Photo Expressions

Spring Tune Up

 

Battery Checkup
Rechargeable batteries for digital cameras eventually lose the ability to hold their charge. You will need to replace them every few years. Also, consider buying a second battery for your camera. If you are taking a long trip, don’t forget your charger.

Memory Cards
If you have plans for a summer vacation, family reunion, or other big events, stock up on memory cards ahead of time. Don’t wait to buy them at airports or expensive tourist stores. You’ll pay much more than you would from Photo Express.

The price of storage continues to drop; so if you’ve been eyeing a bigger card, perhaps it’s time to splurge and get that added capacity. 

Keeping Your Camera Clean
We recommend only minimal cleaning. The most important thing is to try to avoid the need to clean in the first place. Try to keep your camera away from elements that cause the most harm: dirt, dust, sandy grit, and saltwater spray are the mortal enemies of most types of cameras. Keep your camera protected if you’re on a windy beach and the sand is flying. Don’t get too near those big waves; use your zoom lens instead.

If you want to take pictures in the surf, poolside, or even underwater, you may want to consider purchasing a waterproof point-and-shoot model. It’s best to keep your camera off the picnic table or other spots where it may be vulnerable to a spilled soda or a glob of jelly.

Cleaning Your Camera
The one part of the camera exterior you must keep clean is the lens. Dust and fingerprints will compromise the optical efficiency of your lens. We suggest using just two tools: a microfiber cleaning cloth, and a rubber squeeze bulb. 

Microfiber cleaning cloths, like the Spudz cloths that we have at the counter at PE,  make it possible to remove dust, grit, and even the oil left by fingerprints without the use of any solvent. These cloths are inexpensive, and can be washed and reused.

 

Another helpful solution is the Lenspen. Perfect for cleaning camera lenses, binocular lenses, small aperture spotting scopes and telescopes, eyepieces, and other optical items, this tool comes with a handy retractable dust removal brush and a special non-liquid cleaning element, designed to never dry out. 

 
With DSLRs, be careful not to get dust on the sensor. Sensor dust (the dust is not on the sensor itself, but rather on a filter in front of the sensor) is a fact of life when using a DSLR. If you think you have a problem with dust on the sensor, we recommend that you bring it into PE and let us help you with it. There are tools to do this yourself; but you need to be careful not to damage anything, or you can void the warranty.

 

A Bag Helps
A camera bag is likely to provide much better protection for your camera and other equipment than if you keep your camera loose in your suitcase, handbag, or briefcase. There are plenty of attractive, soft, compact bags you can use to protect your camera.

If you're looking for a camera bag that doesn't look like a camera bag, Crumpler has the solution for you! They offer top notch construction with fabulous designs. We carry a variety of their bags and are happy to special order the perfect bag in the perfect colour just for you. Check out Crumpler's website here.

If you keep your camera in a bag, there’s one other very inexpensive accessory – a plastic bag big enough to hold your camera and accessories. If you encounter a sudden summer thunderstorm or find yourself on a speed  boat that catches a wave, just pop your entire camera bag into it.

Follow these simple tips, and your camera will be ready for all the great photo opportunities summer has to offer.

 

Prepared by the New York Institute of Photography. For more tips, visit www.nyip.com.

Save Christmas Photo Sale Extended!

Great News!  Santa decided you were good and extended the "Save Christmas Photo Sale" another week!  He really doesn't want to see your holiday photos end up like option #2 below:

 

You now have until the Monday, Jan 24th to get those Foto Depot orders in and save 40% on your entire order!

Get the details here...

The 12 Photo Inspirations of Christmas

Back by popular demand, holiday photo tips for this Christmas season!

This Christmas, besides all the regular photos of gift opening, the group around the dinner table with the paper crowns, and the Christmas tree, why not also try for some other creative and memorable photos?  Here are 12 photo inspirations to get you started: (click for larger versions)

Christmas Lights.

 Blurred Christmas Lights.

Turkeys.

Santa Scenes.

Santa Behind The Scenes.

Siblings.

