tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40352511972238477382024-03-21T15:28:49.093-04:00Practically Perfect PhotographyShawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08742434379166297161noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4035251197223847738.post-24846863646103567092016-09-04T13:39:00.000-04:002016-09-07T07:34:46.490-04:00Can A Smartphone Replace A Dedicated Camera?<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5M3SEf4SOqIJmzQmZhsibh5kmNunw1167Pc12G1GozZK9kaBcBBGN4TvCZWuOvWxjlMbhYL9g5IzEyn6qTFzJyta-60vaCBK9RFRSJjaP86_d6rgLZJ_8gQkz2Ksw94gtwAfNRn1zO9Eg/s1600/2016.08.20_PureShot+for+Apple+iPhone+6s_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5M3SEf4SOqIJmzQmZhsibh5kmNunw1167Pc12G1GozZK9kaBcBBGN4TvCZWuOvWxjlMbhYL9g5IzEyn6qTFzJyta-60vaCBK9RFRSJjaP86_d6rgLZJ_8gQkz2Ksw94gtwAfNRn1zO9Eg/s200/2016.08.20_PureShot+for+Apple+iPhone+6s_.jpg" width="150" /></a>I think this question comes up a lot, and the answer isn't the same for everyone. In fact the answer for a lot of people has shaken up the entire camera industry and flung its future into uncertainty.<br />
<br />
What about for those who are more serious about photography? I'm definitely one of those people so here's what I've experienced...
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<a name='more'></a><br />
It's been 10 months since I started
using the iPhone as a camera. Last spring I spent two days traveling
with the family and no other digital camera except my iPhone (I was
also shooting two vintage film cameras just for fun). It was at that
point that I could say with certainty whether a smartphone could
really replace a dedicated camera (for those who would actually use a
dedicated camera).
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Last November I ordered my first
smartphone. I had decided to finally give in and get a smart phone
for many reasons. I decided on the iPhone 6s, and mostly
because it had a better camera than the 6. I figured out of all
people I would be able to use it to its maximum potential.
</div>
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<br /></div>
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Here I am 8 months later and have mixed
feelings.
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<br /></div>
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<h3 class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
The Good</h3>
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
It's with me pretty much
everywhere I go, you can't beat that for convenience.
</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
There are so many photo editing
apps available. I use Snapseed. The built in
iOS photo editor has a lot of capability too, and the edits are
non-destructive (original preserved).</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Tiny sensor = huge depth of field.
I don't have to worry too much about missing focus with everything
except close subjects.
</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Automatic mode is pretty darn
good, and any oddities are well covered by the touch-to-meter-and-focus
function (just touch the area you want to meter and if it's large
enough it will measure and adjust).
</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH5iFkKBgHvKcKikG_PjwGuagJYtbZhytl6icJAQ-R-PvCNexYVoGk3nRiqbsrfqhU1_dko7HcZrH4u-kpM6d3e0X0bZtZzpY_j1mY3B4UuqL6PMV0zDE3fWwrHxv2o-yVpZ5XaMAL7aIM/s1600/2016.03.04_iPhone+6s_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH5iFkKBgHvKcKikG_PjwGuagJYtbZhytl6icJAQ-R-PvCNexYVoGk3nRiqbsrfqhU1_dko7HcZrH4u-kpM6d3e0X0bZtZzpY_j1mY3B4UuqL6PMV0zDE3fWwrHxv2o-yVpZ5XaMAL7aIM/s200/2016.03.04_iPhone+6s_.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Under 1" of Glass</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It fits into places that a larger
camera just can't, or where you would look like a total douche
trying. This shot was taken in a 1” gap under a glass shield. If
only the lens was a bit wider.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
It's much less conspicuous.
Smartphones are so ubiquitous that you have a better chance of
getting a candid photo than with a larger camera. People can't
always tell what you're doing with your smartphone: maybe you're
taking a picture, or maybe just reading your email. They drop their
guard and this can be beneficial for more candid photos and fewer
palms. Also, dedicated cameras are still discriminated against.
Carry around a DSLR long enough and eventually someone will tell you
you can't take photographs of something. There are also places where
cameras are not allowed. I don't see them trying to stop people from
bringing in cell phones though.
</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
At 12MP Image Quality in good
light is very good. I believe I could print fairly large without
flinching as long as the picture was taken in fairly bright light
and clearly in focus.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sharing is a breeze. Even though
dedicated cameras are getting better at sharing, they're just not
there yet. You can take and share in seconds, or even do both at the
same time. Convenience is king.
</div>
</li>
</ul>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
That sounds pretty good, but is it
enough?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<h3 class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
The Bad</h3>
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<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
It's big. The 6 and 6s are large
devices, never mind the plus models. It is difficult to shoot using
one hand. Given the price of the device it makes me nervous to do
so. Unlike a camera it's not safely attached to a strap all the
time, nor would I ever feel it's rugged enough to be bumped around
like a regular camera if it were on a strap. Now the new iPhone SE
may solve the size issue, but let's be honest, most phones from all
manufacturers are as large or bigger than the iPhone 6. </div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
It's not instant start up like a
camera. As much as swiping to open the camera from the lock screen
sounds quick, it's not. See previous bullet for one reason (hard to
do that one handed). Also note that most people with iPhones will
never see the lock screen. With Touch ID, one press of the home
button and I'm at the last app I had open. Not convenient at all. I
am at least 3 touches from the camera app most of the time. It's way
too easy to miss a moment, and I have. There may be other non-Apple
phones that can get to the camera faster, but I'd be careful about
thinking they're drastically better.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The focal length is maddening. At
approximately 30mm (in full frame terms) It's neither wide enough
nor long enough to be usable. If I had to describe it I would say
it's a wide angle lens that's just not wide enough. It's nearly
impossible to take a tight portrait with this lens because it's too
wide. This means you're stuck with a distorted closeup or an
environmental portrait. Wide portraits are fine but difficult to
control and turn very cluttered quickly. It's not wide enough to
offer any really deep perspective, nowhere near what a 24-27mm focal
length on a full frame camera would get you (. Some might say to step
back and “zoom with your feet”, which is incorrect to start
with. My instincts (from 8+ years of photography) are always to get
closer to cut out the crap and isolate my subject. The problem is
once I get close enough to get rid of distractions (people, plants,
reflections from glass, etc...) I can't go wide enough to actually
capture the subject the way I wanted. For a longer perspective,
one might think zooming is an option. See the next bullet.
</div>
</li>
<li><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9I-uLYidlXYHyMfG4idAlP21Q4eV3geXrJdpEz5RQ9e0-wRLbYU4XjWCJAAS98ZhGA8uhV7znSQeKEI8oN3yVa4S3zKws8-MkY9dQ8u-rDj8qD2PQc9RBWc514lVMP9nCnE8L_ZqvF_pK/s1600/2015.12.11_iPhone+6s_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9I-uLYidlXYHyMfG4idAlP21Q4eV3geXrJdpEz5RQ9e0-wRLbYU4XjWCJAAS98ZhGA8uhV7znSQeKEI8oN3yVa4S3zKws8-MkY9dQ8u-rDj8qD2PQc9RBWc514lVMP9nCnE8L_ZqvF_pK/s200/2015.12.11_iPhone+6s_.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Digital Zoom"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
There is no true zoom. I love
prime lenses and can easily go weeks (months even) with a 50mm
equivalent lens on my camera, but the 30<span id="goog_981869541"></span><span id="goog_981869542"></span>mm offered on iPhone just
doesn't cut it. My first instinct was to use the built in zoom. I
quickly learned that it was nothing more than a “digital zoom “.
Not only did it crop my image but it enlarged the pixels to fill
12MP, ruining the sharpness of my images. I decided I would be
better off shooting at the widest setting and cropping later. I
looked into add on lenses, but soon found that they added another
layer of inconvenience and significant cost for quality. That
investment could easily be spent on a dedicated camera far more
capable than a smartphone.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
It has a fixed aperture. If I had
to choose the most important aspect of photography, it would be
depth of field. With the iPhone, there is no DoF control, the lens
is fixed at f/2.2. Not that it would matter much, but it would be
helpful for macro and landscape. At the very least they could offer
“focus peaking” so we could confirm focus of large scenes at
least (there are third party cameras that do offer focus peaking).</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Little manual control. The default
photo app has no manual controls. Recently Apple provided manual
controls for third party apps. Though this is a step in the right
direction, none of the third party apps that I have used that offer
manual control are any easier to use than the 50 and 60 year old
film cameras I was using in parallel. The simple aperture and
shutter dials on old manual cameras that stay where you put them are
a joy to use. Those apps are painful. It takes too much time to
pre-tweak settings that all reset after you power off the phone.
This is somewhat fixable though, after all it is just software. They
could make it easier to use. I may not have found the right app
yet. With numerous apps offering manual control for $1.99 to $5.99
I'm not about to spend $20-$50 experimenting (a lot of research
based on forum rumors may have led me to a decent, but not perfect
option, stay tuned for a future article).</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Terrible low light performance.
This is where every smartphone camera is going to bomb. There is a
direct relationship between sensor size and low light performance.
