s quality.
• Enhance depth of field — When you hand hold in low light, you must use a low f/setting, opening up your lens’ aperture to let more light in, and/or a high film speed or ISO setting. Using a low f/setting reduces your photograph’s depth of field. Using a tripod enables you to use higher f/settings, closing the lens’ aperture to create a longer depth of field.
• Reduce distortion — Some better tripods allow you to get close to the ground for extreme low-angle shooting. This in turn can help you better compose the photograph and minimize keystoning and other types of distortion.
• Enhance image framing — There’s nothing better than a tripod in assisting a photographer to control the camera/lens position to permit you to perfectly compose your photo by using its panning and tilting movement.
• Enhance videos — You’ve seen TV cameras at sporting events, news events, and other locations. Many, especially the ones far from the action, are on tripods. There is no doubt that their use for video reduces camera shake and ehances smooth panning to follow movement. With more and more digital still cameras able to take short videos, tripods for those shots are becoming more important daily.
• Enhance flexibility — You can use a tripod like many photographers to hold more than just a camera. I’ve often used a tripod as a light stand, or to hold a reflector.
• Enhance photographer’s discipline — In my article, “Get great photos from your camera, instead of whining about needing a new one,” I said, “All too often digital camera ‘users’ just point their camera in the direction of their subject and shoot. No thought goes into photographic composition or exposure.” It takes a bit of time to set up a tripod with a camera and lens. This is a great time to think about your image, set an appropriate exposure, and carefully compose the photograph with thought.”

 Perhaps you think a tripod is only for expensive SLR or DSL cameras. Think again. If you have a Point and Shoot camera, look on the bottom of the camera. I’ll be you’ll find a threaded hole for attaching a tripod. Tripods work effectively for all kinds of cameras. You just need the right one.

Next week I’ll discuss choosing the right tripod.

Panorama Photography Part I

When you go to an exhibition of photographs, what type of photo always seems to be one remembered? It’s the sweeping panorama.


Panoramas of a scene seem to take the image to new heights. They make landscapes more dramatic and vivid. Mountains become more majestic. Horizons become more exciting. Even a panoramic style view of great architecture becomes more admirable. The above panorama, made from five photographs stitched together, taken in Monument Valley, far better represents the feeling one gets traveling among the Valley’s natural wonders than squarish photographs.

We’re used to seeing photographs in the typical 3:2 aspect ratio of width to height which started with the invention of the 35mm film format, and is carried through on today’s digital cameras, both the DSLR’s and Point & Shoot varieties. The most common print sizes of 5x7, 8x10, and 11x14, generally adhere closely to the squarish 3:2 ratio.

I think that part of the reason panoramas so appeal to the eye is their departure from the 3:2 format, and the easy way they draw your eye across their “canvas.” The appeal of Cinemascope, the first widely accepted “wide” movie format, is much the same. Cinemascope allowed movies to go to a 2.66:1 aspect ratio, twice as wide as the conventional format of 1.33:1. With Cinemascope, the breathtaking beauty of the background of some of the classic movies of the 50’s and 60’s and beyond was greatly enhanced.

Imagine what “Ben Hur” or “Lawrence of Arabia” would look like, reduced to a square screen. Without their wide screen aspect ratio, in my opinion, neither of these films would have won an Oscar for “Best Cinematography.”

You don’t have to limit your panoramas to landscapes, though they are the most familiar use of the wide aspect ratio photograph. Buildings, city-scapes, groups of people, and parades are all great subjects for panoramas. Isn’t this photograph of the Louvre in Paris at night made more dramatic by its wide aspect ratio?

There are two basic methods for producing a panorama photograph. The easiest way is to take a wide angle view of your subject and crop it to produce an image with a wide aspect ratio. This is how I produced the photograph of the Louvre above.

Some Point and Shoot digital cameras have a “Panorama Mode.” If your camera has one, use it. It will enable you to get some spectacular results with some practice.

The other method for creating a panorama photograph is to take several photos of your subject, moving your camera across the subject, being careful to overlap each shot, then stitch them together with an image editor on your computer. Both Photoshop and Photoshop Elements contain tools to stitch photos together, or you can use specialized software to accomplish this task. I use PanaVue Image Assembler for my multi-image panoramas. It allows me excellent control in creating the combination image.

