How to shoot a total solar eclipse

In recent years, there have been several spectacular total solar eclipses in China, especially in Xinjiang on August 1 day, 2008. In less than a year, another total solar eclipse will happen. This total solar eclipse passed through the most densely populated area in China. Because the earth is just near the apohelion and the moon is just near the perigee, the total solar eclipse lasts for a very long time, as long as 5 or 6 minutes, which is a rare total solar eclipse once in hundreds of years. Starting from this eclipse, China will enter a period when total solar eclipse is scarce. The next total solar eclipse will take place in 2035, 26 years later. If you miss this total solar eclipse, many people will never see it again!

According to my own experience of shooting a total solar eclipse in Yiwu, Xinjiang last year, this paper introduces the method of shooting a total solar eclipse with one camera and one mirror.

Location:

As the Yangtze River basin is just the rainy season, sunny days cannot be guaranteed, so it is best to shoot by car. Find a base with convenient transportation in the east-west direction in the center of the main food belt. If the weather is bad, you can have some activity space in the east, west and north. Do not believe/kloc-there is no sunny day within 0/000 km! If not, I can only accept my fate. If it is difficult to find a suitable observation point in the central area of the total lunar eclipse belt, you can also choose towns in the north for a rainy day. Although the total eclipse time is short, the probability of sunny days is slightly higher.

Equipment:

Digital SLR camera (DSLR) is recommended. It is best to use a high-quality telephoto lens or astronomical telescope. The camera I use is EOS 400D, and the lens is 400mm, which is equivalent to the focal length of a full-frame camera of 640 mm. A longer focal length can capture a larger sun, but it is too long to include the corona. Figure 1 shows the complete reduction effect of corona.

Figure 1 APS panoramic view of the total solar eclipse with a focal length of 400 mm

Tripod:

A tripod is necessary, because the sky was dark when the total solar eclipse occurred, almost like a moonlit night! Because of the rotation of the earth, the sun is always moving when shooting, so it is best to use a gear pan/tilt. To take one or two photos, you need to adjust the tripod head and put the sun in the center of your field of vision. If you have a gear tripod, you can configure an equatorial tripod, that is, the angle between the central axis and the ground is equal to the local latitude, and the central axis faces north. In this way, you can track the sun by turning a knob.

During the partial solar eclipse, never use the lens to direct the sun. You need to cover the lens with a dimming film to reduce the light entering. In recent years, Budd membrane is easy to buy. It is cheap, easy to use and has a good effect. There are two densities of Bard film on the market, which can be shot at a density of 3.8 and observed at a density of 5.0.

Solar eclipse photographic exposure meter

Exposure rate:

The exposure of different subjects is different, and the height of the sun and the transparency of the atmosphere will affect the exposure. Here is a total solar eclipse exposure meter for your reference. When shooting, you should look at the histogram of the shot photos and decide how to adjust the exposure.

Shooting:

Install Budd film in front of the camera before shooting. If you use Bader film as a mask, you must stick it firmly with tape to avoid being blown off by the wind and hurting your eyes or camera. Put the camera in MF manual focus and manual exposure. Do not use autofocus mode and any automatic exposure mode. Aim the camera at the sun on the premise of installing the Budd film. You can focus on the edge of the sun with single autofocus mode, and then switch to MF mode. Open the aperture to the best aperture, such as F5.6 or F8, shoot several times with different shutter speeds, and find the best exposure combination according to the histogram.

Budd's membrane (picture from the network)

The picture comes from the internet.

You can shoot at any time after the partial solar eclipse begins, and adjust the pan/tilt with the movement of the sun to keep the sun in the center of the field of vision. Last year, I took a partial solar eclipse with F5.6,11000 seconds.

When there is only a thin edge of the sun, set the shutter to the speed of diamond ring and Bailey bead, take off Bader film, and continuous shooting at a proper speed to capture a series of beautiful scenery such as diamond ring, pearl necklace and colored ball. Last year, I took a diamond ring with an aperture of F5.6. I took one in11160 and 1/320 seconds, all of which were good. It's a pity that I missed the pearl necklace and took a 1/2000 second colored ball. The time at this stage is only a few seconds, so we must hurry, but don't be nervous to avoid making mistakes. Continuous shooting, don't work too hard, because the total number of continuous shooting cameras is limited by memory. If the memory is full, it will take time for the camera to pour the memory into the memory card, which will delay the fighter. The pearl necklace is very short, so be sure to catch it! It doesn't matter if you miss it, because there is another chance after the total lunar eclipse. This time, we can focus on ensuring the missing topics.

