Tag: Zoom

by Leland Richardson on November 9, 2021 0

Samsung HMX-Q10 Camcorder Review

The Samsung HMX-Q10 is a high definition camcorder that captures 1920 x 1080 video in the H.264 to SDHC memory cards. It offers a 2.7-inch LCD display, 10x optical zoom lens with optical image stabilization and a unique grip which lets you flip the camcorder to film with both the right and left hands.

The Samsung Q10 retails for $299. Full specifications can be found here.

Samsung Q10 at a Glance

The Good: Strong video quality, responsive touch-screen, nice design

The Bad: Awkward zoom lever, no automatic lens cover

Samsung HMX Q10 Video Quality

Samsung’s HMX Q10 records 1920 x 1080 video in the H.264 format. It’s also capable of recording at 720/60 frames per second for capturing fast-moving subjects and at VGA resolution.

Given its lower price tag, the Q10 is competing more with pocket camcorders and it clearly exceeds them in the quality department. While there were instances of over-exposure, with bright sunlight washing out highlights, the Q10 captured mostly crisp, color-accurate video. It did well indoors as well. I took it into a dimly lit aquarium and after a second or two of blur as it sought to establish focus, the Q10 was able to resolve the scene quite well considering the challenging environment.

You can also snap 4.9-megapixel still photos with the Q10, although you should steer clear of taking stills with the Q10 as the results were unimpressive.

Optics

The Q10 packs a 10x optical zoom lens with optical image stabilization – a nice plus not usually found on lower-cost camcorders. There’s also a digital zoom, which, fortunately, can be deactivated. All-in-all, a nice optical package. The only draw back is that there’s no automatic lens cover. However, there is a built-in cover that flips open and closed using a switch on top of the lens barrel – that’s a far better option than a lens cap, but not as good as an automatic cover.

Samsung HMX Q10 Design

The design of the Q10 is pretty spartan, with few external controls outside of a zoom lever/shutter button on the back of the camcorder. Flip open the 2.7-inch display and you’ll see only a home button, which brings you into the camcorder’s internal memory.

With the Q10, Samsung introduced a design innovation called the “Swithgrip” – which essentially lets you film using either your right or left hand. When you switch from right to left, the menu items on the display will automatically orient themselves correctly. Since there are no external controls on the top of the camcorder to operate, the transition from right-handed to left-handed filming is seamless. Left-handed users, rejoice!

Thanks to the use of flash memory, the Q10 is quite light and compact, weighing in at .4lbs and sized at 4.7 x 2.1 x 1.7 inches. It certainly won’t be a drag to carry the Q10 around with you on long trips. Aesthetically it won’t turn many heads but is available in your choice of black and blue. The only real knock on the design is that wrist strap, which is kind of flimsy.

Q10 Features

You’ll find a nice selection of shooting options on the Q10, despite its budget price tag. You’ll have time lapse recording and a selection of digital effects to apply various filters to your video including black and white, sepia, negative, art, noir, western, dazzle, and ghost. You can switch between automatic and manual recording, where you’ll have the ability to focus manually, set white balance, adjust exposure, night mode, and backlit compensation. All in all a very strong feature set for a camcorder at this price.

The Q10 is loaded with Samsung’s Intelli-Studio software, which installs automatically whenever you connect the camcorder to a computer via USB.

Menu and Display

The Q10 offers a 2.7-inch touch screen LCD display. It’s quite responsive and it’s helped along with an icon-driven menu interface. Pop open the display and you’ll see a row of icons indicating your scene mode and then controls for switching between still and video capture, zoom and playback. It’s always better to have more real-estate on a display when working with a touch-screen, but Samsung keeps the number of icons on the display to a minimum so it’s easy to hit the ones you need with your finger. At any point you can hit the “home” key on the exterior of the display and get back into the main menu.

Samsung HMX-Q10 Memory

The Q10 records directly to SDHC memory cards, so you’ll need to factor in the cost of a memory card into your equation. The Q10 cannot record to newer, higher-capacity SDXC cards so you’re memory capacity is limited to 32GB (or eight hours of HD recording).

Bottom Line

If you’re in the market for a low-cost HD camcorder but are leery about the quality and limited feature-set of a pocket camcorder, the HMX-Q10 is definitely a solid choice. It’s slightly more expensive than most pocket models on the market at $300, but delivers a better zoom, better video quality and a more robust feature set. It’s unique “SwitchGrip” design gives both left and right-handed users the ability to hold the Q10 naturally and comfortably. All-in-all a good choice in the budget-end of the HD camcorder market.

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by Leland Richardson on November 9, 2021 0

Vivitar DVR 690HD Waterproof Camcorder Review

The Vivitar DVR 690HD is a high definition pocket camcorder capable of recording 1280 x 720p video in the AVI format to SD cards. It is waterproof to a depth of 10 feet and has a rugged housing to secure it against minor bumps and scrapes.

Vivitar DVR 690HD at a Glance

The Good: Low cost, large controls, easy to use.

The Bad: Mediocre video quality.

Vivitar DVR 690HD Video Quality

The Vivitar DVR 690HD records HD video in the AVI format at 1280 x 720p/30 frames per second. It’s not quite the 1080p video recording available on competitive models – but then again, those models don’t cost $60. Video recorded at 720p will serve in a pinch, but you shouldn’t consider the DVR 690HD a real memory keeper – the quality just isn’t there. As a second camcorder to toss in a backpack before you go white-water rafting, however, it should be serviceable. Just don’t bother with the DVR 690HD indoors as they’ll be ample noise in your video if you do.

Recording quality can be dropped to VGA or 320 x 240 – but really shouldn’t be. You can also snap 5-megapixel still photos. The quality here is lousy – but that’s no real knock on the Vivitar as very few pocket camcorders take decent stills.

Optics

The DVR 690HD has no optical zoom lens, but instead uses a 4x digital zoom. Best to avoid the digital zoom, however, as all it will do is ramp up some unsightly digital noise.

Vivitar DVR 690HD Design

The DVR 690HD is pretty bulky, even by the standards of rugged pocket camcorders. It’s a bit longer than a compact camera but as thin, if not thinner, than most point-and-shoots in the market. Keep in mind that it’s designed to go underwater (up to 1o feet) so the added bulk is for defensive purposes. That said, it’s aesthetically sharp with a 10 color choices and silver/metallic trim.

The controls on the back of the DVR690 are large and responsive. You’ll see buttons for power, mode, menu and trash surrounding a four-way controller with a shutter button sandwiched in the middle. The four-way controller feels a bit flimsy when you use it, but the rest of the controls are sturdier and easy to operate.The SD card and USB plug (no built-in USB arm here) are accessed via a latched compartment at the bottom of the camcorder. This compartment is very stubborn to open up, but it does keep the water out.

Features

When you spend $60 for a camcorder, you can’t expect to get a feature-packed model. That said, the DVR 690HD does offer face detection and digital image stabilization. You’ll also find several scene modes for optimizing exposure based on your shooting condition. There’s also an LED video light for low light shooting. Not a bad assortment, considering.

Menu and Display

You’ll frame your video via 2-inch LCD display. It’s not the crispest display on the market but served well enough underwater. The DVR 690HD’s menu is pretty basic but is straightforward enough that it’s easy to find what you need.

