'All I want for Christmas' What we would like from Santa here in the Bluedog Kennel

With Santa and his elves busily stuffing sacks for the long haul we thought we’d ask the Bluedog crew what photographic gear they are hoping for in their Santa Sack this year.

Augustine: For me (as I am about to go travelling) I am asking Santa for a new lightweight carbon fibre tripod and a new carry bag for all my gear :), oh and if he could sort me out with a Sherpa to carry all my stuff around the place that would be handy as well.

Danielle: After having slipped three discs in my back at once this year from carting around my bag and tripod, a lightweight carbon fibre tripod that can hold my camera steady in vertical with any lens is at the top of my list. Come on Santa bring it on! Next would be to attend the Mary Ellen Mark workshop in Mexico and visit my friends Rebecca and Emmanuel in the US to have some ‘fun’ photography time.

Garry: Being the resident Swiss in the Bluedog Kennel I am hoping that Santa can bring me a gift from my homeland. Seitz (a specialist Swiss camera manufacturer) makes an amazing camera addition, the D3 digital scan back, that allows me to take seamless panoramas with the flick of a switch. Where better to use such an incredible toy than in the beauty of Australia’s vast outback.

Mel: Top of my list is the AF-S VR Micro- Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED and the Nikon AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF VR II lens. Not too much to ask for a girl who’s been good?

Suellen: There’s a rumour that Bluedog is planning a tour to Tuscany to sample all the delights that the Italian countryside has to offer. Santa – I want to go, please pretty please.

Nick: With Santa not needing to worry about weight in his sleigh I’d like him to bring me that big heavy 70-200mm Nikon f/2.8 lens that I have been hankering after. Just gotta love a big zoom. Oh and I’ll have the 2x converter because you can never have a lens that is too big. And ... I’d like a fisheye lens to really give the world a whole new look.  And ... oh, hang on,  I’d better save something for next year’s wish list.

Paul: I have my fingers crossed that Nikon brings out their new camera in time for your delivery this year. I have heard that there is a new model that is following on from the D700. Now I know that the D700 is good, but hey, sometimes newer is better. Thanks Santa and hurry up Nikon.

Tips for Buying Photography Gift Vouchers

Christmas is here and that means gifts. Of course we all enjoy spending time with the family, seeing relatives and enjoying some down time but … like I said, we get gifts. I love gifts.

It seems nowadays my Santa sack is nowhere near as bulky as my childhood memory remembers it. I think this new slimmer form is less from fad dieting and more a direct result of the popularity gift vouchers are enjoying today and I can see why. They are a great way to ensure our money isn’t wasted on something that the receiver doesn’t want or need – we’ve all gotten those gifts (no, really mum, I love that vase )


Gift cards and vouchers are a photographer’s best friend … er… gift. We’re able to get what we really want – photography gear, equipment, courses, and the list goes on.


Let’s be honest, our families often have no clue about photography especially about what we’d really like to learn in relation to courses or what gear we want, therefore they really don’t know where to start buying for us.


Many head to Mr Google, he has become a good friend, and while it does often cut out the middleman you can also be ripped off. Before we go requesting vouchers from Santa we should be aware of the pitfalls to safeguard yourself whether you shop online or in a bricks’n’mortar store. We call it ‘awareness insurance’.


To minimise the risk:
Ask if gift vouchers can be combined from one outlet to get larger purchases – that’s one big pressie! Like a Bluedog trip to Vanuatu that one lucky person has been bought by a group of friends and relatives this year.


Always try to use the voucher as soon as possible (which for me is never a problem – I have the list all ready to go)


Look for a gift voucher that has a clear expiry policy – and use it before it expires, no second chances on this policy.


While most of us hate fine print, indeed some of us are lucky to be able to even see the fine print these days, it is worth giving it a quick look. It generally covers the details about such things as what happens to the unused portion. Where and when you can use it and what happens if you accidentally wash it in those favourite jeans pocket or the dog eats it ... well these things can happen.


Do your research! Read reviews, ask advice. It’s a bit like buying a new car you need to kick the tyres so to speak. And only deal with reputable sellers – these will have a physical address.


Check out the return policy and their privacy policy. If the don’t have one the onus is on you. And if the retailer is OS the returns may be costly.


Common problems occur with buying online such as delivery delays and poor after sales service. Not to mention the product does not match the description offered by the seller or your credit card is misused. A good tip here is to have one credit card for on line purchases with a low limit.


Don’t judge an online retailer by their website – just because it looks good does not mean it is safe, though an old and outdated website should also ring alarm bells.


Here’s a couple of tech tips you can do with your computer to safeguard your online purchasing:


1. Ensure your computer has the latest updates from your operating system provider.
2. Download the most recent version of your browser to stay up to date with encryption capabilities.
3. Install a firewall, virus scanner and spyware detector.

