June 6, 2015

FIFA

The ladies FIFA world cup is being held in Moncton this summer. Tonight, the city of Moncton provided some entertainment and a fireworks display to help kick off the tournament.

My wife, my godmother, and I went to see the shows... I managed to grab a few photos and wanted to share.

Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton
Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton
Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton





And a few shots of some of the musical talent that was there...

Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton
Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton
Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton
Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton
The musicians involved were: On violin - Dominique Dupuis, on bass - RĂ©mi Arsenault, on electric guitar - Mike Bourgeois, on acoustic guitar and banjo - Stephen LeBlanc, and on drums - Danny Bourgeois.

If you enjoy Celtic music, I highly recommend seeing these musicians. They are very good.

--- Mark ---

May 30, 2015

Aundrea is going to be a mom...

And I'm sure she will be a great mom...

 I had an outdoor maternity shoot with local model Aundrea Melanson today.

I have been fortunate enough to work with Aundrea on a few occasions in the past.

However, as soon as I heard she was going to have a baby; I contacted her and asked if I could get a few photos of her when she was a bit closer to her due date.

Today, we had an opportunity to meet up so I could get a few photos.

She is rapidly approaching her due date. So, I am quite happy that we had the opportunity to get together and capture a few memories of her pregnancy.

Here are a few of my favorites from the session...

Aundrea Melanson - Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton
Aundrea Melanson - Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton
Aundrea Melanson - Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton
Aundrea Melanson - Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton
I had an issue with my camera... It appears that whenever I attach my new eTTL Speedlight (YoungNuo) it automatically resets my ISO setting to ISO 3200 (I always keep my ISO set to 100).

This is the second time that my camera automatically reset to 3200 ISO and I didn't notice until I got hone and started post processing the images. . And, it only seems to happen when I use my flash. So, logic dictates that the flash is the cause of the problem. It may be unrelated, but it's an awful coincidence...

From now on though, I'll try to be more observant of my ISO setting before I start shooting.

--- Mark ---

May 9, 2015

Jeremy Reid...

I've known Jeremy since we were about 5 years old. Even then he was an extremely talented musician. 40 years later, his guitar playing still impresses me.

Tonight, he was playing a gig at the Fox & Hound in the old Riverview Mall. My wife and I dropped by so I could grab a few photos.

I've been told that the drummer's name is Craig Gilliatt; although I've never met him.

Unfortunately, I don't know the bassist's name, so I can't credit him by name.

Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton
Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton
Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton
Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton
Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton
Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton
Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton
Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton
Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton
Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton
Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton
Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton
Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton

Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton

Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton

Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton
Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton
This was only my 3rd attempt at shooting live musicians. I am pretty happy with the results. Although, a slight lens upgrade would help with this type of photography. The ability to use an aperture larger than 5.6 would make a big difference. However, I work with the gear I have.

The shots were originally done in color. But, I preferred the black and white versions.

--- Mark ---

May 7, 2015

Exposure in Photography...

This post was originally published on February 3rd, 2012. But, I was dealing with one of my all too frequent bouts of insomnia, so I decided to update it a bit and added a few details.



There are many things that help make a photograph "good". But, one of the most basic and fundamental aspects of photography is exposure. A good exposure can make or break a photograph.

The word photography is a compound word based on two Greek words, "photo" and "graphy". Translation? photo=light and graphy=writing.

So, when you boil it all down, light is a very important part of photography as we know it.

One term to keep in mind is the word "STOP". In the world of photography, it is a major component in determining how much light is being used by your camera. Increasing by one stop, doubles the amount of light, while decreasing by one stop, halves the amount of light.

All cameras rely on exposure. For example, many small point and shoot cameras or SLR and dSLRs in automatic mode decide on the correct exposure settings for you. However, the higher end point and shoot cameras and dSLR cameras; although often allowing you to shoot in automatic mode, will allow you to use the manual settings to control the exposure.

Most cameras that support manual exposure, will allow the photographer to adjust the exposure in full stop, one half stop, and/or one third stop increments.

It's really worth learning about these manual exposure settings. They will allow you to get results from your manual  camera that you could only dream of with an automatic one.

In photography, exposure is a very important part of creating a good photograph. Some photographers might say exposure is the most important part.

According to "dictionary.com" the term exposure in photography  is defined as:

EXPOSURE:
  • The act of presenting a photosensitive surface to rays of light.
  • The total amount of light received by a photosensitive surface or an area of such a surface, expressed as the product of the degree of illumination and the period of illumination.
  • The image resulting from the effects of light rays on a photosensitive surface.
Proper exposure is accomplished by combining three basic, yet very important camera settings: ISO, shutter speed, and aperture value. The combination of these three settings is sometimes referred to as "the holy trinity" or "the exposure triangle".




