Windsor Photo Guild
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W H A T ’S
QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER
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General meetings of the Windsor Photo Guild will now begin at 6:00pm on the last Monday of each month: Next meeting is November 29th. There will not be a general meeting in December. Our NEW home is Lilly Kazzilly’s at 9550 Riverside Drive East. This beautiful location, across from Peche Island, has excellent food and drinks for great prices. See you at the next monthly meeting!
M E M B E R S C H A L L E N G E The Guild will provide members with a monthly ’assignment’ to shoot based on a theme, season or a photographic technique. Test your skills, try new approaches and share your photos at the next meeting. Assignments are optional, of course! November: it is Composition month. Try a new angle or subject December: anything holiday related: candles, a fireplace, table settings, use your imagination… Be creative and have fun! shooting !
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President’s Message: My Favourite Season Dear Members, Summer’s heat is dissipating and fall colours are just around the corner. Autumn is my favourite season (although I don’t like what follows!) Over the summer months, the WPG directors and volunteers have wrapped up a number of tasks on the WPG’s to-do list and started a few more... A draft of the WPG constitution and By-laws will be ready for membership review in a few weeks. They won’t become “law” until our first Annual General Meeting held next March (more to follow on that). We’ve made the initial application for a Trillium Grant. If the grant is approved, it will allow the Guild to purchase a number of items such as a projector, computer,
printer, projection screen, etc. We may also be able to get funding for a couple of field trips ...The Board is still working on that one. We have speakers and photography lessons lined up for each meeting, so there will be plenty to learn, share and discover each month. And as always…lots of time for casual discussion! Each time I am asked to write a few words for our newsletter, I like to take a moment to thank the volunteers that are working so hard to make the Windsor Photo Guild what we all want it to be: a vibrant community-based group of photography enthusiasts, learning together, sharing knowledge and discovering new friends! This group of volunteers
~ photo by Rachel Elizabeth
meets at least twice a month and corresponds several times a week regarding WPG business. I want to make sure it is not a thankless task so... “Thank you”. Best regards, David Lester, President Windsor Photo Guild
Upcoming Events: Autumn 2010 Summer leaves are changing! How is the Guild changing this autumn? Our Monthly Newsletter is now Quarterly...and delivered to you with each new season. Look for more news, events and tips to help improve your skills in photography! Quarterly editions will arrive in November, February, May & August.
General meetings will now begin at 6:00pm. Members can enjoy Guild activities but return home earlier now that days are getting shorter... Time to Celebrate! The Guild will have a Holiday Party on Monday Dec 6th, from 6:00-9:00 pm at Lilly Kazzillys. We promise great company, a great meal and ample time to relax and mingle. No monthly meeting in Dec, as
this is a busy time of year for many of us. More details about the party to follow… As always we welcome your feedback, so please email comments, suggestions, or questions to the WPG website: info@windsorphotoguild.com. ~Rachel Elizabeth, WPG Secretary and Editor of the Newsletter
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What is an F-stop? Photographers set their exposure using a combination of shutter speeds and f‐stops to get the correct amount of light on the film or sensor. The shutter speed regulates how long the film is exposed to light coming through
F-32, ISO 100, shutter speed of 7seconds
the lens. The f‐stop regulates how much light is allowed through the lens by varying the area of the hole the light comes through. For any given film speed (ISO) and lighting combination there is one correct amount of light to
properly expose the film. This amount of light can be achieved with many different combinations of f‐stop and shutter speeds.
from A History of Photography: The 2000’s by Matthew Cole
The Magic Numbers: Understanding F-Stops
Of all the concepts in photography, the difference between the various
F-25, ISO 100, 6 seconds
“Opening up your aperture from F11 to F8 is double (2x) the amount of light”
f‐stops gives beginner photographers the most trouble. The following is a quick breakdown of the concept. The sequence of full f‐stop numbers is as follows: Less light ————>————>———>———> Smaller opening (aperture) F‐1 F‐1.4 F‐2 F‐2.8 F‐4 F‐5.6 F‐8 F‐11 F‐16 F‐22 F‐32 F‐45 F‐64 Larger opening (aperture) <———<———<————<——–— More light When opening up your aperture from F‐11 to F‐8, that is double (2x) the amount of light, from F‐8 to F‐5.6 is double again (2x2=4) so F‐5.6 allows 4 times the amount of light of F‐11 from 5.6 to F‐4 is double again (4x2=8) so F‐4 allows 8 times the amount of light of F‐11 from F‐4 to F‐2.8 double yet again (8x2=16) so F‐2.8 allows 16 times the light of F‐11 Now, if you are closing down your aperture from F‐2.8 to F‐11, it is the same idea, except
instead of doubling the light, you are losing half of the light with each change in F‐stop. As such, you can think of f‐stops as fractions:
F-16, ISO 100, 6 seconds Bay St. at Queen St. W. , Toronto, Ontario photos by Rachel Elizabeth
F‐2.8 to F‐4 cuts out half (1/2) of the light F‐4 to F‐5.6 cuts out half the light again (1/2 x 1/2 = 1/4). from F‐5.6 to F‐8 cuts out half the light again (1/2 x 1/4 = 1/8). and from F‐8 to F‐11 half the light is cut yet again (1/2 x 1/8=1/16). So from F‐2.8 to F‐5.6 you get 1/4 of the light So from F‐2.8 to F‐8 you get 1/8 of the light and from F‐2.8 to F‐11 you get 1/16 of the light. These are the 'magic' numbers. By knowing them ‐ and using them ‐ you can control your
exposure more effectively. ‐ Luciana Nechita
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Welcome, Welcome! The Windsor Photo Guild welcomes member Susan Washington to the Executive Board. Susan refers to herself as “an Idea’s Person” and she’s already shown us that the proof is in the pudding at the latest board meetings. Prior to joining the board, Susan actively participated in the general meetings and showed us her unique brand of creative photography by sharing her photos too. The Guild Executive members enjoyed a trip to Peche Island WPG is fortunate to have her input. Thanks for your help Susan! on Saturday, September 18th. The Citizens Environmental Alliance sponsors a yearly event, that opens the island to the public, with boat rides from Lakeview Marina and guided tours of the island. (from left ) David Lester, Susan Washington, Luciana Nechita, Rachel Elizabeth and Dawn Lester.
