If you are not confident on Depth Of Field it is recommended you have a quick read of the following article. http://www.ephotozine.com/article/Depth-of-field-explained

Exposure In photography when we refer to a stop we are referring to exposure. If we increase our exposure by one stop we are doubling the amount of light we allow to reach either the sensor or film. Aperture, Shutter & ISO settings are all divided up into stops even though the numbers used to measure each of them is different. If we are in a dark room with one candle lit and we want to add one stop we would add a second candle so we now have two candles lit, if again we wanted to add another stop we would again double the amount of light so we would now have four candles illuminating the room. Every time we want to add a stop of exposure (or in this case candles) we are doubling the amount of candles we have lit, if we had 32 candles lit and we wanted to decrease the exposure by say two stops we would half the amount of candles we have lit and then half this again so we would end up with 8 candles illuminating the room. When using the camera we have three ways of adjusting exposure they are aperture, shutter speed and ISO. If we were shooting a scene at ISO 100, aperture F22 and an exposure time of 1 second and we then decide to add a stop of exposure we could simply use a slower shutter speed by changing the exposure from one-second to two seconds to allow more light into the camera. We could have also adjusted the aperture or we could have changed the ISO. Below are some of the common settings used for exposure, remember that every time you increase the exposure by one stop you are doubling the amount of light entering the camera, for example ISO 200 is twice as bright as ISO 100. F5.6 lets twice as much light through the lens as F8 and a shutter speed of 1/60 seconds means the shutter is allowing twice the amount of light to hit the sensor or film as a shutter speed of 1/125 seconds.

1/4 sec1/8 sec

1/15 sec1/30 sec

1/60 sec1/125 sec

1/250 sec1/500 sec

f2.8f4

f5.6f8

f11f16

f22

ISO1600ISO800

ISO400ISO200

ISO100ISO50

The majority of modern SLR cameras do not just allow the exposure to be adjusted in increments of 1 stop; many cameras allow you to adjust the exposure in half stops or a third of a stop at a time, so you are more than likely to have settings in-between each of the above tables, for instance if your camera adjusts exposure in third of a stop increments, between F8 and F5.6 you will also have the following settings, 7.1 & 6.3 but the difference between F8 & F5.6 is still one stop, 6.3 is just two thirds of a stop more compared to F8.

Using Filters ND or Neutral Density Grad Filters

ND Grad filters are clear on the bottom and have a neutral grey colour on the top half. The grey toned area of an ND grad filter reduces the amount of light reaching the film or sensor. The purpose of an ND grad filter is to control the exposure contrast between a bright sky and the usually darker foreground. ND Grad filters come in a range of different strengths. Lee & Hitech filters come in strengths of 0.3 = 1 stop, 0.6 = 2 stops, 0.9 = 3 stops and 1.2 = 4 stops. Cokin tend to refer to the strength of their filters differently to Lee & Hitech, the strength of Cokin’s filters are usually as follows: ND2 = 1 stop, ND4 = 2 stops and ND 8 = 3 stops. Close to sunrise or sunset there is often a large difference between the exposure of the bright sky and the dark foreground. Our eyes can easily record the difference between the bright and dark areas (often referred to as the dynamic range), but our camera cannot record the exposure difference between the two. When photographing a sunset with a bright sky and dark foreground without filters what is going to happen is that the camera will either expose for the foreground and you will have a burnt, washed out sky or the other thing that may happen is that your camera will expose for the highlight in this case the sky so you have a correctly exposed sky but everything else will record as a black silhouette. By taking a meter reading we can measure the difference between the foreground and the sky and place the relevant ND grad filter strength over the bright sky to balance out the exposure. To take a meter set your camera to Manual Mode and point your camera at a midtone in the foreground, now take a second reading of the sky and work out the exposure difference in stops, if it is three stops difference we would use a three stop filter over the sky and then set the exposure that we recorded for the foreground.

Working in Manual mode & filters is my preferred method, but it is not essential. Most modern cameras will be able to work out the exposure fairly accurately in Aperture Priority Mode even when you have a filter in place, just remember to check your histogram after each image and apply any exposure compensation should it be required. All workshop participants are entitled to a 20% discount on Hitech Filters. To receive you discount simply mention you have are going or have been on one of my photography workshops. A link to the Hitech filters site is below. http://www.formatt.co.uk/stills-filters/filter-kits/graduated/grad-kit-4-nd0-3-nd0-6-nd0-9-filter-graduated.aspx

Composition If you want to learn more about composition it is recommended that you read the following article on Composition http://www.ephotozine.com/article/Beginners-guide-to-composition

Before You Take The Image Remember to carefully study the scene before pressing the shutter button. Look for any distracting elements in the foreground, especially rubbish or anything that could be in front of the lens such as a strand of grass or even a raindrop on your lens or filters. These can be very difficult to see through the viewfinder, but will inevitably ruin the shot once you get home and notice it on your computer, so its important to always check. Getting Sharp Images Always use a tripod if you can and always make sure it is secured well on the ground. If your camera has a mirror lockup function then always use it. Use either the self-timer or a remote/cable release If there is a strong wind shield your camera and tripod with your body when taking a picture.

