Sunday, July 24, 2011

Free Returns on Standard Unframed Prints

 

We know that one of the major concerns people have when buying items over the internet is, “What happens if it is not exactly what I want?” followed closely by, “How much will it cost to return this?”  Given the difficult return policies implemented by many internet merchants, these concerns are unfortunate sources of stress for what should otherwise be an easy experience.

 

At City Escapes Nature Photography, we already have a generous return policy that is focused on relieving that stress since we want to ensure every purchase meets your needs. However, we thought we could do even better, so we are pleased to announce our new Free Returns policy on all standard, unframed paper prints.

 

If you purchase any of our unframed paper prints and are not happy with your purchase for any reason, you can return the item within 30 days from the date it was delivered and we will either exchange the print for another of the same size, or fully refund your money -- your choice. We will even include a return shipping label so we pay the cost of shipping the original print back to us.

 

The details:

·         The print must not be damaged in any way.  (Be careful of fingerprints!)

·         You must contact us by phone or email within 30 days of delivery to you to let us know you are returning the item.

·         You must ship the item, including its original certificate of authenticity, back to us within 30 days of delivery.

·         You must ship it back to us in its original packaging – so don’t throw away the packing material until you know you are happy with your purchase.

·         You must use the return shipping label included in the original paperwork. If you do not use that label, we will not be able to pay for the return shipping – although we will still issue you a refund for your original purchase, assuming the print is undamaged.

·         Once we receive the print and verify that it has not been damaged, we will issue you a refund for the original cost of the print and shipping it to you. This refund will be applied to the same credit card that was used to place the order.  If you paid by cash, we will mail you a check for the amount owed.  Sorry, items paid by credit card cannot be issued check refunds or credited to a different card.  Though we anticipate much faster refunds, please allow four to six weeks for the refund to be processed.

·         If multiple prints were ordered and shipped at the same time, and not all are returned, we will only reimburse the cost of the returned print(s) – not the shipping charges.  We will, however, still pay for shipping the returned print(s) to us. 

·         This offer does not apply to any canvas or framed prints. On these items, our regular return policy applies.

 

We want you to enjoy your print and hope that this new policy will allow you to breathe a little easier when making your purchase decisions.

 

Best,

 

City Escapes Nature Photography

 

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

City Escapes Nature Photography Newsletter - July, 2011

Text Box:  
Canoe Reflections

CITY ESCAPES

Nature Photography, LLC

 

 

Newsletter

July, 2011

 

 

 

 

What’s in the Background?

 

How many times have you taken a photograph that you just knew was going to be great, only to realize later that something weird in the background looks like it is growing out of your subject’s head?  I think we all have shots like these: good photographs gone bad because of distracting elements in the background.  Preventing this “background noise” begins, as with most other things, by becoming aware of it.

 

Many people, when composing a photograph, are so focused on their subject (no pun intended) that they are completely unaware of what else may creep its way into the image, often behind the main subject.  To solve the distracting background problem, a photographer must train him or herself to see everything that is in the frame, not just the subject.  This takes practice, but eventually becomes second nature.  When you look through your viewfinder, or increasingly at the view screen, after sorting out your subject take a moment to purposefully notice the background elements of your proposed shot.  Is there anything there that would detract from the focal point of your image?  This can include anything from that object appearing to grow out of your subject’s head to the laundry basket on the floor to a passing car on your nature hike – basically, anything that you do not want in the image.  If there is nothing distracting, great, fire away.  More often than not, however, there will be a potentially distracting element back there that you need to deal with somehow.  If this is the case, you have several options.

 

One option is to simply zoom in on your subject.  Getting closer reduces the area available to any background distractions, and may be enough to remove a parked car or other such distractions on the margins.  This has the added bonus of allowing your subject to fill up more of the frame, which often makes for a more compelling image.  One of the most common composition killers is being too far back from your subject, allowing an excess of extraneous imagery to fill the frame and distract from the focal point.  I am not saying that every shot needs to be a close-up; far from it.  However, successful shots that are not close-ups usually have background elements that add to the image, not distract from it.  Learning which is which takes time and practice.  And while you are practicing, play with the distances to your subject.  You just might surprise yourself with the resulting images.

