Single-Serving Photo

Sometimes when you’re shooting in broad daylight you may have a reason to use a longer exposure than you can achieve from your smallest aperture and lowest ISO setting. That’s where neutral density (or ND) filters come in.

ND filters have been widely written about, so I don’t intend to flog a dead horse here. Still, while shopping for ND filters today, I realized that this whole numerical rating system they use is kind of confusing, and I always wondered why some manufacturers will say ND.3, while others simply write 0.3, and yet others come out and plainly state “one stop.”

I personally prefer that everything be expressed in stops, but since that isn’t often the case, here’s my explanation… After the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

This sweet video from someone called “cobbler” on Metacafe shows you how to make a rather ingenious image stabilizer, which I have decided to call an “inverted monopod.”

I won’t ruin the surprise, nor will I keep you from the video, which is right here:

(View the original video on Metacafe)

Personally, I think this idea is brilliant and I give a tip of my cap to “cobbler,” whoever and wherever they may be.

The Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, or PHMSA (I like to say it “pa-hum-sah” just to be a jerk), dropped a bomb on us recently with a new set of regulations governing lithium-based batteries in public transportation (chiefly air travel, but presumably any transportation system under the DOT’s oversight).

Of concern are so-called primary lithium or lithium metal batteries as well as the somewhat more common lithium ion batteries so familiar to photographers. The regulations basically prohibit loose spare batteries in checked baggage and also place a number of other restrictions on the number and variety of batteries that can be kept in carry-on luggage.

I became concerned because I will be flying out to the California coast at the end of February to scout locations for future art photography workshops and making that voyage across the country is enough of a hassle without TSA inspectors throwing all of my batteries away.

Here I will make a valiant effort to summarize what has already been said by others and tell you why I think this “emergency” might be somewhat blown out of proportion. Continue after the jump! Read the rest of this entry »

The debate rages on concerning the best place to put “image stabilization” features. Is it within the lens housing, as Canon prefers; or is it within the camera body itself as Pentax, Panasonic, Sony, and others have adopted?

The big names in photography have evidently made their decisions, but photographers have their own opinions. As with most things in photography, if not in life, this decision is one with many trade-offs; if there was one completely correct answer, it would already be known.

Today I will dive into the briar patch and outline the pros and cons of both sides of the debate so that you can make a more fully informed decision about what equipment to buy. Read the rest of this entry »

Most (if not all) digital SLR cameras have a variety of “modes” that they can be operated in, such as Av, Tv, Portrait, and so on. To the novice it may seem as though some of the modes are redundant, and certainly to some degree that is true, but they all have their uses. Today I will attempt to demystify these modes and explain how to use them most effectively for the greatest creative impact. Read the rest of this entry »