DUMBO Photo Shoot Adventures In Photography

Preparedby:MalcolmKahnmalcolm@malcolmkahn.com201-615-5766

Location & Site Info

•  FridayOctober30,4:00–9:00PM•  Sitegatheringplace:

•  BrooklynBridgeParkatthecornersofOldFultonSt&FurmanSt.

•  Restrooms•  ThereareanumberofrestaurantsonOldFultonStwhereyoucanusethefaciliPes

•  Food•  ThegroupwillbegoingtodinneraQershooPngatoneofthelocal

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Schedule

•  TrainingandQ&A:4-9:00PM•  Shootschedule:

•  Sunset:5:33PM

•  Civilend:6:23PM

•  NauPcalend(deepbluesky):6:56PM

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Classic Shooting Locations

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Sunset

Before You Leave Home

•  Cameraandbagcheck•  ChargeyourbaYeriesandbring1or2extras;thisisaverylongshootandthecoldweatherwilldrainyoubaYeries

•  Bringabigmemorycard;reformaYedandreadytogo(HowmanyPmehaveyouforgoYentoreformatbeforeshooPng?)

•  Asmallumbrella,itcanbewindy(largeumbrellaswillgetinthewayoffellowshooters)

•  Asturdytripod,hopefullywithahooktohangyourbackpackforstability(orasmallbungeecordtohookbetweenyourtripodandaheavybackpackorthefencethat’sinfrontofus)

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Before You Leave Home Cont’d. •  Acablereleaseorremotetriggerwillgiveyoursharperpictures

•  AnintervalometerforPmelapscanbefun•  Appropriateclothingtostaywarm,remembernocomplaining

•  Asmallflashlightorhead-lamp(redfilterdesirable)•  NothingtoostrongthatwoulddisturbothersorconfuseplaneslandingatLaGuardia

•  YoucanalsobringaSMALLcampingchairorstooltorelaxbetweenshots

•  Somegafferstapetoplaceonyourlensonceyoufixthefocus

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Lenses

•  Suggestedlenses:•  City:

• Wideangletoabout100mmlensesareagoodbet

•  OtherGear:•  NDfilterstocreatesmoothwater•  CircularPolarizer:somewhatusefulbutnotcriPcalwithsuncomingfromtheleQ

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Some Suggested Settings

•  Manualsehngsarebest•  Turnofflensandin-cameraan9-shakefeatureswhenonatripod.Ifitiswindy,adjustyourshuYerspeedaccordingly.UsinganP-shakecanalsosomePmeshelpgetsharperimagesinverywindycondiPons.

•  AperturepriorityisanalternaPveforsingleshotsorsimplebrackePng

•  In-cameranoisereduc9onisnotrecommendedsinceittakestoomuchPmeandcanresultinmissedshots

•  ShootinLiveViewifyourcamerahasthatcapability

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Some Suggested Settings Cont’d. •  Ifnotusingliveview,makesureyourmirrorislockedordelayed(2secondshuYerdelay)beforeshooPngwithlongershuYerspeedsifyourcamerahasthatcapability.LiveViewautomaPcallylocksthemirror.

•  Usefocuspeekingtoachievegoodfocusifyourcamerahasthecapability

•  Setyourcamera’sLCDtodisplaytheHistogram•  UsetheHistogramtosetthepropershuYerspeedaQersehngtheidealF-stopandISO

•  Aproperlyexposedshotwillhaveahistogramthatisnotbunchedtooneside•  NotethatthebrightcitylightswillcauseaspikeintheHistogramtotherightandthedarkareasofthescenewillcauseanevenbiggerareaontheleQside.AdjustyourshuYerspeedtopreventthehighlightsfrombunchingtotheright(blown-outhighlights)andusebrackePngtooffsetforthelossofdetailintheshadows.

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Some Suggested Settings

•  ISO•  Usethelowestna9veISOforyourcamera

•  CanonandSony=100•  Nikon=64-200

• Myrecommenda9onistokeepyourISOlowaspossibleforaslongaspossibletobeYermanagenoise

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Some Suggested Settings •  f-stop

•  Modernlenseshavepeaksharpnessbetweenf5.6&11•  Beyondf11yougetdiffracPonandloosesharpness

•  Iliketokeepmyf-stoparoundf8,whichisagoodblendofdepth-of-fieldandsharpness

•  ShuKerSpeed•  IuseshuKerspeedasthevariabletoadjustforproperexposure•  YouwillhavetoreduceshuYerspeedto3-10secondsasnightfalls

•  Thiswillgiveyousomesmoothwaterandcarheadlightstreaks.Ifyoudon’twantthesefeatures,adjustyourISOandf-stopaccordingly

•  Ifyouwantverysmoothwater,youneedaNDfilterandashuYerspeedofbetween10secondsand1-2minutes.Planaccordingly.

•  NOTE:Ifitiswindy,youwillwanttoavoidshowshuKerspeedsandadjusttheothercameraseQngs,includingincreasingISOifnecessary.

