Friday, August 1, 2008

CAPTURING YOUTHFUL MOMENTS IN TIME

A well known Comedian once said, “All children are brain damaged”. Another Cliche’ is,
“Be kind to your children for they are the ones who will pick your nursing home”. Our children are our future and the future of this and every nation. They are the treasured legacy of what we leave behind. We need to document these moments in time because in the wink of an eye, They’re Gone!!!

Equipment
I will assume you have a good film camera. Or if you’re using a digital camera, one of at least
five mega pixel. With film cameras you will require ASA 100 for indoor and ASA 200 for outdoor shoots. I prefer ASA 200 for outdoor photography for the simple fact that anything higher
renders a photo that’s too grainy. Filters for child photography really can be limited to a very few.
The first is a polarizer, circular polarizer if you’re using a digital camera. This filter helps soften the harsh outdoor light and to some extent, the subject. I’m not in favor of using filters at all on children. Their features are naturally softened by their youth. I believe using a polarizer filter in this case is a necessary trade off.
A Polarizing filter is designed and manufactured with technology one step below that of rocket science. You definitely Don’t need a Masters Degree to learn to use one though. The main thing to remember is that a Polarizing filter only works when the sunlight is at 90 degree angle to the subject or if the light is directly overhead or on an overcast day. Just position yourself and your subject properly and adjust the Polarizer filter for the desired effect. It’s as simple as that.
The only other filters I would recommend are Warming filters. These type of filters are primarily used on film cameras to correct color casts. Digital cameras are not subject to this problem due to the automatic white balance correction built in.
Another definite necessity is a good camera tripod and cable release for both indoor and outdoor work. A portrait lense is beneficial for photographing children
but not an absolute necessity. Both film cameras and digital cameras, because of their high resolution, gives one the option of enlarging a photograph without losing much detail. Be sure to have spare batteries for your camera if it’s a digital. Don’t forget plenty of film and if you’re photographing with a digital camera, a spare media capture card as large as you can afford. I use the camera raw or tiff format for human and wildlife photography and at 23 to 25 mega pixels per shot, it don’t take long to exhaust a card. With the post view option a digital camera offers you have the option of deleting unwanted photos.

Location
Whether your photographic session will be in doors or outdoors safety should be a paramount issue. Especially outdoors, make sure all the garden tools are picked up or out of the way. This is not only for your subjects safety but for yours as well. You’ll be concentrating on getting that shot of a lifetime and not of that garden rake or hose you’re going to trip over. I’ve been there, done that and have the scars to prove it!!!

Situational Photographic Sessions
As the term imparts, means creating unique situations to photograph in. You’re pretty much limited only by your imagination when it comes photographing children being children. A few of the situations I have used in the past include:
a. Water Balloon Fights- On a hot summer day fill up a bunch of balloons and keep them on ice until the session begins. The resulting shots are Priceless!!
b. Churning Butter- The results include boredom, more boredom and then amazement
c. Making Ice cream- Every child will jump at the chance to gorge themselves into a coma with homemade Ice Cream. Let them do all the cranking and I guarantee the resultant photographs will be memorable.
d.. Children and Pets- They go together like pork and beans. What you will see in the results is
unconditional love, devotion and commitment. I lost my Rottweiler, Sadie, to my youngest Granddaughter years ago. They bonded at a very young age and were close their whole lives. The
resultant photos I have are treasured memories.
e. Take a Kid fishing- This pretty much speaks for itself.
f. Children and Food- Just watching children eat is a treat and presents many photographic possibilities.
I’m sure that other situations exist. Use you own unique creativity to capture those memorable photographs.

The little people in our lives are just that, little! Photograph them from their level. It’s safe to say
a Kodak moment happens in a household at least once every day. Br prepared. Keep your camera at close hands for those once in a lifetime photographs.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Purchasing Your First Digital Slr Camera

The title, Purchasing Your First Digital SLR Camera, really should be
titled, how to loose your mind in just a few easy steps. With the skyrocketing of the Digital age in the mid 80's to early 90's and most of us feverishly trying to either catch up or grasp the basics in this new Digital world, it’s hard, if not impossible, to make a sound decision when it comes to purchasing your first Digital SLR Camera.

