“Lens distortion… desirable or unwanted?
I love it though!”

When I first started photography with film during my primary school days in the late 80s, I did hear of this lens call the 16mm fisheye. In those days, this is a very expensive lens which I can barely afford as a student. I gave it a miss. Now into the digital era, this lens came into my sight again in the form of a more affordable 10.5mm.

I was then building up my range of APSC lenses and I pondered whether to purchase this lens or not. I also wondered whether I should invest in a lens which will give distortion. I borrowed one from my friend and tried it for a week. I told myself, “Wow, wow, wow! I must get this lens.”

“What is this world? A mere curl of smoke for the wind to scatter.”Abraham Cahan.

I get excited when I see smoke, dust or mist appearing in front of me. To me, these are good photography opportunities. Some of the famous pictures have some element of smoke, dust or mist. I am sure there are fleeting memories of images of the soldiers and tanks charging in the midst of Desert Storm. I once asked myself, do these opportunities come ONLY out of luck, or can we create or anticipate them?

It is good to know what created smoke or mist. According to Wikipedia, smoke is the collection of airborne gas and particulates, often a by product of fire. Mist is a phenomena of tiny droplets suspended in the air, usually due to cold air above warmer surfaces. Fog and mist are similar, difference only in visibility. Anyway, we are not here to talk about the scientific terms or names, but how to take better pictures of the smoke and mist as well as how to anticipate or even create them.

“Art is the imposing of a pattern on experience, and our aesthetic enjoyment is recognition of the pattern.”Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947), English philosopher and mathematician. Dialogues, June 10, 1943.

Pattern is a recurring set of events or objects which repeat in a predictable way. Pattern is one of the Design Elements used in Visual Arts. Seasoned photographers will look out for Pattern in their quest for new images. It can be the tiles on the floor, the veins of the leaves, the neatly arranged rows of shoes in the kindergarten or even the rows of long shadows created by the pillars in the late afternoon. The photographers’ obsessions for patterns can be evident in some of the world’s greatest images.

There is a reason why many photographers choose to shoot only during certain hours which is popularly known as the golden light period. This period is usually in the early sunny morning and late sunny afternoon when the quality of light is good and not harsh. At the same time, one will also have many opportunities to experience a lighting phenomena call “Backlight”.

Backlighting is a technique which many photographers like to adopt for their shots, be it for portraits, floral shots, still life etc. It is not hard to find many award winning shots which have elements of backlighting and this is why many serious photographers would grab every opportunity to take pictures in an early sunny morning or late afternoon. They can also make use of the studio strobe lights in a studio to create the backlighting effect. Outdoor backlighting is beyond the control of the photographers as they cannot control the lighting from the sun. A cloudy day will certainly spoil the day.

Shadow is one of the Design Elements in Visual Art. You can find it being utilized in photography and painting.

Shadow come and go in a fleeting moment. We encounter shadow everyday and everywhere. Sometimes it is very obvious, sometimes it is not. Sometimes it is long, sometimes it disappears. Most often, many people simply walk away without noticing how shadow can help create an interesting photograph.

There are no special lenses needed to capture the shadow. The handphone camera with its Program mode is able to do the job well. But of course, the Digital SLRs provide the photographers with more options to play with, such as the higher range of ISO and wider range of aperture.

Imagine yourself traveling abroad to a place which is rich in historical architecture where the arches and pillars look so magnificent. For once, you are overwhelmed by the scale of the structures and you may start wondering how to approach the angles to take pictures.

This article may not be the perfect antidote for you to get the shots done, but the following series of images with its description should help you embark in your journey in getting the shots with this technique call “framing”.

You can be in the midst of a rugby match, or watching a dragon boat race, or standing by the road side waiting for the traffic light as the motorcyclists moved past you, or watching performers running past you. Given these scenarios, many will choose to freeze the movement of the subjects with the use of a faster Shutter Speed, bigger aperture and relatively higher ISO. But for the more adventurous, one can consider blurring the image.

Seeing beyond the obvious has always been a challenge for many amateur and professional photographers, as they go in search for that unique and creative angle. This has also brought about the term “the art of seeing”. One of the tools used in the art of seeing happens to be something that most of us take for granted in our daily lives – Reflections.

Most often than not, everyday we will pass by some reflective objects that show the daily fleeting moments in a different dimension. It can be the puddle of water on the floor, the side mirror of the motorcycle, polished black cars, the glass windows and even your sun shades. Given enough effort plus a twist of creativity and curiosity, you are sure to be able to unravel the beauty behind the reflections and capture them with your digital camera.

“If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.” (Loran Eisely, The Immense Journey, 1957)

No doubt about it, some of the most stunning images ever captured has some elements of water in it. Everyday, we get in touch with water. It can be the flow of your bath tub tap, or the fountain that is in front of your office building. If we go for our travel holiday, we will also chance upon the gentle streams, cascading waterfalls, beautiful fountains or even the strong gushes of waves hitting the shoreline.

Somehow, most of us would probably ask some of our family members to pose a shot with the water feature. We often overlook the fact that with a magical touch of your play of exposure, you can turn the scene into a magical world of fantasy, with that blur motion of the flowing water.

That round setting sun in the midst of fiery orange clouds sets the mood for a sunset shoot for the evening. This is the ideal case for any sunset lovers, which also made many avid photographers lined up their tripods for that moment in time.

However, most often than not, photographers are greeted with a big patch of glaring light instead of that perfect round orange sun. Some left with disappointment, some continue to shoot what they saw and got terrible results on their LCD screen, until someone tried a different angle by shooting a subject against the setting sun and hey presto, what resulted is a stunning silhouette.

Yes, here we are trying to see how best we can capitalize on the situation and turn it in our favour. This also makes you feel good, especially if you have spent lots of money going to exotic places in search for that great sunset shot. You would rather return with great silhouette shots in sunset rather than disappointing bright patches of light in the sky. Getting something done is better than getting nothing done.