Sharing a few July Submissions

Here we are in the second half of July, already!  Summer is flying by!  Before I head on vacation, I want to share a few submissions with you, our lovely blog readers!

Stephanie Schan, of ON, took this photo, bouncing her external flash off the ceiling:

Taken with Canon Rebel XT, using a Vivitar 285HV external flash, at f/2.8, 1/200 sec., ISO 200

See how the bounced flash provides a softer light and diffuses any harsh shadows that may have occurred from using a powerful flash indoors?  Thanks for sharing, Stephanie!

Kim Gowdy, of AB, took this photo of her friend (and my fellow Canadian Scrapbooker teammate!), Connie Nichol, with her two adorable boys:

Taken with Canon Rebel XSi at f/2.8, 1/200 sec., ISO 100

Kim used her flash to fill in shadows and brighten her subjects’ faces.  Love this pic – and OMG, Connie – your boys are getting big!

For the rest of you who are thinking about submitting, please do!!  I will be away for the rest of the month, so please don’t worry if your photo is not posted until the end of the month, or later – I will try to remember to respond to each submission so you can rest assured that I have received it.  I will post all of the submission goodness upon my return!

Remember that our deadline is extended until midnight on August 2nd, 2010!

Cheers!

Extended deadline!

Due to the Civic Holiday long weekend, I’m extending the deadline for July’s submissions!

The new deadline will be 11:59PM EST on August 2nd, 2010!  So get out there and start snapping for a chance to win this:

Happy Clicking!

Happy Canada Day!

Skyline Windsor-Detroit Fireworks. Photo by Ralph Scheer

I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.

John Diefenbaker (From the Canadian Bill of Rights, July 1, 1960)

June Submissions

My apologies to the talented ladies who submitted photos for this month’s tutorial – I didn’t get a chance this last week to upload your photos, but without further delay, here they are!

Kelsy Propp, of AB, sent me this photo of an adorable little dancer.  Kelsy says, “I love to take photos between our house and the neighbours house…for this photo I used the brick on the side of the neighbours house as my backdrop.  There is the perfect daylight lighting for great natural light photos.” 

Taken with Canon Rebel T1i at f/5, 1/500 sec., ISO 200

Love the result – and look at the gorgeous, flattering lighting!!  Thanks for your submission, Kelsy!

I received this beautiful submission from Kathy Tippe of AB:

Taken with Nikon D90 at f/5.6, 1/100 sec., ISO 160

I love it!  Thanks for playing along, Kathy!

Last, but not least, Michelle Kuijer of ON sent this photo for her June submission:

Taken with Canon EOS XS at f/5.6, 1/60 sec., ISO 100

Lovely!!  Thanks for sharing, Michelle!

Have a wonderful holiday tomorrow – I will be away on Friday (celebrating my birthday!) but will post June winners this weekend!!  Watch for the July tutorial early next week!

June Tutorial – Daylight/Sunlight

As dicussed in the Summer 2010 issue of Canadian Scrapbooker, there is a distinct difference between daylight and sunlight.  When we talk about sunlight, we refer to the actual rays that light your subject.  For example, I captured our golden retriever, Simon, one wintry day, as he basked in the sun:

Taken with Nikon D70 at f/5.6, 1/2000 sec., ISO 200

Daylight, on the other hand, may be available even in the absence of sunlight.  Consider an overcast day - there is often still enough illumination that lights our subject without direct streams of sunlight.  It can also found in the shade of a tree on a sunny day, or on a covered porch, such as this photo of my son, Connor – taken on our covered porch, with a white reflector.

Taken with Nikon D70 at f/2, 1/160 sec., ISO 200

There are a few things to remember when shooting in direct sunlight.

1. Avoid strong, direct sunlight, if possible, for portraitures.  If it is unavoidable, try to make your own shade by using your body.  You could also use your reflector or a piece of posterboard to block the sun.  If nothing is available to create shade, position your subject with the sunlight behind them.  If you remember from last month’s tutorial on backlighting, your camera will be fooled by the bright background so you will need to increase your exposure to correctly light their face(s).

2.  Instead of using your reflector to create shade, you can use it to fill in the shadows.  Prop it up so that the sunlight is bouncing onto the dark areas of your photo – you should be able to see this with your naked eye, as you move it around.  (here’s a great video on how to use a reflector) You can purchase reflectors in a variety of colours and sizes.  You could also use white foam core, a white bedsheet, a silver windshield shade or even just cardboard, covered in tin foil or gold metallic foil, depending on your lighting preferences.

