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Question:
Garry:
I was in the audience at the Ottawa Camera Club tonight. Great night! You taught me lots of things and re-enforced other things I try to remember when shooting!
I was not living in Ottawa for the ice storm and am continually noticing the effects of the storm when I walk through woods around Ottawa. The shot of the "right hand" falls at the Dunlop Picnic Field (I assume that was where it was) in the fall was a perfect example of the destruction that remains. I loved the clear undergrowth and lack of branches etc cluttering up the falls themselves. I would love to be able to get that shot today ! Your shot and a similar shot today would be a great example of the one of the legacy of the ice storm.
A question about the star trail shot. I have tried the same shot, but not for the 6 hour duration. Yours is much better (obviously) . I used to have two Pentax Spotmatic ll until a year ago, they were mechanical and handled the Bulb shots fine. BUT, I now have a Canon AE2 (I could not justify the Nikon extra cost--except now I really want the option of more than 8 "double" exposures, damn it. The multi-multi exposures of yours I saw last night and Larry Monczka's who was in the same club as I was in Toronto make me very envious!).
Anyway, I discovered that when using the BULB setting with the Canon, the battery drains quite quickly. I discovered this when trying the star trails shot last fall with the new camera, the battery was not fresh and died after about 2 hours.
Canon can not (!) tell me how long a fresh battery will last in the BULB setting. Do you have the same "problem" with the Nikons and if so, how long do the batteries last during BULB shots ?
I want to try the star trails shot again, but I wonder if the battery is going to last.....
Thanks.
Answer:
I am glad that you enjoyed my presentation last night. Yes those were the right hand falls at Dunlop.
A lot of cameras will work on bulb with the batteries removed. What you have to do is compose your shot then place on lens cap on the lens, start your exposure on bulb, then remove your batteries and remove the lens cap and wait six hours. When you are ready to stop the exposure, this is when you will replace the battery pack on the camera. Just before you replace the batteries, put the lens cap back on. The reason for the lens cap is so that when you are shaking the camera, you don't get the stars recording on the film in squiggly lines.
As for multiple exposures, I think your camera should do up to 9. Even if it only does up to 8, just before it takes that LAST EXPOSURE reset the multiple exposures back up to maximum number. Lets say you can do 9 multiple exposures with your camera, at the 8th exposure is when you would reset your dial back to 9, then do another 8 and reset back to 9, then shoot all 9 exposures - at this point you have 25 multiple exposures, which should give you a really good effect.
Let me know if these ideas work.
Question:
I find that the cost of film and processing is very expensive. I looked into bulk loading my own film, what advice can you give me regarding these loaders. I read that you use the Jobo CPP-2 Processor, is there anything cheaper that I can use to process my slide film?
Answer:
I have 2 bulk film loaders, only 1 of them is any good, the Alden #74. It is made of Bakelite (or really hard plastic). I bought mine at the Focus Centre in Ottawa, they still stock them. You can e-mail info@focuscentre.ca the manager (John Stephens) and ask about the current pricing, you can mention that I referred you. They ship UPS, it's only a couple of bucks, sure beats driving into Toronto (which I hate doing!).
The trick with bulk loading your film is not to reuse the cassettes too many times. The felt gets worn down (letting light in) and also dust gets into the felt (scratches). Use scotch tape to secure the film to the spool, rather than masking tape, which can let go. Count on loosing the last or even last 2 frames on a roll of film.
On page 2 of ASK GARRY are my recommendations for slide processing equipment. The critical aspect of processing slides is the temperature, this is probably the cheapest (but it really isn't that cheap) processor that will do the job. Also see page 6 regarding cheaper processing equipment.
Question:
I am an amateur photographer who like to take pictures at my sons football
games. I use a 35mm with a zoom lens. I have a problem with getting clear
shots. They most of the time are somewhat fuzzy. My questions is what is
the right film speed to use and do I need to use my flash at night games when
their are field lights? This is my son's senior year and I would like to get
some good shots of him.
Answer:
You didn't mention how fast your zoom lens is (F2.8 or 3.5, 4 or 5.6) but this is only really a factor at the night games. For the day games you will want a shutter speed of at least 1/1000 sec. at F8, you should be able to achieve this with 200 speed film on bright sunny days, if it is slightly overcast you will want to use 400 speed film. If it heavily overcast then you could still use the 400 speed film and either use less depth of field (using F5.6 instead of F8 or use 1/500 sec as your shutter speed).
For the night games a flash is pretty useless unless the action is closer than 15 ft. (4.5 meters) to you. It is probably best to use 1600 speed film, although the lights look bright to your eye they're really not all that bright. If your zoom lens is F2.8, you could try shooting at this aperture setting and using a slower speed film.
The slower the film speed the colours are better and the grain is less noticeable, which makes for better enlargements.
I hope this information helps, the only other cause for fuzzy pictures would be your focusing or camera movement during the exposure.
Question:
I am just beginning to explore the world of photography and I feel like a sponge trying to soak up all the information I can. I feel as if I know so little so anything you could tell me to help me along my way would be much appreciated. I want to learn as much as possible before I move to Italy in December so that I can truly capture all that I experience there..... any thoughts, suggestions, or information would be more than welcome.
thank you,
p.s. I absolutely love your photographs of the waterfalls,...I understand what you mean by the awe that is inspired in us by things such as snowflakes, thunderstorms, rushing water, etc.... my particular favorite has always been the appearance of the sky right before a thunder & lightning storm.
Answer:
The best advice that I can give you, is don't wait until you get to Italy to start taking pictures. You should be out taking pictures wherever you are right now. That way you will become familiar with your camera and how it works, which lenses are best used for different situations and most importantly how to expose the film properly.
When I started photography, I read everything that I could get my hands on, and then I would go out around the area of my hometown at take pictures all of the time. Reading about it and actually doing it are two completely different things. The knowledge that you gain from shooting around your home can be applied to shooting anywhere around the world.
I hope that this information helps you, if you have any more questions, just ask!
Question:
I'm writing you in hopes that you can give me a list of books that may
interest my 12 year old son in photography. You know the old standard
question "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Well, he has
consistently said he wants to be a photographer. He want to take pictures
for the National Geographic, Wild Life, etc. What reading material can he
read for the summer?
Thank you for your anticipated cooperation.
Answer:
The two best books that I can think of are both by Bryan Peterson, the first one is "Understanding Exposure" and the second one is "Learning to see Creatively". With these two books he covers most of the basic groundwork for becoming a photographer. I think your son would get a lot out of them.
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