chuckography

ND2 Saturday....

Saturday it was time to do another tutorial on Neutral Density filters.

The Summerville version drew more members of the Photo Group than the weekday one at Folly Beach.

In fact, our crowd drew a crowd.

You gather a dozen photographers with bulging gadget bags, large cameras on tripods - and a serious air - and people stop to ask "So, what's going on?"

Six people also asked for information about the Photography Group, so we may have picked up a few more photographers and wannabes.

The fountain where we gathered (near the parking garage) is right next to the Farmer's Market so lots of people were around.

We were using dark filters on our camera lens so we could take long exposure pictures on a sunny day.

It's a beautiful fountain and different exposures showed it differently.

In some the water flowed smoothly.

In others, it became a misty, moody centerpiece next to booths selling fresh corn, bright red tomatoes and fuzzy Carolina peaches.

We had a total of 16 turn out for the demonstration and how-to guidance.

Rudy Lutge, the same fellow who led the seminar at Folly Beach, went through step-by-step.

Then he answered questions and we got started.

Rudy went around making suggestions and adjustments until we all felt comfortable.

Meanwhile, shoppers carrying bags of produce wandered by and some children wanted to get their hands wet. Hey, why not?

Rudy had explained there are other ways to be creative with long exposure photography.

Earlier I had gone online for some background.

Found a shot of a "speeding shopping cart" so I tried a 1/10 of a second picture with my camera in a shopping basket at Trader Joe's in Mt. Pleasant.

Yes, I spoke to the manager first and explained what I hoped to do.

He asked "how fast will you be pushing the cart?"

I went into more details. I'll push the cart pretty slowly and the shelves on each side will blur, creating the illusion of fast speed.

One of the beauties of using digital is, after a few shots, I was able to show him what I had taken.

He agreed I had not bothered anyone and, I think, he was impressed.

Rudy mentioned this type of shot as well as how to make a room filled with people appear to be empty by using long exposure.

Grand Central Station in NYC is a busy place but if you take a photo lasting several minutes - the place is deserted.

Well, except for a few people who did not move during the exposure.

For example, the Farmers Market would not appear empty because of people staffing in each booth and the slow, meandering pace of the shoppers.

After the instructions, we were sharing tips and showing the results we were getting.

One member, David, was showing a hand-held device that covers the screen on the back of the camera and it becomes a viewfinder.

In bright light, those screens are hard to see and this provides a way to block out the light, see a perfect image and makes it easier to focus.

I had never heard of such a thing. I had used a towel draped over my head and camera when we were shooting at the beach.

His is much better option.

(Click on the photos for more detail).

I am going online to shop for that viewing aid.

Hmm, now what was it called?

Labels: David Clark, Farmer's Market, Grand Central Station in NYC, long exposure photography, Rudy Lutge, Summerville Parking Garage, Trader Joe's Market

posted by chuckography @ 9:26 PM