Vivitar DVR 690HD Memory

The 690HD has a scant 8MB of internal memory, so an SDHC card is a must. The camcorder supports cards up to 32GB in size so you’ll get a max of 3.2-hours of recording on a 32GB card.

Bottom Line

We’ll stipulate again that the Vivitar DVR 690HD should not be your camcorder of choice for preserving important family memories. Instead, think of it as a second camcorder that you don’t mind exposing to the elements to record your rugged thrills or day at the beach. It has competition on this front too – products like Kodak’s Playsport Zx5 offer superior video quality and feature set, but cost nearly two to three times what the DVR 690HD does. If budget and durability are top of mind, give the DVR 690HD a look.

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by Leland Richardson on November 9, 2021 0

Panasonic HC-V100 Camcorder Overview

The Panasonic HC-V100 is a high definition camcorder that records 1920 x 1080 video in the AVCHD format.

The HC-V100carries a suggested retail price of $349. Full technical specifications for the HC-V100can be found here.

Panasonic HC-V100 Video Features

The HC-V100 uses the full AVCHD format for 1920 x 1080p high definition recording. It supports 17Mbps recording, not the highest bit-rate available in the AVCHD video format (24Mbps).

The HC-V100 features a 1.5-megapixel 1/5.8-inch CMOS image sensor. The HC-V100 can also record in standard definition if you want to save space on your memory card. The camcorder also supports iFrame recording (at 960 x 540) for movies that can be easily edited on most computers.

The camcorder uses Panasonic’s “Intelligent Auto” mode for automatically matching scene modes such as portrait, sunset, scenery, forest and macro mode, to shooting environments.

The mode employs various technologies – including image stabilization, face detection, an intelligent scene-selector and contrast control to optimize your exposure.

Optical Features

You’ll find a 34x optical zoom lens on the VC100. This optical zoom is joined by a 42x Intelligent zoom (iZoom), which can enhance the magnification of your footage by using a smaller portion of the sensor without losing image resolution. Finally, there’s a 2000xdigital zoom which will degrade resolution when in use.

The lens employs Panasonic’s Power Optical Image Stabilization (O.I.S.) for keeping your footage relatively shake-free. The image stabilization technology has an active mode which can be enabled when walking or when you’re otherwise in an unstable position to provide extra shake reduction.

The V100 lens is protected by a manual lens cover. It’s not as convenient as the automatic covers found on higher-end Panasonic models.

Memory and Display

The V100 records video to a single SDHX memory card slot. Using just internal memory, the HC-V100 can store approximately three hours and 45 minutes worth of the highest quality HD footage.

You can also record to SDXC cards, although there is no relay recording.

The HC-V100 offers a 2.7-inch LCD display. There is no optical or electronic viewfinder.

Design

Design-wise, the HC-V100 cuts a fairly conventional, if somewhat boxy, figure. Thanks to the use of flash memory you’ll still enjoy a light weight body at .4 pounds. The HC-V100 measures in at 2 x 2.3 x 4.4 inches, roughly the same form factor as the entry-level series of Panasonic camcorders, and features a zoom lever on the top of the camcorder and a record shutter located on the side, next to the camcorder’s battery. Open the display and you’ll find buttons video playback, scrolling and info, plus the camcorder’s ports: component, HDMI, USB and AV.

Aesthetically, the HC-V100 is available in a black.

Shooting Features

The HC-V100 is outfitted with a fairly minimalistic feature set. It offers face detection a pre-record function which records three seconds worth of video before you hit the shutter. The V100 also offers an auto ground-directional standby mode, which detects if the camcorder is being held in an unusual position (say, upside down) and automatically stops recording. A low light/color night recording mode preserves colors even in dim lighting.

As far as scene modes go, you’ll find sports, portrait, low light, spot light, snow, beach, sunset, fireworks, night scenery, night portrait and soft skin mode. You can snap 2-megapixel photos while recording video on the V100. Still photos can also be isolated from video footage played back on the camcorder and saved as a separate file. There is a two channel stereo microphone.

Connectivity

The HC-V100 offers a built-in HDMI output for connecting the camera although the cable is not included. You can also connect to a PC via USB cable.

Impression

At $349, the HC-V100 is Panasonic’s bid for the budget dollar, and the feature set reflects that. You’ll get a high-powered lens for an entry-level high definition camcorder, but you won’t get the full 24Mbps HD recording available on higher-end models and you’ll sacrifice features like a touch-screen display, relay-recording and manual modes, increasingly making their way down the camcorder food chain. That said, it packs a more potent video punch than a pocket camcorder (or smartphone) and the retail price will undoubtedly be discounted to make it an even more attractive buy for the budget-minded.The Panasonic HC-V100 is a high definition camcorder that records 1920 x 1080 video in the AVCHD format.

The HC-V100carries a suggested retail price of $349. It is a close cousin of the $449 GZ-HM320. Full technical specifications for the HC-V100can be found here.

Panasonic HC-V100 Video Features

The HC-V100 uses the full AVCHD format for 1920 x 1080p high definition recording. It supports 17Mbps recording, not the highest bit-rate available in the AVCHD video format (24Mbps). The HC-V100 features a 1.5-megapixel 1/5.8-inch CMOS image sensor. The HC-V100 can also record in standard definition if you want to save space on your memory card. The camcorder also supports iFrame recording (at 960 x 540) for movies that can be easily edited on most computers.

The camcorder uses Panasonic’s “Intelligent Auto” mode for automatically matching scene modes such as portrait, sunset, scenery, forest and macro mode, to shooting environments. The mode employs various technologies – including image stabilization, face detection, an intelligent scene-selector and contrast control to optimize your exposure.

Optical Features

The V100 lens is protected by a manual lens cover. It’s not as convenient as the automatic covers found on higher-end Panasonic models.

Memory and Display

The V100 packs 16GB of internal memory and a single SDHX memory card slot. Using just internal memory, the HC-V100 can store approximately three hours and 45 minutes worth of the highest quality HD footage. You can also record to SDXC cards, although there is no relay recording.

The HC-V100 offers a 2.7-inch LCD display. There is no optical or electronic viewfinder.

Design

Aesthetically, the HC-V100 is available in a black.

Shooting Features

Connectivity

The HC-V100 offers a built-in HDMI output for connecting the camera although the cable is not included. You can also connect to a PC via USB cable.

Impression

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by Leland Richardson on November 8, 2021 0

Panasonic HC-V10 Overview

The Panasonic HC-V10 is a high definition camcorder that records 1280 x 720p video in the MPEG-4/H.264 format.

When the HC-V10 first hit shelves, it carried a suggested retail price of $249. This camcorder has since been discontinued, but now it can still be found used from some online retailers. The HC-V10 It is a close cousin of the Panasonic HC-V100. Full technical specifications for the HC-V10 can be found on the Panasonic website.

Panasonic HC-V10 Video Features

The HC-V10 uses the MPEG-4 format for 1280 x 720p high definition recording. It supports 15Mbps recording. You can also drop the resolution to 840 x 480 resolution, 640 x 480 or iFrame recording (at 960 x 540) for movies that can be easily edited on most computers. The HC-V10 features a 1.5-megapixel 1/5.8-inch CMOS image sensor.

Optical Features

You’ll find a 63x optical zoom lens on the VC10. This optical zoom is joined by a 70x “enhanced optical zoom,” which can enhance the magnification of your footage by using a smaller portion of the sensor without losing image resolution.

