|
|
||
|
|
 |
The Well-Dressed Photographer - Summer
Outdoor photographers shoot year round. That includes the hot summer. You may be surprised to learn that the best way to tolerate the heat is not to strip down to your skivvies. Instead, using the right products and wearing clothing designed to face the challenges of summer will help you keep your cool. Safety First One of the first concerns to being outside is exposure to the sun. Not only will it age your skin more quickly, sun can cause skin cancer. Everyone's skin can be damaged by prolonged exposure to sunlight. Fairer skin, higher altitudes, central latitudes, mid-day exposures and summer months can shorten the time it takes to sustain sun damage. Sun exposure is intensified when reflected by water, sand or snow. But heat and brightness do not indicate UV intensity. Damage can occur on overcast days, too. A new statistic, the UV Index, is now cited on weather reports to help people gauge their exposure to sunlight. The higher the number, the more quickly damage can occur. You can do many things to protect yourself from damaging exposure to the sun. First, minimize unnecessary time in the sun. Sit in the shade and go inside during the middle of the day when the sun is too intense for the best shots, anyway. When you are in the sun, add layers of protection with sunscreen and clothing. Sunscreen Protection One of the main items in your summer wardrobe should be sunscreen. While you won't find it at the chic clothing store, it should be considered your outer layer when trying to avoid too much sun. Sunscreen lotions or sprays are made of chemicals that absorb ultraviolet rays before they penetrate our skin. Sunscreens have an "SPF" factor (sun protection factor) that compares your skin's vulnerability to burning with and without the sunscreen. "Broad spectrum" sunscreens absorb both UVB and most UVA rays. Some researchers believe that no extra benefits come from a sunscreen with a higher SPF than 15, and that buying a higher SPF product is a waste of money. Keep an eye on new research; in the meantime, use a sunscreen of SPF 15 or higher. To use sunscreen effectively, apply a generous amount to dry skin, 20-30 minutes before exposure, especially to your neck, face, ears, bald spots and the back of your legs. Reapply often, especially if you're sweating. Sprays with SPF are just as effective. Their use is a personal choice. Also use lip balm with an SPF. Some research has shown that sunscreens do more than protect you from harmful UV rays. Because they act as a barrier to the sun, they also may make you feel cooler. Whether it is for comfort or safety, sunscreen products are a must when enjoying the outdoors. Other Protection The clothes you wear when shooting in summer must perform two important jobs. First, they should protect you from the sun and heat. Second, they should keep you comfortable. They accomplish these vital tasks through material and design. A cotton t-shirt has a low SPF and UV rays can penetrate it easily. Instead, wear clothing that is tightly woven or use clothing that has its own SPF built in. Wear a hat with a brim that will protect your ears, neck and face, as well. While you may think that sleeveless or short-sleeved shirts and shorts are the desired clothing for summer activities, wearing the new lightweight SPF materials in long-sleeved shirts and pants may keep you even cooler. They serve as a barrier from sunlight and also protect you from pesky and potentially harmful bugs. The Ex-Officio clothing company also offers garments with an insect resistant treatment. Heat exhaustion and heat stroke also are concerns when exposed to the summer elements. Keeping cool with the proper clothing, drinking lots of water and moderating your activities are the best ways to prevent these life-threatening emergencies. Comfort Ensures Safety Sweating is the body's way to keep our body temperature at appropriate levels. Your sweat is excreted to the skin where it can evaporate and will make you cooler. When clothing made of certain materials gets wet from perspiration and humidity, it sticks to your skin and hinders that evaporation process. While cotton is comfortable when dry, it absorbs sweat and humidity easily. It then takes a long time to dry, gets heavy and holds that moisture next to your skin making you uncomfortable. Certain polyesters and nylons perform the same way. Enter the wicking materials. Newer (and some natural materials) are constructed for maximum breathability to pull the moisture away from your skin. Wicking materials then dry and leave you cooler and more comfortable. These wicking materials include silk, Coolmax®, polypropylene, MTS 2® (Moisture Transport System), and capilene. In the past, these materials suffered from problems such as odor retention, scratchy feel, and unattractive looks. They have been improved so much that it is sometimes hard to