Sometimes, it gets almost too easy to get all involved in the technical aspects of a photography, such as aperture, shutter, ISO, depth of field, etc without even realizing that the most important aspect of photography is slipping away: composition.
"What is my subject ?"
Then, look at your photo. Your subject should be the first thing that pops into your mind when looking at your photo. If it doesn't, recompose and try again, cause chances are if you cannot easily recognize the subject of the your photo, your audience won't either. Happy shooting.
We are happy to announce that we have successfully moved to a new domain:
http://www.dpstudent.net
Our old domain will still work, but will be redirected to a new domain.
Berlin, one of Europe's busiest and fastest growing capitals. A city with intriguing and rich heritage, seeded with numerous monuments, testifying to some of the finest and also some of the darkest moments in European history. We bring you photography highlights from this great European capital.
Last month I had an amazing opportunity to visit Berlin, one of Europe liveliest and fastest growing capitals. During my brief stay there, I have visited quite a bit of history, culture, architecture and tasted a little bit of nightlife, trying to make the most of the time available. Needless to say, my camera was working overtime, and I have compiled a list of some of Berlin's top sights(the ones i had time to visit) for everyone to enjoy.
Top Berlin locations you don't want to miss:
1. Brandenburg Gate - The best known of all Berlin's symbols, the Brandenburg Gate is located in the middle of the Pariser Plats, surrounded by embassies. Quadriga, a four horse chariot, driven by Victoria, Roman goddess of Victory stands proudly on top of the gate. The actor in the square was kind enough to pose, giving overall photo a nice context.
2. Reichstag - Of all the buildings in Berlin, the Parliamentary Building (Reichstag) is probably one of the most symbolic. It was erected in 1884-94, destroyed by arson in 1933, bombed during World War II, and finally in 1994-9 transformed into one of the most modern parliamentary buildings in the world. 
The framing was chosen deliberately to catch the passer by and the phrase "Dem Deutchen Folk" (to the German people). I guess I just liked the symbolism. In addition, I strongly suggest that if possible you go and visit the Reichstag dome. It gives a great view over Berlin, as well as a peek into the parliamentary chamber. The dome is open at the top, in order to allow the dissemination of debates throughout the country. Did I mention that it looked amazing ?
3. Victory Column (Siegessäule) - A 62m Victory Column, situated in the middle of the Tiergarten park, erected to commemorate three Prussian victories (against Denmark(1864), Austria (1866), and France (1871)). On the top of the column stands a 35ton statue of the goddess Victoria.
A brief view from the victory column towards the central Berlin makes you quickly forget all of those nasty steps going up. Just make sure you pack some quality wide-angle lens as well as some telephoto. The panorama on the left was made with Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6
lens.
4. Museum Island - features one of the most important museums of ancient art and architecture in the world - The Pergamon Museum - hosting ancient wonders such as Pergamon Altar, Market Gate of Miletus, and Ishtar Gate. Other museums on the island are Old (shown in photo to the right) and New Museum, Old National gallery, and Bode Museum.
I have taken a photo of an art student painting the statue. I like the way he stands out among the columns breaking their pattern, and reinforcing the composition. 
In front of the old museum lies Lustgarten park, where one of the largest and the most lavish churches in Berlin is situated - Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom). The cathedral truly dominates the lustgarten square, and the fountain created a nice halo contributing to the scene.
5. Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church at Kurfürstendamm - is one of the most haunting symbols of the terrors of war. The night lighting contributes to the already eerie look of the church. Shot the photo using knee as support.
The church tower (which was the only thing remaining from the original church) stands side by side with a newly erected tower. I like this photo as these two towers are a testimonial to a human nature describing both sides: the dark destructive one, as well as the light and creative one shedding a light of hope for peace and prosperity.
6. Checkpoint Charlie - A checkpoint well described in the spy novels, and a place that has inspired many authors in their work. This was one of the crossings between east and west Berlin. It is here that the Russian and American border guards faced each other. Hence the panel of an American soldier looking to where used to be East Berlin. Also on the other side is a corresponding image of a Russian soldier looking towards former West Berlin. The area north of the checkpoint is covered with plaques, detailing the history during the period of the Berlin Wall. The guards will be happy to pose for a small fee.
7. Soviet Monument - A giant Soviet War Memorial in Tiergarten is a silent, yet powerful reminder of the sacrifice of the 300,000 Red Army soldiers who have given their lives to liberate Berlin. I like how the flowers lead the eye into the photo, and how the people in front of the monument add a sense of scale.
8. Around Alexanderplatz - The TV tower at Alexanderplatz is a tallest building in Berlin. It is 365m high, and a kind of hard to miss. Rather than taking a flat on portrait i have opted for a different viewpoint. The flowers provide foreground interest, while the tower is blurred, yet easily recognizable in the background. I am quite pleased with the overall result. 
9. Tiergarten - Tiergarten is the largest park in Berlin, and a favorite promenade place of many Berliners. This photo was taken at Neuer See, one of its hidden gems. I wanted to capture its beauty, however, I wanted to use a different perspective. Finally I have opted to use reflection in the lake to portrait the sky.
10. Berlin Wall - being in Berlin, and not taking a photo of Berlin Wall ? I don't think so. Not much of it is left nowadays, save for 2 locations. This one is just beside the building of finance ministry, yet during World War II it was occupied by German air force (luftwaffe). Interestingly enough it was one of the buildings that survived the allied bombings.There it is, folks, my top 10 photo destinations in Berlin. For more locations, as well as some other photo ideas, please refer to the map below. Note that you can get more information, as well as photos, by clicking individual placemarkers.
I hope you will enjoy this Berlin travel and photo guide as much as I have enjoyed compiling it. Happy shooting.
