Understanding and Achieving Image Focus and Sharpness: Part II

Image sharpness depends on multiple factors including focus.

While it's true an image can't be sharp unless the subject is in focus, the converse is not necessarily true, that an image which is in focus, will necessarily be sharp. Image sharpness is fundamentally controlled by focus, but there are other important factors which enable in-focus images to be sharp.

In Part I we looked at how modern digital cameras autofocus (AF), and what factors influence AF systems' ability to focus quickly and accurately.

In Part II, below, we'll discuss choosing the best focus mode for a particular subject, manual or autofocus, or using them together, as well as single versus continuous focus, all to achieve a solid focus for a variety of situations common to travel photographers.

Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative out of control

The Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative (NSI) is a collaborative effort led by the US Department of Justice in partnership with the US Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as state and local law enforcement agencies. The initiative was ostensibly established to create a coordinated national capacity for gathering, documenting, processing, analyzing, and sharing SAR information to help prevent terrorism and other criminal activity.

On the surface, that appears to merely be a national database initiative of what law enforcement agencies have been doing for years, gathering information regarding criminal behavior and activities, but NSI is different, vastly different.

Understanding and Achieving Image Focus and Sharpness: Part I

Image sharpness depends on multiple factors including focus.

While it's true an image can't be sharp unless the subject is in focus, the converse is not necessarily true, that an image which is in focus, will necessarily be sharp. Image sharpness is fundamentally controlled by focus, but there are other important factors which enable in-focus images to be sharp.

In this multi-part series, we'll discuss what it takes to make a photograph look sharp. We'll look at how to successfully focus your camera on your chosen subject, and how to make your well focused image actually look sharp.

In Part I we'll look at how modern digital cameras autofocus (AF), and what factors influence AF systems' ability to focus quickly and accurately.

NSL Photography Tip: Add Important Photography dates to your Appointment Calendar

For all photographers using a digital camera, keeping the date and time accurately in the camera is very important.

The date and time of every photograph is embedded in the meta data for each image, each time the image is made and saved in the camera. These are important pieces of information for photographers.

The date and time in each photograph's metadata establish precisely when the image was made. It helps for verification during photo editing. It's tremendously helpful in later identifying images, and greatly assists photographers in organizing their images.

Ned Levi leading Wildlife Photowalk at Heinz Refuge

For photographers in the Greater Philadelphia, PA Region, who are interested in wildlife photography, I wanted to let you know, I'm leading a Photowalk in the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge in Philadelphia, PA on Saturday, September 21st. The Refuge is on the north side of I95 just across the Interstate from Philadelphia International Airport.

All walks at the Refuge are led by volunteers (me included) working under the overall supervision of the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and are open to all members of the public, though children are expected to be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, and are free. While some US national wildlife refuges charge a nominal fee, the USFWS charges no admission fee for the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge.

Top Six Travel Photography Essentials

Today, travelers are often journeying to far-off lands and seas, many to “once-in-a-lifetime” destinations. During the past month, I was on such a trip to the Arctic. Most of the expedition trip was spent in Svalbard, an archipelago halfway between the North Pole and Norway, and in Greenland, with short stops in Oslo, Reykjavik and Paris.

Travelers can find themselves hundreds of miles from the nearest photo store or repair shop at destinations like Svalbard, and Greenland, and while in cities, where photo shops are available, who wants to waste precious time in them, for purchases or repairs.

Travel and photo gear self-sufficiency, while away from home, has become essential, especially for those for whom photography is an important part of their journeys.

Photography Exhibition: Philadelphia Museum of Art - Family Portrait

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is one of the foremost exhibitors of fine art photography in the nation, especially since the completion of its Perelman Building. Family Portrait is a wonderful exhibition worthy of this great institution.

This exhibition will run through November 10, 2013

Helicopter tours and great scenic photography

More and more often, I hear from travelers who, while on cruises, and land based trips, are planning to take helicopter tours at their ports of call and destinations, and convert the great views they see into wonderful images with their cameras.

Helicopter touring can provide travelers with spectacular views, amazing photographic opportunities, and a chance to visit venues unreachable by other means.

Two great places for helicopter touring are in our 49^th and 50^th states; Alaska and Hawaii. I have two favorite helicopter tours, one in each location.

Photography Exhibition: The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Julia Margaret Cameron

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York City, is one of the premier art museums in the world. When they have a photographic exhibition, you can be sure of its extremely high quality and its careful composition and construction. The Julia Margaret Cameron exhibition will be no exception.

This exhibition will run from August 19, 2013 through January 5, 2014.

Traveling in the US: July 4th, and its fireworks are just days away

Next week, in the United States we'll celebrate our nation's birth. In Philadelphia, America’s birthplace and it's first capital, that means after a concert at the foot of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, more than a half million people will enjoy one of the largest, most spectacular fireworks displays in the nation.

I'll be there. If you're there too, look for me south of the Art Museum.

This year I'm going to be experimenting while photographing the fireworks at the Art Museum. I'm going to use some neutral density filters to enable me to use longer exposures, enabling me to capture more fireworks' bursts in my images. I'll be experimenting with neutral density filters which add 1, 2, or 3 f/stops to my exposure. I'll explain below what that means in terms of shutter times.

