Through the Gadling Lens: seeing the light

by Karen Walrond on

When you’re first starting out in photography, you’re likely to read, or hear, or have told to you:

“See the light. When you can see the light, you’ll be a great photographer. You just have to see the light.”

Many times, I’ve had new photographers retort with exasperation: “God, I hate that. ‘See the light.’ What light? There’s just light! I see it! What are they talking about? How do you ‘see the light’?”

In many ways, the exhortation to see the light is one of those things that, annoyingly, you’ll understand it when you finally see it. But basically, what you’re trying to do is not just acknowledge that the light exists, but really notice the quality of the light — is it golden? blue? white light? Is it coming in at an angle? Is it merely ambient light, or tightly focused? Are there shadows, or reflections? Once you’ve assessed the light, you can adjust your camera ISO, white balance, aperture and shutter speed accordingly, to capture the light and image as authentically as possible.

For tips and a refresher on how to adjust your camera’s settings, click here. However, for an illustration of the various types of light, and how to maximize what it does to your images, read on.
1. Light

First, let’s just take a look at light:

Sunsets are obviously very popular subjects, and for good reason — the light is very easy to identify, and it’s easy to see what the light is doing. What makes the shot shared by RuthannOC, above, such a great shot is not just that it captures the colour of the sunset — certainly the most striking aspect of most sunsets — but you can also see the rays of sunlight coming out from behind the cloud. The light here is very easy to see, and therefore make the resulting image a great capture.

This photograph, shared by Jon Rawlinson, is another great example of how being aware of the quality of the light and capturing it accordingly can result in a great shot. You’ll notice that this image was in the waning hours of the day, and judging from the cloud cover, I’m betting that there wasn’t much sunlight during the day. However, as the light got lower in the sky, the light was able to brilliantly illuminate the buildings, making them seemingly glow. In addition, the light is somewhat golden, which helps to establish the time of day.

The lesson to learn here is that even though you’re outside, the quality of the light can change throughout the day. Be very cognizant of what the light is doing, to maximize how you take your scenery shots.

This photograph shared by insEyedout is particularly spectacular, because he was mindful of how the quality of light changes and enhances the colours of the picture. Obviously, this photograph was shot at dusk — at just the time that lights are starting to illuminate the buildings. Incandescent lights tend to have a very yellowish hue (which is why, when shooting indoors, you might want to check your white balance to make the less yellow) — but in this case, the yellow light adds to the element of coziness in the feel of the image. Beautiful capture.

2. Shadow.

Obviously, different types of light can result in different types of shadows and silhouettes, which can also enhance your photos. The following are great examples illustrating how.

In this photograph shared by PDPhotography, the photograph is framed so that the window isn’t the only subject — the shadow it casts on the wall is included, too. This image was taken inside Alcatraz prison in San Francisco, and by framing the photograph this way, you can just imagine what it might have been like to be incarcerated inside, with the blue skies and freedom on the outside. The effect would not have been the same if PDPhotography had just shot the image through the bars — the shadow on the wall conveys the loneliness and the feeling of being convicted far more effectively.

One of the greatest things that shadows are able to do are convey the time of day. In this black and white photo, shared by Michael Joseph Goldst…etc, even though you can’t see the colour of the sunset, you can tell by the wonderful length of the shadows that this was taken late in the day. The photograph was clearly mindful of the light in this shot, since he made certain to capture the low sunlight in the top left hand portion of the image, as well as the length of the shadows to the lower right. Well done.


This spectacular image shared by t3mujin debunks one of the most common “rules” of photography: the one which says that you should always make sure that the light source is behind you, and you never shoot into the light. If t3mujin followed that rule, he would’ve never captured the wonderfully moody image you see above. Remember that when you have a person in your shot, you don’t always have to be able to make out their face or features — sometimes just having them in the shot in full silhouette conveys the ambiance of the shot in a way that shooting their faces full on might not be able to. This shot is one for printing and framing.

3. Reflections.

In addition to light and shadow, light can be captured by virtue of reflections, which can often result in a really compelling shot. The following three images are good examples. Just remember: turn off your flash.

The image shared by Buck Forester is sort of the classic reflection image — the wonderful mountain vista reflected in the water below. This image is actually a bit more difficult to capture than you might think: after all, when you’re in a beautiful setting, you’re often so captivated by the mountains and the treeline, you’ll likely forget to look into the water for the reflection.

