Sport Photography

Sports photography refers to the genre of photography that covers all types of sports.

In the majority of cases, professional sports photography is a branch of photojournalism, while amateur sports photography, such as photos of children playing association football, is a branch of vernacular photography.

The main application of professional sports photography is for editorial purposes; dedicated sports photographers usually work for newspapers, major wire agencies or dedicated sports magazines. However, sports photography is also used for advertising purposes both to build a brand and as well as to promote a sport in a way that cannot be accomplished by editorial means.

Equipment

Equipment typically used for sports photography includes a digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera with high shutter speeds (frames per second), with interchangeable lenses ranging from 14mm to 400mm or longer in focal length, depending on the type of sport. The proper lenses are very important as they allow the photographer to reach closer or farther as quickly as possible to keep up with the game play. Essential accessories include amonopod or tripod for stability and extra batteries. Longer focal length lenses typically being used to photograph play on a field such as football, while wide angle lenses are can be used for sideline and close up athlete photos.

Camera bodies

Preferred camera bodies for the modern sports photographer are those with fast autofocus and a high burst rate (usually 8 frames per second or faster). The current flagship sports cameras produced by Canon and Nikon are the Canon EOS-1D X and the Nikon D4, these are popular in professional sports.

Lenses

Different sports favor different lenses, but sports photography usually requires fast (wide aperture) telephotolenses, with fast autofocus performance. Fast autofocus is needed to focus on movement, telephoto to get close to the action, and wide aperture for several reasons:

• The background is put drastically out of focus due to a shallow depth of field, resulting in better subject isolation.
• The lenses can focus more quickly due to the increase in light entering the lens – important with fast-moving action.
• Faster shutter speeds can be used to freeze the action.

Extremely wide apertures (such as f/1.2 or f/1.4) are more rarely used, because at these apertures the depth of field is very shallow, which makes focusing more difficult and slows down autofocus. The main distinction is between outdoor sports and indoor sports – in outdoor sports the distances are greater and the light brighter,^[1] while in indoor sports the distances are lesser and the light dimmer.^[2] Accordingly, outdoor sports tend to have longer focal length long focus lenses with slower apertures, while indoor sports tend to have shorter lenses with faster apertures.

Both zoom and prime lenses are used; zoom lenses (generally in the 70–200, 75–300, 100–400 or 200-400 range) allow a greater range of framing; primes are faster, cheaper, lighter, and optically superior, but are more restricted in framing. As an example the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 400mm f/2.8G ED VR AF lens and the Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens are both fixed telephoto lenses which cannot zoom.

Apertures of f/2.8 or faster are most often used, though f/4 is also found, particularly on brighter days. Particularly visible are the Canon super telephoto lenses, whose distinctive white casing (to dissipate the sun's heat) is recognizable at many sporting events. Of these, the Canon 400mm f/2.8 is particularly recommended for field sports such as football.

This varies with sport and preference; for example golf photographers may prefer to use a 500mm f/4 as opposed to a 400mm f/2.8 as it is a lighter lens to be carried around all day.

Remote cameras

Sports photographers may use remote cameras triggered by wireless shutter devices (i.e. Pocket Wizards) to photograph from places they could not otherwise stay, for example in an elevated position such as above a basketball basket, or to be in two places at once, i.e. at the start and the finish - such as at horse racing.

Milky Way!

The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains our Solar System. Its name "milky" is derived from its appearance as a dim glowing band arching across the night sky in which the naked eye cannot distinguish individual stars. The term "Milky Way" is a translation of the Latinvia lactea, from the Greek γαλαξίας κύκλος (galaxías kýklos, "milky circle").From Earth, the Milky Way appears as a band because its disk-shaped structure is viewed from within.Galileo Galilei first resolved the band of light into individual stars with his telescope in 1610. Up until the early 1920s, most astronomers thought that all of the stars in the Universe were contained inside of the Milky Way. Following the 1920 Great Debate between the astronomers Harlow Shapley and Heber Curtis, observations by Edwin Hubble showed that the Milky Way is just one of many galaxies—now known to be billions.

The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy that has a diameter usually considered to be roughly 100,000–120,000 light-years in diameter but may be 150,000–180,000 light-years.^[25] The Milky Way is estimated to contain 100–400 billion stars, although this number may be as high as one trillion. There are probably at least 100 billion planets in the Milky Way. The Solar System is located within the disk, about 27,000 light-years from the Galactic Center, on the inner edge of one of the spiral-shaped concentrations of gas and dust called the Orion Arm. The stars in the inner ≈10,000 light-years form a bulge and one or more bars that radiate from the bulge. The very center is marked by an intense radio source, named Sagittarius A*, which is likely to be a supermassive black hole.

