The View Findercvcameraclub.org/Newsletters/CVCC _April _News_16.pdfmore images for longer focal...

Catawba Valley Camera Club’s Newsletter

The View Finder

April 2016

Photographs John Setzler

Photograph by Donny Teague

Pearson’s Falls

2

Volume 5, Issue 4 April, 2016

Most of us have received critiques of our work at some point of our life. Some of the most subjective feedback is that directed at works of art. Photography is no exception.

With a lot of people picking up photography as a hobby, it’s no wonder that a lot of photography related forums are created with the purpose of sharing. And one of the popular subjects of these groups is critique, where members get to give “constructive” comments with the hope that it will help the image maker. The reverse is also true where a photographer posts his best shot and hopes to get constructive and helpful criticism in order to learn from the more experienced photographers.

Photo by Kim Seng.

When I took a course on image analysis with the Photographic Society of America (PSA), when I first started photography, the most important aspect I learned about giving constructive feedback is to put it forth as my own point of view.

Why is this “own point of view” so important? Photography is so subjective that an image can gather equal amount of “likes” and “dislikes” at the same time. My tutor told me that it is subjective to the point of being ridiculous. Each and every one of us perceives beauty in our own way. Not just beauty, but almost everything in life, right? Some of us like eating steak, while some would rather stay away from meat. Some of us like to remain single, while some would rather marry and have 10 children.

THE IMPORTANCE OF CONSTRUC-

TIVE FEEDBACK IN PHOTOGRAPHY

CONTINUE ON PAGE 16,17

2

BATTER UP QUIZ ANSWERS ON PAGE 18

4

WEB SITES TO TRY 4

ASK TIM GREY CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

4

GEORGETOWN, SC FIELD TRIP PHOTOS

5-11

APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP 21

A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO FOCUS STACKING

CONTINUED ON PAGE 12,,13,14,15

3

CALENDAR OF EVENTS 3

STACEY PEARSALL PRESENTATION

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CLUB OFFICERS & PRESIDENTS REPORT

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Inside this issue:

C a t a w b a Va l l e y C a m e r a C l u b

Continued on Page 16

The Importance of Constructive Feedback in Photography

by Fauzi Anuar

http://www.zeeandmarina.com/

3


Other than for special effect, photographers generally do not want out-of-focus images.

But sometimes, regardless of which camera settings are used, not every detail of an im-

age can be captured tack sharp. Depth of field (DOF) can be so shallow, that interesting

aspects of the photos are without sharpness. Setting to a smaller aperture may be used

to increase DOF, but moving the aperture farther from a lens’s sweet spot introduces

lens diffraction into the image, again resulting in some fuzziness. Also, if stopping

down the camera’s aperture, shutter speed will need to be increased and blurry images

may result. Increasing ISO to help with the exposure will introduce digital noise to the

image.

So, how do you shoot with the best aperture and shutter speed combination, and get

sharp images from front to back of an image? A technique that can help resolve this

problem is called focus stacking. Here’s some helpful info about this technique.

So, how do you shoot

with the best

aperture and shutter

speed combination,

and get sharp images

from front to back of

an image? A

technique that can

help resolve this

problem is called

focus stacking.

Calendar of Events

Apr 6 Competition - Projection - ABSTRACT Randy Knauf

Apr 15 Reception - Image*Ination Coe Gallery HMA Janice Setzler

Apr 20 Competition - Print - OPEN - Black & White Randy Knauf

Apr 23 FIELD TRIP - Pearson Falls & Wildflowers Donny Teague

May 4 Competition - Print - Cameras/Photo Equipment Randy Knauf

May 18 Instruction - IR Photography by Michael O’Neil Doreen Sugierski

May 21 OVERNIGHT TRIP - Train Museum Savannah Doreen Sugierski

Jun 1 Competition - Projection - Clocks, Watches, Timepieces Randy Knauf

Jun 15 Instructional - Drone Photography by Reg Garner Doreen Sugierski


Continued on page 12

A Beginner’s Guide to Focus Stacking

by Bruce Wunderlich

http://digital-photography-school.com/author/brucewunderlich/

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Batter Up!

In North Carolina, spring’s arrival means young baseball and softball players are taking the field again.

