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PhotographyBB
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ISSUE #4 - May 2008
YO U R G U I D E T O T H E W O R L D O F D I G I TA L P H O T O G R A P H Y
This Month We Journey to
Vancouver!
Home
of the 2010 Winter
Olympic Games - by Euclid Seeram
Understanding
Curves:
Our series on curves continues
with a look at color correction
Photography 101
Kenneth Fagan teaches us:

ZOO PHOTOGRAPHY!
Street Photography Tips

Jon Ayres gives us a look
at shooting on the street!
Advanced Out-Of-Bounds
(OOB) Techniques!
Fred McWilson shows us
FRAME WARPING!
Plus: Loads of Killer Photoshop Tutorials and Techniques this Month!
PhotographyBB Online Magazine
From The Editors Desk

Dave Seeram is the Editor in Chief for PhotographyBB Online Magazine. As
the administrator of the PhotographyBB Website and Forums, Dave is also
an experienced author of several Photoshop Actions and Tutorials which
can be found on http://www.PhotographyBB.com
PhotographyBB Online Magazine Fourth Edition - Late but GREAT!
elcome to our fourth issue of the PhotographyBB Online Magazine. Id like to start
by addressing the fact that this issues release was one week later than originally
planned. This month, we had several members out of town enjoying much deserved
vacation time, and as a result we needed one extra week to make the magazine as perfect as
can be. As for future issues, well have them out on time as scheduled for release on the second
Tuesday of every month, so that will make the Issue 5 release date to be June 10th, 2008.
This month were in for a special treat, as my father (a published and distinguished author)
is joining us in the Photography Around the World section. In collaboration with Tourism
Vancouver, Euclid Seeram gives us a fascinating look at the city of Vancouver, home of the
2010 Winter Olympic Games. It was a pleasure to have my Dad writing for the magazine, and
finally gave me an opportunity to tell him what to do for a change!
Id like to welcome back Fred McWilson as a regular contributor to the magazine. Fred will
be brining his experience in the areas of Photoshop and HDR techniques. This month, Fred is
going to expand on his previous OOB (Out-Of-Bounds) tutorial, with some advanced frame
warping techniques. Fred also hangs out on the PhotographyBB Forums, where you can chat
with him, any of the other contributing authors, or myself for that matter.
Jon Ayres gives us some great tips and techniques for shooting street photography.
Jon also dives into some ethical issues surrounding street photography, which are thoughtprovoking and provide some insight into what it takes to bring your street photography to the
next level.
Ken Fagan put countless hours into this issue for us. This month, he takes a break from
camera functions (in the Photography 101), and gives us a look at shooting techniques for
everyones favourite summer outing - a day at the zoo. Ken also gives us a great look at the
history of 35mm cameras, providing a glimpse into where our fancy new digitals came from.
Ken also made a trip out to Vancouver this month (where he graduated with a Diploma in
Photography), so we had a chance to go on some fun photo-shoots, which are sure to form
some great topics for Issue 5.
Victoria Sargsyan also helped out a lot this issue, continuing in her tutorial tradition. This
month, she provides the Elements users with some quick and easy tips for enhancing and
fixing photos, as well as a brief primer on setting up Dreamweaver, in a series which will walk
the photographer through building their own online gallery website.
As a final word, Id like to welcome all of the new forum members this month. Its been great
getting to know you all, and Ive been enjoying your photos and techniques. I look forward to
meeting any new members who join us along the way. Please stop in, register, and say hi!
Page 2
Dave Seeram
Editor and Publisher
PhotographyBB
online
YO U R G U I D E T O T H E W O R L D O F D I G I TA L P H O T O G R A P H Y
DAVE SEERAM is the creator of the PhotographyBB
Online Website, and the Administrator of the

PhotographyBB Forums. Dave is a digital photography
enthusiast, and loves shooting landscapes and architecture in his spare time. Additionally, he has several years
of formal training in both Adobe Photoshop and Quark
Xpress.
KENNETH FAGAN is a photographer extraordinaire

based in Meath, in the Republic of Ireland. Ken graduated with a professional Diploma in Photography from
the Focal Point School for Visual Arts in Vancouver. His
specialities are product and food photography, but he is
also skilled in fashion, sports and landscapes. Ken works
with many camera formats including, 35mm pro digital
and lm SLRS, medium format, and 4x5 large format.
JON AYRES is a digital photographer from the United
States, now living in Moscow since August 2003. He

enjoys photography, writing, history, and taking beautiful
scenes of Moscow on his walking photo-tours. Jon has
been involved in writing, digital art and photography for
over thirty years and is a published author having several
articles and photos published.
VICTORIA SARGSYAN is a professional graphic de-
CREDITS
EDITORIAL:
Dave Seeram, Editor in Chief
Kenneth Fagan, Creative Concepts & Content
Victoria Sargsyan, Creative Concepts and Design
Priscilla Ko, Creative Concepts and Design
WEB TEAM:
Dave Seeram, Web Design & Publishing, Admin
Victoria Sargsyan, Site Moderator
Kenneth Fagan, Site Moderator
PUBLISHING:
Dave Seeram, Publisher & Author
Jon Ayres, Contributing Writer
Kenneth Fagan, Contributing Writer
Victoria Sargsyan, Contributing Writer
Fred McWilson, Contributing Writer
ON THE COVER:
Dave Seeram, Cover Layout and Design
Priscilla Ko, Cover Design & Consultation
Cover Image, Courtesy of Tourism Vancouver
HOW TO CONTACT PHOTOGRAPHYBB ONLINE:
signer from Armenia, now living in the United States.

She brings over 15 years of professional experience in
graphic design, and her favorite software tool is Adobe
Photoshop. Additionally, she is experienced in Illustrator,
CorelDraw, Freehand, Lightroom, Adobe ImageReady,
Flash,HTML, Dreamweaver, Motion Artist, Anime Studio,
Poser.
If you would like to contact PhotographyBB Online,

please email: magazine@photographybb.com or write:
FRED MCWILSON is a photographer and Photoshop-
ARTICLE SUBMISSION:
To submit an article, or to request an article submission,
please email magazine@photographybb.com with your
name, email address, and a brief description of your
article and ideas. We look forward to hearing from you.
wizard from southeast Missouri. Were pleased to have

Fred with us as a Photoshop tutorial and HDR column
author. Some of his hobbies other than Photoshop and
photography are caving and paintball.
PhotographyBB
#331 - 6540 Hastings St.
Burnaby, B.C. V5B 4Z5
CANADA
Page 3
Contributing Authors
Before There Was Digital...

Have you ever stopped to think about the other camera formats out there?
In our last months issue, I introduced you to the world of large format
photography. This month Ill be writing about how the 35mm camera
took the photography world by storm and became thee choice for many
photographers for decades.
FILM: THE 35MM MIRACLE - By Kenneth Fagan

Since the dawn of lm, the camera has often been just the luxury of the journalists and the wealthy aristocrats.
With equipment often costing a small fortune, the camera was out of reach for most. By the middle of the 1900s
photography became more popular with the consumer and so the need for a more convenient user-friendly
system was greater than ever. And so came about the birth of miniature photography.
The 35mm film cartridges were designed to be
reused by loading a new spool of film into the cartridge
before loading it into the camera system. In 1934 the
Kodak company released a film cartridge which could
be used in Kodaks own range as well as Leica and in
another camera manufactured by Contax. The re-usable
film cartridges developed into the single use cartridge
of today, although it is still possible to purchase bulk
rolls of film and load it into re-usable cartridges. By
1935 a range of colour 35mm film was available from
Agfa with the Agfacolor and Kodaks Kodachrome.
Closeup view of a rangender system.
Page 4
he versatility of the 35mm camera could not be

matched by the bulky 4x5 camera or the medium
formats low images per roll output. It dawned
a new era in photography and brought its popularity
to a whole new level. The first 35mm film was created
in the early 1890s by Thomas Edison when he cut
a standard medium format roll of film in two strips
that both measured approximately 35mm in width,
and each strip had a row of guide holes along each
side to aid the films advance. Since then, the 35mm
format has become one of the most popular and most
recognized of all the formats. The first 35mm camera
to become popular was the American Tourist Multiple
from 1913. From that, the camera developed and in
the 1920s Leica began to produce their own line of
35mm cameras, where they developed a reputation
for outstanding build quality and an excellence in lens
precision. The Leica cameras also accepted the 35mm
film in a specially designed cartridge. Each frame on a
35mm camera measures 24mm x 36mm.
The original 35mm cameras were built using

a rangefinder system for focus and framing. The
rangefinder is a system where through the focusing
screen you see two images. Focus is then achieved
when the two images blend into one image, this is
where the rangefinder has calculated the distance of
the subject from the focal plane. If a photograph is
taken where the two images have not met, the result
will be out of focus. See the image (on the following
page) of an Agfa Ambi-Silette, also known as the poor
mans Leica. This was a camera which was part of a
popular Agfa range of the 1950s to the late 1960s. They
were one of the top-of-the-range cameras of their time
and the model shown here is of the 1959 edition. After
the rangefinder revolution, a new camera system was

was complete the mirror would return to its original
position. This was a turning point in how the SLRs
viewing system was created and the general design
still holds today.
The original versions of the SLR had a pentaprism

viewing system, which is a five sided prism where
an image is reflected to allow for eyelevel viewing.
Whatever you seen in the view finder is what is actually
in the frame of the image, unlike the twin lens reflex
of the medium format or the 35mm rangefinders. The
Pentaprism system was developed by a company called
Zeiss in the late 1930s after Ihagee released their KineExacta. The pentaprism allowed the image to be viewed
in the correct orientation. The next new addition to
the SLR was the Fresnel lens: A Fresnel lens is a flat
piece of glass with concentric prismatic grooves which
distributed the light hitting the image in almost parallel
lines. The Fresnel lens was used with the addition of a
piece of ground glass. The combination of the Fresnel
lens and the ground glass allowed the photographer
to view the image in the view finder with an amount of
light the same or similar to that entering the lens.
With ever improving SLR designs, the pentaprism
system was eventually replaced with a mirror, which
is what we find in all SLRs today. Originally the mirror
was manually reset after each exposure, and it wasnt
until the late 40s and early 50s that an automatic
mirror system was built, by which once an exposure
A look inside todays modern SLR camera.
It should be noted since many people dont realize

it, but just because you scrapped your old film SLR
for a digital does not mean you have a better camera.
For example, a 35mm exposure on film is actually
the equivalent to a 12 or 15 mega pixel SLR. Over the
past five or six years, the 35mm SLR has been slowly
replaced by the digital camera. People purchase
small compact digital cameras to replace their 35mm
compact. I have seen where people have shown me
the images off their digital compacts and the results
are so poor that they would have been better off
to spend $10 on a disposable which can yield more
than acceptable photographs. I still use my 35mm
SLR as well as my digital, as some things I just prefer
to use film with, such as long exposures or nighttime
photography. To be honest, the results of both can
often be indistinguishable.
If you are the type of person that loves film
photography and hates the thoughts of it disappearing,
keep it alive by using film where you can. Dont be put
off by the whippersnappers who reckon film is old
school and for people who dont have a digi-tech savvy
head. Give the guys with the smug grin and a flashy
digital camera a roll of film and an SLR and they will
more than likely run a mile.
Photography is a fantastic thing for everyone to
enjoy. Whether you use film or digital the important
thing is that you enjoy it. If you want to go digital but
dont want to change your film camera, perhaps a
good investment would be a film scanner. You are not
limited in what you do when you shoot with film, the
amenities are out there so if you feel strongly about
your film dont be discouraged by the increasing swing
for digital photography.
This article and photographs contained are Copyright and courtesy of Kenneth Fagan. Please contact the author directly with any questions.
Page 5
introduced into the market. A single lens reflex 35mm