Stars and gases at a wide range of distances from the Galactic Center orbit at approximately 220 kilometers per second. The constant rotation speed contradicts the laws of Keplerian dynamicsand suggests that much of the mass of the Milky Way does not emit or absorb electromagnetic radiation. This mass has been given the name "dark matter". The rotational period is about 240 million years at the position of the Sun. The Milky Way as a whole is moving at a velocity of approximately 600 km per second with respect to extragalactic frames of reference. The oldest stars in the Milky Way are nearly as old as the Universe itself and thus must have formed shortly after the Big Bang.

Surrounded by several smaller satellite galaxies, the Milky Way is part of the Local Group of galaxies, which forms a subcomponent of the Virgo Supercluster, which again forms a subcomponent of the Laniakea Supercluster.

Landscape Photography

Landscape photography shows spaces within the world, sometimes vast and unending, but other times microscopic. Landscape photographs typically capture the presence of nature but can also focus on man-made features or disturbances of landscapes.
Many landscape photographs show little or no human activity and are created in the pursuit of a pure, unsullied depiction of nature devoid of human influence, instead featuring subjects such as strongly defined landforms, weather, and ambient light. As with most forms of art, the definition of a landscape photograph is broad, and may include urban settings, industrial areas, and nature photography.
Some of the most important and celebrated landscape photographers have been motivated by an appreciation of the beauty of the natural environment and a desire to see it preserved. 

How to improve Camera Phone Photography

How to Improve Camera Phone Photography
Today, high-end phones come loaded with an awesome camera or sometimes, with two cameras. The cameras in these phones are so good that they can even substitute point and shoot cameras. Oh, yes sir! These camera phones come with a great resolution that deliver great picture quality. Also, being a part of high-end phones, they have so many features that allow you to take even better photos. But, I bet, half of you guys haven't even explored these features. Thinking of how to improve camera phone photography? Well, worry not my ignorant friends..! Listed below are some useful tips and some secret tips that will allow you to shoot brilliant photos using your camera phones.

Check the Camera's Features
Alright, the first thing you need to do is check what all the camera phone has to offer. This means, you need to go to the camera icon on your phone and check all the settings, modes, and other features it offers. Now, camera phones come with many features. However, the number of features in a camera phone depends on how good your phone is. If you have a basic phone, then it might have limited features, while high-end phones might offer better number of features. So, just check what are all the features in the camera phone. In case you don't understand the technical terms or settings, refer to the phone's user manual. Here are some features found in today's camera phones that are explained in brief.
 -The 'reduce noise' feature decreases grains in the picture, improves clarity, so keep this always on.
Various 'scene modes' help to quickly adjust settings with one click, change the scene modes according to the subject and time.
-'Face detection' feature helps to detect the face while taking portraits, thus improving the focus on face, so keep this always on.
-'Anti-shake or anti-blur' feature helps to reduce blur caused by shaking of camera. So keep this feature active.
-There is a feature which allows you to choose the 'shutter sound', simply turn this off or at least let the sound be least disturbing.
-There is a 'flash' in-built in many camera phones, use it at discretion, more about this is mentioned in the light section below.
-'ISO', is an important feature which allows you to control the amount of light and clarity of images. Higher the ISO, more exposed the subject is and lesser is the clarity, and vice versa.
-In case you have an 'aperture' feature, use it too. Aperture is basically the size of the opening of lens. So, larger the aperture, more the light, and vice versa.
-'Shutter speed' is the amount of time the shutter in the camera is left open. So, higher the shutter speed, more is the amount of light entering and vice versa.
-Another feature that phone cameras come with is - 'white balance'. It helps to bring out the colors properly in a shot.

Take Loads of Shots
Now, don't be shy! Go around playing with the various camera phone settings and modes. Take loads of pictures and notice the change in settings and modes reflected in your photos. Do the following exercises whenever you get time to get a hang of the technical settings:
-You will notice that pictures shot on high-resolution have higher clarity, and vice versa.
-You will notice that selecting modes like landscape bring in more green color in the landscape, similarly portrait mode helps to shoot softer pictures, also night mode quickly improves the amount of light in the picture. So, explore all the modes.
-Also, explore the filters like sepia and black and white.
-Another important feature you need to understand is white balance (WB). Choose an appropriate WB for different scenes. For instance: change the amount of WB when indoors, outdoors, during night, etc. A simple experiment is to place a plain white sheet on the table, and take various shots of it while adjusting the WB value.
-If your phone has a feature that allows you to change aperture and shutter speed, then take pictures using different settings of these features. To check out the shutter speed, take a picture of tap water at various speeds. Experiment with small and large apertures by shooting a branch, to see how the focus and amount of light changes.
-Also, explore ISO outdoors to see the clarity and lighting of pictures.
-Turn off the shutter sound in case it irritates you, however, that sound can come handy when you are taking self-shots with a back-facing camera phone.

