PhotoJojo Canon 70-200mm F/2.8 Lens Mug Review

It should come as no surprise to you when I say, "Hey, I want to own a Canon 70-200mm F/2.8 Lens". I mean, who wouldn't want to own it? Right? Anyone who uses Canon system, and loves photography wants to own that lens. It is perhaps the best lens that Canon has ever made. And, like every other 'awesome' thing that you want to own, it comes with a big price tag. Most of us, who are doing photography as a hobby have hard time justifying that cost and buying that lens.  But we are who we are. We still go through all the photography websites and look up the most recent price of that lens (may be every other day).

So one day I was browsing through internet as usual going through some photography articles, and I came across an article "50 affordable gift for photographers under $50". The title seemed interesting enough, so I started reading the article and there was one item that made me say "Yup. I want this!". It was the Canon 70-200mm F/2.8 Lens Mug. I said to myself, "If not the lens, I should at least have a mug!".

I decided to buy a mug. I thought buying a 'mug' shouldn't be difficult, but when I started looking for it, I was faced with 100s of options of various quality and price. It took about 6-8 hours of research and googling before I decided to go with "PhotoJojo" to order these mugs. 

In this post, I wanted to go through some of the options that I found over the internet and why ordering from PhotoJojo made sense to me. 

There are basically 3 types of Canon (or Nikon) mugs that you can get. 

1. Canon branded
2. Canium or other names branded. 
3. Unbranded

The Canon branded lens mugs are not available in US directly. I tried to look it up on the popular US websites and they did not have the mugs with "Canon" written on them. If you are looking to have mugs with "Canon" written on them then the best place to order them would be from eBay. There are sellers from Japan/China/Hong Kong who will ship these to USA. It takes longer for your shipping to arrive, but you would get a mug that you would like.

Canium or other branded mugs are also great, but my problem was that it had "Canium" or something else other than Canon written on it, which kind of kills the mug completely. No offense to the mug makers, but my idea was if you want to buy a mug that looks like lens, it should "look" like a lens. Canium or something else written on it just kills that 'look'. 

So therefore I ultimately decided to go for an unbranded lens mug. Those that are sold by USA sellers. PhotoJojo is a popular name in USA and a reliable place to buy, so I decided to buy the mug from them. I was a bit skeptical at first about how the mug would 'look' or 'feel' as compared to the real lens. But I was so pleasantly surprised when I received the mug. It looked just like the real lens. The feel was sturdy, the looks were awesome. I even almost zoomed it ! The only problem with PhotoJojo's 70-200 f/2.8 mug is that it does not come with a sipper lid. It comes with a standard lid. But if you are ordering a 24-105mm f/4, it shouldn't be a problem because that one comes with a sipper lid. 

At the end, I would like to show you a few pictures of the mugs.

Fall photography at Rocky River Reservation

I have been staying in Cleveland for about 4 years now and contrary to popular belief, this city does offer some excellent photo opportunities...especially during Fall. And just like every year, I decided to go out and do some fall photography...only this time, I was not alone. I was accompanied by my friends (and also fellow photographers) Karunesh Karn and Parag Makhija. 

After a good research we decided to go to Rocky River Reservation and return to Strongsville via the metro parks. We knew that, it would give us ample amount of photo opportunities. We picked a rather unusual time for photography (about 4pm) but we still managed to get some good shots. 

Here are the pictures that I got.... 

5 Things You Do (As a Photographer) That Annoys Your Better Half

Photography is a great hobby, an expensive one, but a great one none the less. And if you have any hobby (not just photography), you would know that it doesn't take a lot for your hobby to become your passion and then eventually an addiction. 

Photography for me is an addiction, and for that matter anyone who has read about it or learned it. And honestly, why wouldn't it be? It not only lets you pictorially depict the way you see the world, but it also 'in a way' makes you feel good. How???Well it's easy..You carry a big professional camera, you change lenses on it, you have multiple filters and tripod etc etc..and you think "Ya, it makes me look cool"... You spend a good deal of time reading photography books, articles, watching multiple videos on YouTube. And last but not the least you genuinely like the subject.It's almost as if you forget about everything else around you and indulge into learning photography. 

Did you notice I wrote "forget about everything else around you !!" ... now that's a BAD IDEA ! You live with your spouse (or better half) and forgetting about them is never a good idea. If your spouse is not a photographer, you may have done things in the past that annoyed them. 

Here's a list of 5 things that you may have done, that have annoyed them. Just for the record, I have done all of them (and more).

1. You focus a lot on camera settings
This is perhaps the number 1 reason why your spouse might be annoyed at you. For majority of his/her life, he/she is used to someone pointing camera at her, clicking the picture and moving on. But after you, things change. You take the first shot with your favorite setting, and almost invariably, you don't like the shot. So you fiddle with the settings, you take another shot and its probably not something you like either. You take some more test shots, but by that time, your spouse is already annoyed.  