Larger sensors just capture more light when the scene is framed
identically. Technology is improving low light performance of
smaller sensors with every generation, but comparing sensors from
similar generations supports this fact. So no matter how awesome
someone claims that their camera or phone shoots in low light, if it
has the same size sensor it's going to suck about the same. A little
trick that they use is something called noise reduction, they just
use software to detect noise (random pixels of incorrect color) and
smooth it out visually. The iPhone does this in spades. Any shots in
dim light appear plasticky and lack detail. I much prefer to do my
own noise reduction after the fact, but that is not what the general
public wants. Sadly there is no way to turn this off. </div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<h3 class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
My Decision</h3>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQkOOzsawOT2x5yvVk19FrgpgLvqTYJ_TR58XaPCdRxFyg9k5HYO06JbSSmFcKLcLITm6NCzHauMs2ZXYTQ_mSDNJN2IS8wOHILHvhK4Sy5TYeGHr6ntCc7VoEorY4euUalg7sunGOZGOJ/s1600/FullSizeRender.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQkOOzsawOT2x5yvVk19FrgpgLvqTYJ_TR58XaPCdRxFyg9k5HYO06JbSSmFcKLcLITm6NCzHauMs2ZXYTQ_mSDNJN2IS8wOHILHvhK4Sy5TYeGHr6ntCc7VoEorY4euUalg7sunGOZGOJ/s200/FullSizeRender.jpg" width="112" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shared via <br />
Camera to Phone <br />
"optical connection"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
My decision was easy, for the
remainder of the week I carried my DSLR and even forgot to use my
phone as a camera. I can set it once – aperture, white balance, ISO
and it stays that way. It's always on, drains virtually no battery
and wakes up instantly. It's rugged, and always on my shoulder when
we're out on adventures. Even though it's almost 10 years old, the
image quality in any light is far superior to any smartphone. Sure
it's heavy, bulky, and takes much longer to get pictures out to
share, but I still find the benefits worth the extra effort. Actually I've been cheating lately and simply been taking a picture of the back of my LCD. If it's just for sharing, who really cares?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I will still use my cell phone for
convenience, or just sharing a moment where quality doesn't matter,
or when I just can't carry another camera.<br />
<br />
Please don't misinterpret my opinion, the iPhone 6s is an awesome phone. The display is beautiful and the processor is fast. It's great having Siri to add appointments and reminders (my favorite thing). I'm very happy with my phone, I'm just not going to use it as a dedicated camera.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
<h3 class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
Needed Improvement</h3>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I would hope to see the following improvements in smartphone photography:<br />
<ul>
<li>Better focal length choices. Maybe have two cameras on the phone, one super wide and one reasonable telephoto (50mm equivalent would be fine). I would gladly take one high quality fixed focal length and one low quality at the current (crappy) focal length.</li>
<li>Variable aperture and much larger aperture. Right now we're stuck around f/2.2 which is not very large at all. With tiny lenses like these we should have f/1 or larger (meaning the lens opening is as large as the focal length or larger). This would provide more light to the sensor meaning lower ISO (less noise). It would also provide opportunities for less depth-of-field which could enable better subject isolation. The variable aperture would be needed to increase depth-of-field as needed.</li>
<li>Better control. There are apps that provide better control over functions than the stock camera app, but they're still difficult to use. The lack of tactile buttons is probably the most frustrating. You can't adjust anything without looking at the controls themselves because when you're changing a setting you can't feel that you've made the change, so you have to look to see if it worked. For example, when I'm shooting an SLR I typically know what f/stop I'm shooting at. Let's say I'm shooting a 35mm f/1.8 at f/1.8. I know my camera is set to adjust f/stops in 1/3 increments so I simply turn my dial 3 clicks to increase one whole f/stop (in this case to f/2.5). I can do all this while still paying attention to my subject. I would also like to see more static and selectable focus/metering points. I still find it easier to make these adjustments using the direction pad on my camera, it's been more accurate and faster than tapping all over the screen on my phone. Picking just one small fixed point and using that during composition I believe would let me concentrate on taking the photo.</li>
</ul>
<br />
Smartphones are capable of taking great
pictures. I took all these on my iPhone 6s (and toned most using <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/snapseed/id439438619?mt=8" target="_blank">Snapseed</a>).</div>
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<br />
<br />
<h3 class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
</h3>
<h3 class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
The Future</h3>
<b>
</b>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Smartphones will
get better, and the DSLR’s days are numbered. The future is
multi-lens multi-sensor cameras. Cameras that can collect multiple
levels of information: focus/depth of field, noise, focal length and
then use software to process the information into a single image that
is both higher quality and far more flexible than a single sensor
single lens solution. It's <a href="https://www.light.co/camera" target="_blank">already begun</a>. But I am
guessing that they won't be ready for semi-serious use until about 10
more years (or be worth the cost). Until then I will stick with cameras that offer a single
interchangeable lens option.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
What do you think, have you traded your
camera for a smartphone? Are you sticking with a camera (point
and shoot, SLR, or mirrorless)? Why? Let me know in the comments.</div>
Shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08742434379166297161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4035251197223847738.post-64164307052917175972016-02-08T21:00:00.000-05:002016-02-13T14:16:16.572-05:00The Practical Guide to Buying a New Camera<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
I want to save you a ton of money on camera equipment. Most blogs make
their money through affiliate programs with major equipment vendors. They're
better off when you buy more expensive equipment using their links. This blog
also uses affiliate links, so what's the difference?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'd like to think it's honesty, some might
even call it stupidity. Either way, I want you to buy the least expensive
equipment possible.<br />
<br />
If you're just getting started and want to get the most for your money
then let me explain why I don't want you to spend a lot. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
If you don't care about why, or are buying for someone else, then <a href="http://www.practicallyperfectphotography.com/2016/01/the-practial-guide-to-buying-new-camera.html#recommendations">skip
down to my recommendations.</a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<h3 class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Why You Shouldn't Spend Too Much</h3>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><u><b>Most camera features are just marketing junk.</b></u>
They are either pointless, don't work, or sound great at first but when you
actually try to use them just let you down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I have a camera with a swivel LCD, I've used it for about 0.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>01% of my shots, and really only when I'm shooting on a
tripod and manual focusing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It also has
an auto HDR mode that is useless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
are lots of little features that looked neat but turned out to either be
incorrectly implemented or not useful.</li>
<li><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><u>Megapixels are meaningless.</u> </b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was a huge difference back in 2010, but
today even 3 generations old cameras have enough megapixels for almost anything
you would ever need. It's not just the number of them, it's the quality too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A 14 megapixel sensor from a modern low-end
camera can easily outshoot a 12 megapixel professional camera from an older
generation. It really comes down to how you will use the pictures. If you're
just showing them on a computer or TV, then you're throwing away most of the
megapixels. Only when you start printing really big will you start to think
about megapixels, and I mean big like 2' x 3' prints. Even then, your prints
can still be way less than 300dpi and never noticeable. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most people actually look at the whole
picture, not press their nose up to the glass to see if they can spot the
pixels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have an older generation 12MP
camera that still takes excellent pictures, ones I would easily print 12” x 18”
and never be worried about quality.</li>
<li><b><u>Other numbers are also just part of marketing
hype too.</u><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>Many of them swayed my last
camera purchase, so I spent more than I needed too. Now I am paying the price.
I can't round out my lens collection because I haven't yet saved enough money
to buy all the lenses in all the focal lengths I need.</li>
<ul>
<li><u><b>High ISO.</b></u> I used to think I needed a camera with
super-high (stupid-high?) ISO. I ended up buying one that goes to 25,600.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do I ever need ISO 25,600, no. Have I used
it, yes, for a couple of cute pictures of my kids conked out in dim light.
Those were just cute pictures, nothing special, just something to share on
Facebook. I could have saved a couple hundred towards another lens if my lack
of experience hadn't led me astray. Most modern DSLRs look great up to ISO 1600
and even 6400 in the right light.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
are very few great pictures waiting for you above ISO 6400, and usually for
good reason - the light usually stinks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Move to better light, wait for better light, or add your own light.
Don't let ISO or talk about “noise” sway you into spending too much.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><u><b>Frames Per Second.</b></u> Here's another one I thought
would change my life. wrong again!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
went from 2 fps to 4 fps, and eventually 6fps. Did I catch more
"moments"? No! Actually I ended up with more out of focus pictures,
pictures of people with their eyes closed and/or embarrassing expressions on
their face. I guess I caught more moments, just the wrong ones. Here's the
thing they don't tell you about high frame rates, they're also limited by the
speed of your AF system, which is a combination of camera and lens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You're much better off learning your subject
and anticipating what might happen next.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Even if you're shooting a group of people, especially kids, you should
learn how to engage them instead of firing bursts and hoping for the best. You'll
just end up poring through dozens or hundreds of pics and disappointed that
none of them worked out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It gets worse,
you might try the dreaded multi-hour photoshop "head replacement"
move: combine a good expression from each person in your group photo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wouldn't you rather spend time taking
pictures instead of fixing them?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I've
started to learn to anticipate the right moment and engage my subjects. I found I am getting better
pictures because of it.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><u><b>Number and type of focus points.</b></u> This is a
chicken-or-egg type of issue. In this case I'm going to recommend not worrying
about it for now. Sure, more points can be helpful, and those that have more
points are usually faster, but until you know the difference between a
cross-point, horizontal, or vertical sensor, and until you've mastered focus,
additional points aren't going to help you much. They're nice, but if you're
letting your camera pick those points for you they're not going to do you any
good. Most cameras today have at least 11 or more points. That's plenty to
start with.</li>
<li><u><b>Fancy Controls and/or Rugged Construction.</b></u> I have both a rugged body with "fancy" controls (meaning it has more dedicated buttons) and also a "consumer" level body. I used to think that having a body with more controls would change the way I shoot. It didn't. It didn't change anything. All those extra buttons are just as inconvenient as the overloaded buttons on the "consumer" bodies. The more experienced I got, the less things I needed to change. Don't get suckered into thinking you'll be changing metering and focus modes every two seconds: you won't. The only thing I change regularly is exposure settings, and those are quick to change on ANY DSLR. As for rugged construction, you'd be surprised how delicate the rugged bodies are, and how tough the "consumer" bodies are. I've dragged my consumer level DSLR everywhere for years, it's a little worn, but works just fine. I had to have the sensor swabbed recently, but that's about it. The rugged body I have is heavy, really heavy, and I would never want to bump it or drop it. More mass means more force. I'm certain whatever lens is on it if it falls will not survive, and who knows what internal damage it would occur. Peace of mind is nice, but how much is it worth? </li>
</ul>
<li><u><b>Canon, Nikon, or other?</b></u><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Doesn't really matter. Canon an Nikon tend to
have bigger systems, meaning more lenses and accessories including 3rd party
options. There's not really an advantage to either. Even though each brand may
do something slightly different or have a slightly higher number in one
statistic, none of that stuff even matters. Just take a look at the great
portrait, landscape, wildlife, or sports photographers. There you will find a
very even mixture of all brand equipment. You can't tell the difference from
their results, because when it comes down to it, equipment doesn't really
matter. If it did, and one was truly better, then all the pros would use that
one brand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It really comes down to
personal preference. Find what feels good in your hands, what is easy to change
settings with, what viewfinder works for you. If this is your first ILC
(interchangeable lens camera) then you probably know someone who has a
camera.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ask to try it out, see how you
like it first.</li>
<li><u><b>SLR or Mirrorless?</b></u> This decision primarily comes down to two questions,
are you taking pictures of moving things and how much do you want to
spend?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Currently, Mirrorless cameras
don't have quite the same focus performance as SLR cameras. This is mostly
about focus speed and keeping a lock on moving subjects. Accuracy is good
across the board.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So if you're planning
on shooting sports, action, birds, or kids, then I highly suggest sticking with
a regular SLR and the traditional phase detect focus system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The stand out exception to this is the Nikon
1 series, which has somehow managed to package SLR focus in a Mirrorless
camera. We're still waiting for mirrorless cameras to catch up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you're going to be shooting mostly still
subjects this won't be an issue for you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The other problem with mirrorless is cost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can buy a better performing SLR and
several lenses for the cost of most comparable mirrorless cameras with just the
kit lens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So if cost is important to
you, stick with a traditional DSLR.</li>
</ul>
<h3 class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
What do you really need?</h3>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
A camera with ability for manual control and
interchangeable lenses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That's pretty
much every DSLR on the market today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Buy
less camera and more accessories. </div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
Here are some important things that you might not
realize you need:</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><b><u>Lenses</u>: </b>This is the most important thing. The
good ones are expensive and specialized, but there are bargains to be had.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You'll want to cover a variety of focal
lengths and also have a few lenses with “large apertures” for a variety of
reasons, low light photography among them.</li>
<li><u><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span></u><b><u>Flash</u>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></b>There is really no substitute for good lighting, but you're not always
going to have quality light. The answer is to make your own light. The results
can be spectacular. All the little flash accessories start to add up, but even
here you can usually find something entry level that will solve some of your
lighting problems.</li>
<li>
<b><u>Support</u>: </b>I personally feel that a good camera
strap helps. It can change carrying a camera from a chore to a convenience.