Cousins.

Grandparents.

First Christmases.

Place Settings.

Annual Christmas Morning Self-Family Portraits.

Traditions.

Hope you are inspired to go out and "get the picture"!  Have a Merry Christmas!

New from PE - Personality Portraits™!

 
 
Capture their personality today - for a lifetime!

Check out the latest fantastic and unique product from the Photo Expressions Portrait Studio at Photo Express - Personality Portraits™!

 
A Personality Portraits™ Collage is a great way to capture someone's personality and easily put it on display.  Bring your own props from home if you want to!

 

Personality Portraits™ are great for any age - we recommend from the age of walking and up.  Everybody has personality!

 

There is no fuss, no muss as far as you are concerned.  Our professional photographers and layout artists will guide you naturally through the process of getting an awesome collage into your hands.

 
Want to bring props from home?  Please do!  You know your child's personality, let's bring it out together in a beautiful collage.

 
PE's professional layout artists will capture the subject's personality with a unique composition.

 
By the way, do you like the frame these samples are in?  Every Personality Portait™ comes with a gorgeous black frame!  And since the 2nd copy of any portrait costs less, it makes a great gift.  Oh yes, we just made your Christmas shopping a whole lot easier and more meaningful!

 

So, you want to get your Personality Portraits™ ASAP in time for Christmas, don't you?  We have set aside a special time to help launch this program where you can get huge savings.

Book a Personality Portrait for Saturday, October 9^th in the Photo Express studio and save $50!

Or Book a Personality Portrait for any time in October and save $15!  Just mention this blog post.

Slots will fill up fast, so call now to book: 604-463-3654

To see more details and Frequently Asked Questions on Personality Portraits™, please visit here.

 

Family Vacation Photo Tips

 

The Family Vacation and Photography – A Peaceful Offering

By Russ Burden

Some tips to get the most from your trip if you’re the family photographer

It’s time for the family to plan its annual vacation. So just how does the photographer in you get appeased? You can still get your pixel-capturing fix by adopting a few of the following suggestions and agreeing on a few compromises beforehand.

a) While the family sleeps and relaxes in the morning, head out for a few hours at sunrise to capture the great light on whatever subject you fancy. From the tallest skyscraper to a tiny flower, subjects bathed in the warm light of sunrise look great.

b) Accept the fact sunset is family time, but expect a compromise that maybe you get to claim a few sunsets for yourself. Some sunsets may mean you’re out photographing other families involved in their activities (get their permission first!) or the same scenery from your morning shots – to see how different light can change the picture.

c) During the day, when it’s family time, keep everyone very active. You may wear them out enough so all they want to do for sunset is relax – and you wind up with a bonus family shoot.

d) During the day, when the light is not at its best, augment with fill flash, and focus on your family members. Try to keep the photography low-key so it doesn’t become the priority. Let your family have fun while you simply document the events. Orchestrating a full-blown shoot may wind up backfiring.

e) Use a trusty point and shoot rather than carting around all your gear. Having your complete pack connotes you are taking charge and infringing on their time. Using a point and shoot is less intimidating, and you’re still getting your fix.

f) Don’t expect the vacation to be like it was when you had the luxury of being on a photo tour where the entire focus was getting great shots. While you may wish it to be that way, lower your standards, which, in turn, will make every image you capture more special.

g) Give the camera to your spouse or kids. Let them take a few pictures, and allow them to share in your enthusiasm. More often than not, the photographer in the family is the person who seems to not have gone on the trip. Let the others take shots of you, and have some fun posing.

h) Use the trip to create a nice family portrait that can be used as a holiday card. Turn it into a fun event. Let the kids get goofy for a few shots. While it may not make the cover of National Geographic, you’re still practicing your skills of lighting, posing, and composition.

Prepared by TakeGreatPictures.com. For more tips, visit www.takegreatpictures.com.