2. You're not in the picture 
Imagine, you went on a family trip - you spent a good time researching about the place, you got the best deal that was possible, all the arrangement was just perfect. Everything is great. You go out there, you have a great time. You take a lot of pictures. You come back from the trip, you sit with your spouse, you look at those 100s of pictures (hopefully not 1000s) and all you see is your spouse and kids(if any). There is no sign of YOU.  That my friends, annoys them a lot.

3. You are the photographer of 'any' event you go
Whether you are married or not, you have to socialize and go to multiple events. "Normally", socializing involves interacting with people, talking about stuffs that you like about (and most of the times about the stuffs that you don't really care about). But if you have a professional DSLR, things change. Your host wants you to bring your camera and take pictures of the event. And you do agree, because after all, you like photography. But be careful, you might annoy your spouse, if you are over doing this.

4. You are picky about direction of light
You've read about photography, you really have. And that means, you know the importance of LIGHT and the direction of it. You cannot stand the fact that there are hard shadows on the face when you are capturing the shot. You do not prefer taking pictures when the sun is on top of your head. When you're on a trip however, you cannot control everything. But you simply cannot help yourself. You try and change their position in some way so that the photo looks good (at least to your satisfaction). As I said before, they are not used this. All they want is for you to point the camera at them, click that button and get a picture. They want you to position them in front of the monument, waterfall or whatever there is and take a picture. And when you are not able to do that, you annoy them !!!

5. Quality, Composition and Post Processing... what is that???
Whether you are a pro-photographer, or a learner you understand the importance of composition, quality (focus, noise, negative space etc etc) and you really care about it.  You spend a great deal of time post-processing your photos so that they look 'great'.  But- your spouse don't care about those things.. well at least, not directly. They do want great pictures, they just cannot stand the whole big process of getting there,especially when they have to go through it every time.  Many times, you might find yourself putting your spouse and kids in "Rule of 3rd" arrangement or Leading lines arrangement OR many times you capture great expressions of your kid, but because the photo was out of focus, you discard the picture. Your spouse probably doesn't care. 

Ok so with that, I will end the post here. Hope you had some laughs reading through these 5 'things'.  I am no exception to these 5 things (and other things too) But for the record - I know for the fact that my wife likes what I do and supports me (& my little addition in photography) as much as she can, until of course I over-do one of those 5 things. ;-) She has been very patient with me. 

If your spouse has been patient with your photography addiction, it is time that you thank him/her for that. How about you thank them today ?

Cheers !!! 

Buying the "Right" Camera for yourself

We are almost in the middle of Fall 2014, which means that the Shopping season is coming close and many of you may want to buy a new camera for yourself.

But there's that 'big' question ... "Which Camera Should I Buy?" With ridiculously many options, it is easy to get confused and spend your hard earned money on something that you will never need OR something that isn't really sufficient/enough for you. 

In this post, I will try and help you choose the "Right" camera for you. I am not recommending a particular camera. I want to lay out my thought process of how I would select a camera, If I wanted to buy one. So let's get started....

Here's the first question that you should ask yourself - "What am I going to do with this camera?" Now I want you to pick one of the answers below (the one that comes closest to your requirement)

1. I don't photograph much. I just need something that I can use for family events, trips. But that's about it. 
2. I feel like learning photography, but I am not sure if I will 'really' pursue it. 
3. I want to learn photography and I am ready to invest time and money. 
4. I have been doing photography for 'x' years. It is time for an upgrade !

Category 1 : I don't photograph much !!
If you selected the first answer, you are definitely not alone. Many of the people I know are similar to you. The purpose of camera is to record and capture some of the important events of your life. No intention of getting into photography. You just want to point that camera to someone, click the "button" and want a good picture.  Very well, then here's my recommendation for you - 

1. If you are not really picky about 'quality' of the image, do not buy a camera. Use your smartphone instead (or buy a smartphone with good camera). I know it is tempting to buy a Camera during those black friday deals, but don't buy it, if you really don't care about 'quality' of the image.  Save your hard earned money and invest it somewhere else.
2. If you do care for the quality OR if you are unhappy with your smartphone photos, then I recommend that you buy a Point-and-shoot digital camera. Here's the criteria that I recommend for buying the camera - 
1. Pick your Price: You have no intention of learning photography. So do not invest in 'high-end' Point-and-shoots. Pick a budget between $200-300 (for example). Do not go for 'really' cheap camera. They are no better than your smartphone camera (or worse).
2. Pick your Brand: Yes, when it comes to low-end point-and-shoots, brand of the camera does matter. I have had Sony, Nikon and Canon point-and-shoots before I bought DSLR and I have found a significant different in their quality. I recommend Sony OR Canon. 
3. Pick your Zoom: While this may not be really a choice with the kind of budget we are looking at, go for the camera with more optical zoom.

