Simple Flash Techniques with My D7000 and SB-600

Photography is art.  When I look through my camera's viewfinder, I'm looking for art.  The camera is my tool.  I can adjust the zoom, aperture, shutter speed, and produce something creative.  Something of my own.

A tool that I use with my camera is an external flash.  This changes the mood, light, and colors I see.

The Nikon SB-600 flash is a great all around external flash to use.  I've used it with my D40, D5000, and D7000 cameras.  While the SB-600 feels cumbersome and bulky on my D40, it feels well balanced with my D7k.

What's included with the SB-600?  A plastic flash stand to mount on a tripod and use as a slave flash, a soft case, and a sliding diffuser that's built into the flash head.

The accessories I've purchased for my SB-600 include a StoFen Diffuser and a Gary Fong Lightsphere (Cloud).  Both products work well.  When I use my flash, I always have the StoFen attached.  It softly diffuses the harsh projected light.  I've experimented with the GF Lightsphere and use it primarily for portraits and taking pictures of flowers.  It's best used for up close pictures.

The first year I had my SB-600, I used the flash straight on.  I didn't know any better.  I noticed huge shadows appeared behind my subjects.  I also noticed a lot of red-eyes.  As you can imagine, a lot of my pictures were blown out.  The flash was too bright...even with the flash exposure set to 0.  It was frustrating.  I didn't like my pictures.



Sto-Fen Diffuser:

I started doing some research and noticed a lot of photographers were using diffusers.  That's when I bought this Sto-Fen Diffuser made for the SB-600.  It sits over the flash head and diffuses/spreads the light over a wider surface area.  It lessons the shadows (some are still there but not as pronounced) and softens the light on the subject.  I was happy with the results I was getting, but I was still getting some red-eyes.

I then played around with the flash head.  Moving it straight up to bounce off the ceiling.  Moving it around (swiveling on the base) and point the flash head behind me towards a wall.  Bouncing the flash reduces the harsh light directed at the subject.  I'm not a technical person when it comes to photography.  If one is interested in knowing the technical aspects of external flashes and the bounce techniques, I would research this on Google.

This is my typical flash setup with the flash head pointed slightly upwards

I used this setup when I take portrait pictures and I turn the camera sideways

When I don't want a lot of flash (softer light), I will bounce the flash behind me towards a wall or ceiling

After experimenting with the movements of the flash head, I noticed something else was missing or lacking in my pictures.  Sometimes the flash was still too bright.  I've learned to play with the adjustments right on the flash itself.  While my camera exposure remains at 0 (zero), I've learned to tweak the flash settings.  Many times I've been inside a dark house, room, or church setting and the flash pushes out immense light...even when bouncing off the walls or ceiling.  I've learned to adjust the flash exposure down.  Typically for portraits and still life, I will adjust the flash down to -0.7.

My typical external flash settings I use.  I press the "-" button until I get to -0.7

When I take pictures of my artwork, the -0.7 setting on my flash will produce a harsh glare on my paintings.  I've had to adjust the flash down further to -1.0 and sometimes -1.3.  

Again, press the "-" button until I get to -1.0

If I just want some soft lighting, I will go all the way down to -2.0.  

Pressing the "-" to get to -2.0 for just some soft lighting from the flash

All this depends on how far away you are standing from your subjects.  The settings above are good for distances of 5-10 feet from your subject.  If you are further away, you will need to up the flash exposure...possibly going up to +0.7 or even +1.0.  I hardly ever have to go in the + side of exposure.


Note:  pictures were taken with my Nikon D40 and SB-400 external flash:

My 4 year old D40 used to take the pictures for this post.  It's my back up camera.  This camera has taken over 15,000 pictures and still produces beautiful colors!

Out and About with My Prime Lens

In my travels, I'm forcing myself to take one camera with me. I'm in practice mode all the time. Learning to see. Learning to take great pictures.