Finally, there’s a 3500xdigital zoom which will degrade resolution when in use.

The V10 lens is protected by a manual lens cover. It’s not as convenient as the automatic covers found on higher-end Panasonic models.

Memory and Display

The V10 records directly to an SDHX memory card slot. There is no relay recording.

The HC-V10 offers a 2.7-inch LCD display. There is no optical or electronic viewfinder.

Design

Design-wise, the HC-V10 cuts a fairly conventional, if somewhat boxy, figure. Thanks to the use of flash memory you’ll still enjoy a lightweight body at 0.47 pounds. The HC-V10 measures in at 2.1 x 2.5 x 4.3 inches, roughly the same form factor as the entry-level series of Panasonic camcorders, and features a zoom lever on the top of the camcorder and a record shutter located on the side, next to the camcorder’s battery. Open the display and you’ll find buttons video playback, scrolling and info, plus the camcorder’s ports: component, HDMI, USB and AV.

The HC-V10 is available in a black, silver and red.

Shooting Features

The HC-V10 is outfitted with a fairly minimalistic feature set, which is not surprising given its price. It offers face detection a pre-record function which records three seconds worth of video before you hit the shutter. The V10 also offers an auto ground-directional standby mode, which detects if the camcorder is being held in an unusual position (say, upside down) and automatically stops recording.

A low light/color night recording mode preserves colors even in dim lighting.

As far as scene modes go, you’ll find sports, portrait, low light, spot light, snow, beach, sunset, fireworks, night scenery, night portrait and soft skin mode. You can snap .9-megapixel photos while recording video on the V10 (not a great resolution). Still photos can also be isolated from video footage played back on the camcorder and saved as a separate file. There is a two channel stereo microphone.

Connectivity

The HC-V10 offers a built-in HDMI output for connecting the camera although the cable is not included. You can also connect to a PC via USB cable.

The Bottom Line

The HC-V10 compensates for the lower resolution specification with a super high-powered lens. If sharper video quality is more important to you than a long zoom, consider Panasonic’s slightly more expensive V100 which is the company’s least expensive model to feature 1920 x 1080 recording. It does, however, have a lower zoom lens at 32x.

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by David Burgess on May 24, 2018 0

Portrait Photography Tips ~ Use A Canon Rebel T3i For Portraits

How To Take Portraits (For Beginners)

GREAT NEWS!!
You do not need a professional digital SLR camera to take awesome portraits.
You can get super portraits with an inexpensive (cheap even) DSLR camera. In fact, if you own a Canon Rebel T3i, you have in your hands an excellent tool for portrait photography.

The technology that Canon has built into its newest Rebel cameras is improved by leaps and bounds over what was available even a couple of years ago. Combine this inexpensive digital SLR with a even a so-so Canon Portrait Lens, and you have a combination that will get you some great portrait shots as well as lots of happy feedback from those you photograph.

Getting Ready To Take A Portrait

Begin with the basics.
Portrait Mode The first thing you MUST do is take your Canon Rebel T3i off the Auto setting (a gasp is heard from the crowd)..

Really! You might get lucky and get a decent portrait in auto mode, but if you want the best results, you will have to take drastic steps.

There are two choices here. First, you can use the Portrait Mode supplied by the camera, or you can use Aperture Priority (Av).

Since the simplest way to get started is to use the Portrait mode setting, let’s start with that.

Set your camera on Portrait Mode. See the picture on the right. When you do this, your Rebel will automatically use the largest aperture available for the lens you have attached to the camera.

Photo by RebelT3iOwner

Say What?? (I am psychic; I know what you are thinking.)

Don’t worry. You don’t even have to know what an aperture is if you use the portrait mode.

The next thing to do is compose and take the shot. When you review your shot, you should see that the background is blurry. That is the sign of a good portrait.

So what if your background is not blurry? Well, here is how to make the background blurry.

First, use a lens with a longer focal length and step away from your subject (you can also accomplish this by using the zoom on your lens at its highest setting – on the kit lens, zoom to 55mm).
The second way to help out your background is to move the subject of your photo farther away from the background. In other words, put more space between the person you are photographing and the background. Do not have them standing with their back against a wall, for instance.

Using a tripod
If there is plenty of light, you can usually have good success with hand-holding your T3i, as long as you use good camera technique. However, using a tripod is never a bad idea for a regular portrait.

Tip For Getting Great Shots
Take shots when your subject is not expecting it. Most of us announce the timing with “Say cheese.” But if you want natural expressions, try taking spontaneous shots. Or, take several shots in succession after you do the “say cheese” thing. One feature that is enabled when you use Portrait Mode is Continuous Shooting. So, if you just hold down the shutter button, you will be taking up to 3.7 shots every second. Try it. You will get some surprisingly good shots that way.

Portraits Using Aperture Priority

Feeling adventurous? Try this.

Using Aperture Priority for Portraits When you take a portrait shot with you Canon Rebel T3i in Portrait Mode, the camera does all the thinking for you, including aperture, shutter speed, ISO.. all of it. That’s why the settings on “that side” of the dial are called Basic settings. The camera does all the thinking; all the photographer has to do is select the basic setting.

The settings on the “other side” of the dial are called Creative settings. This simply means that the photographer can take more control of what the camera does on a particular shot.

Taking portraits works very well when you choose the Av, or Aperture Priority, setting. Once in that position, simply select the “f-stop” you want to use (f-stop basically means Aperture setting). The one thing you have to remember here is that larger numbers mean smaller apertures and smaller numbers mean larger apertures.

Basically, you want to set your f-stop at the smallest number you can for the lens you are using. If you are using the kit lens (18-55mm), and you zoom to the 55mm length, you will choose f/5.6. Your Rebel will not let you choose a number any smaller than that. If you are shooting with your zoom lens at the 18mm length, you can choose f/3.5. This is because the lens has a variable aperture (the smallest aperture changes as the lens zooms to higher focal lengths).

OK, enough of the geeky stuff. Why would someone want to use Aperture Priority rather than Portrait Mode?

The simple answer is that there are those of us who believe that having as much control of the camera as possible gives us better final results (pictures). In aperture priority, you can set your own ISO in order to increase the shutter speed. You can also change the exposure compensation to add more or less contrast to the image.

Finally, and this is a real control thing, you can shoot in RAW rather than JPEG. If you choose to do this, you will definitely have to do some post-processing of every image in some photo editing program like Photoshop.

The intent of this article is not to be an entire photography course, so, let’s suffice it to say that if you want to venture into the realm of learning more about photography, use Aperture Priority. At least use it when the stakes are not too high. You can possibly mess up a photo op and not get the picture, so maybe save your experimenting for times when you can patiently learn how Aperture Priority works.

The photo above was taken using Aperture Priority. The light coming from the window gave some interesting effects. Using Portrait Mode gave would not allow me to take this without a flash, another reason to try Aperture Priority.

Photos by WRasku

Portrait Lenses For Canon

These lenses will go a long way toward making your pictures look GREAT!

Recommended focal length for portraits is about 75mm (plus or minus), but on a Rebel a 50mm lens is roughly equivalent to that because of something called the “crop factor.” So, any one of these lenses will qualify as an excellent choice for your future portraits.

Portraits With Props

Add Interest to portraits by adding unexpected items.

