NightLife

Photograph 1-Taken on a 

Nikon D7000 with an 18-200 lens

   Photograph 2-Taken on a 

Nikon D7000 with an 18-200 lens

Photograph 3-Taken on a 

Nikon D7000 with an 18-200 lens

There are many different types of photography. In this blog I am going to mainly focus on the one I have been putting a lot of my time towards lately, club photography. What is club photography? Club photography for me is capturing the dedication, hardwork, and enjoyment that goes into the DJ's work. When people think of club photography they right away think of individuals who go to their local bars to get intoxicated and have their photo taken. Yes, this is one aspect of club photography but I prefer to capture the behind the scenes that not many people get to see or hear about. Recently, I have been given the opportunity to meet some really great DJ's and have gotten to learn about all the hard work they put into their music.

The most recent event I have been given the oppurtunity to photograph was the Niagaras Favorite DJ. This event consisted of 10 DJ's who were given 20 minute intervals to play their sets where at the end of the night 2 judges eliminated 7 of them. A couple weeks later the final 3 Djs were to play an hour set each where the Favorite DJ would then be determined.

Now I want to tell you how I produced the final images in the 3 examples I have provided for you.

Photograph 1- In this photo, my main focus was to capture the DJ, Jordan and his equipment. I angled my self so I was lower then where he was standing on the stage to make the perspective more interesting. When taking this photograph it was originally in colour. The reason I switched the image to black and white was to help create the “nightlife” image and to give it a more artistic look to it. After the colour had been adjusted, I added a vingette to the borders to help circle in on the main focus of the image, the DJ himself.

Photograph 2- In this image of this DJ, Jenn, my main focus was to capture the fun that these DJ's experience every night when they are on stage. I took this image at a slightly higher angle then Jenn ensuring I captured her hands in the air as well as her equipment. When I brought this image into Photoshop, I as well turned it to black and white because I felt it had more of an emotional and journalistic impact on the overall image compared to in colour.

Photograph 3- When I am at a club, I love to take creative shots as well. I took this particular image because when the DJs are creating music, the lights on these boards are really neat in the dark. This image was also originally in colour but was edited by a desaturated blue tone from the original image.

I have developed a huge liking towards club photography. Although sometimes challenging, you really get to learn how well you actually know your camera. Club photography looks very simple but there is actually a lot more to it. The main things you have to pay the closest attention to are ISO, Shutter and Aperture. If any of these settings are off, it can affect the entire image. The higher the ISO, the more grain. The slower the Shutter, the more blur. The shallower the depth of field, the less sharp. I have played around with my settings on multiple occasions at the club specifically to achieve a very grainy look or a very blurred motion. In order to achieve the look successfully, you have to know your camera extremly well and you have to be able to compose your own photograph.

I do

When I first started taking pictures my main focus was on landscapes. I found that capturing the natural scenery of the things surrounding us to be so captivating that taking photos were my way of showing the beauty of it. A few years ago, I decided I wanted to expand my photography and take it to the next level. At this time, I started taking photos of people. It was great because I got to create an image rather then find the image.


Not to long ago, I was given the opportunity to photograph my first wedding. At first I was extremely nervous, as any photographer would be. The expectations of wedding photography are so high that if you make one small mistake, it can cost you everything. The idea of making sure you capture every single shot on that day is key. Unlike studio portraits, you can not redo a wedding day.

The difference between landscape, portrait and wedding photography for me is that I get to incorporate finding an image, and creating an image in to one job; wedding photography. 

I know I have not posted many blogs lately, so what I thought I would do was show you some of my pictures I've been working on instead. These are photos from a wedding I shot at the beginning of November. As always, your feedback is always appreciated.

                                       

The Moon

Taken on a Nikon D7000 with an 18-200mm lens

So I decided to take this picture because the moon looked really neat last night. When I stepped outside the moon was surrounded with clouds that appeared to have a smokey look to it. When I grabbed my camera, I wanted to capture something different from how any other person would take a picture of the moon.

In this photo, I had my camera settings as followed:

Aperture: f/5.6

Shutter: 1/10

ISO: 2000

White Balance: Incandescent

Focal Length: 200mm

I chose to have an aperture of f/5.6 and an ISO of 2000 to allow for my camera to let in more light. The reason I chose 1/10^th of a second was because I did not want an exposure that was so long that it would make the moon look completely blown out. In the other sense, I did not want an exposure so short that the rest of the photo went completely black. I wanted to capture the brightness of the moon as well as the light coming off the moon in the sky. I left my white balance on Incandescent simply to get a different outcome in colour temperature then if I were to have had my settings on Cloudy or Auto white balance. The grain that has been added to the photo as due to my high levels of ISO helping to add the final touches to the photograph.

In the foreground you see tree branches. I chose to put the tree branches in the photograph because it made the photo more interesting to look at then just a shot of the moon. Due to having the tree branches in the foreground, I did not mind putting the moon in the centre of the photograph. Normally, I would not centre and object because it is to plain and boring in my opinion, but the branches changed the outcome of the photograph.

The only Photoshop that was done to this photograph was cropping it to a square sized image.

Nikon D7000

This past night I was given the opportunity to try out the Nikon D7000. The D7000 is an all around fantastic camera. The reason I wanted to test this model of Nikon out was because I have been looking around to get a new camera. So without further adieu, here is my review on the Nikon D7000.

ISO: the ISO capability on this particular model of Nikon series is absolutely amazing. Weather you are at 100 ISO or 1000 ISO, you will be very satisfied with the end results. Although it still does not have the capability of a full frame formatted camera, the quality of an image on ISO 4000 is unbelievable.

