City Escapes Nature Photography Newsletter - Feb 2011

CITY ESCAPES

Nature Photography, LLC

 

 

Newsletter

February, 2011

 

 

 

White Balance Basics

 

You finally gave in and bought a digital camera.  Now you have discovered that you have quite a few more options on the camera, and you just might be daunted by the amount there is to learn.  Fear not; you actually don’t need to know that much more about digital cameras than you do about film cameras to start taking wonderful photographs.  If your new camera is a point-and-shoot, you probably have even less to learn.  But if your new gear is a DSLR (digital single-lens reflex) camera, there are a few basic functions that are significantly different from film cameras.  Understanding these differences will get you off to a good start in the new digital medium.

 

Perhaps the most basic of differences is what is known in the digital world as “white balance.”  This refers to the temperature, or color, of light that the camera sees.  In film, the adjustments were made with the type of film used: remember those photos taken indoors that always seemed to turn out kind of yellowish-orange?  That was because they were taken with film rated for outdoor light.  Here’s how it works, in a nutshell: various light sources, such as incandescent bulbs, fluorescent bulbs, direct sunlight, flash units, etc. all emit light at slightly different color wavelengths (temperatures).  Our brains are very adept at translating these different wavelengths into a relatively constant color palette, meaning that we see colors in each of these lighting situations as more or less the same.  Our cameras, however, cannot make that adjustment in the same way that our brains do.  This results in various color casts in the images, depending upon the wavelength of the source light.  Fluorescent lights, for example, will cause a green cast, while flash units can cause a yellow cast. 

 

To fix this issue in a digital camera, you simply have to tell it what your light source is.  The camera will then make the appropriate adjustments so that the resulting image looks normal -- without any color casts.  Most camera manufacturers have very common-sense symbols to represent the various settings: a classic light bulb for incandescent lights, a cylindrical light bulb for fluorescent lights, a sun for full sunshine, a cloud for overcast light, a building casting a shadow for shade, and a lightning bolt for a flash unit.  There will also be the letter A, which stands for “automatic,” and is a setting in which the camera reads the scene and makes its best guess as to the temperature of the light source.  While the automatic setting certainly is not perfect, it can be helpful in many situations, including situations in which there are multiple light sources.  For many photographers, it will become the default white balance setting.

 

Some cameras will also have a K setting, which stands for Kelvin, and is useful if you know the temperature in Kelvin of the light source.  There may also be a PRE setting, which allows you to pre-program a particular adjustment without having to know the Kelvin temperature.  The PRE setting is particularly helpful if you have multiple light sources that do not fit easily into one category since you can use a gadget such as an Expodisc to help you measure the overall light temperature.  Most casual photographers will never use either of these settings, so feel free to ignore them.

 

The adventurous photographer might want to intentionally shoot with a white balance that does not give the proper color balance, experimenting with the effects it can have on an image.  Want to make an image look warmer?  Use the cloudy or shade setting.  Want to give it a cooler feeling?  Try the incandescent bulb setting.  Want to never think about white balance again?  Set it on automatic and forget about it. 

 

That’s it; that’s all there is to white balance. The most important thing to remember about white balance, though, is that it is merely a new tool in your digital toolbox.  There is no “right” way to use it.  However, the more you understand it, the more you will be able to use it to help you make the images you want to make. 

 

Now get out there and have fun playing with the different color options!

   

 

 

February’s Fun Facts

‘Tis the season of love, at least according to Hallmark.  To mark this month’s fun holiday, we take a look at -- what else? – lovebirds.

 

·         Lovebirds are actually small parrots, averaging 1.5 to 2.5 oz.  There are nine different species of them, eight of which are native to Africa, one to Madagascar.

·         The average life expectancy of a lovebird is ten to fifteen years.

·         When given proper attention, lovebirds can make very strong bonds with humans, and will often preen their human companions.  

·         Despite their small size, they are also aggressive and territorial birds.  Fierce attacks on other birds, dogs, and even cats are not uncommon.

·         Wild flocks of lovebirds can range in size from just a few individuals to over 800 birds.

·         Avocados and mistletoe berries are toxic to lovebirds, while citrus seeds will intoxicate them.

 

 

If you have any questions, or suggestions for future newsletters, please email us at: relationships@cityescapesphotography.com

 

Become a fan on Facebook at

http://www.facebook.com/pages/City-Escapes-Nature-Photography/119004291172

 

CITY ESCAPES Nature Photography, LLC

www.cityescapesphotography.com

509-396-5154

 

Hotel Review: Elizabeth Lake Lodge, Cranbrook, BC

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Date of visit:  Jan, 2011

 

This lodge has been a favorite on trip advisor for several years, and deservedly so. It embodies the best of a local inn. We stayed here twice, heading to and from our final destination, and were very impressed with this motel-style lodge. We were fortunate that others had sung its praises previously or we would have driven right by it.

 

One of the first things you notice, beyond the striking mural on the side of the building, is the location.  The lodge is on the south side of Cranbrook, right next to a 250 acre bird sanctuary. While there were not a lot of birds during our visit (in the middle of winter), just having the view over the expanse of trees and Elizabeth Lake, instead of looking into another business, was a nice change. I imagine in the summer, it would be even better.  There is also a miniature golf course on the premises, though it, too, was closed for the season.

 

The rooms were well-equipped with a miniature kitchen, a full size breakfast table, and duvets over the beds. The kitchenette was a nice surprise, and allowed us to easily make breakfast and reheat leftover dinner.  My favorite feature, however, was the heated floors in the bathroom. Tile floors are common in bathrooms, and are always cold. The heated floors warm the tile so that it is not only not cold, but actually warm on your feet. This makes stepping out of the shower much nicer. The heated floors were also a great compliment to the dedicated bathroom heater that allowed the temperature in the bathroom to be set independent of the main sleeping area.

 

Other amenities included a 42” flat-screen TV, tea and tea kettle (it is Canada, after all), deck chairs outside, and custom soaps made especially for the Elizabeth Lake Lodge by a local soap company. 

 

It is also worth mentioning that we were greeted enthusiastically on check in. On both occasions, we were met by George (one of the owners) who not only showed us a room before we committed to staying, but checked the weather and road conditions for the next leg of our drive,  as well as provided multiple restaurant recommendations. George is clearly interested in providing the best accommodations in the area, and even asked us what amenities we have seen elsewhere that we have enjoyed. Clearly, he is not taking his high trip advisor rating for granted and is continuing to look for ways to enhance his guests’ experience.

 

If possible, I would give this lodge a 4.5. However, there are two, minor reasons I don’t believe this hotel rates a 5. The first is the request that the guests wash their own dishes (and as a small sign notes, they may be charged if they don’t). While I find this to be an unusual request, having never seen this before in anything but a condo, and I am not thrilled with it, I would be willing to go along with it given the other advantages of the lodge. However, I am very concerned about the sanitary aspects of this practice. Specifically, I have very little confidence that guests will do a thorough job cleaning the dishes, and that could lead to germs being passed along to the next visitor.  Something as simple as a centralized dish washer that could sanitize the dishes (and not just make them look clean) would resolve this concern. The second issue is that the rooms do not appear to be particularly sound-resistant. It was fairly easy for us to hear other guests both above and near our rooms – more so than in many other hotels. Unfortunately, this problem is not something that is easy to resolve in the existing building. On the plus side, a second building is under construction, and is due to open in May. Hopefully, the insulation in this building will provide additional soundproofing.

 

Terence

City Escapes Nature Photography

 

---