Photography Exhibition: The Getty Museum - Japan's Modern Divide: The Photographs of Hiroshi Hamaya and Kansuke Yamamoto

The Getty Museum in Los Angeles has one of the great photographic collections in the world. The exhibition, Japan's Modern Divide: The Photographs of Hiroshi Hamaya and Kansuke Yamamoto is one of the Getty’s most interesting in some time.

This exhibition will run through August 25, 2013.

Safely post your vacation photos while you're away, especially of your children

You're away from home on a “trip of a lifetime,” or perhaps just an ordinary outing to the summer seashore, but whichever vacation you're on, you've decided to post some photos of it, showing how much fun you're having. For family vacations, you decide to post photos of your kids for their grandparents, and the rest of your family and friends, to see and enjoy.

So, you pull out your smartphone or camera, and get some great images of your family on vacation, having the time of their lives. You log into Twitter or your Facebook account or Flickr, or Smugmug, and upload the photos.

“Does that make sense?”

“Is it safe to post vacation photos, which may include your children, to the Internet, while on vacation?”

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is one of the foremost exhibitors of fine art photography in the nation, especially since the completion of its Perelman Building. Photogravure: Master Prints from the Collection is a wonderful exhibition worthy of this great institution.

This exhibition will run through August 11, 2013

Photogravure, a printmaking process that combines elements of aquatint etching and photography, was a prized medium among artist-photographers of the late nineteenth century, who labored over their hand-pulled prints.

Off the beaten path Los Angeles: The Watts Towers

When traveling, I've found my journeys can be significantly enriched by going beyond the usual “top attractions” list found in tour books. Visiting locations and people “off the beaten path” can often tell us much about the area and its history and people. The Watts Towers of Simon Rodia is such a place in Los Angeles.

Would I advise first time visitors to LA to skip the Getty Museum, LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art), the La Brea Tar Pits, the Huntingdon Library and Botanical Gardens, a stroll down Rodeo Drive, the Sony Pictures Studio Tour, and other iconic Los Angeles sights, on a first time visit to Los Angeles? No. They're top attractions for good reason.

Yet there are wonderful sights in Los Angeles beyond its “top attractions.”

Photography Exhibition: The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston - Bruce Davidson - East 100th Street

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, periodically has terrific photographic exhibitions. Bruce Davidson – East 100th Street is definitely such an exhibit.

This exhibition will run through September 8, 2013

Photo Equipment Backpacks Part IV: My Favorite Backpacks

In Part I, of the Photo Equipment Backpack series, I discussed making sure the backpack was properly fitted to ensure the gear inside could be carried comfortably.

In Part II of the series, I discussed the competing needs of in-transit and shooting backpacks, and why those needs have prevented “cross-over” backpack design success, to date.

In Part III of the series I discussed how to ensure photo backpacks will have the required capacity, and what features are essential in quality photo backpacks.

In this conclusion of the Photo Equipment Backpack series, I'll discuss my five favorite backpacks, and why I like them, as well as explain why one of these backpacks is likely the precursor to a truly workable “cross-over” backpack, able to handle both in-transit and shooting uses.

Photography Exhibition: The Getty Museum - In Focus: Robert Mapplethorpe

The Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California, regularly has extraordinary photographic exhibitions. In Focus: Robert Mapplethorpe is no exception.

This exhibition will run through March 24, 2013

“A tastemaker and provocateur, Robert Mapplethorpe was one of the great photographers of the second half of the twentieth century. His highly stylized explorations of gender, race, and sexuality became hallmarks of the period and exerted a powerful influence on his contemporaries.

Photo Equipment Backpacks Part III: Sizing for Equipment & Features

In Part I, of the Photo Equipment Backpack series, I discussed making sure the backpack was properly fitted to ensure the gear inside it could be carried comfortably.

In Part II of the series, I discussed the competing needs of in-transit and shooting backpacks, and why those needs have prevented “cross-over” backpack design success, to date.

This week I'll discuss how to ensure your photo backpack will have the capacity you need, and what features are essential in quality photo backpacks.

In order to size your backpack, make a list of potential destination types and locations you wish to photograph: cities, seashores, seas, mountains, rural areas, national parks, historic sites, religious buildings, wildlife, architecture, sporting events, family get-togethers, etc. Then determine what equipment you would use for each. Finally determine what combination of destinations, locations and photo shoots, you'd likely visit in one journey. Once you've completed those lists you'll know what equipment your backpack(s) will need to carry, and therefore the size backpack you'll need.

TSA policy change affects Tripods in carry-on

TSA Administrator John Pistole, speaking at a conference in New York on March 5, 2013, announced a major policy change for carry-on items beginning April 25, 2013. While it doesn't name tripods themselves, it clearly implies a change in attitude toward them being taken into airplane cabins in the US.