Now that we have given you a few useful hints, it’s time for a little plug. Why not hint to Santa to consider a Bluedog Photography Gift Voucher. It is valid for 12 months and can be made out to any amount and guess what? If it does go through the wash, gets thrown out with all the Christmas wrapping or the dog does eat it, that is no problem at all. All voucher are kept on file so you can always reclaim them AND as a special bonus this year everyone buying a voucher and the person they buy for go in a draw to win a $100 canvas print voucher from WOW Prints!


Gotta love giving :)
Merry Christmas and happy shopping to all!


Just thought of another reason Bluedog Photography vouchers are so great for Chrissy – no searching for a car park in a crowded shopping centre :)

Tips for photographing Christmas Lights

Yes it’s that time of year – the trees are going up and presents are being wrapped.

Here’s a few tips for capturing great photographs of Christmas lights:

Do a drive-by and scouting mission first then depending on what you were after consider photographing it later in the evening. Early evening (6.30-8.00pm) tend to be chocker block with people to the point where the lights may be obscured, especially any garden lights.

Setting wise, use a wide aperture (small number) to allow maximum light into your camera. Team this with a shutter speed high enough to be able to hand hold your camera, around the 1/60th-1/100th for most people. While a tripod will get you lovely crisp images at night it can be a weapon of mass destruction at a crowded house. If the light levels are too low to get your shutter speed up remember that you can always lift that ISO to make the sensor more light sensitive.

Make sure you apply plenty of mosquito repellent - they are out in force at that time of night.

All those pretty lights can mean the opportunity to play around a little as well. Bokeh photos are a source of delight for most photographers and Christmas lights make perfect bokeh. Ok, so what is bokeh you ask? It is little points of light that are out of focus, often in the background of photos, where there is a really shallow depth of field. Large apertures (small number) will often produce this effect but there are ways to get even more creative bokeh intentionally. This requires a little bit of prep usually best done at home. Trying to cut card in your car is not always successful, I know, I’ve tried.

Cut a piece of card the same size circle as the end of your lens eg:57mm diameter and cut or punch a shape into the middle of the card. I’ve done Christmas trees, Santas, stars etc. Then carefully tape the piece of card over the end of the lens so that no extra light can sneak around the edges. With the lens on manual focus and the aperture as large as you can get it start snapping. The effect will be lots of little lights totally out of focus but in the shape of your cutout. Very satisfying and very impressive for a fairly simple process.

Remember that while you hope to get good shots, these displays are really all about people getting into the Christmas spirit so be sure to be considerate of others while you get your shots and keep a sense of Christmas cheer.

Ho, ho, ho and happy Christmas shooting to all.

Image by Anita Bromley

The Risks Photographers Take

The life of a photojournalist can be filled with many things. There’s adventure, fun, exploration, introductions to new people, their cultures, beliefs and ways of life. And there’s danger.

Danger became a living nightmare for Australian photographer Nigel Brennan (b. 18^th May 1972).

Nigel is your all-round ‘Australian’ bloke, he’s done a bit of this and that and then he discovered photography. His award winning images, such as the photograph titled “Saint Catherine” - portrait of Catherine Hamlin at the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia, which is one of the first inductees into the national Portraits Gallery in Canberra and has been purchased by the Gallery and hangs there today - hold him in good stead to become one of Australia’s most recognised photojournalists. But, and I stress here, there’ a big But!

In 2008 Nigel travelled to Somalia with Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout, whom he met whilst travelling and working in Ethiopia taking photos of the Danakil Depression and the thousands of displaced Somali people now living in refugee camps throughout the country.

They were not there alone. Fellow photographers and journalists from National Geographic were also there, writing stories on the war in Somalia.

On their last day, returning from a camp outside Afgooye, their car was stopped and surrounded by men with machine guns demanding they get out of the car.

Nigel and Amanda were kidnapped, in one of the most dangerous countries in the world, where kidnapping is as common as getting married. The asking price - $2.5 million US dollars each.

This has been a long haul for the families involved. After 15months in captivity, thankfully on Thursday that nightmare ended, in part, as Nigel and Amanda were released.

Why are we highlighting this? Kidnapping is not a new ‘event’.

Because social documentary is what a photojournalist does. They go and record events. Many of these events may not be pleasant or nice but they tell a story and often this is an important story that needs to be told.

 

It is true, freelance photographers and journalists the world over run these risks everyday: some die on the job, some get kidnapped and some escape unharmed, as the national geographic journo and photographer did travelling in a car behind Nigel and Amanda. They had to go to great lengths to out run, and outsmart and their story is published in this month’s issue of National geographic magazine.

We wish Amanda and Nigel the very best in their recovery from the ordeal and look forward to hearing the news they are home in their respective countries safe and sound very soon.

