10 Oct 08 Henry Winkler Answers Reader Questions About His Photos

from http://www.takegreatpictures.com

One has to wonder if Henry Winkler ever sleeps. Beyond his work as a producer, actor, director, Winkler is the author of the award-winning, best selling children’s book series HANK ZIPZER: THE WORLD’S GREATEST UNDERACHIEVER, the 14th installment of which hit bookshelves this past May. On top of all that, TakeGreatPictures.com readers are well aware of Mr. Winkler’s talents as a photographer. In fact, since his latest appearance in TakeGreatPictures.com’s Celebrities Who Shoot section, some readers have taken the time to comment on Henry’s images, ask questions, and convey their support. Here at TakeGreatPictures, we know what a friendly guy Henry is and that he is always looking for a reason to talk about his photographs. So we recently caught up with him to get his answers to a few of the questions posted by the TakeGreatPictures.com readers.

india henry winkler
© Henry Winkler - Settings: f5.6, 1/200*

Michael L. Barham writes, “Hhheyyy!!! Thumbs up to Henry Winkler’s photography. I like the sharpness of the clouds over the bridge shot. I would like to know what kind of camera he uses.”

Henry responds, “I bought the Sony A100, because it uses my Minolta lenses. I have to rely on the automatic settings to get a great shot, because I don’t understand how to do anything manually. The only thing I really change is the focal length.”

cloud bridge sky henry winkler
© Henry Winkler - Settings: f11, 1/500*

Frank was also curious to know which camera Henry used to take his pictures, saying, “Amazing pictures, and yes, the clarity in each is breath taking. I, like many others would also like to know what camera he used, as well as the focal length of the lens and the f-stop.”

Says Henry, “When shooting outdoors I always use a polarized lens; and again the camera is always on automatic.”*

henry winkler field canon landscape
© Henry Winkler - Settings: f6.3, 1/60*

Ginny Thompson remarks, “Henry, your shots are my cup of tea. Looking forward to more of your best. I would like to know what area some are in. Looks like Montana.”

“Yes, Ginny, many of my images are from Montana,” says Winkler. “I love to go there because I can enjoy nature and the peace and quiet. I’m an avid fisherman and my whole spirit soars when fishing for brown or rainbow trout in Montana. If you’ll notice from some of my other images that are on the site, I love to travel all over the world. Some of these images are taken in India, in Venice, and all parts of the globe. Wherever I go, I’m sure to bring my Sony A100 to make sure I’ll bring back some great images to go along with my memories.”

venice italy henry winkler
© Henry Winkler - Settings: f8, 1/250*

Charlene Mar of Australia says “Great photos. I’d like to know what kind of lens and settings were used. I recently visited the USA and wish I lived over there - great place. I’m from Australia.”

Henry responds “This next shot was taken in Sydney, Australia.”

sydney australia henry winkler
© Henry Winkler - Settings: f4, 1/125*

Still others offer suggestions on great places to photograph and techniques worth trying. Eli writes, “Love the sharpness and colors. Come on down to Panama where the black sand beaches are in contrast with the sky!! Looking forward to another chance to see more of HW pictures - thanks for sharing!”

santa barbara california henry winkler
© Henry Winkler - Santa Barbara, CA - Settings: f4, 1/30*

John Wallner adds “Hi ya Henry, If ya like the grandeur shots of mountain scenes, try the Alpine Loop in Colorado. You can start either in Lake City, Colorado and do the northern half or the southern half. Or you can come in thru Silverton and go east. Any way you go, you’ll get some really beautiful shots. Also a good 4 wheel drive is recommended. Don’t forget your polarizing filter. Make those clouds really pop!”

