Jack Carlson Photography

Take a moment even around high noon

Try a high ISO on a sunny day.

I was recently at the Chicago Botanic Garden to enjoy a walk about with friends who had not been there in quite a while. The time was not exactly what the doctor ordered for flower photography but many things happen when you don’t live alone. Trying to make the best of the intense light, I decided to shoot fast so dialed in ISO of 400. Yes, I know you’ve probably heard to shoot with as low an ISO setting as possible and 400 was far from it at 1:30 pm on a Thursday in July.

Shooting in aperture priority (A or Av) mode, my old friend f8 needed a shutter speed of 2,500 to hold the light level to anything nearly appropriate. Well, sometimes, the camera’s computer actually does know what to do and takes the light level down through out the scene. Check out the rose shot for proof.

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Weekly Photo Tip

Take the center column away

A definite Sign of Spring.

If your tripod has a center column, you will want to remove it before getting down to photograph spring flowers. Even with a 100-180mm focal length macro lens, your tripod will be too far from the subject. There are two options: 1. purchase a tripod with a removable center column or 2. just purchase a tripod that never had a center column. Of these two choices, I’d opt for the first one.

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About Jack

A classically trained musician since childhood, Jack Carlson always had the “ear” of an artist. It was only a short step to develop the artist’s “eye” as well.

The portfolio of this certified photographer reveals images that emphasize mood and composition. Their purpose is to present a feeling in addition to portrayal of person, place or thing. Sometimes that feeling is nostalgia; other times it is serenity.

Each photograph tells a story.