The trick to these images is to be sure to look through the viewfinder carefully, and really see what you’re taking the shot of, so you can be sure to frame it to include the entire reflection. Also, this obviously works best when the water is exceedingly still.

This fantastic shot, < a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/moody75/3387524541/">captured by Moody75 is such a great reminder that you don’t need to have a body of water to capture a great reflection — he was able to get a wonderful landscape of the entire city of Barcelona in his companion’s sunglasses. Talk about capturing the beauty of a city and the feel of a vacation all in one.

It’s nighttime, it’s raining — the temptation would likely be overwhelming to put your camera away. But this shot shared by mingthein shows why you might want to hang on to your camera a little longer. While you could never get the sharpness of the reflection that you can in Buck Forester’s daytime shot, above, wet streets at nighttime can make for a beautiful reflection of the lights on the street above. Again, remember to turn off your flash and steady your camera before taking a shot like this one.

So remember: see the light. If you have any examples of how you managed to see and capture the light, please share your links to your images, below. And as always, if you have any questions, you can always contact me directly at karenDOTwalrondATweblogsincDOTcom – and I’m happy to address them in upcoming Through the Gadling Lens posts.

Karen is a writer and photographer in Houston, Texas. You can see more of her work at her site, Chookooloonks.
Through the Gadling Lens can be found every Thursday right here, at 11 a.m. To read more Through the Gadling Lens, click here.

Through the Gadling Lens: the latest, greatest shots from the Gadling Flickr pool

by Karen Walrond on

It’s been a little over three months since the last time we waded through all the amazing images shared in our Gadling Flickr pool, and it seems like it’s time to do so, again: after all, schools have closed (or are about to close) for the summer break all over the world, and prime vacation-photo-shooting season is upon us. So to help provide you a little inspiration before you head out for your summer holidays, I thought I’d go through eight of my favourite photographs from the Flickr pool and share with you what, in my opinion, makes them great. As with all art, of course, beauty is subjective; however, hopefully you’ll see something in the images shared here which will spark some creativity in you the next time you pull your camera out.

And so, on with the show:
1. Capture the ambiance the weather gives to the scene.

I love the image above, captured and shared by AlphaTangoBravo/Adam Baker, primarily because of the way he totally captured the mood of the scene as the two surfers venture out to capture their first (last?) waves of the day. The way he does this? Buy shooting into the sun, he draws your attention to how bright the day was, and the cloudless sky. In addition, he makes sure to crop the image so that the long shadows of each of the surfers, giving you some clue as to the time of the day that the image was shot. In addition, notice that there are no other people in the shot, other than the two friends in the shot — it gives the feeling that there are no other people in the world other than the two men. Fabulous capture.

2. If there’s something particularly stunning about the day, don’t forget to capture it.

In the same spirit as the first image in this post, this shot shared by insEyedout does a great job of featuring what was most stunning about his visit to The White House, in Washington D.C. — the amazing weather. The difference in this case, however, is instead of shooting into the sun (which, admittedly, can damage your sensor if you do it too often, so shoot into the sun sparingly), he uses the glow of the sunlight off of his companion’s shoulders to communicate the bright sky. And speaking of sky, look at that amazing blue! I also love how he doesn’t take your focus off of the sky, by shooting from behind his friends — had the women in the shot been facing us, you might not have noticed the sky, in favour of looking at their faces or smiles. Well done.

3. Look for patterns.

I love this photograph of the Painted Desert in Arizona, shared by Ash Crowe — and one glance makes it pretty apparent why, I think. Obviously, the coloured striations within the rock formations are pretty spectacular; however, how amazing is it that the pattern repeats itself in the cloud formations in the sky? One of the coolest things that you can do when taking any sort of landscape or scenery shots is to look for any sort of patterns within the frame of the shot — patterns always create interest. Really fantastic shot.

4. Don’t forget about flora and fauna.

While we’re still outside, just a reminder not to forget the flora and the fauna. Because, seriously, do I even need to explain why this image shared by fiznatty is so amazing? This is one of those once-in-a-lifetime type images, captured in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.

A note about taking photographs of wildlife: obviously, the best way to make it happen is to gain trust — and many times, this means being very still, and being very patient. Also, be sure you don’t take risks: it’s not a great idea to touch wild animals, and remember — when cute babies like the above are around, mom and dad may not be far behind.