Black & White Conversion This is my preferred method for achieving B&W pictures in Adobe Photoshop (these steps may be slightly different depending on what version of Photoshop you have). Under the Image tab in Photoshop go to Image, Adjustments and then Channel Mixer, click the Monochrome box in the bottom left hand corner, now play with the sliders until you get the effect you want, the aim is to try and get the value of all three sliders to roughly add up to 100, when you get a rough effect with good tones click ok. Now go to the selective colour tab under image/adjustments and then selective colour. Click the black colour from the colour drop down bar and then adjust the black channel to increase the black tones, now change the black channel to White and decrease the black slider to add to the white tones and once you get the effect you want select ok. Make sure the foreground colour is set to black and the background colour is set to white and then under the Layer Menu select new adjustment layer and then gradient map and then click ok. Now on the layers pallet change the opacity on the gradient map to an amount that looks good and then flatten the layer and your B&W conversion is complete.

Photoshop Actions The digital Velvia and sharpening action we went through on the workshop can be downloaded from Chris Sherperds website on the below page, it also states how to install the actions. http://www.shepherdpics.com/Blog/labels/Actions.html To learn how to run actions in Photoshop Elements please visit the below page http://www.hiddenelements.com/actions_whitepaper.htm Below is a digital noise remover, please visit the below website to download the action and for basic instructions on how to use it. http://www.thelightsrightstudio.com/TLRDigitalNoiseReduction.htm

Adobe Photoshop Black & White Conversion

Above is the start image.

Load up the channel mixer in photoshop

Tick the Monochrome box and then adjust the three sliders until you get the tones you

are after, a good guide is to keep the total value of the sliders as close to 100 as possible.

Now load up the selective colour box

Select the black from the colour drop down menu and then play around with the

bottom black slider to add contrast, now select the white colour and do the same again before clicking ok.

Check that the black colour is set as the foreground colour and the background colour is white, this can be seen where the red arrow is. Next click the layer menu, then new

adjustment layer and finally Gradient Map then click ok and ok again.

Now change the opacity on the slider bar to adjust the strength of the affect. Once this

is done flatten the layer and the image is complete.

Finished Image

Combining Images Using Layer Masks

There are times when its hard for our camera to expose for the entire scene without burning out some of the highlights, luckily Photoshop has Layer Masks where we can

easily combine certain areas for different shots. The image on the right is correctly exposed for the majority of the scene however the highlights from the setting sun has

burnt out some of the detail in the sky, in this case I shot a second image and underexposed the original by two stops to keep the detail in the highlights.

I now need to combine the two images so I select the image with the burnt out

highlights by going to select then all, then edit and copy, I then select the darker image and click paste.

Once combined I then select the Layer Mask Tool which is the square one with the

circle in the middle.

Once you have selected the Layer Mask go to the paint Brush tool in Photoshop and start painting the burnt out areas using the default black colour, if you want to make the effect less obvious reduce the opacity of the brush, the opacity slider is at the top

in Photoshop roughly under the window and help tabs. Its then a case of painting back

the detail from the image underneath, if you make a mistake switch to the white brush and this will reverse any errors.

Once you have finished select the arrow underneath the cross of the layers palette and

then select flatten image.

Night Photography Photography in the remote areas of our countryside & coastline usually only appeals to photographers in the daylight hours, however for the discerning photographer many of these areas can also work just as well at night. Photographing images at night by adding torch or flash light to your chosen subject using the technique known as “Painting With Light” is actually a relatively simple process and does not require lots of expensive equipment to achieve stunning results.

I love shooting at night as it allows me to visit locations I have been to countless times and photograph the subject in a completely different and distinctive way. It also allows me to get out taking pictures on the short winter days and the process involved is actually surprisingly both relaxing and enjoyable.