camera was first built by a German camera company
called Ihagee in 1936.
The 35mm system became the preferred choice

for Journalists and Lifestyle photographers, gaining
its popularity from the fact that you could shoot up
to 36 frames per roll without the hassle of re-loading
(although there are 35mm rolls with 24 or 45 frames).
The 35mm format turned out to be one of the great
photographic successes of the 20th century. Although
the medium format film has a much greater exposure
area hence a considerably higher resolution, the 35mm
frame scaled down the size of the camera considerably
and could develop images that were of a high standard
of quality with results that were quite acceptable for
most photographic disciplines. Today the 35mm SLR
range is huge with manufacturers such as Canon,
Nikon, Pentax, Sony, Olympus, and Leica all striving to
have the best on the market.
Street Photography
The Photographers Ultimate Studio - By Jon D. Ayres
so many different variables and varieties of

both subjects and problems to deal with.
Of course in todays world with privacy and
security a major concern you sometimes have
a overzealous officer, guard or neighborhood
busybody over-react, and its a fact that not
everybody likes to be photographed or have
their property photographed. Those dont
have to become issues at all considering that
there is so much to photograph on streets,
just like one huge studio where you can
photograph portraits reflecting the beauty,
the good, the bad and the ugly in life. Old and
new architecture, everything which composes
this drama and comedy in the play called life.
Page 6
f all the types of photography I do, I

think street photography is one of my
favorite types of photography. To me,
the street is my studio and I can photograph
just about anything, especially real life scenes
if you go about it right. When Im on the street
photographing, Im always looking for real
slices of life, expressive moments, funny scenes,
interesting people, a fleeing expression, or
photos which tells a tale. Sometimes I like to
find a spot to stay and watch the world passing
by where Im totally focused on the scene and
sometimes I become part of the scene I am
constantly watching, listening, looking and
seeing. Street photography can be one of the
hardest types of photography to do; you have

Day to day life, solitude and the maddening crowds, a
citys streets is its lifeblood. Everything from bees flying
from flower to flower, old and new architecture, river
walks, ponds, lovers strolling along the embankment
at sundown, everything can be photographed on a city
street which can be seen from public view. It makes
no difference if its a small village street or a city as
large as Moscow, city streets are the photographers
ultimate studio. Often street photography is referred
to as No Rules Photography. Forget all about those
silly rules of thirds, f stops, shutter speeds and all those
other distractions, street photography is real no rules
photography. I like to refer to street photography
as real photography; very few posed shots unless
today as it always has been with many photographers

only doing street photography and specialized street
photography. Street photography often means getting
close to people, especially in large and crowded cities
and how you handle yourself and your attitude will in
a lot of cases determine how successful you are. Act
like some arrogant know it all jerk and you might as
well stay home, but act decent, friendly and nice and
people in a lot of cases will be more than willing to
work with you.
Page 7
Just what kind of camera do you need for street

photography? Most purists will automatically say
DSLR, however, I tend to think the disadvantages of a
DSLR outweigh its advantages
for street photography.
Of
course nothing can beat the
DSLRs wide angle and tele-lens
capabilities, not to mention
image quality. Conversely, the
DSLRs disadvantage, and its
a biggie, is that it stands out
too much. Sometimes in street
photography you need to blend
in and go unnoticed by most
of the crowd, sometimes you
will want to be noticed, but
most of the time I like to be
unnoticed until Im ready to be
noticed. Your holding a DSLR
camera with a lens as long as a
meter with an opening as big
as a dinner plate, you are going
to be noticed by everybody
and some of the attention you
might get could be some you
do not want. I think a lens
something like 55-200mm and
Ice sculptures at work sculpturing Big Ben in ice at Pushkin Square a couple of years ago.
a 24mm wide angle are the best
for street photography. You
you ask somebody if you can take their photo. A
want a camera which has a good wide angle and good
street photographers eyes generally see it all in
telephoto. Travel light (in other words, no tripods, a big
the busy world called life. Good street photo artists
camera bag full of lenses, or other unneeded weighty
see inspiration in street life; they see reflections in
extras). My first choice for a street camera would be
puddles, different colors in a crowd of people or even
a good bridge camera with a good zoom range lens;
in a traffic jam, a reflection in a window, young lovers
my next choice would be one of the new pocket
holding hands, a disagreement between a buyer and
point-and-shoot cameras with good resolution and
seller, children playing hide and seek, old and new
excellent zoom range. The good thing about pocket
intertwined together or a dog treeing a cat.
point and shooters is nobody pays much attention to
them; youre just another 1 in a million tourists seen
Street photography has been a popular art form
everyday in most cities all over the world. Wide angle
since the beginning of photography like street scenes
lens is very important for street photography, as some
were popular with painters. In the late 1800s and
streets are very narrow and sometimes you will find
early 1900s street photography was in vogue with
it a challenge to include the whole of a building or
the in crowds of New York, Paris, London, Moscow and
complete street scene, so a wide angle lens can help
almost every single city where a photographer could
you compose just the right scene. A few extras and
be found. Street photography is still just as popular
skills always comes in handy no matter the type of
Just an unimposing shot taken of a lane in Moscow, I stood at the

beginning of the lane and aimed my camera down the lane, most
people could care less about me photographing the lane they were
walking on. Just stood out of the way, right in the open.
sneakiness here, just honest down to earth true street

scenes without anybody being upset that somebody is
taking their photo or start posing because somebody
is taking their photo. Using the cameras neck strap, let
the camera hang from your neck, learn how to set your
zoom, usually at the widest zoom, half press the shutter
button to focus and take the photo. But this type of
shooting takes practice, you have to learn how to aim
your camera without looking at the LCD screen or EVF,
but this becomes very easy with practice. Having a
camera you can pre-focus will help you get shots before
the persons expression can change or something gets
away. Pick a spot on the street, pre-focus on that spot
and then when your target comes into range, snap the
photo before they know whats going on.
Street photography is fast photography, shooting
from the hip like my distant cousin Doc Holiday would
do from time to time in the late 1800s with pistols. That
is why point-and-shoot cameras are so good for street
photography, especially some of the latest models. I
personally prefer using a bridge camera (a camera in
between the range of a point-and shooter and a full
blown DSLR), I can hide it fairly easy when I need to,
(once inside a paper bag) yet still shoot out in the open
without drawing too much attention to myself. There
are many fine pocket point-and-shoot cameras today
which come close to taking photos almost as good as a
DSLR can and in my opinion these cameras, along with
a few of the bridge cameras, make them perfect for
street photography. Though DSLR cameras are some of
the best cameras made, because of the nature of street
photography-fast shooting without being noticed,
DSLR cameras just do not really lend themselves to
this type of shooting for most people in my opinion,
at least not for me. The disadvantage of DSLR cameras
for street photography is shots happen fast and you
have to be ready. You can not take time to change lens
or change settings and expect everything to stop until
your ready to take the photo, it just does not happen.
Heavy camera, heavy lens, tripods etc have no place
in street photography. Light and fast is the way to go,
so you DSLR fans are at a bit of a disadvantage here.
There are two ways to take street photos, indirect
and direct. Some photographers prefer indirect, others
direct and still others like me prefer using both ways
to take photos. If youre a direct photographer, you
do not mind people knowing that you are taking their
photo; you often will approach people talk with them
and ask if you can take their photo sometimes. You like
to be out in the open and do not mind if people notice
you or not. If youre a direct photographer, unafraid
and not shy, feel at ease with people seeing what
your doing and are able to ask people if they mind if
you take their photo, then a DSLR camera may serve
you well if you let the camera not intimidate people.
Indirect photographers tend to stand off to the side,
in the shadows unnoticed by others around them.
They tend to use tele-lens so they can get up close and
personal from a distance without being noticed. Both
types of photography have their advantages and thats
why I use both.
Most street photographers should look just like
tourists. Here in Moscow, thats one of my favorite
covers, to mix in with a bunch of tourists, except
while they are shooting tourist sites, Im shooting
street scenes. I always get a kick out of how some
direct action street photographers make outlandish
Page 8
photography your doing, like having a LCD screen that

tilts where you can hold the camera at waist level and
take photos without people even knowing your taking
photos and keep their natural expressions, or learn to
shoot from the hip. I just ordered me a new FZ50 with
tilting screen. Since then, Im interested only in natural
realist street scenes. I will sit the camera on my camera
case on a bench and use the tilting screen to focus
the lens as I need it, then I will attach a remote shutter
release to my camera, then all I have to do to take a
photo is press the remote shutter release in my other
hand without touching the camera at all. No fakery or

statements how some indirect street photographers
are somehow sneaky noisy perverts lurking around
taking photos. The only way to capture the true real
life of the street is to photograph it with as few people
as possible knowing your photographing the street,
just two different styles of street photography that can
work. The true street photographer uses all types of
photography to capture the scenes theyre looking to
capture, but all this Im an honest photographer and
youre a sneaky photographer attitudes that have
popped up lately on some forums are just comical to
me, especially for a type of photography that has no
rules.
How I do my fine-art street photography:

The two main types of street photography are what
I call direct action and indirect action and these two
types can further be divided into constant movement
and waiting in one spot. Direct action photography
is when youre out in the open taking photos and
making no secret about it. You approach people, talk
with them, show an interest and ask if you may take
their photo. Sometimes when photographing street
scenes, architecture, window reflections, you have no
choice but to be direct with your photography. The
disadvantage of direct action photography is it makes
Page 9
Street photography is one of

the ultimate photographic arts.
Most of the rules, if not all of the
rules, of photography are tossed
into the trash heap when taking
street photographs. Some street
photos can be blurry, noisy, bent
perspectives, no rule of thirds
or soft and un-sharp, the artist
interprets their scene in many
different ways. True art has no
rules and street photography in
most case can not have any rules
because things move pretty fast.
You just can not stop everything
on the street while you compose
a shot or decide what settings to
use in most cases. Remember
I said in most cases, when
photographing something like
architecture or posed street
portrait shots, then you may have
Street scenes at night are one of my favorite types of photos, this Chinese restaurant on Moscows
main street caught my attention one night. Night street photography is one of my favorite types of
time to study your subject and
photography.
follow the rule of thirds and other
rules to your hearts content. But
most street photography is fast and you have to be
a lot of people uncomfortable, even if they agree to
ready for what ever comes along. Life is not always
pose for you; its a posed shot, not a real life street
so clear cut, sometimes it can be turned completely
scene. Good street photography is captures of real
upside down and inside out, those who believe that
life, real street happenings, and real expression on
you must always follow certain photography rules
passerbys faces or two people discussing something.
are just playing photographer so do not worry about
It is not easy for direct action photography to express
rules when doing street photography, eight times out
the true charter of passerbys, shoppers, and people
of ten they will not apply. That blurry photo of nude
of the street. But youll be surprised at how people
joggers racing by in the early morning fog could be
will react to a direct action photographer who shows
worth $1000s to a buyer of fine art street photography.
confidence and genuine friendliness and interest.
What makes the street photo stand out is the photo
Successful direct action street photographers know
artists interpretation of the scene, not because of
how to approach people and know what to say. Too
using any so-called photography rule or using a fancy
many street photographers make the worse mistake in
camera. Never be worried about what pixel peepers
street photography, they follow somebody down the
say or think or anybody else for that matter. Youre
street just like a stalker, then they wonder why they get
the artist and it is your creation. The good shooting
punched in the nose! One of my favorite areas for direct
instincts of the photographer are 95% of what good
action street photography is when Im photographing
street photography is about.
artists on the street or in a park. I will wait until
Page 10
was able to capture their natural