A little background on the Technology Digital Slr Cameras use is in order.
Unlike film cameras that use a mechanical/chemical process to capture an image, Digital Slr’s use an electronic process combined with an Image Sensor. Image Sensors come in two basic flavors, CCD,
[charged coupled device] and CMOS, {complimentary metal-oxide semiconductor]. Both were designed in the mid 60's to early 70's. The CCD image sensor at that point in time was the benchmark for image sensors used in digital cameras. The CMOS image sensor lagged behind because of its inability to offer the resolution needed for the high end cameras of that time. This is not the case now. CMOS image sensors have come of age and now you find Quality Digital SLR Cameras using both, and the technology driving them is ever growing.

Another very worthwhile option that should make most anyone want to jump into the Digital SLR Camera pool is the ease for a complete novice,
with no prior photographic experience, to take first rate pictures. All Digital Slr Cameras have an automatic mode that controls the aperture setting and shutter speed. In essence, this function makes them a high end Point and Shoot Camera. Every Digital SLR Camera has a number of pre-sets
built in for photographing in different situations, such as landscape,
portrait, hi-key, low-key, fireworks, documents, macro and the list goes on and on. But being true Digital SLR Cameras they can be used in the fully manual mode and many combinations of auto/manual mode. I’d have to say that anyone with a background in film SLR Cameras would have an advantage over the novice but the Digital SLR Camera is a great learning tool in that one does not have to worry as much over their mistakes. You can simply delete them. This is not the case with film cameras. One could spend a fortune learning to be proficient on a film Camera. I sure did!!
The Digital SLR Camera technology has even went so far as to allow us to edit the photos we take while they’re in the camera.
All Digital SLR Cameras basically work the same. The specifications of each camera are near the same. The buttons that control the functions vary somewhat and some Digital SLR Cameras weigh a little more than others. Digital SLR Cameras have been around for twenty plus years. Considering the overwhelming technology involved, none of them are perfect. They all have shortcomings. That’s where Firmware comes into play. Firmware helps corrects these weaknesses. A Firmware update is simple to do. Most Firmware updates require only a USB cable and a computer. The Manufacturer of your particular Camera has these Firmware updates and offers them for free. Update your Firmware and in essence you have a new Camera.
One has to think, is there a foreseeable end to the technology driving the
Digital SLR Camera industry. Not on your life!!! Even as we speak, new technology is emerging and later this month the CMOS image sensor will draw on that Digital gene pool once again to better itself.

So, now the groundwork is set. The rest is up to you. You’re all frugal shoppers and spend your hard earned bucks wisely. Follow the information here and the purchase of your first Digital SlR Camera could be your last.

Happy Shopping


Author- Michael F. Major
To see where this new technology has taken us, check out “What’s Hot”
at The F-Stop Shop. You’ll Find that “One Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words”

http://www.thef-stopshop.com

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Let's Picture This

Let’s Picture This
For The Photographer in all of us May 22, 2008

THE UNVEILING OF THE F-STOP SHOPS’ FIRST NEWSLETTER
With everything that’s going on in the new life of The F-Stop Shop I can’t believe I’m even attempting an undertaking such as this. Never the less, it’s going to have to start sometime and that time may as well be now!!!!!!

Let’s Picture This will endeavor to bring you some insight and everyday wisdom and tips to make your photographic endeavors a little more enjoyable. In an effort to bring this knowledge to you in an understandable
format I will be choosing the areas to cover. Giving the countless Photographic situations, one is limited only by his or her imagination.

