October 2004 - announce-fotosoc@lists.redbrick.dcu.ie

[fotosoc] Post
by christian.klehe2＠mail.dcu.ie 28 Oct '04

28 Oct '04

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28 Oct '04

I thought people might be interested in this: A new exhibition by Meta Gale is now on show in the Dublin Photographic Centre, Camden Street, > Dublin. > > See http://www.dublincameraclub.ie/index.jsp. > > Some of Meta's work is available online; see > http://www.dublincameraclub.ie/individual.jsp?name=meta.

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[fotosoc] shane's website
by Rosa 27 Oct '04

27 Oct '04

hey all just passing on shane's website address. http://www.redbrick.dcu.ie/~xin/ check it out - it's really good

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[fotosoc] photo opportunity - snowboarding
by Rosa 27 Oct '04

27 Oct '04

Hi all, There is a snowboard jam happening in Kiltiernan this saturday. kilternan is where we do all our training, a dry slope. there is gonna be DJ's BBQ and irelands top boarders. there is a group coming down from the dry sope in Lurgan aswell. There will be a load of jumps and rails out for people to strut their stuff on. included is a link for the details of the Jam and a like to photos that were taken at the jam in Lurgan last April http://www.irishsnowboarder.com/events/boardjamoct2004.htm http://freezefocus.com/index.php?SID=57&page=gallery&section=E&start=0&quer… there is also a video from lurgan here http://www.redbrick.dcu.ie/~kevo/lurgan.zip its quite a big file but any of the computers in the college should have no problem downloading it. more photos http://www.irishsnowboarder.com/news/boardjam2004.htm DCU snowboarding were wondering if fotosoc would be interested in getting some of their members (as many as possible)to come along and take pics of the event. it should be a really good night. the photos will be going in an tarbh, on the DCU snowboarding club site, on Irishsnowboarder.com and Snowboard.com (largest online snowboarding community) we hope there will be a tv crew there aswell to get some extra coverage. we have arranged a bus to bring us there and then back into town afterwards for a few drinks, or back to DCU if you prefer. it is a great opportunity to take great pictures, and it poses quite a challange aswell. action pictures are alsways difficult, but worth it :) Small catch you may have to pay for the bus, but that would b a fiver or so. If you are interested in going please email - <elva.bannon(a)gmail.com>. Regards Rosa

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[fotosoc] Lunar Eclipse
by paul 27 Oct '04