Good straps do cost money and this is one area where you get what you pay for.
There are many great photographers who never move beyond the stock strap, so
even if you don't opt for a strap there are other levels of support that you
will need. If you are planning any kind of landscape or scenic work, macro
work, or night work then you will need a good solid tripod.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once you're on a tripod you'll need a good
remote shutter release.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can get away
with a $100 tripod that includes a ball head, but that is more than most people
think they want to spend. Keep in mind that the real landscape pros spend more
than $1000 on a high quality tripod, ball head, and various Arca-Swiss adapters
and L-brackets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don't cheap out on a
tripod. I had a cheap tripod and it had a terrible “pan head”, was wobbly,
quickly wore out, and eventually cracked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This was a common brand name tripod too. Don't get a “pan head”, ever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The day I finally got a ball head is the day
I began enjoying using a tripod.</li>
<li><b><u>Filters</u>: </b>Filters can do things that software
can't. The two primary filters you will need if you do any kind of outdoor
photography are circular polarizers and neutral density filters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Circular polarizers remove reflections from
surfaces. This can be from windows, water, or even leaves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Neutral density filters reduce the amount of
light that gets to the sensor. It basically lets you slow your shutter speed
down so you can blur things like traffic, water, clouds, or even people. There
just isn't any software that can do these things for you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Acceptable versions of these filters run
about $40 each. Really good versions will cost over $100.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You'll need to buy 2-3 of these. Even though they
aren't super expensive they will easily eat away at your budget.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also want to put in a word here about
graduated filters (filters that allow you to even out exposure of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a bright sky and dark<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>foreground). These are super expensive and
require special holders. They can be replicated in software, but you have to
both have the right software and be experienced in using it to replicate them. Software
might seem cheaper, and it probably is a little, but It's still an investment
in the programs as well as experience and training. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I personally don't own any graduated filters
but they are on my plan to buy list. I already spend enough time in front of a
computer just organizing and selecting photos (and prepping for printing too). I
really don't want to add more time in front of my computer. This isn't true for
everyone. There are landscape pros in each camp and the results are equally
impressive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You'll decide for yourself
eventually, but you won't have to worry about these advanced techniques until
much later. </li>
<li><b><u>Software</u>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></b>There are really no images coming straight out of camera (SOOC) that are
finished. The reasons are simple, the camera already started making decisions
about contrast, color, saturation, and sharpness without much input from you.
Even if you change your settings to override the camera, those are probably
specific to one set of conditions. Every image is different, and applying one
set of image controls to every image isn't going to work. It might be a great
staring point, but you'll really want to process each image individually. The
camera is stupid, and you are smart, you know better than your camera how the
images should look. This isn't like the days of film where you had to live with
whatever type of film you bought. In the age of digital you are in control. If
you think post processing isn't necessary, and film was purity, then take a
look at the work of Ansel Adams. He did in the dark room what we do today in
<a href="http://amzn.to/1mosBxN" target="_blank">Lightroom</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the very minimum you will
need a catalog and organization system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Keeping all your files in various folders on your computer is going to
waste your time and test your patience. You need some way to quickly view,
search, and organize your pictures. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
use and recommend <span id="goog_580287285"></span><a href="http://amzn.to/1mosBxN">Adobe Lightroom<span id="goog_580287286"></span></a>, the packaged version. It allows you to pull
in pictures off your memory card and automatically organizes by date. You can
skim through your photos by looking at the thumbnail images and pick and choose
the ones you want to keep or share. It allows you to install services that
allow you to upload to common photo sites or Facebook. That is not the only option,
but I can say that after 4 years of use that it has vastly reduced the amount
of time I have spent on the computer trying to find and organize pictures. You
will also need photo editing software. Lightroom has great editing software
built in and I rely on it for 99% of my processing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For more advanced work there are other
options available, but you wouldn't need those until you're more experienced.
Don't make the mistake of jumping into complex software too soon, you'll need
to spend more time behind the camera making great images before you spend time
behind the computer making a great image greater.</li>
</ul>
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<a name="recommendations">Buying Guide</a></h3>
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Below you'll find my equipment recommendations, starting with buying advice. Buying a camera is almost as complex as using one, so I've put all the advice I've learned about buying cameras over the last 10 years. If you've never purchased an expensive camera online this is a MUST read. Even if you have, you can still learn to keep safe and save money.<br />
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</h3>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Avoid Scams!</b></span></h4>
The first and most important advice is that when you're looking to buy camera equipment that you buy safe. There are way too many people trying to rip you off. Please, only shop at reputable web sites and reputable stores. If you see a deal at an unknown site that costs less than what you see at the reputable ones, it's probably a scam. Camera companies like Canon and Nikon have explicit contracts with their retailers. These contracts specify that the retailer MUST sell at the price dictated by the manufacturer. That is why there are frequently packages that include extras or 2% back in store credit - to provide incentives without dropping the price of the camera.</div>
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Disreputable sites will pull a common scam where after you purchase online, they will call you up and explain something is wrong with what you bought or with your credit card. It could be that the camera you bought is the "international" version and isn't compatible with U.S. lenses, or doesn't include some critical component like a battery. Sometimes the item they said was in stock is suddenly out of stock, so they have your money while you wait. Other times they can't ship the item quickly unless you "upgrade" your shipping. They might try to tell you what you picked isn't very good and try to upsell you to a more expensive item. All lies. The bottom line is that you will not get the item you wanted and pay anything less than you would at the major retailers. You will probably pay more, if they even ship you anything at all!</div>
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Safe sites include: <a href="http://amzn.to/1Q5pX87">Amazon.com</a>, Adorama.com, and BHPhotoVideo.com. Major retailers are a safe bet such as BestBuy.com, WalMart.com, and Target.com. Major retailers typically don't offer better prices or faster shipping than the online sellers. If you think in-store pick up is fast, try it then get back to me. I prefer to go about my daily life for two days than go through the inconvenience of attempting an in-store pick up.<br />
<br />
This great story from <a href="https://www.slrlounge.com/how-to-spot-a-scam-camera-buyer-advice/" target="_blank">SLR Lounge</a> explains camera sales scams in great detail. It's actually a fascinating read and I highly suggest it.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Packages with Extras?</b></span></h4>
Sometimes you might find a camera packaged with extras. Extras like camera bags, tripods, memory cards, batteries, and lens "attachments". Avoid these unless they are the exact same price as the base model. They are packed with cheap junk that will work poorly, fail, or break. Cheap stuff just brings frustration, I've had more than enough experience with that. Even if they are the same price, you probably don't want to keep all that extra junk around.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>VR or Non-VR?</b></span></h4>
Beware, there are many packages with "non-VR" versions of lenses. Just say "no". "VR" is Vibration Reduction (also known as "IS" or Image Stabilization and sometimes other names), and it really works. You can see the effects in the viewfinder as you hold the camera. With it on, as your hands shake or move, you'll see the image slowly drift around. Turn it off and the image jumps around unpredictably. VR helps eliminate camera shake and is great, especially for longer lenses. Unless you have a great Tripod and are always going to be shooting on a tripod, then just skip it. Go for the VR version. This is one of those things you shouldn't skimp on until you're looking to buy very expensive telephoto lenses and the difference cost comes down to thousands of dollars, not tens of dollars. Just buy the VR version.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Extended Warranties?</b></span></h4>
I've never come across a warranty that was worthwhile. They're not really warranties, they're insurance policies. To get them you have to submit a claim, which can be denied. You often have to pay a deductible on top of the cost of the warranty. They don't cover all possible situations. Frequently you have to pay to ship your item far away where it will remain for a long time and pay to have it shipped back. They also expire. By the time you're done you could have paid for the repair out of pocket yourself.</div>
