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01-28-2016, 07:15 AM - 1 Like   #661
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Join Date: Jan 2016
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Maintain your investment

Many people are posting tips for better photos, how abouttips to protect your investment for many years to come:
-Insurance, its cheap (<$30 per year to protect multi thousand dollar equipment)
-try not to touch lenses with your fingers, which contain oils and can degrade the coating over time
- do not blow on your lenses to clean them, use a cheap blower and/or cheap paint brushes to brush dust/debris off your lense
-avoid extreme temperature changes which can lead to condensation; your gear bag can help slow the transition of temperatures
-humidity can ruin your gear over time; keep your gear bags packed with silica packs to absorb excess moisture (I live in Florida so this is key)
-keep caps on all your lenses, they are cheap!
-if not you’re not using a cap, use cheap UV filters to protect your lenses
-when your lenses and camera body facing down when changing,to prevent dust from landing on sensor
-keep up with maintenance; regular dusting/cleaning can go along way; vacuum out your gear back regularly too

01-28-2016, 07:18 AM - 2 Likes   #662
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Dublication is picture taking, Perception is photography

Tip on bokeh, Remember the 1/3, 2/3 rule to increase the bokeh effect. The 1/3, 2/3 rule is that from the focus point 1/3 in front and 2/3 in back will be in focus for the specific aperture and depth of field. So focus in front of your target to shift the Depth of Field forward and get more bokeh behind the subject...

Tip on scenic pictures - use a telephoto lens and focus on object much closer - the depth of field will shift forward (you don’t need 2/3 beyond infinity to be in focus). This will enlarge distant objects and closer objects will appear to be bigger than life.

Photography is about perception and to create and capture something that does NOT exist in the natural world. Some examples are the use of Bokeh (blur the background), wide angled lenses (distort balance), ND filters (soften and blur movement).

Light and lack of light are your creative tools. Soft edges with lenses can be your friend if used in a creative manner... Learn to use the weaknesses of your equipment to make creative photos...

An exact replication, is taking pictures, to tell a story and have the viewer perceive, is photography. Perception is something that does not exist in the real world.

Last edited by Buckaroo50; 01-28-2016 at 07:21 AM. Reason: Remove text formating
01-28-2016, 08:02 AM   #663
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What (or Who) Do You Trust?

Now that you have bought that fancy camera and lens, the first inclination for most of us who aren't well-seasoned or pros, is to trust the camera to make all the decisions that will surely render the best pictures we have ever taken. Okay, do this for a short time until the camera begins to feel comfortable in your hands but, quickly quash the temptation to leave it on "Auto". Switch the mode dial away from "Auto" or the green setting and put it on "Av" or aperature priority, at least at first. The transition from snapshot taker to photograph maker will begin. You'll start thinking about the subject you want to shoot before you ever release the shutter. You'll start using the camera as a tool to manipulate the scene and emphasize what's important. Best of all, your creative juices will start to flow and that will make you happy.
01-28-2016, 02:05 PM - 4 Likes   #664
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My advice is : take your time.

Your equipment is good enough for now, and will be good enough for a very long time.

Take the time to learn how to use your camera and lens (or lenses). Learn its functions, its strengths, its limitations. Discover which focal lengths you enjoy using, and in which circumstances.

When you have a better understanding of what you CAN do with your equipment, now may be the time to determine what you wish you can do, but cannot (for instance, true macro photography does require a macro lens). Only then should you consider spending more money.

If you choose your equipment slowly and, shall we say, wisely, your camera bodies will last you several years, and your lenses many, many years.

01-28-2016, 03:29 PM - 2 Likes   #665
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Join Date: Jan 2012
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Advices for really bloody cold conditions

If you are going to make photos in extreme weather conditions, for instance, -20 C (-4 F) and steady wind of 20-25 m/s (~50 mph) prepare like this:

1) Make sure your batteries, in-camera and spare ones are recently and fully charged - the Father Frost is really hungry for power. This will provide your camera the longer time to function.
2) Keep spare battery(s) in the internal pocket of your warm clothes. This is having more time of shooting than if it is in the bag.
3) While no shooting, warm your camera body and keep it out of the wind - cover it by hands or scarf or whatever else, especially the part where the battery resides.
4) As the battery power is getting lower until the shutter is stopped working keep the camera switched off and follow the point 3 above. In fact you will have about 5 seconds after power is switched on to make a shoot or two. And you will have several chances like this.

Keep yourself warm!