27 Oct '04

I got this in an email from teh New York Institute of Photography and thought you might be interested: Special Report: How to Photograph the Lunar Eclipse Weather permitting, on Wednesday, October 27 in the U.S., (Thursday, October 28 in other parts of the world) a total eclipse of the Moon will be visible in much of North and South America as well as Europe and Western Africa. This is an exciting event for astronomers and it can provide great picture opportunities to photographers as well. Photographing the moon is relatively easy compared to other celestial bodies, because it?s relatively close to the earth. The tips that follow will show you how to photograph the moon under normal circumstances, or under eclipse conditions. We?ll start with how to photograph the full moon itself, and then give you specific tips for photographing a lunar eclipse. By the way, if the weather doesn?t cooperate this week, there will be a partial lunar eclipse visible in North and South America on April 24, 2005. The next full lunar eclipse will not be until March 2007. Photographing the Full Moon Let?s start with the basics. The moon appears full when its orbit puts it in a position where the side of the moon facing us on earth is fully lit by the sun. Therefore, photographing the full moon on a clear night isn?t much different than photographing any other sun-lit object ? except that it?s pretty far away. Because it is so far away, the moon is one subject where you?ll get the best results with an SLR (single lens reflex) camera with a long lens rather than using a point-and-shoot or a single-use ?disposable? camera. In fact, with a point-and-shoot or single use camera, you can get an image of the moon but it will be a tiny white point rather than anything that looks like the moon. What about digital cameras? Keep in mind that digital point-and-shoot models have the same issues that their film counterparts do. Their lenses simply do not have a long enough focal length capability to enable you to get a large enough image of the moon. However, you can use a digital point-and-shoot attached to a telescope in order to get satisfactory images. Digital SLRs, many of which allow you to attach lenses and get a longer-than-normal focal length will work fine if the moon is large in the frame, a topic we?ll discuss shortly. It is true that in many aspects of astrophotography, digital cameras face a host of different challenges than their film-based counterparts, including issues with the long exposure times necessary to photograph at night and noise issues in black areas of the sky. But, since the moon is a bright sunlit object, if it fills a good part of the frame, using a digital SLR will be easy. Exposure Since the moon is a sunlit object, the ?sunny 16? rule applies. (This is an easy-to-remember trick for photographing any sunlit subject that photographers relied upon prior to the days of autoexposure.) Simply put, the correct exposure for an object lit by bright sun can be a shutter speed of 1/the ISO of the film you?re using, with an aperture of ?/16. For example, if you?re using an ISO 400 speed film, a good starting point for a correct exposure of the moon would be ?/16 at 1/400. Since most cameras don?t have a shutter speed setting of 1/400, we would suggest bracketing the exposure and making one at 1/250 at ?/16, and one at 1/500 at ?/16. About Bracketing While we?re on the subject, let?s discuss ?bracketing? for a moment. When you bracket your exposure, it simply means that you take a photograph at the setting you think is correct, but you also photograph the same subject several more times, making slight changes in either the shutter speed setting or aperture. For most situations, we suggest that you make one or two images giving the film less exposure, and one or two that give the film more exposure. You can?t bracket fast-moving subjects ? a breaking news photo or sports action shot won?t wait long enough for you to make multiple exposures. But the moon (or a landscape or scenic subject for that matter) isn?t moving so fast relative to your camera. Therefore, it?s always a good idea to bracket your exposure. For our full moon shot, in addition to 1/250 and 1/500 @ ?/16, you could give a little less exposure by making a photo at 1/1000 @ ?/16, and a little more by shooting at 1/125 @ ?/16. You can achieve the same bracket of exposure by keeping your shutter speed at 1/250 but using different aperture openings, such as one exposure each at ?/16, ?/22, ?/11 and ?/8. Use Manual Exposure There are several reasons for turning off your auto exposure and setting your exposure manually when you photograph the moon. The main reason is that when you point your camera at the full moon, the moon is a little bright spot in a sea of darkness. Chances are that your automatic metering system will give too much emphasis to the vast area of dark sky surrounding the moon and therefore call for too much exposure ? the result is that the moon will be overexposed. Another reason to expose manually and to bracket your exposure is that the exact amount of light coming from the moon will depend in part on how clear the sky is when you make your photograph. Water vapor is a factor if humidity is high, and there might be dust in the air if it is windy. If you?re at a high altitude, such as Denver, you?ll likely need a little less exposure than if you?re at sea level in New York or San Francisco. These factors will require small exposure changes. By using the manual exposure settings we suggest a little later in this article and by bracketing your exposure you?ll guarantee that one of your exposures will give the best possible image. Choice of Lens We?ve established that you should treat the moon as a sunlit object and bracket your exposures. Your next key question is what lens to use? When the moon is low in the horizon, it will be much smaller in a photo than it may appear to your eye. The simple rule of thumb is to use the longest lens you have, and join it with a tele-extender if you have one. Shooting the moon with a 50mm lens will produce an image that looks like a dot. You?ll be a little better at 200mm, but a 500mm mirror lens will do a good job. If you have a small telescope, you can make a close-up