3.  Try using a lens hood to avoid flares, if desired.

Sunlight and daylight have both advantages and disadvantages.  On one hand, they both come in varying degrees of brightness, one is usually available at any outdoor shoot, and it’s free of charge!  However, there are also disadvantages – daylight and sunlight are not a constant source of lighting as it changes in both colour and direction, depending onthe time, weather and location.

Are you ready?  You’ll need to get outdoors for this assignment!

Your June assignment: 

Using the June tutorial as a guide, photograph a subject or object using daylight or sunlight.  Remember to use a reflector to fill in any shadows.  Go outside and PLAY!!  As always, if you have any questions, please leave me a comment on this post, or email me. 

Deadline:  11:59 pm EST, June 30th, 2010 

Please submit your photo, using our submission form only, for a chance to be entered into our draw to win an awesome prize.  A randomly chosen entry will be drawn after the deadline.  Please click HERE to review the rules regarding this draw BEFORE submitting.  Please note – submissions that are not relative to the tutorial and/or do not abide by these rules will not be posted on the blog, or entered into the draw.  PLEASE remember that your photos should be sized to 72dpi, and at least 500 pixels wide.  Don’t forget to  include your camera settings, including camera used, f/stop, aperture and ISO for your image in the Comments section of the submisson form!  Submissions that do not include this info may not be posted on the blog.

This month’s sponsor is Glitz Design – Check out June’s prize pack!

Thanks for playing along this month… Happy Clicking!

Final Submissions to Share

I have a few last-minute submissions to share from last night!

Michelle Kuijer, of ON, sent in two submissions this month:

Taken with Canon EOS XS at f/4.5, 1/125 sec., ISO 100

Taken with Canon EOS XS at f/5.6, 1/125 sec., ISO 100

 Our last submission comes from Teresa McNutt, of NS.  She comments, “We have had such little sun…Had to lay flat on the ground to grab this one.”

Taken with Nikon 40D at f/4.8, 1/2000, ISO 320

 Looks like it was all worth it, Teresa!  Love the delicacy of this!

Thanks to you and everyone who submitted their photos this month.  I will be drawing and posting a winner tomorrow morning – check back to see who our lucky winner is!! Will it be you??

Cheers,

Last Day to Submit!!

Have you sent me your photo for our May assignment yet??  Deadline is tonight at 11:59pm EST so you have all day and evening to get out with your camera and take some backlit shots!

Lorie Pollock, of AB, sent me this photo, saying, “…In this picture, I sprayed my son’s grade one spruce tree and put it in the direct sunlight and as you suggested, took the picture from down low, directing my camera to the sun.  I love it!!!”:

Taken with Canon Rebel XSi at f/11, 1/1600 sec., ISO 1600

I love it, too!  The sunlight glistening off the water droplets is fantastic!

Next, I want to share two submissions from Lori North, of ON:

Taken with Canon Rebel EOS XT at f/4.5, 1/2000 sec., ISO 100

Taken with Canon EOS XT at f/7.1, 1/1000 sec., ISO 100

These are wonderful, Lori!  Thanks to both of you for sharing!

And to everyone else, I’ll be watching my inbox for YOUR submissions…

Cheers,

Feeling Patriotic

Mindy Smith-Bernard, of ON, sent me this photo that makes me feel patriotic:

Taken with Canon Rebel XTi at f/10, 1/800 sec., ISO 400

Thanks for your submission, Mindy!  More submissions to follow later…

Cheers,

Submission from Down Under

What a happy surprise to see this submission in my inbox!  It’s nice to see our little blog crossing the oceans to meet fellow photographers from abroad! 

Today, I’m sharing this photo that Sarah Lou, of NSW Australia, took on a scrapbooking retreat:

Taken with Olympus E450 at f/5.1, 1/160 sec., ISO 100

 Not only is the backlighting through the trees wonderful, but I love how the sunlight is reflecting off the top of the wheat grass in the background!  Thanks for sharing, Sarah!

So, how about it?  Anyone else want to try their hand at using backlighting in their photos?  Just send me your submission form by May 31st, 2010 to be eligible to win a Nikki Sivils prize pack!

Cheers!

Another Submission To Share!

Erin Aumack, of AB, sent me this photo for our backlighting assignment:

Taken with Canon Rebel Ti at f/14, 1/800 sec., ISO 100

I love how the clouds diffused the sunlight to a hazy glow – thanks for sharing, Erin!

Only a few more days left – don’t forget to send me YOUR photos!

Cheers,