City Escapes Photography Newsletter - May 2011

CITY ESCAPES

Nature Photography, LLC

 

 

Newsletter

May, 2011

 

 

 

1 - 2 - 3 - Jump!          

Understanding Shutter Delay

 

Modern digital cameras have revolutionized photography, making it easier and cheaper than ever to record in pictures everything from your children’s sporting events and the family vacation to professional portraiture and product photography.  While many features of digital cameras make photography easier and more fun, there are a nagging few that are true headaches to deal with.  Learning to cope with these frustrating traits can further maximize the enjoyment of photography in the digital world.

 

A common problem among point-and-shoot and non-professional level digital cameras is what is known as “shutter delay.”  This occurs when there is a pause between the time when the shutter-release button is pushed and the shutter actually opens to take the picture.  In some camera models, this delay can be close to a second long.  While in our normal perception of time, a second does not seem very long, in photography, it can mean the difference between getting the shot at precisely the right moment or losing all impact.  Imagine trying to capture the moment when your son’s bat connects with the ball in his first hit in Little League, or the ball popping back up into the air as your daughter dives to dig a hard spike in her high school volleyball game.  Now imagine that same moment only a second later.  In both cases, the ball is long gone.  Your son is no longer in mid-swing, and is possibly no longer even holding the bat, and rather than flying through the air, your daughter is lying on the floor, her heroics lost to posterity.  In action photography (which in the realm of family photography includes capturing that delighted grin when something special happens that lights up a child’s face), capturing the moment is all about timing, both the photographer’s and the camera’s. 

 

Improving one’s ability to freeze the moment requires practice, certainly, but also entails understanding your equipment.  To this end, take time to play with your camera, paying attention to how long it takes to actually open the shutter after you push the button.  Get a feel for that delay, and learn to incorporate it into your timing.  It may feel awkward at first to “rush the shot,” pushing the shutter-release button before you actually want the image to be taken, but with practice it will begin to feel more natural, and the results will be much closer to what you were trying to achieve with the image in the first place.  Find something to practice on: try to capture the pendulum of a clock at its zenith, or go to a dog park and try to freeze the Frisbee-catching dogs mid-snag.  If you have children with lots of energy to burn (before they become human tornadoes inside the house), try this one: count to three and have them jump up into the air.  Aim to capture them in mid-leap.  Hint: depending upon the duration of your shutter delay, it is often advantageous for you to press the shutter release on “three,” even though they shouldn’t jump until the next count: “one – two – three (press the shutter release) – jump!”

 

The solution to shutter-delay frustration is straightforward: be aware of it, know how long the delay is in your camera, and practice.  That’s it.  Nonetheless, many people don’t get the images they want because they haven’t taken the time to get really comfortable with this unfortunate feature of their digital camera.  Take a little time, practice, and watch how quickly you become the envy of the neighborhood with your amazing action shots.

 

Happy shooting!

 

 

Don’t Forget to Enter Our “Get the Word Out” Event

 

There is still time to get your name in the hat for a free limited edition print!  You will be entered in the drawing once for subscribing to our newsletter, and once for liking us on Facebook, so be sure to like us and double your chances to win.  Remember, the drawing will only be held if we get either 75 subscribers to our newsletter or 100 fans on Facebook, so tell all your friends, too.  The deadline to enter is June 17, 2011.  For full rules and to see the winner’s choice of images, see April’s newsletter, or go to our blog.

 

 

May’s Fun Fact

 

May 15 is National Peace Officer’s Day.  In honor of the men and women who serve in this often thankless role, this month we look at the symbol of the goal they are striving to achieve: peace.  That symbol, of course, is the white dove.

 

* White doves are also known as Sacred White Doves, or Java Doves.

* Female doves are dams, males are sires.

          * The white doves that are occasionally released at weddings to symbolize love are not actually doves.  They are white homing pigeons.

          * The dove with an olive branch in its beak, a symbol of truce, comes from the Biblical tale of Noah.  A dove returned to Noah with an olive branch in its beak, proving to Noah that the waters of the Great Flood had receded, and land was once again above water.

          * Doves drink in a unique manner.  They put their beak into water and suck, as if drinking from a straw.  Most birds cannot do this, but rather take a small sip of water into their beak, then tilt their head back to swallow.

          * It is thought that the Mesopotamians first domesticated the dove around 3000 BC.

          * The dove was one of the sacred animals of Aphrodite, the ancient Greek goddess of love.