While you can hand hold your camera to take multiple photographs stitched together into a panorama, I strong suggest you use a tripod. Using a tripod allows you to easily keep each photo in the panorama in the same horizontal plane. I use a special panorama head on my tripod for these shots, which makes leveling the tripod easier, and helps you rotate your camera a specific number of degrees between each photo.

While you’re looking horizontally to produce panoramas, there may be some opportunities for vertical panoramas too. Don’t loose sight of these vertical possibilities.

Don’t forget the “Rule of Thirds” when taking panoramas.

Take my word for it, or try it yourself. Placing the bay’s horizon in the lower third of this photo of the Hubbard Glacier in Alaska, close to the intersection of the lower third with the middle third, made this panorama much more pleasing to the eye, than if I placed the bay’s horizon across the middle of the photograph.

In Panorama Photography Part II, I will discuss techniques for taking your photographs for multiple image stitched panoramas.

Ten Tips to Improve your Landscapes

It’s Spring. We’ve had days in the 90’s and days in the 50’s, days it’s been sunny and days its poured and poured, days it’s been calm, and days the winds have gusted over 50mph. Such is spring in the Northeast, but it’s been so great to be beyond the grip of winter.

With digital point and shoot cameras and consumer DSLRs so easy to use to make high quality photos, the number of Philadelphian’s and visitors walking on the paths beside the Schuylkill River a couple of weeks ago, to watch and take photos of the shells rowed quickly down the River, and the beautiful landscapes of Fairmount Park’s flowering trees along the River was amazing.

As I watched the scenes revealed as I walked up the River banks, I thought I might discuss some ideas I’ve learned about making landscape photographs better, here on the Blog.

1. With film, there was a real cost per photo, so photographers gave thought to composing each one. With digital image costs at almost zero, that impetus for thoughtful image composition disappeared, and now too many travelers bring home too many poorly composed images. I see travelers so excited to arrive at their destination, that they start taking photos willy-nilly. Take a breath, take in the scene, then compose an image which shows off the scene well. That way you’ll make photographs, not take snapshots.


2. Maximize your depth of field (well most of the time anyway). Generally you want to ensure that as much of your image as possible is in focus. The easiest way to do this is to choose a small aperture setting. The smaller your aperture, the greater the depth of field in your photos. Don’t forget, a smaller aperture means you’ll need to decrease your shutter speed, or increase you sensor sensitivity (ISO setting) to get the correct exposure, or a combination of both.


3. Sometimes to help your image have a more natural look, and focus on an object in the foreground, or the foreground itself, you might want to narrow the depth of field. This can give the image a real sense of depth, and give the viewer a way into the photograph. I often choose this, to emulate the way we actually see a large landscape, by keeping the foreground and mid-ground of the image in sharp focus, but allow the background to be somewhat fuzzy. When we look at a scene and concentrate our eyes on the foreground, the background is generally somewhat out of focus.


4. Landscapes need some sort of focal point to avoid ending up looking rather empty. Focal points prevent your viewer’s eye from wandering, with no guidance of where or how to look at your photograph. Focal points can take many forms in landscapes from buildings, trees, boulders, birds, ships, islands, a person, silhouette, etc.


5. Consider using the sky to enhance your landscape. Many great landscapes will either have a dominant foreground or sky to eliminate your photo from being boring. If your sky is bland, compose your landscape to focus on its foreground by placing the horizon in the upper third of your shot (Remember my article on the Rule of Thirds.) If the sky is filled with drama, interesting cloud formations and colors, let it dominate by placing the foreground lower. You can even enhance skies via a polarizing filter or in post production.


6. When people think landscapes, they think of passive environments, still lifes, but many of the great landscapes show motion and the movement adds drama, mood and points of interest. It could be waves on a shoreline, a waterfall, moving clouds or birds flying, for example.


7. After you take that breath, while you’re composing your landscape image, one question to ask yourself is “How will you lead the viewer’s eye in the photograph?” We’ve already discussed some methods. Another is to provide viewers with lines that lead them into and through an image. Lines give images depth, scale, perspective and can be a point of interest, creating patterns in your image.


8. Photograph during the “golden hours,” the hours near dawn and dusk. This is the time when the light must travel through the atmosphere the longest distance, which effects it’s “golden” color. The light being low also creates shadow, and helps define shapes better with improved contrast, interesting patterns, dimensions and textures.