1. In August 2015, a team of 11– and 12– year-old girls from North Carolina defeated Rhode Island 4-2 to win the soft-ball Little League World Series. The team was from Salis-bury, which is in what county?

A. Davie

B. Orange

C. Rowan

2. The Petty family, best known for their involvement with NASCAR, also has a little League baseball claim to fame. What son of “King” Richard was inducted into the Little League Museum Hall of Excellence in 2010?

A. Calvin

B. Tom

C. Kyle

3. The late James Hunter, a Hertford native, major league pitcher, and Cy Young Award winner, got his start in Little League baseball. What was his nickname?

A Fireball

B. Catfish

C. Speedy

4. American Legion baseball is for students between the ages of 13 and 19. From 1926 to now, how many times has a team from North Carolina been the American Legion na-tional champion?

A 1

B. 4

C. 20

5. There are more than 5,000 American Legion baseball teams nationwide. How many teams did North Carolina field last year?

A. 117

B. 200

C. 325

Answers on page 18

http://500px.com/popular

http://digital-photography-school.com/

http://photonaturalist.net/

http://www.digital-photo-secrets.com/tip/

http://www.steeletraining.com/

http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/

Click on the links above

Web Sites to try

Ask Tim Grey

There is an article in Outdoor Photographer posting Monday about "Mastering the Grad ND" filter. With the capabilities in Photoshop/Lightroom (specifically the Gradient Filter tool), is there a substantial difference in using the filters over creating the same effect in post?

Tim's Quick Answer:

In general I would say that I consider the graduated neutral density filter to be obsolete. The various options for apply-ing graduated adjustments provide an alternative for many situations. And when the dynamic range of the scene ex-ceeds the abilities of your camera, capturing multiple expo-sures to blend into a high dynamic range (HDR) image is generally a better solution compared to the use of a graduat-ed neutral density filter.

More Detail:

One of the frustrations of working with a graduated neutral density filter is that it is graduated in a linear way. Many real-world scenarios prove to be a challenge with a graduat-ed neutral density filter, due to a foreground subject extend-ing above the horizon. Such an object will be darkened to-ward the top along with the sky, creating an obvious clue that a filter was used for the photo.


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Georgetown, SC Field Trip Photos

Photographs by Doreen Sugierski

From left to right:

Tom Devlin, Chip Young, Donny Teague, Jim Gregory, Steven Gold, Ed Lane, Mitzi Gellman, Doreen Sugierski, Brian Hargreaves

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Photographs by Donny Teague



7


Photographs by Donny Teague



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Photographs by Chip Young



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Photographs Steven Gold



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Photographs by Brian Hargreaves



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Photograph by Tom Devlin

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13 image focus stack

What You Need

A tripod.

A DSLR camera, capable of shooting in manual mode. It

is possible to use a point and shoot camera, but it must

have manual mode and manual focus capabilities.

Depth of Field iPhone app (helpful but not required).

Photoshop or another focus stacking software.

How to Shoot for Focus Stacking

Focus stacking is similar in principle to HDR. However,

with focus stacking, images are captured with different

focus points, and later combined in Photoshop, to create

an image with more DOF than would be possible with a

single exposure. Landscape and macro photography are

two genres of photography that benefit most from using

this procedure. Be warned – calm winds and reasonably

stationary objects are a must!

Before beginning to shoot, it is always helpful to know a

lens’s sweet spot, defined as the aperture that the lens


Continued from page 3 A Beginner’s Guide to Focus Stacking


produces its sharpest image. (It is usually found about two

to three stops from wide open.) Experiment until this im-

portant setting is determined.

Landscape

There are two basic scenarios when shooting landscapes,

that may benefit from focus stacking. The first is when the

subject is a close foreground object, with an interesting

background, both desirable aspects to be in sharp focus.

The second, is when using a telephoto lens (which typical-

ly has a shallow depth of field) and the subject covers mul-

tiple distances, that may be brought into sharper focus.

(FYI: If shooting a landscape with a wide angle lens, the

DOF may be adequate enough to capture a sharp image

that has no benefit in being processed by focus stacking.)

Tip: Here is a little trick to find out if focus stacking will

benefit an image when photographing a scene or subject.