Let’s take a closer look at cameras. Digital? Film? What’s the best? Each has its’ own plus and minus. Let’s take a closer look at 35 mm cameras. Their only minus is the cost of having the film developed vs digital which uses an assortment of capturing media.. But for absolute resolution, and I no doubt will take a lot of grief with this comment, film cameras have it won, Hands Down!! A good film camera will equal or even surpass the Digital counterpart. The cost of both is really the issue. But the cost thing I’ll have to give to the Digital. Although a good Digital slr will run $600 to $1000 verses $200 to $300
for a 35mm. The digitals ability to delete
unwanted shots makes it more cost effective to operate. I have countless thousands of photos shot with an assortment of film cameras and considering only 2 to 3 photos worthy of keeping it’s easy to see the Digital won that round. The Digital however has won the Princess and the Pea award in that it’s
unable to take a licking and keep on tickng
like its film counterpart. There’s a lot of electronics in that little package and one has to treat it right. Don’t Ever Shoot directly into the sun with a Digital. It just hates that, to the point of, saying to you,
“I QUIT!!!”

Digitals have come a long way though and I
must admit I use my Olympus E-Volt more
my assortment of film cameras. We all live in a Digital world these days and Im trying to go with the flow.

Check out the links below to see what the
Experts think.

http://www.normankoren.com/Tutorials/MTF7.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3409155.stm

http://www.clarkvision.com/imagedetail/film.vs.digital.1.html

Tuesday, May 13, 2008






FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Company Name: The F-Stop Shop
Contact Name: Michael F. Major
Telephone: 1-239-353-1634
Fax: 1-239-353-1634
E-mail: majorbige@hotmail.com
Street Address:680 11Th. St. N.W.
Naples, FL 34120
URL: http://www.thef-stopshop.com


NAPLES, FLORIDA- MEM OLDE EMPORIUM LLC. GOES BACK TO BASICS
WITH A FRESH, BUT NOT SO NEW APPROACH
In this topsy, turvy Web 2.0 world the owners of MEM OLDE EMPORIUM LLC.
launch the first of many websites, The F-Stop Shop, with a back home, back to
basics approach.
In an ever changing world it's weird and even unique to be able to see a fresh
approach in affiliate marketing. Everyone has an angle. Which one is the right
one? With the launching of The F Stop Shop, we may well discover that back
to basics in this hustle and bustle world will work, and work very well.
The idea was concieved on the platform that a service to people should be personal. One customer at a time, catering to all the personal needs, questions
and problems that may arise. With a wealth photogaphic knowledge to offer
and a fresh approach, The F-StopShop is very well on the right track
One picture is worth a thousand words. It's so very important that we keep all
those memories of a lifetime close to our hearts. We all have families, friends
and acquaintenances that are too soon out of our lives and we're left with only
memories to hold onto. When you document your memories with pictures, one
can look back twenty years from now and say, I remember that day.
Mr Major was quoted recently as saying, "I'm an old fashioned kind of guy.
I was born into an old fashioned family and taught basic wholesome values,
the values of family, friends and honesty. I've lived by my values for sixty years and I'm not changing to make a buck. I'm not going to sell you anything you
don't need. I sure wouldn't want that done to me. That's why mem olde emporium llc. and the f-stop shop are in existance, to give people a fair shake.
No, I'm not a fiancial tycoon, but I'm sure proud to offer these services to the
public and I genuinely hope they're beneficial to everyone out there"
The F-Stop Shop can be found on the World Wide Web at
http://www.thef-stopshop.com
# # #

Monday, May 12, 2008

An Afternoon In The Everglades





This Guy Just showed up while my wife and I were fishing and stayed around for couple of hours





They're quite a bit bigger that the Florida Grey squirrel and I believe there are different strains.

The ones with the ear tufts are really neat.









WE live about 20 minutes from Janes Scenic Drive in Fakahatchee Strand. This was shot

upon returning home



Our pet hawk. He/she hangs out at our favorite fishing hole and waits for hand outs. We usually try and toss him/her a fish when we're there .




I believe it's a burrowing Owl. While We were at the Big-T it landed on our picnic table and stayed most of the morning. I got 18 shots of it. I'm partial to this one





I use an Olympus E-1 for most of my pictures. This was shot with a 14 by 42 Zuiko lense at

about 10 feet








Grey Squirrel









Lantana, the shot taken on a portion of Janes Scenic Drive I Highly reccomend anyone that's

visiting in the South West Florida area to take a day and do Janes Scenic Drive It's native

Habitat for Deer, Bear, Turkey and Panther The dirt road cuts through the middle fo the

Panther Refuge.