Canon Rebel T3i Portrait Sometimes you can get a great shot that grabs lots of attention by simply adding a hat or scarf. Simple things add so much interest if used in a way that develops a story along with the excellent quality of the Canon Rebel and the portrait lens you choose.

Recently, we were browsing in a downtown gift shop that had lots of hats, scarves, jewelry, and other great photo props. We ended up with some pictures that we normally would not have even thought to shoot.

..don’t stop after you get one shot. It sometimes takes a little time for the subject to start to relax..
Let your subject use her imagination when it comes to props like this. She will know what looks good on her (and, more importantly, she will know what she does not want to be seen in). The subject will also feel more at ease if he or she has some input into the setup of the shot. This can work very well with children as well as adults.

And don’t stop after you get one shot. It sometimes takes a

little time for the subject to start to relax and get into the mood. Also, don’t hesitate to show her (or him) the photos you are shooting. When she sees how good the pictures are turning out, she will be much more enthusiastic about the idea.

Another excellent way to generate excitement in this type of situation is to bring together two or three people who are friends. They will feed on each others excitement and enthusiasm.

You can even get good portraits in public places. In fact, this type of photo can add much more interest than using a standard photography background. Photographers use this quite often in senior portraits when the take their subject to stand by a tree or a covered bridge, but you can do the same thing at a restaurant or public square.

Photos by WRasku

Pet Portraits

Love taking pictures of your best friends?

Pet Portrait With Canon Rebel T3i Pets could be one of the most popular portrait subjects. After all, don’t we all love our dogs, cats, turtles, parakeets, etc, etc?

Yes we do!

The problem is, sometimes our beloved friends do not know how to cooperate.

In situations where getting the pet to look in the right direction, or just stay in one place long enough for you to get the shot, you will need a couple of things.

First, you need patience. Chances are you will have to take quite a few pictures before you get The One.
Someone to help you would also be helpful. You can enlist the help of another person who in intimate with the pet. (This is especially true if you are doing this for a friend, and the pet is not your own.)
This is where a good, fast lens comes in handy. Point and shoot cameras may get some good pet photos, but your Canon Rebel will shoot rings around a point and shoot in this situation, simply because you can choose the right lens for the shot.

Some other things that can help here are treats and toys. Most animals (even cats) respond to goodies. They also show interest in their favorite toys.. see the picture of Colby here.. he was looking intently at a treat.

Photo by WRasku

A Nifty Trick For Pet Photos

Pet wide angle portrait

Take a pet photo with a wide-angle lens.

This is Colby again. He is not the best model – hates to have his picture taken when he knows it’s going on the Internet. He’s so vain.

I did this with the kit lens at the widest focal length – 18mm. I got up really close – as you can see, his nose is out of focus, but the eyes are sharp. Sharp eyes are what separates an OK picture from one that has the possibility of being a WOW picture.

What happens in a picture like this is something called distortion. The lens distorts the actual image so that it looks a bit wonky. It will not make your wife (or husband) look like a super-model, but it’s fun for animals.

This one is not in the WOW category, but I was dealing with a moving target. You can take this technique and use it with your own pet. Farm animals like pigs and cows work perfectly with this method. Your fans, friends, and family will love it.

Using Your Canon Rebel T3i for Self-Portraits

Getting a bit lazy here. Rather than write about self portraits, I made a video.

With the Canon Rebel T3i’s articulating LCD, you can see yourself before you take the photo. All you need is a cheap remote shutter button.

Portraits That Tell A Story

The Canon Rebel T3i can capture the action.
Action Portraits With A Canon Rebel T3i Great portraits are not always a result of someone sitting on a stool in front of a photography backdrop with the camera man saying, “Cheese.” You can use a good digital SLR like the Canon Rebel T3i to capture some nice candid portraits like this one of the guitar player.

The truth is that your subjects will love the pictures when you are able to capture the personality of the moment. As the viewer looks at the photo, there is a story that emanates from the picture, or maybe it will be a question. But in either case, the picture gets the viewer involved, and that is one of the signs of a good photo.

Photo by WRasku

Use A Fast Canon Portrait Lens

Wide apertures help to blur the background.

Use A Fast Canon Portrait Lens Notice how the background is blurred in the photo above. The way that was accomplished was to use a Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 lens set on Aperture Priority with the aperture set to f/2.8. This not only guarantees a blurry background, but it also gives you the fastest shutter speed possible in an indoor situation.

Nothing is worse than taking a killer picture of a great subject and having it totally messed up by some distracting background item that you didn’t even know was there.

Sometimes you can’t avoid background clutter, but you can blur it out using a wide aperture lens. One desirable feature of a Canon Portrait lens is a wide aperture.

Of course, it may also depend on the focal length of the lens to know whether an f/4.0 lens is wide enough to get that blurred background. If you can secure a lens with f/2.8 as its widest aperture, you will pretty much guarantee a nice blurred background.

Photo by WRasku

Edit Your Canon Rebel Portraits

Post processing adds punch to a photo.

Canon Rebel T3i Portrait Cropped Almost all digital photos can be “helped” with a little post-processing. You don’t need the most expensive photo-editing software to do this either. You can even use free online photo editing sites like GIMP or PICNIC to get your portraits looking good.

Sometimes all it takes is changing to black and white or a bit of cropping to make your portrait a real show-stopper.

Photo by WRasku

Keep Your Canon Rebel T3i In Plain Sight

Don’t be shy!
Don’t be shy with your Rebel T3i When you are at special events, you are in prime territory for portrait shots.

This shot was taken at a Civil War Re-enactment. These guys love interacting with their audience and having their photo taken. They will also give you all the details of their costume. It is very enlightening and rewarding.

The thing that will hinder you is your shyness. Even if they say “no,” which they won’t do, the worst thing that can happen is you don’t get to take their picture.

On the other hand, it is always a good gesture to ask if you can make their picture. Asking permission will not only get you the great photo, but you can also use it online when you have their consent. As a gesture of gratitude, you might even offer to send them a copy.

Group Portraits are awesome when there is a theme. At the Civil War demonstration, these gentlemen were very cooperative for the photographers. Then I took the picture into my editing software to add a vintage look to the photo. So much fun!

Photos by WRasku

Take Family Portraits

Family photos with Canon Rebel Every year, I use my Rebel for family photos that end up on or in Christmas cards.

This is one of the ones that was chosen.

Here is the data for this picture:
Camera lens: Tamrom 28-75 f/2.8
Mode setting: Av (Aperture Priority)
Aperture: f/2.8
Shutter speed: 1/320sec
ISO: 400
Focal length: 42mm
Flash: off

In-camera Effects

Edit Your Photos Without Expensive Software

There are several Canon T3i in-camera editing effects that you can use right in the camera. Once you select an effect, the software will generate a separate file so you don’t lose the original. Essentially, you can create many photos from a single shot.. without a computer!

The effects are:

Grainy Black and White
Soft focus
Fish-eye effect
Toy camera effect
Miniature effect

Example of Grainy Black and White

Example of Fish-eye Effect

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by David Burgess on April 27, 2018 0

The best camera for sports photography

Improve your action images with the best camera for sports photography

The best camera for sports photography will improve your sports and action images no end. If you are looking for the best camera for sports photography you have come to the right place since this article focuses solely on the best camera for sports photography as well as all the lenses and accessories you are going to need to capture those awesome sports and action photos.