The details of the policy change were detailed in a statement on TSA's website. In the statement on Changes to the Prohibited Items List it says,

“Through TSA’s layered approach to security, and to align more closely with International Civil Aviation Organization standards, effective April 25, 2013 TSA will allow knives that do not lock, and have blades that are 2.36 inches or 6 centimeters or less in length and are less than 1/2 inch in width, novelty-sized and toy bats, billiard cues, ski poles, hockey sticks, lacrosse sticks and two golf clubs as part of their carry-on baggage. This is part of an overall Risk-Based Security approach, which allows Transportation Security Officers to better focus their efforts on finding higher threat items such as explosives.”

Photo Equipment Backpacks Part II: In-transit vs. Shooting Use

When advising photographers about backpacks, I've often found they've neglected to consider how well the backpack fits when making their choice.

I'm constantly saying, “A photo equipment backpack, first and foremost, must be designed as a great backpack, with a well designed harness, and must fit its user properly.”

In Part I of my “Photo Equipment Backpacks” series I discussed the importance of having a backpack fit well to ensure one's photo gear can be carried in it comfortably.

How it's used, is equally important. The two major uses of photo gear backpacks, are in-transit and shooting.

In-transit backpacks are designed to maximize the amount of photo and related gear they can carry, often including laptop computers and tablets. In-transit backpacks need to carry the photographer's total kit chosen for each journey. When out shooting, the in-transit backpack provides safe storage for gear not needed that day.

Shooting backpacks are designed to carry the photo gear needed for a day's shooting, while simultaneously carrying the non-photo gear needed for the day, including food, drink, clothing and emergency items. Photographers' daily shooting needs can change substantially, as one visits different venues with divergent shooting opportunities.

Let's look at the competing needs of in-transit and shooting backpack designs.

Photography Exhibition: Philadelphia Museum of Art - Treasures of the Alfred Stieglitz Center

The Philadelphia Museum of Art has become one of the foremost exhibitors of fine art photography in the nation. Treasures of the Alfred Stieglitz Center: Photographs from the Permanent Collection is an exhibition worthy of the Museum's outstanding international reputation for photographic art.

This exhibition runs through April 7, 2013.

The exhibition showcases highlights from the Museum’s photography collection, tracing the medium’s history as a visual art form.

Photo Equipment Backpacks Part I: Avoid choosing the wrong backpack

I've found that serious photographers understand the importance of careful, meticulous, product research, before they purchase new photo equipment. It's not surprising, considering the cost photo gear these days.
For backpacks, photographers seem to typically investigate capacity, flexibility, zippers, flap pockets, tripod mounts, rain protection, axillary handles, security, and other features.

Unfortunately, by the end of the first day using their new backpacks, despite their research, far too many photographers, immediately relegate them to a closet, learning the hard way, the one attribute they never considered was whether the backpack would fit them well, allowing them to comfortably carry their gear hour after hour, day after day.

Regardless of its capacity and feature set, a photo equipment backpack has to fit the photographer's body well. A poorly fitted backpack, will result in sore shoulders, and/or a sore back. It can turn a great photo hike/walk into misery and exhaustion.

A photo equipment backpack, first and foremost, must be designed as a great backpack, with a well designed harness, and must fit its user properly.

Copyright Alliance issues challenge after revealing major corporations unknowingly support copyright piracy

The Copyright Alliance has sent an open letter to the CEO's of major companies advertising on Internet ad-networks, which use network and server hosting companies, that distribute pirated creative content of independent artists, authors, small businesses, and others, asking them to immediately halt such advertising.

If these legitimate companies would stop advertising via these pirates, the pirate companies' income stream, keeping them in business, would be seriously reduced, and therefore, their ability to continue to pirate the hard work of authors, artists, photographers, and even the casual work of ordinary people writing in personal blogs, or posting their wonderful vacation images, would be seriously impaired or halted.

The Copyright Alliance is asking these legitimate companies to stop “turning a blind eye” to the pirate companies' illegal activities.

Camera Gear, Tripods, TSA, and the Airlines

TSA's (US Transportation Security Administration) website used to state, “You may carry on one (1) bag of photographic equipment in addition to one (1) carry-on and one (1) personal item through the screening checkpoint. The additional bag must conform to your air carrier’s carry-on restriction for size and weight.”

The problem is, since TSA was created, that was never true, nor is it today.

On both US domestic and international scheduled commercial flights, you are allowed no more than one carry-on and one personal item. The airlines haven't, nor do they expect to in the future, permit a third carry-on.

National Press Photographers gravely concerned about "orphan works" - copyright proposal

The National Press Photographer’s Association (NPPA) has submitted comments on the issue of orphan works and mass digitalization, with the US Copyright Office, to advise Congress on how to address current issues involving copyrights and orphan works.

The comments, written by NPPA attorneys Mickey Osterreicher and Alicia Calzada, with contributions from others at NPPA, discuss the myriad of issues currently facing visual journalists regarding their copyrighted images, and offer proposed solutions for creating a system which would treat copyright holders and users of orphaned works fairly and efficiently.

NPPA stated in its comments that it “is gravely concerned that in seeking to address the frustration of ‘good faith users’ of Orphan Works in order to cure their potential liability and ‘gridlock in the digital marketplace,’ the Copyright Office may create a far more serious problem for authors/owners of visual works.”