state beforehand.
Lately on
some street photography blogs
and forums where a few street
photographers feel that indirect
action photography is not
honest photography - somewhat
perverted and sneaky as if the
photographer is a peepingtom invading peoples private
territory; I disagree. Indirect
action photography is a way to
capture the true expressions
of the street and peoples
true feelings, those who say
otherwise are just wrong about
capturing the real street scenes.
Sometimes you have to be part
of the scene in order to capture
the scene, but a lot of times in
order to capture the true scene
you have to stay completely out
Street artists or more correctly art students at work in St. Petersburg, street artists and art students are
one of my favorite subjects to photograph, when they nd out that Im a digital artists they become
of it. I prefer my street portraits
very friendly and we always end up talking about art, school and dierent things.
to be candied with my subjects
looking exactly as they feel, two
they take a break then I will strike up a conversation
chess players concentrating on their game, not my
with them, maybe comment on their work. As the
camera, two passerbys discussing a new modern art
conversation develops I will mention that Im a digital
statue next to the Tretyakov Gallery I want to remain
art photographer, would they mind if I photograph
natural which would not happen if I were to take their
them as they paint or sketch and that I will be more
photo by direct action. There is a time and place
than glad to email them a copy of the ones they like,
for all styles of street photography and the street
and Ive yet to be refused. Often I have already taken
photographer who only limits themselves to one style
a few photographs of them working which I will show
and calls the others sneaky really are missing out on
them. Since I consider myself a digital artist, most
what true street photography is.
artists are willing to let me photograph them, artist
helping artist type of deal. But sometimes indirect
When people are in public or in a public place
action photography really comes through better for a
where anybody or everybody can see them, they are
lot of street photography.
fair game as far as photography goes, plain and simple.
Often times I will show people the photo or photos I
Indirect action photography is where the
took of them, and never has anybody asked me to
photographer stands out of the way, maybe under a
delete the photos of them that I took. Many times
shade tree, in between two buildings, off to the side of
people will notice that Im photographing them and
a busy intersection or even on a bench in a city square,
will be flattered and start posing for me like Im a long
park entrance or pedestrian street. Henri Cartier-Bresson
lost friend. So I disagree with street photographers
one of the greatest modern street photographers
who think that indirect action photography is invading
used to hide his camera under his handkerchief when
peoples privacy or sneaky. That would be true if I
taking street photos, in the late 1800s photographers
were sitting in a park and aiming a telephoto lens
like Matthew Brady who used big cameras often hid
into somebodys apartment window or a couple in a
in wagons to do their street photography. By using a
passionate moment, but photographing somebody on
tele-zoom, the photographer can capture things from
the street from afar, there is nothing wrong about that
afar. I often prefer to photograph people on the street
as long as they are in public and in a public place.
this way because they remain natural and show their
true feelings where as when people know your taking
Candid photography is best described as un-posed
their photo, they either get uptight or start posing.
and unplanned, immediate and unobtrusive. This is
Often times the people I am photographing from
in contrast to classic photography, which includes
across a street will notice me, so Ill wave and they will
aspects such as carefully staged portrait photography,
start posing for me which I do not mind, as long as I
landscape photography or object photography.
Candid photography catches moments of life from

immersion in it and this can only truly be done from
a far sometimes, often without the subject even
knowing they are being photographed. The events
documented are public street scenes, not private, they
involve people in close relation to something they are
doing, or they involve peoples relation to each other
on the street. Indirect action street photography is
just that, documenting life as it actually happens. No
poses....just reality...the moment. Direct and Indirect
action street photography are just two different styles
of street photography, to each their own. There is
a place and time for each style of photography and
knowing when to use each one is a part of being the
successful photographer. Any photographer who
chooses to limit themselves to only one style really is
handicapping themselves and their photography in
my opinion, every photographer has their own style
and use what works for them.
Street photography also involves both movement
and stationary photography. It really depends on what
street Im on if Im moving or staying pretty stationary.
If its a street thats new to me, them usually I will walk
slowly down it exploring it and its side streets, doing
what I call street walking photography, pausing here
and there to look everything over. If its a street I know
very well or one of my favorite photography streets,
then I usually find a place to sit awhile and watch the
world go by, of course it depends on just what type
of street it is and what Im looking to photograph. If
its people, then I generally stay in a square, park or sit
on a bench on a pedestrian street. If its not people
Im photographing, then I generally slowly move down
my target street, pausing here and there while looking
things over.
Here are a few tips for street photography that

work for me to help you get photos that express the
real soul of the city. Of course every person has their
own style of photography, some like direct action
others like indirect action and still others like me enjoy
using both styles. Street photography will open up a
whole new world for the photographer and if you do it
right you will find yourself capturing the real story of
life, give it a try Ill think youll love it.
1) Play it safe:
Be careful and always aware of your surroundings.
In Moscow for example, some dishonest people will
offer to take your photo in front of major tourist sites
with your camera. You give them your camera and get
into a pose. They then take your photo and demand
payment before they give your camera back or they
just run off with your camera. Sometimes people with
cameras are considered easy targets or tourists with
money. You have to be safe and aware of tings going
on around you, only cross the streets in the proper
places, do not block doors or traffic (both foot and
vehicle), and do not argue with people, its not worth
it. If questioned by anybody be honest with them;
Im a street photographer or digital art photographer,
they might take what youre doing as a compliment
and be flattered that your taking their photograph.
You should think about how you will handle problems
before you even leave home, how you will handle the
neighborhood busybody who thinks its their right
to stick their nose in everybodys business, every
neighborhood has one. How will you handle the
neighborhood street bully, an over zealous police or
security guard, you need to think about these problems
which could arise along with your safety before you
even step out of your door, Always Be Prepared as US
Boy Scouts used to say.
Page 11
I also love taking photos of people taking photos and being

photographed by another person besides me. I always nd it interesting
even though they are posing for another person, they are not posing for
me, so it is true to life..
Always stay prepared to take a photo or you will

regret it. I remember a couple of years ago there was
a popular commercial on TV here which featured a
motorcycle gang of nuns. They were just like the Hells
Angels except they were nuns dressed in nuns habits,
maybe they were Heavens Angels instead.. Well I
just had gotten off the bus and was walking down the
street, had my camera hanging from my neck, but it
was turned off. All of a sudden I heard motorcycles so
I looked at the corner and there was this motorcycle
gang of nuns, popping wheelies and laying rubber with
their nuns habit hoods flying like tails behind them as
they took off when the red light changed. I missed a
great shot because I was not ready, so stay ready when
doing street photography because things happen fast
on the street and you never know just what you may
see or come across. You have to always be prepared
for the unexpected, especially if youre on the move.
St. Patricks Day parade on New Arbat Street in Moscow a couple of years ago.
2) Use the crowds to your advantage and blend into

the crowd:
In large crowds people generally do not notice other
people really. Learn how to stand next to buildings
or the street curb to take your photos. Sometimes
you can stand in the middle of the sidewalk, but you
have to be very careful. Nothing stands out more
than a photographer blocking the flow of traffic and
store owners sure will not be fond of you standing in
their doorways blocking customers from entering or
leaving. Youll find that 99% on the street are too busy
to worry about you taking their photo, it should be
obvious who to approach and who not to approach.
Use your common sense and look for the best spots
to photograph from with a good view, yet does not
block the flow of traffic. Act as if you belong there,
but do not overstay your welcome, get your shots and
move on. Always be on the lookout for good shooting
positions, maybe you spot a building with a elevator
outside the building with glass walls, may be worth a
try to see if you can take a short trip on it to the top
floor and back down for some quick shots. Maybe a
hotel where you can go to the top floor and take a few
shots or an outdoor stairwell, always be on the lookout
not only for shots, but for shooting positions.
a bench in a park or square or from a

balcony can provide some great street
portraits. One of my favorite places to
take street portraits is Lavrushinskiy
Lane; A pedestrian lane in Moscow
where the Tretyakov Art Gallery
is located. The lane is lined with
benches and modern art and I love to
sit on a bench on this lane and watch
people discussing the modern art and
photograph them. Im right in the
open, not hiding from anybody and
many times they will notice that Im
photographing them and I will show
them the photos I took. Always be
extra friendly, even when you do not
have to be. I enjoy sitting on a bench
an aiming my tele-photo lens down
the street to catch a couple of people
hotly discussing this modern art
statue, this is true to life photography,
not sneaky photography.
4) Timing is everything in street photography:
Its not using a fancy DSLR or a small unnoticeable
point and shooter, it is getting your timing right and
that is most likely the number one reason why most
street photographers fail, they just can not press the
shutter release at the right time. In direct action street
photography, this is not as much of a problem since
most shots are set up before the shot is taken, but in
indirect action street photography where your trying
to take the most natural looking photo, timing is
everything and pressing the shutter release at just the
right moment is not as easy as it looks. Pre focusing
your camera helps greatly, choose a location, prefocus your camera, leave your finger on the shutter
button half pressed so you do not lose the focus and
when your ready to take the photo, your all set. Just
3) Do not be afraid of sometimes photographing

from a distance:
Be ready to capture the action at any moment!
Page 12
Photographing from the distance captures the true

life, the true feelings, and the true expressions. If you
choose to use a small tele-converter, then find a good
location to photography while stationary. Sitting on

raise your camera, fully press the button then lower
your camera all with in a couple of seconds, before
the person your photographing knows you took the
photo. This is one reason I bought the FZ50 camera,
it has great manual controls along with a great manual
focus lens. I can set this camera up exactly as I choose,
then all I have to do is press the shutter button; no more
fooling around with focusing, its already done and set.
Taking time to focus is the biggest killer, your subjects
sees what your doing and their expression changes
sometimes. You have to believe that you have an eye
for the extraordinary found in the ordinary. Thats what
I put most of my efforts. What camera is best or what
settings to use is of non-importance and can only take
you so far. Patience and the will to see people as people,
not strangers who are only extras on your stage is what
you should be thinking about.
5) Know your rights:
6) What makes a good street shot?

