This is only going to be a short post ! So a quick read 😉
We have a new YouTube channel that we are starting to help photographers. Be that phonetographers 😉 or DSLR /mirrorless photographers.
It’s just starting out and only the introduction video and a few editing videos up and shared so far as been testing out how it works ! New to posting video content. But would really appreciate if anyone who reads this new post could take a second to go take a look and if it’s something you want to follow please do would love to have you along for the journey !
The first real video should be going live this week! And will be about angles .. with a few shorts about simple things like iso aperture and shutter speed being posted just to show case what the basic function is those will come out over the next month.
So if you have a moment please hit the link below (picture) to head over to my new channel .. share the love and hopefully we can catch up and get creative together !
Photography is an art form that has evolved over time with the advancement of technology. One of the essential aspects of photography is ISO, which determines the sensitivity of the camera’s sensor to light. ISO stands for International Organization for Standardization, which sets the standard for sensitivity ratings in photography.
In this short post we will discuss what ISO is and how it works and categorize it into three categories: basic, in-depth, and advanced understanding.
Firstly three images .. starting from 100 in picture one 3200 in picture 2 and 6400 in picture three. to see the way images have less detail and also more noise the higher the ISO
Image 1 shot at ISO 100 – Nikon 7200Image 2 shot at ISO 3200 – Nikon 7200Image 3 shot at ISO 6400 Nikon 7200
Basic understanding of ISO:
ISO is a measure of the camera’s sensitivity to light. The lower the ISO number, the less sensitive the camera is to light, and the higher the number, the more sensitive it is. In simple terms, ISO determines how bright or dark an image will appear. For instance, a low ISO number of 100 will produce a darker image, while a higher ISO number of 800 will produce a brighter image.
In-depth understanding of ISO:
ISO is one of the three essential elements of exposure, along with aperture and shutter speed. Aperture refers to the size of the opening in the lens that allows light to enter, while shutter speed is the duration of time the shutter remains open. ISO plays a vital role in exposure because it allows the photographer to adjust the camera’s sensitivity to light to achieve the desired exposure.
A low ISO setting is ideal for shooting in bright conditions, such as outdoors on a sunny day. On the other hand, a high ISO setting is suitable for shooting in low light conditions, such as indoors or at night. However, a high ISO setting can introduce digital noise or graininess to an image, which can result in a loss of detail and clarity. It’s essential to strike a balance between the ISO setting, aperture, and shutter speed to achieve the best exposure and image quality.
Advanced understanding of ISO:
In addition to its role in exposure, ISO can also affect the overall mood and style of an image. A low ISO setting can produce a sharper and cleaner image with less noise, while a high ISO setting can create a grainy or gritty look, which can be desirable in certain types of photography, such as street or documentary photography.
Another advanced technique is ISO bracketing, which involves taking multiple shots of the same scene with different ISO settings. This technique is useful for capturing images in unpredictable lighting conditions, such as during a sunset or sunrise, where the light changes quickly. By taking multiple shots at different ISO settings, the photographer can choose the best exposure and eliminate any unwanted noise or graininess.
In conclusion, ISO is an essential aspect of photography that determines the camera’s sensitivity to light. It plays a vital role in exposure, image quality, and overall style and mood of an image. Understanding the basic, in-depth, and advanced aspects of ISO can help photographers make informed decisions when setting up their camera and capturing their vision.
This is part of basic learning with photography. There are more technical details to iso but I don’t want these posts to resemble a ikea instruction manual lol! And more make it a simple understandable read.
Low light photography can be a challenging but rewarding experience. It requires a combination of technical knowledge and creative thinking to capture beautiful and unique images in dimly lit environments. In this essay, we will explore some tips and techniques for getting the best results from your camera in low light situations, and how to avoid common pitfalls that lead to blurry
images.
The first step in low light photography is to understand the limitations of your camera. Most cameras perform best in bright light, and as the light level decreases, the camera’s ability to capture sharp and detailed images also decreases. This is because the camera’s sensor needs a certain amount of light to function properly, and in low light situations, the sensor may not be able to gather enough light to produce a clear image.
To compensate for this, you will need to use a longer shutter speed, which allows more light to reach the sensor. However, using a longer shutter speed also increases the risk of camera shake, which can result in blurry images. To avoid this, you will need to use a tripod or some other form of support to keep your camera steady. Additionally, you can use the self-timer function on your camera to avoid camera shake caused by pressing the shutter button.