5. Do a bit of preparation for fabulous interior shots.

If you’re going somewhere with tons of architectural history, you’re likely going to want to take some interior shots, like the amazing one of the stained glass windows in Sainte Chappelle in Paris, shared by Amy Mengel, above. In my experience, shots like these are possible if you pay close attention to the light that is falling inside the building. In essence, this means:

  • Turn off your flash. Particularly when shooting inside a church or cathedral — your flash is going to wash out the vibrant colours of the glass.
  • You will likely have to up the ISO setting in your camera, unless you happen to have a tripod on you. Remember, if there’s low light, you’ll want a higher ISO setting; if the area is brightly lit, then you can get away with a lower setting (click here for a quick review on ISO). Play with your setting and take a few shots to find the best one.
  • If your camera has a white balance setting (sometimes indicated by “WB”), then adjust accordingly before you take the shot. In essence, this means evaluating what the main light source is in the room — incandescent light (which can make your resulting photograph yellow), florescent light (which can make your resulting photograph green) or natural light. Consult your camera manual beforehand to learn how to adjust white balance.

6. Don’t be afraid of movement.

I love this image shared by t3mujin of a typical tram in Lisbon, and it teaches a valuable lesson: not all out-of-focus images are bad. The blur of the vehicles in this photograph convey speed and movement, which help you to place yourself right there on the busy street corner. Also, I love the use of colour in this image — all of the colours in this shot are generally bland and neutral, save for the bright yellow pop from the paint colour on the front of the tram. Fantastic.

A tip on how to create a great blurry shot? Just shoot and shoot and shoot — keep clicking from the same and different vantage points over and over again. Mere statistics will tell you that you’ll end up with at least one shot that you’ll be pleased with.

7. Don’t forget to look up.

I absolutely adore this image shared by tysonwilliams.com of an intersection in Florence, Italy, particularly because it teaches a valuable lesson: don’t forget to look up! The beauty of this shot is that the negative space (the space between the buildings) communicates the narrowness of the streets and exactly how the streets flow without ever actually showing you the images. In addition, the tall buildings convey the feeling of being closed in amongst all the architecture. And finally, I love how the image is framed so that the intersection isn’t straight up-and-down, but instead, at an angle, providing visual interest. A beautiful shot.

8. Don’t be afraid to shoot at night.

And finally, don’t forget that cities can be absolutely stunning at night, as evidenced by this really beautiful shot shared by macdonaldj2wit of the Washington Monument. The easiest way to take an amazing shot like this is as follows:

  • Look for a location with lots of points of light, to create visual interest — traffic lights, car lights, whatever.
  • Set your camera on automatic or program mode.
  • Set your ISO as low as possible, and the affix your camera to a tripod or rest it on a very level surface.
  • Turn on your camera’s self-timer.
  • Focus the shot, and press the shutter, and then step away from the camera.

By setting the timer, the camera will have time to settle from any movement caused by your clicking the shutter release. The camera will likely keep the shutter open for quite a while in this low light, so it’s absolutely imperative that the camera keep absolutely still. Once you hear the shutter close again, take a look — picture perfect night shot.

So, how was that for a few stunning images? If you’ve got a few great images you’d like to share (or tips that you think might be valuable), please feel free to leave them in the comments section below. And as always, if you have any questions, you can always contact me directly at karenDOTwalrondATweblogsincDOTcom – and I’m happy to address them in upcoming Through the Gadling Lens posts.

Karen is a writer and photographer in Houston, Texas. You can see more of her work at her site, Chookooloonks.
Through the Gadling Lens can be found every Thursday right here, at 11 a.m. To read more Through the Gadling Lens, click here.

Through the Gadling Lens: buying your first SLR camera

by Karen Walrond on

So. It’s the beginning of the summer, and maybe you have a fabulous trip planned. And maybe up until now, every time you’ve traveled, you’ve taken your trusty point-and-shoot camera. It’s served you well: you’ve figured out all the presets, you’ve captured some amazing shots, and you know your machine inside and out. But now, you’re ready for a challenge — you want to have a bit more control over your images. You want to learn how to truly manipulate light, how to manage depth of field. You want to see what happens with different lenses, and what they can do to your resulting images. You want to really begin study the art of photography.

You’re ready to purchase your first single-lens reflex camera, but frankly, you don’t know where to begin.

Never fear, my friends — with a little luck, the following tips will get you on your way.
1. What brand should I buy?

