Dark Light (click on the photo)

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

~ Robert Frost ~

Evening Romance

This was a photo captured in Foster City in San Francisco. It was my lucky day to capture this shot right about sunset.

My favorite portrait

Having fun at a party in San Diego.

Nature at its best - La Jolla

I capture this photo several months ago. The evening was perfect and the sunset was truly a heavenly experience. By far, experiencing the sunset is beyond comparison with this photo.
(Unless otherwise indicated, all photographs on this blog are copyrighted by the photographer, whose permission is required for any usage)

ISO Sensitivity

Before unraveling the mysteries of ISO, I want to take a step back and explain what is an image sensor. Before digital cameras were popular, the exposure of light emulsified traditional film to produce an image. The film would then be processed to produce image. The technology of electronic image sensors replace film cameras. Image sensor's function is the same as the traditional film rolls, to gather and produce the image data. Common image sensors in the market today are CCD (Charge-Coupled Devices) and CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor). You don't have to remember this to take photos like Ansel Adam's although I thought it is imperative to mention what it stands for especially for those of you that might turn out to be a world reknown photographer in the future and if some geek uses these terms like me, it certainly won't sound foreign to you.

The CMOS sensors are the thing of today and gaining popularity rapidly because of its conventional manufacturing process that makes its production cost effective to many manufacturers.

You are probably wondering what has all this got to do with ISO? You probably ask yourself this since I have not mentioned anything about ISO sensitivity yet. See, bad judgment on your part to pick reading this article over the chain letter you received from that wealthy Nigerian that needed your help to transfer his money into your bank account.

Sorry about my short attention span today. Where were we?? I will try to stay focus. ISO has everything to do with image sensors. They are like Pele and Football, French Fries and Coca-cola, Bread and Butter....... you get the idea..?

ISO is a measure of light sensitivity to the image sensor. The ISO numbers are such as 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, etc. The larger the number, the more sensitive the image sensor is to light that is present. However, the larger the ISO, the image presents more "noise" to the image produced. For those of you who do not know what "noise" means in photography lingo, think about the photos you took that appeared grainy. The grainy photos are caused by image "noise". To keep it short and sweet, the higher the ISO, the higher the "noise" level ( more grain) in your photo.

The lower the ISO number, the slower the shutter speed or larger/wider aperture is needed. Remember aperture and shutter speed in my previous articles? Read them to understand what i am saying here. For those lazy readers out there, let me sum it up for you. The lower the ISO number, it requires more light to be transported to the image sensor to produce the image. So, when ISO is low, then lower shutter speed or larger/wider aperture allows more light into your lens to capture the shot! The ISO sensitivity increases 2 times the sensitivity of the image sensor results. A 200 ISO sensor is twice as sensitive as an ISO 100 sensor. The 400 ISO sensor would then be 4 times as sensitive as an ISO 100 sensor, and so on. Eureka!!....I hope...

In photography, there are several methods to promote more light to your image. They are as follows:-

1. Increase the sensitivity to your image sensor (ISO)
2. Increase the time which allows the image sensor to be exposed to light. (Shutter Speed)
3. Increase the opening of the camera lens (Aperture)
4. Let there be light!! (Flash)
5. Natural Light (Sun) and Unnatural Light (Neon, Fluorescent, etc)

One point I would like to make before I conclude. In digital photography, it is a challenge to reduce image noise when the ISO is higher. However, when your ISO is set at 400 or lesser, it will be difficult to observe image "noise". It should not bother you if you take photos and just store them in your computer for fun. It should however bother you if you plan to blow up your photos into larger prints and hang in on your living room wall. Grainy photos of a beautiful sunset hanging on your living room wall might not really be appealing although there are exceptions to that rule. ;)

Have fun with your camera and hope I was able to answer more questions than raise more doubts by this tutorial. Either way, I am more than happy to enlighten you with my humble knowledge if you still need more insight on ISO sensitivity. Happy clicking!!

Graffiti

I was in San Franscisco in April 2007. It was my first time visiting. One of the places I visited was Haight & Ashbury. This is a place which was popularly known for its hippie movement in the 60s. The place still has its liberal presence from the outlook of the streets and stores like the cafes, clothing boutiques, booksellers, antiques and so on. The bohemian ambiance on these streets certainly made me seem like a kid in a candy store. I had my jaw-dropping experience when I walked into Amoeba Music. This is a large music store which sells music turn table records, audio cds and dvds of every genre on the planet from any era at good prices.

I stopped by a dainty cafe afterwards on the same row as Amoeba Music for coffee. This is when I noticed the graffiti across the street in the image below. If I knew the graffiti artist, I would invite him/her to my house to paint my walls. If I had offended anyone by praising graffiti artwork, my profound apologies but beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. I liked what I saw.