photo of the moon with great detail. The full moon occupies about ½ of 1 degree of our field of view as you look up into the heavens. A rough guide is that if you divide the length of your lens by 100, you?ll get an approximate idea of how big the image of the moon you record will be on your film. That means if you use a 50mm lens, you?ll record the full moon as ½-millimeter in diameter. However, if you use a 300mm lens you?ll get a 3mm moon, and if you add a 2x tele-extender to your 300mm lens the moon will be 6mm in diameter. If you can get your hands on an 8-inch telescope, you can have a moon that?s about 20mm in diameter, which will fix nicely on a piece of 35mm film which has an image area 24x36mm. If you?re unfamiliar with tele-extenders (also sometimes called teleconverters), they?re worthy of an article unto themselves. In short, a tele-extender is a device that effectively increases the focal length of your lens, usually by a factor of 1.4 or 2. A 1.4x tele-extender increases a 100mm lens to 140mm, a 2x extender increases the 100mm lens to 200mm. This boost comes with a price ?the effective f-stop decreases and you need to use manual focus. However, buying a good 300mm lens and a 2x tele-extender is a lot cheaper than buying a 600mm lens. Whatever lens you use, it?s probably a good idea to use your tripod to steady your camera. Even with a short lens, if you?re holding your camera pointed toward the sky it is easy to sway a bit and that will cause camera shake and a soft image. With a long lens, a tripod is essential. Film Choice Color negative ISO 400 or 800 film is a good choice, or, since your subject is primarily black-and-white, 400 speed black-and-white film will be fine as well. If you bracket a lot, you can use slide film, but there?s a greater danger of losing detail because of overexposure if you do. If you follow these simple tips, you?ll have no problem if you attempt to ?Shoot the Moon!? Now, let?s turn to photographing a lunar eclipse. The Lure of a Total Eclipse Eclipses of the sun and the moon have been a fascination to earthlings since the dawn of our time. The upcoming lunar eclipse, which, weather permitting, will be visible throughout the Americas, did not receive much advance publicity. As we noted earlier, there is another total lunar eclipse coming up, on November 9, 2003, so mark your calendar now. Astrologers have always gotten riled up about eclipses. Having a bad hair day? Consider this as a source for excuses taken from a Web astrology site: ?During a lunar eclipse the light of the Full Moon is temporarily hidden to our view, blocking our self-awareness, crashing our emotional-defense systems, and over sensitizing our emotional reactions?the effects of a Lunar Eclipse usually last for about 6 months or until the next Lunar Eclipse.? Forget about ?The dog ate my homework.? Try this: ?I did it because my emotional defense system crashed during the Lunar Eclipse.? Or, ?I?m sorry I said that, but the Eclipse blocked my self-awareness and over-sensitized my emotional reactions.? With another lunar eclipse this year, we can all be out of commission for months! What is a Lunar Eclipse? A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon is covered by the shadow of the earth ? that is, the earth comes between the sun and the moon, casting the earth?s shadow on the surface of the moon. A partial eclipse happens when only a portion of the moon is obscured by shadow. When the entire moon is covered for a period of time, we call that a ?total eclipse.? Any cast shadow has a partial area called a penumbra and completely dark area called an umbra. The penumbra has some illumination and some shade, the umbra is complete full shading of an object from a source of illumination. Where can you see this eclipse? As we?ve said, the October 27th lunar eclipse will be visible in most of the U.S., North and South America, Europe and even Africa. The moon will remain in total eclipse for approximately 81 minutes in those areas lucky enough to see all of the total eclipse. However, how much of the total eclipse you will see will depend on where you are. For instance, those in the Western U.S. will miss part of the early phase of the eclipse which will happen before the moon rises. This chart indicates which countries will see the penumbral eclipse (P1), the partial eclipse (U1), the total eclipse from beginning (U2) to end (U3), the end of the partial eclipse (U4) and finally the penumbral eclipse (P4) which is not visible to the eye. When is it going to happen? Since this is a total eclipse, the moon will enter the penumbra, which is not visible to the naked eye, then the umbra, then there will be a period of totality, followed by the moon leaving the umbra, and finally the penumbra, ending the event. Here are the times of the event in the U.S. EDT CDT MDT PDT Moon enters penumbra 8:06 pm 7:06 pm 6:06 ? Partial eclipse begins 9:14 8:14 7:14 6:14 Total eclipse begins 10:23 9:23 8:23 7:23 Middle of eclipse 11:04 10:04 9:04 8:04 Total eclipse ends 11:45 10:45 9:45 8:45 Partial eclipse ends 12:45 am 11:54 10:54 9:54 Moon leaves penumbra 2:02 am 1:02 am 12:02 am 11:02 pm You can use the above listed times to calculate the approximate duration of the eclipse depending on where you live in the United States. You can find eclipse charts for other areas of the world by visiting the NASA?s Goddard Space Flight Center Eclipse Home Page. Realize that the times vary not only with regard to location, but also the relative latitude and longitude of your location. The timing and duration of the event also vary because while the eclipse takes place everything continues to move: the earth around the sun, the moon around the earth, and things continue to rotate. Chances are your local newspaper will give the times for your location. However, if you want to check it out for yourself, there?s a really cool site maintained by the US Naval Observatory that lists these times (and for you techies, the moon?s Azimuth and Altitude) for thousands of places in the US and for foreign locations based on latitude and longitude. By the way, there is a lot of other interesting stuff on the Naval Observatory site regarding data for moon phases, sunrise and sunset and the like. Lens, tripod