Sports is an excellent subject to photograph but due to the speed and fast nature of sports capturing those stunning images can be a real challenge. If you want to increase your hit rate and the number of “keepers” you need the best camera for sports photography. This is obvious, but what is the best camera for sports photography? Carry on reading, and you will find out.

So, if you are looking to improve your sports photography and need a new camera make sure you read this article before parting with your hard earned cash.

When choosing the best camera for sports photography there are a couple of key things you need to consider.

Sports and action photography is fast and quick moving. In order to increase the number of usable images, i.e. your hit rate, you need a camera with a high burst rate. The more photographs you can take in quick succession the higher the chance of getting the shot.

Full frame digital cameras with a high burst rate are very expensive and can cost several thousand dollars. Many people simply don’t have this amount of money to spend on the best camera for sports photography, or can’t justify spending this amount of money on a digital camera. Fortunately, there are some very good crop sensor digital slr cameras with burst rates that offer great image quality and are far more affordable. If you want the best value for money, and want to get the most bang for your buck these crop sensor cameras are the ones to buy.

If you want a camera specifically for sports and action photography a digital slr camera is the only digital camera you should consider, so don’t even bother investigating point and shoot cameras or micro four thirds and mirrorless cameras.

All the major camera manufacturers sell at least one digital SLR camera that is ideal for sports and action photography, so there is something for everyone. For the best sports photography cameras take a look at the products below:

Best camera for sports photography – Canon eos 7d

In my opinion the Canon 7d is the best camera for sports photography for the masses. The Canon 7d is tough, durable and, what I consider bulletproof. The magnesium body and seals ensure it is dustproof, waterproof and shockproof, which makes it ideal out in the field

The Canon eos 7d

The Canon 7d has an impressive 18MP sensor that allows you to capture high levels of detail and images that can be blown up real big. This makes it possible to crop and enlarge every photo taken, which is ideal for subjects that you consider “too small” in the frame because they were just a bit too far away for the focal length of lens used to take the photograph.

The Canon 7d has an impressive 8fps burst rate that allows you to fire off loads of shots all in one go, so you will never miss the action again. Just remember you are going to need to have plenty of spare and make sure you have some backup batteries.

The Canon 7d is affordable and the best camera for sports photography for budding sports photographers on a budget. The Canon 7d is an awesome camera and I highly recommend it, and it is for the reasons above I consider it the best camera for sports photography.

Best camera for sports photography – Canon 1DX

The Canon eos 1DX is the flag ship of the Canon dslr range and when you look at the specifications of the 1DX it is easy to see why, I mean 18MP full frame sensor, dual-digic 5 processors for a staggering 12fps burst rate, tough magnesium alloy body and an ISO range of 100 – 51,200 (which is expendable to 204,800) is jst some of the features.

Whilst I don’t own a Canon eos 1DX I have been fortunate to use one and I can say it is an awesome camera. The 1DX is bullet proof, the burst rate is something else (although it does eat memory cards), and the images it produces are exceptional, but would I pay the $6,000 + asking price?

If I were a professional photographer and could make a living out of sports photography I would, but as I am not there is no way I could justify the cost. Buying the 1DX is one thing but then there are the lenses to go with it. The 1DX doesn’t have a crop factor so if you need a lens over 400mm you are going to have to buy a lens extender (which is not ideal for sports photography because it leads to a loss of light and hence slower shutter speeds) or spend a few thousand bucks on a long reach lens, such as the EF500mm.

The Canon 1DX is a camera for professional photographers or enthusiasts with exceptionally deep pockets. A cheaper alternative, and one that is best suited to enthusiasts.

Nikon D7000

A popular camera for sports photography

Best camera for sports photography – Nikon D7000

The Nikon D7000 is a popular camera with sports photographers and it is easy to see why. The first thing you will notice about the Nikon D7000 is the build quality, which is superb. This is a tough and durable camera that is built to last, which is a good job given sports photographers spend a lot of time out in the field.

With a 16.2MP sensor the Nikon D700 is a powerful camera that is capable of capturing some stunning sports images that will impress family and friends. Sports photography requires a lot of cropping and with this impressive sensor it is possible to get 100% crops and still get excellent image quality.

The 39 point auto focus points helps to ensure the Nikon D700 finds the target, locks on and stays locked on and it does this very well. The Nikon D700 has a fast Expeed 2 processor which is essential for sports photography. This sensor allows for 6fps, so you can fire off a lot of images in quick succession, which is vital to ensure you don’t miss the shot.

One of the best things about the Nikon D700 is the twin SD card slots, which means you don’t have to faff around swapping over memory cards and can continue to capture the action as it unfolds instead.

Overall the Nikon D700 is an excellent camera and therefore has to be included as a best camera for sports photography.

Top Sports lenses for your digital slr camera

Capturing awesome sports and action photographs requires more than the best camera for sports photography. Oh yes, if you want to capture the best sports photographs possible you also need the right lens.

When capturing sports photographs you are likely to be quite far away from the action, therefore a long reach telephoto lens is needed. If you want to “freeze” the action and still get sharp shots you also need a fast lens, which allows you to keep the shutter speeds up.

There are plenty of great sports photography lenses available for all brands and models of digital slr camera. It doesn’t matter whether you shoot a Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sony or Olympus, there is the perfect sports lens for your particular digital slr camera.

For some of the best sports and action photography lenses currently available check out the lenses below:

Best Canon lens for sports photography – Canon 100mm – 400mm L IS USM

Canon 100mm – 400mm L IS USM Lens

My most used lens for motorsports photography is the Canon 100mm – 400mm f4.5 – 5.6L IS USM lens, which is awesome. This lens is tough, durable and built to last. This lens is also fully sealed, which means it is weatherproof making it excellent for out in the field. This lens isn’t particularly fast but then given the affordable price tag this is to be expected. Besides, the image stabilization technology is awesome and helps to ensure tack sharp shots each and every time.

One of the best things about the Canon 100mm – 400mm is the push/pull zoom which makes it super quick and easy to change between focal lengths. With this lens it is possible to zoom right in close and personal or pull back to capture more of the background.

The image quality of this lens is simply superb and it is possible to capture some awesome images. If you want the best sports photography lens to go with your Canon digital slr camera the Canon 100mm – 400mm f4.5 – 5.6L IS USM lens is the lens to buy.

Top rated Nikon sports lenses

If you shoot a Nikon digital slr camera there are a few long reach zoom lenses available to buy, although the best (and most popular) are detailed below.

nikon 70 – 200 2.8

nikon 80 – 400nikon

nikon 300

Top rated Sigma sports lenses

Canon and Nikon branded tele lenses are expensive however there is a cheaper alternative, which is a Sigma lens. Sigma lenses are tough, durable, well made and the image quality is very good. Sigma produces lenses that will fit both Canon and Nikon digital slr cameras, so it really doesn’t matter what you shoot.

For the best Sigma sports and action photography lenses check out the products below, all of which are worth looking in to if you want to buy a Sigma sports photography lens.

Sigma 70 – 200Sigma

Sigma 150 – 500 Sigma

Sigma 120 – 400Sigma

An essential bit of kit of sports photography

The Monopod
Sports photography with big zoom lenses requires some support, otherwise you are going to experience camera shake and get some blurry photos. There’s no doubt about it, a tripod is the best type of camera/lens support you can buy however a tripod is not ideal for sports photography. Focusing on a moving object using a tripod is nigh on impossible, besides most sports venues prohibit the use of tripods.