It's not much to look at. I don't even know what it's called, but it smells as sweet as honey














Just one of our many fishing holes. Good for small Tarpon, to 40 pounds, Snook, Bass

and most of the exotic panfish like Oscar, Myan Ciclid and such.























Wednesday, May 7, 2008

MySpace.com - My Photo Albums - My Photos

MySpace.com - My Photo Albums - My Photos



Cool Stuff to do with Photoshops' Photomerge
In The Cats Eye




Greetings!! It's The Old Panhandler here with some
information on a subject that may be of some interest
to any and all you photographic Buffs out there.
Adobe products have been on the market for what seem
like forever. For any of us with a camera, be it an
inexpensive point and shoot or a Top of the line digital
slr we use Adobe Photoshop in one form or another to
make those memories of a lifetime come to life, you
know, that "One Picture is Worth a Thousand Words"
type of memory.
What I'm going to focus on is an application within
Photoshop Elements, namely Photomerge. Photomerge
is great for splicing multiple photos together to achieve
a panoramic photograph. I've used it in the past with much
success. But that's NOT its only use!!!
I've done some photograhpic retouching and restoration
for friends and Clients in the past and they asked if I
could combine all gererations of a family into one picture.
That's when I discovered one of the many other uses for
Photomerge.
As an example, I've used a macro shot of our resident
"BadBoy". His Given name is Percy but he responds to
Badboy as well. The photo was shot in Tiff format and
absolutely no clean-up. The camera that I used is an
Olympus E-volt E-300. Since I used the macro setting
on the Olympus I needed only minimal cropping to
achieve "In The Cats Eye" displayed above.
The other photo, you ask. Just look in the cats eye and
you'll see out old boy "George". This photo came from a
scanned image I took many years ago. The photo was
cropped to include just his head and very little else. It was
saved as a giff. , 75 times 75 pixels to be able to fit it in
the eye. Photomerge doesn't merge the photos, but allows
you to super impose the two. After that's done all that is
needed is a little clean-up with the clone stamp tool and
there you have it!!!! This took me about 15 minutes to do.
This is just a cheap Parlor trick to prove a point. "With
Photoshop You're limited only by your imagination."

Tuesday, May 6, 2008



Cool Stuff to do with Photoshops' Photomerge
In The Cats Eye


Greetings!! It's The Old Panhandler here with some
information on a subject that may be of some interest
to any and all you photographic Buffs out there.
Adobe products have been on the market for what seem
like forever. For any of us with a camera, be it an
inexpensive point and shoot or a Top of the line digital
slr we use Adobe Photoshop in one form or another to
make those memories of a lifetime come to life, you
know, that "One Picture is Worth a Thousand Words"
type of memory.
What I'm going to focus on is an application within
Photoshop Elements, namely Photomerge. Photomerge
is great for splicing multiple photos together to achieve
a panoramic photograph. I've used it in the past with much
success. But that's NOT its only use!!!
I've done some photograhpic retouching and restoration
for friends and Clients in the past and they asked if I
could combine all gererations of a family into one picture.
That's when I discovered one of the many other uses for
Photomerge.
As an example, I've used a macro shot of our resident
"BadBoy". His Given name is Percy but he responds to
Badboy as well. The photo was shot in Tiff format and
absolutely no clean-up. The camera that I used is an
Olympus E-volt E-300. Since I used the macro setting
on the Olympus I needed only minimal cropping to
achieve "In The Cats Eye" displayed above.
The other photo, you ask. Just look in the cats eye and
you'll see out old boy "George". This photo came from a
scanned image I took many years ago. The photo was
cropped to include just his head and very little else. It was
saved as a giff. , 75 times 75 pixels to be able to fit it in
the eye. Photomerge doesn't merge the photos, but allows
you to super impose the two. After that's done all that is
needed is a little clean-up with the clone stamp tool and
there you have it!!!! This took me about 15 minutes to do.
This is just a cheap Parlor trick to prove a point. "With
Photoshop You're limited only by your imagination."