This is my third attempt at a blog today ... life has been busy and time and words aren't coming to me in the form of a computer. Winter camp has started ... it's going to be three weeks of being very busy. Today was bright and sunny and about 20 degrees. The morning was spent basking in the sun and playing soccer with the kids ... there's about 60 of them, total. It made for a fun morning ... left me feeling very warm ... I miss summer.
Winter camp will be great practice for my Chinese. I was a bit sad to stop my two morning classes for the next month, but it seems that the basketball coach and the soccer coach only speak Chinese. I caught some of what was going on today and what I couldn't, I picked up from seeing. I was able to have a quick conversation with the coach and he was quite happy as it seems he doesn't speak any English.
This weekend CKids will be having it's year end party ... it's in a restaurant on the 4th floor of a 12-storey mall ... one of the many storied malls around here. The invitation informs us that we should dress in our best. I'm not sure if I should treat myself to something new, or find something old that's not been seen. I did end up clothes shopping this weekend ... I find myself with a new pair of pants or two and then some!
Looking at the clock, it's best I get away from this thing and finish my Chinese homework. We are making our way through chapter 18. As I've already studied this book, I am remembering that this is the point where frustration took over which turned me off of studying a bit. This time around I feel I'm getting it some days, but most days I feel not so much. It's all about patience.
And with that, I am off ... I have a 13 hour day tomorrow. After four nights of being away from home, it'll be nice to snuggle with the cats.
6 comments :
Three things for night shots:
1) Low ISO (100 works best). Because higher ISO's generate "noise" (that irritating speckling/blurring stuff).
2) Looooooooong shutter durations. I think the longest I've shot is a 30 second exposure.
3) Tripod. Since #2 is impossible holding the camera by hand.
The rest is a matter of your personal taste. Experimenting at night is loads of fun (but I don't think you need me to tell you that).
Thanks for the tips ... they are greatly appreciated ... if you have any more up your sleeve, please do pass them along!
Just a couple more.
If your camera allows it, use the manual focus. Since it's dark at night, the autofocus doesn't know what to choose to focus on, so it'll start going all batty. By using the manual focus, you can choose what you want it to focus on.
If you can manage a super-long exposure (requires idea conditions, stable tripod, no wind, etc.), try setting your aperture setting to f/8 or higher (depending on how much existing light is available). The tighter the aperture, the greater the depth of field in your photo. If you've ever seen the "spaghetti trail" shots, those are usually done with a long exposure and an aperture of f/16 or more.
Aperture is something you'd have to experiment with though. Since every brand of camera has difference lenses, you'll have to find which setting works best for you in the conditions you find yourself in.
The only other tip I can think of is "shoot lots." More pictures means more pictures that might turn out, so keep shooting until you find the ideal setup through trial and error.
Sweet ... as always, appreciated!
Hi Jennifer. Thanks for looking at my blog the other day.
Nightshots are fun but tricky. Here is a good article on
>timing which might interest you:
The same site has many useful articles on photography. Enjoy!
I look forward to more pictures of Taipei. I would love to go there someday! It's not that far from Osaka...
Thanks, I'll be sure to check it out ... appreciate the link!
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