 

 

 

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

 

City Escapes Nature Photography Newsletter - April 2011

CITY ESCAPES

Nature Photography, LLC

 

 

Newsletter

April, 2011 

 

Like us on Facebook and Enter Our “Get the Word Out!” Event

To help spread the word about City Escapes Nature Photography, we have decided to hold a little contest – and the lucky winner gets one of our unframed limited edition prints!  Here’s how it works: we want 100 people to “like” us on Facebook and/or 75 people to subscribe to our newsletter by Friday, June 17^th.  If we reach that goal, everyone who has “liked” us or subscribed to our newsletter^* will get their name put into a random drawing for their choice of either “Mississippi Silhouette -- Live Oak” or “Neighbors -- Lilac-breasted Roller and Elephant” -  the two images featured in this month’s newsletter. It’s that easy!  Here’s a bonus: if you both “like” us on Facebook and subscribe to our newsletter, your name gets entered in the drawing twice!  Everyone who has already “liked” us or who is currently subscribed is automatically entered – but don’t forget to double your chance of winning by doing both!

The winner will be drawn at random from all qualifying entries on Saturday, June 18^th, and will be notified via e-mail or Facebook no later than July 1^st.  But remember, no one wins if we don’t meet our goal, so tell all your friends about us, too!  We’ll even make it easy for you: to like us on Facebook, go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/City-Escapes-Nature-Photography/119004291172 .

Since you’re getting this newsletter, we already know that you are part of the in-crowd and don’t need to know how to subscribe.  However, your not-yet-in-the-know friends might!  So to help them out, send them to http://cityescapesphotography.com/newsletter-popup.html and have them enter their email address. 

The winner will be announced on Facebook and in our July newsletter.  Good luck!

^*City Escapes Nature Photography values your privacy.  We do not now, nor will we ever, sell your personal information to any outside party.  We hate it when other companies do it to us, so we’re not about to do it to you!

 

The Nitty Gritty (i.e., the rules):

-      At least 100 people must “like” City Escapes Nature Photography, LLC on Facebook and/or 75 people must subscribe to the City Escapes Nature Photography monthly newsletter no later than 11:59 p.m. PST on June 17^th, 2011, in order for the drawing to occur.

-      Prize will be an unframed, signed, limited edition print of winner’s choice of either an 8”x 9” “Neighbors – Lilac-breasted Roller & Elephant” or an 8”x 12” “Mississippi Silhouette – Live Oak.” 

-      All entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. PST on June 17^th, 2011.  Any entries received after that will not be eligible to win.

-      Each entrant may enter twice: once by “liking” City Escapes Nature Photography, LLC on Facebook, and once by subscribing to the City Escapes Nature Photography monthly newsletter. Any additional entries (e.g. subscribing to the newsletter through multiple email addresses) will not be considered.

-      Drawing will be held June 18^th, 2011, and the winner will be notified via e-mail or Facebook no later than July 1^st, 2011.

-      Winner must be at least 18 years old and a legal resident of the United States of America.

-      Winner must provide a valid U.S. shipping address in order to claim prize. Prize will not be shipped internationally.

-      Prize can only be shipped to winner, not to a third party.

-      City Escapes Nature Photography, LLC will pay shipping costs to deliver prize to winner (ground shipping only).

-      Winner grants City Escapes Nature Photography, LLC the right to use their name, prize selection, and city and state of residence for promotional purposes.

-      Prize cannot be exchanged for cash or credit toward another print, canvas, or other product.

-      City Escapes will not frame the prize.

-      Employees of City Escapes Nature Photography, LLC and their immediate family members are not eligible to win.

-      If winner is unable or unwilling to accept prize, a second random drawing will be held on or before July 15^th, 2011.  All rules apply equally to second or any subsequent drawings associated with this contest.

-      Entries have no cash value.

-      Odds of winning depend upon the number of entries received.

-      Questions about this drawing should be directed to contests@cityescapesphotography.com

 

 

April’s Fun Facts

 

It’s finally springtime!  And to celebrate, we’re looking at an animal for whom love is frequently in the air: the bunny rabbit.

 

·        Bunnies can make a purring sound similar to a cat.  However, unlike cats, whose purr originates in the throat, a bunny’s purr results from the animal quickly and softly grinding its teeth together.

·        Because of the position of the rabbit’s eyes in its skull, a rabbit can see behind and above itself without moving its head – but it has a blind spot under its nose.

