We Want Your Fair Photos

Every night on Eyewitness News and on the weekends we like to brag on you a little bit by showing off your pictures. Let's face it, a good many of us walk around with tiny flashes either in our phones, in cameras and some of us even cart around an SLR.

We just put up a new gallery on the website for your Georgia National Fair photos. I've had a lot of fun posing with chickens or chowing down on fried Reeces cups captured on film.

The shots are just starting to come in and honestly I think there are a lot more pics out there than we're seeing, come on you know you took a shot of of those cute pigs in the barns!

Anyway we love seeing your stuff and we literally go into the galleries to pick our shots every night. So load up your shots and maybe you'll relive the fair on air!

Happy Shooting,

Using Your Telephoto Lens

Hello everyone! I know its been a long time since my last blog, but I want you to know that I have been busy taking photos. I thought I'd send some of my favorites from my last visit to the Atlanta zoo. I'm sure you can come up with some pretty funny captions for these. I know I can!

Anyone have a toothpick?

Anyway, one of the things I wanted to talk to you about today, is the use of your telephoto lens. I have a 300mm lens from my Canon ElanIIe, film camera. Yes, I can use my telephoto lens with my Canon 20D digital camera. What I did find out through trial and error, is that it is almost impossible to take animal photos at the zoo without a tripod with my "old" telephoto lens. I was just shooting away and thinking I was getting all these great shots, until I looked at them on the computer. Wow! Can you say blurry!

So I decided to break down and spend the money on a 300 mm lens with the image stabilizer for my digital camera. What a huge difference. I could take photos without the use of a tripod, and still get pretty decent shots. I'm not saying, you shouldn't use a tripod, I just prefer not to if the subjects are moving (and if I can get away with it).

By the way, I’ve got a Beginner Photography workshop coming up this month. It’ll take place on August 27th from 6:00-8:30 PM at my new gallery at the Macon Mall. I’m located on the 2nd floor in the East wing (old Bombay Co. space). For more information, you can contact me at: lynnesgallery@yahoo.com.

Instant Pop of Color

At this time of the year a lot of folks, including myself, run out into the yard with camera in hand aiming at the prettiest flowers that have popped up. How can you beat it? Flowers give you that instant pop of color and just seem to make us happy with their bright and cheery attitude.

Here's today tip, don't always shoot your plant head on. Flowers have a lot of interesting views and angles that you can tap into.

I'm a big fan of shooting the green fuzzy backs of gerbera daisies. They have a lot of character and the petals seem better aligned.

I've also shot sunflowers through their petals so you can see what they see. Photography is all about moving your feet and getting angles other folks don't necessarily take the time to explore.

So have fun and keep you photos coming into our galleries.

Photographing Reflections: Tips & Tricks

I love the assignment "reflections" that's going on this month on 13wmaz.com in the forums. One of the reasons I love it, is that it really gives you, as a photographer, the opportunity to be creative and to "see the subject." Did you know that taking a good photograph consist of only 10% camera technique and 90% "seeing" the subject. Here are a few tips to help you "see" your subject and look for those reflections and other subjects.

1) Look for geometrical forms regardless of the "subject matter".

2) Look for shapes and lines that may creatively frame your image.

3) Look for something that will elicit an emotional reaction.

4) Take the shot from an unusual viewpoint or dissect the whole and only use part of the subject for a little different approach.

5) Become fully engaged visually and physically. Move around and take the shot from a variety of positions, levels, zoom, etc.

Have fun and take LOTS of shots. I look forward to seeing your shots in the photography forum.

How to Show Motion in Your Photographs

Motion is easy to see with our eyes, but it can be trickier showing it in a snapshot, however, there are a few things you can look for to make your motion pictures look great.

1) Panning: Panning is simply following the subject with the camera as it goes by. Examples would be a car, bike, bird, etc. Following the subject will keep it in focus while blurring the background.

2) Not Panning: Just the opposite of the above is also a technique for showing motion. Keeping the camera steady as the subjects pass by can be a very dramatic effect.

3) Frame of Reference: A picture of an airplane at an airshow is great, but unless there is something else in the picture, it can look like it is standing still. Although it isn't always possible, try to get something stationary in the shot as well to show the speed of the plane, bird, etc.

4) Time Lapse: If your camera will allow you to leave the shutter open longer, either manually or by selecting a night mode or program, you can make some great pictures of many things including fireworks, car light trails, light painting, etc. A slow shutter is also a great way to give waterfalls and streams that "silky" look.

5) There are many other creative ways to show motion in your photographs, just get out there and play!

Smaller isn't always better...when it comes to Point & Shoots

Nowadays everyone is soooooooooooooooooooo excited by small. Smaller cell phones, smaller laptops AND smaller cameras. But did you know that the darling, credit card slim camera won't take photos of the same quality as it's slightly bulkier brethren? Sorry, it's the truth.

Point and shoot cameras have very small image sensors that actually record the photo. The smaller the sensor the "smaller" the image quality. Really, smaller sensor = lower quality. Photo sensors stacked on top of each other, scrunched up in the tiniest of spaces start interfering with one another.

So...you want the smallest, cutest, sassiest little camera on the market? No worries. You're more than welcome to purchase it and enjoy it. The resulting photographs might not be as sharp, as clear, as colorful as those you'd take with a larger point and shoot.

If you're only planning to share your photos online, via e-mail, in slide shows, on a site like Facebook, MySpace, Photobucket, Flickr, yadda, yadda, etc., then you're fine with just about any point and shoot. You can probably even print out snapshot sized photos (4x6) with little to no issue.

If you need to carry your camera in your back pocket or in the smallest compartment in your purse or backpack, then the smalles point and shoot camera is the best choice for you. Because, really, the camera you will carry with you to capture those memories and photo ops is the best camera around, no matter the size.

The Rule of Thirds is a rule of thumb...

The rule of thirds is a photography "rule" that suggests you should envision your scene divided into 3 horizontal and 3 vertical divisions . Common thought suggests that placing a subject on these division lines creates more drama, or better composition. A common application is shooting a sunset. Many times our brain tells us to center the horizon line in the frame. However, you can capture much more of a beautiful sky just by tilting upwards and placing the horizon at the bottom third of the image.

The four points where the lines cross are sometimes called "power points" and are great places to place your subject. Many times a portrait will have a person's body in line with a vertical line and his/her eyes in line with a horizontal line.

Subjects do not have to follow these lines exactly, even placing the subject in the general area of these lines can help composition. And as always, rules are made to be broken, so if you don't like the way the "rule of thirds" makes your shot look, then ignore it, after all, it's your picture!