and film: Unlike photographing the full moon, when the moon enters the earth?s shadow you will need a longer exposure, because it will no longer be a sun-lit object. That means that you?ll want to use a fast (ISO 400 or 800 speed) film for sure, and you?ll need to have your camera mounted on a tripod. As we mentioned earlier, a long telephoto lens will do the job or you can attach your camera body to a low-power telescope. For many serious astrophotographers who use film-based cameras, the film of choice these days is Fuji?s 800 speed color negative, but we leave the final choice to you. Just make sure you?re using a fast color film. Unlike the full moon, where we suggested that black-and-white film would work, one of the characteristics of a total lunar eclipse is that the moon appears to be reddish in color during totality. This is an illusion caused by atmosphere having a different effect on the longer waves of red and infrared light than the shorter waves of blue light. You?ll want to capture that color. One great thing about lunar eclipses (as opposed to solar events) is that you can look at most of the entire event with your naked eye. You don?t need filters for your camera ? just some preparation, patience, and luck. What if I don?t have a telephoto lens? If your camera has just a regular lens, let?s say a 28-80 zoom, you can try one other type of eclipse photo by recording the stages of the eclipse on a single frame of film. Set your camera on a tripod, and watch how the moon is moving relative to your location during the period from moon rise to the start of the penumbra. Set your camera so that the moon, as it starts into the penumbra, is on one side of your frame so you can anticipate the moon moving through the frame. (If you have a technical mind, this is where the Altitude and Azimuth information will come in handy.) You just lock your shutter open (setting it on ?B? or ?T?) and record the different phases of the eclipse on one piece of film. When you?re not making an exposure, just cover your lens with your lens cap. Warning: This sounds easy, but it?s not. However, unless you buy or rent a long lens, it will give you an excuse to be outdoors and observe the entire event and use your camera. Exposure: Everything listed above with regard to bracketing is true here. In fact, plan to shoot lots of film and bracket all over the place. After all, there?s a full moon every month, but total lunar eclipses in good weather are rare. In addition, when the moon is in the earth?s shadow, there will be less light over all, so the degree to which atmospheric haze and humidity affect your exposure will be greater. Your exposure will vary as the moon enters the penumbra and then continues into the umbra and totality. At each step, as it grows darker, you will need to give your film more exposure. By shooting lots of film and bracketing, you can be sure of two things: You?ll have lots of film to throw away, and you?ll greatly increase your odds of getting a good photograph. When the moon is in the penumbra, you won?t see much difference between that illumination and the regular full moon. When the discernable shadow line of the umbra is visible on the moon, that?s when the subject gets interesting and it?s time to start photographing. Here are some rough departure points for exposure, but don?t forget to BRACKET: Eclipse event ISO 100 ISO 200 ISO 400 ISO 800 Full Moon in clear sky 1/250 ?/11 1/250 ?/16 1/250 ?/22 or 1/500 ?/16 1/500 ?/22 or 1/1000 ?/16 Moon in penumbra, and Shadow line of umbra visible On moon's surface 1/60 ?/5.6 1/60 ?/8 1/125 ?/8 1/250 ?/8 Moon completely in umbra (totality) 4 seconds at ?/2.8 2 seconds at ?/2.8 1 second at ?/2.8 ½ second at ?/2.8 We?ve included exposure figures for ISO 100 speed because that?s the true effective speed for most digital camera chips. However, you should bear in mind that if you use exposures longer than two seconds, you start to run up against problems of blurring because of the rotation of the earth, unless you use a telescope with a tracking mount. If you have tracking equipment, you can try using longer exposures that may allow you to capture other, more distant and therefore dimmer celestial objects in your frame. However if you don?t have that type of equipment, in addition to making a 4-second exposure we suggest that ? if your digital SLR offers that option ? you select a faster ISO, either 200 or 400. This will increase noise somewhat, but it will enable you to avoid any blur. Eclipses that are visible in many areas of the world don?t happen very often. This is the eclipse to photograph! Two final tips and we know you?ll thank us for if them you don?t do a lot of photography at night ? first, bring along a flashlight to check your camera?s settings as you proceed. When the moonlight disappears, it gets very dim out there! Second, after a while you?ll start to feel the night chill, so bring along a jacket or windbreaker of some sort. For further reading: The astronomy buffs at NYI love Sky and Telescope Magazine and fortunately they have a very informative Web site at skyandtelescope.com. If you are interested in learning more about using digital cameras with telescopes, read Sky and Telescope Magazine?s article, ?Astro Imaging with Digital Cameras.? Another great Sky and Telescope article addresses interesting photos you can make without a telescope. We know you?ll enjoy ?Sky Photography With Just a Camera,? by Dennis di Cicco. Join NYI Advance Notice Sign up today to receive a brief monthly email announcement of the new tips, topics, and contests on the NYI Website. It's FREE and you can easily unsubscribe at any time. Free Catalog Receive the latest NYI full-color catalog describing NYI's Complete Course in Professional Photography - FREE ! No obligation of course. No salesman will call. Our colorful catalog will be sent to you by first-class-mail to insure your privacy. And, you will also receive a Special Bonus Tuition Discount Certificate as our special thanks to you for visiting our Web site. Back to NYI On-Line Copyright © 2004 New York Institute of Photography 211 East 43rd Street, Dept. WWW New York, NY 10017 U.S.A. info(a)nyip.com For permission to reproduce in any manner, see Notice on Home Page.