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There's a reason they're sold, it's because they are profitable. They are more likely to profit off of you than you are to damage your item beyond repair. Statistically you're better off self insuring. For every item you could buy an extended warranty, simply put that money in a safe place instead. Chances are you'll be able to buy a brand new version of the one thing that breaks and still have money left over. Check out <a href="http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/extended-warranties/buying-guide.htm" target="_blank">Consumer Reports</a> for more details.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Gray Market</b></span></h4>
Gray market products are products that are imported into a country outside of the normal manufacturers shipping practices. Usually these are products bought at a discount due to currency value differences and imported by 3rd party sellers. Sometimes they are just dumped into a country by the manufacturer who can't sell them anywhere else. The product is new and there is nothing different about the camera or lens, they're all made in the same factory. The problem with gray market is that there is no warranty and you won't be able to get the product repaired by the manufacturer, possibly ever after your return policy expires. I would not recommend this, you're probably better of buying used. You're really gambling if you buy gray market.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Refurbished</b></span></h4>
Refurbished goods are those that were returned to the manufacturer as damaged and then repaired. Most refurbished items come with a very small warranty period, typically only 90 days. If a manufacturer is not willing to stand behind their own repair for more than 90 days, then it seems pretty likely that it's going to break again. Avoid refurbished as well, even if it costs less.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Buy From My Links</b></span></h4>
If you found this info useful. If I've saved you money. If I've done anything positive for you, then you can simply purchase anything, including a new camera, by using any of the below Amazon links. It costs you nothing, and Amazon will give me some credit. It's win-win.<br />
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Camera Recommendations</h3>
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Here is what you've been waiting for, the actual recommendations. My recommendations are
mostly Nikon-centric because they currently have more models available
to purchase new. I'm also more familiar with Nikon because I've owned
multiple models and shot even more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
have nothing against Canon at all and
recommend them if that is your preference, but there is only one
well-priced model available. I currently have no recommendations
for Sony. Please be sure to use my <a href="http://amzn.to/1Q5pX87" target="_blank">Amazon links</a> when buying, it really doesn't cost you anything and helps me to create more articles and help <u>you</u> more.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Nikon D3100</b></span></h4>
Though there may be a "newer model available" and this one is technically "Discontinued by Manufacturer", I'll say that the images that can be made from it are going to convince you that you don't need to worry about either. There are two people who should buy this camera, someone who just wants a great fast camera and doesn't want to spend much, or someone who wants to be able to buy more lenses. Right now at $354.00 it's a steal! There's almost nothing you get by spending more on a camera, unless you are looking at a multi-lens bundle. This one includes the excellent 18-55 VR lens, which I have used extensively for years. This isn't one of those "super zooms", but it is a sweet spot for focal length. You'll be able to get both wide angle and nice tight portrait<br />
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There is also package that includes the 55-200mm VR lens. I have also used this lens for years and it's very good. A telephoto lens is the second that you should buy. If you have the budget, it's worthwhile to save some money and buy it with the kit (you save about $100). If you buy the lens separately later, you'll pay more than the two-lens kit costs. Double check to make sure you're not buying the NON-VR version. Always go with VR!<br />
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<h4 class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Canon T5</b></span></h4>
I don't shoot Canon cameras, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with them. They don't do anything better or worse than Nikon. If you prefer Canon for any reason, then go for the T5. Remember, you don't need any of the fancy bells and whistles that are offered in the higher models. All I ever want when I pick up a different camera is to have full manual control, and this one, like all DSLR cameras, offers that.</div>
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You can also get this one in a kit with a 55-250 lens, which also makes a great telephoto option.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Nikon D5200</b></span></h4>
The D5xxx series offers one thing that can't be found on the D3xxx series, a swivel LCD. The D5200 is the first in the D5xx line that also includes a 39 point AF system. For only $409.49, it might be worth the extra cost over the D3100. You really have to decide your needs, that is $59 you can't put towards another lens.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Nikon D3200</b></span></h4>
Another in the series of D3xxx cameras. Currently this costs more than the even newer D3300, so skip it unless the price drops.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Nikon D3300</b></span></h4>
Latest and greatest of the D3xxx series. Also $100 more expensive than the D3100. You get more megapixels than the D3100, but you're not really going to notice that unless you're printing 2' x 3' or bigger. I would rather have a D3100 and $100 towards another lens than a few extra megapixels. If you're still sold on the D3300, then take a look at the current available packages.</div>
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With just 18-55mm:</div>
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With 18-55mm and 55-200mm:</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Nikon D5300</b></span></h4>
Like the D5200 it has a swivel LCD and the same number of AF points. There's nothing here that's really any better than the D5200, and right now it's about $250 more. There's nothing wrong with this camera, but if you're going to spend $700 on a new camera, I think you'd be better off getting a less expensive model plus a couple of extra lenses (55-200VR and maybe the 35mm f/1.8 which you could have both if you pick up the D3100).</div>
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Last Words</h3>
If I had to do it all over again, I would focus on lenses not cameras. Any one of the above cameras would be great for years while I mastered the basics. Even at 14 MP, the D3100 would easily have a high enough quality to make 3' x 2' prints. Any camera on this list easily has better image quality than the 12 MP D300 I shoot and made the pictures you can find in my <a href="http://www.practicallyperfectphotography.com/2016/01/portland-maine.html">Portland article</a>. I would buy the cheapest body I could afford and get the <a href="http://amzn.to/1T1EKFO" target="_blank">Nikon 55-200mm VR</a> (or <a href="http://amzn.to/1ScsraZ" target="_blank">Nikon 55-300mm VR</a>), <a href="http://amzn.to/1T1ETt1" target="_blank">35mm f/1.8</a>, and <a href="http://amzn.to/1ScsELl" target="_blank">Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8</a>. After I had those, I'd replace my Nikon 18-55mm VR with either the <a href="http://amzn.to/1motjLB" target="_blank">Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8</a> or <a href="http://amzn.to/1T1FdYL" target="_blank">Sigma 18-35 f/1.8</a>. Eventually I'd buy either the <a href="http://amzn.to/1T1FjzD" target="_blank">50mm f/1.8</a> or the <a href="http://amzn.to/1T1FmeN" target="_blank">85mm f/1.8</a> as a portrait lens.<br />
<br />
Let me know in the comments if you have any different recommendations. Maybe you bought a different camera and love it. Maybe I'm really missing out on something affordable from Sony. Let me know if anything is out of stock or got even less expensive.<br />
<br />
-Shawn<br />
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<![endif]-->Shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08742434379166297161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4035251197223847738.post-4264591208053601572016-01-06T07:22:00.004-05:002016-01-12T20:54:38.180-05:00Portland Maine<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuoMaaCUkBWU9BjbUqxO5tnHejtADrjNJ9EFymx2ur-DfONcuTtZmgvmLmibjaVr7qhQVeeiaQUQrPRBYUgJ2uuG2QD1TbONJmhA87tx_-7V3OcjeXJxfYAFR_KYrohhLBUJfFCKDHv4FU/s1600/2015.07.13_NIKON+D300_1812.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuoMaaCUkBWU9BjbUqxO5tnHejtADrjNJ9EFymx2ur-DfONcuTtZmgvmLmibjaVr7qhQVeeiaQUQrPRBYUgJ2uuG2QD1TbONJmhA87tx_-7V3OcjeXJxfYAFR_KYrohhLBUJfFCKDHv4FU/s1600/2015.07.13_NIKON+D300_1812.jpg" /></a>
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I've been way behind on posting lately, but I wanted to tell you about a trip we took over the summer. Tracy and I had an amazing opportunity to spend a couple of days in Portland Maine without kids. This was some well deserved freedom that we relished every moment of. We could go anywhere we wanted for as long as we wanted without anyone getting cranky, bored, or going crazy. We could eat at interesting restaurants without someone whining about not being able to order "noodles".<br />
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We visited some really cool places at the edges of the day and felt very relaxed the whole time. Tracy was so very supportive of my taking pictures, the kind of support that you can only get from a great wife. I did my best to not take advantage of it by trying not to linger too long and taking everything without setting up a tripod.<br />
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I also happened to get some great pictures. Photos that I feel are some of the best that I've taken to-date. This trip proved to myself that I'm technically skilled enough that I can pretty much go anywhere and come back with a great photo. I still feel there's something missing though. <br />