Most photographers, let alone the street
photographers never even think about art. What
makes a good photograph, why are you taking this
photo, why did it catch your attention, did you focus
on its strongest points so others will recognize why
you took the photo? Festivals, parades, protests, block
parties or great things to photograph on the street,
where things are generally pretty busy so people are
not really paying attention to photographers. Know
about the area you are taking photos. When you go out
on a shoot, you should have a certain theme in mind,
that is not to say that you can not shoot what you see
that interests you, but it helps to have thought about
a certain theme and play close attention to it, whether
it be churches, traffic (pedestrian or vehicle), certain
types of buildings, art work, artists, pretty girls, maybe
peoples watches or shoes. When people ask what you
are up to, why did you photograph them, you can be
honest and say, youre a digital artist and your cloths
matched my theme today Colorful Dress and most
people will not only understand, but be somewhat
Street photography is not always about people, this is one of my

favorite street photos of aside street completely empty of people, but
this church built in the 1600s stands out doesnt it?
flattered. Pick a theme and try and stick to it. Make

photos which make words pop into the viewers head.
Take time to scout out your street first, find the best
spots to take your street photos from.
7) You should understand and respect that
not everybody wants their photo or property
photographed:
Sometimes people will give you dirty looks,
another pesky tourist type look. Accept that fact, but
always be friendly and try to be understanding. Never
hurts to apologize and say youre sorry if you bothered
anybody. Learn to assess the situation, if the person
looks as its better to ask first, and then ask first, if not,
then shoot your photo. You should concentrate on
capturing the true spite of the street, its people, the
events, happenings, everything on the street in its
natural form unaware that there is any photographer
nearby and indirect photography is just about the only
way to do this. You want to capture not only the day to
day actions of the street, but also the unique actions of
the street and people.
Page 13
Photography still is not illegal yet in most cities

and countries; every now and then youll run into a
busybody who thinks negatively of you photographing
children, or an overzealous guard who mistakes you
for 007 of the terrorist world. It pays to have a small
card with your rights on it (do a Google search on
Photographers Rights Document for the city youll be
shooting in). For example here in Moscow I have small
half sheet of paper printed with the rules and rights
of photographers in Russia, if I ever have any trouble,
(never have knock on wood) Ill just take it out of my
camera case or pocket and show it to who ever has a
problem with me taking photos.

8) Do not forget there is much more to street
photography than just people:
Street photography forums seem to concentrate
only on the people angle, there is much more to street
photography than just people. Streets are a cities soul
and veins that carries its blood. Look at a street at night
when nobody at all is out, street wildlife, architecture,
construction, window washers, street cleaners, painters,
vehicles on the street, gardens, statues, memorials, day
to day street activities, social ills, or news events. Its
a whole different world for the photographer on the
streets and it can be the most difficult photography
that youll ever try doing. Plan everything first and
know exactly what your going to photograph, what
you will need and how you will do it. Learn when to use
what style of street photography and just as important
when not to use a certain style. Learn to see more than
simply your immediate subject - always be aware of its
relationship to the background, to incidental elements,
to forms and geometry within that scene; and look at
the work of the masters posted all over the Internet.
Remember that if street photography was easy, then
everyone would be doing it all the time, but they are
not.
photography in that there is no other photography like

it. It makes no difference what streets you photograph
on, I think the streets of your hometown will be the
best until you learn how to street photograph well
and good. Like I said, I think taking natural photos are
the best, asking for permission just does not give the
natural look to me. I want my photos to be natural
and show real life, therefore I generally use indirect
action photography the most, but that is up to you the
photographer to decide what is best for you. Youll
notice that I agree with some of these photographers
and disagree with some; photography is after all the
artists choice of how they want to create the photo.
Candid/Street photography - A few tips:
A pretty nice link and user posts for street portrait
photography from one of the stock art agencies I use.
http://www.redbubble.com/people/deckham/
journal/979733-candid-street-photography-a-fewtips
Renaissance Street photography
http://yeskarthi.wordpress.com/2008/02/13/streetphotography/
9) Be respectful for what you are shooting:
Here are some interesting links and information on

street photography:
I still consider street photography to be real
Street Photography for the Purist by Chris Weeks

In my opinion this is absolutely the best free ebook on
street photography that you can download, it takes
you through page 300 something before Chris Weeks
writes anything about his style and techniques of street
photography, but this really is an excellent book to add
to your photography ebook library. This is what true
street photography is all about.
http://fc08.deviantart.com/fs11/f/2006/227/e/2/
street_photography_for_the_purist.pdf
The Art Of Non-Invasive Street Photography - by
Henri Bauholz
This is a pretty good article with a few tips on street
photography
http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2007/12/06/theart-of-non-invasive-travel-photography/
Guide to Street Photography - by Margaret Brown
http://www.photoreview.com.au/tips/shooting/
guide-to-street-photography.aspx
Some very good short articles on street photography,
this author has written several which also include
Street Photography Guidelines:
http://www.photoreview.com.au/tips/shooting/
street-photography-guidelines.aspx
This article and all photographs contained are Copyright and courtesy of Jon Ayres. Please contact the author directly with any questions.
Page 14
For myself, there are certain things I refuse to

photograph; beggars, homeless, unemployed, drunks
and other social ills. Maybe if it would help make a
change I would, but I to try and benefit from others
bad fortune, and I will not do that. Not everything on
the street is good and Ive seen my share of bad things,
a lady hit by a car, a DOA (dead on arrival) several times,
drunks passed out on the street and the elderly begging
on the street. I have too much respect for people to
photograph things like that. Of course that is only
my personal belief and other photographers may feel
different and that is fine. Also be aware of where you
should go and where you should not go. Every city has
a bad section of town where drugs are sold, gambling,
street walkers, gang hang-outs; if youre smart, stay
out of these areas or you could end up in extremely
unsafe situations. Also, beware of photographing
children. Sadly in todays world too many sickos are
running around photographing children. You may
wish to photograph groups of children under certain
circumstances, but never photograph single children
even with their parents permission unless youre in the
portrait business. Its not hard to use a little common
sense!
Photography 101
Each issue of PhotographyBB Online Magazine will bring you helpful tips and
tutorials on how to get the most of your digital camera and equipment. Well
cover camera techniques, principals of photography, digital photography
issues, and how to get the most from the dreaded manual-mode!
BEHIND BARS: YOURE GUIDE TO BETTER ZOO PHOTOGRAPHY - By Kenneth Fagan

With summer just around the corner the warmer weather has us all outside and wanting to go places, and what
better place is there to go for a day out other than the zoo or wildlife park. The zoo is a magical place to visit
for a day even if you do not have kids on tow. The local zoo or wildlife park is also a wonderful place to take
photographs, with all the varying manmade landscapes and vast array of ora and fauna, which otherwise most
of us are unlikely ever to see.
lens of between 200mm and 400mm, remembering
that the more zoom you have the closer you will get
to the animals.
The main aim of this tutorial is for me to help you
to achieve excellent photography of the animals in a
zoo. By the time you are finished, the enclosures will
have disappeared and the animals will be in the wild
again. No, I am not asking you to break locks or knock
fences! With a few simple steps, you will achieve results
that will remove almost completely, the zoo aspect
of the photographs you produce and bring you on a
virtual safari.
The first step of course, is setting up your camera.
Preferably, you should manually focus the subjects (I
will explain why later in this tutorial). Depending on
the weather, set your ISO speed accordingly: A bright
sunny day works well between 100 and 200 ISO, and
overcast days require a faster (higher) ISO. Therefore,
between 200 and 400 ISO should work for you nicely
for a dull day.
A good start for improving your zoo photography

is the use of an SLR with a good zoom lens or prime
Lining up the subject:

Good framing is vital; do not just shoot at random.
Think through thoroughly what you want out of
each image, as shooting with haste only ends up in
Page 15
ith all the thick plate-glass, iron bars and wire

fencing, photographing animals in the zoo can
be challenging but by no means impossible.
Here I am going to guide you through working around
the obstacles, which can sometimes get in the way
between your camera and the animals.
Next, switch off your flash. You may startle some

animals and flash photography through glass just does
not work in any environment. It is also a good idea to
shoot RAW for best detail and colour preservation.

disappointment. Of course, it is not always going to be easy to get the perfect shot. In fact, the chance of you
catching a five hundred pound lion bounding around in its enclosure is very slim indeed. Therefore, you have to
make do with the situation on front of you and make the most of it without compromising the final product.
Many people have a habit of just shooting straight out, meaning a constant theme of downwards style
photography. Try as best as you can to be at least eye level with your subject. Although this may be difficult on
some occasions, but it will greatly improve the result of an image. Another aspect to be wary of is focus and depth
of field (recall our first tutorial on f-stops in Issue #1). The main focal point in any image with living creatures is the
face, particularly the eyes. A sharp tail and a blurry pair of eyes hardly make for pleasant viewing. Be particularly
wary of this on duller days where you may have your aperture wide open at f8 or f5.6. A shallow depth of field is less
forgiving for selective focus than smaller apertures like f22 or f32.
Should you be having trouble framing a particular animal, you can create a frame within the image and crop it
later. Look at the before and after of the lion below. He was sleeping in his shelter for most of the day. I waited for the
right moment for the lion to face directly towards me. You have to be patient, as in this instance I was waiting fifteen
minutes for that right moment. Lets have a look at this example below:
Before: Original photo of the lion. Looks nice but lacks interest.
After: Same photo cropped, rotated slightly, and contrast adjusted.
Here we see where the framing was originally compromised slightly. Afterwards in the post process I cropped
tightly around the face, straightened the head a little, and made some simple adjustments using curves resulting in
a dramatic and powerful image
Page 16
Another example of waiting for the right moment is shown (on the following page) in the image of the two
Humboldt Penguins. The penguins were shouting away raising their bills into the air. Framing was quite simple; it
was just a matter of waiting for the right note.
Before: Dirty pane of glass makes this shot hazy and dull.
Waiting for the right moment to capture the Humboldt Penguins.
In the profile shot of the tiger (top-right photos),

you see in the first image the effect that a dirty pane
of glass can have on an image. It was not possible to
get past the cloudy effect while taking the picture as
the tiger was in close proximity to the glass so it was
unavoidable in this instance. I cleaned up the image
to good effect by reducing the hue and increasing
the saturation, as well as increasing the contrast. This
reduces significantly the original hue of the dirty
glass.
Lets have a look at the following before and after
example, of how some simple processing can help.
After: Some simple post-processing makes this image quite striking.
Creating Impact:
The more impact you create in an image the more
appealing it will be to look at. Good aesthetics in a
photograph is important to keep people interested.
The quantity of frames you shoot is much less
important than quality. It is much better and a lot more
enjoyable to look at five to ten high impact photos
than fifty or sixty average to poor images. Choose the
ones that instantly draw your attention. The images
that instantly draw your attention are the ones that
will create impact. There are no rules, you do not have
to work on all your images. Enjoy working on the ones
you like and forget about the rest; shuffling around
with stuff you do not like is no fun!
Identifying a good-looking image is easy, but can
be extremely meticulous. It would be helpful to get an
honest friend to assist you in picking the best ones if
you are having trouble. When creating a high impact
image, there are a few things you will want to work on,
which are as follows:
Page 17
As I mentioned earlier focusing through glass can

be particularly tricky, particularly if is it scratched, dirty
or tinted. If you set your lens to auto-focus, it will try
to focus on the glass as it will have picked up on the
dirt. For this reason, manual focus is preferred as you
can then focus through the glass. The next problems
with glass are glare and reflections. To avoid this, get
the lens as close as possible to the glass, which will
block out most of the light on your side off the glass.
The image of the lion (shown earlier) was manually
focussed through relatively clean glass, and as a result,
the glass has completely disappeared in the image.

