8 Easy Steps To Photographing Fireworks
6/27/2017
Fireworks may be spectacular to watch, but try to photograph them without the right gear and without the proper techniques, the photographs are anything but dazzling. Photographing fireworks—essentially streaks of light that are moving in the dark—isn’t an easy task, often resulting in blurry shots and inaccurate exposures. So how... The post 8 Easy Steps To Photographing Fireworks appeared first on Expert Photography. via RSSMix.com Mix ID 8230553 http://ift.tt/2tToE9J
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Have you ever seen two drones flying through the and wondered what it would be like to see them race? Well, there’s a league for that, the Drone Racing Leage, founded by Nick Horbaczewski. The DRL launched in 2015 and continues to expand year after year, creating elaborate, colorful courses for their racers to fly through in first-person heats. The league has professional backers like BMW and ESPN and now, owner Horbaczewski has earned himself another $20 million in venture capital funding. The money comes as a tremendous show of faith in the direction that Horbaczewski and the rest of the DRL is taking the sport. He is by no means the only league trying to legitimize drone racing, but the money raised shows that there’s real interest in taking the sport mainstream. Although some may lament the way that the company is becoming a corporation, racer Paul Nurkkala compares the process to the way that skateboarding was legitimized in the 70s. Sometimes forming a league is the surest way to expand the game to a wider audience and start making money for those taking part. Right now, the bulk of those that turn out for a race are men in their early to mid 20’s, but as the DRL continues to garner support, more people are taking notice. It’s quickly becoming a popular outing for families and friends to come hang out and see the future of aerial sports. The new season kicked off on June 20, and boasts a larger roster with updated courses and new sponsorships. If you’ve ever wanted to see drone control at its finest, check out the league’s website here—it’s quite impressive. [via TechCrunch] via RSSMix.com Mix ID 8230553 http://ift.tt/2sXhpxj When my editor asked our staff if anyone would take on an assignment that involved abiding from the internet for a few days, the office went silent. After a few minutes of deep though, I decided to volunteer. I like to think of myself as dependent without my phone, so as with any other challenge, I was ready to surmount. Looking back, I may have spoken too soon. Abstaining from the internet meant much more than just a lack of web browsing. For the assignment, I was for forbidden from social media, as well as apps including Spotify, Netflix, GPS, e-mail, news apps, and worst of all, texting. Basically, I could only use my phone for taking pictures and phone calls. In short, I was virtually cutting myself off from the rest of the world. While the overall experience was refreshing, there were definitely moments when I thought I was going to snap. No, I don’t mean Snapchat. I mean mentally snap. On day one, a Friday, I was spending my last day in D.C. after a recent trip. Avoiding my phone was relatively easy considering that I was surrounded by beautiful and historic sites, along with museums to occupy my time. Nonetheless, the ride home was a little shaky.
As I started the car, I went to plug in my phone to connect my music as I always do. Then I remembered that Spotify uses the internet. While I could have cheated and plugged in my friend’s phone, I was not about to swivel my way into any grey areas on my first day. So despite my friend’s large protest, I opted for the radio. Using the radio was actually uplifting. Instead of streaming current music, by the will of the radio, we managed to come across a few older songs from our childhood and high school years. Memories of the two of us screeching out the lyrics to songs by TLC and Bruno Mars will forever be stamped into my brain. Daily vitamins. To ensure that I could find my way home from D.C. without using my GPS, I thought it would be a great idea to print out directions prior to the trip. For the most part, my directions were on point. However, there was a moment in our trip back home when we realized we had been circling around Staten Island for a good half hour, clearly going to wrong way back to Manhattan. Interestingly, that was both my friend and I’s first time on Staten Island—and hopefully our last. We found our way back to the parkway when I ditched the print directions and used traffic signs to find our way home. Besides our little detour to Staten Island, we actually made it back in one piece after driving 6.5 hours without using a GPS.
