Snow Fall

Nantucket finally saw a little bit of winter a few days ago. As photographers, we brave any weather to capture the emotions and seasonal creations for a photograph. I was able to get an up-close and personal view of snow and now you get to experience it without the frostbitten fingers!! 

 

 Charlie even came out with me to photograph the snow.  She was a great helper, even though she spent most of the time running around and eating the snow.  

Stef

"There are two people in every photograph: the photographer and the viewer." - Ansel Adams

For the Love of Instagram!

    The more I use it, the more I love it!! I finally switched from my b-berry to my IPhone and I love, love, love it!  Then when I started using Instagram... I knew it was meant to be! (It also helps that the quality of the images on the IPhone are phenomenal compared to my last phone, but that's irrelevant!)  I love the square dimension of the images, and the editing capabilities.  The filters and the blur can make a mundane, everyday image just that much more interesting.  I mean how interesting can images be of snacks for a night in watching movies and of zucchini soup boiling away on the stove?:

Movie Night & Zucchini Soup

   The blur tool gives you so much control.  Not only can you choose how the blur functions in the image after you shoot, but you can also select the blur before you shoot so you already know how the image will look.  And after shooting, you still have the flexibility to change the blur again.  There are two blur shapes that Instagram uses one is a circular blur and the other is more linear.  The circular blur you can change the size of and move around the screen to pinpoint exactly what you want.  The linear blur can also be expanded  so only the edges are blurred or can be reduced so only a thin sliver is in focus.  The angle of the line can be changed, as well as moved anywhere in the image.  If you want a certain element in focus, you can also just tap the screen so that that part is included.  In the images below, you can see the two different types of blur.  The image of the landscape on the left uses the linear blur along the coastline, and the right image uses the circular blur around the skunk:

Old Saybrook & Backyard Visitor

     And on top of how the blur works, the filters work the same way.  They can be added before shooting the image or after, and with or without frame.  I do wish some of the filters were a little more editable, maybe with more contrast controls.  But that really is being picky... I can always re-edit the image in another editing ap, or load it to my computer and edit it in Photoshop.  By loading these into my computer, I found out something else that makes me very happy.  All of these images are at a quality that I can enlarge them and print them!  I sized the image all the way up to a 30 in x 30 in and there really was not too much damage to the image.  I see some new images being printed for my walls soon!  Especially the bridge on the right of the image below, which I snapped while coming home from Nantucket.  The one on the left was on the way to Nantucket because I had to show people that we did get snow in CT this December.

Snowy Drive & Bridge

    So who else out there loves Instagram?!  Send us some of your images, and we will post our favorites!  And follow me on Instagram... my handle is agattphoto!  (Stef's handle is sburnsphoto.)

Anne

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

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