All photos © Russ Burden

March Monthly Specials - 8x10's and Photo Books! Great for Olympic Memories

Now that the Olympics are over, you don't need to feel mildly depressed.  There are always the memories.  However, make sure you DO SOMETHING with your photos now, before you can get overwhelmed.  This month's Club Member specials are intended to help you preserve and share your Olympic memories:

I will be making an "Olympic Memories" Foto Book myself.  At $30, that's about 1% of the price of a ticket to the gold medal hockey game!

It's as easy as 1-2-3:

1 - Upload your Olympic photos to Foto Depot (http://photoexpress.fotosource.com/photo)

2 - Choose a Foto Book project (black leather, black suede and tan suede are the cover choices on sale) and use the "Auto Layout" feature.  Your book is almost done!

3 - Tweak which photos you want to be larger and more prominent, and add a bit of text.  Done!

You can add colourful backgrounds and so forth, but the key is to just do it - you won't regret it!

If you are more old-school, you can simply order up 100-200 4x6 photos, put them in an album and you are done!

Oh, and make sure to let the staff at PE see your Olympic photo project, we love sharing in the memories!

Trust us with your Memories,
Ron

Photographic Report from the Olympic Frontlines

PE's very own Marcel and I (Ron) got a chance to attend an Olympic hockey game last night!  Here is the qucik and dirty on what's happening down there, and what to expect:

• DO take your SLR camera and big zoom lens if you have them.  I took my Nikon D3 with 70-200mm f2.8 lens (it must weigh about 10 pounds), in a Lowepro 200 AW Slingpack and had no problems getting through security.  Lots of other people had big cameras as well.  You can even take a big flash if you want, but don't it out during an event.  Flash photography is a no-no.
• The bag restrictions on the vancouver2010 website are not really being enforced, so don't worry if your bag is larger than 6 x 6 x 12 inches.  The security people are very friendly and are using common sense.
• DO bring lots of memory and battery power.  There is so much to photograph besides the events!

Are you going to an ice event?  Does your camera allow for manual settings?  Here is the magical setting I settled on last night for hockey.  It should work well for figure skating as well, depending how far you are from the action:

For hockey / figure skating:
ISO: 400
Aperture: f4
Shutter Speed: 1/320th

That's it!  I shot all night at that setting and never had to worry about the tough auto-metering conditions.  So if you have manual settings, start here.  If the pictures are too bright, increase your shutter speed (to something like 1/500th).  If they are too dark, you can increase the ISO to 800.

Many cameras / lenses only go down to f5.6 aperture, if your is one then try these settings:

ISO: 800
Aperture: f5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/320th

For speed skating, you may want a faster shutter speed, especially if you are close to the action.  Try these settings for starters:

ISO: 800
Aperture: f4
Shutter Speed: 1/500th

or

ISO: 1600
Aperture: f5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/500th

Try a few shots during warmups to get the right exposure, and then you don't have to worry about it for the rest of the event!

Here are some photos from last night (all photographs © Ron Comeau and for personal enjoyment, please don't spread them around as we are dealing with the Olympic brand here):

Athlete's Village at night (click for larger).  Several photos stitched together in Photoshop.  Settings were:
ISO: 1600
Aperture: f2.8
Shutter Speed: 1/50th

Bottom row is Czechs, top row is Slovaks.  One thing that really impressed me was how well the Czech and Slovak supporters got along, seeing as they used to be one nation.  By the way, this was taken in front of the Russia pavilion, and some people were also wearing Canada mittens.  And it all makes sense.  This is why I love the Olympics, and this is why I love Vancouver.

Some hockey photos (all taken at ISO 400, f4, 1/320th second):

Faceoff in the Czech zone

The Vancouver Canucks' own Pavol Demitra!

(click for larger) Jaroslav Halak with the big glove save.

(click for larger) Tomas Vokoun with a couple of beauties!

 
Tomas Plekanec of the Czechs chips in the insurance marker over his Montreal Canadiens teammate, Jaroslav Halak, with 2 seconds left in the 2nd period!  Jaromir Jagr had passed the puck across the crease.

(click for larger) Time-honoured hockey tradition: beat the cr*p out of each other, then shake hands.