Saturday was also fairly easy to get by without using the internet. I bought The New York Times to catch up on the world, then read a new book I had recently purchased, Russia’s Putin, to pass the time and supplement the news. That night, I went dancing with my roommates. Going out without the pressure of taking pictures for Snapchat or Instagram was honestly amazing. There were moments throughout the night when I was tempted to whip out my phone and add pictures of the large crowd to my story, but my restriction made me realize how lame that really is, as I watched so many others Snapping the night away. It felt good to be above all of that for a change. I spent my night focusing on having a good time rather than portraying that I was having a good time. In the end, I actually had the most fun I’ve had on a night out without the distraction of using my phone. While I was equipped to stay away from social media, I will say that getting through the evening without late night texting courage was embarrassingly difficult. I’ll leave it at that. via Flickr Sunday was Father’s Day. I spent the majority of the day with my family, which sadly was at times challenging without the internet. As a bonus, considering my head and stomach hurt from the night before, I was in no condition for any more alcohol. At moments when I wanted to cool down from the collection of loud and conflicting personalities, I had no choice but to partake in sometimes heated conversation. I love my family to death, but just take a few seconds to think about surviving an entire day with your family and not having alcohol or the basic outlets on your cell phone to pass some of the time. By the end of the day I was at wits end. All I wanted to do was go home, relax, and watch Netflix or YouTube to destress, but I couldn’t. I sat in my bed, whined out loud, and actually shut my lights off around 8 p.m. to get me through the rest of the night.
Subsequently, I woke up the next morning at 6 a.m. I was frustrated that my body would sabotage me like that, but after an hour of trying to fall back asleep, there was no point in resisting to face my last day of purgatory. To pass a few hours, I decided to take out my old rollerblades and head over to East River Park. What a mistake. As I was riding over, I managed to fall, smashing my hand into a metal railing. I’m pretty sure that I snapped one of my finger nails in half, but I wasn’t about to give up. I needed those next few hours to supplement my time in other ways than reading or working out. After blading for maybe an hour, I decided to sit along the river and read more of my new book. I got maybe 10 pages in before I felt a rain drop. At first, I was in denial. As the rain started to get worse, I decided to head home in shear disappointment. I made it halfway before it started to torrential downpour. I arrived back at my apartment soaking wet from the rain and largely from tears. At that point, I had enough. I showered, snuggled into bed, and gave into my cause. Watched YouTube videos of Wendy Williams spewing shade at celebrities never felt so beautiful. I binged on Netflix and broadcasted news so happily, yet so ashamed. Here’s what I learned from this experience: I’m weaker without the internet than I thought. Despite my quarrels, I realize that taking a break from the internet was actually a large positive. In the three-and-a-half days of my withdrawal, I was more active, focused, and present. Without technology I was able to enjoy myself, which is something I will keep in mind for the future. However, I do not plan on repeating this assignment anytime soon. Everything is good in moderation, especially the internet. [Featured image: Photo by Jason Leiva / Resource Magazine / Model: James Campbell] via RSSMix.com Mix ID 8230553 http://ift.tt/2rXNpA5 Ask Me Anything
6/26/2017
This is your chance to Ask Me Anything …let’s chat about business, social media, and living a life you LOVE! 0:00 – Welcome + Intro 10:15 – How do you feel about using an app to schedule posts? I use Instagram and Facebook, but seeing the same post on either seems to take away from the authenticity of one’s self. Should you post the same amount of times on both Facebook and Instagram? 12:56 – Should photographers post their priceless online or should an inquiry for priceless be the thing? 13:23 – Do you have any advice for creating inspirational captions and content? 14:27 – How do you prepare and think about the future in such a way, in a creative field such as photography? 15:32 – For a jewelry company, how do I engage a customer to buy and not just like? What should I feature? 17:32 – When wedding booking season is slow, how do you market on social media? 18:14 – How often do you suggest sharing from you business page to your personal page? 19:27 – Should you have a certain number of followers before doing a Facebook Live? Does it look bad to have only 3-5 people tuned in? 21:05 – Tips on building a site to attract brides and book my first wedding? 21:43 – Are you using a microphone other than the internal computer mic? 22:13 – What is the most important thing we should be doing to help people find us on the internet? 