Archive for the ‘Photography’ Category

Travel Photo Tip of the Week™ with David Huffman

By Ruba Guest Blogger Connie Motz

Tip No. 105: Use Natural Signs

Welcome to Ruba’s fifth and final installment of our interview with world traveler and renowned photographer, David Huffman. Formerly with Kodak for over 20 years, Mr. Huffman has graciously agreed share his travel photography secrets with the readers of Ruba.

Ruba: Thank you so much for offering us such great travel photo tips.

Huffman: Thanks to Ruba for the opportunity.

Ruba: This is a very colorful photograph sure to capture instant memories. Where was this taken?

Huffman: Barcelona, Spain, right on the main shopping street.

Ruba: Explain how your ‘Use Natural Signs” concept works.

Huffman: “Keep your eyes open for signs to use. Some may be street or traffic signs, or others, like this one, event signs produced by local artists. Zoom in to make the sign prominent, or use the sign in the corner of the photo to title the rest of the subject.”

Ruba: Tell our readers how you did that.

Huffman: “It’s really easier than you think. Like a lot of photography, it starts with being ‘photo-aware,’ that is, to see objectively and observe constantly. This applies to all types of subject matter, and especially to lighting.”

Ruba: Do you primarily use the ‘natural signs’ concept to help organize your photos or is it more of a memento of your travels?

Huffman: “More of a momento; plus, these make great transitions for slide shows or can be used as stills in a transition in a video.”

Ruba: Our last question relates back to Travel Photo Tip No. 104 ‘Better Fountain Photos’ where you mentioned using ISO. What is ISO and what does it do for photographs?

Huffman: “The International Standards Organization is an industry-wide organization that established the sensitivity of films on a scale. Now that the digital age is here, these standards have remained, as a way to communicate and measure the relative sensitivity of the camera to light. The lower the number, the less sensitive the camera is to lighting. Also, using lower ISO settings generally leads to higher quality images.”

We hope you’ve enjoyed our photographic interview series! Once again, Ruba expresses their sincere thanks to Mr. Huffman for sharing his Travel Photo Tips with our readers. Mr. Huffman can be contacted through his website or by email with any questions that Ruba readers may have.

David Huffman’s books, Travel Photo Tips: Know Before You Go and Travel Photo Tips: Volume II, are available exclusively from Amazon.com.

Picture and text © DWHuffman. Visit www.HuffmanPhotoArt.com

Check out Ruba’s Guest Blogger, Connie Motz, on her blog: Travel Writing

By Ruba Guest Blogger Connie Motz

Travel Photo Tip of the Week™ with David Huffman

Tip No. 104: Better Fountain Photos

Ruba is happy to continue with our fourth instalment of our interview with world traveler and photographer, David Huffman, who has graciously agreed to enlighten readers of Ruba with his photography expertise.

Formerly with Kodak for over 20 years, Mr. Huffman now photographs the world as he travels, most recently teaching photography classes on cruise ships. Without further adieu, here is latest Travel Photo Tip of the Week™, Better Fountain Photos.

Ruba: Once again, we appreciate you sharing your insider photography secrets.

Huffman: “You’re welcome.”

Ruba: As always, we have a question before we start. With so many different settings on today’s cameras, which settings provide the highest photo quality?

Huffman: “Good question, and because manufacturers may vary in their terminology, I’ll offer some “generic” settings that will help. Most amateur photographers prefer to have their images compressed by the camera so that they require less storage space. The most popular (and well known) compression is referred to as JPEG (sometimes also called JPG.) This is an industry-standard compression format created by a group of manufacturers and users named the Joint Pictures Expert Group, hence the abbreviation JPEG. Compression, although convenient, introduces some very slight degradation into the image; in most instances it will be undetectable. To make the highest quality images, the photographer should use the highest quality JPG settings, which will retain more of the original image information. Highest quality JPG settings will make the largest file sizes, so this trade off is one to be considered if storage space (such as room on a memory card) is become scarce. Set the camera to the high quality JPG setting, then transfer the images to your computer or hard drive. You can always open the image for editing, and choose a lower quality setting for SAVE-AS later (be sure to change the name of the file) if you want a smaller file size for email, for example.
Advanced photographers may choose to file images in the camera using a RAW format that introduces no compression, for the maximum quality images. These file sizes can become very large, however, so be prepared for both slower write-speed in the camera and large storage space requirements. These factors and others are covered in my new book, David Huffman’s Travel Photo Tips, Vol. 2. I invite readers to write me if they have specific questions, as this is a large topic with many different considerations.”

Ruba: This is our favorite photograph so far. Where was it taken?

Huffman: “Barcelona, Spain, in the courtyard of a church. It is actually quite small—only about 3 feet square.”

Ruba: What type of camera were you using?