·        The longest ears ever recorded on a rabbit were 31 inches long.

 

 

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

 

Enter the City Escapes Nature Photography “Get the Word Out!” Event

To help spread the word about City Escapes Nature Photography, we have decided to hold a little contest – and the lucky winner gets one of our unframed limited edition prints!  Here’s how it works: we want 100 people to “like” us on Facebook and/or 75 people to subscribe to our newsletter by Friday, June 17^th.  If we reach that goal, everyone who has “liked” us or subscribed to our newsletter^* will get their name put into a random drawing for their choice of either “Mississippi Silhouette -- Live Oak” or “Neighbors -- Lilac-breasted Roller and Elephant” -  the two images featured in this month’s newsletter. It’s that easy!  Here’s a bonus: if you both “like” us on Facebook and subscribe to our newsletter, your name gets entered in the drawing twice!  Everyone who has already “liked” us or who is currently subscribed is automatically entered – but don’t forget to double your chance of winning by doing both!

The winner will be drawn at random from all qualifying entries on Saturday, June 18^th, and will be notified via e-mail or Facebook no later than July 1^st.  But remember, no one wins if we don’t meet our goal, so tell all your friends about us, too! 

We’ll even make it easy for you:

·         To like us on Facebook, go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/City-Escapes-Nature-Photography/119004291172

·         To subscribe to our newsletter, go to http://cityescapesphotography.com/newsletter-popup.html and enter your email address. You can also browse old newsletters at http://groups.google.com/group/city-escapes-newsletter

The winner will be announced on Facebook and in our July newsletter.  Good luck!

 

The Nitty Gritty (i.e., the rules):

-      At least 100 people must “like” City Escapes Nature Photography, LLC on Facebook and/or 75 people must subscribe to the City Escapes Nature Photography monthly newsletter no later than 11:59 p.m. PST on June 17^th, 2011, in order for the drawing to occur.

-      Prize will be an unframed, signed, limited edition print of winner’s choice of either an 8”x 9” “Neighbors – Lilac-breasted Roller & Elephant” or an 8”x 12” “Mississippi Silhouette – Live Oak.” 

-      All entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. PST on June 17^th, 2011.  Any entries received after that will not be eligible to win.

-      Each entrant may enter twice: once by “liking” City Escapes Nature Photography, LLC on Facebook, and once by subscribing to the City Escapes Nature Photography monthly newsletter. Any additional entries (e.g. subscribing to the newsletter through multiple email addresses) will not be considered.

-      Drawing will be held June 18^th, 2011, and the winner will be notified via e-mail or Facebook no later than July 1^st, 2011.

-      Winner must be at least 18 years old and a legal resident of the United States of America.

-      Winner must provide a valid U.S. shipping address in order to claim prize. Prize will not be shipped internationally.

-      Prize can only be shipped to winner, not to a third party.

-      City Escapes Nature Photography, LLC will pay shipping costs to deliver prize to winner (ground shipping only).

-      Winner grants City Escapes Nature Photography, LLC the right to use their name, prize selection, and city and state of residence for promotional purposes.

-      Prize cannot be exchanged for cash or credit toward another print, canvas, or other product.

-      City Escapes will not frame the prize.

-      Employees of City Escapes Nature Photography, LLC and their immediate family members are not eligible to win.

-      If winner is unable or unwilling to accept prize, a second random drawing will be held on or before July 15^th, 2011.  All rules apply equally to second or any subsequent drawings associated with this contest.

-      Entries have no cash value.

-      Odds of winning depend upon the number of entries received.

-      Questions about this drawing should be directed to contests@cityescapesphotography.com

 

^*City Escapes Nature Photography values your privacy.  We do not now, nor will we ever, sell your personal information to any outside party.  We hate it when other companies do it to us, so we’re not about to do it to you!

 

 

The Many Advantages of Off-Season Park Exploration

I freely admit that I am an unabashed supporter of national and state parks.  I was introduced to state parks as a child when my family went camping and fishing, and to national parks at the age of 13 on a whirlwind, family tour of some of the West’s most famous parks: The Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Sequoia, Yellowstone.  I have been hooked ever since, and have been fortunate enough to be able to visit a variety of parks in several seasons, not just peak tourist season.  This has only increased my affection for these parks.