believe that they aren't cotton. To maximize your summer comfort, your first layer ? any material touching your skin ? should be made of these wicking-type materials. This includes your underwear, t-shirts and socks. New clothing designs also help keep you cool. They include vents in the sides or back of shirts, button tabs to roll up sleeves, light-colored materials to reflect the sunlight, pants that you can convert to shorts and loose-fitting clothing to keep the material from sticking to your skin. Clothing has come a long way towards making your summer outdoor activities more tolerable. Final Tips Go to your local outdoor store to get personal shopping advice, or find these products and additional helpful information online at websites such as REI or Altrec. Read the directions and care labels in the products you buy to maximize their effectiveness. For example, some clothing looses its wicking ability if you apply fabric softeners to them. Others may need to be line dried to avoid shrinkage. Still others can't be ironed. Even when the heat of the summer is on maximum, you don't have to stop shooting. Use these tips and products to make your outdoor photography more safe and comfortable. Copyright 2005 Carolyn E. Wright All Rights Reserved --- ABOUT THE AUTHOR --- Carolyn Wright is a professional photographer with an active wildlife photography business. Shooting for 25 years, her award-winning images have been used in books and corporate marketing materials. Her photos will be included in the upcoming book, "Captivating Wildlife - Images from the Top Ten Emerging Wildlife Photographers" by Scott Bourne and David Middleton. She also is working with Scott Bourne on "Wolfscapes," a photo book documenting the beauty and strength of wolves. Her wildlife images can be viewed at http://www.vividwildlife.com On the faculty of Olympic Mountain School of Photography, Carolyn's passion is enhanced when teaching photography. She enjoys writing and speaking on the subject, as well, and is a regular columnist for PhotoFocus, an online magazine for serious photographers.
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
HP Digital Cameras - History and Beyond HP has started making digital cameras only recently. However, the firm provides a one-stop-shop for all digital facilities. The company has made a large number of innovations over the years. Let us view the interesting history of this company. Home Run Baseball Photography Tips Strike one! Strike two! Strike three! Getting the Most From Your Digital Camera Memory Card Imagine taking your new digital camera on a vacation and then realizing that you can barely click 20-30 images at a go. So, what do you do to avoid such a situation? The answer to this question lies in the purchase of an extra memory card or two. Digital Image Files ? Megapixels, Megabytes, or DPI? When I promised readers that I was going to do an article on this topic I was scared. For two reasons - firstly, it's a HUGE subject. I get lots of questions about it, and I see a fair bit of misunderstanding about it. Secondly, there are already a lot of good articles about it on the web, like this one on luminous-landscape.com. How to Create a Great Video - a Simple Guide on How to Shoot Home Movies with a Camcorder So you have bought a camcorder and have shot some footage, but truthfully you don't much like the results. Maybe I can help. My advice is based on ten years of looking over people's shoulders at my business, the Video Kitchen in Louisville Kentucky, where people transfer old home movies, duplicate video tapes they've shot, and edit their raw footage. My staff and I see a lot of mistakes being made. Other times we see exciting footage shot by an amateur who claims to have no education in the art of videography. What makes the difference? Lots of things. I'll cover a few of the biggest issues here. Fuji Digital Cameras Fuji digital cameras entered the market in the late 90's. Started in Japan in 1934, Fuji has always tried to stay ahead of the pack. The history of this company is rather interesting so let us take a look at it. Candid Photography Candid photography is photography that focuses on spontaneity rather than technique. Your subject's focus is not on the camera, but on their current task. So we're not talking about the photo albums full of people looking at the camera and smiling here! Your subjects are un-posed and the shots are unplanned. Imperfect Photos And How You Can Fix Them So your picture came out less then perfect. Blemishes or wrinkles, red eyes and wrong color balance - you can fix it all without having to learn or pay for Adobe Photoshop. Try these tools instead. How Many Megapixels Do We Need? Are you having megapixel envy each time you walk by the camera section of your favorite electronics store? So do I. But, do we really need more and more pixels? The answer depends on what we intend to do with the