And what are those settings? So glad you asked:

• ISO at 400
• If possible, don’t use “auto, “ use “P” if available.
• Set White Balance (WB) to auto or AWB
• Set image quality, sometime referred to as resolution, to the highest, or best, setting available.

If this list is Greek to you, or you would like to learn more about digital photography, The Cameras, Computers and Cyberspace courses still have some openings for private and and (small) group lessons.  In January and February 2010, we are offering a 2 for 1 special—bring a friend and pay the single student price.

Call or email now to reserve your preferred time before the prime dates are filled! Just click the contact link in the menu bar.

What’s the answer?  Well first let’s talk about why the lights on the tree are lost in the photo.  Quite simply, the on camera flash is responding to the need for light to properly expose the shot.  Properly expose according to the settings in the camera, that is.  The camera is set to give the scene lots of light. It doesn’t know that you actually WANT to have a moody, soft glow to capture the pretty lights on the tree.  So we have to trick it. 

Depending on the features your camera has, you can simply turn the flash off and expose for the lights on the tree, or you can use the night portrait feature.  But bear in mind that this low light setting may also require a slow shutter speed, so be prepared to put the camera on a tripod or steady surface and activate the shutter remotely or with the self-timer setting.

So, this year, your holiday photos will actually show off the beautiful lighting you worked so hard to display.

Happy Holidays!

We’ll be doing things a bit different next year, with the biggest change that the classes will be held at the Recreation Center instead of the Southold High School.  We have been grateful for the use of the High School’s computer room, but as the course has evolved to meet the needs of the students, it has become less than ideal.

The first four week session will cover the real basics—downloading images to the computer, organizing and tagging image files, and sharing to social networking sites or online galleries. We’ll use Picasa, the free program offered by Google. The second four week session will cover the basics of the digital darkroom using Photoshop Elements and Picasa to perform basic editing and retouching.

Classes fill up very quickly, so mark your calendars and keep an eye out for the Southold Recreation Dept. brochure.

Hope to see you next year!

Here on Eastern Long Island, a local pumpkin farmer has made a tradition of carving some jack o’lanterns out of the left over squashes, and displaying them for the revelers to enjoy as they pass by. It has always looked to me like a Halloween party for the ghosts and goblins.

To capture night images, a photographer must do three things:

1. Find a tripod or other method of keeping the camera steady, besides holding it in your hands (shutter speed will be too slow for hand held images-even you folks with image stabilization)

2. TURN OFF THE AUTOMATIC FLASH

3. Set your shutter speed to around 1/8 or 1/4 second. Or if your camera will not allow you to set the shutter manually, use the night mode—just make sure the flash is disabled.

Here’s Krupski’s Pumpking Farm 2009 Halloween:

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