Category 2: I want to learn photography, but not sure !
This is perhaps the most common set of people that ask me the question "Hey which DSLR should I buy?". If you selected this answer that means you are 

1. Interested in learning photography.
2. You like how your friends with DSLR are able to capture great pictures that you are somehow unable to do with your current camera. 
3. But you are also conservative in terms of the budget. You are not sure if you want to invest a lot of money in buying expensive DSLR because you are not sure if you will continue to pursue your interest in photography.  

For you, I would recommend following selection criteria

1. I want "Manual": This is perhaps the most important criteria. Because you want to learn photography, you need to have camera that supports Manual Controls. 
2. I want "RAW": If you want to learn photography and post-production, you will want to shoot in RAW. Shooting in RAW format, opens up a lot of possibilities and trust me you will definitely need this.
3. I want "High ISO": Most of the new camera do support high ISO that allow you to shoot in low light situation. I recommend buying a camera that has usable ISO 6400. Usable ISO 12800 would be fantastic. 
4. I am Flexible in "Zoom":  I think people universally agree that, we really don't need super high zooms (unless you shoot sports or wildlife). For most of the practice scenarios, a 5x zoom is sufficient. I recommend being flexible about zoom and not run after 20x, 30x or 50x zooms.
5. I am Flexible in "Budget":Well this one is a bit tricky. I don't want you to invest a lot but definitely enough to get a good quality camera. A decent budget of $400-$600 should give you a good starter camera

Based on the above criteria, there are couple of options that you can choose.

1. High-end Point-and-Shoot Camera: These would be good for people who are unsure about pursuing photography. They are compact and have good quality.
2. Mirrorless Cameras: They are similar to DSLRs except that they are a much newer technology, much smaller and much light-weight. They have changeable lens system. 

Category 3: Don't know anything about photography, but committed to learn it  
If you are in this category, you will have a lot of choices, especially because you are committed, you want to learn and there are so many choices. Fortunately though the selection can be surprisingly simple.
If you are in this category that means -

1. You are flexible to stretch your budget
2. You do not mind carrying big DSLR and camera bags around
3. You like a particular genre of photography (For example - landscapes, seascapes, portraits, wild life etc). 
4. MOST IMPORTANTLY, you do plan to invest in photography in future (like additional accessories, lenses, tripods etc). 

 As I see it, the choice is very simple for you. Here's the criteria - 

1. Pick your budget: Fix your budget. Period. With DSLRs there are cameras from $500 to $7000 and I am sure everyone would agree that "you will get what you pay for". 
2. Pick your Brand: Yes. This is where you need to do your little research and pick a brand of the camera that you want to buy. This is very important because you would eventually (hopefully) buy accessories and probably upgrade to a new camera and switching between different system will not be a good idea.  My recommendation would be Canon, Nikon and Sony, in that order.  I have two Canon DSLRs and I love using those. 

There are basically 3 types DSLRs that you get in the market 

1. Entry-level DSLR: Canon Rebel series, for example, are the entry level DSLRs. They usually cost under $1000 and have good image quality and are loaded with features. They are CROP sensor camera, so their low light performance may not as great at some of the PRO cameras. But do you really need that? If your budget is less than $1000, then these cameras will give you a good start to digital photography. 
2. Mid-Level DSLR: These DSLR are also CROP sensor but they are loaded with different useful features like - high frames-per-second, high ISO, more sophisticated auto-focus system etc. They cost higher but as I said before you get what you pay for.  Examples of such camera - Canon 7D, Canon 60D, Canon 70D. 
3. PRO DSLRs: These are the expensive ones. They are full frame cameras with excellent image quality and low light performance. They are also loaded with various features I mentioned above. WIFI and GPS are some of the new addition to these cameras. Canon 6d, Canon 5d Mark III etc are some examples of this category of cameras. 

Pick any of the above camera depending on your budget. But if you are just starting photography, I would say you go for an Entry Level or Mid-Level DSLR. 

Category 4: I know Photography, It's time for an upgrade:

If you selected this, you probably don't need to read this article. You have spend good number of years doing photography and you probably know what you want to buy already. Plus I am sure you know about cameras, brands etc and I don't think there is anyone who can give you a better recommendation that you yourself. But below are some of the critical questions/decisions you will have to make. 

1. Your Specialization:
Since you have been doing photography for some years, you already know what kind of photography you like. If you are a landscape photographer for example, you will have a different need from a camera than a Sports Photographer or a wild-life photographer for example. No matter how much you want to say "I photography everything", don't say it. There is always a genre that you like more than other. 
 