9. Think about the horizon in your landscapes. While you can fix the horizon in post processing it’s better if you get it right when you take the photo. Ask yourself if it’s straight, if it should be, and if it’s in the right place to make the best landscape possible. Think about that rule of thirds I keep mentioning. It works.


10. Remember it’s not the camera which creates great photographs. Photographers create great photographs with their minds, hearts and senses.

Focus, overcoming the "fuzzies" Part 2

In Part 1, I discussed how auto-focus works, and many of the modes of auto-focus found in today’s camera’s. In Part 2, I’ll discuss how to use auto-focus, difficult auto-focus situations, and when to manually focus your camera if it has that capability.

A not so famous photographer said in 2007, “Out of focus photographs give me a headache.”¹

Visiting the National Zoo’s panda exhibit where the glass wall separating visitors from the bears has a zillion finger prints and other dirt, travelers notice their photographs of the Pandas are out of focus, but the fingerprints on the glass are “sharp as a tack.” Seriously, wouldn’t that give you a headache?

When I first started pursuing photography seriously, auto-focus wasn’t even a dream, but today, auto-focus is the standard, and on most cameras, in most situations it does an outstanding job, more quickly, and sometimes better than photographers can do for themselves. Please note the use of the phrase, “in most situations,” and the word “sometimes” in the previous sentence.

If you want your photographs consistently to be in focus, care and thought must be given to the process.

For good auto-focus the photographer must be cognizant of how auto-focus works. For stationary subjects, the general technique used when auto-focus is difficult is called, “focus and recompose.”

Utilizing your knowledge of how auto-focus works, you allow the camera to find the ideal “focus” for your photograph, then, after locking-in the focus, compose, or rather “recompose” the image to that desired. This is only possible if your camera permits manual focus lock. Most auto-focus cameras utilize the shutter release button to lock the camera’s auto-focus when the button is pressed halfway down. As long as the button is not released, the focus will be locked, and remain locked until the photograph is taken by pressing the shutter release all the way.

We already know, to auto-focus, the camera must find the edges of your subject on which to focus by sensing the differences in the scene’s contrast. For difficult to focus stationary subjects I use single area focus and directly point to an edge or line on the subject. If that won’t work, I’ll focus on another object, equidistant to the subject of the photo. I lock the focus and compose my image, all the while holding the shutter release halfway down, then when ready, take the photo.

Sometimes, if conditions permit, I close the aperture of the lens to the extent possible to lengthen the depth of field, to better ensure good subject focus. That can have negative results, however, if it brings into focus, objects you would rather have out of focus to make your main subject stand out.

For subjects in motion, such as birds, I suggest using continuous group dynamic focusing. This allows the camera to use multiple focus points to auto-focus, so if the subject moves for a moment, away from the photographer’s primary focus point, it will remain in focus while the photographer pans the camera to keep composing the image as photographs are taken. This mode, allows the camera to more easily find those elusive edges for focusing on moving objects. A method to assist you focus on a moving subject, such as a bicycle rider, is to prefocus on something which is stationary and equidistant from where the rider will be going across your field of vision.

Sometimes, the camera’s auto-focus can be fooled into focusing on the wrong subject. The National Zoo’s Panda exhibit mentioned above is a perfect example. At zoos, we want to take photos of animals behind glass or chain link fences, but our cameras often auto-focus on the glass or fence. In that situation bring your camera as close to the barrier as possible, such as in between the links of the fence. This brings the fence or wall too close for the camera to focus on it, so it ignores it, and focuses on the real subject instead.

If you have manual focus available in your camera, there are times it’s the best focus method to use. For macro or close-up shots, night photography, portraits where I generally focus on the eyes, fireworks, low light or distant landscapes, I manually focus my camera.

A final thought. For many landscapes, I concentrate my focus on the foreground of my image, and let the focus be what it may for the rest of the photo. This is the way our eyes generally focus on outdoor scenes, and is a very natural look for landscapes, where the background focus is a bit soft.

¹Completely frustrated with a lens that was “back focusing” while traveling in Los Angeles in 2007, when reviewing photos taken earlier in the day, which had to be re-taken, I said, “Out of focus photographs give me a headache.”