When shooting the corona, you can shoot all the time from 0.5 seconds to 1/2000 seconds, including the outer corona, inner corona and prominence. After returning to China, HDR software can be used to synthesize full corona photos with high dynamic range.

If there is enough time, you can take a full exposure photo during the total solar eclipse. Because the total eclipse zone only occupies a small area on the earth's surface (Figure 6), the reflection of the rest of the moon is enough to illuminate the moon to a certain brightness. Full exposure may be able to photograph the level of the moon's surface. The position of the sun should have appeared, but it captured the moon, which is also a very interesting photo.

Total solar eclipse seen in space

Micros: How to shoot street kittens?

If you have seen Micro's website Catching Cats and Shadows, you are a cat lover, and you may not be able to stop reading his works. So we invited Micros to share with you his experience in photographing cats.

basis

Everyone knows what a cat looks like, so there is no need to say it. So I take something else, maybe I can call it "portrait of environmental cats", just taking pictures of their surroundings, because these elements often hide information.

chance

It is quite passive for me to shoot the shadow of a street cat, and I may not meet it, even if I meet it, it may not be at the most appropriate time and place. What you can take the initiative to fight for is to take a few more steps and try your luck, or spend more time waiting.

Position priority

Once I meet them, I will think about what to say, what their situation is, and then imagine what kind of picture to explain in my mind. There may be multiple schemes, and I will choose the most valuable one first, or the one that has never been filmed before, because there is only one chance. With the foresight map, you can consider it from the perspective of skills. It is the most important thing to determine your position first. There is often only one position that meets expectations, and the tolerance is not high. If you stand a little, you may not care about composition. There are several factors that determine the location.

1. The ratio of foreground to background

That is, perspective in photographic terms. In the case of keeping the cat as the foreground, moving forward, the background will be less and less, farther and farther; Further back, there are more backgrounds, and the distance between the cat and the background is closer. When you can choose a location, you should first consider the relationship between the cat and the background.

2. The cat's reaction to strangers

Feel the cat's body language. If you scare it, you may miss the opportunity. I would rather give up the perfection of the effect and give myself a chance first. Maybe if I take some pictures from a distance, the cat will get used to this stranger. Maybe I can get closer, don't worry.

3. Does the environment have information elements?

Include the expected elements and exclude other elements as much as possible.

equipment

When you decide the position, you will know what focal length to use (I usually use 35mm and a telephoto zoom, which may be 70-200mm f/2.8, and in recent years it is more 70-300mm f/4-5.6). Slowly in place, the rest is simple, nothing more than adjusting the aperture shutter according to the requirements of depth of field and curing force, and finally pressing the shutter when focusing. (If autofocus is used, try to use the focus point outside the center position. )

chance

In the meantime, some netizens will ask, where can I meet so many cats? Based on the unwritten rules of cat friends (written in some places), I won't clearly point out the concentration of stray cats in public. Even so, it is not difficult to meet them. Imagine if you were a cat, where would you choose to rest? Where will you hide in cold weather? What if the weather is hot? You don't even have to think about it. You'll meet it when you're shopping around, but you just don't pay attention.

introduce

Once, the head of the newspaper photography team came to Taiwan and brought me some photo albums, which were the works of Mr. Wu Yiping. Wu Yiping's photos are great. They are quite story-telling and completely capture everything I want to shoot. They gave me great encouragement at different levels, and let me record the story of stray cats in Hong Kong in my own place with my own feelings.

You can write a few pages on paper, but you may not have time to think when you face it. Everything is just a reaction. Look, it's always not far when they go to the street.

Finally, you should be mentally prepared. The more you want to shoot, the more you will miss some shocking pictures, even if you don't necessarily shoot them. Please treat them with a normal heart, because they are cats.

annotations

Hong Kong is densely populated, and conflicts between stray cats and nearby residents are very common. Survival is their basic right, and it is neither desirable nor appropriate to deal with it by killing.

It is an international trend to solve problems with the concepts of capture, sterilization and regression, that is, TNR(Trap neutral Return). Stray animals return to their original places to continue their lives after being ligated, so as to prevent the number from increasing geometrically, and at the same time prevent the migration of exotic stray animals, effectively control the number, and realize the peaceful coexistence between stray animals and people.