Planning As with all photography, planning and light is paramount to achieving successful images and despite it being dark there are still some wonderful variety of lighting conditions available at night. The weather along with light pollution will have a dramatic effect on the success of images. For star trails clear nights are obviously essential, but don’t ignore cloudy weather. Whilst with cloudy weather you are not going to be able to record star trails in the image, moving clouds can make for some

stunning pictures particularly when they take on the colours of light pollution from built-up areas. Before we can begin taking pictures we need to find a suitable subject or location. There is no use looking for suitable subjects in dark so make sure all location searching is completed in the daylight hours. When I find a suitable subject I try to pre visualise how the final result will look in the dark. I frame up suitable compositions and carefully search the area for any potential hazards such as a river or potholes as these can be difficult to see in the dark even with a torch. I find subjects that include a strong outline against a night sky work particularly well. Windmills, churches, trees, or rusty farm machinery all make for some fascinating images. By adopting a low viewpoint in our images we can then use a powerful night sky to add further drama to our pictures.

When in remote areas we basically have three main light sources that we can utilize to illuminate our chosen subject moonlight, flashlight and torchlight. Moonlight is probably the most powerful lighting source that we have at our disposal and it also has a dramatic effect on how our images will appear. Both torchlight & flashlight are great for lighting most subjects and offer a lot of control over what areas of the scene you wish to illuminate. With torchlight it’s possible to illuminate just one particular subject or a small area in a scene. A good quality flashgun like a torch will allow you to illuminate a relatively small section of an image with the added bonus of being able to control the power output. When fitted with coloured gels a flashgun can also add a splash of colour to scenes.

Taking Pictures Taking night pictures only requires the most basic of photography kit. The essential items are a DSLR with a bulb facility, a lens, a good sturdy tripod, a cable release or remote to lock open the cameras shutter and finally a light source to illuminate your chosen subject. I like to arrive at my chosen location whilst it’s still fairly light to enable me plenty of time to easily compose and set the focus on my camera before its dark. When setting up I always make sure my tripod is on secure ground before suspending my camera bag from the hook on my tripod, this helps not only to steady the camera it also ensures that it is not going to blow over should there be a sudden gust of wind. With long exposures digital noise can be major problem so it’s essential to keep the ISO as low as possible, usually around ISO 100 or 200 for most digital cameras. To reduce noise you could simply utilize the Noise Reduction if your camera has such a facility, I find this works very well however the downside is that the exposure time is effectively doubled whilst the camera takes a dark frame to identify noise. Because the noise reduction facility doubles exposure times I find it generally acceptable to use for exposures of around five minutes, but for longer exposures I tend to turn the noise reduction facility off and apply any required noise reduction whilst processing the completed raw files. Once you are ready to take the image, lock open the shutter using a cable release or remote and take a note of the start time. Whilst the shutter is open the next job is to

begin illuminating our main subject using either a torch or flashgun. To do this I make sure I stand to one side of the camera and avoid walking into the exposing frame with a visible light source. The amount of light your subject requires will depend on a number of things including the actual subject and the distance from your camera, for subjects such as windmills I normally use a mixture of flash and torch light. When painting by torchlight its important to use slow and even strokes without leaving the torch shinning on a particular part of the image for too long. If the subject is more than 20 meters from the camera then it will require considerably more light than you think. Getting the correct exposure requires a little bit of trial and error so its important to remember the length of the overall exposures and roughly the number of flash bursts or the amount of time you illuminated the subject using the torch. Once you feel you have given the subject long enough then release the shutter or cable release lock and review the completed image on the LCD screen of your camera.

What You Need Or Recommended Gear Bulb Mode To achieve successful night images that allow a long enough exposure to capture movement you will need to check your camera has the facility to lock open the shutter using B or Bulb Mode. Sturdy Tripod As exposures can run from minutes to hours a good sturdy tripod & head is crucial. For extra stability avoid raising the central column and if your camera has the facility to suspend your camera bag from it make sure you use this to help aid with stability. Light Source A light source is vital to allow you to illuminate a subject, both a flashgun that can be used off camera and a powerful torch will both come in handy. Remember to carry a spare torch with you to find your way back to your car. Battery Grip Although not essential a battery grip will allow you to use more than one camera battery in your camera at one time therefore meaning you can take longer exposures before the camera’s battery power runs out. Remote Release A remote or cable release is essential to allow you to lock open your cameras shutter button over a long period of time and allow you to walk round the side of your subject to illuminate it with your chosen light source.

Top Tips Composing Images In The Dark To compose images in the dark simply change the ISO setting to your most sensitive available before taking a few quick test exposures and recomposing your frame as required. Remember once you have finished; change your settings back to normal.