Eyes: If you have a full frontal headshot of an animal,
the eyes must be sharp. In reality, eye contact is
important. This is the case in photography too.
Posture: When you do a portraiture of a person, you
ensure that the subject is not slouching or sitting/
standing in an awkward manner. The same rule applies
to animals. It can be difficult when you have no control
over the animals movements. It is just a matter of
waiting for the right moment when the animal is in
a forward stride or in a position that you feel would
create the biggest impact.
Exposure: Unsightly highlights can greatly reduce
the impact of an image. It is important to watch your
exposure meter, adjust your f-stops, and shutter speeds
accordingly. At the same time, do not be afraid to do
some experimenting with your exposures.
Before: Notice how the chain link fence was in the way on this shot?
After: Wire fence cloned out and background darkened.
The enclosures which can cause the most problems

are the chain link or wire fences. You must manually
focus through the wire fencing. The biggest problem
is the blurring, which is caused by the fencing in the
image. In the following photographs of the wolf, the
wire fencing was a big problem. With very little in
the way of vantage points, getting the right shot was
difficult. The blurred lines of the wire fencing were
impossible to avoid. Had the wolf been a greater
distance from the fence there would have been less
likelihood of the fence appearing in the image. The
lines can be removed from the animal in Photoshop (or
alternative software) using the clone stamp or healing
brush tool. By blurring the background a little more,
and making it a little darker, the lines no longer have as
much of an impact on the quality of an image.
Page 18
Problem Enclosures:
There is also no way of avoiding the chunky nature

of an iron bar fence. The only method to keep them
out of the way is to try to shoot between them or over
them. Otherwise, they do not cause a major problem
except they do look obtrusive in a photograph. In that
case, some tight cropping can give greater appeal.
on the zoos busier days. Tripods are an excellent

tripping device for people around you and could prove
dangerous. A monopod would be sufficient in this case
if you need some support.
A Red Panda relaxing on a tree branch.
Ethics:
Photographing animals in the zoo can be a lot of
fun, and very interesting. It is however, important that
you dont get too carried away and start pushing your
way through the crowds to get That Shot. You will not
only look silly, but you will surely frustrate the other
guests.
Do not feed the animals to get their attention,
most of them are on strict diets so do not be the one to
make them sick it is not worth a good shot.
Finally, it is important to realize that, depending

on the weather conditions, some animals and birds
may not be very active. Most creatures tend to laze
around for most of the day to preserve there energy
reserves. This is a natural survival instinct from their
wild ancestors, which protects them in times of prey
shortage, and intense heat or extreme cold. So bear
this in mind when you wait for them to move because
they may not budge for hours. Patience is the key to
successful zoo photography. It is a lot of fun but it
will not always go your way. It is all down to how the
animals are on the day and its out of your control. So
make the most of it, and most importantly Have fun!
Page 19
If possible, leave your tripod at home, particularly
Photography Around the World

PhotographyBB
Online
Magazine
is pleasedOnline
to launch
our rst
issueSeeram
with a
In
our
fourth
issue
of
the
PhotographyBB
Magazine,
Euclid
fabulous
andfascinating
stunning photo-tour
one of city
the most
fascinating
cities- inA
gives
us an
look
at takes
the of
beautiful
of Vancouver,
Canada
the
world
Moscow.
Jon
Ayres
us
on
a
streetwalking
tour
of
the
city,
culturally
diverse
metropolis
and
home
of
the
2010
Olympic
Winter
Games.
with some interesting historical facts and of course, amazing photos!
WELCOME TO VANCOUVER-HOST CITY OF THE 2010 WINTER OLYMPICS - By Euclid Seeram
The Downtown Vancouver skyline as seen from Stanley Park. (Image courtesy of David Seeram)
ancouver is one of the most vibrant, exciting, scenic, and liveable cities in the world, located in beautiful British
Columbia, Canada. The name Vancouver is now at the center of world-wide media coverage advertising that
this magnificent city will be hosting the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games from February 12-28,
2010 and March 12-21, 2010, having been selected by the International Olympic Committee in July 2003.
The overall goal of this brief article is to provide you with a photographic glimpse of the spectacular city of
Vancouver.
Page 20
As noted on the Vancouver website (http://www.vancouver.ca) Vancouver is a city with many diverse types of
communities. The city is renowned for having created ways for all citizens to celebrate who they are, and participate
in every aspect of life in Vancouver. Vancouver is home to a multitude of cultures and languages from around the
world. The city of Vancouver values this diversity, and considers it a source of our strength, vitality, and prosperity.

The history of the city can be traced back to 1792,
when the English naval Captain George Vancouver
explored this region. In this regard the vancouver.ca
website adds a little more perspective and tells us that
Vancouver was founded as a sawmill settlement called
Granville in the 870s. The city was incorporated in 1886
and renamed after Captain Vancouver. More detailed
information on the history of Vancouver from 1792 to
2004 can be found at:
http://www.vancouverhistory.ca
for those who are interested in details. Today, Granville
Island is a colourful tourist attraction where musicians
perform outdoors and where restaurants, pubs, and
various galleries cater to the needs of not only tourists
but those who live here as well.
Granville Island today where the market is one of its central attractions
A spectacular feature of Granville Island is the

market place rich with locally-grown fresh fruits,
vegetables, and bake goods, flowers and all varieties
of coffee.
Page 21
The diversity of Vancouver is reected in the various cultures seen in the

images shown above.
Visitors to Vancouver are usually focussed on seeing

the most popular scenery, and the new architecture of
the inner citys buildings and parks, museums, beaches,
aquarium and totem poles to the bridges, beautiful
gardens and mountains that the city has to offer.
An aerial view of Vancouver sets the overall

tone of the layout of this majestic city where several
pieces of land masses are connected systematically
by suspension and other well-engineered bridges.
This spectacular aerial photo of Vancouver shows the
North Shore mountains in the background together
with one of the famous landmark, BC Place Stadium
where 60,000 fans can enjoy one of the popular
national Canadian sports, football. The spectacular and
glorious Vancouver skyline shows the relatively new

architecture in recent urban renewal ventures
Spectacular view of the Vancouvers skyline.
Recreation activities in beautiful Vancouver.
Page 22
It is a well-know fact that people move from all parts

of Canada and elsewhere to Vancouver because of its
year-round mild climate. On sunny days, other enjoy
the beaches, jogging, cycling, golfing and kayaking at
ground level, and skiing at higher elevations all in the
same day.
Skiers can enjoy a glorious view of Vancouver.
In 1986, Vancouver hosted Expo 86 World Fair, and

several new buildings featuring unique architectural
designs were constructed to accommodate and
entertain people from all over the world. Today some
of these structures, perhaps most notably, Canada
Place, commonly referred to as Vancouvers Trade and
Convention Center survived, and it is at the center of
tourism. A major design feature of Canada Place is
its five white Teflon-coated sails that are part of the
roof construction. Furthermore the decks of Canada
Place provide visitors with a spectacular views of
the majestic, luxury and massive cruise ships that
frequently dock the harbour, enroute to places such as
Alaska, for example.
Above: Gastown Steam Clock, Robson Street (Downtown Vancouver)

and the Vancouver Art Gallery.
For further enjoyment, the city offers other options

for walks in busy city streets such as the renowned
Robson Street and Gastown area, and subsequent
relaxation on the lawn of the Vancouver Art Gallery
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Canada Place is its ve white Teon-coated sails that are part of the
roof construction where luxury cruise ships come and go.
Visitors can shop til you drop or just enjoy the

citys unique architecture reflected in the recently
erected Vancouver Public Library which attract
thousands of visitors everyday not only to browse its
book and magazine collection but also its historical
photographs, and childrens library. In addition, there
is the well-known Vancouver Center for the performing
arts for those who enjoy the varied cultural activities
featuring talented performers from all over the
country.

Other exciting places for both young and old
visitors to Vancouver include art galleries for art lovers,
the Vancouver aquarium and the citys more than
200 beautiful gardens, such as the larger and popular
Queen Elizabeth garden which features the Bloedel
Floral Conservatory and which displays not only a wide
array of luscious tropical plants, but tropical birds that
fly freely in the conservatorys dome. Other gardens
include the Vandusen Botanical Gardens, Nitobe
Memorial Garden, Dr Sun Yat-Sen classical garden
Dr. Sun Yet-Sen chinese classical gardens.
Vancouver Center for the Performing Arts.
Museum of Anthropology contains over 12,000 First Nations artefacts.
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Photo of Van Public Library.
Vancouvers museums are many, however most of

visitors frequent the museum of anthropology which
contains a wide variety of artefacts. The MacMillan
Space Center and Museum is also another popular
especially enjoyed by all because of its location
where one can view the water and densely populated
downtown Vancouver.
The MacMillan Space Center
It is not within the scope of this article to provide

a full description of the myriad of spectacular scenery
and architecture of beautiful Vancouver however, the
remaining photographs illustrate the grandeur of our
magnificent city, home of the 2010 Winter Olympic
Games. This event is marked by the use of the inukshuk,
created by the Inuit people of Canada and first used as
a guidepost to provide direction for those travelling
in Canadas vast northern country. The inukshuk was
selected (from more that 1600 entries) as the symbol
of the 2010 Olympic Games. The symbol extends a
warm and friendly welcome to the people of the world.

Welcome to Vancouver, the most vibrant, exciting,
scenic, and liveable cities in the world.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT:
Euclid would like to thank Susan Graham, Manager,
Convention Services, Tourism Vancouver for her support
and access to the Vancouver Images. All images used in
the article, including the cover photo, are by Courtesy of
Tourism Vancouver.
All images in this article are Courtesy of Susan Graham, Manager, Convention Services, Tourism Vancouver. Article written by Euclid Seeram.
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Euclid Seeram is program head and teaching faculty

member of the Medical Imaging Degree program at
the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT).
Choosing the Right Accessories

With all of the photography gear on the market today, its dicult to
determine which accessories are right for you, and what to look for once you
decide on an accessory. In this ongoing segment, well examine the things
you should look for when choosing photography accessories, and help you
to make an informed decision based on your photographic needs.
PHOTO FILTERS: A GLASS ACT - By Kenneth Fagan

Have you ever wondered why the photographs you took at the beach on the hottest day of the year look cold? Or
your Landscapes always have the sky blown out. With the use of lters the problems of colour casts can be put
to one side and give your pictures a whole new lease of life.
to balancing various lighting conditions, filters are

especially useful in acting as a protector for your lens.
It would be much less expensive to replace a scratched
filter, than a scratched camera lens. Lets have a look at
how filters work, and the various functions of some of
the different filters available.
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Photo filter is a device which is attached to

the front of a lens to balance the colour of the
ambient light bouncing off the subject(s) in an
image. There are many different varieties of filters,
each one has a purpose and each one works to good
effect under different light circumstances. In addition