 

For many people, especially families with school-aged children, one of the constraints on travel opportunities is the school calendar.  Summer is a big travel season precisely because the kids are out of school.  The weather is often nicer in the summer, too.  These two factors combine to cram large numbers of visitors to the parks in a relatively short time frame.  But if you have the opportunity to visit our glorious parks in the off-season, I highly recommend it.  Here’s why.

 

First of all, most of the parks will be considerably less crowded during the off-season.  After all, you visit these beautiful oases to enjoy nature and the outdoors, not throngs of other people.  Yellowstone and Yosemite, for example, can become parking lots in the height of summer (and not just because of animal jams); traveling through them can cause more stress than it relieves.  Especially if you are a crowd-averse person, you will enjoy the parks immensely more during the less popular times of year.  Because of the decreased demand, lodging, airfare, and rental cars are generally less expensive during the off-season, sometimes considerably so.  Even shifting your plans by as little as a week can sometimes make a huge difference in the overall cost of your trip.  (My husband and I saved approximately $900 each on plane tickets a few years ago by shifting our departure date by a single day.  That one day took us out of summer season rates and put us into off-season rates.)  And, of course, gasoline is generally at its most expensive during the high-travel season, namely summer.

 

My favorite reason to visit parks in the off-season, however, is that you get to experience the park in ways that most people do not.  There is no question that the red rock formations of southern Utah, for example, are gorgeous – anyone who has seen a photograph of them is bound to be struck by the colors of the rocks.  Seeing those same rocks capped with snow, however, is an entirely different experience altogether.  Watching the bison in Yellowstone graze on the plentiful grasses of summertime can lead a visitor to think these majestic animals have it pretty easy.  When the temperature hovers around zero and you are in near white-out conditions caused by an icy wind whipping across the landscape, however, and you watch these same animals push aside three or four feet of snow with their heads to get to the meager scraps of grass below, you go back to your cozy hotel room amazed that any of them survive the winter at all.  And you are thankful for your warm dinner in a way that you could never be in the summer.

 

Sometimes snow is not the biggest off-season weather change, though; many parts of the country do not get snow on any regular basis.  In these areas, the off-season sometimes means rain.  While rain requires its own preparations, it can be fantastic; rain can completely alter the mood of a landscape.  Waterfalls in the rain are some of my favorite things to photograph, in part because it is something we so rarely see; most waterfall photographs are taken on beautiful, sunny days.  The moodiness of a waterfall in the rain is something few people experience, and it captivates me.

 

The off-season does not automatically mean bad weather, however.  Bright, gorgeous, sunny days happen in winter, too, and they can lend a compelling energy to a park visit.  Crisp, cool days with bright blue skies are at the heart of the concept of the “winter wonderland,” and that concept is not restricted to ski resorts.

 

If you’re not interested in the cold or getting rained or snowed on, however, then the spring and the fall are your seasons.  The landscape comes alive in spring with new plant life, while rivers and lakes are often at their fullest.  If it’s early enough in the season, the bugs have not yet become a problem, while in late fall they are no longer a problem.  Fall ushers back in the cool weather and the brilliant palettes of autumn leaves.  In some parts of the country, both spring and fall bring with them much more comfortable – and safer – temperatures than summer, as well.  The Grand Canyon and similar parks get dangerously hot in the summer, with the mercury soaring well into the 120s or above in some of the canyons.  Hikers frequently underestimate either the heat or its effect on their bodies, routinely getting themselves into trouble.  Heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and even death are not uncommon.  Visiting the Canyon in the spring or fall can greatly reduce the dangers of heat-related illness.  (Be sure to check with the visitor center in any canyon-containing park if you plan to hike, however.  Find out if the park has flash-flood prone areas, and what the weather forecast will be.  Slot canyons are gorgeous and much more fun to hike in cooler weather, but can turn deadly quickly in rainstorms.)

 

If animals are your thing, the off-season offers wonders that you will likely not get during the summer.  Many species give birth during the spring, meaning that your best opportunity to see baby animals at their youngest is during this time.  Be patient and keep a sharp eye; youngsters are often quite well camouflaged.  The fall brings the rutting season for many ungulates, and while you want to give them a wide berth, watching the males vie for mating rights is nothing if not impressive (in a painful, sympathetic-headache inducing way).  And in winter, you may get a glimpse of the real reason moose have such long, spindly legs.  (Hint: it’s not just to make them look funny.)  Add to that the burst of spring flowers, the brilliance of fall foliage, or the surreal blanket of winter’s white, and you will have an experience quite different from, but no less extraordinary than, one in the height of summer.