After composing the image, set the focus point about one

third into the image. Then, using Live View, enlarge the

image and check to see if the foreground and background

13


are sharp or blurry. If either or neither are in focus as

sharply as desired, the image could benefit from focus

stacking.

Steps for Shooting Landscapes for Focus

Stacking

Place the camera on a sturdy tripod – a must!

Frame the subject and compose the shot.

Determine exposure for the scene, and set the camera to

manual mode, to ensure that the exposure is constant for

every image.

Set the camera to Live View and aim the focus point on

the nearest object desired to be in focus. Use the cam-

era’s zoom (+ button, not zoom on the lens) to preview

the focus through Live View. Then switch to manual fo-

cus and use the focus ring to fine tune for sharpness if

necessary.

Take the first exposure.

Without moving the camera or adjusting any settings,

move the focus point to an object mid-way in the image

and refocus.

Take the second exposure.

Again, without changing anything, refocus on an object

at the farthest point of the intended image.

Take the third exposure.

To capture landscapes, three images are generally all that




is necessary to create sharp focus stacking images, but it’s

completely fine to take extra images to make sure that the

entire scene is covered. A rule of thumb would be to add

more images for longer focal lengths. Be aware that extra

images will take longer to process in post-production. If

available, check the DOF with a Smartphone app, in order

to figure out how many images will be necessary, to get

every aspect of the photo in focus.

The first image was focused on the fence, the second was

focused mid-way into the image, and the third was fo-

cused on the front of the house.

Macro Photography

Macro photography can benefit from focus stacking more

than any other type of photography, because a macro lens

has an extremely shallow depth of field.

Place the camera on a sturdy tripod – a must!

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Continued from page 13 A Beginner’s Guide to Focus Stacking Frame the subject and compose the shot.

Determine the exposure for the subject, and set the cam-

era to manual mode to ensure that the exposure remains

constant for each and every image.

Set the camera to Live View and aim the focus point on

the nearest object desired to be in focus. Use the camera’s

zoom (+ button, not zoom on the lens) to preview the fo-

cus through Live View. Then switch to manual focus and

use the focus ring to fine tune for sharpness if necessary.

Take the first exposure.

Without moving the camera or adjusting any settings,

move the focus point to a distance slightly farther away

from the lens. Remember that DOF in macro will be

measured in fractions of an inch, instead of feet, as in

landscape photography.

Repeat step 6 as many times as needed to cover every

aspect of the subject’s DOF. This could range from as

few as six images to 30+ images. Make sure the entire

subject is covered or the results may be unusable. If avail-

able, check the DOF with the iPhone app

(www.setmycamera.com), in order to figure out how

many images will be necessary to get every aspect of the

photo in focus.

Focus stacking the flowers only makes the flowers stand

out from the background.

The image on left is a single image capture at 85mm focal

length. The image on right is a 12 image focus stack. Each

image had a DOF of less than one inch. Note the addition-

al detail in the image on the right, compared to the single

image.

Tip: As often used when capturing HDR images, take a

shot with your hand in front of the camera before and after

each series of images. When working with the images lat-

er, this will make it easier to tell where each series starts

and ends.

Use your hand to mark the beginning of each series of im-

ages. This will make processing your images easier.

Processing the Final Images

Processing the files to accomplish the final image may

seem like the most difficult part of creating a focus

stacked image, but it’s really very simple to do in Pho-

toshop. Here’s how:

Open Photoshop


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Get each image on a separate layer: Under File, choose

Scripts and Load files into stack. Click Browse and select

all the images.

Check the box for Attempts to Automatically Align

Source Images.

Click OK and each of the images will open into a new lay-

er in Photoshop.

Open the Layer palette and select All Layers.

Under Edit, select Auto-Blend Layers.

Check the box for Stack Images and Seamless Tones and

Colors. Optionally, select Content Aware Fill Transparent

Areas, which will fill any transparent areas generated by

aligning images in step 3. (Be aware this will increase pro-

cessing time. Generally, I do not choose this option; ra-

ther, I just crop the image slightly later, if necessary.)

Click OK

Flatten the image by selecting Layer/Flatten image and

save.