The best camera/lens support for sports photography is the monopod, which is an upright pole that screws in to the bottom of the camera or the lens ring. The foot of the pole is place on the ground, hence providing a support for big and heavy lenses. The monopod is small (when collapsed), light and easily transportable, which makes is a doddle to carry around all day long. The monopod is a simple but very effective product that doesn’t cost much but will improve your sports photography photos no end.

Compared to other types of photography monopods aren’t expensive however it does pay to get the best one you can afford. Cheap monopods are heavy but made out of inferior materials that tend to flex and bend once loaded up with a heavy camera/lens combo. The best monopods are made out of carbon fibre and these are both lightweight, but most importantly strong.

Manfrotto are well known for making top quality tripods and their range of monopods is equally as good and the 680B is one of Manfrotto’s top rated monopods. This monopod is very strong and can easily support the heaviest of camera/lens combinations. I always use a fully gripped 7d combined with a 500mm prime (a seriously heavy set up) and the 680B can easily cope with this and never bends or flexes.

The weak part of all monopods is the joints, however this is not the case with the 680B . The joints on this monopod are second to none. The isn’t the cheapest monopod but it is worth every cent.

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by David Burgess on April 27, 2018 0

Varsha, My Photography Journal

Backtracking my photography learning process through a model

I decided to seriously learn photography back in December 2011. I purchased my first digital camera, which was Sony NEX-3, and started to read some photography books. Until today, I have participated in three professional photo shoots and five photo exhibitions. One of the most remarkable person during my learning period of this art is Varsha.

Varsha was my first “unofficial” model. I practiced a lot of basic theory and concept of capturing image with her as the main subject. Sometimes I asked her to pose, but most of the times I took her pictures in candid. Indeed, the photos of Varsha show the progress of my photography learning skill, from a real newbie until now. In this article, I would like to share some of my photographs of Varsha. Please kindly share your comments and feedback about my work.

A story about Varsha

Varsha is a student who studied Bachelor of Arts in Telugu (one of national languages of India) in Hyderabad between 2009 to 2012. She pursued her degree under the scholarship of Indian government in Koti Women’s College Hyderabad. I met her for the first time in 2011 through one of my classmate who also originates from Mauritius.

Varsha is physically very attractive and perfect to be a model for my photos. She is also very friendly, thus it makes me more comfortable in taking her pictures. The first time I took her photo was during a trip to Medak, a remote district about three hours driving from Hyderabad. At that moment, I felt that her face was very camera friendly. Therefore, I decided to take her photos regularly as a part of my learning process.

Varsha originates from Mauritius, a very beautiful island, a paradise on earth. Mauritius is located on the south east of the main continent of Africa. This country is full of amazing beaches, beautiful jungles, and wonderful people. Most people in Mauritius have Indian blood, and they speak French as the first language. I worked with Varsha in two different photo shoot, both of them when my skill was at very newbie level.

Photoshoots with Varsha

I spent a lot of time with my Mauritian friends because they are very good people and student. They invited me a lot to have some lunch, and we went out together to watch movies, concerts, and other interesting spots in Hyderabad. The first time I seriously took photos of Varsha was in November 2011, when I and three of my Mauritian friends (including Varsha) watched Zeb and Haniya concert in Ravindra Bharati, Hyderabad. At that moment, I successfully captured some very great candid photos of her.

After being able to take a bunch of great photos, I successfully convinced her to be a model for my photo shoot titled “The Night Song”. It was my very first photo shoot that I did only two weeks after I purchased my first DSLR camera. She performed surprisingly above my expectation. Her photos that I took during “The Night Song” were really great, and some of them were even selected for my international exhibition in Hong Kong and Singapore.

Another moment when I successfully captured great images of her was during Ugadi, one of the traditional festival for South Indian community. She dressed in saree very nicely, and we went to the temple and visited a lot of friends and relatives who celebrated Ugadi. During our trip, I took a lot of beautiful candid photos of her.

About two months after Ugadi, we worked for our second photo shoot titled “The Mystique of Love”. It was done for my photography assignment in my course and located in landscape garden, Osmania University. The photo shoot was rather challenging for me, compared to the first one due to the technical aspects and my lack of experience as a photographer. But from this work, I really learned a lot of useful things in photography.

Varsha finished her course in summer 2012 and went to her country immediately. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the chance to say my last goodbye and to take more photos of her because I was abroad.

Some tips to improve your photography skill

Try to take photos every day
More photos you take, the better your skill in photography. If you really want to be a good photographer, try to allocate at least half an hour per day for hunting pictures. By taking a lot of good photos, your technical skills, experience, and sensitivity as a photographer would improve. One more thing, try to think this habit as something fun, not as a boring responsibility.

Spend some time to review and select your best photos
Among of those photos you take regularly, you have to carefully select which photo to keep and which to delete. Be selective, and don’t hesitate to delete not so good photos. If you want to publish them in social media or online album, then you have to be more selective. Only publish your best photos, or the one that has special meanings for you.

Use a prime lens
Instead of zoom lenses, it is better to start learning photography by using prime lenses. Prime lenses will make you use your legs more in order to make the subject closer or farther from your camera frame. They don’t have zoom feature so you are forced to move a lot when taking images. By using prime lenses, you will learn how to depend more on your body and eyes rather than the zoom.

Learn to use manual focus
Manual focus is the best way to get the perfect focus. Although in modern days some autofocus of an expensive camera also performs well, but nothing can beat the accuracy of manual focus. Thus, learn to take photos with widest aperture as possible (to enable you detecting the focus point more easily), choose a single subject, then try to get the best focus of a specific part of the subject.

Focus on the eyes of the subject
After learning the principle of focusing, it is advisable for a beginner to practice with a living subject such as human and animal. At your very first few weeks of learning, try to take a close-up photos of the face. When taking photos of living things, the most important thing is to make sure that your camera focus is on the eyes of the subject. When you do it right, your photo will look better.

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by David Burgess on April 26, 2018 0

Soccer is My Life, My Experience Taking Photographs of Live Soccer Match

Pride, Fight, and Glory – A Story of a Soccer Match

As a big fan of soccer (we call it “football”, but I use the term “soccer” in this lens to avoid ambiguation), I was very happy to get the chance to take photograph of live soccer match. It was a final match of International Students Tournament in Hyderabad, a clash between two countries, Iraq versus Somalia. As I had no experience taking any photo in a live sports match before, I found this opportunity was challenging because I had only two types of lenses which were not suitable for taking picture of a sports match. At that moment, I didn’t have enough money to buy a new lens, then I decided to do whatever I could do with those two lenses. In the end, the result was very satisfying. I was able to capture the drama of the football match, as you can see in this article.

The Background Story about Soccer and My Life

The reason why this sport insprires me very much
The Warm-Up Session of Iraq Team

I remember my first live soccer match I watched on TV. It was between England versus Tunisia, in a preliminary round of FIFA World Cup 1998 in France. Since that match, I spent my childhood by looking up to those famous soccer stars such as Ronaldo, Michael Owen, Gabriel Batistuta, Dennis Bergkamp, and Zinedine Zidane. I dreamt to play alongside them, scoring a lot of goals and securing glory.

