Jimmy Joe's free photography and camera tips.

Photography in Space

Posted on May 5, 2012 by jimmy

Imagine a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes! At 17,500 mph or 5 miles/sec light conditions change rapidly. That’s some of the challenges of photography in space. Read more…

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Putlizer Prizes, 2012 Photography Winners

Posted on April 25, 2012 by jimmy

Just announced the 2012 Pulitzer Prize Winners. Photography winners; Breaking News Photography read more. Feature Photography, read more.

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Pixels compared to a glass of beer

Posted on April 21, 2012 by jimmy

Joachim Linkemann from Basler AG, Germany came with a nice presentation comparing pixels with a glass of beer: read more

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Movie shot on a Nikon D800

Posted on March 21, 2012 by jimmy

A stunning example of a movie shot on a DSLR. Joy Ride. Film shot on the new Nikon D800.

Wait to see the Camera gear used behind the scenes.

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9 Film-shooting Wedding Photographers You Should Follow!

Posted on March 12, 2012 by jimmy

Does it matter if you shoot FILM (!) or digital? Have a look at the work of 9 wedding photographers featured on the SLR Lounge website. Read more…

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2012 World Press Photo Competition Winners

Posted on February 14, 2012 by jimmy

2012 World Press Photo Competition results. See the gallery on their website

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Nikon D800 Announced

Posted on February 10, 2012 by jimmy

Nikon’s much anticipated D800 has been announced. For photographer’s seeking the highest resolution the D800 has a 36.15 million image pixel full-frame sensor. Read more on Rob Galbraith’s post.

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Shoot When The Light is Right

Posted on January 22, 2012 by jimmy

There’s an adage in photograph that you shouldn’t take photos between 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The reason: the light is too high in the sky to create interesting shadows, modelling and texture on the subject.

The first photo was taken before 7 a.m., the rising sun creates interesting shadows across the front of the church and brings out detail in the white concrete as the light skims across.

Photo 2 taken at 12 noon, the sun is virtually straight over head, the front of the church is in shadow and looking featureless.

Photo 3 taken at 5 p.m. is an improvement with features becoming more defined as the shadows grow.

(All photos Nikon D700, 14 – 24mm Nikkor, 200 ISO)

My preference is the first photo that has lot’s of visual interest and texture. With wedding and portraiture shoots when you haven’t got a choice of time of day is where you use off-camera flash to add modelling to your subject.

Remember it’s the time of the day when the light is right for shooting that can make your photos stand out.

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Beach Wedding on Stradbroke Island

Posted on January 8, 2012 by jimmy

The bridal party jump for joy after the ceremony

I’m back on dry land once again after shooting a wedding on Stradbroke Island.

Stradbroke Island is a special place for Seble from Ethiopia and Roman from Switzerland. The day dawned heavily overcast after early morning rain but sea breezes blew the clouds away for th wedding ceremony on the beach and provided crisp lighting for the photos.

Point Lookout provided a stunning backdrop for late afternoon photos. First outing for my newly acquired Nikon SU-800 Wireless Speedlight commander triggering an SB900 off camera.

Stunning ocean background at Point Lookout.

The SB900 behaved properly this time. I zoomed the head to 200mm to spotlight the happy couple without the flash illuminating the entire scene.

Nikon D700 24 -70 mm Nikkor at 70mm ISO 800

A full moon added a finishing touch for the wedding album. I underexposed the ambient light reading by 2 stops to give a more dramatic sky.

A magical island where I will return as a tourist and enjoy the white sand beaches and sparkling surf.

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Get Down For a Low Angle Point of View

Posted on January 2, 2012 by jimmy

One change that can make a difference in your photos is to change your point of view. Typically we take our photos from our standing viewpoint. It’s so easy to do, the camera fits comfortably in our hand, we raise it to our eye, point and shoot.
Unleash your inner child and try a low angle. Get down for low angle point of view. I’m standing in the marsh as the dog goes by.

Beach Flags

For the surf life savers I’m lying in the sand. From a normal viewpoint I would have a shot of the tops of their heads and not their go-for-broke expression.

When the camera is pointed towards the sky, the meter will most likely underexpose the scene unless you use the exposure compensation dial on the camera to add a couple of stops. Alternatively you can deliberately underexpose for a silhouette.

Sitting, lying down just get down low, change your point of view and see the difference it makes to your photos.