I use Nikon cameras, and have since I started photography 15 years ago. It’s for this reason that many people are always shocked when my immediate answer to the question “what brand should I buy?” is usually, “it depends.” Don’t get me wrong — I love Nikon cameras, and will likely never shoot with anything else. But the truth is that most professional photographers I know, when it comes to SLR cameras, shoot with either Nikon or Canon. There are a couple of reasons for this:

a) both brands have been around for a long time, and
b) each brand has a wide variety of lenses and other accessories that have also been around for a long time.

This isn’t to say that there aren’t other brands out there that make great cameras, so by all means, explore all options. But here’s the thing: when you buy your first SLR, you will probably be purchasing at least two items — a camera body, and at least one camera lens. And over time, if you really get into the photography thing, you may likely upgrade your camera body over the years; however, you’ll probably end up using any lens you buy for, literally, decades. For this reason, it’s always a good idea to buy a brand that you know has a strong reputation for backward compatibility with its lenses and other accessories. In addition, consider the following:

– Are you inheriting any lenses or other equipment? — Good lenses can be very expensive, and if you happen to be inheriting a bunch of old manual lenses from Great Uncle Hank, who used to be an avid shutterbug, it might be worth strongly considering buying your new SLR body in the same brand as the lenses. Yes, manual lenses can be a lot more work than the new, auto-focus lenses of nowadays, but there’s really something to the phrase “they don’t make them like they used to” — one of my favourite lenses to shoot with is a 25-year-old manual lens. Trust me: never dismiss a good hand-me-down lens out-of-hand.

– Digital Photography Review — The website dpreview.com is an invaluable resource for reviews on just about every different type of digital SLR camera out there. The site includes discussion forums and galleries showing the different types of images each camera produces, and reviews are from all very neutral and objective sources. If you’re at the beginning of your search for a camera, after you’ve asked around at what your friends and family are using and how they like their cameras, as well as doing a little research on the internet, I would definitely test your hypotheses at this website. Be sure to do all of this before going to Number 3, below.

2. What kind of lens?

As we’ve discussed before, different lenses have their different uses — some are great for portraits, others for landscapes. Much of the decision on which lens you should buy can rest on the type of photography that you think you’d like to do.

However, if you’re not entirely sure which type of photography you’re going to be interested in, allow me to pitch a 50mm fixed focal length. This is called a “normal” lens — which basically means that what you see is what you get: there’s no zooming, and the resulting image is exactly what you would see if you weren’t looking through the camera. The reason I love these lenses are as follows:

1. It’s a great way to learn how to compose a shot, and learn about the lens without the possible crutch of a zoom lens;

2. The lens will offer less distortion than a wide-angle lens might, but still allow you to get pretty decent landscape shots. And while distortion can be fun (consider the results of a great fish-eye lens), when you’re just learning the camera, a normal lens is a great way to start.

Now, if you do go with a 50mm lens, try to buy one with the smallest aperture number associated with it. If you remember, your aperture will help you control the depth of field in the shot (or, in other words, control how blurry your background is going to be). Fixed focal length lenses can often come with very low aperture numbers, allowing you to really play with your depth of field. My very first lens was a fully manual 50mm lens at f1.4, and even though I’m required to manually focus the lens, it remains my favourite lens to shoot with today.

To show the kinds of depth of field I’m able to get with this lens, here are a couple of examples:

Notice in the image above, there’s just a very tiny portion of the photograph that is in sharp focus, the portion with the smallest of the four stones — both the foreground and the background fade to a soft blur, adding depth to the photograph. Similarly, in this portrait of my daughter’s good friend, below …

… only the water droplets on her face and the very front of her face is in focus — even her hairline blurs away into the background. And the best part is that this lens is also capable of fairly decent landscapes shots as well.

A note about fixed focal length vs. zoom — eventually, the temptation to purchase a zoom lens will be too much to bear, and I certainly admit to owning several zoom lenses myself. One thing to keep in mind when you do purchase one is that you are often required to sacrifice that low aperture number when you buy a zoom (or else shell out some serious cash). This isn’t often a bad thing, but something just to keep in the back of your mind while you browse.

3. Where should I buy it?

Once you’ve done the research and figured out which camera and lens you want to buy, you can either buy it online or at a camera store — but before you do (and if you take none of my other advice, please take this bit):

Before you buy, actually visit a specialty camera store (one that only deals in cameras, not an electronics store), ask to see both your first and second choice cameras, and play with them a bit.

I cannot stress this enough. You’re about to lay down some serious cash for a camera, so you need to be absolutely sure you’re going to like the camera you buy. Also, chances are, once the cameras are in your hands, it will become almost magically clear which camera you should buy — either your first or second choice.