Among all of those great players, my favorite was Gabriel Batistuta. He was a very strong striker from Argentina. Batistuta was very dangerous and could easily convert a chance into a goal. He had very powerful shooting power and very deadly as a striker. Batistuta was named as “Gladiator”, and feared by most defender in the world. I was literally crying when I heard his decision to retire from soccer in 2005.

After the retirement of my favorite player, I start to be able to enjoy soccer more thoroughly. Maybe it is caused by the fact that I am no longer rooting for any particular team or player. Since 2005, I enjoy football purely as a spectator, not as a supporter.

Soccer and Photography

Two things that I really enjoy in my life
A pride supporter of Somalia

I was a committee member of Foreign Student Association (FSA) Hyderabad in 2012. As I have some knowledge in photography, I decided to use my skill to contribute to this voluntary association. The association runs a lot of events for foreign students in Hyderabad, such as graduation party, workshops, and sports matches.

In November 2012, FSA held a country-wise sports tournaments. I was lucky to be in Hyderabad at that time, so I could record those amazing moments in the tournament. The photos in this article were taken during the final match of the tournament between two strong countries from two different continents, Iraq and Somalia.

Although it is called “soccer”, actually it was only a “mini-soccer”. The field was only half of the real soccer field, and there were only eight players including the goalkeeper for each team. I used two of my best lenses (standard kit and fifty millimeters lenses) to take pictures. As the zoom magnitude of this lenses are very limited, I should stay exactly on the sideline in order to take good pictures. It was very challenging, but I really had so much fun.

The match ended with 1-0 victory for Iraq. The winner’s celebration was very great. The players and the supporters danced together and sang a song in Arabic. The best moment was when the captain of the champion received the trophy. They took the trophy, passed it from one player to another, and gave it to the supporter. It was almost like a world cup winner celebration. Luckily, I was able to take some of good photos before, during, and after the match.

Tips to take photos in a soccer match

The Runner-Up Use a tripod and zoom lenses
This is the correct way of taking photos in a football match. You need to have a tripod and a good lens with great zoom magnitude. This type of lens is called as “tele-photo lenses”, and the price ranged from two hundred bucks to two grands. It would be better if you can also get a tele-photo lens with image stabilizer, as it will make your photos to be less blurry.

Set your shutter speed as quickly as possible or leave it to your camera
Fast shutter speed means that you can “freeze” the action. With fast shutter speed, you can capture a high quality image in a sport competition. If you are not sure about the adjustment of the shutter speed, just set your camera in “Sports Mode”, and it will automatically do the work for you.

Shoot in continuous burst mode
It means that when you press and hold the shutter button, the camera will constantly take photos and will stop only if you release the button. The number of frames that could be captured per second depends on the type of camera. The more expensive the camera, the higher the number of frames can be captured in one second.

Don’t forget to capture the moment outside the match
The drama of a football match is not only about the events on the field. You can also capture a great photograph of various objects outside the field. The supporters, the officials, coaches; sometimes they are even more interesting than the soccer match. Thus, remember to point your camera to the opposite direction of the field.

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by David Burgess on April 26, 2018 0

My Macro Insect Photography Tips & Experience

Tips for taking better photos of Inesct

My Macro or close-up insect photography experience is quite memorable for me. Today I would like to share those memorable experiences as well as some macro photography tips for beginners with you all. In fact I like taking picture of nature. As you know insect is part of our nature so once I was thinking to take some pictures of various insects.

With my Sony camera I photographed some insects photos that I have taken from around my home boundary environment as well as from other places. I will explain to you everything else when, where, how I captured all these insect photos.

What type of camera do you use usually? Is it a DSLR camera? If it is then make sure you have a good opportunity to have great photo shoot of tiny insects. Learn about photography and be like professional ones.

I hope you are going to enjoy all the photos I have posted here. I think some of these insects that I have captured are very familiar to you. Though you can separate them seeing their color, behavior and lifestyle. I did not photograph all these insect pictures in a short period of time. I took time, rested and slept!

To get all these photographs I needed enough time. My macro insect photography journey will not be ended because it just has started. As I am bookworm, here in this lens I have recommended some books related to insects. Let’s know about them since they are part of our nature. They help us to balance our Eco system. Enjoy my macro insect photographs!

I am a photographer but not a professional!

Do you like taking picture of many objects such as nature, faces, flowers, birds, river, trees? I personally like the subject photography. I have started taking picture of things from a long time ago with my camera, that was as a gift for me presented by my dad.

That camera had broken up, now I have a nice SONY camera. With this one I have photographed all these insects pictures. I did not zoom in-out my camera when taking all these pictures, that’s the main key characteristic of these photographs.

Well, I am just a non professional photographer. My friends say I am a good photographer though. What do you think of me? I think I still have to improve, have to learn photography tips more from others who take photos regularly.

I do want to shoot great photos of everything I see in this world. As I am an amateur photographer please if you don’t like these photos, I am sorry then. I tried my best to show you. I still don’t know whether I would become a professional photographer but I don’t think of being professional right now.

I just want to take photos and if I want to share photographs with you I would share them in the future as well. I hope I will not dissatisfy you with these pictures. Have fun!

Macro Insect Photography Tips – How to Capture an insect?

My top 10 tips that would help you to take awesome insects photos
As I told you before that I am not a professional photographer, it is just one of my hobbies. Though I would like to share some tips on how to take picture of insects. Actually macro or close-up photography is interesting. I like it very much. Don’t you? However, lets see the useful tips.

1) You have to have a nice camera and set your camera in recommended settings. Prefer Canon, Sony, Nikon, Panasonic DSLR cameras in order to have perfect quality photo.

2) You have to be interested in macro insect photography. I know having interest about something else will lead you to achieve your mission.

3) Don’t be afraid of any insect. If you be so then you even can’t reach toward an insect as a result you never can shoot better insect photo.

4) Be cautious every time you capture an insect photo. I guess you should always remember this tips because insects could be dangerous except butterfly.

5) Focus on an insect and have a great photo shoot. Sometimes it is hard but never give it up.

6) Try to reach closer toward insects before you take a shoot with your camera.

7) You have to be creative, so use creative angles most of the time.

8) Use proper lighting techniques if you need.

9) Sometimes Zoom in and out but I don’t care about this!

10) Finally, you need a macro lens in order to take nice close-up insect picture. I did not use a macro lens while taking my all these insects pictures.

Caterpillar

This is a caterpillar and it is totally different than the following one shown below. I captured this photograph just right after raining hard on July 13, 2012. I found this creature in our backyard.

At first I was looking at it for few minutes then decided to take some shoots. I thought it would be great to memories this dangerous caterpillar even when she is not existed next to me in the future.

I knew it was dangerous caterpillar so at first I searched a little stick. Really that stick helped me a lot while capturing.

What a cute caterpillar!

Is not it a cute caterpillar? I don’t know what you think but I say it is cute.

I found it in a sunny day in my garden. I did not have any gloves so I took a little stick and I gave her time to climb up so that I could capture her well.

Actually I was succeeded and that’s why now you see a nice picture of this caterpillar. I must tell you that I captured this one in this year winter.

A cute Caterpillar but Dangerous

Is not it a beautiful caterpillar? Very bushy right? Please just don’t touch it, even if you accidentally touch it then consult with doctor.