Hundreds of volunteers (and many others) who participated in the cat-loving program have been working hard for many years, which needs public support. Irresponsible abandonment, encouraging unscrupulous businessmen to breed and blindly hunting will only bring tragedy. Please consider adopting instead of buying, please take your cat to the zoo, please support TNR, please open more space to accommodate some small lives that should have been saved.

cause

I have been photographing stray cats for about 9 to 10 years. At first, I wasn't too fascinated. As long as I meet them in my spare time, I shoot them all, mainly the big head. The nature of photojournalist's work makes me meet cats everywhere and shoot more. I feel that the cat's personality is not just what it seems, and I begin to pay more attention to things around me. Cities are constantly changing, and cat fields are also rising and falling. Some places have been to dozens or even hundreds of times, witnessing how they adapt to the environment and survive. In fact, there are contradictions in my heart. On the one hand, it is hoped that the number of stray cats will decrease, and the chance and intensity of conflict with human beings will be reduced. On the other hand, I want cats to shoot every day. Anyway, in my lifetime, I will still shoot.

Diagonal composition makes your portrait photography dynamic.

Attention should be paid to curves in portrait photography. If you can't reflect the natural curve, you should try to make some curves and polylines artificially.

For example, your body can bend and fold, and it may be very effective for you to bend and fold. For example, knees, fingers, waist and neck are all movable joints. Try different combinations.

Diagonal portrait

Using diagonal lines in portrait photography can greatly increase the vitality of photos.

The main contribution of diagonal to photos is to bring dynamic factors, so it is not suitable for "regular" photos.

For example, it is difficult to take a big photo well, and the effect is easy to come out with a slight tilt. Is to use diagonal composition.

Diagonal composition of large bust

When your model is not good at posing, or has no good figure, or has no good clothes, or has no good background, you can't say that this model is unqualified. Hehe, the photographer has work to do. At this time, big heads and busts are the first choice. As long as you use diagonal composition flexibly, you will find that clothing, background and even figure are secondary.

When you shoot color portraits, you must make the background excellent and concise, so as not to usurp the host's role, especially the bust and full-length portraits.

If there is no pure white background, you can use white or light-colored sheets instead, and then use a flash to hit the background. The background exposure is 2 steps larger than the figure.

Bust I mean the movie where the model is shot from waist to knee. At this time, most of the models' bodies, especially their hands, were made in films. Like the bust, the key is how to set the hands of the model.

Hands and arms have many postures. You can use the "bending" method in front, or you can touch your hair across your waist. In many poses, the model puts his hand on his thigh (at this time, the model had better look at the photographer), or bends down to touch the calf (at this time, the model had better look at the calf). You can also borrow props, such as sunglasses, hats, handbags, etc. to help the model pose.

Low angle diagonal composition

Another feature of low angle is that it can avoid unnecessary things on the ground and make the composition concise (this is one of the three major disciplines in new york's textbooks), and another feature is that it can construct a diagonal line by using lines in the background.

High angle diagonal composition

High angle is good at highlighting the figure and curve of the model. As long as the movements are coordinated, it is extremely easy to shoot exaggerated effects.

Shooting skills of "Japanese style"

People from different countries take pictures, each with its own flavor. Today, I would like to introduce a simple style that I like very much-Japanese style.

What's unique about the photos taken by Japanese photographers? Generally speaking, it has the following characteristics:

Use more natural light.

Whiter background, simpler.

Lower chroma and contrast, softer.

In Japanese style shooting, "how to view the scenery" plays a very important role. Please remember a key point: harmony. The photos look harmonious, and Japanese style will naturally appear. This time, the author aims to shoot still life, including food, groceries and indoor space, which can be shot at home.

First, indoor shooting skills

1, using natural light

Window light is the most important element, which can shoot natural colors. Pay attention to turn off other lights when shooting. If the light source is insufficient, you can use a reflector to increase the aperture. (White cardboard, pearl board or cloth is also acceptable. ) If necessary, please use a tripod instead of a flash, because the hard light of the flash makes the object look incongruous.

2. Pay close attention to the change of sunshine.

The color temperature is different at different times. You might as well pay attention to the change of sunshine all day, and you will find a heavy blue color before sunrise and after sunset, which is a cold color temperature; It's warm in the morning and afternoon in Huang Tiao. Avoid shooting at noon, the sun is soft. If you shoot in the early morning or before dark, don't have a flavor.

3. Think about the shooting angle

Shooting something that can show a plane with a distinctive shape from directly above; With height. Things can be shot obliquely from above or from the front; A close-up of a close-up part. Different angles have different feelings. You can hang up the object and shoot it if necessary.

Step 4 make up a short story

Decoration is not a simple good location. If the image can be arranged to tell stories, then the work can add artistic conception. Every object has its meaning. Think about what objects you need to use in this painting to express your feelings. Of course, you can also take continuous or a series of photos to tell a story.

Second, spend time on layout and create style.