Note: If you are using a Lightroom and Photoshop work-

flow, after importing your images into Lightroom, instead

of following steps 2 through 5, you can simply add all

your images into Photoshop layers by selecting all your

images, then go to Photo/Edit in/Open as Layer In Pho-

toshop. This will open all the selected images as layers.

You will then have to Align your images by selecting all

the layers in the layer palette, then go to Edit/Auto Align

Layers. Then continue at step 6 above.

Summary

It is nearly every photographer’s intention to capture the

sharpest images possible, and focus stacking can be an-

other tool to help you achieve this goal. The trick to this

whole process is to take enough focused images, to create

a final photo that is in focus from foreground to back-

ground. The results can be amazing once you get the hang

of it! Give it a try and post your results and any questions

you have here.

The post A Beginner’s Guide to Focus Stacking by Bruce

Wunderlich appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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Back to top

16



Continued from page 2 The Importance of Constructive Feedback in Photography That being said, the image maker, too, perceives beauty differently from the one critiquing the work. To the one posting the image, it might be his best shot and he thinks of it as being perfect. I’ve been there when I started pho-tography. I thought what I’d shot was very good. Boy was I wrong. If I were to look back at my very first batch of photographs, I would be appalled and would give my-self the harshest of critiques. But hey, we were all once amateurs. And everyone is learning all the time and wants to improve. So the main thing is not to belittle anybody, because we were most likely in their shoes at some point.

Photo by Sakhar Nair; ISO 400, f/11, 1/1600 exposure.

So, if we don’t have the “eyes” now to critique and com-ment on our current work, what better way than to ask those who have been there done that. A word of caution: when you put your work out there in the open, be pre-pared and open minded to receive comments and criti-cism from those who have not been there done that.

Sometimes, you can get ideas spinning off from even those who are very new to the art of photography.

Back to the subject of “own point of view,” it’s impera-tive that we start off our critiques with preambles. Not those legal mumbo-jumbo kind of preambles, but some-thing as simple as, “In my opinion…” This is to tell the reader that whatever is going to be said is purely your own opinion. It’s nothing personal.

Avoid Rules

What I’ve learned from PSA is to look at different aspects of photography when giving criticism and comments. And also avoid rules like the rule of thirds. Stay away from these rules of photography when giving comments, be-cause they’re not prerequisites when making a photo. Nothing is ever fixed in the world of art. Why should it be? We would live in a world of zero creativity if every-thing was so rigid. So stay away from giving comments like, “It would be better if you had used the rule of thirds to compose this image.”

Oh yeah, and stay away from, “It would be better… ” and the super imposing, “If I were you…”

Photo by Adrian Cabrero; ISO 100, f/2, 1/2000 exposure.

What to Look for in a Photo

What are the aspects to look for? Here are some…

Creativity

Originality

Noise and/or Grain

Composition

Line

Eye Movement


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Continued from page 16 The Importance of Constructive Feedback in Photography

Lighting

Focus, depth of field

Exposure

Dimension

Perspective

Tonal Range

Color

Impact

Balance

During the course, I was asked to comment on one of Henri Cartier-Bresson’s most revered images. I didn’t know this person or his work at that time. So I just gave my comments. Luckily for me, I started off the critique with, “I think… “, “In my opinion… “, and “To me… ” Only when my tutor told me that prints of the image are being sold at galleries for $10,000 each, and that it is okay to comment as long as it is our opinion, did I begin to reflect upon the fact that art is so subjective.

In essence, write your comments with the preamble, be nice with your words, and never be a jerk.

Another note in “courteous” critiquing would be to sepa-rate our good comments and suggestions. Try to put across all the good points first, then give your sugges-tions. Do not say something like, “I personally feel that the image is well done, but…”

It’s the BUT that is the pain in the BUTT.

Say your suggestions separately, so that the image maker can keep all the positive comments and then learn from the critique.

Photo by Flickr user Roger; ISO 1600, f/4.5, 0.4-second exposure.

And last but not least, although sometimes it’s better to keep quiet if what we are going to say could potentially offend someone, it’s also important to note that construc-tive criticism can teach us a thing or two about our own work. Most of the time saying what we already know re-inforces our knowledge and can open doors to new knowledge. Do it with tact and humility.

Someone once said that we don’t live long enough to be anything but amateurs.

So when putting across what you think, say it like you know it, but make it sound like you know nothing.

