Saturday, April 30, 2011

Dharma Studio Exhibit: REMINDER!!!!!!

The day is fast approaching!!!

Photography Exhibit at Dharma Studio

Coconut Grove, FL – May 7, 2011 – Jason Eldridge presents an exhibition of photographs An Island Left Behind at Dharma Studio in Coconut Grove during the Coconut Grove Art Stroll. The exhibition will open for the evening of Saturday, May 7th.

The photographic exhibit An Island Left Behind by Jason Eldridge will feature photographs from Cuba showcasing rural areas of the island and its people. The mood of Jason’s photographs range from moments of happiness to moments of hopelessness. These are images of Cuba that tourists to the island do not capture.

Jason Eldridge resides in Miami-Dade County but started his love for photography in East Tennessee in 2000. His work ranges from nature and wildlife to weddings, portraiture, and street photography. The art of capturing life through photography is what sustains his love for the art. His photography is shared at http://www.eldridgestudios.com/.

About Jason Eldridge

Jason believes that when he is sets up a photographic image, he also captures a part of himself and the soul of the environment.

jason@eldridgestudios.com
http://www.eldridgestudios.com/
www.facebook.com/eldridgestudios

For further information about Dharma Studio, call 305.461.1777, email at loree@dharmastudio.com, or on the web at http://www.dharmastudio.com/.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Exposure Compensation

What in the world is Exposure Compensation? 

On most (if not all) DSLR's and a few advanced point and shoots there is a button that has on it a +/- symbol.  This symbol is used to make adjustments to the exposure of an image when you are in either the Shutter or Aperture Priority modes.  Now, you might be wondering why you would need to make adjustments when you are in a type of auto mode as the ones mentioned previously.  It really comes down to this:  No matter how advanced or how much you spent on your camera it will on occasion need some help.  Mr. Nikon and/or Mr. Canon simply cannot account for every lighting situation.  Remember, when the camera tries to read a scene it wants to make sure the overall image is medium toned.  That means if you are taking a photo of a bride on a bright sunny day you will end up with a grey wedding dress.  Just FYI, the brides don't like that very much.  How do you fix that?  Exposure Compensation of course (unless you are in manual and I will explain that in a bit).  Exposure Compensation allows you to tell the camera that the overall scene is either brighter or darker than what it thinks.  Then, the camera knows to adjust it's shutter or aperture depending on what mode you are using.


Note: If you are shooting in fully manual this will have no effect on exposure.
Example:  You are doing a portrait session at noon on a bright day.  While you can't always pick the time of day the shoot happens you can control how the scene is set up.  Realizing that the best way for this to be a successful shoot you find some shade to put your subject.  The problem is, the background is a group of bushes being fully lit by the sun.  Since you are in aperture priority mode you set your aperture to 5.6 so that you can blur the background some and snap a shot.  When you look at the view finder you see that the shrubs are perfectly exposed but your subject is WAY to dark.  Realizing this you push your Exposure Compensation button and move the exposure a stop or two to the + side.  This tells the camera that it needs to let in more light.  Remember, you are in aperture priority so the camera slows the shutter speed to allow in more light.  Now, your subject is properly exposed and the bushes in the background are really bright.  This would be a good one to turn into one of those high key images we discussed in an earlier blog post.  In fact, I will use the same photo from that blog post to show you what I mean.  I took two at the time of the photos shoot because I wanted a silhouette  as well as a high key.  So, take a look here:


Just for reference, if you are ever shooting at noon try and find some shade and a shaded background for your subject.

Why doesn't the exposure compensation work when you are in manual mode?  Well, you are in manual mode and you are making all the decisions.  Just change your shutter speed or aperture for the desired effect or exposure.

I hope this clears some things up but if you have more questions feel free to give me a call or send an e-mail.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Leave the Lens Cap Off

Here is another quick video about leaving the lens cap off until it is time to go.  I hope you enjoy!

If you are seeing this on Facebook then follow the YouTube link to see the video.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Product Review: Wacom Intuos 4 Tablet

This is an item that I simply wrote off as a nice to have item. They are relatively expensive so I waited and put it off over and over. Finally, after doing the research, I decided to take the plunge and get the medium version. It seemed like the best all around size.