Another way to increase the amount of light reaching the sensor is to use a wider aperture. Aperture is the opening in the lens that controls how much light reaches the sensor. By using a wider aperture, more light can enter the camera and reach the sensor. However, this also affects the depth of field, which is the area of the image that is in focus. A wider aperture will result in a shallower depth of field, which can be useful for creating a sense of depth and separation in your images.
Another important aspect of low light photography is ISO. ISO is a measure of the camera’s sensitivity to light. The lower the ISO, the less sensitive the camera is to light and the less noise in the image. However, in low light situations, you may need to use a higher ISO to get a well-exposed image. But, as you increase the ISO, you will also increase the amount of noise in the image, which can be unsightly. So, it’s a balance between having a well-exposed image and having noise in the image.
In addition to adjusting these technical settings, you can also use creative techniques to enhance your low light images. For example, you can use a flashlight or other light source to illuminate specific areas of the image. You can also use long exposures to capture the movement of light in the scene. This can create interesting and dynamic images that are not possible in bright light.
In conclusion, low light photography can be a challenging but rewarding experience. It requires a combination of technical knowledge and creative thinking to capture beautiful and unique images in dimly lit environments. By understanding the limitations of your camera, using a tripod or other form of support, adjusting the aperture, ISO and shutter speed, and using creative techniques, you can get the best results from your camera in low light situations and avoid the common pitfalls that lead to blurry images.
Having always been into big cats, I’ve admired them from a distance.. online and years back going to a local safari park (sadly leaving my camera at home) ..
now I seldom go anywhere I can actually photograph them! But this week I too the good lady to the zoo because it was what she was wanting to do for her birthday!
So both of us packed up our camera gear ‘yes I remembered it this time!’ Marking sure the long lens was to hand ..can’t go wrong with a nice 150-600mm sigma contemporary lens .. And headed for the well known Colchester zoo!
Having done a little research, I knew there was a few big cats there .. sadly I know a few of them had passed away. Over the years so they wouldn’t be there ..
But I know that the Amur tiger would be there and the Amur leopard too. Some parts of the zoo was to be closed off for work so I wouldn’t see the other big cats and the weather may also hinder the seeing of a few and there was heavy rain forecast!
We soon got in and the zoo was packed out ! So many children as there was a school outing !
It took us a little while to find the big cats as some reason we went the wrong route a number of times ..
But when I see the Amur tiger I was amazed! What a beautiful beast! Check out these images let me know what you think of them!
The beautiful Amur Tiger
He didn’t stay around for too long and wanted some quiet time from all the noise of the children .. shouting and tapping on the inclosure! This is the o oh thing I dislike about zoo’s or any place the holds large animals like the big cats!
Is that the people who are going to see them not respecting the animals natural behaviour and realising that these animals have a extra high sense of hearing specific for hunting .. people screaming and shouting isn’t what they need!
The next big cat was the Amur leopard such a strong yet majestic cat! This one posed for the camera and was such a sight to see! The markings and the strong body make this animal something special!
Here are a few images on the Amur Leopard let me know if you agree she is something extra special ..
Amur Leopard
Sadly even though I had been there the best part of five hours walking around and around and come back to the other big cat enclosures I never managed to see the lions or a few of the others that at based at the Colchester zoo .. but this give me another reason to return to see if I can capture the amazing creatures ..
I really hope that you like the images if you do please leave a comment or a like this really helps me know what people like and helps my posts get seen .. and honestly above all else I get to interact with the amazing people taking the time to connect 🙂
This weeks ‘More Info Monday‘ is about the shot I took last week (Friday 15th October) free reference card download with this post
Back story!
While I was taking a well earned break from writing new scripts for the New YouTube Channel
I was sitting in the bay window, Drinking a very hot coffee and munching on custard creams ! While watching the better half outside filling up the bird feeder .. on her new bird table,
Now if you’re a photographer like me this sparked the mind into capture mode. See I’ve taken a few weeks away from people photography.. ! So I’m missing the thrill of the shutter .. I thought ‘Let’s try and capture a starling’
Now you’re probably like most people and asking why a starling! There’s so many other birds like robins and blue tits ..