24:25 – Any recommendations on how to get unstuck business-wise? Just feeling very unmotivated a stuck. How can I revamp my business? 26:58 – How do you know when you are over-thinking a project? 28:40 – Wrap-up! via RSSMix.com Mix ID 8230553 http://ift.tt/2rV6WBq The holy grail of every passionate portrait photographer is having a portrait photography studio of their own, a controlled environment in which they can practise their craft and freely create the kinds of portraits that they want to take. If you are a keen amateur, renting a pro photo studio... The post Tips For Setting Up Your Home Portrait Photography Studio appeared first on Expert Photography. via RSSMix.com Mix ID 8230553 http://ift.tt/2sJnQpc Over a year ago, Nuseir Yassin, the face and mind behind viral videographer Nas Daily, quit his job at Venmo in New York City. Since then, Yassin, 25, says he’s at “33 percent,” which is the fraction of his life already lived, and even wears T-shirts with a 33 percent timeline every day. Today, despite his past as a Harvard graduate, he travels and makes videos everything, something so many people aren’t able to do until the latter part of their lives. “438 days ago (from the time of this interview) I was a software engineer at Venmo. I quit, and the day after I started making videos,” Yassin said. “I got to control the best hours of the day, which were normally spent indoors at my desk job. I get to actually go out and talk to other people, unlike when you’re behind a desk.” Currently at 1.4 million likes and 200 million views, Nas Daily is a daily video diary where Nas shares the happenings of his life or showcases the lives of others in one minute or less. “At its peak, Nas Daily will be the Humans of New York—of videos,” said Yassin. “But for now it’s just me living my best life and showcasing my friends’ lives as well.” Nas Daily has taken Yassin all over the world, from the Philippines to his home in Israel and to Madagascar and New York. “My favorite trip has been to the Philippines. Next, I want to go to Latin and South America, starting in Brazil,” Yassin said. “But honestly, I look forward to the next day since it’s hard to predict videos a month from now.” Most daily vloggers post their content to YouTube, but Yassin is different and chooses Facebook as his main platform. “YouTube is going to die soon— it’s like an oligarchy,” he said. “I think YouTube has made many dreams but has killed many more. On YouTube, there are usernames, but on Facebook, they are real people. I know your real name, your face and even your job, so I can respond accordingly.” Within the past year, the Nas Daily Facebook page has garnered over 1.4 million likes. Yassin currently runs the page himself—planning, filming, editing and interacting with viewers in the comments section. In a recent video, Yassin announced he and a team of friends are in the works of creating a Nas Daily App, designed to be the best way to create and discover videos. Apart from the Nas Daily Company, Yassin wants to continue to grow the reach of Nas Daily to inspire more people to live their best life. “Through Nas Daily, I want people to watch me live my best life and hopefully it inspires them to go out and live their best life. I wear the t-shirt to remind you life is finite. You just have to see that life after you quit, like my life, can be something you dream of,” Yassin said. via RSSMix.com Mix ID 8230553 http://ift.tt/2tbsygq I recently was invited to review the latest Tamron offering: the 70-200mm f/2.8 G2 lens. Before I get into what I found, I want to give a little insight into myself and my testing methodology, as this will likely be different then most reviews you have read. First and foremost, there are some amazingly well-rounded technical gear reviewers out there. The last thing I want to do is add another “technical” review to the pile. Instead, I want to give you my real world impressions as a wedding, event and commercial photographer by using the lens in the field. I know, personally, when I’m researching a piece of gear to buy, I research it online, browse (quickly) for any important specs, then dig deep to explore how it actually works in the real world. So that’s how I am going to convey my experiences. Photo by Brian Mullins With that said, I’m primarily a Nikon lens shooter, so my impressions are coming from that side of the fence. Having shot the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VRI and VRII for the past 12 years, I’m very familiar with the operation, strengths and weaknesses of the Nikon lenses, so I’ll be framing this discussion using that as my reference point. Now let’s get into it. I field-tested the Tamron 70-200mm at an “event” (graduation ceremony for a University where all of the events are held indoors) which I have shot for the past five years at the same location with roughly the same type of events taking place. So, I have a good sense of what I could and couldn’t pull off in the past with the gear I’ve used. Also, this lens was used on my Nikon D750 and all of my shots were taken on that camera. Let’s first address a few key differences:– A temporary but adaptable difference is the reversal