Monday, December 26, 2011

Tilting the Horizon

First of all, I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season... Happy Holidays from Elegant Edge Photography to each and every one of you!  During my holiday weekend, I played around with my camera a bit, and I was thinking about my style of shooting.  I shoot many different types of images for many different types of situations, but one thing is prevalent in the images that I shoot: I LOVE to tilt the horizon.  (Do not get this confused with tilt-shifting, another love of mine, which I will discuss at some point for sure!) This can be seen in many of my wedding photos:
LI Wedding
To me, the tilt adds an element of interest because it breaks away from the typical rectangular space that straight horizontal lines create.  Not to say, that images shot straight on lack anything, just that adding the tilt to some images adds variety for our couples to choose from.  I view landscapes in much the same way.  I do appreciate a beautiful landscape that is setup horizontally, and I have shot many successful images that way.  But I have also shot many tilted, and it creates an entirely different feel to the image.  It can add interest to an image that you would otherwise find mundane.  As an example, this weekend I was shooting cattails in Old Saybrook, CT with my friend, who is not a photographer but appreciates a nice photograph.  I shot a bunch as straight images and then I threw in a few tilted options.  As we were looking through them later, her eye was drawn more to the tilted ones than the straight on shots.  Here is my favorite image from the bunch:
Cattails, Old Saybrook CT
So come on, break from traditional landscapes and tilt the horizon.  You never know how it can affect the reception of your image.  Play around with the degree that you tilt the camera, and as always send us what you come back with and we will tell you what we think!

Anne

"Composition is the strongest way of seeing."- Edward Weston

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Meteor Shower

The Geminids meteor shower was going to be visible in my area Tuesday, December 13th, and I cannot begin to tell you how excited I was.  I layered up on clothes, packed up my camera equipment, and headed to the beach to take a look for myself.  Living in an area with very low light pollution,  I was in a perfect situation to be able to view the shower from the beach.  If you live near a brightly lit city you will have difficulty viewing the stars, so I recommend driving as far away from the glow of city lights as you can.

For those of you who would like to photograph the stars, here are a few helpful tips if you are using a DSLR:
  • Set your camera up on a tripod, compose the shot, and set the focus to “infinity” (looks like the number 8, lying sideways).
  • The longer the exposure time, the longer the star “trails” will be.  Use your camera’s “bulb” setting, this gives you complete control over the length of exposure.
  • Using a remote or timer will help to keep your images from being blurry because you will not have to touch the camera when the shutter opens.
  • Experiment with the ISO – start with 100 or 200, but if you’re having a hard time finding the right exposure, keep bumping it up until you’re satisfied with the quality of the shot vs. the level of noise produced by the higher ISO.
Shooting stars will be easiest if you are using a DSLR because you have so much more control, but decent shots with a point and shoot are still possible using some of the previous tips, like using a tripod.  Most point and shoots are equipped with a night setting that will be helpful when trying to shoot the stars.  Also make sure that your flash is turned off.

Experiment with different settings to find exactly what you are looking for, but most of all remember to have fun with it!

Below is an example of an image I took on 12.13.11. Enjoy!
-Stefanie





“ Beauty can be seen in all things, seeing and composing the beauty is what separates the snapshot from the photograph." – Matt Hardy

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Flight Home

As sad as I was to leave the island, the flight back to Hyannis was amazing.  Since I recently purchased a new camera (Canon 5D Mark II), I was playing with all the new settings, shooting both video and still images.  I assume the other people on the plane thought I was just some crazy tourist filming the flight, when really I was a crazy tourist that was taking an opportunity to take some great shots.  I was impressed with how my camera handled the lighting situation and the shakiness of the flight, for both photo and video.  Take a look of one of the images that I shot:

Flight from Nantucket to Hyannis
Anybody else have any great images to share from the air?  The sky is the limit!

-Anne

"There are three phases to awareness: to look, to see, and to perceive.  A camera looks.  A mind sees.  A heart perceives. - Anonymous

Monday, December 12, 2011

Sunset in Nantucket

Greetings everyone!  It's Stefanie blogging to you from my little Nantucket island.  I was feeling inspired today, and decided to go out and photograph the sunset here on Nantucket.  Anytime I am feeling down or just need some inspiration, I go and watch the sunset.  It is an amazing thing to watch, and just makes you feel all warm inside.  If you have never experienced this I highly recommend taking time out to watch a sunset.  Anyone who wants to share a sunset picture they took, please share!



  
"At sunset nature is painting for us... day after day... pictures of infinite beauty."
John Ruskiin

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Our First Adventure: Guns & Tattoos

So today was a very exciting day for us!  Since we normally "shoot" pictures with our cameras professionally,  we found it only fitting to test out our skills at the shooting range.  We quickly learned the difference between shooting a gun and a camera.  Holy kickback!  We are just getting our hearing back now.  After the initial shock we both hit the target (which happened to be a poor Pepsi bottle)!  Who else has been shooting Pepsi bottles lately?

Poor Pepsi bottle

 Next we got inked!  It was Anne's third but Stefanie's first tattoo.  We both agreed it did not hurt, it just tickled a lot.  Anyone who says different is a wuss! :)  Stefanie got a small, simple heart on her foot, and Anne tattooed "C'est la vie." on her wrist.  Take a look and let us know what you think! 

Anyone else want to share pictures of their tattoos?




“It’s one thing to make a picture of what a person looks like, it’s another thing to make a portrait of who they are.” – Paul Caponigro

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Welcome! Bienvenue! Willkommen! Benvenuto! Bienvenido!

Welcome to the first posting on our blog!  Stefanie and Anne here live from Nantucket!  We decided to start this blog mainly to share with you our love for photography.  Through each of our postings, you can expect to see our work from Elegant Edge Photography, and also images from our personal adventures.  We want to open up a window into our lives and allow you to see who we are as professionals, as well as individuals. 

We will be posting about our favorite photographers, most used equipment, tips for new photographers (and those who just need help with point and shoots), announcements about our business, and much much more!  Leave us a comment about what you would like to see discussed on our blog!  Send us your images to Elegantedgephotography@gmail.com and we will choose some of the best to post and review!


Stefanie & Anne


"You don't take a photograph, you make it." - Ansel Adams