Light Happens

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Exotic Croatia

Jewel of the Adriatic Sea

Exotic Croatia has been one of the most popular galleries on our website. Nevertheless, I decided that it was time to shake things up a bit. :-)

Serbian Catholic Church in Dubrovnik

Croatia is a wonderful travel destination featuring amazing sights - Roman ruins, seaside resorts, world-class art museums, and the most amazing walled city that I have ever seen (Dubrovnik).

Roman Amphitheater at Pula

The Croatian people are open and engaging, their food is excellent, and the climate is very similar to that of Italy, their neighbor on the other side of the Adriatic Sea.

Croatian Flag at Sibenik

In recent weeks, I have fine-tuned every image in the collection for maximum sharpness and impact. I hope that you'll enjoy the updates.

Please click here to view the full gallery.

Light happens. Be ready. Shoot hard.

http://www.dansouthphoto.com

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Rudolph Shares His Tips On Originality

Stand Out From The Crowd

Rudolph knows what it means to be unique.

If you'll recall his well-known story, at first he tried to blend in and be like everyone else. That didn't work out so well.

Although he always had a few special friends who believed in him, Rudolph didn't prosper until he embraced his own unique gifts and leveraged them to the fullest. Eventually, he went on to save Christmas and gain acceptance by his peers and his community.

a photo of a lady in a green skirt waiting to cross the street at times square

Waiting To Cross - Times Square

Santa and Rudolph stopped by earlier this week during one of their test flights over New York. I asked Rudolph if he would share his tips on originality. He accepted graciously and added specific recommendations for artists and photographers.

1. Accept that you are unique

No one else sees the world in the way that you do. As long as you stay true to your own vision, your work will trend toward uniqueness.

2. Do what you find appealing

Create the images that YOU want to see. Avoid trends and conventions. One day, you'll look back over your portfolio. Will it express what you wanted it to say? Or will it be a clone of what everyone else was doing at the time?

3. Innovate actively

Always look for your own shot, your own interpretation, your own composition. The world is full of photographers who stand behind other photographs in order to "get the same shot". Don't be one of them.

Avoid the herd. Don't take the "postcard shot" that everyone else is taking. Scout aggressively to find your own viewpoint, and make an image that really means something to you.

4. Work every day

Set aside time each day either to go out and take pictures, or to organize and processes images that you've taken in the past. (If you're like me, you probably have a bit of backlog.) Inspiration finds you when you're working, not when you're sitting on the couch.

Christmas comes only once a year, but the people behind the scenes (you know who they are) work every day to make sure that when the day comes, it's really special. If your portfolio means something to you, then you should be working on it constantly, not only when it's convenient.

5. Stay fresh

Mix things up. Vary your approach now and then. If you shoot landscapes, try events or still life. If you shoot portraits, try shooting sports or macro or doing some light painting. Do things differently. Try shooting in light that you would normally avoid.

Some of your experiments will fail. Congratulations! Thomas Edison would be proud of you. Learn what you can, revise your plan, and shoot some more.

6. Be patient

Give yourself time. Don't be too hard on yourself, especially when you're trying something new. Your creative style will emerge at its own pace. If you chase it, it will just move further away. As long as your are working, you are improving. Results will appear, not right away, but soon.

a photo of a photographer shooting with a tripod in times square

Photographer With Tripod - Times Square

I would very much like to thank Rudolph and The Big Guy for stopping by at this most busy time of year. I enjoyed their valuable insights, and I hope that you'll find inspiration in their advice.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to dash off to the store to pick up some more milk and cookies, because I appear to have run out.

Light happens. Be ready. Shoot hard.

http://www.dansouthphoto.com

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

New York - City In Motion - The Flatiron Building

New Light On A Photographic Icon

The Flatiron Building is one of New York City's most recognizable landmarks. It's been featured in movies, posters, television programs, and in the galleries of painters, illustrators, and famous photographers.

a photo of the flatiron building at night with traffic trails new york

Flatiron Building - New York City In Motion

I wanted to photograph this iconic building in a new and exciting way.