images. First, a quick definition of megapixel: How to Easily Start Up Your Own New Photography Business From Home With modern technology in the form of SLR digital cameras, you do not even need the room for a dark room. You need only to have a personal computer and a photo-editing program. The standard is Adobe Photoshop. Modeling Portfolio Webites In the age of home phones and 8x10's we all wondered how anyone could ever afford to get into the modeling industry. Even after you invest a small fortune in professional training and other peripheral services, you still have to purchase all of the marketing materials to send to anyone with a mailing address. A Guide to Underwater Camera Cases If you are buying a new underwater camera or video camera, you will need an underwater camera case. And this case needs to be watertight, airtight, dustproof, crush resistant and designed to keep your valuable equipment safe from all the elements. It may also be rustproof, pest-proof, and chemical resistant to oils, fuels and solvents. It may have flame retardant included and be molded with a UV stabilizer, making it ultraviolet resistant. (This will prevent the plastic from becoming brittle if left in the sun for extended periods of time.) Photo Equipment Lists You arrive at your photo shoot excited about the images you are about to take ? that is, until you realize that you have left an important piece of equipment at home. You now will have to improvise, spend extra money or time to replace the item, or go without it for the shot. How to take Great Photos of Your Pet We all love our animals. They do such funny, adorable, and cute things. But somehow when that camera comes out they run and hide or they just seem to always be pointed away from the camera when you push the button. Well here are some tips to help you have a better chance at getting great photos of your pet. The Photography Portfolio: Building Your Reputation If you have hopes of becoming a professional photographer, or even just of trying to get your work published in a public forum, you will need to create a photography portfolio. So what's so important about a photography portfolio anyway? Tame Those Memories Family vacations, summer weddings and family reunions are in full swing, and the warm memories and envelopes of photographs are ever growing! You certainly intend to organize them -- but the boxes in the attic are full of intentions, and now the photograph CDs are being to pile up! What can you do to stop the madness? What Should You Look for in a New Camera? These parameters are discussed at 2 levels: -Based on degree of functional use of available features -Based on the type of photography you want to attempt -->Based on degree of functional use of available features A person who is happy with his or her camera model usually responds with the following words of praise. 'Incredible ease of use' 'User-friendly controls' 'Intelligently and thoughtfully designed' 'Excellent value for money' 'Light and compact' These are the kind of terms that you will come across from camera owners who are satisfied with their camera models. These superlatives sum up what people usually look for or could look for at an overall level in their camera. It is a broad evaluation based on design elements, size and affordability. Before you make a decision to purchase you should explore a little further and study the type of features available to you. Unless you make the attempt to understand the features at your disposal, there is the risk of being stuck with a model that does not suit your particular requirements. Let's take a look at what features you should look for, as well as the features that you should be wary of when you choose a camera system. -->Features to Look For 1. The lens is by far the most important device in your camera. The quality of the lens ensures the sharpness of your image. The camera lens is described by length (given in mm), known as the focal length of the lens. 50mm is the standard focal length in a lens. A lens of shorter length is known as a wide-angle lens and is used usually by landscape photographers. A lens with focal length greater than 50mm is called a telephoto lens and is especially useful to professional photographers in capturing distant images. There are also cameras with a zoom lens. A zoom lens can offer various focal lengths, so you have a lens capable of many focal lengths. Simple put, when you use a zoom lens you can make your subject bigger or smaller within the frame. For instance, a wide-angle zoom can cover a range of focal lengths below 50mm, or a telephoto zoom gives you a range of higher order focal lengths. Some superior zoom lenses can take you from wide angle to standard and through to telephoto ranges. The power of the zoom lens is defined by the extent of magnification from a lower focal length to a higher end and is given as 2x, 3x and so on. Some lens