Huffman: “A digital SLR with a moderate zoom lens, 28mm to 135mm focal length.”

Ruba: Explain how your ‘Better Fountain Photos” concept works.

Huffman: “If the photographer chooses to make the water appear flowing, since it is a moving subject, you can introduce a slight amount of blur by using a slower shutter speed. Depending on the distance from the subject and the speed of the water, the shutter speed can be from 1/30th second to several seconds long. Long speeds may require some camera support, and of course, an adjustment to a slower ISO and perhaps a smaller aperture for the proper exposure.”

Ruba: Tell our readers how you did that.

Huffman: “Water flowing can be dramatic and romantic. Make the water appear to flow by using a slower shutter speed, in the range of 1/30th of a second. If you can’t manually set your camera, choose a lower ISO speed setting, like ISO 50, to make the camera use an automatic exposure with a slower shutter speed. Your camera may even have a ‘fountain’ setting, look at your instruction book or for scene settings.”

In our final installment of our interview with David Huffman, photographer extraordinaire, we’ll learn how to ‘Use Natural Signs’ to take better photos.

In the meantime, if you have questions, you can contact David Huffman through his website or by email. David Huffman’s books, Travel Photo Tips: Know Before You Go and Travel Photo Tips: Volume II, are available exclusively from Amazon.com.

Picture and text © DWHuffman. Visit www.HuffmanPhotoArt.com

Check out Ruba’s Guest Blogger, Connie Motz, on her blog: Travel Writing

By Ruba Guest Blogger Connie Motz

Travel Photo Tip of the Week™ with David Huffman

Tip No. 103:  Make Your Own Sunset

This is our third installment of our interview with photographer, David Huffman, who has graciously agreed to enlighten readers of Ruba with his photography expertise.  Formerly with Kodak for over 20 years, Mr. Huffman now photographs the world as he travels, most recently teaching photography classes on cruise ships.  Let’s talk about Today’s Travel Photo Tip of the Week™, Make Your Own Sunset.

Ruba: We appreciate you sharing your insider photography secrets.

Huffman: I’m glad to be of help to Ruba readers.

Ruba: As always, we have a question before we start.  What general suggestion do you have for travel photographers?

Huffman: Don’t forget to take photos of people as they go about their everyday activities.  You need to be respectful of them and sometimes ask permission, but most often they will permit you to take the picture.  Having local people in your photographs adds a new dimension to the “places and things” you generally see.

Ruba: Tell us about this photograph, where was it taken?

Huffman:  Early in the morning, just pre-sunup is a terrific time to see cloud formations anywhere, especially in the Caribbean.  This is off the coast of Belize, where the water and sky have terrific blue-green shades that are constantly changing.

Ruba: What type of camera were you using?

Huffman:  This was actually taken with a camera I refer to as a “pro-sumer” compact.  It has 15 megapixel sensor and a very useful zoom lens with an equivalent range from 28mm to 135mm.  These cameras are great for travel because they are relatively light and small to carry, yet offer a full range of control and great image quality.  These are covered in my new book, David Huffman’s Travel Photo Tips, Vol. II, available on Amazon.com now.

Ruba: This is a great concept for a photo.  Explain how ‘Make Your Own Sunset’ works.

Huffman: If the weather isn’t cooperating with dramatic color for your sunset or sunrise, look for other elements you can include to make the photo more interesting.

Ruba: Tell our readers how you did that.

Huffman: In this example the tungsten lights photographed in a beautiful amber color against the blue sky and water, and the life preserver helped communicate we were aboard the ship, not just on a pier.

Ruba: Very cool.  Another general question, is it okay for a digital camera to go through airport x-ray security?

Huffman:  No problem, from the perspective of radiation, because unlike film cameras, the electronics are not sensitive to radiation.  However, I do recommend putting the camera in a bag or tray and not directly on the moving belt, because sometimes the strap could catch in the mechanism.

In part four of our interview with David Huffman, photographer extraordinaire, we’ll learn how to take Better Fountain Photos.  In the meantime, if you have questions, you can contact David Huffman through his website or by email.  David Huffman’s books, Travel Photo Tips: Know Before You Go and Travel Photo Tips: Volume II, are available from Amazon.com.

Picture and text © DWHuffman.  Visit www.HuffmanPhotoArt.com

Check out Ruba’s Guest Blogger, Connie Motz, on her blog: Travel Writing

by Ruba Guest Blogger Connie Motz

Tip No. 102: Emphasize Height with Verticals

This is the second installment of our interview with photographer, David Huffman, who has graciously agreed to enlighten readers of Ruba with his photography expertise. Mr. Huffman worked for Kodak for over 20 years; he now travels, photographing the world as he goes, and in his spare time, he teaches photography on cruise ships. Let’s talk about Today’s Travel Photo Tip of the Week™, Emphasize Height with Verticals.

