Author: Brian Kloock

“Desolation” – A New Series of Photographs

So i’ve been working on a new series of photos.  A while ago a good friend of mine suggested that I work in series, and I have done a few small ones and find it very interesting to keep them in mind as you are looking for something to photograph.  I did a series on reflections where I used chrome on automobile and reflections in glass windows on buildings.  The series worked well for me as I used it to become a member of Pittsburgh Society of Artists as well as the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh.

The new series that I’m working on is: “Desolation”

The dictionary defines desolation as a state of complete emptiness or destruction.  The following photos are the beginning of this new project and as I work on it I will post more of the series.

Hope you enjoy.  Feel free to comment back and let me know what you think.

Photos of Fireworks.. The Easy Way….

Well, with the forth of July quickly approaching and everywhere having a fireworks display I thought I might give you my “secret” formula for taking photos of fireworks.

Back in  the day when I was using film, fireworks were very simple.  I used 100 ISO film and set the aperture to f8 and the shutter speed to 8sec.  That was it, nothing to it.  But in todays world of digital photography with different types of sensors and such I have found that a little experimentation works best.

But even with all that it’s really not that hard to do.  So here is what I use and suggest as a good place to start.

Equipment:

  • DSLR (Nikon D300)
  • Lens or Lenses (Sigma 24-60 f2.8, Nikon 80-200 f2.8)
  • Sturdy tripod (Bogen with ball head)
  • Cable release (optional but recommended)

Settings:

  • 200 ISO
  • f11 or f16
  • shutter speed between 2 and 6 seconds

That’s it, not much in the way of equipment, but you really don’t need too much to get the job done.   Now for the experimental part of the process.

I have found with my particular camera that 200 ISO and f16 works the best and then I move the shutter speed around a little.  I recommend not looking at the meter and using the manual exposure mode in your camera.  I start with a shutter speed of about 2sec and go up to about 6sec.  As a side note: during the grand finally I suggest a shorter shutter speed to counteract the extreme amount of light and avoid overexposure.

When I start the night out I usually will compose my shot and present the focus manually, in the area where I expect the fireworks to be going off.  Once the first one goes off I will make any adjustments to the composition and focus and typically will leave the camera alone from then on, only changing if I decide to go from horizontal to vertical.  I use a cable release to eliminate camera shake from touching the camera and it also allows me to watch the fireworks rather than look at them through the viewfinder.  So that’s the big “secret” to fireworks photography.  Well I hope this is a little helpful, if you have any questions or would like any more help feel free to leave a comment and I will respond as quickly as possible.  Also if you are in the Pittsburgh area on Monday there will be several of us up river from Station Square,  If you would like to join us stop by for a little socializing and great fireworks photos.

Do you think you might like to attempt some shots this year?

Here are a couple of my shots from last year in Pittsburgh, Pa.

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The photos from the “Animal” photo assignment…

Ok, here are the photos from my trip to the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. 

If you enjoy them let me know…

 

Photo Assignment for 6/5/2011

Todays photo assignment is: Photograph Cemetery Art

I know that some will think it a bit strange, but cemeteries have a lot of really neat old statues and tombs.  This should be a fun assignment and since I am going with The Westmoreland Photographers Society on a group trip to the Allegheny Cemetery in Pittsburgh, Pa.  I know that there are plenty of interesting monuments and statues to be photographed in the 300+ acres that makes up the Allegheny Cemetery.

Pictures to be posted later….

 

Here are a few of the shots from the assignment..

 

Action Photography with Water Assignment Complete

With todays assignment in mind I headed to Ohiopyle, Pa to take a few photos of kayakers on the river.  A few years ago I did this for a job for a summer and had forgotten how much fun it was.

Hope you enjoy looking at the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them.  Let me know what you think of the photos.

Tomorrows assignment will be posted in the morning.