There you have it.  Get out there and get some once-in-a-lifetime photos!  And when the Olympics are done, promise me you will DO SOMETHING with your photos!  It could be as simple as sharing your photos and ordering 4x6 prints through Foto Depot.  I'm planning on using Foto Depot to create an "Olympic Memories" photo book.  When you create your memories, please share the resukts with us at Photo Express!

Trust us with your Memories,
Ron C
  

Olympic Photo Tips - Project 2010

Designed to help you:

Create Memories,
Share your Memories,

Preserve Your Memories.

There are going to be plenty of opportunities to take photos during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, with or without tickets.  A few points to remember:

 

• There are a ton of free areas with great photo opportunities, you don't need to go into the paid events.  Here a few photos from in and around Robson Square in dowtown Vancouver:

They're your tax dollars at work - may as well get some use out of them!
 

• Flash photos are generally prohibited during competition, and even when they're not, you are generally too far away.  Learn to force your flash off!  Come see us in the store if you need help.
• Remember the "sports mode" on your camera?  The one with this icon: Now is the time to use it!  It simply tries to give you a good exposure at the quickest shutter speed possible, to freeze the action.  Also, slower events lend themselves to the snow mode if you have it:
  
• Less zoom can be more.  Using telephoto zoom gives different results than cropping a wide angle photo, but when you have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, you want to make sure you get the photo!  In difficult conditions, consider backing off the zoom and cropping later.  Just make sure you have your camera set to the highest resolution, at the best quality setting.
• Bring lots of memory and batteries!  It goes without saying, you don't want to run out of either at an Olympic event!  Memory cards are so affordable these days, you just have to carry at least 2 if only in case the first one has a problem.  At Photo Express, we can hook you up real quick with extra memories and batteries.
• When entering events, there is going to be a lot of security, and with large bags (ie. SLR camera bags) you go into the "special lineup".  Well, I can't wait to find out what they do to you there, but keep in mind, if you have a large camera bag, give yourself extra time.  And not too large: "no larger than 15 cm x 15 cm x 30 cm or 6 in x 6 in x 12 in".  You may need to get a smaller bag that holds the cameras and 1 lens.
• From the list of prohibited items:  Flash photography and other lighting devices (such as laser pens) anywhere around the field of play (exceptions may apply)...Use of radio frequency devices (Wi-Fi, pocket wizards and land mobile radios) that have not been registered and coordinated with Industry Canada prior to entry into the venue.
• Get pictures of yourself.  It is going to be a friendly atmosphere, so feel free to ask others to snap photos of you and your friends/family.  A few tips on that: Set your zoom ahead of time, from where you want the photo taken.  Then say, "Just press halfway to focus, and the rest of the way to take the picture".  Even though every camera works this way nowadays, a lot of people still just jab at the shutter button before focusing.
• Upload to Foto Depot!  Do this right away, so you can share your photos with friends and family, and actually order some prints or make an Olympic memories photo book.  It's a legacy that won't cost you tons of tax dollars.

February Club Member Special - only $20.10!

Well, you know there is an event of Olympic proportions happening around here this month.  We are not allowed to capitalize on it - but you are!

February's Club Member Special is a Limited Edition "Winter Spirit" Prepaid Prints card.  It's a $40 value for only $20.10!  Here's what you get:

• 50 - 4x6 or smaller digital prints
• 4 - 5x7 digital prints
• 2 - 8x10 digital prints

Whether you get some amazing photos of Olympic events this month or not, you are sure to enjoy the 50% savings!

These limited edition cards will only be available for the month of February 2010 - then they're gone!

 

"@ P.E." - Funky Photo Album & Flash Photo Tip!

Check out this week's installment of "@ P.E." TV:

50% off Foto Depot Sale!

Save Christmas!  Literally, save your pictures from a slow hard drive death by taking advantage of this HUGE sale on Foto Depot prints and Foto Books!

Get all the details here

Watch a video about it here:

Make 2010 the year you DO SOMETHING with all those great photos!

Trust us with your Memories.