“Saint Catherine”

(c) by Nigel Brennan

Highlighting your cause with Photography

We all have a cause. It’s usually something near and dear to us, something that rouses an emotion, holds relevance to our own particular cultural, spiritual or just ‘that’s my opinion’ belief.

That’s in fact, exactly how that phrase most of us know off by heart, “Take only photographs, leave only footprints” came about being. Derived to save our wildness, slices of our environment across the globe where now unfortunately there are few places completely devoid of any sign of man. For many photographers it has become a slogan.

Photography is a powerful medium. Through it we inspire others and I could debate heavily on the topic of ‘does it do it more than words can’, or other mediums for that matter, but that’s not for today.

Today is for looking at how we can use our photography for the cause of conservation, an issue very near and dear to me.

1. Be a show off! Show everyone your images. They may just be family and friends but they are someone and by showing someone your highlight it is telling them you care.

2. Offer images to local conservation groups. They may wish to use them on their website or be happy to hang prints on their office walls (of course with a commission for the sale). Always make sure your images have all the necessary copyright info embedded and have an agreement in writing. Committees change and things can be ‘handed on’ often with ignorance the only blame. It needs to be written clearly and simply.

3. Use your cause to give. Design up calendars, gift cards, a DVD to music and give as a gift.

4. Get into print. Contact a magazine to gauge if the topic is of interest. There’s outdoor, wildlife, holiday, driving – let’s be honest they all use images so there’s a chance you can find a niche. Remember, most magazines require editorial to go with images. You have to at least supply captions (relevant to the style of the magazine) and most these days require the full copy for an article. Writing skills are important.

5. Enter competitions. Join the local camera group, send them in to magazines, however you do it remember each time you enter a competition your image could be displayed to an audience you may never meet.

This image by Danielle Lancaster ©
of a lava flow at Dalrymple National Park, Queensland featured on the cover of Go Camping Australia and highlighted this amazing landscape.

Mr Google Lends a Hand for Photographers

Last night at the Brisbane Camera Group (BCG) meet up I learnt a handy tool for photographers on Google Earth: the sun timer slider. 

This tool allows you to view the sun and sunlight falling across a landscape. 

Find your place you wish to be for the example here we have chosen Burleigh Heads National Park on the Gold Coast, a terrific place for both sunrise and sunset photography. 

The seventh icon across the top is the sun timer slide. This is what it looks like.

 

When you activate this the slider appears in the top left of your view. 

Move the slider to the day and time you wish to view and it shows the movement of the sun across the landscape so you can identify if it will be in shadow, bright sunlight etc at that time of course depending on weather conditions.

You can also activate it by click View > Sun and to hide either click the icon or View > Sun again. 
To display an animation of sunlight across the landscape, click the ‘time slider play button’. 

What a great tool especially when venturing into mountainous terrain and with Google continuing to upgrade this service our areas to view in detail will only get better and better. 

Thanks Mr Google, whatever did we do before you came along? And thanks Bernard for sharing this with us last night.

Burleigh Heads on the 17th November 2009  at 6.14am
The darker areas show what is still in shadow

Tips for Flower Photography

As the blood red hippeastrums that line our drive wilt and the white agapanthus flowers slowly open, I am reminded that spring is drawing to a close here in the southern hemisphere.

Here’s a couple of photography tips for capturing those later spring blooms:

• The ideal lighting for photographing flowers is soft, diffused light. Look at your bloom at different times of the day to see how the light changes it. Walk around your subject to see how it looks with light coming from different directions.
  
  
• Experiment with back lighting and try to highlight the transparency of the petal/s.
  
  
• Use flash very carefully. It can lend some stunning effects, especially at night, however be careful it can also kill the mood.
  
  
• Look for colour, contrast, texture, line, shape, pattern, framing, balance when composing your flower image.
  
  
• Make your flower image come alive. Fortunately for us here in Australia most of our flowers, especially wildflowers are filled with nectar thus attracting a range of animals from fruit bats to possums, bees to vibrant butterflies and honey eaters and parrots. Wait until something adds life to the flower - for example, a bee lands, or a spider crawls into it or a bird pays a visit. It takes patience, but it pays off if!
  
  
  
  
  
• Blur the background to get unattractive backgrounds out of view and to emphasise the subject.
  
  
• Know your seasons. No use getting disappointed, you are working with Mother Nature and she has her own timetable – get a copy!
  
  
• Use a spray water bottle to provide water droplets sparingly. While you may wish to depict a rainy day or a dewy morning the effect could either be splendid or look too artificial.

There are many different ways you can experiment when photographing flowers!

Enjoy your time with nature and always remember to take the time to smell the roses.

 All images by and (c) Danielle & Nick Lancaster