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I'm struggling with my own work. I know it's the best I've ever done, but when I look at others of similar skill level I still feel lacking. I don't know if it's just that I cannot judge my own work or if there is something to these feelings. I'm still exploring this and seeking out trusted opinions. In the meantime I'm going to print some samples and see what looks the best so I can hang a few larger prints.<br />
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Here are some of my favorites.<br />
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Portland Head Light</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjhlOuTash620efdhjHFW3Zv20dOhn7GLuc1yiyt2obEenbQY0C47Z5YGYKlPSQXUeDJ6uEAm-xsQQCcwudk3ysO9U_RWNSg0NLWFSfL1D_CVmnf50rRzYzSJisf00c4mD3JS7NPSaUapk/s1600/2015.07.15__07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="351" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjhlOuTash620efdhjHFW3Zv20dOhn7GLuc1yiyt2obEenbQY0C47Z5YGYKlPSQXUeDJ6uEAm-xsQQCcwudk3ysO9U_RWNSg0NLWFSfL1D_CVmnf50rRzYzSJisf00c4mD3JS7NPSaUapk/s400/2015.07.15__07.jpg" width="400" /></a>This is an easy one because this lighthouse is so popular. We came here somewhat on a whim and arrived very late. Within minutes of arriving we heard the announcement that the park was closing. But I grabbed a few quick "snaps" in the fading light. The lead image (top) is the nicest one I got from that evening.<br />
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I also had a chance to do something I really enjoyed. There was a couple with their young daughter there, and the mom was taking a shot of her daughter with dad using a DSLR. I offered to take a shot of all three of them and was happy to see she had a 50mm lens on the camera. So after a minute or two of figuring out how to dial in some manual settings (it was a Canon and I shoot Nikon) we were ready to go. I was able to take a few photos in some gorgeous light that I hope they treasure forever. They were really happy to have someone there to capture this memory. It made me feel really good to use all this knowledge to do something nice for someone.<br />
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We came back on a different day in the morning for a totally awesome and different feel. I love fog! It's moody, not common for most of the world, and it filters out a lot of distracting crap making composition a little easier. Here are a few fog shots.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzRs8yShTGF4alYLswRPZiwujGHruYW9iWiWnxmTg_IyLQI8AQBAXiIjhOoKAYp5h88jRmo8KhRgBpO4GUAnGwqYE3rX6dTxEBI28jvGnAtaKLNdq51F_kaeQNUULMqgajCAB0xUFUtCca/s1600/2015.07.15_NIKON+D300_2040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9wwrrsS0H7C3iT-cgxqSt0hJMqH2n_05B_xOAImGM1tfhRBaU8SgFKGQ7Jgem8nEYglM2ZhjsMP19-gBkZesOTdDn1kvdc07zV4-vba4e5mv-KaawFQQU1oCPOQd-tNY9IpB58_iE8vLh/s1600/2015.07.15_NIKON+D300_2032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9wwrrsS0H7C3iT-cgxqSt0hJMqH2n_05B_xOAImGM1tfhRBaU8SgFKGQ7Jgem8nEYglM2ZhjsMP19-gBkZesOTdDn1kvdc07zV4-vba4e5mv-KaawFQQU1oCPOQd-tNY9IpB58_iE8vLh/s320/2015.07.15_NIKON+D300_2032.jpg" width="280" /></a><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzRs8yShTGF4alYLswRPZiwujGHruYW9iWiWnxmTg_IyLQI8AQBAXiIjhOoKAYp5h88jRmo8KhRgBpO4GUAnGwqYE3rX6dTxEBI28jvGnAtaKLNdq51F_kaeQNUULMqgajCAB0xUFUtCca/s320/2015.07.15_NIKON+D300_2040.jpg" width="280" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij_GV34W-lhzYOXe1qw33abxRz4oZHjntNZAU6yqQDzdLqjxUZ0bJwEq5eQdDLt6QZLjVgIVurE9wpphnuCFfs-9PbuXZ2cPpbW9JRR2YDvWw7x_nQgB_H_moGW4L7IwOWJL6_XW8R9Bwb/s1600/2015.07.15_NIKON+D300_2040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9pWRm9UPVpjpcsEEI96NBmOWxqVjImCC_vVwULbplf_KgJOH6-kj2ZLMnSowttWXkG6bmiUqgGTegrKJDOM862J_GUNXZkDiChZBNXuTFV2Z1s80akIbqZXbStSIlZJl-r1PN7W8LX0SV/s1600/2015.07.15_NIKON+D300_2032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzRs8yShTGF4alYLswRPZiwujGHruYW9iWiWnxmTg_IyLQI8AQBAXiIjhOoKAYp5h88jRmo8KhRgBpO4GUAnGwqYE3rX6dTxEBI28jvGnAtaKLNdq51F_kaeQNUULMqgajCAB0xUFUtCca/s1600/2015.07.15_NIKON+D300_2040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></div>
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<h3>
Bug Light</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4E2yE8J3HhtMYMc1qa_1JL9vOslNjWL79dxA6PpGmiqQcBLXsB0oXKRoJY9NAJDIlfZaxrn65zRlPbdqoYXkUgm6U5cGcSvmHUfKUp32PzX9bR8JvApcC5PgiDRHaqMv4jroaC-rq_F_h/s1600/2015.07.14_NIKON+D300_1835.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4E2yE8J3HhtMYMc1qa_1JL9vOslNjWL79dxA6PpGmiqQcBLXsB0oXKRoJY9NAJDIlfZaxrn65zRlPbdqoYXkUgm6U5cGcSvmHUfKUp32PzX9bR8JvApcC5PgiDRHaqMv4jroaC-rq_F_h/s320/2015.07.14_NIKON+D300_1835.jpg" width="320" /></a>After picking up some awesome bagels from <a href="http://www.scratchbakingco.com/" target="_blank">Scratch Baking Co.</a> (bagels so awesome we've considered taking a 2 hour drive with the kids back here to get them again), we decided to stop at a different lighthouse to eat and maybe get some morning pictures. It started clear and we enjoyed breakfast, but then the fog rolled in and so did this nice sailboat. I managed to get them both in the same shot with fog and nice morning light. Time of day makes all the difference in the world in photography.<br />
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<h3>
Fort Popham</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIAyvl2cBe6cHtVqIyOPrHK4TCYZlh3LsSlYAVUeKp_ONFSGCSjmEmBN6WgRegMsk5jFm-vQP7YoFkTwcvXgAla5BtsYqotGlwR666hnuFvwD08We_0GVDtkhz2xcax39P2rT6hUH8FwMH/s1600/2015.07.14_NIKON+D300_1871.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIAyvl2cBe6cHtVqIyOPrHK4TCYZlh3LsSlYAVUeKp_ONFSGCSjmEmBN6WgRegMsk5jFm-vQP7YoFkTwcvXgAla5BtsYqotGlwR666hnuFvwD08We_0GVDtkhz2xcax39P2rT6hUH8FwMH/s320/2015.07.14_NIKON+D300_1871.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWUwrV8B0dYGHpKjzMPg_2ihlKDBBUdx0TcANvqqjTpzzWN_uvsAQ_BmV6DlcKl5CWQY5TMDueRBW6FO6nCgY6k-NhvJvbwUoYnK5NQ2XLv8J-Si3scvP3ClMv5Bu4oPnu8WcjUgjB1azg/s1600/2015.07.14_NIKON+D300_1893.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWUwrV8B0dYGHpKjzMPg_2ihlKDBBUdx0TcANvqqjTpzzWN_uvsAQ_BmV6DlcKl5CWQY5TMDueRBW6FO6nCgY6k-NhvJvbwUoYnK5NQ2XLv8J-Si3scvP3ClMv5Bu4oPnu8WcjUgjB1azg/s320/2015.07.14_NIKON+D300_1893.jpg" width="320" /></a>How do you find things to do in Portland Maine? How about opening google maps and searching for keywords like "fort", "lighthouse", "historical", "park", and "brewery"? Yup, that works! That coupled with Trip Advisor netted us a ton of stuff to do.<br />
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There are a lot of old forts up and down the New England sea coast. From colonial to WWII. Not all of them are still standing though, so just because you see a fort listed on a map doesn't mean there's anything there. That's why you look at the pictures (google image search). Fort Popham is a 2 story fort that is open to the public.<br />
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It was another misty morning, but I found the inside of the fort to be the most interesting. Contrasts of light and dark, subdued colors, and repeating patterns. Exploring the fort was very fun, just watch out for the Mosquitos hiding in the cooler shadows. There are a lot of places like this in and around Portland, so I wished I had put a flashlight in my camera bag. We ended up using Tracy's phone as a light, but a more powerful flashlight would have been much easier.<br />
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<h3>
Spring Point Ledge Light</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO1B3Z2X20KB1rSe_p6-6Og6bhDFVE8XSQUjFGLWObhBl39NH5w0hrBSbZPM-Zmw6lRZvk4lOWzYxT1nOo4CrlYVDGyog0DhXo_KaoHGQ79fBjbNFKmZuVeEG3TPxUafZzkrBPgS01UHcv/s1600/2015.07.15_NIKON+D300_2144_stitch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO1B3Z2X20KB1rSe_p6-6Og6bhDFVE8XSQUjFGLWObhBl39NH5w0hrBSbZPM-Zmw6lRZvk4lOWzYxT1nOo4CrlYVDGyog0DhXo_KaoHGQ79fBjbNFKmZuVeEG3TPxUafZzkrBPgS01UHcv/s320/2015.07.15_NIKON+D300_2144_stitch.jpg" width="320" /></a>On another evening we decided we wanted to be at a lighthouse for sunset. First we tried Twin Light State Park. Upon arriving at the park entrance we immediately saw the signs that not only was there an entrance fee, but that "There are no lighthouses here". OK, totally misleading name. There were however lighthouses nearby. The parking lot there was tiny and already full, but we had already driven here and it was close to sunset. After cruising up and down the road countless times a parking spot finally opened up. We wandered around a bit and did see at least one lighthouse but couldn't spot the other (perhaps it was a bit offshore). Either way we felt this place was kind of a dud, so we decided to take our chances trying to finding Spring Point Ledge Light.<br />
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We were running out of daylight, so I was concerned about missing the good light. When we arrived the sun was still shining, and in reality I think there was a lot more daylight left than I assumed. Things really came together when ALL of the people who were already out on the jetty started to leave when we got out there. I was able to get many clear shots the way I wanted them (without a significant human element). The sky was so cool looking that I decided to put on the polarizer, and to me that really enhanced the colors and texture. I was losing a stop of light and having to boost ISO to compensate, but it worked out (albeit with a little more noise at the pixel level). An interesting thing here was that I tried two different compositions from the same position with all the same settings. One emphasized the jetty, the other the sky. At the time I thought I would have to pick between the two. It wasn't until later in this trip that I decided to try taking pictures with a plan to stitch them together later (after all, I can't really afford an ultra wide lens right now, and wide angle perspective has nothing to do with how many mm are on your lens). Turns out I didn't have to pick between them after all. I was able to stitch them together beautifully and now I'm free to crop or not. Right now I'm liking the 1:1 ratio, so I might just stick with that.<br />
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<h3>
Other Places</h3>
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<h3>
</h3>
We visited some other places too, but none of the photos I took there were spectacular. We spent time downtown sampling beers and eating gelato. We stopped by The Desert of Maine. We visited the Portland Museum of Art and the enormous LL Bean store. We also took a half day trip out to Peaks Island (which also has an amazing fort).<br />
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<h3>
Overall</h3>
The trip was lots of fun with the best company imaginable. I also happen to get some great pictures with minimal effort, especially for a non-photographic trip.<br />
