Hummingbird Photo

I had this Hummingbird visit me in the inner city in Portland.

The Fall (Autumn) colors of the trees provided an amazing backdrop. I was hoping to get the Hummingbird in flight but after much patience he disappeared as fast as he appeared giving me zero time to get a shot… oh well!

I took this with a Canon 60D, 200mm at f/4 (70-200mm f/2.8L) with ISO400 and 1/400th sec Shutter Speed. The crop factor of the Canon 60D (1.6x) gave me a little extra reach with the 200mm focal length used (equivalent to a 320mm on a Full Frame sensor).

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November 8, 2013 by PhotoKen

Zenjoyable interviews Ken Schultz about Digital Photography

I had the pleasure the other day of being interviewed by Chamira of Zenjoyable. I talked about Digital Photography and my life as an Accidental Photographer and gave some really important tips especially if you are an aspiring event photographer.

At 36 minutes and 40 Seconds into the interview Chamira asked me a really good question. The context was about doing event photography as a professional when more than a handful of people are around you snapping away with their very capable cameras.

Chamira asked “Where do you see photography heading, the state of professional photography? Where do you see that going (in the next 10, 20 years…) as this equipment becomes more accessible to everybody?”

A great question especially with DSLR cameras well under the $1000 price range. I gave her my biggest tip regarding event photography. A simple accessory that can give you the advantage over most of the crowd.

Jump to 36 minutes onwards and all will be revealed …

Click here for my interview with Chamira of Zenjoyable

It was a fun interview and I hope you get some good tips out of it – and please share with friends if you like it 🙂

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October 21, 2013 by PhotoKen

New Nikon D5300 DSLR available for Pre-Order – with Color!

Nikon is coming out with the Nikon D5300 with a splash of color. Black, Grey and Red (the only real colorful one).

There may not be enough for an existing D5100 or D5200 to warrant an upgrade but definitely worth considering for the new buyer.

Notable features:

24.2MP DX-Format Sensor
EXPEED 4 Image Processor (D5200 uses the EXPEED 3)
No optical Low-Pass Filter – for Sharper images
3.2″ 1037k Dot variable angle LCD (up from 3″ 921k in D5200)
Built in Wi-Fi and GPS (no separate attachment required as in D5200)

More of an evolutionary Upgrade to the D5200 but worth waiting for if you were considering a D5200 in the immediate future.

You can Pre-order the D5300 in your favorite color at the links below:

BLACK Nikon D5300 DSLR Camera

GRAY Nikon D5300 DSLR Camera

RED Nikon D5300 DSLR Camera

Nikon and Canon are putting out some great cameras at the moment. Canon recently put out the amazing Canon 70D (a great upgrade from the 60D – my favorite model). Nikon trumped the Canon 70D in many aspects with it’s new Nikon D7100. For enthusiasts these are phenomenal choices.

The competition is furious at the moment – all the better for us users 🙂

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October 4, 2013 by PhotoKen

Bird Photography: Swallow Feeding Sequence

Swallow Feeding Sequence – click for full size

Swallows move FAST so it’s not easy to catch them in flight. I have a few TIPS that will help you – Click on the Image strip if you want a larger size (you may need to Click twice on it to get the 100% version).

A short while ago I submitted a swallow photo for World Photography Day. I promised I would follow up with a Feeding Sequence I took and the Settings I used. Key settings are FAST shutter speed and positioning yourself side-on to the Action to have more chance of getting the bird in Focus.

The Image Strip on the Left has the details of the Settings I used and summarizes some Tips for getting Action Bird Photos.

I hope they help 🙂

CONFESSION!

The 3rd Image was actually from a Sequence Immediately after the First Sequence – my camera has 5.3 fps which is great but swallows are quick! It just happened that the second sequence had a perfect in-betweener.