of the zoom and focus rings from the Nikon 70-200mm VRII. I know they reversed the lens configuration on the new Nikon FL lens, but it’s frustrating as I was learning to adapt in a dynamic environment and would occasionally grab the wrong ring. – The lens hood for the Tamron is quite a bit longer then the Nikon VRII, but the actual lens itself is shorter. This makes it just about even in total length when using the lens hood. Photo by Brian Mullins Photo by Brian Mullins Now the first thing I noticed is that the lens focusing is FAST! The focusing speed surpasses my Nikon 70-200mm VRII by quite a bit and gave me the opportunity to hit shots that I haven’t been able to in previous years. It’s also really accurate, which is more about the camera then the lens, but the Nikon D750/Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 G2 combo was a real winner for the fast paced environment I was in. For example: This photo was taken on an “assembly line” of 150 people passing food bags from the left to the right. I had to scan the entire length of the table, move the camera, focus and shoot in the time it took for them to pass a bag across from each other. Not an easy shot to capture without “asking” for it. Photo by Brian Mullins (f2.8, 1/200, ISO 1600). The “color” of this lens also surprised me. The event in the photo above was shot at a very large event hall, with, of course, terrible lighting conditions. I used an on-camera flash (Flashpoint R2) and a Magmod 1/4 CTO gel to help balance the flash color with the ambient. It gave me great contrast with good color and no “blooms” or washed out appearances. The bokeh quality at f/2.8 was also impressive. Very smooth defocusing with little to no geometric shapes or shifts. Here’s another photo from the same room: Photo by Brian Mullins (2.8, 1/160, ISO 1600) This lens also addresses one of my major gripes: the minimum focus distance. However, I was able to get far closer to a subject with the Tamron 70-200mm then with the Nikon 70-200mm VRII. This allowed for some additional flexibility when I was working in tight spaces. Photo by Brian Mullins (2.8, 1/250, ISO 1600) I definitely put this lens through its paces at this graduation event, going into lots of different lighting scenarios including full stage lighting, fluorescent lighting, mixed tungsten with window light, backlight, full flash, etc. I didn’t have any flaring issues nor did I have to correct any chromatic aberration with bright or backlit subjects. Photo by Brian Mullins (2.8, 1/250, ISO 1600) So you’ve heard me bleat on about the good things about this lens. There are lots of them, not to mention being less than half the price of the newest Nikon 70-200mm. However, there was one frustrating thing as well: the lens control switches. To be honest, they seem like an afterthought for what is otherwise a well constructed and thought out lens. The vibration and focus control switches are not recessed far enough, and accidental mode changes did happen while using it. I was carrying my cameras on a Holdfast Moneymaker strap, and the motion against my leg would, apparently, bump a switch or even switches. The easy fix is to apply gaffers tape but, call a purist, I don’t want to tape over my switch positions in case I needed to make a fast change or—to be honest—make my clients think I have to gaff tape my lenses to make them work. Other then that, this lens is going to give Nikon a real run for its money, and I am a huge Nikon fan, so that’s definitely saying something. via RSSMix.com Mix ID 8230553 http://ift.tt/2tanw3A In the days of mass media saturation and digital living, there are some stuffy old codgers who still read aging rags like The New York Review of Books--I’ll confess to being one of them, every now and then—but more and more people are turning somewhere else for their intellectual fix: that great archive, the end-all be-all of the digital era, you guessed it--YouTube. The video-sharing platform has seen a creative renaissance in recent years, as swarms of talking heads and social-media personalities followed in the wake of early trailblazers like Philip DiFranco and Jenna Marbles, most notably the vlogger-extraordinaire, viral megastar and filmmaker Casey Neistat. Initially, many in this new generation just borrowed the approaches of those titans—they would mimic the stunts, the goofiness, or the transparent vulnerability of approaches used by more established stars. The last few years, however, have been pivotal to the development of content creators who are less personality-driven and more devoted to delivering content that helps viewers make sense of the 21st century’s wacky realities. Here are five remarkably intellectual YouTubers who will surely get your creative juices flowing. 