 

A second option is to move around: reposition your subject and / or yourself to eliminate or reposition the offending item within the frame.  This works particularly well in situations where you want all of the elements in your image, just not in the arrangement that you currently find them (i.e., you want the tree, just not with that branch growing out of Tommy’s head).  A few steps to the left or right, or even just squatting down or standing on a stool can make a huge difference in the quality of the final image.  Be aware of your surroundings, though.  Running into someone or twisting your ankle on a tree root, while potentially adding excitement to your day, will not help you get that great shot.

 

Of particular note in the realm of distracting background elements are bright lights, especially the sun.  Often lights get overlooked, but they can wreak havoc on your images.  If there is a significant light source in the background, your subject will likely be very dark, with little or no detail visible.  Great silhouettes are made this way.  If a silhouette is not the desired effect, though, again you have several options.  The first is to reposition your subject, as discussed above.  The second is to add fill light to your subject.  This can be as simple as using the built-in flash on your camera, even when you are outside.  Note that flash is not solely meant to be used indoors!  Some people seem to have an aversion to ever using their flash outdoors, though it can be quite a useful tool.  Imagine, for example, you want to take a portrait against a gorgeous sunset.  You position your subject in front of the sunset, where their faces will be in their own shade.  You can either expose for the sunset, in which case the faces will be too dark, or you can expose for the faces, in which case the sunset will be blown out and lost.  Or you can expose for the sunset and add a little flash to brighten the faces to the correct exposure.  Voila!  A beautiful portrait.

 

Remember also that there is no rule that says that your subject must be in the center of the image.  If a more compelling image can be made by offsetting your subject and cutting something distracting out of the frame, by all means do so.  Very often offset images are more intriguing anyway, as centered images are sometimes too static to be interesting.  Don’t forget that your camera works perfectly well vertically, too.  Play with the orientation.

 

And finally, there are times when the best image is created by taking all definition out of the background entirely.  Most of you will have probably seen an image of a bird or frog where the critter is the only thing in focus; everything else is blurred.  Because the subject is the only thing in focus, it pops.  This is achieved by having a very shallow depth of field, which in turn is achieved by having the aperture on your camera wide open, i.e., on a very small f-stop number.  Even portraits taken this way, with the eyes being the focal point, can be quite effective.  For those of you with multiple lenses, your longer lenses will isolate your subject more than your wider lenses.  A word of caution: the shallower the depth of field, the more precise your focus must be.  With very shallow depths of field, there is little room for focusing error.  The beauty of digital means that you can practice these techniques and it won’t cost you a small fortune. 

  

So get out there and take those fun summer photos.  Begin to practice seeing the background elements as well as your subject.  Your images will only improve as you become aware of everything that is taking up residence within the viewfinder.

 

 

 

Thanks to All Who Participated in Our “Get the Word Out!” Event

 

A huge note of gratitude to all of you who helped to spread the word about City Escapes Nature Photography by letting your friends and family know about us.  Unfortunately, we did not meet our goal of 100 friends on Facebook or 75 subscribers to our newsletter, so we will not be having the drawing for the free print at this time.  Stay tuned, though; you never know when we might decide to have another free-print-event!

 

 

July’s Fun Facts

 

July 1st is Canada Day, so everyone put on your red and white and celebrate with these fun tidbits about that most Canadian of plants, the maple tree.

 

* Estimates of the number of species of maple trees vary widely, from 129 to well over 200.  However, only thirteen maple species are native to North America, and just one is native to the entire Southern Hemisphere.

* Six species of maple trees produce the sap from which high quality maple syrup is made.

* Sap can only be collected during the late winter and early spring, when day temperatures are above freezing, and night temperatures are below freezing.

* Maple trees are forty years old before they can be tapped.  They may continue to produce maple sap for over a hundred years.

* Approximately 40 liters of sap are required to make a single liter of maple syrup.

* The seeds of maple trees are officially called samaras, though many refer to them as whirlybirds or helicopters because the flat, wing-like structures attached to the seeds cause them to spin after they drop from the tree.

* Maples are popular bonsai trees.

* Wood from maple trees is the preferred wood for bowling pins, bowling alley lanes, and cue sticks.

* Although the maple leaf has long been associated with all things Canadian, the maple was not designated as the official tree of Canada until 1996.

 

 

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

 

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

 

CITY ESCAPES Nature Photography, LLC

www.cityescapesphotography.com

509-396-5154