Really I am, but I am finding it so hard. Being a housewife means I don’t have a lot of time, yeah I’m kidding. I just don’t seem to be into social media as I was once.
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Well, yeah I know, I’m being too slack. I think since I have started working on YouTube it is so much easier to just talk.
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It seems like something I say a lot, but I do feel as I get older I need to start making some changes in how I live and how I blog. You may have noticed that I haven’t been doing a lot in social media recently.
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This isn’t the first time I have looked at Michael Kenna in an Influencing Me post, but I thought it might be nice to show you something other than his images.
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Now that I am home again it is time to get Monochrome Wednesday going again and here we are back with a boulder. It would seem natural to start doing photos from New Zealand for some of these posts. There are so many of them.
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It doesn’t matter who you are, but when you start taking photos there will some very common photography mistakes that are made by all newbies. This post is designed to help you and to make you feel better if you find you have made one, or even quite a few, of these. There is no doubt that we all make mistakes as we learn, it is how we get better. Here are 24 of the most common ones.
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Summer is almost over, and while a lot of people love this time of year, I’m not one of them. I like the next two seasons. So for this catching up post this week I thought it might be nice to see what I am looking forward to.
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This post is usually done on a Friday, but to be honest, I don’t really have any news. I’m trying to get some articles written and I’ve been away for a few days. I thought perhaps we could just look at what I’ve posted to Instagram for the last week. We will see what happens in the following week.
Here are my Instagram images. If you do follow me on Instagram then you will also know that with each post I give tips on taking photos or processing them.
Melbourne Sunset
Brighton Beach Boxes
Melbourne Skyline
St Kilda Pier
St Kilda Pier
Docklands
Tenby Point
Everyone you talk to about this is going to have a different opinion on  the matter. Some people hate going out with others, some love it. Some people don’t really enjoy excursions on their own. Whatever the situation we have preferences and many do like to go out with friends or in groups with other people. There are pros and cons to everything  you choose. Today I though we could look at going out in groups or with friends.
What I don’t like
I like going out with others, it is a personal thing and part of it, I suspect, is because I spend so much time on my own working at home, that I enjoy the company when I do. For that reason I am quite picky who I will go out with, and when I go if the trip wasn’t enjoyable then I won’t go with that person again.
If that person makes me stand around waiting for them for too long, then it is a waste of time for me. If I get asked too many questions and the person is basically wanting a free lesson, then I am teaching and don’t get what I want. If people wander off and I have no idea where they are all the time, then there is no point going out with them, I may as well be on my own.
These aren’t hard and fast rules, but in general I don’t want to have to do any of those. I do have some friends who are the exception, and they bring with them other qualities. For example, I have one friend who does take more time to take photos than I do, but I have found that it pushes me to look for more. She is a regular photography friend for me, so it is never really an issue. I also know if I want more time she will gladly wait for me.
A good photography buddy is someone who . . .
- Takes photos at the same pace as you. While you might wait for one another, it isn’t for long.
- Considers what you want to take, and when you go out you both make sure you get what you were both after.
- Doesn’t tell you what you should be doing or not doing.
- Is good company and you enjoy being with.
- Will inspire you as well.
- Is encouraging.
They are the main points for me, but I am sure each person has there own. I have had quite a few people that I have gone out with over the years. Some of them only once, others many times.
What about you, do you have someone special you like to go out with? Do you prefer to go out on your own, and if yes why? What do think is important when you go out with someone to take photos?
On the weekend I was asked by Amy from THE WORLD IS A BOOK… if I could write a post on how I photography tips on waterfalls. It isn’t something I have really thought about, but I guess they can be hard to do.  There are different factors to consider.
One of the best ways of getting the “marshmallow” effect, that is what I call it, or the blurred water, is to use long exposures. Â You need at least a 2 second exposure, or shutter speed. It can be a hard thing to do, and neutral density filters are often the best way to achieve them if the conditions during the day won’t let you get a shutter speed that slow.
The above image was taken in the Grampians, McKenzie Falls, though taken with film, so I had no idea what I had until I got the film back. Â I could get the slow shutter speed because the falls are in a gully, so it was easier to get a slower shutter speed. Â If you don’t have neutral density filters, then you should consider the time of day that you are going, avoid times when the sun will be on the waterfall.
In the above image you can see the sun was shining down on the waterfall, and I wouldn’t be able to get that blurred effect unless I had a neutral density filter. Â I also don’t like the sun directly on the waterfall, now that I know what the waterfall is like during the day, I know I should avoid that time of the day, and next time will choose early morning or late afternoon.
One of the other problems is hot spots on the water, by that I mean where the water just turns white, solid white and often you can’t get any detail in it. I can only tell you how I do these, and the trick for me is to underexpose the image slighty, by a 1/3 or 2/3 of a stop.  I do shoot raw now, so I know that I can details back from the shadows.  I can brighten up the shadows and tone down the highlights.  I often use spot metering too and will have the spot on the waterfall so I am metering for the water.
Having a Neutral Density filter can help a lot. Â I have a 9 stop one, so it cuts out lots of light, so when I can’t get slow shutter speeds normally, then the neutral density filter will allow you have to get a longer shutter speed.
A neutral density filter is a filter that is grey and depending on how dark the grey is, will block out more light, and it shouldn’t affect the colour of the image at all, so be careful of cheap ones, because they will make your images have magenta tinges. If you work in black and white it wouldn’t be a problem, so I saw go for the cheap ones.
Some of the ways to get the slowest shutter speed possible is to make sure you are on the lowest ISO possible, for most cameras that is ISO100, and then close down the aperture as much as  possible, so using f/22 or something like that.  That can often help. You also need to use a tripod, you won’t be able to do photos like these unless you have one.
I think they most of the tips I can think of. Â I hope Amy find this helpful and some others as well. Â I have some more photos to show you and will put them in a gallery for you.
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