“A good photograph is knowing where to stand.” ‐Ansel Adams Photographer, Environmentalist, Co‐Founder of Group F‐64 1902‐1984
T h e A r t of B a c k L i g h t i n g By Phil McDermott Contrary to popular belief stunning photographs can be taken when shooting into the light. Whilst this may contradict advice given to beginners to always shoot with the light coming from behind the camera the art of backlighting is a technique that can produce wonderful images. However, many photographers are intimidated by the idea of pointing the camera towards the light and shy away from many worthwhile opportunities. There is much to consider when using this technique if frustration and disappointment are to be avoided. However, once mastered there is Fishermen at Sunrise, Lake St. Clair little doubt that backlighting can be magical and will add both drama and ~ photo by Luciana Nechita visual impact to your photographs and diversity and interest to your portfolio. There are many subjects to try, my favourites are translucent flowers and foliage or rim lighting of animals and birds. Backlighting will enhance mist, rain and haze adding creativity and atmosphere to landscape images. The two most challenging aspects of photographing back lit subjects are to adequately eliminate flare and ensure correct exposure. These concerns can be allayed with a little practice, good technique and an understanding of the exposure process. Flare gives rise to a loss of definition and is probably the most significant area requiring attention, so a measured and methodical approach is needed. It is produced when intense rays of light hit the front element of the lens causing excessive lens refraction, this leads to specula highlights, image softening and loss of definition. Clearly this is to be avoided and there are several ways to overcome this undesirable effect.
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Lenses show individual characteristics but in general the more lens elements used in their construction the more vulnerable they will be to flare. With this in mind zoom lenses are more likely to be flare susceptible that prime fixed focal length lenses. Lens coatings also have an impact on flare, modern multi coated lenses consistently outperform earlier models and this alone can significantly reduce most potential flare problems. In many backlit situations using a designated lens hood will greatly improve the chances of eliminating flare by keeping stray light from striking the front element of the lens. Indeed, the use of a good quality lens hood can improve saturation in all images. Having taken the above precautions a final visual inspection of the image through the viewfinder, preferably with the lens stopped down, will show any remaining areas of softness or highlights resulting from flare. This may only require a slight repositioning of the camera to eliminate. The other challenge in photographing backlit subjects is how best to Foggy night: Detroit Skyline handle exposure. Overexposure is a common problem, as the brightly‐lit background will overly influence the camera's meter this will turn the February 2010 ~R Elizabeth Photography subject very dark, indeed almost silhouette like. Exposure compensation is the answer and it is best to give between one and two stops extra exposure from the 'normal' exposure suggested by the camera. Alternatively, take a spot meter reading from the shadow area and expose at the camera's reading this should require no compensation. As exposure for backlit subjects is tricky it is best to practice various exposure metering patterns and overrides until you are comfortable in approaching various back lighting opportunities that present themselves. So there really is no excuse for not getting out there, there is an endless variety of subjects waiting to be found and with care they can become some of your most creative and satisfying images.
Photo Finishing Presentations SEPTEMBER 27th WPG Member Tony Vitella presented his expertise in Photoshop CS5. Tony is a professional wedding videographer and photographer and a Photoshop Wizard! The workshop was a demonstration of beginner techniques in processing photos, including tips and tricks for creating interesting effects. OCTOBER 25th An Adobe Lightroom presentation was given by WPG President Dave Lester. In addition, Director-At-Large Frank Houser, took us to Alaska with a wonderful slideshow of his summer 2010 vacation. NOVEMBER 29th Join us for our last meeting of the year, when Vice President Luciana Nechita will demonstrate Picassa software and Dave Lester will show us Photoscape & Gimp. These are free, online software programs that members can download and use to process their photos… We look forward to seeing you!
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