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Got The Shot, Got Wet…

Posted on December 28, 2011 by jimmy

Captured the decisive moment of a water fight. The bucket load of water is perfectly frozen, then a millisecond later I got wet! That would have been the photo, a drenched photographer and a wet camera. I was capturing the action of a water fight on a sun drenched morning with my favourite camera combination for everyday shooting, Nikon D300 & 18-200mm Nikkor zoom when I got caught in the action. The water was wiped off the camera with a paper towel, then back to the barbecue and more action photos as the water fight continued albeit from a safer distance.

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My Christmas Camera For Daily Use

Posted on December 24, 2011 by jimmy

All I want for Christmas is… a mirrorless camera. After my last post I’ve researched mirrorless cameras following the latest DP Review round up

On the top of my wish list is a Nikon 1.

The Nikon 1 system (photo courtesy Nikon)

From my press photographer’s background my main requisite is a good handling camera with a fast, accurate autofocus system. A larger sensor may give better results at high ISO but if the camera hasn’t captured the action…

Here are the reviews from Rob Galbraith and Stev Huff that changed my opion of mirrorless cameras. Next decision is whether to get the V1 or J1…

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Mirrorless Cameras: A Primer

Posted on December 18, 2011 by jimmy

The eternal question, ‘What camera should I buy?’ became more complicated with the fairly recent emergence of a new breed of cameras promising to fill a gap in the market. Read more in this article from dpreview.com

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FREE SHIPPING! Latest Holiday Camera Deals From Adorama

Posted on December 18, 2011 by jimmy

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13 Digital Point-and-Shoot Cameras Used by the Pros

Posted on December 15, 2011 by jimmy

Article from Photoshelter on point-and-shoot cameras used by the pros with tips on technique and style.

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Ethiopean Wedding Celebration

Posted on November 23, 2011 by jimmy

I’ve had the privilege and pleasure to photograph an Ethiopean Wedding Celebration over the weekend.

The wedding shoot started early on Saturday morning with photos of the groom Dereje before going to Yodit, the bride’s house. The house was alive with energy as bridesmaids, flower girls had their hair and make up done.

Onwards to the church for an Anglican wedding at Yeronga where the hall was decorated for the wedding. The bride and groom arrived to rapturous welcome, the ceremony was completed by joyous dancing.

Bridal photos were taken in 30 degree heat at the Roma Street Parklands before going onto the reception at Morningside.

Sunday evening was a an Ethiopean Wedding Celebration in traditional costume. The bride and groom looked stunning throughout the celebration. The hall literally rocked to the dancing on such a joyous occasion.

I I

I used my Nikon D700, 24-70 mm Nikkor, 70-200mm Nikkor and SB800 and SB900 Speedlights. The SB900 disgraced itself when the thermal cut out kicked in. I varied the ISO from 200 – 3000 for natural light shots. During the dancing I set the D700 to 1/60 f5.6 at 1000 ISO and bounced the SB800 off the ceiling. The high ISO setting meant the Speedlight did not need to use as much power allowing for faster recycling, the bounce gave better light spread in the hall. The D700 certainly showed it’s noise free high ISO capability while the SB800 is classic workhorse for flash photography. The photography was virtually non-stop with no time to setup off-camera flash. A fabulous opportunity to shoot quickly and experience an Ethiopean Wedding celebration – joyful, musical and I was treated as a guest, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

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Sony Users Finally Get Some Remote Trigger Love

Posted on November 20, 2011 by jimmy

Relief for Sony camera users who have always wanted to do plug-and-play off camera flash with the release of Sony-specific version of the Phottix Strato II Multi remotes. Read more on Strobist …

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The World’s Most Expensive Photo

Posted on November 17, 2011 by jimmy

The World's Most Expensive Photo

This snapshot of the Rhine River became the World’s Most Expensive Photo became the most expensive photograph ever sold at auction for $4.34 million. Read more…

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Water Drops Frozen by Flashgun

Posted on November 8, 2011 by jimmy

Water drops. Nikon D300 70-200mm Nikkor plus extension tube.

Drops of water are frozen by the flashgun as they cascade into a tray of water.

I set up my Nikon D300 at 1/250 sec f11 200 ISO making flash the main light source. The high speed burst of light from the Nikon SB800 SpeedLight freezes the drops.

German photographer Heinz Maier captures the tiny slices of time in which multiple drops of falling water interact with each other. Check his setup and photos here.