PhotoBlog – Page 3

Apr 03 2012

James the Photographer

James MacKenzie is another long time Yellowknifer I have come to know over the years. He is still early in his photography carear but if you look at any of his photos you know he will do great things.

One weekend in February 2012 we both ended up at a mutual friends cabin out on Hidden Lake. The skies were clear and the aurora were promising to be good, so naturally I brought along my camera. Of course James did as well. I don’t think he strays more than 5 feet without his.

It was the first time I had gone out and shot the aurora with another photographer and I was thrilled. It is one thing I read up information on the Internet, it is another to be able to bounce ideas and information off another phtotog who is right beside you.

We have many conversations that weekend about photography, which is what was happening when I took the below portrait. My settings for this shot were: 1/200sec, f/1.8, ISO 200, 50mm and -2/3EV.

I used the natural light coming in the window to the right of me to brighten up James’ face but also had to compensate for it as I wanted to show what was around James as well. That is why I have the Exposure Compensation at -2/3 and even still it didn’t seem like enough.

In addition to the settings of the above shot I think it displays who James is. Smiling while reviewing his photos from earlier that day.

Here is another shot of James in action at the Long John Jamboree:

Mar 09 2012

Maik’s Aurora

Well lets hope the site issues I have been having have been fazed out. Here is to hoping.

Last night I ended up on Kam Lake trying to shoot this ever illusive Aurora and so was local Facebook friend Maik and his wife. Got this shot of them taking photos of the aurora and the aurora itself.

Jan 28 2012

I done better at Aurora

But I still ain’t that good.

This was my second attempt here in Yellowknife, third attempt over all at photographing the Aurora. Ironically, I still this my first attempt was the best. Nonetheless I keep trying.

The lights were not very bright while I was out this evening (about 11:30pm). I’ve been told there normally at their best from 1am – 3am, but I just don’t have the dedication yet to stay awake or get up again to go out and shoot.

This is however one of the “better:” ones I got this evening:

I like the element of the houseboat in the photo, but I must admit to some Photoshop trickery.

There is no way I could have lit up the foreground while keeping the Northern Lights so bright, so what I did, is brighten the foreground myself. I used the quick-select tool, got all the foreground and then upped the exposure. Seemed to work, although you can tell it was processed by the amount of noise you can see.

Next time I go Aurora hunt I should try two things:

Wait until there are real good lights. Be patient. Go far out-of-town, away from light pollution.
Be a man. Do the right fing. Err, I forgot what the second thing was.

Well until next time, send me all your tips. I need all the help I can get.

Just another one to look at.

Jan 10 2012

Planes and Airports of the Holidays

Traveling is a fun experience. We go to different places, see different thing. It takes us out of our norm. People may dread those long layovers, but I like those people watching times.

All those different people all doing the same thing, traveling. All with there on style and mannerisms.

Airports present a very interesting arena for the wannabe photog. I love the HDR shots I was able to get, capturing what happens so many times a day.

Sadly I don’t think I will be at an Airport for a while now. When the time comes though, I have some ideas.

Jan 09 2012

My attempts at Aurora Photography so far

To date I have attempted to shoot the Aurora Borealis twice. The first time was in September in the Peace Region, just north of Fort St. John, and the second was just recently over the holidays in Yellowknife, on the Dettah Ice Road.

Both times I tried different things and got very different results. Ironically, I think my first attempt was better than my second. Lets take a look and compare.

ISO400, 11mm, f/8, 30 seconds

ISO200, 16mm, f/13, 70 seconds

The biggest thing you will notice is the shutter speed. The first time I left it open to the longest preset of 30 seconds, the second time I used the BULB setting and timed it to about 70 second.

I’m not sure why I tried 70 seconds on the second attempt. Partly I think it was because when I had first gone out the lights were not out as strong, but they did end up coming out. As I scoured Flickr afterwards I think the most common shutter speeds are 15 and 30 seconds. It makes sense as you can see above in my first attempt. The ISO is also a mystery to me. I’m afraid to go any higher that ISO640 in fear my photos will look graining. What I have noticed on Flickr, is that if you want the foreground to show use a higher ISO. If you want it to appear more of a silhouette use a lower ISO. I read that my Nikon D90 works best at ISO200 so I had it there for my second attempt.

What I am struggling with on some level is my cameras capabilities. I’m read over and over that it is not the gear you use, it is how you use it. I tend to disagree with this when it comes to the Aurora. Obviously camera that are better suited for low-lighting will shine through in quality. For the time being though I have the D90 and I’ll stick with it.

These are some of my lessons learned in the first two attempts with Aurora. Do you have any advise and do something that works for you?