The 12 Photo Inspirations of Christmas

This Christmas, besides all the regular photos of gift opening, the group around the dinner table with the paper crowns, and the Christmas tree, why not also try for some other creative and memorable photos?  Here are 12 photo inspirations to get you started: (click for larger versions)

Christmas Lights.

 Blurred Christmas Lights.

Turkeys.

Santa Scenes.

Santa Behind The Scenes.

Siblings.

Cousins.

Grandparents.

First Christmases.

Place Settings.

Annual Christmas Morning Self-Family Portraits.

Traditions.

Hope you are inspired to go out and "get the picture"!  Have a Merry Christmas!

Winners of "My Ridge Meadows" Photo Contest!

Here is the Grand Prize Winner from the "My Ridge Meadows" Photo Contest - "Dark Horses" by Gord Clark:

 

We were lucky enough to have acclaimed local photographer Leonard R. McGregor (Master Photographer, accredited national and international photo judge, and the list goes on and on) as our judge.  Here is what he said about the winning photo:

"Dynamic Impact  --  Strong Composition  --  Story Telling (two riders in solitude on a dyke) --  Simple and creative  --  proper exposure  --  good use of silhouette and strong colour."

There were plenty of strong entries.  We were very encouraged by the 225+ photos entered, and will be looking to run more contests like this in 2010.  You can see the rest of the finalists and Len's comments on our Facebook page (you don't have to have a Facebook account to see it).  Enjoy and by all means leave your own comments!

Trust us with your Memories,
Ron C

Christmas Concert Photo Tips

It's that time of year, when parents squat their way to the front of the school gym to get a picture of their little angel, battling bad angles, low lighting and elbows all the way.  Here are some tips for great Christmas concert photos:

• Bump up the ISO.  ISO settings affect a photo in 2 ways: how much light is let into the camera, and how much "noise" will appear in the picture.  A higher ISO setting will let in more light and also allow more noise (noise appears as random coloured dots).  I would personally rather have a sharper picture with a bit of noise than a smooth, blurry picture.  So take your camera off "Auto" or "100" ISO and try changing it to "400" (or maybe 800 or 1600 if you know your camera can handle it).  Make sure to change it back after!
• Get as close as possible.  You know all those parents who sneak up to the front row to get pictures of their children?  They are doing a good thing.  Christmas concerts tend to be dark, so you need to be as close as possible for your pictures to turn out.
• Zoom with the feet.  You might be tempted to use your big zoom from the back of the gym, but keep in mind that the more you zoom in, the less light reaches the camera, and the more your hand movements are multiplied, which can lead to blurring.  You are best to crawl up the aisles.
• Got image stabilization (usually called IS, OIS or VR)?  Use it!  What a great invention this is.  It counteracts the shakiness of your hands to create sharper images.
• Here is the Flash Rule: if you are within - oh, say - 20 feet of your subject, flash will make your picture look better.  If you are further than 20 feet from your subject, flash can actually make your picture look worse!  Beware the folly of distant flash!

In the 2 photos below, I used a camera that can shoot 1600 ISO no problem.  It's really a matter of preference in this case.  The flash photo (top) freezes the action while casting some shadows on the back wall.  The high-ISO photo (below) allows for some movement and takes on the characteristics of the gymnasium lights.  Realistically, in a Christmas concert setting I'd be happy with either one because they are sharp and capture the moment!

200 ISO with flash - about 20 feet away

 
1600 ISO without flash 

• One last tip. If you can - sit in the front row.  That's how I got the picture below! (and I used flash).

Trust us with your Memories,
Ron C

Get The Picture! Paul's Drawings

Photo Express customers do a lot more than just photos, and here is a great example.

 

Paul Thornley creates his colourful drawings first using pencil, then outlining in Micron ink (available at PE), and colouring with Copic markers (also available at PE).  The result is a fun, bright drawing to commemorate a vacation he has taken, or a person he knows, etc.  It's all about the memories, right?

Paul also does custom work and can be contacted at 604-315-8349 or pejashideout@hotmail.com.