ISO refers to the sensitivity to light of the  photosensitive surface of your camera. This is most often the sensor or film in the camera.

In terns of ISO, a STOP doubles or halves the sensitivity of the sensor/film.

The ISO used will determine the amount of film grain or digital noise that appears in a photograph. Different cameras will handle noise differently; some better than others.

Most digital cameras will allow you to control the ISO level: while, in most cases, the type of film used will determine the ISO that will be used.

Generally speaking, the higher the ISO setting, the more grain or noise there will be in the photo.

This list includes some of the more commonly supported ISO speeds in full stop increments..

  • 50
  • 100
  • 200
  • 400
  • 800
  • 1600
  • 3200

Many digital cameras will support ISO settings in 1/3rd of a stop increments. Also, some cameras will support much higher ISO settings; allowing the camera to offer better low light sensitivity and performance.

Something to keep in mind: only digital cameras will allow the photographer to set the ISO. Older, film based cameras require a special film for each different ISO desired. This is one of the many conveniences photographers experience by using digital cameras.

The shutter speed refers to the length of time that the shutter curtains stay open to expose the photosensitive surface, usually the sensor or film, to light..

The shutter speed is often used to control the appearance of motion in a photograph or to freeze action. The faster the shutter speed, the less time there is for light to enter the camera and expose the photosensitive surface.

Here is a list of some commonly used shutter speeds in full stop increments:
  • 1/8000th of a second
  • 1/4000th of a second
  • 1/2000th of a second
  • 1/1000th of a second
  • 1/500th of a second
  • 1/250th of a second
  • 1/125th  of a second
  • 1/60th
  • 1/30th of a second
  • 1/15th of a second
  • 1/8th of a second
  • ¼ second
  • 0”5 of a second
  • 1 second
  • 2 seconds
  • 4 seconds
  • 8 seconds
  • 15 seconds
  • 30 seconds
Many modern cameras will also allow the photographer to select the shutter speed in 1/3rd stop or 1/2 stop increments. Allowing for much greater flexability.

The term aperture refers to the opening in the lens that directs light into the camera to strike the photosensitive surface.


The main use of the aperture values is to help control the amount of depth of field (DoF) in an image.

Depth of field refers to how much of an image, both in front of and behind, the focal point, appears in focus.

The larger the aperture; the more light is allowed through the lens and into the camera. Pressing the shutter button then opens and closes the shutter curtains; controlling the duration that the light can hit the film or sensor.



The camera's processor uses a mathematical  formula involving the focal length of the lens being used. This formula is used to determine the actual size of the opening in the lens. This is more commonly known as the F number or aperture value.

A higher aperture value means a smaller aperture opening. While a lower aperture value means a larger aperture opening (see the diagram above).

I would like to refer photographers to this great video by Mark Wallace of Adorama TV. It's a very good explanation... Click here to see the video.


The following is a list of the commonly used aperture setting suported by most DSLR cameras, in full stop increments.
  • F/22
  • F/16
  • F/11
  • F/8.0
  • F/5.6
  • /4.5
Some lenses may offer largest or smallest aperture values. Some lenses can support aperture values as low as f/1.2(or lower) or as high as f/32 (or higher).

Although the aperture value is a major contributor to the amount of depth of field in an image, there are two other things that help determine the amount of depth of field on an image..

The focal distance of the lens (amount of zoom) and the distance between the subject and the camera also play a part in determining depth of field.

A longer lens has a tendency to provide more compression between the subject and the background. This often results in a much shallower DoF. In general, the shallower the DoF, the less is in focus in front and behind the subject.

So, in short: to achieve a shallow depth of field, a photographer will use a larger aperture (lower F-sto number), or a longer lens, or distance the subject from the background, or some combination of these three methods.

I hope by reading this blog post, some of you, learned something.

--- Mark ---

March 7, 2015

Hillary...

I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with a beautiful young lady, who is quite new to the modeling scene...

Hillary Leblanc is a very beautiful and a very nice young lady and a pleasure to work with. I highly recommend her to any photographer, MUA, or stylist that is looking for some new talent.

It was a very dificult choice, but I selected a few of my favorite images from our session to show on my Website. Here they are...

Hillary... Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton
Hillary... Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton
Hillary... Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton
Hillary... Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton
Hillary... Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton
Hillary... Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton
Hillary... Copyright 2015 by Mark D. Lipton
I was very impressed with Hillary's performace and comfort level in front of the camera. I strongly recommend her to any photographer, MUA,or stylist who is looking to work with new talent.

--- Mark ---