Well I love looking at starlings, there’s something about their plumage this time of year thats just beautiful! Now when I post the images below I hope that you will see what I’m getting at! . Also to me everyone seems to neglect the starling family and always head right for the money shot with a robin .. it’s too normal for me 😉
Main story
So I headed to the camera bag unzipped it and took out the camera of choice the Nikon D7200.
Again I bet there’s a question 🙋♂️ why the D7200 and not your Sony gear! The answer is simple .. the Nikon D7200 is a 24 mp Crop sensor not a full frame 24pm like the Sony bodies I have .. see the way I see it is I’m pretty close to the bird table and with the crop multiplying the lens choice by 1.5 ish this will give me a nice close up shot. while still being in a warm house with my coffee ! (Can’t forget the Coffee! )
Now lens choice was questioned as I do have a bunch of lenses for the Nikon one being the sigma contemporary 150-600mm but being close to the table I thought better of it and decided let’s use the 55-300mm Nikon lens, remember this on the D7200 is equivalent to 83 – 450mm due to the crop!
Perfect ! All set..
.. so once the good lady come back into the house I perched myself by the window (pardon the pun ‘perched’ ) did I mention that’s where the coffee was 😉 I opened the window and waited !
And waited …..
I could see and hear the birds but they wasn’t coming to the feeder because I was to close .. I could see them on the roof opposite my upstairs window ! New plan leave the comfort of the bay window and head for the bedroom window ..
New plan of action.
See when I was in the bay window there was a close wall as a backdrop the setting I would have used would have been pretty simple .. ISO 100 f6.3 and at least 1/250 as these bird would be standing pretty still .. and maybe I could get some wing movements .
Now I’m up in the bedroom I have a different backdrop .. the birds are on the roof and tv aerial so I have sky to deal with .. I want detail in the blue sky.. so I need to find a good balance between bird detail and sky brightness. First test shot I started with was iso ..
ISO. Native 100 to get the best for low noise .. I wanted a lot of light coming in so the widest aperture of the lens F 5.6 was best I could do.
Now this time the birds are moving a lot so needed a faster shutter speed and there was clouds so didn’t want to blow them out wanted some detail. So shutter speed 1/1000 I snapped a few shots and no detail in the birds and dark sky
I forgot to mention this is 5:30 ish pm evening setting in .. but still some sun behind the clouds . Giving lovely soft but bright light ..
A few winds later the shutter speed was set to 1/640s looked out the window and realised every starling was gone!
All but one ! The one you will see pictures shortly! He / she was stunning ! Beautiful colours .. deep black tone and speckles on it’s under belly.. I couldnt ask for a better looking starling .. though it was perched on the tv aerial it did look great with cloud and blue back drop.. but the distance was about 5 metres away could be a little far for perfect detail knowing this lens .
I pointed my camera at the sky a quick test shot and sky perfect lots of detail and perfect white clouds
Now’s my chance bird still alone .. I pointed the camera at the starling zoomed the lens to best fill the frame … focused and started reeling off shot ! About twenty total .. now I’ve worked with models but this bird was such a poser ! 😉 head up head down tilt to the side even a one leg pose !
I got a little carried away and,
Forgetting I didn’t take into account the bird deep tones before reeling off the shots I quickly pressed the review button and to my surprise pretty much perfect ! Just a tad under exposed on the bird but lovely detail, lovely tones and nothing a little post production couldn’t fix !
So in post all these images had done to them was. Simple adjustments in lightroom .. my normal
Shadow lifted , highlights dropped, detail clarity vibrance +10 and a little tone curve adjustment ..
Now this is the finished product .. well five images .. I’ve also done a card with shot details on that if you’re on a phone you can screenshot so that you have it so that you can try the settings to capture a few starling shots of your own..
If you do please tag me in the images on Instagram be great to see what you managed to get and how you got on..
Also if you liked this post and want to see /read more of how I got the shot.. settings so on.. please follow the blog I would love to have you along on my journey.. and more will be coming in the future like presets and review /news
Okay here’s the pictures and under that the card download file for reference.. let me know what you think !
If you’re an Adobe Lightroom user these Single click editing presets will be the perfect starting point for any photographer..
The are just three of the up and coming Adobe Lightroom presets that I’m working on at the moment.
Please if you like these leave me a message and hit follow so that you’re first to see these go live !also please let me know what you think of them be great to hear 🙂
Adrian Day Photography 