•  Becarefultowatchwhat’shappeningwithshipsontheriverwhenyouuselongexposures.ThoseblurryshipsarehardtoeffecPvelyremoveinPhotoshop,especiallyatsuchcloserange.

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Some Suggested Settings •  Focusing

•  Manualfocusingisstronglyrecommended;low-lightautofocusingoQenhaspoorresultsandisparPcularlyproblemaPcinapanowhenoneshotinthesetgetsoutoffocus.

•  Becauseweareapproximately.3milesfromManhaYan,youcanfocusonceandleaveitthere•  Focusonthecityanddon’tworryaboutyour‘hyperfocusdistance’,unlessyouhaveforegroundelementsintheimage

•  Ifyou’redoingamoderatelyzoomedpanorama,youcanfocusinthemiddleofthepanoramaandleaveitthere

•  NOTE:Youcanplaceapieceofgafferstapeonyourlensfocusringtopreventmovement

•  Ifyouaredoinga100mmormorepano,Iwouldfocuseveryshot

•  NOTE:Pleasedocheckyourfocusregularlysinceyoucouldinadvertentlyhitthelens.Thefocuswillalsochangeasyouzoommostlensessogetinthehabitofrefocusingregularly.

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General Cityscape Concepts

•  Panoramas:•  It’sbesttoshootyourcamerainverPcalmodewhenshooPngapano•  A3-shotpanointheverPcalmodewillgiveyouapproximatelythesamedimensionsasaregular2x3frame

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General Cityscape Concepts

•  HDRandLuminosityBlending•  Mostmoderncamerascanproduce3,5,7oreven9shotbracketed

exposures.Typicallythecameratakes1normalexposureplus2,4,6or8plus/minusframesinincrementsyouchoose.IliketomodifywhatthecamerawillautomaPcallyshootinabracket.Myaimistoexposethebrightestareasonly0.7stopsabovethebrightestspecularhighlight,sincethereisnousableinformaPonabovethatpoint.ThisstrategyprovidesmewithmoreinformaPonintheshadows.

•  Ina3shotbracketofthecityIwillshootin1fullstopincrementsforeachshotwiththebrightestshota+.7,then-.3and-1.3.Idothisbysehngthebracketincrementfor1fullstopanddialing-in-.3stopsofexposurecompensaPon.

•  Ina5shotbracketsequence,Iwillexposein¾stopjumpsandagainbeingat+.7bydialingin-.7stopsofexposurecompensaPon.Thisapproachprovidemewiththegreatestflexibilityinpost-processing.

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Situational Settings •  Sunset:Dependingonthecloudcover,thestrengthofthesehngsun,whichwillbetoourleQatthePpofManhaYan,willcreatestrongspecularhighlights.•  CheckyourhistogramtomakesurethegraphisnottoosqueezedtotherightandadjusttheshuYerspeedtocreateawellexposedphoto•  NaPveISO;f8tof11

•  NOTE:ifyouaredoingapano,maketheadjustmentsforthebrightestpanelinthepanoramaandthenshootallsegmentsthesame…INMANUALMODE

•  AnNDfilterandCircularPolarizermaybehelpfulwiththedirectandreflectedlight.DONOTUSEACPLFORAPANO!

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Situational Settings •  Justbeforesundown:ThisiswhereyoucangetsomeveryflatlighPng.It'salsothePmewhenyoucangetaburstofsunlightonthecitythatmakesthingsmagical.Italldependsonthecloudsaroundthesehngsun,sobeready.•  Useyourhistogramasalways•  SuggestedShooPngCondiPons:

•  Ifyou’reshooPngabracketedset,IwouldnotdialinasmuchexposurecompensaPonforthistypeofcondiPonifyou’reshooPngabracketedset.Useeitherzerooramaximumof-.3sincethespecularhighlightsarenotasstrongandtheCitylightsarenotyettoostrong.

•  OthercondiPonstotaste.10/28/15 16

Malcolm’s List Of Useful Photo Apps •  ThePhotographer’sEphemeris(TPE)

•  ShowsyouthedirecPonofthesunandmoon,andhasmanyotherusefulfeatures.It’sthesinglebestphotoAppforseriousphotographers.

•  NDTimer•  HelpsyoucalculatecamerasehngswhenusingNeutralDensityFilters

•  DoFCalc•  Thisisadepth-of-fieldapplicaPon

•  TideTrack•  ProvidesPdeinformaPon

•  PhotoPills•  AnotherveryusefulAppthatprovidesstarandMilkyWaytracking

•  LightMeter•  Asit’snameimplies

•  NOTE:YouwillnotreallyneedanyoftheseAppsforourshootbutyoumayfindthemusefulinthefuture.AlloftheseappsshouldbeavailableforiPhoneandAndroidandcanbedownloadedfromthoseservices.

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If you haven’t understood some of the items presented, don’t worry, we’re here to help. Please ask all of your questions before serious shooting begins, however.

Enjoy!

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