High Five Photo Tips for AUGUST:

1. Photograph the small things. Instead of trying to fit in as much as possible in one shot, try breaking it up into 2 or 3 closer ones. Small details can often tell a story about the region your visiting. For example, the texture in a building or the details in a shop can often be lost if the photograph is taken from a distance too far away. Wooden Shoes, the Netherlands 2. Vary your Depth of Field to add Bokeh - blur to the background.  Try shooting with a wide open aperture, such as f/2.8.  If using a long telephoto lens, keep it long but get close to achieve this effect.   Bearded Iris, Giverny, France 3. In the  middle of the day with lots of contrast, keep shooting and then convert to Black & White.  Look for patterns, textures, simple compositions. Some say, the most pure form of the art of photography. Marine Railways, Rocky Neck, MA  4. Don't put your camera away at Dusk or at Night.  Use a tripod and play with slower shutter speeds.  Or if you can't use a tripod, raise your ISO with a wide open f stop, such as f/2/8 to 5.6 to obtain a sufficient shutter speed to hand hold your camera.  At least the reciprocal of the lens length, such as need 1/200 sec or faster to hand hold a 70 to 200 racked out to 200 mm.  Turning on Vibration Reduction will also help.   Following Mom, Elephants, South Africa 5. Consider using Fill Flash! Off camera or with the pop up flash using the Gary Fong Puffer to diffuse the light.  Can work pretty well with the camera on Program Mode and the Flash to TTL. For total control, however, meter in aperture priority with the f stop you want and then use those settings (or slower shutter speeds to drag the shutter) with your Camera in Manual mode.  Flash in TTL with flash exposure compensation down to minus 1 1/3 to - 2. Adjust as needed to get the fill you want.    Alum floret with fill flash