1. nerdwriter1This guy is one of the most versatile content creators currently on YouTube. Back in 2011, Nerdwriter was originally one of thousands of low-fi vloggers, without much to distinguish him beyond a certain idiosyncratic charm and a tendency to word-vomit happily on topics as varied and esoteric as Scientology, “Modern Art,” and early 19th century English poetry. In the intervening six years, his videos became more polished and his onscreen presence infinitely more self-assured, eventually garnering him a massive audience. His videos—part-desktop vlogs, part-dreamlike audiovisual streams—explore a massive range of topics, often through case studies. These will usually focus on one aspect of something—be it a film, a work of art, a franchise, a genre, a comedian, or a political reality—and take the viewer through Nerdwriter’s thought process until his philosophical point has come full circle. Past video essays have examined how Louis C.K. tells a joke, how Donald Trump answers a question, how filmmaker David Lynch manipulates his audience, how to understand a Picasso, and much more. Although it’s not his most popular, the vid-essay, “Atemporality: Our Relationship to History Has Changed,” may be one of the most lucid and insightful things created by anyone on this list. In it, he argues that we are moving into an era defined by the Internet, which has fundamentally changed how we interact with the world—no more “modernism” or “postmodernism,” but something else. Something new. 2. kaptainkristianKaptainkristian really cares about what he covers, and expresses a heartfelt fascination with every topic he covers that comes across in his videos. His detailed, often intimate video essays on subjects like Frank Ocean’s musical identity and the rise of the Adult Swim media empire are a pleasure to watch. His videos are beautifully curated flows of images and commentary with a unique, unifying aesthetic that qualifies them as works of art in their own right. 3. Kurzgesagt – In a NutshellDon’t let the childishly simple cartoon-graphics deceive you—“In a Nutshell” is masterful at tackling topics as immensely complex as the European Union or the rise of the surveillance state and compressing them into colorful little segments. After watching a video from this channel, you may feel like you just had a month of college credit dumped into your skull—to boot, the narrator even has a ridiculously prim British accent. Still, for all the ambition and range of this channel, the best thing about it may be the way that the simplicity of the visuals helps you understand what all that raw data really means. This is especially true when it comes to putting information into the proper context or proportion. The videos that communicate proportion are where this channel’s genius really comes across, rendering the true scale of problems like the Syrian refugee crisis, or the rapid growth of the massive and surprisingly ineffectual surveillance state. This channel packs a hell of a punch. 4. Channel CriswellLewis Criswell knows his films. Usually averaging somewhere between ten and twenty minutes, Criswell’s videos are longer than any of the other channels on this list—but for true cinephiles, it’s worth taking the time. His obvious devotion to the medium and exhaustive knowledge of his subjects makes this channel a great resource for anyone interested in learning more about the great directors and films of the last century, with extensive primers on visionaries like Andrei Tarkovsky, Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch, Lars Von Trier, and Denis Villeneuve, in addition to movies he believes do something particularly well, like The Social Network’s master-class in dialogue, or Seven Samurai’s use of action. Many other YouTubers do this kind of thing, but few go as lovingly in-depth as Criswell. 5. theneedledropAnthony Fantano, who describes himself as “The Internet’s Busiest Music Nerd,” has built this music-reviewing vlog into a cult favorite over the last eight years, complete with skits, running jokes, and a mustachioed alter-ego. Bald, bespectacled, and self-deprecating, Fantano may seem an unlikely candidate for Internet celebrity. Nonetheless, he’s garnered quite a reputation for his erudite vlog, in which he reviews and analyzes both new and classic music. Artists have admitted to watching his reviews of their material—some come away offended, some mollified. Critically acclaimed experimental rapper Danny Brown has even said he watches theneedledrop obsessively, once joking that impressing Fantano is a goal he always tries to meet with projects. That’s not surprising, considering the honesty and depth of attention that Fantano gives to the music he reviews. The guy’s got a great ear, and his easy familiarity with such a wide variety of styles and genres—from pop and hip-hop, to jazz and avant-garde noise— makes him more than worthy of being called “The Internet’s Busiest Music Nerd.” Even when he’s not a huge fan of an artist’s work, his reviews are poetic and constructive—though some flops do get the brunt of his desert-dry wit, triggering debates across his videos’ lively comment sections. With his command of YouTube and his endlessly eclectic taste, Fantano is the definitive music critic of the Digital Age. via RSSMix.com Mix ID 8230553 http://ift.tt/2sBHhyM
We gave you two weeks to hit us with your ‘freckles’ so be warned you are about to see some of the most charming images you will have ever seen! My daughter has freckles and I always tell her “a face without freckles is like the sky without stars”.