I’ve had some friends get frustrate
d with me for not telling them outright whether they should buy a Nikon or a Canon, when I tell them, “Just go to the store and play with them, you’ll know.” The thing is, when they do follow this advice, the decision always becomes immediately apparent — they prefer how one camera meters over the other, they like the placement of the dials or buttons on one camera better, whatever. One camera just ends up feeling “more right” than the other. Besides, the employees of a really good camera store tend to be very knowledgeable about the cameras they carry, and can teach you tricks with each machine.

Once you’ve made your camera store visit and you know exactly what you want, then and only then should you consider buying online. But as with any major purchase, if you’re buying online, be sure that you use a reputable online merchant (of course, you generally can’t go wrong with Amazon or B&H Photo).

4. What am I forgetting?

My last piece of advice is to remember that you can always buy second-hand. We photographers are a fickle bunch, often upgrading to the next latest-and-greatest machine, and leaving a perfectly good one behind. My first camera body and lens were both 10 years old at the time of purchase, and while I don’t use the camera body anymore (since I shoot digitally, rather than film), I still use the lenses I purchased, 15 years later — they work beautifully. Buying second hand can be a great way to get a camera with more bells and whistles than you might otherwise be able to afford.

HOWEVER.

If you go the second-hand route, I must insist that you purchase the camera from your favourite specialty camera store, and forgo the internet altogether. Specialty camera stores can ensure that the camera is functioning properly before it goes out the door, and they’re far more likely to give you at least a limited warranty on your purchase. Which, you know, is always a good thing.

As always, I’d love to hear your ideas on purchasing a digital SLR in the comments below. And of course, if you have any questions, you can always contact me directly at karenDOTwalrondATweblogsincDOTcom – and I’m happy to address them in upcoming Through the Gadling Lens posts.

Karen is a writer and photographer in Houston, Texas. You can see more of her work at her site, Chookooloonks.
Through the Gadling Lens can be found every Thursday right here, at 11 a.m. To read more Through the Gadling Lens, click here.

Through the Gadling Lens: planning a staycation? Here’s how to do it, and shoot it right

by Karen Walrond on

Well, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we’re fast approaching Memorial Day weekend here in the United States, or what is otherwise known as the Unofficial Start of Vacation Season. For some of us, this means that we’re ever closer to that fabulous trip we’ve been planning for months (or maybe even years). We’re finally going to be jetting off to some faraway, exotic place for a few fun-filled days of rest and relaxation. Yes, for some of us, this is What We’ve Been Waiting For.

However.

For the rest of us, given the economy being what it is, that trip might have to be postponed or canceled altogether. It’s a pity that we won’t be able to really travel, and the kicker? We’ve already booked off time from work — so, now what are we going to do with these free days?

Enter the staycation.
Now before you groan, lamenting that a “staycation” will hardly feel as great as a real vacation, allow me to present another possible perspective: learning your local town through the eyes of a tourist (and, by the way, through the lens of a camera) may actually feel exactly as good as a real vacation — and by the end of your “trip,” you might end up with a photo album that sheds a new beautiful light on the place you call home. Besides, if you’re like me, you very rarely ever explore what your city has to offer a visitor (but you can probably name every gas station that sells cheap petrol within a 5 mile radius).

To help you plan your staycation (and to prove my point about the pretty photo album), I thought I’d share my tips on how to plan a staycation, with images from the city where I currently live, Houston, Texas. Let’s be honest: while Houston is a fine place to live, Houston is hardly a hot-spot holiday destination. You rarely hear anyone say he’s been saving all his life to visit Houston. People tend to come to Houston on vacation just because they have family here. So if I can use images from a staycation in Houston to make it look like a city you’d want to visit (or at least, stay home in), then trust me, you can in your hometown, too.

And so, on with the show.

1. The trick to a good staycation is planning. Just because you’re staying in town doesn’t mean you shouldn’t plan your staycation: pick up a local newspaper and see what’s happening in your town (particularly during weekdays, when no one else is likely to be there). Get on the internet and search for websites that talk about how great your town is, and all the amazing things there are to do, either in town, or a 30 minute drive out of town. Trust me, they’re out there. You might just have never thought to do them before.

