Photographing Fog

I usually take pictures of a fog just before sunset, but I know it's not always the best time, because the land is often dry by then. It is much better to get up in the morning. Then in the wetland areas the probability of hitting the fog is almost a hundred percent, and you have a chance to capture the low light (if you're lucky to have both the fog and the sunshine - where I live it's a rather a rare occassion!). Howver it's worht remebering that the source of light must not always be the Sun. Ordinary street lights in favorable circumstances, can give an interesting effect in a photograph.

Analog

I'm half way through my first film and so exited to see the results. I'm mainly photgraphing winter landscapes. It's so differetnt from digital! I have to consider each frame carefully. It has already changed the way I take pictures. I'm much more considerate, I pay more attention to the clutter in a picture, consider different angles before fring away. I think analaog is going to pay off.

Taking up analog!

So far I've only been taking pictures with my digital SLR. But I realised that I can't be a true photographer if I don't taste the analog. So I got an old DDR slr and started shooting. It's actually very easy!

I always thougth shooting with analog, would be mor difficutlt, but when I compare the 14 different menus i have on my DSLR with the simple parameters of Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO on my fully manual analog, I think hey, this is much simpler!

I'll have to wait until my first film is developed to see the results of course, but so far I'm very excited!

Monochrome photography

In analogue monochrome photography only only one color of the colorant is used. Most comonly monochrome photography is black and white (sometimes dyed - sepia).

Monochrome photo, like any other type of analogue photography can be in a form of a negative, print or diapositive. Photographic materials used for the monochrome photographs don't always have the same sensitivity to colors as the human eye.

At the end of the twentieth century monochrome photography for amatour purposes has been largely replaced by colour photography. Currently, analogue monochrome photography is mainly used by artists and advanced amateurs. The artistic potential of monochrome photography surpasses this of the colour photography.

HDR Photography

HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. Its' a technology that can be an answer to the problem of a certain digital photography shortcoming - the limited contrast compared to the analogue technology.

If you want to shoot for HDR you have to keep in it in mind from the very beginning and plan well. You have to shoot multiple exposures (always use a tripod!), exposing for the lightest parts of the image, the darkest parts and as many midtones as you deem necessary. Its' always better to shoot more than less! By combining those exposures you will be able to extend the dynamic range of your photograph.

The best software for automatic HDR is Photomatix and Merge to HDR Pro tool in Adobe Photoshop CS5.

Expressive Photography

I recently attended a lecture about expressive photography by an outstanding photographer M.Shmidt.

His philosophy is that in order to show something in a photograph you have to feel it yourself. In order to achieve this, one has to be in a good mental shape, may help. You should be completely isolated from evryday life and stress. In my opinion it's not so easy to accomplish!

As for the subjcet, he says, avoid everything that is obvious. Finding your subject is the hardest part. A good subject is something that attracts you. We should not react intellectually, but purely emotionally.

Simples Mente Lampejo

Welcome to my new blog called Simples Mente Lampejo, which you could translate from Portuguese as The Sparkle of Simple Minds.

I will write here about finding my way through art and especially modern photography. I will write about exhibitions I go to, interesting articles I read, tutorials I follow, websites I find interesting, and maybe one day about my own artistic projects.

I'm a stock photographer and a student of a photography school, so I'll be happy to share my experience and knowledge.

I hope you'll enjoy reading my blog Simples Mente Lampejo and I also invite you to my other blog, dedicated to experimnetal photography and optical illusions Ash Hoff.