After getting it installed on the computer (very easy) I did some research on how to use it with Adobe Photoshop. It took some time to piece everything together but I was able to get the full benefit of the pen. It is the tablets sensitivity that I was most impressed with. You can set it up so that the pressure of the pen details the opacity of blending layers or the hardness of a brush. This makes masking really fun! If I had known the level of detail and control this item provides I would have purchased it a good bit sooner.

It also works with Lighroom 3 as well giving you greater control of the development brushes.

Pros:

-Very precise
-Great pressure control
-Allows for faster work flow
-Using the pressure control on masking gives you many possibilities that are simply not possible without the tablet.
-Works with more than just Photoshop.
-It looks cool sitting on your desk!
-Programmable buttons

Cons:
-No clear instructions on how to use it with photoshop (why would there be)… This is fixed via the Internet though and not really an issue if you are willing to do a little research.
-A little on the steep side for cost but well worth it if you can come up with 3 big ones to pay for it….

Monday, April 11, 2011

Free Photo (Week 2)

That is correct. Each week I will be adding a photo to a Free Gallery on my website. You will be able to go in and download the full resolution image of the featured photograph (no watermark). You can use it anyway that you want. If you want to use it as a computer desktop, make prints, or use it in your own blog then have at it... What's the catch? Well, there really isnt one but there is a request. I do ask that you give credit back to Eldridge Studios. Just post something on facebook or your blog that says where you got the image. You can even just hit the share button on the site and have it go directly to your Facbook or Twitter.

To download the photo just click on it and it will take you to another view. At the top of the screen there will be an option to save the photo. That's it!

At the end of each week I will take down the featured image and put up a new one. Keep an eye out and enjoy the photos.

Click here and look for the Free Gallery.

Disclaimer: All photographs are for personal use only. If you wish to use the image in a comercial fashion then contact the photographer (that's me) directly or purchase it through the online digital download for commercial use. The photograph remains copyrighted by Eldridge Studios.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

An Island Left Behind PRESS RELEASE!

Photography Exhibit at Dharma Studio

Coconut Grove, FL – May 7, 2011 – Jason Eldridge presents an exhibition of photographs An Island Left Behind at Dharma Studio in Coconut Grove during the Coconut Grove Art Stroll. The exhibition will open for the evening of Saturday, May 7th.

The photographic exhibit An Island Left Behind by Jason Eldridge will feature photographs from Cuba showcasing rural areas of the island and its people. The mood of Jason’s photographs range from moments of happiness to moments of hopelessness. These are images of Cuba that tourists to the island do not capture.

Jason Eldridge resides in Miami-Dade County but started his love for photography in East Tennessee in 2000. His work ranges from nature and wildlife to weddings, portraiture, and street photography. The art of capturing life through photography is what sustains his love for the art. His photography is shared at http://www.eldridgestudios.com/.

About Jason Eldridge

Jason believes that when he is sets up a photographic image, he also captures a part of himself and the soul of the environment.

jason@eldridgestudios.com
http://www.eldridgestudios.com/
www.facebook.com/eldridgestudios

For further information about Dharma Studio, call 305.461.1777, email at loree@dharmastudio.com, or on the web at http://www.dharmastudio.com/.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Free Photos Weekly!!!!

That is correct.  Each week I will be adding a photo to a Free Gallery on my website.  You will be able to go in and download the full resolution image of the featured photograph (no watermark).  You can use it anyway that you want.  If you want to use it as a computer desktop, make prints, or use it in your own blog then have at it...  What's the catch?  Well, there really isnt one but there is a request.  I do ask that you give credit back to Eldridge Studios.  Just post something on facebook or your blog that says where you got the image.  You can even just hit the share button on the site and have it go directly to your Facbook or Twitter. 

To download the photo just click on it and it will take you to another view.  At the top of the screen there will be an option to save the photo.  That's it!

At the end of each week I will take down the featured image and put up a new one.  Keep an eye out and enjoy the photos.

Click here and look for the Free Gallery.

Disclaimer:  All photographs are for personal use only.  If you wish to use the image in a comercial fashion then contact the photographer (that's me) directly or purchase it through the online digital download for commercial use.  The photograph remains copyrighted by Eldridge Studios.