Taken By Joseph Brunner on the Nikon D90

ISO: 3200

Taken on the Nikon D5000

ISO: 3200

Taken by Joseph Brunner on the Nikon D700

ISO: 3200

Taken on the Nikon D7000

ISO: 3200

All images were taken by Joseph Brunner and Diana Chmay

Images were captured with no post production editing

In this examples above, you can see the effects of ISO ranges on different models of cameras. The noise level on the D7000 is fairly minimal considering the drastic change in light sensitivity. In the picture of the toy boat, you can still see the noise itself, but considering it is set to 3200, it did a very good job on capturing the image.

High speed: This camera is capable of taking 6 frames per second for up to 100 shots. This is more then your average popular camera such as the D90 at 4.5 frames per second, or even the full framed D700 at 5 frames per second. With its continuous high speed mode, I guarantee you will capture the image you are looking for.

SD slots: I found this option to be an extreme bonus to the camera. Not only does this camera have two slots for two SD cards, but you are able to set each slot to record the type of format you want. Example: In memory slot one, you can set the memory card to capture RAW files. In memory slot two, you can set the memory card to record JPEG files. For someone who loves to shoot in RAW/JPEG mode, this is the perfect solution for you. If you just prefer to shoot in one format, it allows you to store more memory without having to worry about running out of room during a shoot and having to switch cards.

Some other interesting features about this camera include:

-39 AF points

-3” LCD screen

-weather and dust sealed

-1080p HD video

-16.2 MP

and many more.

All in all this is a fantastic camera that I am very happy to write about. There is not a single thing about the Nikon D7000 I can complain about. The dual screen on the camera makes adjusting camera settings very simple. It allows you to have complete control of all your settings you need from the comfort of one screen and a couple dials. I would definitely recommend this camera to those who are looking to buy themselves a great quality camera and for those who are not looking to take that step yet to full frame.

Samsung WB210

                                   Taken on the Samsung WB210 at 8x zoom

                                                                  Negative Filter

                                                                        Template

The Samsung WB210 is an amazing camera. When I first saw it I right away assumed I would not like it because it was a touch screen. I decided to have a look at it anyways and I am glad I did because this camera is probably one of my favourite point and shoot cameras that has been released in 2011. There are so many different features that the Samsung WB210 has to offer that makes the camera even more enjoyable to play with. It is a $299.99 camera, that consists of 12x optical zoom, 14 megapixels, and a large 3.5” LCD screen. The battery life is great ensuring that it will last through many shots on its Samsung BP85A lithium ion battery.

One feature I like that this camera offers is the smart filters. The smart filters consist of 12 different features that help to enhance and make taking photos that much more fun! Such options as the Negative filter, Sketch filter, Old Film filter, and Fish Eye filter are only a few of the many different effects this camera has to offer.

The Samsung WB210 I find reminds me a lot like the iPhone. The different camera settings are laid out on the screen in such a way that looks like the apps on the iPhone and which then allow you to scroll through the pages by sliding your finger across the screen. Another feature the camera offers that is similar to the iPhone is the “tap of the screen” to take a photo. By simply holding your finger down on the screen to focus, you can then snap a photo quick and easy.

Not only does this camera offer some really cool features like the iPhone, but it also offers SD video recording, HD video recording, special filters when recording a video, in camera photo templates, different in camera editing options and much more!

The only thing I do not like about this camera is that it takes a Micro SD memory card. The only reason I say this is because all the memory cards I have bought in the past are SD cards or CF cards so it would mean I would have to go buy a different card to store my photos on. Although some may consider this to be a downfall of the camera, it is also considered to be something unique that Samsung has to offer that no other camera company does. Some may not like the sounds of a different style memory card but I ensure you that Micro SD cards are very cheap, and reliable to buy. If you do not like the Micro SD cards for the size, most cards will come with an SD adaptor that you can plug your Micro SD card right into for uploading purposes.

All in all, the Samsung WB210 is a great camera and I would definitely recommend it if you are looking to upgrade your point and shoot for 2011.

Making an image with light

                                     Taken on the Nikon D5000

Painting with light is a very fun thing to experiment with. In order to do this task, you must have a DSLR camera. To get the greatest results, shut off all the lights in the room so it is completely dark. Next, grab a flash light or some sort of strong light source that is easy to move around. Once you have done both of these steps, turn your camera on and set it to a very, very slow shutter speed. When I paint with light I usually set my camera to about a 20-30 second exposure depending on what I want to achieve. When drawing something simple such as a shape, you can easily set your camera to a 5 second exposure. Once your exposure is selected, flash the light in front of the camera lens and start to draw.

In the picture above taken on a Nikon D5000, my settings were as followed:

S-13 seconds

A-F/22

ISO-600

I had my aperture set to a closed aperture so I could ensure a sharp end to end photograph. My ISO was set to 600 so I could let a bit more light in to make the picture stand out a bit more. Lastly, I set my shutter to a 13 second exposure so I could take my time drawing and to get the picture I had in mind.

It is very important that you keep in mind that since you are working with slow shutter speeds, you MUST put your camera on a tripod. If you do not use a tripod on these settings, your image will not turn out and rather look very blurry.

Photoshop Techniques Pt:1

In this photo taken on the Nikon D5000, I decided to play around with some effects to help enhance and create a feeling when looking at this picture. The first thing I did was upload this image into Lightroom where I then enhanced the exposure a little bit. After I did that, I moved the picture into Photoshop where I desaturated the colour so you could only see a little bit of blue in the clothes and so that the rest would remain in black and white. For the third and final step, I added the water colour effect to give it a grainy look.

I did this to the photo to add a more artsy feel to it and so I could create something different from all my other photos. I found by doing these few quick steps it changed the original photo drastically making it look more desirable.