#FridayFoto was almost impossible but we chose this beauty by Victoria West!
Here’s what Julie had to say about Victoria’s’s image: “What a great close-up portrait of a really beautiful boy. The lighting you’ve chosen and the amazing black and white conversion you’ve done really enhance the freckles and show them in all their glory. You can tell this image is taken with that purpose. I love the expression. It’s such a soulful, subtle smile but it goes right up into the eyes which have gorgeous catchlights. Stunning portrait Victoria – thank you!”
Anna Salek
Chantal Macleod-Holdsworth
Colleen Taylor Archer
Danielle Ketsdever Davis
Dawn Perry
Deirdre Eaglesham
Fyon Mackay Macleod
Gary Hill
Greta Do
Helen Murphy
Jennifer Law Lynch
Jessica Boehl Clark
Jim Davies
Joanna Higgins-Ware
Justine McNeely
Kathryn Scott
Kelly Dunn
Kimberly Drennen Harripersad
Lisa Friday
Melissa Blevins
Nicola Osborne Allton
Which is your favourite?
Pop by and request to join – you’ll love it! The post Freckles – A selection of images from our #ThursdayTheme appeared first on Tea Break Tog. via RSSMix.com Mix ID 8230553 http://ift.tt/2sBWXSs If you have always been a big fan of animation movies, the name Hayao Miyazaki shouldn’t sound unfamiliar to you. Ponyo, My Neighbor Totoro and Howl’s Moving Castle are only some of his renowned work. Spirited Away, in particular, was ranked by The NY Times as top 2 out of 25 Best Films in the 21st Century. Miyazaki never fails to work his magic in each of his films. A film director, producer, and an impressive storyteller himself might actually have a unique recipe to create his films. In a video by Film Thoughts, the creator analyzed the recurring themes and patterns in Miyazaki’s movies. Below are 5 main takeaways from the video that filmmakers should take note of,
via YouTube 1. Young ProtagonistMost of Miyazaki’s films star female leads, such as Chihiro in Spirited Away, Kiki in Kiki’s Delivery Service, Sophie in Howl’s Moving Castle. They are the protagonists that tell the stories. We watch and understand the stories from her perspective. You might not realize but the female lead faces some sort of obstacles and struggles in each of the movies. Miyazaki’s use of young female protagonist evokes our empathy and we are further drawn to the film. 2. SidekickThe video points out Haku in Spirited Away and Jiji in Kiki’s Delivery Service are support characters that are always there for the protagonists while the sidekick is either a male or animal. A sidekick offers us another perspective in following the story. via YouTube 3. LoveRomance is always involved in Miyazaki’s films. As the video pointed out, the puppy love between Chihiro and Haku in Spirited Away, is filled with confusion and innocence. The video refers it as “implicit chemistry” that is not really accounted for in the film. 4. Old and Powerful CharactersMiyazaki uses one or older characters in most of his films, such as Yubaba in Spirited Away. The video explains that Miyazaki wants to emphasize the importance of the older generation. For instance, Yubaba’s twin, Zeniba is an old and wise character who helps Chihiro in Spirited Away. via YouTube 5. Beautiful SceneryMiyazaki paints nature sceneries in most of his films and as the video points out, “Each of his films feels like it exists in its own world.” He blurs the lines between reality and dream and that’s how he drew us in the films. 6. AviationMiyazaki incorporates a lot of movements in his films to help with the flow of the story. Taking the example in Spirited Away, Haku finally transforms into a white dragon and remembers his true identity. via RSSMix.com Mix ID 8230553 http://ift.tt/2sBYjN8 |
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