Serg's Blog

The top 10 sunset photo's of the day.

2009-08-19T07:16:00.000-07:00

Just compiled this short list, let me know how you guys like these photos!

The bass so sick you cant handle it.

2009-08-18T23:29:00.000-07:00

20,000 watt tahoe, like really. 20,000? A little too much for me I think, i'd like to keep my ear drums in tact for at least a few more years...lol
Take care everyone.

Tonights a bore...

2009-08-18T23:17:00.000-07:00

Working, not getting much sleep. I was thinking about The Simpsons earlier, the show has been running for 20 years or so now and yet, Maggie is still a baby. Will she ever grow up? They world may never know haha.

Panoramic shot of the day

2009-08-12T22:15:00.000-07:00

I know its kinda impossible to see it on here, go to http://i25.tinypic.com/11cbfvn.jpg for the full size version. Happy shootin!

14 picture panoramic photo of the sun's beams.

2009-08-12T16:24:00.000-07:00

Wish I still had the full size picture of this. This was at about 7:40 as the sun was setting, I like the way the suns beams penetrate the clouds and almost seem make the sky glow. Nothing special creating thing, simply shot in (S)Shutter Priority mode, my shutter speed set at 1/1000th of a second, then stitched together using Windows Live Photo Gallery.

A little bit about ISO and Shutter speed

2009-08-12T15:44:00.000-07:00

For those of you with SLR cameras like myself, ISO could be quite a lifesaver when shooting at high shutter speeds. What ISO denotes is how sensitive the image sensor is to the amount of light present. The higher the ISO, the more sensitive the image sensor and therefore the possibility to take pictures in low-light situations. So for shooting with high shutter speeds (Above 200) make sure to use the corresponding ISO sensitivity. For example :

In this photo I had the water hose in front of me, shutter speed at 600, and ISO at 500, the highest ISO I can have on my camera (Nikon D80) is H1, which is 3200. The problem with higher iso's is that the picture will appear more "grainy", otherwise known as noise if your camera supports the High ISO Noise Reducer function, I suggest enabling it, it will help significantly. Also like i've previously said, make sure to shoot in RAW format, on Camera Raw 5.0 there are further options to remove noise from photos.

(ISO sensitivity at 100)
(http://i27.tinypic.com/2mebk3l.jpg)

(ISO sensitivity at 3200)
(http://i32.tinypic.com/2qdmq2o.jpg)

So you see the difference, ISO depends on your lighting conditions mostly. Give it a try! Don't be afraid to experiment with different shutter speeds. Next I will be talking about Aperture and F Numbers. Thanks for reading! Make sure to follow me at http://twitter.com/thesergfactor

Shooting night shots (Long Exposure)

2009-08-12T15:07:00.000-07:00

First things first, make sure you have a camera, doesn't have to be an SLR or anything fancy, but it does need to shoot in a mode we call "BULB". Bulb is a long exposure shooting speed, basically it has no time limit, you simply hold down the shutter button and hold very steady.

This was taken on 8/11/09, at around 12:30 am. I'm Not sure how long I held the shutter open for, I'd like to say maybe 3-4 minutes at the most.

(Higher res picture : http://i26.tinypic.com/2rrl4r6.jpg)

To hold your camera 3 to 4 minutes without any shaking, vibration etc, might be a pretty difficult task. I suggest you use a tripod, or as I did it; set my camera on the trashcan. Hey whatever works right? Right.

I also suggest you always shoot in Camera Raw mode, Raw format, .NEF, and so on and so forth. So that you may open the raw file in Photoshop's Camera Raw 5.0, think of it as the modern day dark room, except on computer! Its the equivalent of a darkroom, that way you save some time developing your photos on your PC or MAC, saving them to a USB or CD and having them printed at your local Rite Aid or Wal Greens.

(Higher res picture : http://i26.tinypic.com/2rrl4r6.jpg)

Here is another photo, which I happened to catch the a meteor at the top right hand corner of this picture. I actually didn't know I had caught it until I uploaded to my laptop and developed my raw photos. I will update this tonight as I will be shooting photos for 30 minutes to an hour possibly.

Thank you all for reading and make sure to follow me on twitter for more tips and techniques!