tips: --A 50mm or 100mm lens is considered adequate for most non-professional hobby users. The professionals usually go for telephoto lenses of 200mm or more. A lens with higher focal length costs a lot more. Most beginners don't need to invest in a telephoto lens. --Check if your camera is compatible with the range of lenses that the manufacturer of your model has on offer. Most manufacturers have hundreds of lens options on offer and your requirement for lenses varies as you progress in photography. Your camera has to be compatible with lenses of higher focal length and speed. If you are planning to upgrade your camera by buying another model from the same manufacturer, check for compatibility with older accessories so that you can put to use some of the lenses already available with you and save yourself an additional expense. 2. Depth-of-field preview button A depth-of-field preview button is a necessity if you want to achieve better focus. It allows you to identify the area that will be in focus in your photograph. This area is referred to as the 'depth of field'. When you adjust the focus in your camera the preview button is a useful tool that can help you vary the focus and depth of field in different shots. 3. Image sensor resolution In digital cameras, there is no film in use but this is instead replaced by a device called the image sensor. The image sensor renders colors, is sensitive to light and is the device that captures images in small pixels on its surface. Image resolution is a measure of the sharpness or level of detail in photographic images. Image resolution is expressed as a number and is measured in mega pixels. High-end professional use cameras have an image sensor resolution of around 12 mega pixels and the most advanced professional models go up to almost 14 mega pixels. At the mid range you have camera models with resolution ranging from 2 - 6 mega pixels. To deliver large format prints of superior quality, you should go for models with resolution greater than 3 mega pixels. At the lower end, you have models of 1 mega pixel or less and the sharpness of the photograph is slightly inferior compared to cameras with higher values of image sensor resolution. Lower pixel models are best suited for small format prints. 4. If you have the facility for Auto-bracketing it can be a very useful tool. Auto-bracketing enables the camera to automatically take 3 exposures or in some cameras 5 exposures of the same shot by varying the Exposure Value (EV) to lighten or darken an image. Each of the images will be slightly differently exposed and this is a great tool to ensure that you capture the moment perfectly. You can bank on at least one being a properly exposed picture. This tool comes in handy especially for professional photographers. 5. If tonal quality of the photograph is your top priority when you choose a camera then it is best that you go for a digital camera. Photographic prints of scenes captured on a digital camera have a level of tonal quality that is far superior to best quality traditional prints. 6. There are sophisticated camera models available today that can capture movement and audio-visual images. If you want to go beyond static images and capture the first steps of a child or activities during family get-togethers, then you should look for a camera with these advanced capabilities. It will create a better experience when you go down memory lane. The Kodak Easyshare LS753 Zoom Digital Camera is one such model that offers audio-visual capability. Canon Digital Camera - from Humble Beginnings to World Class Company Started in a single-room by three Japanese men in the year 1933 under the name of Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory, Canon has come a long way today. It all began with the phantom prototype camera called the 'Kwanon'. At that time, Germany was considered to be the leader in camera production. German cameras were extremely expensive. So, Goro Yoshida, along with two others tried to produce a 35mm rangefinder camera at a cheaper price and came up with "Kwanon'. Digital SLR Camera versus a Compact Digital Camera Digital Single Lens Reflex (SLR) cameras are excellent cameras that produce clearer, sharper and more colourful images than most point and shoot digital cameras available. With prices falling rapidly, they are now more affordable then ever. With the price gap between an entry model digital SLR camera and the most expensive compact digital camera narrowing; the question is? do I spend the extra money and get a Digital SLR camera? or save a few hundred dollars and purchase the best digital compact camera. Removing a Textured Pattern from a Scanned Photo ? 5 Minute Digital Fix One of the most common problems when dealing with scanned photographs as part of a digital restoration activity is that after scanning, the digital image appears to have a textured pattern to it.
|
|
|
|
|
