Posts Tagged ‘Flowers’

Rename Photos – Tech Thursday

Flowers in Bon Air Park - ©TimeLine Media

Photo Processing

This is a simple idea for a blog post, but one that I think is very important for many reasons. Digital cameras are small, very advanced computers that specialize in making images. The computers run an operating system that conforms to the Design Rule for Camera File Systems or DCF. This is the reason that in any digital camera, your images are stored in a file folder named “DCIM”. After that level, camera manufacturers can change the default naming conventions for images captured by your camera. For Nikon, Fuji and Sony cameras, the default is “DSCXXXX.jpg” while for Canon cameras, the default is “IMGXXXX.jpg”.

Flowers in Bon Air Park - ©TimeLine Media
Flowers in Bon Air Park – ©TimeLine Media

In the menus for your cameras, you can change the default name for your images. When I am setting up a new camera body, this is one of the first things I change for two reasons. The first is so that I can easily identify which images are from which camera, or photographer if I am covering an event with multiple photographers. The second is that in post-processing, I can more easily keep track of photos that I am editing.

Rename Photos

For example, I rename all my images W2A for one camera, W2B for another camera, etc. When at an event with other photographers where we are collecting all the images on one workstation, I can almost ensure that there will not be any accidental rewriting of images since the filenames will likely be different. If I kept the default DSC names, there is a danger that copying files from 2 different Nikon bodies will be overwritten if the user is not careful in copying images. During a busy event, something like this can definitely happen!

Field of Buttercups - ©TimeLine Media
Field of Buttercups – rename example – ©TimeLine Media

Before posting images online, it is also important to rename your images. This makes it easier for search engines to find your images when people search. It is much more likely that someone online will find my image of the “Washington_Monument.jpg” when searching for images of DC when it is renamed rather than if it was posted as “W2A7879.jpg” as it was named straight out of camera. Come up with some naming conventions for your images. Especially as your image collection grows, it helps to keep organized and will help you to recall the images later if/when they are needed. Perfect for #TBT Throwback Thursdays!

Washington Monument at night - ©TimeLine Media
Washington Monument at night – ©TimeLine Media

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

Cherry Blossoms Part 2

Washington, DC Sunrise Cherry Blossoms - ©TimeLine Media

Tidal Basin

The time for the cherry blossoms decorating our streets has now passed. I had a note to go back and post more from this time since I made a lot of images by the Tidal Basin in downtown DC. It was the latest that the blossoms reached their peak with the extended winter that we had in this area. Luckily, we were treated to a great display that was perfect for photographers from sunrise to sunset.

Peak Cherry Blossoms - ©TimeLine Media
Peak Cherry Blossoms – ©TimeLine Media

These images were from sunrise by the Jefferson Memorial. There were many other photographers right around me, but everyone was very careful to stay out of everyone’s shots. I staked out a place high on the hill in between some cherry trees to attempt the often-done Memorials through blossoms. This is the first time I had attempted it so early in the morning. I will be making an effort to do this every year from now on!

Washington, DC Cherry Blossoms - ©TimeLine Media
Washington, DC Cherry Blossoms – ©TimeLine Media

Washington, DC

The golden light just before sunrise was especially strong in this area. With the height restrictions on buildings in Washington, DC, it allows for sunlight to reach the monuments and memorials without being obstructed. This particular morning, the clouds were kind to stay away for a little while after the sun broke through the horizon so everyone that was there this morning had perfect light. The strong orange sky was complimentary to the pink blooms making for a different color combination.

Washington, DC Sunrise Cherry Blossoms - ©TimeLine Media
Washington, DC Sunrise Cherry Blossoms – ©TimeLine Media

Later in the day, the blooms are against a bright blue sky background. Most cherry blossoms images have this combination – classic and very good on film!

Fisheye Cherry Blossoms - ©TimeLine Media
Fisheye Cherry Blossoms – ©TimeLine Media

Now different flowers are starting to bloom in the area. Azaleas, dogwoods, and soon the roses will start to bud. I’ll be sure to have my camera lenses cleaned and ready for them!

Macro Cherry Blossoms - ©TimeLine Media
Macro Cherry Blossoms – ©TimeLine Media

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

Missing Cherry Blossoms

Cherry Blossoms and the Capitol Building in Washington, DC - ©TimeLine Media

Washington, DC

It just happened, but I am already missing the cherry blossoms this year. The photos from this year’s blooms were really satisfying. The weather, and the amount of time that I had to take advantage of their peak really came together nicely. Morning, afternoon, and evening, were all available to me this time. Moreover, I did not have to rush around as in other years. There were so many photographers around the Tidal Basin this year, with all kinds of gear! There were so many that were trying different angles, and strategies to get the perfect photo. I joined them with my own attempts. Of course, not everything will work when you first try, and this was probably my biggest disappointment.

Cherry Blossoms and the Capitol Building in Washington, DC - ©TimeLine Media
Cherry Blossoms and the Capitol Building in Washington, DC – ©TimeLine Media

From this spot, most images are of the blossoms in the foreground with either the Washington Monument in the background towards the left, or the Jefferson Memorial towards the right. In between these two familiar sites is a clear view of the Capitol Building that is much further away. Because of the distance, it is much smaller than the other two memorials in the frame. Consequently it is not as popular a subject from here.

But I wanted to try going for it since it seemed really easy to see this morning. I used the longest lens I had in the bag, a 105mm focal length. This was giving me what I wanted as anything much longer would have made the building larger, but the blossoms would have been harder to distinguish. In the first frame above without any added light, the blossoms were really in shadow, and look like really ugly clouds or debris in front of the lens.

Sunrise Blossoms

Cherry Blossoms and the Capitol Building in Washington, DC - ©TimeLine Media
Cherry Blossoms and the Capitol Building in Washington, DC – ©TimeLine Media

My next thought was that I should add some light from a speedlight to illuminate the blossoms, and show off more of their color. I held the flash off of the camera with a sync cord so that the light would not be positioned directly in front of the blooms. Here is the result:

Cherry Blossoms and the Capitol Building in Washington, DC - ©TimeLine Media
Cherry Blossoms and the Capitol Building in Washington, DC – ©TimeLine Media

It was as expected, but not that great to my eye. I tried a few more frames changing the flash power, the angle of the flash, but it did not change much. Perhaps I could have tried “painting” on the light with a small flashlight or had a softer modifier for the speedlights, but I did not have any more time as the sun started to rise quickly out of the horizon really changing the look of the overall scene. Turns out – THAT was what I needed to make a better frame.

Cherry Blossoms and the Capitol Building in Washington, DC - ©TimeLine Media
Cherry Blossoms and the Capitol Building in Washington, DC – ©TimeLine Media

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

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