Focusing In The Dark To help aid with focusing in the dark shine a powerful torch on your chosen subject, once your camera gets a focus lock switch your lens to manual focus so that it doesn’t hunt when you press the shutter button. North Star Take a compass with you and work out the position of the North Star. As the Earth rotates the North Star will appear to stay fixed and the rest of the stars will appear to rotate around it. Take Someone With You Night photography can be quite spooky so having a friend or someone with you will not only keep you company it will also make you feel safe. Dress Warm It can get very cold at night particularly when standing around waiting for long exposures so warm clothing is essential. Noise Reduction If your camera has a noise reduction facility then turn it on for your final shot of the evening. Once the main exposure is completed you can then pack away your camera even though it’s still exposing for the dark frame. Once you arrive home from your journey it’s exciting to view the completed image for the first time.

Know Before You Go Check The Moon Cycle The moon will have a dramatic effect on our images. A full moon will cut exposure times and make the sky appear more of a blue colour, almost like its daytime, however it will also reduce the number of visible stars. The moon cycle along with the moonrise & set times can easily be found for most locations on the Internet. Check the Weather Keep an eye on the weather forecast, clear skies will work well for star trails, however don’t ignore a cloudy or partly cloudy nights. The conditions to avoid are mist, fog or rain as the water droplets can settle on the lens surface during long exposures and are almost impossible to detect in the dark. Take a spare Torch I often work in remote locations so I always carry a spare torch with me to find my way back to the car, particularly as my main rechargeable torch often runs out of power. I find a spare wind up torch works well as you are then not reliant on battery power. Charge Batteries Long exposures can quickly drain camera batteries so make sure they are fully charged and that you have a spare.

Light Pollution Whilst light pollution can mean its harder to see as many stars it can also add some much needed colour to a sky. Light pollution will have the most dramatic effect on a sky when there is a new moon or the moon is yet to rise.

Step By Step Step 1: Choose Your Composition Arrive at your location whilst it’s still fairly light to help you easily compose your images. When setting up your camera make sure that your tripod is on secure ground and that it’s not going to move during the long exposure Step 2: Shoot Raw By shooting your images in the raw format you will be able to apply slight changes to your images at the processing stage. Small adjustments to white balance, exposure and noise can all be applied when converting the raw files. Step 3: Set Up Your Camera Attach your cable release, set your camera to bulb mode and select your aperture. Finally focus the lens on your subject, once this is completed remember to switch to manual focusing so that the lens doesn’t start to hunt once its dark. Step 4: Take A Test Shot Once its dark lock open the cameras shutter using your remote release and begin illuminating your subject by flash or torch light. Remember to take a note of the total exposure time and roughly the amount of light applied to your subject. Step 5: Review Your Test Shot Review your test shot and work out what areas need more or less light, getting the correct exposure involves a little bit of trial and error. Once you have decided on what exposure changes to make simply re-take the shot and keep reviewing the images until you get a result you are happy with.

Star Trails

Star trail images are always eye catching, but just like photographing images in the day we need to find a good subject and a good composition. Whilst pictures of a night sky alone will result in good star trails if there is no subject matter to the image then they will rarely work well. For stunning images try locating the North Star in your composition, as the earth rotates the other stars will appear to spin around it.

Clear skies are essential for photographing star trails so avoid nights when there is a chance or thick cloud blowing in during the long exposure.

Exposures for star trails can range from several minutes to several hours, the overall exposure length will depend on the amount of motion you wish to capture. One of the major problems with digital cameras during long exposures is there are power hungry, with this in mind I normally limit my exposures to less than an hour unless I am using a battery grip with the facility to hold more than one battery at a time.

When photographing restored windmills I recommend taking time with the composition and timing. Keep an eye on the sails. I always avoid having the tail fan and the main sails cutting into each other. If possible I like to photograph the mills at a 45° angle to show both the tail fan and the main sails in the same image, it adds depth.

I shoot all my landscape work in manual mode using the spot metering facility and graduated neutral density filters. I take a reading from a mid-tone on the ground and a reading from the sky. Then I work out the exposure difference in stops between the two values and choose the appropriate filter for the difference before setting the exposure value for the foreground reading on the camera.

To reduce the risk of flare when shooting at sunrise, try not to shoot directly into the sun. A simple solution is to hide the sun either behind the mill or a nearby tree. You can even break up some of the sun’s power by using the mill’s sails. If you are not shooting the classic silhouetted sunrise or sunset image pay close attention to exposure in the highlights.