The layout of the scene is very important in the sense of harmony. I suggest several styles as a reference:

1, simple style

Give priority to with monochrome, avoid using too many colors. Don't think about how to add things, think about how to subtract things. The key is to strike a balance in collocation, because an overly simple picture will make people feel lonely.

Recommended small things: old cloth, wooden boards, paper with seals or old stamps, outdated things.

2. Lovely wind

It's quite suitable for shooting delicious food and desserts. Not limited to western style, you can try any combination as long as it makes you feel cute. Different patterns of fabrics are good, but we should pay attention to the balance between patterns and objects, and the size of patterns should be the same as objects. If you want to put feminine decorations, one is enough.

Recommended small things: flowered cloth, plaid cloth, lace and ribbon.

3. Natural wind

Based on the tone of the earth, create a proper sense of life. The material should be simple, among which wooden items are the most commonly used props, and flowers can also be inserted. Shooting with a little yellow sunshine in the afternoon can create an atmosphere.

Recommended small things: wood products, creased or unfinished linen, old things.

Third, the actual comparison examples

Finally, the author shares different examples for comparison. Sometimes it takes a lot of time to decorate carefully, but the author only shoots in daily life, and the effect of not deliberately creating a layout is not bad for your reference.

Different perspectives have different feelings and emphases.

Safe and beautiful angle, the simplest.

Changing the angle is completely different from including the background.

In short, it is not difficult to shoot Japanese style. Take some time to discover simple beauty! Make good use of natural light and use reflector to assist. Let's start at home and join the Japanese today!

Six tools that let you shoot more smoothly.

Every photographer will have his own list of tools, which may be two cameras, five lenses, a set of reflectors, several filters, a set of soft masks, tripods, external flashlights and so on. You will feel very professional, but the following six tools that you can't buy in equipment companies and have no "photographer's feeling" may have unexpected importance!

1. Short ladder

The short ladder is inexpensive, light, easy to carry and of high use value. You can use it to shoot more and more exciting angles, or you can sit in a chair and rest. You should think about it next time. (But in fact, more and more photographers will use it, especially journalists ... even the lifting platform will be dispatched. )

towel

Yes, your whole body is well equipped, but it may not be as elastic as a towel. Flexibility refers to the use of. Towels can be used to wash your face, relieve fatigue a little, and protect equipment, even local mats, which are very useful for photographers and models.

3. Umbrella

On the one hand, there are emergencies, on the other hand, umbrellas can be good props. In addition, pay attention to whether two umbrellas are beautiful or not, and you can also create a romantic atmosphere at any time with a pair of men's clothes and a pair of women's clothes. And sometimes it's much more comfortable to rest with an umbrella when the sun is hot.

4. Toys and sweets

Yes, it looks unprofessional to jump around behind the camera like a clown with a bell and a duckling, but if you want to shoot children and family, it is an effective method, and the ending is more important than anything else. In addition, if the other parents allow, candy is indeed an effective tool. Sugar is not very good, but it can be used as a temporary tool. In addition, don't forget to blow bubbles, which has a strong effect on attracting children and even creating an atmosphere.

5. Mosquito repellent sunscreen

More and more like an aunt … but these are practical and meaningful tools. I guess no one is going to end his photography career with skin cancer? And it's not necessarily fun to scratch and shoot at the same time, so don't be afraid to be an aunt … Remember, the result determines everything.

6. Nutritional supplements

Whether it's an energy drink or an energy bar, photography is more than just pressing the shutter. For photographers, models and staff, this can be very tiring work, so it is important to bring enough food. Imagine that when everyone is exhausted, you take out a bag of delicious potato chips. ...

Analysis of wonderful photo shooting

Recently, I saw the poster of "Sports Expo 20 12" in a magazine, and I remembered that I did sports everywhere on weekdays without taking pictures. So what should a novice do if he wants to take a standard sports photo? Let's look at some basic skills first, and we will share more knowledge you need to know when you are in sports photography.

How to take this photo?

Tip 1: Change your shooting height.

If you only use the standing angle, the photo will become unremarkable. Try to sit down or shoot at a low level, and you will find that the photos you take are more tense.

Reference article: low-angle shooting skills

Tip 2: Use shallow depth of field to highlight the subject.

For example, in a bicycle race, a group of riders often compete. We can take a photo with a large aperture and a long focal length with a shallow depth of field to make the subject stand out. Many sports news photos also use this technology.

Tip 3: Diagonal composition

The composition of sports photos is basically all-encompassing. As can be seen from the above picture, because the motorcade will travel along the road, the composition will become long. At this time, we might as well arrange this strip from the upper left corner to the lower right corner. The photos will be as energetic as scattering and better match the theme.