Also? Don’t forget to prepare your house for your staycation. In the days before you start your staycation (say the weekend before, perhaps), straighten up your house. It doesn’t have to be spotless, if you’re not so inclined, but at least pick up all the clutter. Buy a new air freshener, to give your house a different vibe. Go to your grocery store or local florist and pick up some fresh flowers or a flowering plant (because all the best spas and resorts have fresh flowers or flowing plants, don’t you know). Don’t forget your outside spaces too — even if you just have a fire escape, take a few old throw cushions or blankets outside to make it a bit of a fresh-air retreat — you know, where you’re going to catch up on all that reading you’ve been meaning to do. And do enough grocery shopping for the time off — because, really, you’re not going to want to do anything as mundane as grocery shopping on your vacation. Bonus points for making it to a party supply store to purchase some of those tiny little paper umbrellas for your drinks.

Then, once your house is all spiffy, and your staycation has begun? Take a few shots. You know, so you can show people afterwards where you stayed.

(Incidentally, when you’re taking those shots, don’t forget to take the shots in the most flattering light possible. For example, in the shot above? The other red adirondack next to the one in the image above is falling apart, so obviously, it didn’t make the picture. Nor did the peeling paint on the outside of our house, or the uneven pavers of the patio. It’s all about composition, baby.)

2. Treat yourself to a meal at a swanky restaurant. No matter how large or small your town is, chances are there’s a restaurant nearby you’ve been meaning to go visit, but you haven’t had the time/didn’t think you could afford it. Now’s the time to make it happen — after all, you’ve been saving on airfare and hotel, right? Also, one trick that I’ve learned about having a fabulous meal at a fabulous restaurant: go at lunchtime, instead of at night. Prices tend to be a lot cheaper, there’s less pressure to drink alcohol, and therefore it’s much more affordable. Plus, the cool thing is that the swankiest restaurants tend to still love intimate lighting even during the daytime, so your shots will still capture the ambiance of the restaurant. For example, notice that even with the dim lighting in the image below, the light through the windows is the telltale sign that I took this at noon this week:

And, of course, don’t forget to shoot your meal:


3. Do something fun outdoors. Find a public park or hike-and-bike trail (or maybe even your normal route when you walk or run), and in addition to using it for exercise, keep your camera on you. Take the time to explore the area. And, of course, take great shots.


(The shot above was taken under an overpass. Shh. No one needs to know.)


(A large patch of wildflowers were in bloom along the hike-and-bike trail where I normally go for my morning run. Getting down close to them and shooting them this way makes it look like they were blooming for acres and acres. In reality, not so much.)


(And dude, I can’t even begin to tell you what kind of flower this is — it looks like a passion fruit flower, but seriously? In Houston? It was growing in a patch of weeds. But it’s so exotic-looking, there was no way I wasn’t going to take a shot of this one.)

4. Take a day trip to the iconic spot your town is known for. No matter where you live, there’s likely a place that’s the pride of the town. For exa
mple, if you live in Paris, it’s probably the Eiffel Tower. If you live in Gaylord, Michigan, it might be the Bottle Cap Museum. Find out which is your town’s, and take some time to stroll around the place, if only for a photo opportunity. Besides, what other time are you going to get to see it during a weekday, without the hoards of tourists?

In Houston, of course, the iconic spot is NASA — full of great photo ops:

5. Go to the best hotel in town. I’m not suggesting, of course, that you book a couple of nights there (although if you want to, more power to you — I have a friend who routinely checks himself into a lovely little hotel in town every New Year’s Eve. And why not, I say!). But if there’s a great hotel nearby that you know you’ll likely never get to stay in, just go there to have breakfast one morning. Or a cappuccino. Or splurge on a spa treatment, if they provide that service. Or call a couple of friends (or a friend who is staycationing with you) and just enjoy happy hour in the hotel bar. In other words, enjoy the feeling of being at the hotel, and without actually spending the exorbitant prices for tiny shampoo bottles or turn-down service.

And of course, don’t forget your camera.


(The above photograph was shot earlier this week at the bar in the Alden Hotel, one evening. I’ll probably never have the opportunity (or money) to stay there, but their martinis are lovely.)

6. Go shopping. Now, I’m not suggesting that you completely blow your budget on an extravagant shopping trip or anything — that sort of defeats the purpose. But the truth is that on most vacations, at some point you’re going to find yourself in a store, if only to pick up a souvenir refrigerator magnet. Just because you’re staying home is no reason that your fridge should be punished, so find your way to the most picturesque shopping district in your town, take a few shots and purchase at least a small souvenir from your staycation. And while you’re at it, you might want to also pick up a t-shirt for your nephew.