Check the Settings
So, once you have done the above exercises honestly (yes, I mean honestly!), you would have already got the hang of all the features and settings. So, before composing a subject, check the necessary settings required. For instance: if you are shooting a dog running, try the sport mode, and go for medium value of ISO. In case, you have to capture something quickly and don't have time to adjust any settings, then focus more on composing.

Check the Angle
Having the right angle can make a lot of difference. The subject of camera angles can be quite vast, so here are some pointers. Whenever you're shooting people, shoot at eye level. When you're trying to make something look big (like a building), shoot at a low angle. In case you want to shoot a document, shoot at the top angle, get really close in case you want to capture details on an object, e.g., texture of a tree bark.

Check the Light
This is a very important aspect of photography. So, don't ever underestimate the importance of lighting. Here are certain things to remember when trying to get a good shot. First, always see that the subject is well-lit. Certain camera phones might display a warning if the shot is not well-lit. In case, your phone has it, turn it on and use it to shoot well-lit pictures. Also, use a flash in case there isn't enough light. However, be warned because, using flash can increase the amount of shadows on the subject. Similarly to improve light, use the night mode, ISO, lower shutter speed and aperture. A very important thing to remember is to always get the light source behind you, this will give softer and well-lit pictures.

Compose the Picture Well
A well-composed frame can really help to take brilliant shots. Here are some pointers. Always, try to fill the frame. Try to focus on one subject rather than trying to capture many. In case you are trying to shoot a landscape, go for the wide zoom. However, if you have digital zoom only in your camera phone, then avoid taking landscapes. But, if you have a camera that allows to take high-resolution pictures, consider using the rule of thirds. To understand this rule, imagine two equally spaced horizontal and two equally spaced vertically lines. At the intersection of these lines, place your subject. This is because, the intersecting areas are where the eye first looks. Another important thing to remember while composing shots is to keep your fingers away from the lens.

Hold the Phone with a Steady Hand
This aspect is very important. Always, hold the camera phone with a steady hand. Here is one technique I use, compose the shot and before you are about to click the button, breathe in and then breathe out, then take a two-second pause and shoot. You might also want to balance yourself properly before taking a shot. To do this, simply stand at shoulder-length distance between your feet. Also, hold the phone properly so that it won't shake while you press the button. Use the automatic timer in case your phone has one, to avoid blur.

Use Photo-editing Software
Photo-editing software is good but don't make a habit of using it to always correct a bad photo. However, it can come quite handy in case of an important picture. To correct such pictures, use this software. Mostly, such software are used to correct lighting, reduce noise, crop, reduce blur and add filter effects.

Maintain the Lens
Keep your camera lens always clean. Use a lint-free soft cloth and wipe your camera lens regularly. Avoid using your fingertips to clean the lens, and in case you don't have a soft cloth, use your t-shirt to wipe the lens. This is important because, a clean lens helps to give clear and better pictures. To increase the life of your camera lens, put a transparent plastic guard on it.

Exploit Your Camera Phone Completely
Sometimes, you might wonder that the camera phone is not good enough and a better camera could have helped you take better pictures. However, this problem arises mostly when one is not capable of exploiting the complete potential of the camera phone. So, before you come to the conclusion that your camera phone is not good enough, exploit the camera phone completely. To do this, use the above tips and keep experimenting with all the settings and features, and I am sure you will be rewarded with great pictures. For instance: a portrait in black and white filter can give a timeless picture. Similarly, taking the camera phone really close to your pet dog's nose and shooting at a small aperture can give an unusual and interesting picture.

These were the important tips that will help you exploit your camera phone's potential and take some really great shots. After a month's practice of these tips, you will notice your camera phone photos have become better, which surely will make your friends ask, "did you take this pic?" Well, then with your smug smile when you reply "yes", do thank me mentally. Good luck and enjoy!!
Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-to-improve-camera-phone-photography.html

The meaning of Photography

Photography is the science, art and practice of creating durable images by recording light or otherelectromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film.^[1]

Typically, a lens is used to focus the light reflected or emitted from objects into a real image on the light-sensitive surface inside a camera during a timed exposure. With an electronic image sensor, this produces an electrical charge at each pixel, which is electronically processed and stored in a digital image file for subsequent display or processing. The result with photographic emulsion is an invisible latent image, which is later chemically"developed" into a visible image, either negative or positive depending on the purpose of the photographic material and the method of processing. A negative image on film is traditionally used to photographically create a positive image on a paper base, known as a print, either by using an enlarger or by contact printing.

Photography is employed in many fields of science, manufacturing (e.g. photolithography) and business, as well as its more direct uses for art, recreational purposes, and mass communication.