The colour of the light is known as the colour temperature. Colour temperature is measured in Kelvin (K). Each
Light source whether it is natural or artificial has a certain colour temperature. In the chart below, you will see the
various different sources of light and their colour temperature range.
In the colour temperature chart shown here, the lower
the colour temperature, for instance the cooler the colour
Sodium
2000K
temperature, the warmer the light emitted is. The higher
the colour temperature is the harsher and brighter the
Tungsten Lamp
2800-3300K
light will be. The light from a candle flame or a tungsten
Studio Lighting
3300-3500K
lamp is yellow. The light emitted from the sun is white.
Fluorescent
4000K
White is made of seven separate colours; red, orange,
yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. The best example
Daylight
5000-6000K
of this is a rainbow where the sun shines trough water
droplets and splits the white light into the seven colours
of the visible spectrum. Outside of the visible spectrum is infra-red and ultra violet light. With so many varying light
conditions it is necessary to avail of filters as they balance the light as well as improving and enhancing the overall
appearance of an image.
Flame
1700-1900K
I have compiled a list of widely used common filters as well as some lesser used special effect filters. With each
filter I have explained their uses and added a sample image to help you get a better idea of how each filter works.
You may wish to zoom the following pages in to 125%-150% to get a good look at the before/after photos.
Polarizer Filter:
Polarizing filters are very useful for both colour and black and white photography. Reduces glare and reflections
in water and increases the contrast of an over all image. Polarizers are particularly useful for increasing contrast in
landscape photography. Without a Polarizer on a bright sunny day, trying to get a good exposure of the sky when
you dont want to underexpose the rest of the image with a wide aperture can be quite difficult. A polarizer will give
an image more punch and better colours without nasty haze and reduce the risk of overexposure. When using a
polarizer you may have to increase your aperture by one or two stops. (E.g. without polarizer f22 1/125th sec, with
polarizer f22 1/60th or f16 1/125th sec).
With Polarizer Filter
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Without Polarozer Filter
U.V. (Ultra Violet) Filter:

Ultra Violet filters to the naked eye appear to be clear glass filters. They reduce the amount of UV light entering the
lens. This increases the contrast and reduces haze. Otherwise when using UV filters they do not affect the exposure
times. Not only are UV lenses useful for reducing haze but many photographers use them to protect the glass on the
lens, to protect against dust and scratches.
Without UV Filter
With UV Filter
I.R. (Infra Red) Filter:

Infra-rd filters are more commonly used for black and white photography, Infra red sensitive film is used in conjunction
with the infra-red filter. As the name suggests these filters blocks out the majority of light in the visible spectrum
creating a surreal effect of darkened highlights and lightened shadows with intense contrast
With Infra Red Filter
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Without Infra Red Filter
Blue / Cooling Filters:

Blue or Cooling filters are used mainly for situations where tungsten lighting is in use. This is to remove the yellow
hue associated with tungsten lighting and gives the impression of daylight conditions. There are various grades of
blue filter each one is used depending on the original colour temperature.
Without Cooling Filter
With Cooling Filter
Warming Filters:
Warming filters are typically light orange in colour. Like cooling filters, they are available in various degrees of
strengths. Warming filters are useful for removing the blue cast caused by clear skies on a bright sunny day or to
give the effect of the use of tungsten lighting in the photograph.
With Warming Filter
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Without Warming Filter
Neutral Density Filter:

Neutral Density filters work by darkening an overall scene of an image by one or two stops (depending on the
strength of the filter used). These are useful for very bright conditions such as snow on a bright sunny day. Allowing
for greater control on exposure in situations where you may want a slow shutter speed but the bright conditions do
not allow it. The neutral density filter can allow the photographer to open up the aperture by one or two stops or
more, depending on the strength of the filter.
Without Neutral Density Filter
With Neutral Density Filter
Magenta Filter:
Magenta filters are used in situations where fluorescent lighting is used. Fluorescent lighting tends to have a green
colour cast in a photograph. The magenta filter counteracts the green cast and gives the impression of daylight.
With Magenta Filter
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Without Magenta Filter
Special effect filters are another group of less common but widely used filters, with digital photography the need for
these filters has decreased significantly. With digital photo editing software the call of today, the effects once only
achieved with on camera filters can now be achieved at your desk with just the click of a button. The same applies to
the filters I mentioned earlier but to a lesser degree. Colour temperature can be adjusted on most DSLRs today but
filters are also still widely used. Here are just a few special effect filters that are available on the market today
Diffraction Filter:
Diffraction filters are made of clear glass with fine lines engraved into the filter. The fine lines separate the light into
the seven colours of the spectrum on the highlighted parts of an image.
Without Diraction Filter
With Diraction Filter
Star Filter:
Star filters are used to create a sparkle
effect around highlighted areas of
an image, typically from lights or
highlights from the sun shining on a
reflective surface. These filters work
particularly well on shots of the sun
(as shown here) or on shots of city
lights at nighttime.
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Star Filter creates a starburst eect on bright highlight areas.
Diffusion Filter:
Diffusion filters soften the overall appearance of an image; it doesnt mean that it causes the image to be out of
focus. It just diffuses the light reflecting off the subject giving a soft glowing effect.
Without Diusion Filter
With Diusion Filter
Gradual Filter:
Gradual or graduated filters consist of a coloured tint graduating from darkest at the top to clear at the bottom.
There are many colours of gradual filters to choose from and are ideal for landscape photography. Gradual filters add
an extra bit of punch to clear skies or sunrise and sunset.
Without Gradual Filter
With Gradual Filter
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Most filters are widely available to purchase with ease, they vary in price ranging from around $50 to $300
and more. You dont have to have a huge assortment of filters to go with your camera kit, a polarizer, cooling filter,
warming filter and a neutral density filter would be the most valuable filters to invest in. Once you look after them
correctly they should last you a lifetime. It is important to remember that filters come in various diameters. Be sure to
check the diameter of your lens before you purchase a filter. I hope that this article was a useful insight for you and
that I will be of some assistance to you when choosing or using your filters.
Photoshop Tutorial
Last month, Fred McWilson gave us an excellent tutorial for creating OOB
(Out of Bounds) images, allowing us to really make our pictures jump o
the page! This month, Fred kickis it up another notch by teaching us how to
achieve some creative frame warping and shading eects!
ADVANCED OOB (OUT OF BOUNDS) EFFECTS WITH FRAME WARPING - By Fred McWilson
elcome back fellow OOB creators! I hope

that the first OOB tutorial in last months
PhotographyBB Online Magazine has spurred
your interest in pushing this technique even further, if
so then you have come to the right place! In the first
tutorial we learned what OOBs are and how to create
them. In this second tutorial we are going to blow past
some of the basic straight-edged frames and warp
into frame and space-time curvaturewell maybe just
frame curvature!
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Quick note to image editors, the Warp tool is only found

in Photoshop versions CS2 & CS3 currently. For Element
users see the note at the end of this article for a workaround that can give you some of the same results.

When I first learned how to create an OOB image
and studied others works I noticed most if not all used
the familiar straight-edged white framing that photos
of old commonly had. These OOBs had very little what
I like to call frame interaction or frame bending being
employed in these images. I think one reason for this
was due to the editing tools at the time were somewhat
limited in dealing with this very effectively. Now with
the advent of the Warp tool found in Photoshop
versions CS2 and up, this kind of manipulation has
become so much easier for the editor. Most of the
OOBs I viewed used the frame strictly as the boundary
to achieve the 3D effect and rightly so. In this tutorial
we are going to take the frame a step further and give
it a little more life and warp past the constraints of the
straight-edged frame style.
more subtle effect. The second more radical image of

the little rodent the frame has had much more frame
manipulation and even a little frame interaction. It is
up to you as the image editor to decide how much or
little of frame warping to apply. So when considering
to warp your frame you need to think about a few
things. First, will the frame warping add to the overall
effect in some positive way. Secondly, how much frame
warpage to apply and to what degree. Overall you will
want your image to be enhanced by frame warping
not overwhelmed by it. When frame warping I try to
think about the image and how warping would make
the image more interesting or how the frame could be
interacting in some way as a result of the image such as
example of the jet wheel bending the frame.
Frame warping considerations:

Although any OOB creation that has a frame
can have the frame bent, curved or warped from the
subtle:
Or in this example of the dinosaurs foot depressing

the frame so that the swamp is being drained.
To the more extreme:
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However, some considerations should be taken. In

the first example with the lizard, the frame has just
been warped on one of the corners of the frame for a
Another aspect to the frame being warped to me is

the effects of giving the overall image a more dynamic
feel to it, rather than the more static look of the
straight-edged OOBs. Both have their place and use
and if you let the image you are editing help guide you
to determining whether or how much frame warping
to do I think you will end up with much better results.

The tutorial:
In this tutorial I used the same image used in the first tutorial to continue to build upon the OOB editing tools we
used there plus the new tools used to create the warp effects.
You can find the tutorial image here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/serrator/153709954/sizes/o/in/set-72157594146002408/
In addition to the warp tool we will also venture into the frame shading a little bit more to help create an even more
believable final image. I hope you find this tutorial helpful in giving you a few more tools and techniques to put in
your editing tool belt and most importantlyto have fun while editing!
Note: Unfortunately for Element users the Warp tool is not available, it was introduced into Photoshop CS2. Element
users though, can use the Liquify filter to achieve some amount of frame manipulation. You can find this in the
pulldown menu Filter>Distort>Liquify. Although not as controllable as the warp tool, frame bending can be done
with some patience. Be sure to have the frame layer active when you do the Liquify filter and dont be afraid to
enlarge your brush size to help with smooth sweeping bends.
Frame Thickness
One last bit, I have been asked numerous times on how I add thickness to some of my frames. This is simply done
by duplicating the frame layer once the frame warping or even just straight-edged frames work is completed. Once
the frame layer has been duplicated adjust its white color to a gray color by using the Levels sliders found in Imag
e>Adjustments>Levels, adjust it just enough to distinguish it from the white of the other original frame layer. Then
just drag this new frame layer below the main image layer. Then using the Move tool, slightly move the new frame
from out behind the other frame layer to give the frame a thick look.
A Note From the Editor of PhotographyBB Online Magazine...
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Hello! I just wanted to make a note regarding the format of this tutorial. The author, Fred McWilson, has
put together a fabulous ebook style tutorial, and rather than re-writing it and formatting it to our layout,
we are going to present his original format in reduced size here. You may wish to zoom in to 150% or
higher to view the tutorial nicely. Well also provide a link to download the tutorial PDF le.
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This article and all image contained are Copyright are courtesy of Fred McWilson. Please contact the author directly with any questions.
Page 41
PhotographyBB would like to thank Fred McWilson for sharing these tutorials with our readers. To download Freds PDF files
for these tutorials, click the following link: http://www.logicscape.com/oob_tutorials/
Actions in Action!
Youve probably heard all about Photoshop Actions by now, and maybe
even downloaded a few. In this series, Ill show you how you can create
your own useful actions to automate those repetitive tasks. In this issue,Ill
show you how to create a simple frame which will add a subtle touch when
sharing your image on the web.
SIMPLE BUT STYLISH: FRAMING YOUR WEB PHOTOS - By Dave Seeram
elcome back to Actions in Action! From your emails, Ive seen that some of you (hopefully all of you!) have
missed this section of the magazine. As a result, Im back to give you more ideas for automating repetitve
tasks, thereby speeding up your digital workflow.
Nowdays, almost every digital photographer is posting their photos on the web. Be it online galleries, photo sharing
sites, social networking sites, or forums (like the great PhotographyBB Forum!) - were all doing it. This month, Im
going to show you a short little tutorial on how to make a web frame action, which will give your images that extra
bit of finish before posting them on the web.
Step 1: Open an image to work with. Open up your actions palette (Window>Actions) and create a new Action Set
(by clicking the folder icon at the bottom of the actions palette). Next, create a new action (by clicking the Create
New Action option at the bottom of the actions palette).
Step 2: This step is optional (feel free to alter these
settings to your discretion), but we need to size the image
appropriately for the web. For most cases, an image no
larger than 640 pixels on its longest side should be more
than adequate for most web viewing. To do this, (with your
action recording), go to the menu: File>Automate>Fit
Image... Here is where we will size the image to 640 pixels
on its longest side. Enter the values of 640 pixels for
both the width and height. By doing this, we will be able
to resize the image to 640 pixels maximum whether the
image is in landscape or portrait mode.
Step 3: Next, go to the menu: Image>Image Size... Change the resolution value to 72 pixels/inch (if its already 72
pixels per inch thats ok!), and uncheck the Resample Image checkbox at the bottom. Click OK.
Step 4: Next, double click on the Background layer in your layers palette, and rename it to Layer 0. Click OK.
Step 5: Go to the menu: Layer>Layer Styles>Stroke... and
change the following settings:
Size: 1 px
Position: Inside
Color: Black
Page 42
You can leave all of the other settings as they originally

were set. Click OK to continue.