Jeff Marcus also chimes in “Hi Henry, In your water photos, have you experimented with slow shutter speeds to give the water a beautiful flowing effect? I tried this earlier this year by closing down the aperture (f22), shutter to 3-4 secs and low ISO (100) because it was really bright outside and didn’t want to over expose.”

henry winkler pond boat
“I love reflections, as you can tell. I’m drawn to them. I always try to capture the symmetry of reflection” – Henry Winkler. © Henry Winkler - Settings: f16, 1/125*

Henry got lots of words of encouragement, and sharing his photos helped our readers warm up to him, some more than others. Mickey Stine even had a special request - “Henry Take me with you on your next photo shoot!”

Send us your comments and questions and next time we talk to Henry, we’ll let you know what he says!

*We had TakeGreatPictures.com contributor Jon Sienkiewicz take a look at Henry’s images and he determined to the best of his ability what the actual setting for each image was. All images in both this and previous articles now show you what settings to use in order to achieve the same clarity as Henry.

from http://www.takegreatpictures.com

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24 Sep 08 The importance of photography

The importance of photography

We surround ourselves with images taken with all kinds of recording devices, devices that are intended solely for the purpose of memorializing the moment and in some cases, devices that are used only because of their convenience of use. I refer to the use of cell phones with inadequate cameras that have in effect become the “Polaroids” of our times.

In the “old days” people used box cameras that in had such large negatives that the end resulting print was a contact print that in effect did not need any enlargement. Today’s cell phones may take images only 640 by 480 and when they are enlarged the pixilated and are fuzzy because of the enlargement needed to even fill a 4×6 print. Some have as much as 2 mega pixels but have limited lenses and no aperture controls therefore they can not compete in real digital cameras.

Photography is a very important tool that is used to memorialize our lives and yet we do not think of it at the time that we press that shutter button. We do not realize the importance of the images until the subject of one of the images passes on and then we are left with nothing but the memories. Photography helps us relive the past and in a way to keep in touch with the past.

I made a reference to Polaroid earlier in this article because of things said to me by many young people in regard as to how they use their phone cameras. When Polaroid Land cameras first came out one of the first uses by young men was to photography their girl friends in ways that were in a way compromising. By this I mean the inference of security and confidentiality in that they could take nude pictures of the girls so that they could carry them where ever they went and they “controlled” whose eyes would be permitted to see them. This could be carried by a knight or a knave. Today I hear young boys bragging about their girl friend and show you a quick picture they took of her and you can tell that the picture was not taken with the heart but rather with a genital drive. In some cases these pictures are “shared” through emails to others. There is no security in these web mail systems so one should be careful of what one sends through them. A gentleman never shares the image of his love in a compromising way with any other person, but enough on this subject.

Photography gives us the means with which to share our lives and our loves with the rest of the world. Whether it be nature, sports, portraiture and other forms of photography we get a chance to express how we feel about the subject matter by the way we photograph it. So pick up real cameras, photograph everything you see of importance to you, for you never know, it may become important to some one else too.

Happy shooting – Douglas John Vergara - 09202008

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08 Aug 08 User Tip before sending in for repair

A lot of times we see cameras come in that are simple tech support problems. Not only does it waste the technicians time but it also wastes the camera owners time. The nice thing about tech support nowadays is that you can get it online, free, quick and easily. Here is an example.

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Customer sends in a Nikon D80 for repair stating “Getting Error code whenever I turn the camera on”

We now spend hours diagnosing the problem which we do not see. After the technician determines the camera is funtional the camera is now handed to the Quality Control department to verify this. The Quality Control department will contact the customer trying to figure out the problem. Even though previously asked the customer will then say that the Error code is F–

If the customer checked with Nikon’s Knowledge Databse prior to sending her camera in for repair then a lot fo time have been saved for both parties. F– is Nikon’s way of telling you that your lenses aperture ring is not locked.

The following link is for Nikon’s Knowledge Database
http://support.nikontech.com

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This blog post is not stop our customers from sending their equipment in of course. This is why we are here. It is just a tip to help save possible wasted time that could be spent capturing more memories.

Thanks for reading.