How to photograph
background! Shiny objects that you
might not notice will make distressing
vibrant holiday
appearances.
Sparkler Delights!
Christmas sparklers – signifying the
lights
Bethlehem star that announced Jesus’
birth – are easy to photograph. With a
long shutter speed (1-3 seconds), ask a
child to twirl the lit sparkler around in
By ALLEN MACArTNEy
front of the camera at night outside. The
the lights. Use as small an f-stop as light will appear jagged and alive.
Christmas and Hanukkah (also known you can manage; f16
as the Festival of Lights) offer many or f22 are great. As
opportunities for creative photographs. you press the shutter,
But lights are also difficult subjects to zoom forward. Your
capture. Let’s look at some interesting image will show multi-
ways you can use lights to create coloured straight lines
dramatic shooting forward.
and Repeat the technique
unusual until you get several
images. very dramatic shots.
You Now focus on a
can shoot concentration of tree
many lights, and shoot a
of these series of unfocused
photos shots. The individual
even with lights will appear like
a small giant party balloons.
instamatic- Candles Traffic Lights
style digital Set one or more lighted candles up on If you live in an apartment, go out
camera. a simple table, with the lights off. Take a on the balcony and set up your camera
Simply close-up shot of the candles with your on a tripod. Aim the camera down at a
dial in flash turned off. Take multiple shots until busy intersection, and focus on brake
landscape you get exactly the image you want and headlights. Using an f-stop slow
mode, – a black background, and the candle enough that permits a shutter speed
and adjust perfectly exposed. of 1-6 seconds, shoot a series of shots
exposure When you have the exposure just of the intersection. Your photographs
settings by right, place some props around the will be filled with colourful streaks of
using different exposure compensations. candle base: Christmas tinsel, candy light – red for brake lights, and white
(A full explanation is available in your canes, ribbons, dreidels. Watch your for headlights. The streaks will give a
manual.) real sense of chaotic motion. Now try
Move the Camera? the same project, but shooting from the
When was the last time someone told ground level at traffic.
you to move the camera as you were Are any water puddles lying on the
shooting? Never? Turn off the camera’s road? Shoot into a large puddle at
flash, then focus on your Christmas night in an area surrounded with lights.
lights or Hanukkah candles. Do this in Resulting images will stun you with their
a darkened room. Aiming toward the beauty!
lights, slowly move the camera up and ~ allen macartney is the former
down (or in zigzags) while you press the managing editor of Ottawa Outdoors
shutter. <<CLICK!>> Your images will magazine. His photographs have been
be very abstract, brimming over with published in books, magazines, posters
colour, and dramatic. Experiment with and calendars. One of his exhibits even
different f-stops (open it up or close it appeared in the Deputy Prime minister’s
down) to get radically different effects. office.
Tripod Shooting
Now set your camera up on a tripod,
attach a zoom lens to it, and focus on
14 OTTAWA magazine fall/winter 2009/2010 www.ottawaoutdoors.ca
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