Vernon Chalmers Photography: April 2016

02 April 2016

Landscape / Long Exposure Workshop Cape Town

Next Landscape / Long Exposure Photography Workshop Cape Town

Landscape / Long Exposure Photography Workshop Cape Town
Vernon Chalmers facilitated an intermediate level Landscape / Seascape / Long Exposure Workshop on Friday 8 April and Saturday 9 April at Milnerton Beach / Woodbridge Island with guided sunrise and sunset shooting sessions. Canon and Nikon photographers are welcome.

Session 1 : 8 April 17:30 - 21:30
Session 2 : 9 April Before Sunrise (Milnerton Beach / Woodbridge Island)
Session 3 : 9 April Before Sunset (Milnerton Beach / Woodbridge Island)

Refreshments: To be provided during the Friday evening session.

Delegates are welcome to attend the Sunrise and / or Sunset Session.

Photo Competition: Two vouchers to the value of R3000-00 off you next camera gear purchase will be up for grabs! Submit your best picture taken and you could be a winner! 1st prize R2000-00 and 2nd prize R1000-00. The closing date is 8 May 2016.

Two Snaphots to Great Shots photography books (R350 value each) from Pearson / Peachpit Press will also be up for grabs during the workshop:

Exposure 'From Snapshots to Great Shots' (2nd Edition)
Landscape Photography 'From Snapshots to Great Shots'

Workshop Cost: R485-00 per delegate for all three sessions (25 max)

Workshop Objective / Training Level
For assisting the developing photographer with the understanding and application of intermediate to advanced landscape / long exposure settings / techniques.

For APS-C (Crop) and Full Frames DSLR bodies / lenses
The workshop will include an evening theory session (exposure / focus settings with reference to APS-C and Full Frame bodies) on the Friday evening and then two practical sessions: a sunrise session and again at sunset on the Saturday. Delegates are welcome to attend both practical sessions.

Workshop Contents / Learning Areas

Introduction

Camera Bodies / Lenses

Camera / Lens Settings

Exposure / Focus Settings

Long Exposure Technique

Filters Overview / Application

Composition Guidelines

Practical Sessions (Milnerton Beach / Woodbridge Island)

Filters / Composition Modules

Joseph Inns (Nikon) will present the filters and composition modules. He is an experienced PSSA club judge from the Tygerberg Photographic Society (Durbanville club) and will also be offering the Nikon support during the practical shoots. We have a shared interested in various photography genres and often shoot landscapes / long exposures around the peninsula.

DSLR Camera Body / Lens Requirements
Any DSLR camera body with an ultra-wide / wide angle lens in ie. 10-18 / 18-55 / 18-135mm focal length APS-C format or Full Frame ie.16-35 / 24-70 / 24-105mm focal length will be suitable. Feel free to contact me if you're not sure.

Canon and Nikon Support
There will be DSLR body / lens guidance and support available for Canon and Nikon shooters on Saturday morning / evening.

A sturdy tripod will be mandatory for the low light / long exposure sessions.

Contact Vernon Chalmers for more information

Costing: R485-00 per delegate for all three sessions (25 max)

Booking: Please complete the Workshop Booking Form should you be interested in attending.

(Click to Enlarge)

Long Exposure Photography - Milnerton Lagoon (Canon EOS 6D)

Table Mountain Before Sunrise - Milnerton Beach (Canon EOS 6D)

Long Exposure Photography - Milnerton Lagoon (Canon EOS 6D)

Long Exposure Photography - Milnerton Beach (Canon EOS 700D)

The Wooden Bridge Woodbridge Island After Sunset (Canon EOS 6D)

For other Vernon Chalmers Photography Workshops / Private Tutoring visit Photography Workshops

01 April 2016

Canon EOS 700D - Depth of Field Lens Test

With Canon EOS 700D / Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II prime lens

With EF 50mm f1.8 II lens at f1/8 ISO 400 (cropped)

Depth of Field test with Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II / Canon EF-S 18-135mm IS USM lenses.

With Canon EOS 700D / Rebel T5i DSLR (Av Mode) tested with Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens (nifty fifty) and Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens. (Photos: Vernon Chalmers Milnerton Cape Town)

Objective: Demonstrating the changes in Depth of Field for creating selected background blur with variable aperture settings using two different Canon lenses. Depth of field is also referred to as Bokeh - which in Japanese means to blur / quality of blur by deliberately selecting certain area(s) of a photo in and out of focus.

Depth Of Field (DOF)
To go from a deeper to shallower DOF with any camera / lens combination one of the main considerations is Aperture (the size of the space in which light enters the lens / camera. It is measured in f/stops - a fractional formula used for allowing a certain amount of light in - ie. f/5.6 or f/11 which is controlled by the photographer via a variety of ways ie. manually dialing it in Av or Manual mode on the camera body). In Auto or P mode (and Tv Mode) the camera will decide the aperture for you).

Note: Using the same subject (London Red Telephone Money Box) at the same 50mm focal lengths for both lenses. With the Canon EF 18-135mm IS STM lens apertures f/3.5-f/4 is not available at this particular focal length. The Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM kit lens provided more / less the same Depth of Field results as the EF-S 18-135mm lens (at 50mm focal length).
Equipment

Canon EOS 700D DSLR camera body

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II prime lens
Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM zoom lens
Canon Speedlite 430EX II flash
Exposure settings: Aperture f/1.8 - f/11 ISO 400
Manfrotto Compact MKC3-H01 tripod
With zero post-processing

Av Mode - Aperture Priority Settings

50mm lens f/1.8 - f/11
18 - 135mm lens f.4.5 - f/11
ISO 400
Shutter speed: 1/60 seconds
Autofocus on

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens

Aperture f1.8 ISO 400 : Canon EOS 700D / Rebel T5i

Aperture f/4.0 ISO 400 : Canon EOS 700D / Rebel T5i

Aperture f/5.6 ISO 400 : Canon EOS 700D / Rebel T5i

Aperture f/8.0 ISO 400 : Canon EOS 700D / Rebel T5i

Aperture f/11 ISO 400 : Canon EOS 700D / Rebel T5i

Canon EF-S 18-135mm IS STM Lens

Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM zoom lens

Aperture f/4.5 ISO 400 : Canon EOS 700D / Rebel T5i

Aperture f/5.6 ISO 400 : Canon EOS 700D / Rebel T5i

Aperture f/8.0 ISO 400 : Canon EOS 700D / Rebel T5i

Aperture f/11 ISO 400 : Canon EOS 700D / Rebel T5i

Early morning Pied Kingfisher - Woodbridge Island, Cape Town

Early morning lonesome Pied Kingfisher on a breakfast run in the Milnerton Lagoon / Woodbridge Island - with eventual success. All kingfisher photos by Vernon Chalmers with Canon EOS 70D and Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens. (fast shutter speeds 3200). Handheld.

Testing of higher shutter speed of 1/3200s. The trade-off is slightly higher ISO speeds (for maintaining crisp detail). Aperture was fixed at f/6.3 (in Manual Mode).

(Click to Enlarge)