(Unless otherwise indicated, all photographs on this blog are copyrighted by the photographer, whose permission is required for any usage)

Shutter Speed

If you are planning to take photography as a hobby or career, this is a terminology you will hear often. What does shutter speed mean? Shutter is a component in your camera lens that controls the amount of light exposed when capturing an image. Therefore, shutter speed is a mechanism that controls the exposure of light relative to time when capturing an image. You are now wondering what the hell did I just say??!! Don't push me off a bridge yet. I will decipher it for you in plain English.

The shutter in the camera lens opens to allow sufficient light to produce the image. The shutter functions like a door that closes and opens at different speed depending on the instruction it receives from the photographer of how much light should be allowed into the lens to take a picture. A well-exposed image is developed when the right amount of light enters the lens.

The length of time allowed for light to enter the lens therefore is called shutter speed. Shutter speed measures the speed in which the shutter opens and closes permitting light into the lens. The shutter speed can be opened for 15secs, 10 secs, 5 secs, 1/5 secs, 1/100 secs, 1/2000 secs, etc. In poor lighting conditions you should use a slow shutter speed i.e. the shutter opens for a longer time. On the contrary, when there is too much light you should use a fast shutter speed i.e. the shutter opens for a shorter time.

Why is it important that adequate amount of light enters the lens when taking a picture? This is because too much light entering the lens makes the image over-exposed (too bright and everyone and everything on your photo will look snowy) or under-exposed (too dark that you might not be able to see anything at all). I will elaborate the exposure of light in my next article.

When you have movement of subjects (people, cars, animals, etc) in your photo, you would want to use a faster shutter speed. The trick here is to use a shutter speed which is the same speed or faster than the moving subject. Example given, if you want to capture a shot of a person that is running (1/5 sec) on the street and you want him/her to appear clear on your photo, set your shutter speed to the same speed (1/5 sec) or faster (such as 1/100) than the speed the person is moving.

Hope I shed some "light" and provided enough "exposure" on shutter speed in this article. ;)
I have provided 2 examples below to give you a better understanding of shutter speed. Enjoy!

Fast Shutter Speed - usually used to freeze motion of fast moving objects.



Slow Shutter Speed - usually used in poor lighting conditions although there are many other instances when it is useful. Examples such as to indicate motion when the shutter speed is slightly slower than the movement of a moving subject, snowy impression of water flowing, etc.

Dry (click on the image for best results)

Imagine having an amazing camera that you had recently purchased and you do not know most of the functions on it yet. What do you do when nature's beauty is staring right at you? I'd say take out your camera phone and start clicking. ;)

I was not so lucky because my camera phone does not produce great photos. So, I decided to play around with the shutter speed and aperture at a low ISO sensitivity (ISO 200, 50mm, f/4.5 and shutter speed 1/60 sec). Did I also mention that my camera was set on manual settings? Well, I did. Of course the most important part that slipped my mind is that nature was at its best on that day.

I was standing 15 feet away from the trees right after sunset at Lake Miramar in San Diego. So that inspired me to translated my idea into the image that you are staring at right now.

(Unless otherwise indicated, all photographs on this blog are copyrighted by the photographer, whose permission is required for any usage)

Aperture

It is imperative to understand what "aperture" means in photography. It is a mechanism in your camera which controls the amount of light that enters through your lens. The aperture functions like the iris in your eyes.

In the dark, the iris contracts the pupil to allow more light to enter the eyes for vision. Alternatively, when the iris is exposed to too much light, it constricts the pupil preventing excess light from entering the eyes.

So relate the above example of the eyes to your camera aperture. When shooting in the dark, more light is required, therefore, a larger aperture is require and vice versa. The aperture readings are usually available on the lens of the camera. The aperture for lenses usually read as follows, f1.4, f1.8, f2.8, f3.5, f5.6, f32 and so forth. The larger the number the smaller the aperture. Just for your information aperture is sometimes referred to as "f-stop". So don't freak out when you hear this term.

You probably are asking yourself right now, why am I getting a science lesson and the answer is quite simple. Well, the amount of light that enters the camera will determine the exposure of your photo. Too much light would result to over-exposure, similarly photos taken in poor lighting conditions will result to under-exposure.

Look out for my next tutorial on Aperture Priority Mode. Have a great aperture day!!

Field day at La Jolla

La Jolla Cove is the Rodeo Drive of San Diego. Exotic homes, palm trees, designer brand names and the fast cars.

I got my camera and gear packed in the car although I did not have a clue of what I was going to practice clicking on when I left home.

Thanks to the beautiful sunset! I was at the right place at the right time. This is the first time I witnessed the sunset in La Jolla this beautiful. Humbled by the beauty of nature, passerby on foot and in cars stopped and simply stared into the stark beauty of nature. Thank you god for this beautiful day!! You made me a very happy photographer. :)
I used a 28-135mm lens on my EOS 40D on manual setting. (ISO 100, 28mm, f/5.6 and shutter speed 1/4 sec).

(Unless otherwise indicated, all photographs on this blog are copyrighted by the photographer, whose permission is required for any usage)