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Next time I go I will definitely pack a flashlight, I had no idea the extent of old explore-able forts that can be found along the coast. It's always a good idea to pack a small, but powerful, flashlight in your camera bag for any trip.<br />
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Have you ever been to Portland Maine? What did you think? Ever shot lighthouses before? Let me know in the comments.<br />
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-Shawn Shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08742434379166297161noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4035251197223847738.post-82529106962840378292015-10-08T13:24:00.002-04:002016-01-12T20:52:48.984-05:00Why You Should Photograph An Eclipse Through A Telescope And Not A Camera Lens<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoo248JNBHnV7IJPHlBRh50PWqz9mT3Wig-t4ps6xo_GCwaS2Ie-sUoZ7FJwxch-ugXnyrUvGxTv_K738UWxSnZH6gSZ7LTowDiyHZHpJtmtzVBFfq_ToB9OWbgTaUalFF2lKcHxlcoMN5/s1600/2015.09.27_iPhone+5s_4993.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoo248JNBHnV7IJPHlBRh50PWqz9mT3Wig-t4ps6xo_GCwaS2Ie-sUoZ7FJwxch-ugXnyrUvGxTv_K738UWxSnZH6gSZ7LTowDiyHZHpJtmtzVBFfq_ToB9OWbgTaUalFF2lKcHxlcoMN5/s200/2015.09.27_iPhone+5s_4993.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
A few Sunday nights ago, in the Northern Hemisphere, there was a "supermoon" lunar eclipse. I wasn't planning on formally viewing it until last minute plans came up and we decided to have a viewing with my daughter and her friend.<br />
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Luckily I already have a great telescope, an 8" Dobsonian. 8" refers to the size of the mirror and that indicates its light gathering capabilities. For celestial objects light gathering is king, the more light you can collect the more objects you can see and the more detail. Reflector telescopes are the cheapest way to "go big". The "Dobsonian" part means it's mounted on "alt-azimuth" meaning we have up-down and left-right control. Lots of light gathering ability but no way to follow or track objects that you can get on an "equatorial" mount. I was surprised to see that prices for the same model have come down <b>drastically </b>over the last decade: <a href="http://amzn.to/20Irols" target="_blank">Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic</a> <br />
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After planning the viewing I did a little research to see if using a telescope was even worthwhile for a lunar eclipse. You might think "duh", but it's not always that clear of an answer. Contrary to what you might think, viewing the full moon in a telescope is actually the worst time to view it. The reason is <b>lighting</b>. If we're talking photographic lighting, this is direct, "front lit", harsh sunlight. This means no shadows on the surface from mountains or craters, so no detail except for the darker colored "seas". The best way to view the moon is when it is side lit, i.e. quarter moon or so. The level of detail you see from a side lit moon is <b>significantly </b>more jaw dropping. The articles I read suggested that using a telescope is a nice way to see it, so I lugged (it's bigger than a child) it out of the basement for cleaning and calibration. I also decided to set up my DSLR on a tripod with my 70-300mm lens to grab some pics too. So is it worthwhile to view a lunar eclipse in a telescope?<br />
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<h3>
Telescopic Viewing</h3>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp9VDdInGGlC5CIf9skrvdDqS4tHwuu2HgEOMJT9Dc8eQT3ZPuYgO3ePJV0NSWnJaiWq6lfJ2ScPSMf7vSbyDkKWk2tLaXke-7BNKKKLUkCGkLVmmeV9EkDYtBI5gmUyQw39__WQi44Vml/s1600/2015.09.27_iPhone+5s_4993.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp9VDdInGGlC5CIf9skrvdDqS4tHwuu2HgEOMJT9Dc8eQT3ZPuYgO3ePJV0NSWnJaiWq6lfJ2ScPSMf7vSbyDkKWk2tLaXke-7BNKKKLUkCGkLVmmeV9EkDYtBI5gmUyQw39__WQi44Vml/s320/2015.09.27_iPhone+5s_4993.jpg" width="320" /></a>The answer to the question is YES YES YES! My 8" Donsonian has a focal length of 1200mm (f-stop translates to f/5.9) With the widest eyepiece (25mm), the moon fills MOST of the view and it is awesome. The girls were impressed, the moms were impresses, and I was impressed. We had crystal clear views of he shadows and the color changes, and we could not have gotten a better image anywhere. <br />
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I had come across a few articles that said you can use a smartphone to take pictures through the eyepiece. It was challenging to hand-hold the phone to get the right angle so we could get the whole moon in the picture, but the patience was worthwhile because these are the best iphone pics you're going to find on the Internet of the eclipse. People were wondering how we got such great pictures of the moon on a phone! They were asking "is there an app for that?". :)<br />
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<h3>
Photographic Viewing</h3>
So how did the DSLR fare at a measly 300mm (450mm when you take the crop factor of APS-C sized sensor). Not nearly as well. I have a decent live view, but the image was too bright so focusing through live view, even zoomed, in was not helpful. Since this was unplanned I did not read my manual to determine if I could lower the exposure in live view to better see the details (Lesson: <b>Always Read Your Manual!</b>). I did manage to focus using the regular phase detect system by turning off live view, using only the central point, and aiming at the edge of the moon. The moon is so far away that I was easily able to focus then re-mount on the tripod without losing focus, just be careful not to touch the focus ring. No worries about it being too dim to focus, after all I'm shooting a <u>sunny day</u> (that's what it is on the moon anyway!).<br />
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I had a lot more freedom with the 300mm lens than the telescope, simply because the field of view was so large. I could leave the camera locked into position for a long time before I had to readjust because the earth's rotation moved the moon out of frame. Naturally, the resulting photos needed to be cropped.<br />
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I used a steady <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008JE4S6G/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B008JE4S6G&linkCode=as2&tag=practiperfe03-20&linkId=X25ZBYXNICWGC66F" target="_blank">carbon fiber tripod</a>, remote cable release, and a mirror delay (the only type of mirror lock up available on this particular camera). I also used the eyepiece blocker just in case someone had a flashlight on. Light bouncing in through the viewfinder can end up on your sensor if you have an SLR. This is an experiment you can do at home to see that I'm not fibbing.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja_lq_MrxJ2dcKcVR45YeskmATgtY0SJTLKnjHQVaWXJh8wNELh1PB-WgjfvobRPzAnX8fHfusaQ-uDa_zNoLuc5rR_yVcRQd_bMM1a-h_dXf5-eK9uYg0MsW0Et0km0h24lHeC59klM23/s1600/2015.09.27_NIKON+D5100_09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja_lq_MrxJ2dcKcVR45YeskmATgtY0SJTLKnjHQVaWXJh8wNELh1PB-WgjfvobRPzAnX8fHfusaQ-uDa_zNoLuc5rR_yVcRQd_bMM1a-h_dXf5-eK9uYg0MsW0Et0km0h24lHeC59klM23/s320/2015.09.27_NIKON+D5100_09.jpg" width="320" /></a>To get exposure I just guessed. I started at ISO 400, dialed in F/8 since that is sharper on my lens than f/5.6 (which is the largest aperture available at 300mm on this lens). Now I just tried out different shutter speeds until I was happy. In this case I was exposing to the right: using the longest shutter speed I could without blowing out the highlights. Easiest way to check this is to turn on "the blinkies" as one of your playback modes (sometimes called "highlight warning", check your manual for how to turn this on). I also tried to check the histogram, but a small circle in a sea of black does not give a lot of spikes on the graph to really see if you've lost any detail in the bright areas. So I depended on the blinking warning and the visible level of detail (zoomed in to check) to guide my exposures. The whole event took about an hour so there was plenty of time to make adjustments.<br />
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The pictures from the DSLR weren't great. Due to the low level of magnification, the resulting image is only a few hundred pixels in diameter. Not enough to show great detail or even do much with. You can see the results above.<br />
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<h3>
A Comparison</h3>
In the end only one thing really matters: output size. Lets assume for a moment that your objective is to get the largest print possible. To do that we need the correct image size for our output. The iPhone image clocks in at over 1000 pixels in diameter. It is a smaller sensor (less detail, more noise) with a lens not nearly as good as the 70-300. The pixel density is very high, and with the telescope magnification were getting a high level of usable detail across a lot of pixels. For the DSLR, we have a good lens and much better sensor, but we're only using a small fraction of it. First I equalized the picture size by upsizing the DSLR picture until the two sizes match. To be fair I also tuned each image to maximize the detail and reduce the noise. I shot the DSLR in RAW and the iPhone on default. We're working towards final output so that is what we want to compare. Here is the comparison, you can judge for yourself (click to see full sized comparison):<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcg9-LD1GbxBh5sxNlo8lUHNkD1993YTGXUrnEhmQg_mgiRv7pTqsDfg95V0nrmD3YtQhg6RLdAy_hmhTZeIzqed1l0DD6APe_4N4RkAUSD0MQIAcH9AxipH2KgkuOolXI-KMPwiZx8moe/s1600/white_moon_compared.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcg9-LD1GbxBh5sxNlo8lUHNkD1993YTGXUrnEhmQg_mgiRv7pTqsDfg95V0nrmD3YtQhg6RLdAy_hmhTZeIzqed1l0DD6APe_4N4RkAUSD0MQIAcH9AxipH2KgkuOolXI-KMPwiZx8moe/s320/white_moon_compared.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyf6qJAS3CLf2iSrotPGHdy4oiCxR97V-I0aavakQCr9z02JUypt5oz7F1gGV0vOCJ4Ea5SetqBUlVyVTl6JkcUCXlptdmjJ4LaPHBmBA6hq1e3HJUrqvFwXlapa4E43DA1syIvHcMWaMN/s1600/blood_moon_compared.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyf6qJAS3CLf2iSrotPGHdy4oiCxR97V-I0aavakQCr9z02JUypt5oz7F1gGV0vOCJ4Ea5SetqBUlVyVTl6JkcUCXlptdmjJ4LaPHBmBA6hq1e3HJUrqvFwXlapa4E43DA1syIvHcMWaMN/s320/blood_moon_compared.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<h3>
My Analysis</h3>
This isn't an apples to apples comparison, it's method A vs. method B. I'm not trying to say the iPhone takes better pictures than a DSLR. I'm only saying the right tool for the job based on what you have available. For the regular "white" shot, I would say the iPhone wins. There's lots of light for both cameras, so the iPhone pixel density shows us it is capable of more detail. For the "blood" shot, iPhone output is much worse than the white shot because it's so much darker so it's up to ISO 1600, but still slightly better than the same shot from the DSLR. I could brighten up the DSLR shot even more, but that just shows lots and lots of noise: nothing to see here.<br />