Carl Zeiss presents a new series of lenses: ZF.2 for the Nikon F bayonet.
The ZF.2 lenses are available in eight focal lengths, six of which will be available from the end of November: 3,5/18, 2,8/21, 1,4/50, 2/50 and 1,4/85. (note that first number is max aperture). The last two Distagon T* 2/28 ZF.2 and macro Planar T* 2/100 ZF.2 will be introduced in Spring 2010. For more information of full press release visit Carl Zeiss online.
Has it ever happened to you that you are on a seaside, enjoying a beautiful day, taking memorable photos, only to learn that on most of them, the horizon is angled ? Your boats look like they are sliding down the slope, and the sea looks like it will leak out of the frame ? Ok, I may be exaggerating, the point is, such a small detail can decrease the overall impact of your image. To me, it used to happen to me quite often, as you can see on one of my "slanted masterpieces" on the left side. The viewfinder is small, and if it is only slightly angled, it will not show on the camera's LCD. So, our tip of the week is:
"Keep your horizon straight"
How ? Easy. The pro's use a small and very handy gadget called spirit level. It is fitted in your camera's hotshoe, and it helps you keep your camera leveled. It is very useful, since in some photos you might not have a clear line of horizon as a reference to align your camera (e.g. hills in background, islands in foreground etc). It comes in standard and electronic versions, and even, some newer cameras have it as a part of camera's software. Regardless of which type you use, it will help you make "slanted masterpieces" like the one above a thing of the past.Upgrading from a compact digital camera to a dSLR ? Or if you are just trying learn more about lens focal length and how it relates to zoom factor look no further. In this guide we will briefly explain various focal lengths (and how to interpret them) and lens types like wide angle and telephoto lens, as well as zoom and prime lens.
When you are on a lookout to buy a new compact digital camera, one of the many features that we are bombarded with is optical zoom. Today's compacts pack from 2x optical zoom up to a whooping 26x zoom. Simply put optical zoom is a parameter indicating the ability of the lens to visually "make" subjects appear closer or further away from the camera. And I must admit, having a decent optical zoom level certainly gives you a nice advantage when taking photos. So it only comes natural that when you decide to purchase your first dSLR, it is one of the parameters that you would be looking out for. The interesting part is that in dSLR's this parameter is nowhere to be seen. If you ask a salesman about it, he starts throwing some numbers at you such as 18-55mm, 50-200mm, etc. We will come to the meaning of these numbers in a moment, but remember this: You can find out optical zoom level (if any) if you divide these 2 numbers (e.g. 200/50 = 4x). That's it. Period.How to interpret focal length ?
Focal length of a lens is a technical aspect of camera design that you do not have to worry about: you just need to know what effect it has. Simply put the higher the focal length number, the more magnification a lens has. Check out the diagram below for better understanding of focal lengths and how they relate to magnification level. Note that focal length equivalent of a human eye is 50mm. That means if we observe an object through 50mm lens, we will see it exactly the same as with naked eye.
- 10-35 mm - Wide, Ultra Wide and Fisheye lens. Lens with large angle of view, and are as such suitable for architecture, landscape, as well as indoor photography. (Hint: Use them to make the rooms look more spacious).
- 35-70 mm - Normal lens. Considering that human eye equivalent of the focal length is around 50mm, those lens cover pretty same angle of view as human eye. These lens are mostly used in street and documentary photography.
- 75-135mm - Medium telephoto lens. These lens have 1,5-2,5 magnification factor and are mostly used also for portraits (Hint: longer focal length makes it easier to blur background - see article on DOF, and aperture).
- 135-300 mm and over - Telephoto lens. Lens with big magnification factors (2,5x up to 10x), very useful for wildlife photography where keeping distance from birds and other wild animals is essential to a successful photography. They are also very common in sports and also favored by paparazzi ;-).
Zoom lens (left on the photo)- lens with variable focal length, and most common starter lens (also called kit lens). Their focal length is usually expressed as range (e.g. 18-55mm, or 70-300mm). As we mentioned earlier in the guide, by dividing these 2 numbers, you can come up with zoom factor of the lens. The main advantage of this type of lens is the creative flexibility given to the photographer, since he can use zoom as a powerful compositional tool without the need to move around. This flexibility comes with some cost in quality, which brings us to...Prime lens (right on the photo) - lens with fixed focal length, expressed as a single number (e.g. 50mm). Although these type of lens do not have the flexibility of the zoom lens, they more than make up their worth in terms of image quality. Prime lens are usually sharper, and come with higher quality optics, optimized for their focal length. Most popular primes revolve around 50mm. Some purists say that these type of lens are the best ones for photographers eager to learn, since they force the photographer to move around and explore new perspectives when composing an image.
Both types of lens have their usage, and their supporters. While a single ultra zoom lens e.g. (18-250mm) is ideal for travel photographers, since it substitutes for a heavy bag full of lens, its image quality cannot match the sharpness and the picture quality of a good prime lens. So where to start ? That depens on you and your choice of subject. If you are just buying your first dSLR, a kit lens (often 18-55mm zoom) is a good place to start, since it is inexpensive, and yet flexible enough until you figure out which type of lens do you need.
Let us know what your favorite type of lens is. Happy shooting.
In-Camera HDR seems to be a popular feature nowadays with some of the most recent dSLRs racing for features. Is in-camera HDR really a new feature, or an old idea with a twist ?
New dSLRs such as Pentax K-7
, Sony A550
/A500 are coming up advertising the in-camera HDR imaging as one of the new features. While it is a cool and handy to have it, don't throw your older dSLR just yet over this one. Lilkiwiguy87 has a great tutorial on how to do it using Multiple Exposure function.
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