(Don't Go Chasing) Waterfalls

In my last post, I demonstrated one of the two uses for a ND filter. Last week I was able to actually try out its other use - enabling a slow shutter speed to record movement in subjects such as waterfalls and streams. 

These photos were taken at Lili'uokalani Botanical Garden in the Nuuanu/Liliha area. Even though the the garden is surrounded by apartment complexes, hospitals, schools and homes, I wouldn't recommend venturing there alone...especially if you're a female. Luckily, Reese was available for bodyguard services that day...haha.  

In order to take these long exposure photos at 3pm when the sun was still very high,  I used the smallest aperture and lowest ISO possible. Along with my ND filter, I used a polarizer to further decrease the amount of light coming in.  I also played around with the shutter speed to get the "silkiness" I was trying for. 

ISO 100, -1.7 EV, f/22, shutter 5 seconds with ND filter & polarizer

ISO 100, -1.7 EV, f/22, shutter 5 seconds without ND filter & polarizer

ISO 100, -1.7 EV, f/22, shutter 1/20
"Ordinary" snapshot (like you would take with a point & shoot camera)

ISO 100, -1.7 EV, f/22, shutter 6 seconds with ND filter & polarizer

ISO 100, -1.7 EV, f/22, shutter 6 seconds without ND filter & polarizer

I had a blast trying to capture the silky waterfall and stream. I'm amazed at what I could capture just by adding a few accessories and trying different settings on the camera. I *heart* photography!!!

Brighter Than the Sun

My new camera accessory came in the mail today...a neutral density filter.  WHAT IS THAT?!?!  Well, a ND filter is a filter that reduces and modifies the intensity of light coming into the lens. The purpose of a ND filter is to allow the photographer to do things like:

• Enable slow shutter speeds to record movement in subjects such as waterfalls, clouds, cars, etc. (this is how you get the silky waterfall or the smokey-looking waves in the ocean)

• To decrease depth of field by allowing wider apertures to be used, which helps separate subjects from their background (which is extremely hard to do in broad daylight)

Anyway, today's photos will demonstrate the second bullet. These pictures were taken around 6pm while it was still very sunny. There are two photos for each subject. Notice in the first photo how overexposed the shot is without the filter and in the second photo how shallow the depth of field (blurred background) is on the images with the filter on.  

ISO 100, f/2.8, shutter 1/15

ISO 100, f/2.8, shutter 1/15 with ND filter

ISO 100, f/3, shutter 1/20

ISO 100, f/3, shutter 1/20 with ND filter

ISO 100, f/3, shutter 1/8

ISO 100, f/3, shutter 1/8 with ND filter

This ND filter is pretty darn neat.  I think I'm going to have a lot of fun experimenting with this new accessory! 

Sophisticated Hula

Every year since 1978, the Moanalua Gardens Foundation sponsors the Prince Lot Hula Festival. This is the biggest non-competitive hula event in Hawaii and is held to honor Prince Lot Kapua'iwa (later known as Kamehameha V) who reprised the once banned hula in the district of Moanalua. This was my first time attending the event. It was really awesome to see such beautiful performances by so many hula halau and the many spectators who came to enjoy the performances.

ISO 800, 0.7 EV, f/5.6, shutter 1/200

ISO 800, f/6.3, shutter 1/250

ISO 800, 1.7 EV, f/5.6, shutter 1/125

ISO 800, f/5, shutter 1/125

ISO 800, f/5.6, shutter 1/125

ISO 800, 1 EV, f/8, shutter 1/80

ISO 800, 1 EV, f/7.1, shutter 1/80

ISO 800, 1.3 EV, f/5.6, shutter 1/200

ISO 800, 1.3 EV, f/5.3, shutter 1/200

Firework

Every Friday night at about 7:45pm, one of the hotels in Waikiki, the Hilton Hawaiian Village, sponsors a 3-5 minute fireworks show. Prior to my NYC trip, the one thing I wanted to do most was to photograph these fireworks. But, for various reasons, the opportunities to do so were always foiled! This past Friday, I was FINALLY able to do it! Reese and I had gone over the concept of how to shoot fireworks months ago.  During one of our lessons, he used moving straws to demonstrate how the "bulb" setting would capture the movement of the straws, which were supposed to represent the fireworks being shot up in the sky and exploding. The demonstration made grasping the concept a piece of cake...the hard part about photographing fireworks though, is the timing. In order to capture nice fireworks, you have to know when to close the shutter. Also, white/yellow fireworks are terrible to shoot because the image gets blown out. Therefore, when you see a lot of those exploding one after another, the probability of that photo turning out great is slim. 

I think I need more practice shooting fireworks. Good thing there are at least 52 opportunities each year to try!

All photos shot using ISO 100, f/8, shutter set to "bulb"

Don't these fireworks look like palm trees?

You Can Call Me Al (...or Mabel)

Every summer, Foster Botanical Garden hosts a Twilight Summer Concert Series featuring different musical performers. One of Reese’s friends, "Mabel" suggested that we go to one of the concerts.  The concert we attended was called “The Teddy Bear Picnic Harp Ensemble”. This concert was catered more for children. There were kids of all ages dressed up as fairytale characters dancing and singing. Though photo opportunities were few at this concert, I did have a great time listening to the music, meeting new photogs and eating ono kine grindz after.  :)

ISO 100,  -2 EV, f/6.3, shutter 1/50

ISO 100, -2 EV, f/6.3, shutter 1/20

ISO 400, -1 EV, f/5, shutter 1/50

ISO 400, -0.3 EV, f/4.2, shutter 1/80

ISO 1600, f/4.5, shutter 1/25

ISO 1600, f/3, shutter 1/40

ISO 1600, f/4.5, shutter 1/30

ISO 1600, f/4.5, shutter 1/40