Step 6: While holding down the Control key (PC) or Command key (Mac), click the Create New Layer icon at the
bottom of the layers palette. Holding down Control/Command will create this new layer under our previous layer.
Step 7: We want to extend the canvas now, to create a
nice white border around the image. Go to the menu:
Image>Canvas Size...
Youll want to enter 20 for both the width and height
fields, however, make sure to change the units to pixels,
rather than inches. Also, check the little checkbox that
says Relative and click OK.
Step 8: Press the letter D to reset the color swatches back to their defaults (Black/White). Next, press
Control+Backspace (PC) or Command+Delete (Mac) to fill this new layer with white.
Step 9: The final step is to add just a subtle little

embellishment to the frame.
Go to the menu: Layer>Layer Styles>Inner Glow...
Here, youll want to change a few settings. Change the
blend mode to Multiply, reduce the opacity to 30%,
change the color from its default (usually a yellowish
color) to black, leave the Choke at 0, and make the size 5
px, as shown here.
Also, before you click OK, click on the Stroke layer style at
the bottom left of the Layer Styles dialog box, and use the
exact same settings you used in step 5.
And youre finished! Lets have a look at a before and after image to see how this subtle little frame can add just that
extra impact to get your photos well noticed, and professionally presented when posting them on the web.
After:
This article and all image contained are Copyright are courtesy of Dave Seeram. Please contact the author directly with any questions.
Page 43
Before:
Dreamweaver Basics
In todays age of digital photography, the modern photographer is nding
that not only do they need to be a good photographer, but they need to
know things like image post-processing techniques, and even basic HTML to
create their digital galleries on the web. In this column, well look at some
basic steps in Dreamweaver for building your photo websites.
A LOOK AT THE FIRST STEPS IN CREATING YOUR WEBSITE - By Victoria Sargsyan

Yes, the photographer needs to wear many dierent hats these days. A photographer of the digital era also
needs to know how to display their wonderful photographs in a digital gallery (online). In this article series, Ill
walk you through the basic steps of building a website with Adobe Dreamweaver. Although there are several
ways of organizing your sites directories and les, I be showing you the steps which I use in building websites.
This rst tutorial will be brief, showing you where to begin when working with Dreamweaver and getting your
local folders set up for your website. Lets begin!
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Step 1: Open Dreamweaver. This is the default screen which will appear when you first launch Dreamweaver.

Step 2: From the Create New list on the screen, choose Dreamweaver Site... and a dialog box will appear. From
here, click on the Advanced tab up at the top, and well work on the options shown here.
Step 3: From here, we are going to begin setting up the structure of our site, and the folders to where files and
images will be saved. Click on the Local Info option from the choices on the left. Before we can get our website
onto the Internet, we are going to build a working site on our own computer first. Under Site Name choose a name
for your site. Under Local root folder choose/create a folder for your website which will reside on your computers
harddrive by clicking on the little folder icon to the right of that option. Navigate your harddrive to find a suitable
location to save your website to (I am using my Local Disk (D:) Drive here) - Fig 1.3. Now create a new folder (with an
appropriate name, ie First and Last name). Mine will be called Viktoriyas as shown below in Fig 1.4):
Fig 1.4
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Fig 1.3

Step 4: With the previous dialog box still open, double click the folder you just created (to open it), and create a NEW
folder inside that one, and name it appropriately. I called mine Firstsite. This way, you can create different versions
of your site all in one main folder - Fig 1.5. Heres what it looks like now in my example:
Fig 1.5
Fig 1.6
Double click on your project folders name (in this case Firstsite) and click Select to make this your sites root
folder - Fig 1.6. The root folder is the main location for the website, and will contain the webpage that will launch
when your browser is pointed to http://www.yoursite.com where yoursite will be your own personal URL, which
you will decide upon later. Now that we have the root location of the website set up, lets have a look at the Local
Info now.
Step 5: Now we are going to setup the next option in the Local Info dialog box, which is the Default Images Folder.
Click on the little folder icon to the left of that option to choose a default folder to store site images into. Doing the
same steps as above, navigate to your sites root folder (in this case - Firstsite) and inside that folder, create a new
folder called Images. Click on the folder, and press Select to make this your default images folder.
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And here is what it will look like in your Local Info options now:

Step 6: Click OK to exit the Local Info options dialog box, and youll be brought back to the Dreamweaver start page.
Notice on the right, you can see your local folder directories, where you will be saving your website files to:
Step 7:
The final step we are going to take (for now) in setting
up our site structure is to create the file which will be
used for our sites Homepage. Under the Create New
options, click on HTML. A new, blank HTML page will
appear, and the first thing to do is to save this as your
sites index (which is your homepage) file. Go to the
File > Save... menu, and save the filename into your
sites ROOT folder (in this case - Firstsite), and name the
file index. You do not need to add .htm or .html to
this, as Dreamweaver automatically appends this.
There you have it! You are now through your first steps in setting up the proper local structure for your website.
Although this was just a short tutorial to get your feet wet in setting up Dreamweaver, next month well look at how
to create text and add images into your webpage without having to know any HTML code. Later, well go through
how you upload the files from your Local Folder to a web host, so that your page can be accessed anywhere on the
Internet. Step by step, you will have your digital web gallery up and running in no time!
This article and all image contained are Copyright are courtesy of Victoria Sargsyan. Please contact the author directly with any questions.
Page 47
About the Author: Victoria Sargsyan is a member of NAPP (National Association of Photoshop Professionals) and is a talented
graphic artist and web designer with over 15 years professional experience. To see more from Victoria, visit her website where you
can check out her galleries and additional tutorials at:
http://www.viktoriyaimage.com
Photoshop Elements Tutorial

Throughout our rst several issues, weve picked up a lot of friendly
Photoshop Elements users who have been requesting some specic
tutorials for Photoshop Elements. We listened, and we are happy to add
a dedicated Photoshop Elements tutorials column to the PhotographyBB
Online Magazine. Welcome Elements users, and enjoy!
IMPROVE DIGITAL PHOTOS QUICKLY WITH ELEMENTS - By Victoria Sargsyan

Im not saying that your photos need improvement, but lets face it - Our photos dont always look the same on
the computer as they did in real life. Sometimes our photos need just that extra bit of color correction, contrast
adjustment, or sharpening just a tad to really make them pop!In this tutorial, I am going to show you a few
quick steps using the Elements Quickly Fix Photo options, to further enhance your photos.
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Step 1: Open Photoshop Elements and click on Quickly Fix Photo.

Step 2: Open the photo which you are going to work on. Here you can see 2 windows: The bottom of the screen
shows a thumbnail of your original photo, and the top of the screen is the photo shown as you apply modifications
to it.
On the fixed photo you can see 3 buttons: Actual Pixels, Fit Screen, and Print Size. I am going with Fit Screen
which will fit my image in full, to the size of my window.
On the left side of the screen you can see the panel with following
tools : Zoom Tool, Hand Tool, Magic selection brush tool, Crop Tool,
and Red Eye Removal Tool (We will take the closer look at those
tools in next months tutorial).
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Off to the right side of your screen youll see General Fix, Lighting, Color, and the
Sharpen tools, which we will be working with today:

Step 3:
Here, Ill go through the different options, and their effect on your image. It would be helpful if you follow along in
Elements on a photo of your own so you can visually see the results on the fly.
General Fix:
Here you can see Smart Fix and Red Eye Fix. This is an easy way to improve your photos, however, I prefer to
improve my photos manually. One never knows what the final result will be!
Lighting:
Here you can see Levels and Contrast, both of them working as Auto Levels and Auto Contrast. Click on the
auto button, and Elements will automatically adjust the levels and contrast with its own optimum settings based
on your image.
Also here you can see Lighten Shadows, Darken Highlights and Midtone Contrast. These are very powerful, great,
and extremely helpful options. Here is where you can really fine tune your image. Try it with one of your images, and
adjust the different sliders to see their effect. Here is a brief description of what each slider actually does:
Lighten Shadows: Increases the brightness only in dark areas of your image.
Darken Highlights: Decreases the brightness in the highlight (bright) areas of your image.
Midtone Contrast: Adjusts the contrast in areas with medium brightness (midtones). Here is where you
can pull out a lot of hidden detail in your images.
Experiment with those sliders. Try several different settings before you settle on a final result. Take your time and
you will be surprise with the results. If you make any mistakes or wish to start over, you can click the Reset button
at the top right corner of your image.
Color:
Here you can see Auto button for an easy fix or try playing with the:
Saturation - Intensity or vibrancy of the colors in your image.
Hue - Here you can shift the color tones in your image for some creative effects.
Temperature - This refers to the color temperature (See the filters article for more detail). You can make your image
feel more warm or cool by adjusting this slider.
Tint - Here you can add a tinted color overlay onto your image. Try reducing the saturation slider all the way to the
left (to remove all color), then slide the tint slider around to tint your image with a color. You can further use the
Hue slider to choose the color of the tint you just applied.
Sharpen:
Here you can see the Auto button for an automatic sharpening adjustment, or for more control (and fun), use:
Amount - Use the slider to increase the amount of sharpening on your image. Try experimenting with oversharpening
for a very cool artistic effect.
Heres a look at my final before/after results: (Notice the additional details in the clouds, trees, and water).
After
This article and all image contained are Copyright are courtesy of Victoria Sargsyan. Please contact the author directly with any questions.
Page 50
Before
Member in the Spotlight

Each month, well feature a Spotlight on one of our sites forum members
and tell you a little bit about who they are, how they got started, what their
photographic interests are, and display some of their work.
FEATURE ON MEMBER: Victoria Sargsyan

