Underwater Photography

Another interesting and rather challenging type of photography is underwater photography. This can include a variety of many different subjects, but I think the most striking and interesting underwater pictures are those where the subject is coral reefs. This is because it will capture the immense biodiversity and beautiful array of colors. The article I have linked below explains how he does "reefscape"  photography.

He first recommends the use of a wide-angle fisheye lens. He recommends this because in an underwater scene it is rare that you find straight lines, therefore you do not have to worry as much about strange distortion around the outer areas of the image as you would with landscape photography. He also says rectilinear lenses can have issues with sharpness around the edges and that you will not get as wid of a horizontal field of view. He says to just use natural light and have it behind you since most reefs are shallow. Manually set your white balance using some white slate such as the sand and to shoot in the morning or afternoon for the best lighting. For settings, he recommends a somewhat fast shutter speed, an aperture higher than f/8 for a wide depth of field and adjust iso accordingly considering how much light is coming through at that depth. He talks about how you can use thee ripples/waves creating interesting lighting effects or go on a very calm day to capture a reflection off the surface of the water or to capture what's above the water such as the clouds. He says that the colors can contrast very well with the blue of the surrounding ocean, so that could be your backdrop. Reefs can have colors that are distracting according to the rules of dominance such as reds and oranges, it is definitely something you will have to keep in mind. Another tip was to keep things such as boats, snorkelers, and other divers out of the frame because since they are out of place in that scene, they will be distracting. Photographing coral reefs can make for some beautiful pictures, but can also be challenging for the reasons I previously mentioned, not to mention being able to scuba dive to even attempt these shots. 

https://www.sportdiver.com/photography-tips-coral-reefs

Share 2 and Critique

 1.6 sec, f/10, ISO 200, 18mm

1/200 sec, f/22, ISO 200, 18mm

Black and White Photography.

In modern times, with the wide availability of color digital cameras, much of the landscape and wildlife photography is mostly done in color. Despite this, I think that black and white photography is somewhat underrated and underused. Although many professional photographers use black and white sometimes, I believe that it should be more used and appreciated.

 An article, which I linked below, discusses the benefits and reasoning as to why black and white photography is more powerful and can bring a new perspective to the subject. First, it states that colors can be distracting, making it hard to focus on the subject and sometimes detracting from the intended message and focus. The textbook states that reds can be very distracting when they are not a part of the intended subject. so using a black and white filter when editing can be a creative way to solve this issue if it exists in one of your photos. The intended subject becomes much easier to focus on for the audience. Next, he states that it keeps you focused on the composition and texture of the photo. It's easier to focus on. It draws focus to the shapes, light and shadows, and lines and perspective. This can make the photo more convincing and powerful than it would be if it was in color. Finally, he states that it can be more classy, aesthetic and bring an artistic look that does not come in color.

I think that black and white photography also brings out details that may otherwise be overlooked in a color photo. I also think it takes a good eye for composition to make these photos work.

http://blog.pho.to/the-power-of-black-and-white-photography/

Minimalist Photography

One more "artistic" form of photography that intrigued me is minimalist photography. This is not to say that other forms of photography are not artistic but minimalism photography often has an artistic message, meaning or a point to get across. The subject and composition can be anything but I prefer Below are some examples of this style of photography that I particularly like.

An article that had these photos posted discusses what minimalist photography is and the point behind it. She talks about how a picture can have portrayed a lot of information but in minimalist photography, you can say something meaningful and powerful with less. She says this photography strips away unnecessary subject matter, to say and show what you want with as little as possible. She says that the trick is to say just enough and let the audience fill in the rest. You could conclude that it is a method of saying more with less using photography. 

Obviously, the most challenging part of this is the composure, the other knowledge and skills are secondary to this. It clearly requires a high level of creativity to decide what exactly to include in the frame to get your point across. You also have to know what that point you are trying to make with your photo is before this. Minimalist nature photography is something that I want to pursue, but I know it will require a lot of work and practice.

https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/blogs/11-minimalist-nature-photos-that-will-leave-you-speechless

Lightning Photography

One beautiful form of photography that I personally love is lightning photography. It is something that I want to capture at some point, but I had no idea how photographers capture these amazing lightning shots. I found an article (linked below) that explains how it is done.

The writer of this article covers all his recommendations for capturing photographs of lightning. I will go over some of his recommendations, the ones that are not obvious and the more important ones. First, he says to set it to manual focus and set it to infinity because the lightning will cause issues with the autofocus sensor and it will make sure all the lightning is in focus. Next, he talks about timing and recommends using bulb mode and holding the shutter open until the lightning strikes and closing it immediately after the strike ends and also recommends using the mirror lock-up feature. He then discusses composure where he recommends having something in the shot for scale/perspective. Other than bulb mode he says to set the iso to 200 for a less noisy image and since it's in low-light conditions to use a shallow depth-of-field like f/2.8-f5.6. In terms of equipment, he recommends a wide-angle lens, a sturdy tripod, and a cable release to keep your touch from shaking the camera.

This all made sense to me except that I would have thought that a long exposure would make the lightning nothing but a white blur. The other thing I did not understand was what exactly mirror lock-up is. He included a picture that I really like because it has great composure using the houses as perspective, is sharp because the exposure is down at 2 seconds, and lists the settings he used.

https://www.exposureguide.com/lightning-photography-tips/