And finally (and this is the most important part):

7. On your last day of your staycation, make 4×6 prints of all your photographs. Buy one of those little photo albums, and stick them all in there, and then put the album in the bag you take to work.

The next day, when you return to work, and people ask you, “Did you go anywhere on vacation?” Answer, without hesitation, “Yeah! I went to <insert name of your town here>!” Under no circumstances should you respond with “I stayed home,” or “Nah, didn’t go anywhere special.” Then, as they look at you quizzically, whip out that album. I’ll bet your next paycheck that your coworkers will ooh and ahh just like they would if you’d left town (“Seriously? There’s a Bottle Cap Museum here? Who knew?” or “There are flowers like that in Terry Hershey Park?”). The bonus: you’ll realize that you’re probably more relaxed than if you had traveled (no nightmare travel stories), you have renewed appreciation for where you live, and the best part, the next time you do travel, you’ll have this handy little album to sell the people you meet in those faraway lands on your home town. Can’t beat that.

As always, if you have any questions, you can always contact me directly at karenDOTwalrondATweblogsincDOTcom – and I’m happy to address them in upcoming Through the Gadling Lens posts.

Karen is a writer and photographer in Houston, Texas. You can see more of her work at her site, Chookooloonks.
Through the Gadling Lens can be found every Thursday right here, at 11 a.m. To read more Through the Gadling Lens, click here.

Through the Gadling Lens: shooting with something other than a $5000 digital SLR

by Karen Walrond on

Yesterday morning, I received the following e-mail:

Hello Karen,

I have been experiencing quite a bit of “camera envy” lately. Maybe you could write something about that. How you don’t necessarily need a fancy Canon 5D to take great photos … Just an idea…

Have a great day!

~Robyn

I love this idea. So today, I thought I’d share some great images that were shot with cameras other than fabulously expensive single-lens-reflex cameras — and some tips on how to turn what you’ve got into prime photograph-taking machines.
Point-and-shoots

Check out the following incredible shots:

Aren’t they breathtaking? These were taken by photographer and friend Kate Inglis, whose work you can see more of at her blog, sweet | salty and her flickr pool. Most importantly, however, these images weren’t shot with a fancy, expensive single-lens-reflex camera, but instead, an old Kodak point-and-shoot, the DX7590 (which according to Kate is “long obsolete”). I learned about Kate’s amazing talent when we both began contributing to the photoblog Shutter Sisters, and was amazed at the images that Kate was able to capture with her point-and-shoot (particularly since it had been a good decade since I’d ever shot with one). With her point and shoot, Kate is able to capture both brightly colourful and timeless images like the ones you see above. She does some truly stunning work.

Toy cameras

Looking to do something more artistic and unusual with your photography, but don’t have thousands of dollars for a fancy camera? Dude, look at these:

These two amazing shots, by writer and photographer (and also friend) Jen Lee (whose work you can see at her website, JenLee.net, and her flickr stream), were taken with a Diana F+ camera — commonly known as a “toy camera,” because of its plastic body. It’s a vintage camera, so Jen takes her film into a store to be processed — but instead of getting prints, she scans her negatives into her computer, and does her own “development” of the film digitally — to obviously stunning results. Says Jen: “The perks of shooting with diana+ are the abilities to create different looks with different films, the option to create multiple exposures, and even the ability to create a unique look with the option of cross-processing your film for extra saturation or surprise color shifts. For about $240 you can get the Diana deluxe kit, which comes with the 35mm back (so you can shoot more exposures per roll, panaromic shots, or include sprocket holes if you like the look). The kit also comes with every Diana lens: wide-angle, super-wide angle, close-up, telephoto and fish-eye; and the cable thingy so you can do self-portraits.”

You can purchase vintage “toy cameras” like the Diana online from sites like eBay, or, it turns out, you can purchase new remakes of the Diana by Lomography in retail stores or online.


Camera phones

Or perhaps you don’t even have a camera at all, other than the one that comes with your cell phone:

Both of the images above, shared in our Gadling Flickr pool, were taken with Apple iPhones. The first shot, by jameskadamson, is pretty fantastic because of the amazing, sepia, vintage feel of the image. The second image, by the ubiquitous ultraclay!, has classic framing — it totally reminds me of that old Beatles album cover, remember the one? Great work.

So!

