Capture the Moment

CAPTURE THE M MENT

We Love Photography

With Uncle Dick Stein

Shhh… Why are you shushing me? What’s up? It’s a secret … a secret picture … and a secret winner for the Capture The Moment photo contest. You’ll never guess his name so I’ll tell you; it’s Daniel Barron. And this is a secret location somewhere in the south west. But there are clues in the picture: the body of water is still or slow moving as you can see there is some detail on the surface reflection - even though the exposure is about ⅛ to ¼ of a second. That’s how long it takes to blur flame.

Well done Daniel, you’ve won A $200

GIFT VOUCHER

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There are four vehicles shown, so it can’t be a total secret - as soon as you tell one other person … and in this case there are lots of families and kids involved … someone will squeal.

It looks as though they were well prepared - as any good reader of this magazine should be. Tents, trailer and awnings on the 4WDs show that these are people who know what to do. Note also that there are more chairs there than in my lounge room. Squatting on your hunkers in the dirt is all very well, but not if you don’t have to. It’s no secret that they are having fun, because none of the people are working hard in the picture and there are cans and bottles evident. The fire is bright and clean and none of the children are falling in the water. They’re also not out stealing hubcaps or spray painting fences so that’ll show you what a healthy 4WD lifestyle will do for you. On a photo note, the picture is well composed - from the other side of the water course. It is steady - whether that is the effect of a tripod, an image stabilising system or nerves of steel is unknown, but modern cameras with their high ISO performance make this sort of thing a lot easier than before. Also easier is the business of the colour - this camera may well have been on Auto White balance. It was presented with blue light in the vehicle’s lights and red light from the fire - and has made a good compromise that gives warmth where it’s needed and drama elsewhere. Full marks to Daniel Barron for including the arch of fire-lit trees above the main subject to frame it. And a final note about photo secrecy. If you are really keen on this be sure to get into the settings of your camera and disable the report that the machine records with the main file. This is a technical list that identifies the camera, lens, shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. But some cameras also record GPS data and attach it to a file. If you had one of those and forgot to remove the data, it would travel with the file wherever it went. Not a bad thing if you have forgotten where you took a picture and need a refresher. But never fear - we’ll have a prize for Daniel for this splendid photo. Where’s the prize? That’s a secret.

Send us a photo for some tips and you could win a $200 Voucher!

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Email photos to: comps@western4wdriver.com.au or submit via our Facebook page

Check out Uncle Dick's blogs: hrhoa.wordpress.com frontierandcolonial.wordpress.com littleworld678590491.wordpress.com