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<h3>
Final Words</h3>
The best method would have been to mount the DSLR onto the telescope. Had I had time I might have done this. The investment is questionable though, because a telescope on an alt-azimuth mount is not the most flexible setup and you would be limited in what you're able to photograph. I would be able to shoot the moon, sun (with the correct filter!), the larger planets, possibly the Andromeda Galaxy, sections of the Milky Way, and the star cluster <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleiades" target="_blank">Pleiades</a>. What I would not be able to do is shoot fainter objects that require long exposures since the telescope cannot track them to keep them steady on the frame for a long enough period of time.<br />
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The next time a lunar eclipse does occur in the northern hemisphere (January 20/21 2019), I will decide whether to try to mount the DSLR or just grab a point and shoot with a larger sensor to use so I can shoot through the eyepiece. Either way I'll probably get better pictures for less money than trying to rent a very large camera lens (a 400mm f/2.8 with 2x teleconverter would do the trick on APS-C, but how many hundreds would that cost?). Yes, we could get better shots with more advanced equipment, but I'm not sure the solution to every problem is to throw more money at it.Shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08742434379166297161noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4035251197223847738.post-16791230648057107342015-09-25T07:49:00.001-04:002016-01-12T20:53:18.212-05:00Prepping For The Contest<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBnHvpPmAlXm6fWrAglb5dLbq7DsrkPJMd60hrl_Eb_hQGoCDlinEt4jkrvFTWKf7e-fZFHbEm2Fl41nqf2Yby7Sj-t5l5nZQOUqUhsV2bPRcmATJ6Ozn0bEQIll0OOL-ZBGugrlWHiLCQ/s1600/image1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBnHvpPmAlXm6fWrAglb5dLbq7DsrkPJMd60hrl_Eb_hQGoCDlinEt4jkrvFTWKf7e-fZFHbEm2Fl41nqf2Yby7Sj-t5l5nZQOUqUhsV2bPRcmATJ6Ozn0bEQIll0OOL-ZBGugrlWHiLCQ/s320/image1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
My wife had been suggesting for years that I submit photos to several contests she had come across. At the time, I wasn't ready. I didn't think I was good enough. I didn't think that any of my photos stood a chance of winning. I was afraid of how I would feel when I lost, the idea of a thing I had lovingly made tossed aside like garbage. I was also embarrassed at the thought of having my amateur slop side-by-side the work of professionals. So what was different in 2015 that made me change my mind?<br />
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How It Started</h3>
It really started a few months earlier. In typical fashion, I had taken tens of thousands of photographs over the last couple of years, yet the frames in our house were all filled with very old pictures of my then infant son and my daughter at half her age. So just like me, I had forgotten my wife's many pleas to refresh them. Eventually I got around to it (nothing like a last minute set of Mother's Day gifts to get you started). I was looking through the last one year of photos for good pictures of the kids in both portrait and landscape layout that could be cropped to a variety of print sizes (that's going to be an important upcoming post - lots of hard lessons there). In there I came across five non-people photos that really stood out among the rest. Plenty of good ones of our kids and family, enough to fill over 100 frames. But these were different.<br />
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I post processed the five that I liked, then when I was mentally ready I showed them to my wife. She immediately identified three that really stood out. At the time, these were just going to get printed for our walls, nothing further. I ended up including small samples (5x7) of all of them in a print order to <a href="http://www.adoramapix.com/app/referral/5485487">Adoramapix</a> on a couple of different papers both with and without color correction.<br />
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A little time went by and a reminder of the yearly photo contest at work came up. I hadn't even considered entering, but I remembered a specific photo I had taken last year that would be a perfect candidate (Determination). When the categories were announced, disappointment set in. That photo could not possibly fit into any of this year's categories. Even though I felt let down, I realized that I had something worth sharing, and I was ready to put myself out there.<br />
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I started looking into other options, and I remembered the 4th of July contest in town (which my wife suggested I enter last year). When I found out that I could enter three pictures I narrowed it down to Determination, Thanksgiving Snowrise, and Fall at Wasserman. I really do like Natural Bridge State Park, but I decided to stick with local photos. <br />
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Those printed samples from <a href="http://www.adoramapix.com/app/referral/5485487">Adoramapix</a> looked great, though I had been led to believe that both having a color corrected monitor and using printer profiles for proofing were mandatory. I found that my original edits were practically perfect (pun intended). The perpetrators of this fallacy had been general advice found on the Internet and my own experience with many low quality print services (do not confuse price with quality). Even after acquiring a <a href="http://amzn.to/1GU5YeO">monitor calibration tool</a>, I still found my edits were just fine. Even proofing with the <a href="http://www.adoramapix.com/app/referral/5485487">Adoramapix</a> printer profiles found nothing that needed to change. The prints were good, but now the next challenge was how big to print and what ratio to use. <br />
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This was far more difficult than I ever imagined. Cropping to a standard print dimension and throwing into a matching frame was out of the question for multiple reasons. The first was that at least one of the pictures cannot be cropped without voiding the message (Determination). I wanted all of my photos to show cohesion, so I needed them to look similar. Another important factor was cost. I needed to spend as little as possible on printing, framing, and matting.<br />
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What followed was not a linear process by any means. It was more like weathering a hurricane on the open seas. I tossed myself between ideas that worked and some that didn't. There were highs and lows, happiness and disappointment (yes even about framing, I kid you not, this is art not science). When the seas settled I had decided on a cheap frame, custom cut matting, and my original 2x3 ratio.<br />
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<h3>
Matting</h3>
I spent a lot of time looking at pre-cut mats and standard frame sizes. I felt like nothing would fit, even if I left extra white space around each photo (called "floating"). I was right. Even if I printed to a 2x3 dimension but made it smaller than one of the standard mat sizes it wouldn't fit. One of the sides would have excessive white space and make the whole look just feel wrong. I tried out a few examples by adding borders to one of my photos in <a href="http://www.irfanview.com/">Irfanview</a> (a great little free image editor that loads and runs extremely fast). So I started down the road of custom cut mats. This was another new frontier, and I was nervous about this too. What if it cost too much? What if it got bent during shipping? What if it didn't arrive in time? What if I made a mistake in my measurements? I'm pretty sure that if this stuff doesn't fill you with doubt then you're doing it wrong, or you're not human. I played around with the calculations and found out the cost on <a href="http://www.framedestination.com/">Frame Destination's</a> web site. Turns out it's not expensive at all, and it's easy to specify the dimensions. So I knew this was the right direction which finalized my decision on a frame. <br />
<h3>
Framing</h3>
I needed cheap frames, and unless I bought them in bulk, I was SOL. Anything that's a good size from any local craft store, or even Amazon was going to run me more than would have made this worthwhile. Curiously enough, some of my research kept bringing up a frame by the name of "<a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90301621/#/60132521">RIBBA</a>" from a <i>little </i>place called IKEA. The crappy part was the non-standard frame and mat size for the 20x16ish one. I mean "ish" because it's something odd like 19.25 by 15.25. But it's dirt cheap ($10!) and just kind of melts into the background. We actually already had a few in the house so I was already somewhat familiar. They seem to hold up well enough and feel sturdy. Odd Sweedish dimensions be damned, because I can get custom cut mats! (Seriously though, WtF can't you stick to 20x16??? You'd sell <b>millions </b>more!!!) So I picked up three of them on a <i>little </i>trip to IKEA.<br />
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Then I ordered my mats cut to the exact frame size as well as some <a href="http://amzn.to/1Y0X5UW">acid free mounting tape</a>. I also ordered an <a href="http://amzn.to/1Y0Xbf9">acid free archival quality pen</a> to sign the prints. All that was left was to enlarge the photos and send them for printing.<br />
<h3>
Printing</h3>
Enlarging is a tricky process. There's so much advice on how to do it properly. The number one most important thing is to sharpen properly for printing. I happen to have the full set of <a href="https://www.google.com/nikcollection/">NIK tools</a>, and a really great sharpening program is included (thanks to my wife's generous Christmas gift a couple years ago). I will write a full article about this so let me keep it short for now. You basically have to resize your photo to your printers dimensions for the size you need to print at. In my case <a href="http://www.adoramapix.com/app/referral/5485487">Adoramapix</a> prints at 300dpi. Some of my photos are at a lower resolution than my desired print size of 10x15, so I first had to enlarge them and take care of any added noise. Then I was able to quickly sharpen them in NIK, and dialed it down a when it seemed a little too extreme. The results were amazing, I can clearly print larger and I plan to.<br />
<h3>
Putting It All Together</h3>