The main sails and cap of many windmills are painted white, which can cause havoc with burnt out areas. For this reason I normally tend to err on the side of caution and underexpose by half a stop, along with checking the histogram after each shot. It’s also worth concentrating on the sky coming through the veins of the main sails before you press the shutter button. If there’s a white cloud behind the main sails, it’s amazing how quickly the sails can get lost, blending in with the clouds, and the impact of the picture can really suffer as a result.

Reeds can make for some fantastic foreground interest when illuminated by low light, whether you use a slow shutter speed to blur the movement of the wind or a faster shutter speed to capture them static. This technique doesn’t have to be restricted to reeds it can also be applied to crops.

When photographing golden reeds or other crops in your scene wait until the warm light is illuminating them to really bring out the warm colours. Side lighting and front lighting works well for this, just keep an eye on not only your shadow, but also that from your tripod and camera.

In the spring and early summer there will be plenty of birds nesting amongst thick reed beds, such as the magnificent marsh harrier. So if you are planning on using reeds as foreground interest, be extra careful. Never venture into the thick reed beds, because you could disturb the wildlife of these fragile environments.

If you get up early and you are lucky you may even be blessed with some wonderful morning mist. Mist can transform the dull and ordinary into the extraordinary, that row of houses or that horrible building in the background can suddenly become lost in a sea of low mist hovering over a river or the land. So how can you increase your chances of being blessed with a wonderful misty morning?

The best advice is to pay close attention to the weather forecast, look for high pressure with cold clear nights and either no wind or virtually no wind. Mist often appears over rivers, lakes and damp ground so it’s always worth visiting such locations to increase your chances of success.

If you are hoping for mist don’t be put off if you arrive at your location and it hasn’t put in an appearance. It appears from nowhere and disappears quickly, even well after the sun has risen. If you know of a particular mill that has a nearby vantage point overlooking it, head there if mist is forecast – even in flat Norfolk, there are still vantage points; they don’t have to be hills.

Throughout the UK, there are lots of windmills, some lying derelict, some in good order, but don’t ignore the derelict mills as they make for fantastic shots. Many of the same mills on the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads are shot over and over again, simply because they are easy to get to. Don’t be afraid to explore. Check out an Ordnance Survey map to see if there are any mills near you and take a walk to them, you may find a real gem that other photographers have not yet visited.

KIT BAG

For the majority of my work I shoot using a Canon EOS 5D and 17-40mm lens with a set of Lee ND Grad filters. Although I use the 17-40mm on the 5D, I find I very rarely shoot at anything under 28mm. I also carry a Canon EOS 30D with a 100-400mm lens attached so I can look for detail shots in the landscape.

I always use my Gitzo tripod along with a hotshoe spirit level, a cable release and an angle finder. Angle finders are excellent accessories for the landscape photographer as they block out a lot of stray light and really allow you to concentrate on the composition carefully; they also reduce the need for you to bend down as far to look through the viewfinder.

One disadvantage to shooting early in the morning, especially in summer, is dew. I always wear waterproof trousers and boots in order to avoid getting wet and uncomfortable.

A sun position compass (see bluepondimages.com) and map are always worth keeping on you as if the weather is poor you can explore new locations and plan to

return at a later date.

New 2010 One Day Workshop Dates

Workshop One: Norfolk Broads, Sunday 7h February 2010 Price = £65.00

Workshop Two: Norfolk Coast, Sunday 14th February 2010

Price = £65.00

Workshop Three: Painting With Light, Norfolk, Saturday 6th February 2010 Price = £50.00

Workshop Four: Suffolk, Sunday 28th March 2010

Price = £65.00

Workshop Five: Norfolk Coast & Broads, Sunday 28th February 2010 Price = £65.00

Spring & Summer One Day Workshops Spring & Summer One Day workshops are similar to our standard one day workshops

however due to the time of year they generally last slightly less time, this is usually five to six hours.

Workshop Six, Sunset On The North Norfolk Coast 2010 Dates to be added shortly

Price = £65.00

Workshop Eight, Sunset On The Norfolk Coast 2010 Dates to be added shortly Price = £65.00

One To One Tuition

Half Day One To One Workshops include either a sunrise or sunset shoot and are aimed at those photographers who want to shoot in the best available light and learn at a fast and

productive pace. They also mean the day is generally not as long, especially when combined with travel both before and after the workshops. A Half day one to one workshop shoot lasts approximately 3 - 4 hours, sometimes longer depending on the lighting conditions. Half day

workshops also include full notes and unlimited email support both before and after the workshop.

The price for a days standard one to one tuition is £125.00