 

Jodi

City Escapes Nature Photography

 

 

 

City Escapes Nature Photography Newsletter - Mar. 2011

CITY ESCAPES

Nature Photography, LLC

 

 

Newsletter

March, 2011

 

The Many Advantages of Off-Season Park Exploration

 

I freely admit that I am an unabashed supporter of national and state parks.  I was introduced to state parks as a child when my family went camping and fishing, and to national parks at the age of 13 on a whirlwind, family tour of some of the West’s most famous parks: The Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Sequoia, Yellowstone.  I have been hooked ever since, and have been fortunate enough to be able to visit a variety of parks in several seasons, not just peak tourist season.  This has only increased my affection for these parks.

 

For many people, especially families with school-aged children, one of the constraints on travel opportunities is the school calendar.  Summer is a big travel season precisely because the kids are out of school.  The weather is often nicer in the summer, too.  These two factors combine to cram large numbers of visitors to the parks in a relatively short time frame.  But if you have the opportunity to visit our glorious parks in the off-season, I highly recommend it.  Here’s why.

 

First of all, most of the parks will be considerably less crowded during the off-season.  After all, you visit these beautiful oases to enjoy nature and the outdoors, not throngs of other people.  Yellowstone and Yosemite, for example, can become parking lots in the height of summer (and not just because of animal jams); traveling through them can cause more stress than it relieves.  Especially if you are a crowd-averse person, you will enjoy the parks immensely more during the less popular times of year.  Because of the decreased demand, lodging, airfare, and rental cars are generally less expensive during the off-season, sometimes considerably so.  Even shifting your plans by as little as a week can sometimes make a huge difference in the overall cost of your trip.  (My husband and I saved approximately $900 each on plane tickets a few years ago by shifting our departure date by a single day.  That one day took us out of summer season rates and put us into off-season rates.)  And, of course, gasoline is generally at its most expensive during the high-travel season, namely summer.

 

My favorite reason to visit parks in the off-season, however, is that you get to experience the park in ways that most people do not.  There is no question that the red rock formations of southern Utah, for example, are gorgeous – anyone who has seen a photograph of them is bound to be struck by the colors of the rocks.  Seeing those same rocks capped with snow, however, is an entirely different experience altogether.  Watching the bison in Yellowstone graze on the plentiful grasses of summertime can lead a visitor to think these majestic animals have it pretty easy.  When the temperature hovers around zero and you are in near white-out conditions caused by an icy wind whipping across the landscape, however, and you watch these same animals push aside three or four feet of snow with their heads to get to the meager scraps of grass below, you go back to your cozy hotel room amazed that any of them survive the winter at all.  And you are thankful for your warm dinner in a way that you could never be in the summer.

 

Sometimes snow is not the biggest off-season weather change, though; many parts of the country do not get snow on any regular basis.  In these areas, the off-season sometimes means rain.  While rain requires its own preparations, it can be fantastic; rain can completely alter the mood of a landscape.  Waterfalls in the rain are some of my favorite things to photograph, in part because it is something we so rarely see; most waterfall photographs are taken on beautiful, sunny days.  The moodiness of a waterfall in the rain is something few people experience, and it captivates me.

 

The off-season does not automatically mean bad weather, however.  Bright, gorgeous, sunny days happen in winter, too, and they can lend a compelling energy to a park visit.  Crisp, cool days with bright blue skies are at the heart of the concept of the “winter wonderland,” and that concept is not restricted to ski resorts.

 

If you’re not interested in the cold or getting rained or snowed on, however, then the spring and the fall are your seasons.  The landscape comes alive in spring with new plant life, while rivers and lakes are often at their fullest.  If it’s early enough in the season, the bugs have not yet become a problem, while in late fall they are no longer a problem.  Fall ushers back in the cool weather and the brilliant palettes of autumn leaves.  In some parts of the country, both spring and fall bring with them much more comfortable – and safer – temperatures than summer, as well.  The Grand Canyon and similar parks get dangerously hot in the summer, with the mercury soaring well into the 120s or above in some of the canyons.  Hikers frequently underestimate either the heat or its effect on their bodies, routinely getting themselves into trouble.  Heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and even death are not uncommon.  Visiting the Canyon in the spring or fall can greatly reduce the dangers of heat-related illness.  (Be sure to check with the visitor center in any canyon-containing park if you plan to hike, however.  Find out if the park has flash-flood prone areas, and what the weather forecast will be.  Slot canyons are gorgeous and much more fun to hike in cooler weather, but can turn deadly quickly in rainstorms.)