Good luck!

About the Author: Fauzi Anuar (http://www.zeeandmarina.com/) is a quali-fied master photographer (AMPA) specialising in portrai-ture, interiors and food.

***

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Continued from page 4 Ask Tim Grey

In situations where a graduated neutral density filter provides a minor advantage, a gradient adjustment in post-processing can often provide a similar (or even better) adjustment. For situations where a graduated neutral density filter is not a great solution, a graduated adjustment in post processing will also prove challenging.

However, you can produce a superior result in many challenging situations by simply capturing multiple exposures and combining those into a single high dynamic range (HDR) image.

In short, I never employ a graduated neutral density filter in my own photography. If the dynamic range is not beyond the capabilities of my camera, I can simply capture a single exposure and then apply a targeted adjustment when pro-cessing my photo.

For situations where the dynamic range of the scene exceeds the capabilities of my camera, I will capture a sequence of exposures that I will blend together into a single high dynamic range (HDR) image in post-processing, producing a bet-ter result than I could have achieved with a graduated neutral density filter.

***

Batter Up!

1. C. Rowan County

2. C. Kyle

3. B. Catfish

4. B. 4

5. A. 117

Membership Dues

2016 $35

A new year is here and it’s time to pay club dues for the upcoming year. The dues are $35 per year. Students pay only $15 per year. Returning members must be paid up by the end of February to continue to participate in club competitions.

If you are on our mailing list but not a club mem-ber yet, we would like to invite you to join our club and become a full time member. We have a lot of fun on field trips and friendly competitions each month. We would love to have you as a full time member.

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President’s Message

April has two competitions- first, is projection with the assigned subject: Abstract, on April 6. The second meeting, April 20, is a print competition which is: OPEN Black and White. The field trip for April is a trip to Pearson Falls along with other falls and wildflowers, hosted by Donny Teague. It is on April 23. A note of order: Members who have not paid their 2016 dues will be excluded from compet-ing or voting beginning with the first April meeting. Please see Stan Bolton to get current. See you at the Camera Club!

John Setzler

President’s Report

We’re on the Web

http://cvcameraclub.org/

Club Officers

President: John Setzler [email protected] Vice President: Tom Devlin [email protected] Secretary: Judy Young [email protected] Treasurer: Stan Bolton [email protected] Image Coordinator: Randy Knauf [email protected] Webmaster: Ed Lane [email protected] Programs: Doreen Sugierski [email protected] Newsletter Donny Teague [email protected]


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Application for Membership

NAME_____________________________________________________DATE__________________

ADDRESS_________________________________________________________________________

CITY_____________________________________STATE________________ZIP_______________

PHONE: HOME (____)____________WORK (____)___________CELL (____)_______________

E-MAIL___________________________________________________________________________

Dues are $35 per year. Meetings are the first and third Wednesday of each month. Students: $15 per year.

New Member ____ Renewal ____ CLUB USE ONLY: Date Received______________ Cash_______ Check______

Please indicate your preference for committee membership on which you would serve if asked.

Program ____ Field Trip Leader ____ Working on Website ____ Newsletter ____ Mentoring ____ Social Events ____

Publicity ____ External Judging ____

Club Website: www.cvcameraclub.org

Please print clearly as our club correspondence is conducted via e-mail.

Occupation:____________________________________________________________________________

Website:_______________________________________________________________________________

My skill level in Photography would best be described as: Beginner ___ Intermediate ___ Advanced____ Professional ____

Do you have accounts with: Facebook ____ Google+ ____ Twitter ____ Other ___________________________________

Shoot Mostly: Film ____ Digital ____ Both ____

Camera Make: Canon ____ Nikon ____ Sony ____ Other _____________________________________________________

Photography Interest: (Check All that Apply)

Architecture ____ Eclectic ____ Events ____ Family ____ Landscapes ____ Macro ____ Nature ____

Photojournalism ____ Portraiture ____ Sports ____ Travel ____ Underwater ____ Waterfalls ____

Wild Flowers ____ Wildlife ____ Other ____________________________________________________________________

Computer System: Mac ____ Windows ____

Photo Editing Software: Aperture ____ Elements ____ Lightroom ____ Photoshop ____

Other _____________________________________________________________________________

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