Ruba:  Thanks once again for sharing your inside secrets as a photographer.

Huffman:  You’re welcome, I’m glad to be of help.

Ruba:  Just out of curiosity, where’s the last destination you traveled to and why?

Huffman:  Most recently, a cruise in the Western Caribbean, stopping in Guatemala, Belize, Cozumel, among other ports.  I like to SCUBA, and those are some of the top spots in the world.

Ruba:  You knew this one was coming, where’s your next destination?

Huffman:  I’m planning another trip in the Mediterrean, probably in the spring…the weather is terrific then.

Ruba:  Tell us about your photo of the Acropolis.

Huffman:  Architectural photography has always been a favorite of mine.  In the pre-digital days, I used 4 by 5 view cameras to correct the perspective, to avoid converging vertical lines.  Now, of course, one can correct this with post image processing using several software programs.

Ruba:  What type of camera were you using?

Huffman:  The shot was using a digital single lens reflex with a full-frame sensor and my favorite travel lens, a 28 to 135 mm Image Stabilized zoom.  I love the range of this lens for travel, I can avoid making a lot of lens changes in dusty environments, and although it is a little heavy compared to a single focal length lens, it is lighter than carrying several lenses.

Ruba:  The columns are very statuesque and seem to reach upward almost endlessly.  Explain how ‘Emphasize Height with Verticals’ works.

Huffman:  Although most buildings are predominantly horizontal, the height of the buildings can be their most impressive feature.  To emphasize height, choose a vertical composition.  You don’t need to show the entire building in the photo, just focus on the portion that seems most interesting or attractive.

Ruba:  Tell us how you did that.

Huffman:  In this example the scaffolding was on three of the four sides, so I selected the view that would use the building to hide as much of the scaffolding as possible, and cropped the image vertically.

Ruba:  Generally, how can people take better photographs?

Huffman:  It starts with learning how to really “see” an image, by focusing on the most important element, then eliminating other distractions so this primary subject is dominant.  It takes practice and patience, and a certain amount of introspection.  I cover  some of the most helpful tips in my latest book.

In part three of our interview with David Huffman, photographer extraordinaire, we’ll cover how to Make Your Own Sunset.  In the meantime, if you have questions, you can contact David Huffman through his websiteor by email.  David Huffman’s books, Travel Photo Tips: Know Before You Go and Travel Photo Tips: Volume II, are available from Amazon.com.

For more about Ruba’s guest blogger, Connie Motz, please visit her website.

Picture and text © DWHuffman.  Visit www.HuffmanPhotoArt.com

By Ruba Guest Blogger Connie Motz

Tip No. 101: Eliminate the Crowds

Ruba would like to introduce you to photographer David Huffman who has graciously agreed to enlighten readers of Ruba with his photography expertise.  For five weeks, Ruba will feature Today’s Travel Photo Tip of the Week™ along with an interview with the man himself, David Huffman.

Ruba: Thanks for agreeing to give our readers your inside secrets as a photographer.
Huffman: You’re welcome, I’m glad to be of help.

Ruba: Tell us about your background and how you got involved with photography.

Huffman: I actually started in High School, then worked in studios and freelance to put myself through college. Kodak hired me in college and I had a great career with them for over 20 years. Now I photograph travel and teach on cruise ships.

Ruba: How many days of the year do you travel?

Huffman: From around 40 to much, much more.

Ruba: Tell us about this photo, where was it taken?

Huffman: This was taken in Athens. It is a very busy place, crowds all around, and difficult to get a “free shot’ of a subject.

Ruba: What type of camera were you using?

Huffman: This is a digital single lens reflex, with a 28-135mm image stabilized zoom lens. The camera body is full-frame to permit the full use of the lens focal length.

Ruba: People wait very impatiently for everyone to move out of their way before they take that perfect shot. Explain how ‘eliminating the crowds’ works.

Huffman: When you find yourself one of a thousand in the crowd at a busy and popular tourist site, adopt a different perspective and zoom in to crop the photo “in camera.”

Ruba: Tell us how you did that.

Huffman: In this example, the crowds were gathered around all sides of the building, so I walked up a small hill past the building where I was higher than the heads of the tourists. Then, by zooming out to 125mm, I was able to eliminate all the people. This example also draws your attention to the carved pillars, which are the most distinctive feature.

In part two of our interview with David Huffman, photographer extraordinaire, we’ll cover how to Emphasize Height with Verticals. In the meantime, if you have questions, you can contact David Huffman through his website or by email. David Huffman’s books, Travel Photo Tips: Know Before You Go and Travel Photo Tips: Volume II, are available from Amazon.com.
Picture and text © DWHuffman. Visit www.HuffmanPhotoArt.com

For more on our guest blogger, Connie Motz, visit her website, Travel Writer.