The Cheget mountain - 3100 meters (10000 ft) above sea level in winter:
01-28-2016, 04:56 PM - 3 Likes   #666
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Useful tip

Shooting baby or toddler pictures can be challenging. Often the parents are so focused on making sure that the time is well spent that big brother or sister feels left out.

I've found that bringing my old spare camera and making the older sibling my second shooter has several rewards: It keeps them involved in the process, makes them feel useful, and encourages an interest in photography. I always process the shots from that camera as well so they can see what they accomplished.

It's pretty fun to see someone start to get excited about taking photos.

-Collin
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01-28-2016, 05:46 PM - 1 Like   #667
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Regarding HDR. The idea is to make and image look more similar to what the naked eye sees, not to make everything look like glowing plastic lawn ornaments. Limit HDR editing to two or maybe three layers exposed for the highest highlights, middle grey average, and areas in full shadow. Blend to taste, but don't get stupid with it.

01-28-2016, 06:22 PM - 6 Likes   #668
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My Bird Photo-setup for those with physical disabilities.

I have some physical limitations that preclude me from getting out into the wild and photographing birds, so I've devised a way of bringing the birds to me and photographing in what, for all intents and purposes, looks like it was in their own habitat. The photos will pretty much show my set-up, and by simply changing different colors of background cloth on the frame on the fence, it provided me with some very different looks. To help with the "Natural look," I inserted tree limbs in the holes drilled in the black, horizontal board and also attached some limbs to a small 4-foot ladder that I placed near the birdhouse feeder. Everything was placed to make the most of depth of field and bokeh, and it included a lot of shooting, downloading, moving the ladder, then re-shooting and trying it again.


Dewman's Album: My Personal Photos - PentaxForums.com

Last edited by Dewman; 01-29-2016 at 01:46 AM.
01-28-2016, 09:54 PM - 2 Likes   #669
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ALWAYS make sure the legs on your trip are extended and locked before attaching your camera. Also wise to use two hands while setting up the tripod and camera.

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/6-pentax-dslr-discussion/307870-dropped-m...live-view.html
01-28-2016, 11:11 PM   #670
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i want,but ....
01-29-2016, 10:05 AM - 1 Like   #671
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I had a chance to work with a famous b&w photographer last year and his greatest piece of advice to me was...

SLOW DOWN!

In this digital world we can snap so many things so fast. His advice was to try something, take a few shots and really look at them. What works? What almost works but has a defect -- a stray hair, a reflection that's not quite right. Shoot the same thing until you're happy with it if the idea/concept is working. Take your time. At the end of the day you are responsible for the shots and the look and the feel of the photos. And it's ok to start with copying someone's great idea and trying to re-create it. That's when you discover how hard it is and learn so much as well.

I'm no pro - I'm an amateur. But the shoots I went to after that I've followed his advice and my photos are getting better.

Example
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01-29-2016, 10:48 AM - 2 Likes   #672
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On the go lens wipe.

I found that a eye glasses micro cloth attached to a clip on carry case is a very easy to carry around. I clip directly to the shoulder strap, and this has enough reach to wipe down the UV filter when sudden gusts of wind or dew drops effect the lens. The lens cloth costs under 5.00US and is readily available at any eye glass, reading glasses section of any department store. The one pictured is micro fiber but they also offer a softer suede version as well.
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01-29-2016, 10:59 AM - 3 Likes   #673
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The cloth is sewn into the pouch, when done simply stuff the cloth back into the pouch.
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01-29-2016, 12:33 PM   #674
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Improve your Night Photography Skills

Night photography need not be a "Nightmare" to compose, here is a basic tip that may make the world of difference for your night photography results.


If you wantthe best night shots you need to shoot in the best image quality, and thatmeans RAW. By shooting in RAW your images will retain the most ‘information’,which gives you greater scope for enhancing your shots in Adobe Camera Rawand other raw-processing software.


RAW isespecially beneficial when taking night shots as it gives more flexibility whenyou want to change things such as colour temperature(or White Balance) or accurately increase (brighten) or decrease (darken) yourexposures.

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01-29-2016, 01:48 PM - 7 Likes   #675
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When taking vertical images, most photographers will rotate the camera to the left, holding it up with the right arm/hand above the camera. Rotating the camera to the right, however, allows a photographer to hold his/her arms and elbows in close to the body and thereby steadying the camera. Additionally, changing the position of the right hand to use the thumb to actuate the shutter button insures the grip end of the camera won't be pushed to the side by actuating the shutter. Especially useful in low light.
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