Yesterday evening, we were in Columbia, MD. I decided to take with me my D40 and my 35mm lens. What a lightweight combination. I hardly notice the camera weight in my hands. Too bad that I didn't think ahead in my Coach outlet shopping excursion (few months back) to get a purse big enough to hold my D40. I'll leave that topic (bags and purses) for a future post.

Here we are "window shopping" at the LLBean store:




My D40 does a fantastic job with capturing colors. Here's another picture with a salesperson helping a customer:




We go from the outside of the mall to the inside...you can see the lens does a great job capturing a carousel with lights:



For interior shots, I'm still practicing or learning to hold my camera still. You think it would be real easy, but every now and then, my hands do shake. I don't know if that's the result of low chocolate intake or the lack of the VR (vibration reduction) on the prime lens that I'm used to having on the other zoom lens. I blame it on the lack of chocolate. :)

Camera: Nikon D40
Lens: 35mm
F-stop: 2.8
ISO: 200
Flash: None

Happy Easter Weekend!

DB came for a long weekend visit. On Friday, we got up around 4:30am and left the house around 5:10am to catch a train down to Washington, DC. We ended up at the Smithsonian station around 6:15am and took a hike over to the Tidal Basin to take pictures of the cherry blossoms in the wee early morning hours. We weren't the only ones waiting for the sun to rise.

(Nikon D40 photos)

Washington Monument in the wee hours

As we were all snapping away at the monuments and the cherry blossoms, I happened to look to my right and noticed something extremely white. It was a young lady getting her bridal pictures taken. So, naturally I took this opportunity to capture the moment.

A photog moment with a bride

As more and more folks arrived and the Tidal Basin was getting a bit crowded (joggers, walkers, and photographers), we decided we had enough and started our hike to the other monuments. We visited the WWII Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, and many sites along the way.

Lincoln Memorial

Korean War Memorial

World War II Memorial


We took pictures of the Washington Monument and the Capitol.

Washington Monument

They do exist, the Segway Tours.

Segway riders


Trees blooming around the Capitol





We grabbed some lunch at a local Thai restaurant, just south of the Capitol in a quiet neighborhood. Afterwards, we headed to the US Botanic Gardens and took pictures of their orchid collections.










My DB and I walked over 12,000 steps, covering 8 miles. Thanks to my nifty pedometer, we kept track of the distance traveled. After several hours of walking, I had experienced multiple cramps in both legs. I had to end our photo adventure. As we headed back to the Smithsonian station, we were in for a huge shock. The crowds of people, both coming and going from the train station. We were crammed into the trains like sardines. As it turned out, that Friday was the 2nd highest ridership day (900,000 riders) using the Metrorail. To go along with that astounding number, I took 600+ pictures on that same day!




The next day (Saturday), we headed over to Arlington Cemetery.













A beautiful find at Arlington Cemetery









Early Sunday (Easter) morning, we were the only early birds in downtown Manassas. Back to take more pictures. Here are pictures taken with my new Nikon D5000:

My DB with his cool Nikon (D5000)


A view in the middle of the street in downtown Manassas (D5000)


One of the old buildings that houses Okra and The Foundation Restaurant (D5000)

Local signage (D5000)

Note: the only modifications made to the my pictures: cropped and copyright added.

A Weekend @ The Homestead

My hubby and I took a 3-hour trip to The Homestead in Hot Springs, VA. The last hour of our trip was a beautiful and peaceful drive before arriving into a spectacular resort. Hubby was one of the guest speakers for the "In the Garden" seminar held at The Homestead. I knew this would be a photo opportunity for me. I took over 400 pictures here. These are only a handful that I will share with you. Enjoy!

Arriving at The Homestead. Taken while in the car traveling down the driveway. Not bad for a behind the window shot


The Tower. It was a beautiful afternoon when we arrived. I stopped to capture this moment with the sky filled with while puffy clouds

Notice anything interesting about this building?