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[fotosoc] Up n coming events
by Rosa 26 Oct '04

26 Oct '04

Hey if anyone is interested - Angel Week wud like people to take photos as their event tomoro - if anyone has time - it wud be great if they could go tomoro. 5 - 7.30 Sports in the Complex 7.30 - 9.30 Auction in the Venue? New Bar It would be nice if someone could take photos. Unfortunately, the person who was doing it is sick. Just let me know if you would like to do it. Rosa

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[fotosoc] taking good pics
by Rosa 22 Oct '04

22 Oct '04

Hi again, just some websites to help those wondering how to take good photographs 1. http://www.ephotozine.com/techniques/viewtechnique.cfm?recid=231 2. http://photography.about.com/od/subjectsandideas/a/a081604.htm 3. www.oculartravel.com/phototechnique.htm 4. http://www.fotofinish.com/resources/centers/photo/takingpictures.htm The last website is particulrly good, this is what the workshop on Wednesday will be incorporating too

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[fotosoc] workshops
by Rosa 22 Oct '04

22 Oct '04

Hey all, I am just passing on the meassage to the list - in the hope that our mail problems are finally over. PhotoShop tutorial venue is also changed to C107, it's beside 106, there will b a notice on the door. cu all soon Hey everyone, Thanks to everyone who came to our workshops this week, and we hope you found them useful! Next week (week 5), we are holding another Beginners PhotoShop tutorial in C106 on Tuesday (the 26th), so come along if you are interested. On Wednesday (the 27th) we are planning a full day's events. At 2pm in the R&D Building we'll be holding a short workshop in basic camera skills. After that, a roughly 3pm, we'll be heading into town and visting IMMA (Irish Museum of Modern Art <http://www.modernart.ie/>), and then to the Phoenix Park to practise our new camera skills. I'm sure some people will be dying for a few drinks after that, so we'll be adjourning to a bar at some point during the evening. PLEASE EMAIL ME BACK if you want to come with us, as we have a limited number of free bus passes, and we need numbers. To those people who bought Socs Ball tickets through us, I'll be mailing you your receipts as soon as I get them! We've been having some mailing list trouble, but I think this should send ok. Here's hoping!!! Kate - Secretary

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