Victoria Sargsyan is one of our earliest and founding forum members on the PhotographyBB Forums. Since joining
us and being one of the most active forum members, she is also a respected moderator for the PhotographyBB
Forums, as well as a recurring author for the PhotographyBB Online Magazine.
PBB MAG: Victoria, thank you for joining us, its great to have you here! Lets give our readers an introduction
to you. Tell us about yourself Victoria!
Page 51
Hello PhotographyBB and readers! I am really happy to be joining you as the Spotlight Member this month. My
name is Victoria Sargsyan. I am from Armenia where I worked as a graphic designer for 7 years. Recently, I moved
to the United States where I have now been living for the past 4 years. I currently work as a freelance graphic and
web designer, and I just love the photographic opportunities that I have here in the USA. I absolutely love working

with Adobe Photoshop and using it to create digital
artwork. Additionally, I am happy to say that I am one
of the moderators for the PhotographyBB forums, and
I have been writing tutorials for the PhotographyBB
Online Magazine for the past 4 issues, with more fun
stuff on the way!
made the switch from film to digital. I have to say, I

do prefer digital to film. I love the world of processing
opportunities I have when working with digital images.
Photoshop is one of my favourite programs, and I enjoy
the endless possibilities there are for manipulating
digital photos, enhancing them, converting them, or
turning them into digital artwork.
For my lenses, I have a nice collection of Nikon lenses
for the D40, including Nikons 18-55mm, a 55-200mm,
a NIKKOR 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5D IF-ED, and my newest
lens, an AF-S VR NIKKOR 300mm f/2.8G IF-ED. Out of all
of these, I would have to say that I like my 18-55mm the
best because I tend to enjoy wide angle shooting, and
this one gives me the quality and versatility to capture
most of my scenes.
One of my favourite swan photos.
PBB MAG: What type of photographic equipment

and software do you use? Do you have any favourite
gear that you always bring with you on a shoot?
I am actually fairly new to shooting digital. I currently
shoot with a Nikon D40, a camera which I absolutely
love. Ive been using it now for over a year, when I
On the software side, I use a wide range of software

depending on the type of work I am doing. My favourite
is Adobe Photoshop, but I also enjoy using Photoshop
Elements, Illustrator, Corel Painter, 3DStudiomax,
Poser7, Anime Studio, Image Ready, Freehand, and
Motion Artist. In my web work, I use Dreamweaver, MS
SQL, and Visual Basic.net.
As for the gear I like to bring to a shoot: Ill always have
my Nikon D40 on me, as well as my entire collection of
lenses. I never know which one Ill want to use if I get
a sudden inspiration from a scene. I also make sure to
always bring a tripod to my shoots.
Page 52
Boston Streets at Night.
Digital painting from photo entitled Swan in the Night
Heres a Photoshop piece I did entitled Earthquake
PBB MAG: Victoria, do you remember what first got

you interested in doing photography and digital
artwork?
I also enjoy urban photography and being able to

capture city shots. I live near Boston, which is one of
my favourite places to photography some great wideangle city street shots. I totally enjoy shooting rainy
city shots too. For me, if its raining in the city, theres no
better time to go out shooting!
PBB MAG: Photographically, whats your favourite

discipline? (I.e. landscapes, portraits, nature, etc...)
My favourite photographic subjects are people. I love
being able to capture various expressions on peoples
faces, as well as their eyes. Theres a lot of power in being
able to capture expression on peoples faces. I prefer to
shoot unexpected or candid shots. That way I am able
to capture a natural moment or expression, which I
believe has more impact when shooting people.
PBB MAG: Victoria, in looking at your digital

artwork, I can see you have a lot of talent in your
digital paintings and photo compositions. Can you
tell us a little bit about your technique, and where
you get your inspiration from?
I love to recreate paintings digitally (freehand) using my
Waccom tablet and pen on my PC. I mostly love doing
paintings of celebrities, especially of my favourite singer
- Elvis! Sometimes when I am doing a digital painting,
I will use up to 130 layers in Photoshop, to make sure I
get the lighting and shading effects just right.
As for my digital artwork, the inspiration comes from
many places. Sometimes Ill be inspired to do artwork
based on a movie I just saw, or a song that gives me
a particular mood. Other times, the inspiration comes
from my heart.
Page 53
Yes, I remember 20 years ago, when I finished my

schooling at a painting college; Ive always enjoyed
painting and drawing. After my graphic design
education and learning about Photoshop 10 years ago,
and what could be done on the computer digitally, I was
hooked! Since then Ive been into Photoshop, digital
art and photography, and trying to improve my works
every day. I am also currently finishing my education in
programming, to bring my portfolio to the next level
through web programming.
Digital painting done with the Waccom tablet and pen. This piece is entitled The Night Before Halloween.
Definitely! For anyone out there who is interested

in learning new things, new techniques, or new
programs... I would say to keep practicing always.
Practice makes perfect, and you will learn to refine
your techniques. Try to spend as much time as you
can on your works. Remember to always keep positive
and enjoy learning and practicing. Also, read as much
as you can about the programs you are interested in,
and learn as many tutorials as possible. You can find
so many great tutorials on the internet, or in books
also. Digital photography and photo manipulation can
take years of practice, but it can also be a lot of fun
at the same time. Chat with people on photography
forums (like the PhotographyBB Forums), and youll
meet lots of people with similar interests to you, and
you can all learn from each other. Never be afraid of
making mistakes, because with each mistake you will
learn something new. Also, try new things, and youll

be suprised at how creative you are!
A freehand digital drawing of my favourite singer, Elvis!
Page 54
PBB MAG: Its been great not only talking with you,
but also working with you on the magazine Victoria.
Before you go, do you have any advice that you
would like to share with anyone whos wanting to
take the next step in photography?
Above: One of my favourites

entitled The Forgotten
Left: This is one of my digital
artworks from my Tired Angel
series of works.
To see more images in this series,
or to view more of my work, visit
the PhotographyBB Forums and
youll nd me to be quite active in
the Digital Art forums.
I hope to see you there!
This article and photographs contained are Copyright courtesy of Victoria Sargsyan. Contact the author directly with any questions.
Page 55
Victoria is a member of NAPP (National Association of Photoshop Professionals), experienced graphic designer and
digital artist whos always willing to lend a hand or offer some advice. Shes one of our Photoshop On Demand
helpers, so if you have any Photoshop questions, visit the forums and chat with Victoria. If you would like to learn
more about Victoria and view some of her photography and artwork, please visit Victorias online gallery at:
http://www.viktoriyaimage.com
Visit our team on

The PhotographyBB
Forums
PHOTOGRAPHYBB: A WELCOMING FORUM TO BEGINNERS, AND EXPERT USERS ALIKE!
What are the PhotographyBB Forums?
The PhotographyBB Forums are a place for anyone and everyone with a keen interest in digital photography or image
editing, to gather around and chat with each other, ask questions, post comments, and share photos. Youll nd things
like Photoshop Tutorials, photo galleries, digital photography discussions and tips for improving your photography,
along with fun stu like Photoshop games, photography challenges and more! Try your hand at some of the games
like the Photoshop Invisibles challenge, or if you are a Photoshop Guru yourself - have a Photoshop Tennis match!
PhotographyBB Forums are geared towards beginners, and the number one rule on our site is respect. Youll nd that
makes us one of the friendliest photography sites on the Internet. Everyone of any skill level from beginner to expert
is welcome to participate without fear, since we are all there to help each other improve and inspire one another.
Browse the forums and youll quickly see the respect our members have for each other, and how you may t in with
the ne folks who visit us everyday.
We also launched the Photoshop H.O.D. (Help On Demand) section last month, which has been hugely successful.
If you require any sort of Photoshop assistance, post your Photoshop question, and youll usually receive an answer
within minutes!
If you would like to chat with any of the authors of the PhotographyBB Online Magazine, or the editor himself, drop on
by the PhotographyBB Forums and say hi. Registration is completely free; all you need is a login name and password.
Happy Photographing, and well see you on the forums.
Visit the PhotographyBB Forums and participate today!

Page 56
http://www.photographybb.com/forum/
Step into the Spotlight!
Have a Great
Idea for a
Photography
Article?
Would you like to be featured in the PhotographyBB

Online Spotlight on Member section? If so, please let
us know at: magazine@photographybb.com
Well feature your photos, a small biography and writeup about you, as well as links to your web gallery or
photography related business. We all love photography
and image editing, so lets get to know each other!
Issue 5 for June will have a lot of new columns for us.
Weve taken on a few new writers, which I am pleased
to say will bring fresh and exciting content to the
magazine. Stay tuned for a few suprises!
Well also continue our popular series of Photography
Around the World as we take you on a photographers
view of far away and exotic places which just might
make you feel like you are actually there!
This month we had a great series of tutorials, and next
month gets even better. We had to postpone a few of
the previously mentioned upcoming tutorials, but have
no fear - they are in press for future issues. Next month
well dive deeper into Dreamweaver, along with a new
series on HDR (High Dynamic Range) Photography.
Discounts for Readers:

If you are a regular visitor to the PhotographyBB Online
Website, you may have noticed down the sidebar, a
section called Coupons of The Month. This section
contains various photography related coupons and
deals such as free photo prints, and discounts on books
and software. If you are planning to buy these things
anyways, visit us and use a coupon!
Thank you for reading the PhotographyBB Online
Magazine. We hope you enjoyed it, and wed love to
see you again next month. If you have any questions or
comments for us regarding this magazine, please feel
free to email us at:
magazine@photographybb.com
We would love to hear from you!
We are looking for

talented individuals
who would like to
expand their portfolios
by volunteering to
contribute articles to
this e-magazine! If you
are interested, wed
love to hear from you.
Topics of Interest are:
-
Photography Techniques
Photography on Location
Photoshop Tutorials
Hardware / Software Reviews
Camera Equipment
Member Spotlight
Plus were open to new ideas!
To become either a regular

contributing author, or even
just for a one-time article,
please email us at:
magazine@photographybb.com
Introduce yourself, share your
idea, and maybe well see you
in next months issue!
Page 57
Next Months Issue:

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PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS

ISSUE #4 - May 2008

This Month We Journey to

Kenneth Fagan teaches us:

Street Photography Tips

Plus: Loads of Killer Photoshop Tutorials and Techniques this Month!

PhotographyBB Online Magazine

From The Editors Desk

PhotographyBB Online Magazine Fourth Edition - Late but GREAT!

PhotographyBB Online Magazine

DAVE SEERAM is the creator of the PhotographyBB

Online Website, and the Administrator of the

KENNETH FAGAN is a photographer extraordinaire

States, now living in Moscow since August 2003. He

VICTORIA SARGSYAN is a professional graphic de-

HOW TO CONTACT PHOTOGRAPHYBB ONLINE:

signer from Armenia, now living in the United States.

If you would like to contact PhotographyBB Online,

FRED MCWILSON is a photographer and Photoshop-

wizard from southeast Missouri. Were pleased to have

PhotographyBB Online Magazine

Before There Was Digital...

FILM: THE 35MM MIRACLE - By Kenneth Fagan

Closeup view of a rangender system.

he versatility of the 35mm camera could not be

The original 35mm cameras were built using

PhotographyBB Online Magazine

The original versions of the SLR had a pentaprism

A look inside todays modern SLR camera.

It should be noted since many people dont realize

introduced into the market. A single lens reflex 35mm

The 35mm system became the preferred choice

PhotographyBB Online Magazine

so many different variables and varieties of

f all the types of photography I do, I

PhotographyBB Online Magazine

today as it always has been with many photographers

Just what kind of camera do you need for street

PhotographyBB Online Magazine

Just an unimposing shot taken of a lane in Moscow, I stood at the

sneakiness here, just honest down to earth true street

photography your doing, like having a LCD screen that

PhotographyBB Online Magazine

How I do my fine-art street photography:

Street photography is one of

PhotographyBB Online Magazine

was able to capture their natural

PhotographyBB Online Magazine

Candid photography catches moments of life from

Here are a few tips for street photography that

I also love taking photos of people taking photos and being

Always stay prepared to take a photo or you will

PhotographyBB Online Magazine

2) Use the crowds to your advantage and blend into

a bench in a park or square or from a

3) Do not be afraid of sometimes photographing

Be ready to capture the action at any moment!

Photographing from the distance captures the true

PhotographyBB Online Magazine