Camera: Nikon D800E
Lens: Nikon PC-E Nikkor 24mm f/3.5

Light happens. Be ready. Shoot hard.

http://www.dansouthphoto.com

Saturday, November 16, 2013

New York - City In Motion - Welcome!

See The World. Differently.

The New York - City In Motion gallery is receiving lots of positive feedback. Thank you everyone for your generous and thoughtful comments.

I have received only one negative comment so far. Someone felt that I was featuring too many taxi cabs in the photos.

a photo of a bike and cyclist in front of the dakota in new york

Cyclist At The Dakota - New York - City In Motion

I would like to thank that person for their thoughtful observation - I appreciate that they took the time to comment - but I'll have to apologize. I had several reasons for including taxis in many the photos.

First, yellow cabs are a well-known symbol of life in New York City.

Second, the vibrant color of the taxis enhances photos shot in dim light.

a photograph of the guggenheim museum new york with traffic trails

Guggenheim Museum - New York - City In Motion

And finally - those taxi cabs are everywhere! I'd still be standing out on those street corners if I had to shoot scenes without cabs! Brrr! :-)

New York. City In Motion. See the full gallery at our website.

Dakota: Nikon D800E, PC-E Nikkor 24mm f/3.5

Guggenheim: Nikon D800E, 24-70mm f/2.8G AF-S

Light happens. Be ready. Shoot hard.

http://www.dansouthphoto.com

Saturday, November 9, 2013

New York. City In Motion. 11/12/13

Big Apple. Re-imagined.

Light happens. Be ready. Shoot hard.

http://www.dansouthphoto.com

Monday, October 14, 2013

Downtown Manhattan

Website Revitalization Project

Earlier this year, I decided to redesign my photo website and move it to a new hosting site. I didn't migrate photos from the older site automatically. I wanted to review each image and upload only the ones that I felt represented my best work.

At times, the review process had to take a back seat to new projects, but work continues. I am pleased to announce that my new Downtown Manhattan gallery includes both new work and my favorite images from the original website.

Here are some samples.

Chinatown

Red Cube

New York Skyline Under Pink Clouds

Please visit the main website to see the full collection of photos from Downtown!

Thanks for your continued interest and support!

Cameras: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Nikon D800E

Lenses: Various

Light happens. Be ready. Shoot hard.

http://www.dansouthphoto.com

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Using Flash In Daylight

Managing Contrast and Exposing Detail

When should you use flash?

Your camera might try to answer the question for you. When light levels are low, some cameras will enable their flash feature automatically. Sometimes this is helpful, and sometimes it's a bad idea.

Flash can ruin a photo when it overpowers available light, especially when the available light has a quality that works well with the photo.

Conversely, we might want to add flash to photos taken in bright light. Flash can expose details that would otherwise have been obscured by deep shadows.

A camera set to "automatic mode" isn't smart enough to suggest all of the available options. If we want to use flash creatively, we need to make our own decisions, take control and override the camera's recommendations.

Compare the images below. See if you prefer one over the other.

a photo of a cyclist at the obelisk in central park

a photograph of a cyclist near the obelisk in central park

I like both photos. The second photo with the cyclist in the shadows is intriguing. The rider is anonymous and mysterious.

The first photo, where the cyclist is illuminated by flash, shows more color and detail.

There's no right or wrong way to use flash or to choose to omit it. The outcomes will be different, but that's the magic of photography. We can render our subjects in different ways.

When do you use flash? When it will help you to create a photo that looks the way that you want it to look.

Flash can modify photos in many ways depending on the direction, quality, and intensity of the light that it adds to the scene. The more we understand about what flash can do, the better we can decide how and when to use it.

Gear:

Canon EOS 5D Mark III

Canon 24-105 f/4L IS
Canon 580EX II Speed Light

Light happens. Be ready. Shoot hard.

http://www.dansouthphoto.com