Complementary Colours Make Pictures Pop

Shot with my Canon PowerShot S90.

While trimming a yew at my front entry, I noticed this flowering plant hiding under the dense, green foliage. It wasn't there last year and neither my wife nor I planted it. So, what is it? It sure is pretty.

Note how the reds and greens really pop. This is because they are complementary colours which means they are opposite each other on the colour wheel. The use of complementary colours is intrinsically a high-contrast approach.

This was shot after the sun had moved to behind my home. In order to dig into the deep shadows under the yew, waiting until the front entry was in deep shade really helps. I always like it when colour and not brightness is the defining feature.

Note: This was shot with my little Canon point and shoot. I carry this little camera at all times. It is in a small LowePro case hanging from my belt.

A splash of colour, a drop of rain

This blog is on hiatus. See my previous post for an explanation on why I won't be posting again until sometime in July.

But today I took Fiona out to inspect the garden foliage and flowers after the rain stopped. I had to return with my camera to share some of the images.

Now, what was I saying about taking a much needed break?

An important link

My nephew sent me this link to National Geographic Photo Tips.

I'm about to head off on an extended holiday and I am finding it impossible to devote the necessary time to this blog. Please allow me to share this link with you.

Enjoy. Shoot some pictures. Have a good summer.
Cheers!

Two cameras and one is almost a ten

Taken with a Canon S90.

The testing of my two new cameras continues. The Canon S90 still amazes me. I love it. Small, always with me, this is an important feature. An f/2.0 lens and relatively noise-free high ISO images make this camera a keeper. (There is, of course, noise at higher ISO settings but far less than I am used to having to endure. And as a former news shooter, I am more impressed with the moment captured than the little bit of noise.) The baby picture was taken with the Canon S90.

With this little camera, it fits in my shirt pocket, it is see a picture, take a picture.

Taken with a Fuji HS10.

Also, taken with a Fuji HS10.

The Fuji HS10 is solidly built. (I tested it by dropping it.) I love the true zoom lens which zooms not when driven by a motor but when twisted by hand. Nice. And the quality of the images its excellent in my book. Both the images of the geese at Springbank Park with taken with the HS10.

Fuji Finepix HS10

When I worked at the paper, I loved my long lenses. When Fuji announced the HS10 point and shoot with a 24mm to 720mm (equivalent) zoom lens, I knew that I had to have one --- and now I do. It is an amazing piece of equipment. I'm in awe. (Although I must admit that there is another 30Xs zoom, the other is from Panasonic and it too has gotten good reviews.)

Today I noticed a Jay at the bird feeder, grabbed my HS10 and with the lens cranked all the way out, I shot the bird through the dirty, kitchen window. I have cropped the image but not resized it. I saved it as a medium quality jpeg but I did not apply any sharpening. Oh, and I tweaked the levels in Photoshop and hit the image with a little saturation. These are bad habits left from my years of enhancing image files for their eventual printing on newsprint.

I can't wait to shoot some stuff without a dirty kitchen window in front of the lens.

Fujifilm HS10 hits the stores in London

Shot with lens zoomed to a setting comparable to 720mm on a 35 DSLR.

It's here. The Fujifilm FinePix HS10 is in London stores. I don't want this to be an ad but it sure may seem like one. After more than four decades shooting pictures for a daily newspaper and carrying two camera bodies and up to five lenses, I have replaced everything with two point and shoot cameras: a Canon PowerShot S90 and a Fujifilm FinePix HS10.

With all those years of professional shooting, this may come as a surprise but I don't believe in anything but automatic when it comes to cameras --- not completely true but close enough to be true. Auto can fail big time, but generally you're pretty safe sticking with the automatic settings. If you're shooting for fun, that decides it --- shoot automatic.

A few weeks ago, I purchased a Canon S90; Yesterday, I picked up a Fujifilm HS10.

Today's London Daily Photo picture is this chipmunk. This is just the third image shot with my new Fuji. It has a 30-times zoom and it is working at its max here. The camera was hand-held but braced against my kitchen door frame.

Years ago one of Canada's top newspaper shooters told me he always kept his  cameras on automatic in order to be ready to shoot in an instant. Oh, he  might use manual when shooting something that allowed time  for finagling and fine tuning --- a fashion shoot for instance --- but  for a sudden moment it was auto for this prize-winning shooter.

I think the image of my chipmunk, shot on automatic right from the box, says he was right.

Can't shoot it? Direct it!

When my granddaughter fell asleep in my arms, I thought picture. But I couldn't shoot the picture while holding the baby. The solution was to ask my daughter to shoot the picture. She has a good eye and so I had confidence. I coached her along, telling her where to stand, and I told her what to include and what to crop. Still she was holding the camera and made the final visual decisions. The resulting image is a merging of my original vision and her talents.


In photography always remember the most important thing is to get the picture --- even if you can't shoot it.

My instructions? I wanted the sleeping baby's serene face to be featured along with my large arm and hand which are cradling and protecting the child. I wanted a clean, simple picture --- one that makes a "quick read."