One of the most annoying things you can say to a photographer is, “Yeah, well, if I had an expensive camera like yours, I could take great shots too” — I think the amazing images above prove that in every case, it’s not the expensive machine that makes the art, it’s the artist. Beautiful work doesn’t require an outrageously costly camera to do the job, it requires technique, practice, and above all, an “eye.” And so, even if you’re not shooting with state-of-the-art, tens-of-thousands-of-dollars-worth of camera equipment, the following are some tips for creating some stunning images with the equipment you do have:

1. Shoot and shoot and shoot. I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: the only way to be a photographer is to go out and be a photographer. Get your camera (or camera phone), film or otherwise, and shoot — every day, if you must. Every hour, if you’re so inclined. And don’t worry about whether or not “you can’t take a good photograph,” or you “don’t have the eye,” — every single photographer, everyone one of them, including Ansel Adams or Annie Leibovitz or any other fabulous photographer you can possibly think of, has taken a crappy shot before. Every last one of them. But frankly, the crappy images are how you learn to take the really good ones. Shooting constantly is how you learn to see the light, and the shadows, and how you learn about proper exposures and white balance and shutter speeds and aperatures and everything else that anyone can learn to take a technically good shot. But most importantly, constantly shooting is how you develop your eye. And your eye is how you’re going to become a great photographer.

2. Learn your machine. Every camera, from your camera phone to a $25,000 Hasselblad, has its strengths and it has its limitations — the trick to making a technically stellar image is to maximize your camera’s strengths and minimize its weaknesses. Read your camera’s manual to see what it can do, and shoot in all kinds of lighting conditions, to really see how your camera performs. For example, Kate learned how to maximize her old point-and-shoot presets: “I also tended to use the ‘bright beach scene’ setting on my camera – a preset that tended to overexpose slightly and make blue skies pop.” From there, Kate would enhance any other aspects of h
er image digitally, which brings us to …

3. Do not be afraid of Photoshop, or any other post-camera processing software. Remember, always remember: there is no shame to using photoshop or any other post-camera processing software. Think of it this way: it’s your 21st century darkroom. It’s the darkroom chemicals on your desktop. That’s all it is.

And so, in Kate’s case, after adjusting her camera presets, for the shots she shared above, she did some final tweaking on her computer: “I’d go into Photoshop and either apply a very simple action to boost the contrast, or just play with the curves a little. These are not adjusted in terms of saturation… it was just a matter of the angle of light and the colours of these days.” So again, her processing wasn’t about completely changing her image — it was about giving her image a little boost. Nothing wrong with that.

And again, remember that Photoshop can also help with your camera’s limitations. For example, in the following shot, taken by my husband with his old Canon point-and-shoot:

His camera wasn’t able to capture the entire scene in one click — so instead, he took several shots (keeping the horizon constant), and then “stitched” them together in Photoshop. The result is a stunning, panoramic image.

4. Play with taking shots from different angles and perspectives. Part of what makes a good photograph a great photograph is the composition — how you frame the shot. For example, in ultraclay!’s image, above, what makes the shot intriguing is that so much of the frame is composed of the actual street, drawing your eye upward to the pedestrians. And again, as Kate indicates in her statement that follows, a little forethought can make the image: “I tried to choose shots that showed inventive composition – unexpected crops and perspective (many were shot from the ground up – I found myself changing my stance a lot with the point and shoot to get interesting shots… had to work harder for it. Also important, to me, was an extremely minimal background – no clutter, anything distracting cropped out.”

And finally:

5. Don’t be afraid to create your own style. What makes Jen Lee’s images so bloody striking, above, is not that she shoots sidewalk stores or telephone lines — obviously, many people have shot those subjects many times, and done so without creating much of a stir — but that Jen has developed a style of taking photos: her use of film, and ensuring that the image is processed to that it bleeds through the sprocket holes of the film, as well as ensuring that her images are saturated with colour. In fact, one quick glance at her flickr stream, and from now on, any time you see images shot in a similar way, you’re likely going to think of Jen.

In other words, armed with the knowledge of your camera’s strengths and limitations (see #2, above), figure out how to exploit them, and do so with abandon. That’s what makes a photograph art — that’s what makes it worthy of hanging in a gallery, let alone your own home.

And so, no more camera envy –banish the thought! Instead, take the machines you have, and start clicking. And as always, if you have any questions, you can always contact me directly at karenDOTwalrondATweblogsincDOTcom – and I’m happy to address them in upcoming Through the Gadling Lens posts.

Karen is a writer and photographer in Houston, Texas. You can see more of her work at her site, Chookooloonks.
Through the Gadling Lens can be found every Thursday right here, at 11 a.m. To read more Through the Gadling Lens, click here.