I am not kidding, don’t forget to consult with doctor! When I was a kid I accidentally touched one just like this caterpillar, indeed it was very painful for me and my parents brought me to doctor immediately and doctor did his job, I recovered soon though. Thanks god!

Caterpillars of Eastern North America: A Guide to Identification and Natural History

Do you want to know about Caterpillars? i guess It is great when you have some books on Caterpillars. If you want to research about Caterpillars then find some books from the market and get the best one which would help you to know many unknown facts of Caterpillars.

Black and Yellow Color Wasp

There is an interesting story behind this picture. On 05 May, 2013 I went to my uncle’s home.

Actually he (my uncle) invited me to attend on my cousin’s birthday. They have a beautiful garden, my granny takes care of it much.

I did not forget to take my camera because it was my cousin’s birthday so I needed to capture those great moments. I took many pictures on that day and the one I like most is this insect photo.

In fact did not think of photographing insect there but somehow while I was walking in the garden I found this guy. So who cares! I captured some great pictures of this beautiful wasp.

Best Cameras to Photographs Insect

I took all these pictures with my Sony Camera
I don’t switch camera brand much. In fact Sony is the best camera producer that produces cool cameras for us. I am a very much loyal customer of it. I have never dissatisfied, it gives me great customer value through using its product.

Look below, there are the top 5 cameras I recommend to use in order to take macro photographs of insect, flowers, birds, nature or other tiny creature. You don’t have to worry about these quality, they are highly recommended but you have to choose the camera brand and price only. I hope you will be able to get yours. Please read all the reviews before purchasing them.

A caterpillar which is very colorful!

To be honest I have never seen like this type of Caterpillar before until I saw this for the first time on that day when I found this.

I am actually talking about the last year, when I first discovered this creature.

At first I thought it was something but not an insect later I asked my dad and he told it was a one kind of Caterpillar. I have no idea, how to explain this caterpillar!

Best Termite Control: All You Need to Know About Termites and How to Get Rid of Them Fast

Termite is a harmful insect in this world. Are you having problem how to control termite? Do you want to protect your home from Termite? Do you want to know 3 simple natural ways of controlling Termite? If so then i guess you need to know some very useful information.

Praying Mantis

I was amazed once I found this insect.

I don’t know its name until some Squidoo lensmasters have helped to recognize this insect.

Thanks to those lensmasters who told me its name! Yes now i know it is a praying mantis.

I captured this photo last month (November) of this year 2013.

My brother first discovered it and then called me to go there with my camera.

It was a great moment for both of us capturing an unknown insect.

A Happy Dragonfly!

I was very much happy taking this wonderful picture of a dragonfly. I really wanted to take some pictures of dragonflies and my dream came true one day.

It was a sunny day and it was a perfect day for dragonfly to enjoy its trip near my flower garden. I captured this in 2012, I have never ever thought that it would be very easy for me to capture some amazing photos of it.

It was actually very easy and I did enjoy my time while capturing this beautiful dragonfly. Even though I was very cautious! I like the head of this dragonfly, it is like a pilot!

Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East

I like taking dragonfly pictures. This is for what i have taken some great photos of it. Today i have shown some of them here in this lens. If you are interested to explore about dragonfly then you have to read books.

I have found this while visiting my uncle’s home

I already have told you about a wasp that I captured from my uncle’s home on his son’s birthday.

I did not only take wasp picture but this dragonfly too.

I was curious very much after taking the wasp picture and was finding some insect.

Luckily I found this dragonfly and captured it at once.

The Illustrated World Encyclopedia of Insects
Having an insect book at home as collection is not a bad idea. I have got a book based on insect which was presented by my uncle as my birthday gift.

Useful Insect Link List

Insect
Learn everything you need to know about insect.
Bugs, Bug Pictures, Insects – National Geographic
National Geographic is a great source of learning about wild life such as insect. Get more info, watch videos and articles on insect.
Insects – Kids Science Videos, Games and Lessons
Your little kids may be interested to know about insect so visit this site to help them learning on insect.

Black Color Butterfly

It is a Beautiful Butterfly!
Once I was telling Tipi (Former Squidoo Lensmaster) that I had missed talking picture of a black color butterfly on a particular day.

Yes I missed the black color butterfly that time but after 2 or 3 days later I found one, not far from my flower garden. I do think what I captured was great since everyone of us like seeing Butterfly and its picture.

“Hello Tipi, I did it finally! I was very glad and excited to capture this nice butterfly image. It was such a sunny day that I saw many colorful butterflies in my garden.” – takkhis

Butterflies & Moths

Who does not like butterflies and moths? I think everyone does like them. It is a beautiful creature that has colorful wings and they delight us with its beauty.

Yellow Color Butterfly

Look at this picture right now! What have you seen?

A beautiful yellow butterfly and its shadow, right? I am proud to be the owner of this image.

I thought it would be flying before I capture it but I was a lucky man on that day, in fact it did not fly.

It was steady in the place it sat so that made me crazy to take this photo. Sometimes it is hard to find yellow color butterfly!

A Spider – It looks great!

Are you afraid of a spider? Some spiders are dangerous some are not.

The one you see in the picture is not a dangerous spider. I touched this spider with my fingers. I used to read spider man comic a lot but now I don’t read it much but still enjoy reading new spider man comic.

I took this photograph last year in 2012 with my precious Sony camera.

There was a bamboo fence and this is where I found this spider. Honestly I used this photo as desktop wallpaper on my laptop.

Spiders

This is a great book!
Do you like spider or want to learn more about this creature? If so then you must have to have book on spider where you would find useful information. I am not afraid of spider, what about you? I know many of you are afraid of this creature.

Small Ant on a Red flower
I don’t know the English name of this flower but here it is popular and we like the flower color, it is very red in color.

One day when I was watering my flower plants I suddenly saw this small tiny ant on a flower.

Suddenly I ran toward my room and got back to my garden with my camera. I did not take much time to photograph some picture of this tiny creature. This occurred in January, 2013.

The Life and Times of the Ant

Ant could be a tiny insect but it is a hardworking insect. If you are interested to learn about all type of ant’s family then you can read this book.

Two Mosquitoes – Please don’t disturb us!

There are two misquotes on the marigold flower! I think they were resting at that time.

I photographed this in the early morning when I have a passion to walk. I walk everyday in the early morning and sometimes I take camera.

If it is rainy, just I don’t take it. To be honest I have never ever thought to capture this dangerous insect! However, I am proud of this photo because every time I look at it, I start laughing and think “how is it possible”!

Mosquito: A Natural History of Our Most Persistent and Deadly Foe

Mosquito is one of the most dangerous insects on earth. We must protect our body from mosquito bites. Millions of people die all over the world from malaria, yellow fever. If you want to know about this dangerous insect then look at the following book i am going to recommend you.

A Dangerous Wasp

Would you like to shoot a wasp just like the way I did? It was not easy for me.

I found this at our main gate, maybe it was wounded or something like that. I was afraid of this while getting closer to it because it has a stinger! Are not you afraid of wasp?

I am afraid of it and try not to get closer but somehow on that day I intended to photograph of this dangerous insect. Actually I did it and happy now for that.

Solitary Wasps: Behavior and Natural History (Cornell Series in Arthropod Biology)

As you know there are two categories of wasp, one is social and other one is solitary.

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