fbpx

DIY Photography

Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time

Search

Submit A Story

Search Results for: train tracks

Hanoi’s Long Bien Bridge is a new dangerous hotspot for selfie-takers

by 8 Comments

It’s not even unusual anymore to see people risking their lives and health for Insta-worthy photos. But in the light of a recent tragedy, when a teenage boy got killed by a train, it’s saddening and alarming to see people still taking photos on train tracks.

The place that got under the spotlight lately is Long Bien Bridge in Hanoi, Vietnam. Tourists have swarmed the bridge lately, many of them taking photos on train tracks. They also weave through heavy traffic to get the perfect photo, putting the lives of themselves and others in danger.

[Read More…]

Modern cameras: how they make it harder to take a bad photo

by 12 Comments

Twenty years, they have gone by fast. I can remember the first time I saw a camera with a screen on the back of it at a sporting venue, and now a camera without one is considered vintage. However, the look of modern cameras is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to changes. Spending time with the Nikon D1 to create the piece on it really opened my eyes to what it was to take a photo in 1999, and how different it is now. I recently took out a number of different cameras from multiple manufacturers to see if I could put into pictures and words the difference among them.

[Read More…]

Nikon D1 – What it’s like using the 20 year old digital camera in 2019

by 32 Comments

It is June 15th, 1999. The box office is being dominated by the release of the first new Star Wars in 16 years, even though it is tainted by one Jar Jar Binks. Until this day, photography was largely dominated by a technology that had existed for over a hundred years. It was a technology pioneered by George Eastman in his invention called, the Kodak. Over the many years from 1885 onward, it became known to the photographic community and to the world as “film.”

[Read More…]

How a photo walk almost turned deadly

by 1 Comment

On December 20th, 2018, a winter storm in the City of White Rock, British Columbia, Canada made for some dramatic photos and resulted in the helicopter rescue of one man.

The event started out as a photo walk with my adult daughter.  Waves were crashing against the shoreline as we walked along the promenade which is a pathway usually busy with walkers.  The wind was blowing in strong gusts and picking up water with it.

[Read More…]

Photographer uses burning building as a backdrop for a wedding photo

by 9 Comments

This Saturday, arson was confirmed in an abandoned building in Dayton, Ohio. Thick smoke and huge fire got the residents concerned, but one wedding photographer and a couple took an advantage of the situation. In the middle of the reception, they noticed the fire, rushed to the scene and the building in flames as a backdrop.

[Read More…]

The photographer’s dos and don’ts of working with models

by Leave a Comment

There are many rules in photography, but few of them are set in stone. When it comes to photographing people, though, there are a few rules that are simple common courtesy. As well as a few that are just a really good idea.

In this video from photographer Manny Ortiz, we learn 5 Dos and 5 Don’ts of working with models. The tips don’t just apply to actual models, though. Model in this context is really just any human subject. With the assistance of his wife Diana, we get to also hear things from the perspective of the person standing in front of the lens, too.

[Read More…]

This Moon Terminator Illusion explains why light can appear to bend the wrong way

by 1 Comment

And no, the Moon Terminator is nothing to do with Arnold. The “terminator” in this case is the line between the lit and dark sides of the moon. During those times when the moon and the sun are in the sky together, there’s something odd about it. The line defining the lit side of the moon doesn’t line up with the sun, the thing that’s lighting it.

This video from YouTuber Vsauce attempts to explain the phenomenon of the Moon Terminator illusion. A camera is used to explain some of the various principles involved. It’s well worth watching, as it also goes some way towards also explaining some of the issues photographers hit regularly. Understanding the causes of them can help us to resolve them.

[Read More…]

Manually fixing distortion in Photoshop is easier than you think

by 1 Comment

When you’re photographing interiors or tall buildings, perspective distortion is often inevitable. There’s ways around it with tilt shift lenses or large format film cameras, but for most of us that’s not an option. These days, Lightroom, Adobe Camera Raw, Photoshop and other tools provide a number of fancy automated ways to help correct for this. Sometimes, though, it doesn’t quite hit the mark, and we need to step in and do it manually.

This particular type of perspective distortion is commonly known as “converging verticals”. It’s caused by things getting smaller as they get further away from the camera. It’s essentially the same thing you see when looking down a straight set of train tracks that seem to eventually arrive at a point. Only, this happens vertically when shooting up or down on objects oriented vertically. Fixing it manually is fairly simple and straightforward. This video from the folks at Sleeklens shows us how.

[Read More…]

52 week photography challenge for 2017

by 6 Comments

The original Dogwood Photography 52 Week Challenge was a huge success, with tens of thousands of photographers participating from around the world. In celebration of those who have completed the first challenge, a new challenge is now here!

The challenge for 2017 has a higher difficulty level than the original challenge. While this challenge is a follow on to the original challenge here, it is also suitable to be completed as a stand alone challenge. There is no specific start date for this challenge. Each photographer is on their own journey, and only competing with themselves from week to week. If you wish to form a challenge group and compete with each other based on this list you are welcome to do so! If you form a challenge group drop me an invite I would love to watch the progress.

[Read More…]

Naked dogwalker photobombs high school senior photo shoot

by 2 Comments

Shooting portraits on location has become very popular over the last few years. Since the demise of train tracks and caution tape, rural middle of nowhere locations now seem to be the go to. They’re much safer, and often far more beautiful. Occasionally, you might see some wildlife. In fact, just last week during a shoot at a nearby river, we were briefly approached by wild deer. Sometimes, you might see something else.

Something else is exactly what photographer Elena Nesbitt and Jillian Henry saw during a recent senior shoot. The seventeen year old Henry was standing in the Willamette River when a naked dogwalker suddenly wandered into the frame. After Henry posted the photos to Twitter, the Internet soon picked up on them.

[Read More…]

Recent Posts