It was nice to stroll along and listen to the water

Yellow petunias


A small group of us (the speakers & their spouses) had an opportunity to hike through the Cascades Gorge. We saw 13 waterfalls of which 3 million gallons of spring water flow through each day.


My favorite waterfall picture


Fishing in the Cascades


Another favorite waterfall shot

I thought it would be a great opportunity to practice some photo techniques.

Normal waterfall shot using Program mode


Beautiful waterfall shot using Shutter mode


View from the back of the building. I always make my camera do all the work. So, if it means that I have to rotate my camera 90 degrees to get a beautiful long shot, then it's worth it

Many thanks to Forrest, Claire, Andre, & Eileen for making our weekend so enjoyable

Milestone & Nikon History-My D40 & 10,000 pics

My Milestone:
My Nikon D40 has reached a milestone. One year & one month ago, I purchased my wonderful D40. Today, the picture count on my camera rolled over to "0001" as in "DCS_0001.jpg". Thank goodness my iPhoto application doesn't overwrite my files. Thank goodness for my Mac.



My Nikon History:
I've been a digital camera owner since early 2001 when I purchased the Nikon Coolpix 880 workhorse. That camera took beautiful pictures. I remembered I caused a lot of commotion at work as my fellow co-workers were trying to compare their Canons & Olympus with my Nikon. There was no comparison...Nikon had the best lens back then (they still do now). I purchased many accessories with this camera including the slide copying adapter. This was a cool adapter that allowed me to copy slides (yes, I said slides) into digital format. It didn't take me long to rollover the CP880. I ended up taking roughly 14,000 pictures with that camera.

In 2003, I purchased the Nikon Coolpix 5700. Yes, it was an expensive camera and had a metal body. It was called the "prosumer camera"...not quite compact and not quite DSLR. Somewhere in between. It was a hefty camera that became my workhorse for the next 5 years. This camera had a lot of cool features including a swivel LCD panel that could be rotated out for different viewing angles. The pictures this camera produced was absolutely beautiful. The macro or close-up shots were astounding. The 8x optical zoom was superb. Nice having a fixed all-in-one lens (equiv 35mm to 280mm) on the camera. The only negative I experienced, the camera went through batteries fast. Like snapping 100 pictures fast. That's probably why I ended up having 3 spare batteries in my bag. This camera went everywhere with me. I ended up taking close to 18,000 pictures with this CP5700.

In 2005, I purchased the Coolpix 5600 and the underwater housing to go with it. This was our first true compact camera. The selling point for me was it used AA batteries. DH primarily uses this camera for underwater pictures.

Also in 2005, I purchased the Nikon D70 for DH. Our first DSLR camera. Little did I know then, this camera produces some of the best flesh tone color pictures. It also has a built-in flash control not found in other cameras. You can set external flashes around your subject and the D70 will trigger the flashes.

In mid-2008, I purchased my 3rd digital camera, the Nikon D40. This replaced my CP5700. I've always wanted my own DSLR, but didn't care for the weight or bulkiness. After some research and getting up to speed on current capabilities, I found the D40. Interesting fact: the D40, introduced in late 2006, still continues to sell. Three years on the market is unheard of in the digital camera world.

I don't work for Nikon (which is a shame). I know of Nikon because of the long-term experience I have with using their products.

Today, I'm celebrating my D40 milestone by taking more pictures. I wonder how long it will take me to get to the 20,000 picture?

Look What's Blooming at Our House

Daylilies, of course! My DH is a collector of plants. Our yard is filled with these luscious blooms. I took these pictures during the late evening hours. I am now using Aperture mode on my camera. Most of the pictures were taken f/8 aperture...give or take 1 or 2 stops.

This first picture is my favorite.


















I enjoy taking close-up shots to capture the beauty. Can you imagine if I didn't zoom in, how bland the pictures would have been?

The only changes I've made to these pictures is the file size, slight cropping, and adding my copyright. I let my camera do all the work. Apparently, it's doing a great job. :)

Camera: Nikon D40
Lens: 18mm-200mm
Flash: None