by Welcome again to HDR News. Now that the weather is working in our favor in most places we can think about shooting landscapes using the full range of light that the environment is providing. In this issue we take a deep look at the nature of changing light just before and after sunset also known as Golden Hour and Blue Hour. In addition we look at landscape focusing with a fine video that takes us through all the variables. There is a new 7.5mm fisheye lens on the market that you need to know about and you won’t believe the prices. Also, we ask the question, “is this new camera the perfect personal, take everywhere camera?”. Let’s get going!
Magic Hour Lighting Variations
For sure you know about Golden Hour or you’ve at least heard about it. It’s a time when the sun is low in sky and the sun’s light must travel through much more atmosphere to reach your location. The long journey through the atmosphere strips away much of the blue spectrum from the sun’s rays giving you that warm afternoon glow. Shooting late in the day also produces dramatically enhanced looking shadows. But, there’s more to the story. As the sun moves down to and past the horizon you reach the cool blue tones and, the transition period from warm to blue, while fleeting, can be very appealing. This nice article takes you through the continually changing nuances of late afternoon, early evening and morning light.
Learn about natural lighting variations HERE.
Focusing Tips: Front To Back Sharpness In Your Travel And Nature Photos
Summer travel means we’re going to be making a lot of landscape photographs. It’s a good idea to make sure we remember how to set our focus so both our near compositional components and our far compositional components are sharp. Trust us. It’s a bit more complicated than setting your aperture at f16 or f22 and shooting away. Those apertures give you that nasty chromatic aberration that often can’t be eliminated in post processing. Besides your sharpest aperture settings are at f8 and f11. So, how do you handle the focusing dilemma? Start by watching this informative video with seasoned pro Nigel Danson shot on location in Iceland.
See how to get front to back sharpness HERE.
$150 7.5mm F2 fisheye APS-C lens for 7 camera mounts
If you’ve read the Focusing Tips article you remember that a super wide angle lens can help you achieve great foreground to infinity sharpness in your photos. That’s why the introduction of a 7.5mm lens for just $150 caught our eye. The lens just started shipping on July 21st or thereabouts and it appears to be available today from B&H Photo and other retailers.
Check out the new fisheye lens HERE.
Using Natural Framing In Your Landscapes
The best photographers know how to lead your eye to the most important element of their compositions. Good use of the rule of thirds or golden ratio can help lead your viewers eye to that boulder, waterfall or other interesting element. Another powerful technique is to use various luminosity levels that lead your viewer’s eye from dark to light. A technique not often discussed is using natural framing to move your viewer through a composition. This is where the use of natural elements that are already in your frame work to guide the viewer where you want them to go. This article is a nice look at the framing technique.
Check it out HERE.
Is the Nikon Z fc The Perfect Personal Camera?
Somehow the existence of the Nikon Z fc camera took us by surprise. It’s a retro, DX camera targeted directly at photographers who want (or need) a compact, street-style camera. To fit the criteria for these photographers it has to be light, compact and unobtrusive. It needs to be so easy to cart around that you’ll want to grab it every time you leave home. The pro who reviewed this camera found little to dislike about the pre-production camera Nikon let him use. Current editing apps like Capture One could not open his RAW files but he was suitably impressed with the quality of the jpegs. And, he was even more impressed by its auto-focus. Leica and Fuji will certainly be taking notice of this one.
Learn about the new Nikon Z fc HERE.
65 Quotes For Nature Photographers
Embedded in your brain and often recalled are little things someone said to you that stuck. You may not know why it stuck but it did. Here are some quotes that could improve your photography or just your concept of photography. Even if they don’t stick, they’re entertaining to read like this one from Ansel Adams, “There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept.” Or, how about this one from Henri Cartier Bresson, “Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.” You gotta read the rest.
Read the rest of the quotes HERE.