 

If animals are your thing, the off-season offers wonders that you will likely not get during the summer.  Many species give birth during the spring, meaning that your best opportunity to see baby animals at their youngest is during this time.  Be patient and keep a sharp eye; youngsters are often quite well camouflaged.  The fall brings the rutting season for many ungulates, and while you want to give them a wide berth, watching the males vie for mating rights is nothing if not impressive (in a painful, sympathetic-headache inducing way).  And in winter, you may get a glimpse of the real reason moose have such long, spindly legs.  (Hint: it’s not just to make them look funny.)  Add to that the burst of spring flowers, the brilliance of fall foliage, or the surreal blanket of winter’s white, and you will have an experience quite different from, but no less extraordinary than, one in the height of summer.

 

 

March’s Fun Facts

 

In honor of this month’s fun celebration of all things green and Irish, let’s take a look at some interesting tid-bits about four-leaf clovers.

 

·         About 1 in 10,000 clovers has four leaves.

·         The four leaves symbolize luck (the most well known “trait” of a four-leaf clover), faith, love and hope.

·         Irish lore holds that St. Patrick used the three leaves of a regular clover to explain the Holy Trinity: one leaf each for the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.  When a fourth leaf was present, it represented God’s Grace.

·         The fourth leaf on a clover is usually smaller than the other three.

·         The current world record holder for most four-leaf clovers found is Edward Martin Sr. of Alaska.  In May of 2007, he entered the Guinness Book of World Records with his collection of 111,060 of the lucky charms – and he had only been collecting them for eight years!

·         Four is not the limit on clover leaves.  The current record for most leaves found on a single clover is twenty-one.

 

 

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: Hilton Houston North

Visited: Feb 2011

1 star

 

This hotel has a wonderful lobby with a huge atrium and decent-sized guest rooms. There are two restaurants and a Starbucks on the main floor, and several good-sized conference rooms are available. So, what’s not to love? Unfortunately, a lot. Pretty much everything about the service was disappointing during my visit. Things started off poorly and did not get much better. The hotel is 15 minutes from the Houston Bush Intercontinental airport, but it took me an hour to get there using the free shuttle bus, “which runs every 30 minutes.” Except that it didn’t, it was late, and then, after boarding, it was full and we had to wait for 15 minutes while the shuttle driver explained to the next group of passengers at the next stop that there were no seats on the shuttle and he couldn’t pick up more people (as opposed to actually dropping us off and returning to pick them up – or using the larger shuttle in the first place). There were 2 people at reception checking in a line of about 15 people, so the wait was longer than it should have been. Fortunately, I was able to get into the restaurant 15 minutes before it closed (at 11:00 pm, along with room service) and order my $12 hamburger, which was ok but not outstanding. My room was a good size; however it was not particularly clean. There was mold on the bathroom floor in the grout lines, where it was obviously not disturbed by the cleaning people. I used a towel to keep it covered (I couldn’t change rooms since the hotel was full). The phone was not programmed properly (the buttons for messages and wake-up calls dialed but never connected), the air conditioning didn’t work well (the thermostat was off by about 10 degrees), and there was no fan in the bathroom (probably a contributing factor to the mold), so the room was a little warmer and more humid than it needed to be – particularly after a shower. The conference room, however, was freezing, so I guess it balanced out. Our meeting of 60 people overwhelmed the wireless connection, so I ended up using an air card connection for most of the meeting. I don’t understand how a hotel can charge so much for wireless and yet have no connectivity.  Overall, the attitude of the staff seemed summed up by a single experience as I was checking out: I was on one side of the elevator with my bags, an open (empty?) can of Monster sitting on the rail on the opposite side. A member of the housekeeping staff got on the elevator next to the can, didn’t acknowledge me, went down 2 floors, and left the can sitting on the railing after she got off. Of course, no-one asked how the stay was when I left, even the 2 managers I passed with my bags – I have noticed only the well trained staff do that, and I usually don’t have problems in hotels with well-trained staff.  One final note, if you are still considering staying at this hotel, be very, very careful at night. The hotel is located in a dangerous part of Houston, and you should never walk outside at night (I was told this by at least 3 people I trust who are familiar with the area, one of whom is a police officer).  For better or worse, there aren’t any restaurants nearby that you would be likely to walk to, so you may have no reason to go outside.  Nonetheless, be warned.

 

 

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

 

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