After all my materials arrived I simply had to sign the prints and assemble the finished work. This takes more time than you think due to the care you're putting trying not to damage the mattes, break the glass, or bend the print. One tip here is to try to make yourself a "light table" so you can center the print in the matte. Since you mount it upside down you want to see through the print. I accomplished this by holding it up to a window, but that was harder and slower than if I had a flat surface with a light underneath. Once assembled I wrapped in bubble wrap (the same that came with my mattes) for transport to the contest.<br />
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Here they are fully mounted:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu-tZVjqlss26_DtrptxTnOJLwj0sySUnyx66XeYpv1rNuuf03HgcrgSi2h4IG-WSKH6OFEu0t8AfcOBu5ioyglVak5KMb0Gs_ZgcLHxgT1VcLW26pzf82VMN3OIu3TM5stCVI5xB3wAb1/s1600/image1.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu-tZVjqlss26_DtrptxTnOJLwj0sySUnyx66XeYpv1rNuuf03HgcrgSi2h4IG-WSKH6OFEu0t8AfcOBu5ioyglVak5KMb0Gs_ZgcLHxgT1VcLW26pzf82VMN3OIu3TM5stCVI5xB3wAb1/s320/image1.JPG" /></a><br />
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Since I didn't sell any, they are now proudly hanging in our home. They are awaiting the final piece to be printed LARGE (Natural Bridges).<br />
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This process wasn't completely without guidance. In finding a pen that would not smudge, not fade, not discolor, and not damage the print, I found advice at <a href="http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2014/05/pen-for-signing-prints.html" target="_blank">The Online Photographer</a> in both the post and in the comments. In learning about "floating" and help with framing and matting, I found a great article at <a href="http://photsy.com/blog/?p=484" target="_blank">Photsy</a>.<br />
<br />Shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08742434379166297161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4035251197223847738.post-32036430186529141662015-07-28T21:47:00.000-04:002015-10-08T13:27:48.102-04:00Practical Failure<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9J2LPWccGUG1P12rdshRztXqS_dOP0bk3dyDQcW9JWda3owbHxBH3DsPvNPs8XPmpaSMmivV4KHbwNL6dp7bCZ3qdFVbaS_GP_cGKIawhcqBV1bZ7CbHL4fdjw_xoGvkrA__Q1BCtnYPU/s1600/2014.07.05_DSC_7183.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9J2LPWccGUG1P12rdshRztXqS_dOP0bk3dyDQcW9JWda3owbHxBH3DsPvNPs8XPmpaSMmivV4KHbwNL6dp7bCZ3qdFVbaS_GP_cGKIawhcqBV1bZ7CbHL4fdjw_xoGvkrA__Q1BCtnYPU/s320/2014.07.05_DSC_7183.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
OK, so the 4th of July Photo Contest was a complete bust for me. If you can't already tell: I didn't win. There's no value in discussing the details of the winning photo or how the contest was run. All I can say is congratulations to the winner, I bet that made them feel great. The only real lesson for me on this is that I can't go into these things expecting anything. Neither should you.<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I honestly expected to do better. I figured that given the day, a patriotic theme would have played well. After all, the winner was chosen by popular vote. Sadly it did not.</span></div>
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What went wrong?<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<ul>
<li><b>I expected some kind of exposure.</b> I got none. This blog got zero hits that Saturday. </li>
<li><b>I expected to make a sale.</b> I hoped that at least one person would have been interested in purchasing one of the framed photos. I'm not sure anyone even knew they were for sale.</li>
<li><b>I expected to win.</b> Two of my entries were taken in town, and the other was unique to New Hampshire. I felt I was very much in the spirit of the contest. To give credit, I believe the winning photo was also taken in NH. I also feel that the quality of my photos was very high. I spent a lot of time carefully preparing the photos for enlargement as well as figuring out the best size to print them at (time well spent because they came out far better than I ever thought they would). These pictures really hold up to printing at large sizes, and I'm proud of that. I also happen to think they are professional quality.</li>
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What can I do differently:</div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><b>Expect nothing.</b> You can't control these things, so why get too emotionally involved. Just put your best work out there, be happy you have something to share, then let whatever happens happen. It is what it is, they say.</span></li>
<li><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Promote more, but tastefully.</b> If I had printed out a very small sign, say 2x3", that said the photo was for sale, the price, and my website - I <i>might</i> have gotten more exposure. I think a tiny sign like that would be noticeable but not garish. Anyone interested could look closer and read the info. Anyone not interested would barely notice and pass by.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">What's next? I still feel strongly that "Determination" is saleable. I'm probably going to see if there will be any other local art shows or competitions around. I think I will also look into consigning a few smaller prints at some local craft/antique stores. I also think I'll keep blogging about this curious adventure. I've learned so much about photography, from taking the photo to printing big, and I think all of it is teachable. I plan to write it all down for your benefit.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Next post will be a little bit about how I prepped for the contest. Stay tuned.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">-Shawn</span></div>
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Shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08742434379166297161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4035251197223847738.post-54804299255225595762015-07-04T11:18:00.001-04:002015-10-08T13:29:16.796-04:00Happy 4th of July!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm8OpC585VqX_dRuT92WYuwSIxkkuOR5H8x6iH2cFx-1tLp28_2J7NCqAoNcKzG-P_7tJABExekY6kJ3MmA6WkcAbTuTEpLvnTKqvaWwyi_VpI0kIqUbW7rD-pkhhKqR8f3S-SqgZEqZPZ/s1600/2014.10.05_DSC_1010-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFkJKjCsKli1nb-B_Xv8AoBPDPYpeQM6_DUVxiYAl2V6qrxzL2Aeok1HhZqv3siW4YE_quQLkgWyD9IJBaXUZPm1fUYG_sP5K73Mk0wdmAwj_GYx6bCyy-aCnXl1JWd68mOEpMJJ2eDU9d/s1600/2014.05.25_DSC_4960-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFkJKjCsKli1nb-B_Xv8AoBPDPYpeQM6_DUVxiYAl2V6qrxzL2Aeok1HhZqv3siW4YE_quQLkgWyD9IJBaXUZPm1fUYG_sP5K73Mk0wdmAwj_GYx6bCyy-aCnXl1JWd68mOEpMJJ2eDU9d/s200/2014.05.25_DSC_4960-Edit.jpg" width="132" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfYK6OvxhPwFP2Z4-q8FoKAPXWejoAeN0lSpTd9gyEN3yaI-HT9UJIUwoJIrDQnDjF2dnTV9U4JtROwYUeaLI3p4DgAybIutErD68nH_G682u5x4vvaSJ_DjxXHYm6b5Q-2-qWfsPSxN7L/s1600/2014.11.27_DSC_4992-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>Hello,<br />
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Happy 4th of July!<br />
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Hopefully you saw my photos at the Merrimack 4th of July Photography Competition. If you're interested in prints, here is the pricing and contact information:<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<ul>
<li>The framed photos you saw are available for sale for $100 each. There is only one of each available.</li>
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Those images are also available as unframed and unmatted prints, printed on Luster paper. The prices are as follows:<br />
<ul>
<li>6x9 image printed on 8.5x11 paper with white borders: $35</li>
<li>10x15 image printed on 12x18 paper with white borders: $50</li>
<li>12x18 image printed on 16x20 paper with white borders: $70</li>
<li>16x24 image printed on 20x30 paper with white borders: $90</li>
<li>20x30 image printed on 24x36 paper with white borders: $125</li>
</ul>
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These prints look best when matted, please let me know if you're interested in custom cut mats to make sure the print looks its best.<br />
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To contact me to purchase a print or ask any questions, please click <a href="https://www.blogger.com/profile/08742434379166297161">HERE</a> and you will be able to send me an email.<br />
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The below images are available for purchase at this time:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH3BFAoBD4NPWdTKvP0f34z1zf45N1GMLx0PRm7jA7DT0Aex3BGt4gaG4ICZ3dtNyIaEFqYGB8kK-13Pj-2cugGqXwYYKbJAimKutBsQNKhVfKQDpdVeJgdfz-IzwF8k7Q7Q7K9YRe_c21/s1600/2014.07.05_DSC_7183.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH3BFAoBD4NPWdTKvP0f34z1zf45N1GMLx0PRm7jA7DT0Aex3BGt4gaG4ICZ3dtNyIaEFqYGB8kK-13Pj-2cugGqXwYYKbJAimKutBsQNKhVfKQDpdVeJgdfz-IzwF8k7Q7Q7K9YRe_c21/s320/2014.07.05_DSC_7183.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Determination</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfYK6OvxhPwFP2Z4-q8FoKAPXWejoAeN0lSpTd9gyEN3yaI-HT9UJIUwoJIrDQnDjF2dnTV9U4JtROwYUeaLI3p4DgAybIutErD68nH_G682u5x4vvaSJ_DjxXHYm6b5Q-2-qWfsPSxN7L/s1600/2014.11.27_DSC_4992-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfYK6OvxhPwFP2Z4-q8FoKAPXWejoAeN0lSpTd9gyEN3yaI-HT9UJIUwoJIrDQnDjF2dnTV9U4JtROwYUeaLI3p4DgAybIutErD68nH_G682u5x4vvaSJ_DjxXHYm6b5Q-2-qWfsPSxN7L/s320/2014.11.27_DSC_4992-Edit.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanksgiving Snowy Skies</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4AgItlQTEEIdfZrqQpJXFXCKMlA82wQYKVHaUX1RYGkh-4PpJKrTan_RVo9jRmb9U0N3kl13BTGDqBOLteSuADnvtqLdCkJIrEHPSM48hdU2VrG-TFp9jmnKeJyyc8zXWJlpUIB0gvZO1/s1600/2014.10.05_DSC_1010-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4AgItlQTEEIdfZrqQpJXFXCKMlA82wQYKVHaUX1RYGkh-4PpJKrTan_RVo9jRmb9U0N3kl13BTGDqBOLteSuADnvtqLdCkJIrEHPSM48hdU2VrG-TFp9jmnKeJyyc8zXWJlpUIB0gvZO1/s320/2014.10.05_DSC_1010-Edit.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fall at Wasserman</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFkJKjCsKli1nb-B_Xv8AoBPDPYpeQM6_DUVxiYAl2V6qrxzL2Aeok1HhZqv3siW4YE_quQLkgWyD9IJBaXUZPm1fUYG_sP5K73Mk0wdmAwj_GYx6bCyy-aCnXl1JWd68mOEpMJJ2eDU9d/s1600/2014.05.25_DSC_4960-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFkJKjCsKli1nb-B_Xv8AoBPDPYpeQM6_DUVxiYAl2V6qrxzL2Aeok1HhZqv3siW4YE_quQLkgWyD9IJBaXUZPm1fUYG_sP5K73Mk0wdmAwj_GYx6bCyy-aCnXl1JWd68mOEpMJJ2eDU9d/s320/2014.05.25_DSC_4960-Edit.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Natural Bridge State Park</td></tr>
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Thank you!<br />
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-ShawnShawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08742434379166297161noreply@blogger.com0