2. Your System:
So this is a critical decision, whether you want to continue and use the same system/brand OR you want to change the system? Decision obviously depends on your experience with your current system. If you are unhappy with your system, then you would probably want to change it. But the decision won't be very simple because of all the investments that you have already made with the existing system. So unless you really HATE your current system, I recommend sticking with your current system. 
 
3. Your Sensor-Type:
This will depend upon the answer to your first question, your specialization. Generally speaking - landscape photographers love full-frame cameras while Sports/Wild-life photographers prefer to use crop-sensors with higher fps. Portrait work can be done with either full frame or crop sensors. So ultimately it is your choice on what kind of sensor you want. 


Ok with that, I would like to conclude my post here. Hope there was 'some' information that was useful for you.  

Once again, I really appreciate you reading my blog and keep visiting the page. Thank you for all your support. 

3 Photographers you must follow if you ever photograph People

If there is one thing that I have learned about photography is that "You are never there!". There is always more that you can learn. And the best way to learn is to get "Inspired". 

In this post, I want to name 3 photographers that I follow and learn from, especially for portraits. You probably know these photographers already and are following them already. 

1. Neil Van Neikerk:
He is on TOP of my list. He is a photography genius. His techniques are simple and results are stunning. He has his blog called "Tangents" where he teaches and discusses his techniques with BTS pictures. He has probably the most famous books on Flash Photography. If you are not following him, you certainly are missing a lot. 

Here's Neil's website - http://neilvn.com/

2. Joe McNally:
Widely & rightly known as the lighting guru of photography, Joe McNally is perhaps the finest portrait photographer out there. His use of natural and artificial light is just amazing. He has a lot of books under his belt and teaches photography world wide. 

Here's Joe's website - http://portfolio.joemcnally.com/

3. Jerry Ghionis:
Another master photographer, specializing in Wedding photography. He is also a wonderful photographers with very creative use of light and posing. He is perhaps one photographers who will click amazing pictures even with an iPhone! and you wouldn't know that they were clicked with an iPhone. 

Here's Jerry's website - http://www.jerryghionis.com/

With that, I would like to conclude my post. hope you enjoy their pictures and learn from them when needed !!! 

Practical Tips & Camera Settings for Family Trips

One question that people often ask me is "What was the setting that you used for that picture?". I am sure many photographers around the world are being asked this question and most of them do not have any answers, because 'really' speaking - the settings/numbers don't matter. It is the process of reaching that number that really matters. 

For a landscape shot, there is no magic settings that will give you great pictures every single time. You need to know the In's and Out's of the process of reaching the right setting that will give you the results that you need. This process is usually time consuming, where you are trying different settings and checking the results, until you come to that one setting that you like. But that settings is only good for that place, at that time, under that lighting conditions. You go to a different place or a different lighting situation, and those settings won't work and you will have to repeat the above process and come up with a new camera setting.

But for a family trip, all the equations and all the processes change because 
A) You do not have a lot of time. You are constantly moving and you do not have time to mess with the settings for every single shots (or not even every 10 photographs). 
B) You have your wife & kids on that trip and they have Expectations. I am sure most of us photographers would agree that, our wives do not like us messing around with settings a lot. They just want to photograph that moment. However we as a photographers think about - direction of light, subject distance, perspective etc. But wife & kids - they don't care ! And frankly speaking - they should not. After all, it is a 'family' trip and not a photography trip. 

So you are basically in a situation where you cannot spend time figuring out camera settings, you cannot be fussy about the light, direction, perspective etc but you still have to get good pictures. Pictures that you would like as a photographer and more importantly pictures that your family will like. Therefore - I have come up with a simple process when it comes to photographing a family trip. These settings can be used on any camera that support manual/semi-manual modes. The settings are not system specific, so it doesn't matter which brand of camera that you are using.  These settings will give you a properly exposed image in most of the situations, but not all. So occasionally, you will have to wear your photographer hat and tweak as needed to get the best results.

So without wasting more time, here are the settings:

• Camera Mode: Shutter Priority
• Shutter Speed: at least 1/125. Higher if required
• Aperture: Camera will take care of it
• ISO: Auto
• Exposure Compensation: Usually +1
• Metering Mode: Evaluative/Matrix

That's it. That's the settings that I use. Let me explain why !

Why Shutter Priority?
I know most of the photographers would question my decision to use the Shutter Priority Mode instead of using the Aperture Priority or Full Manual Mode. Here's the reason: The Aperture Priority mode would work great if I have sufficient light. That way, camera would pick a fast enough shutter speed to prevent any camera shake or blur.  Manual mode is the best, but it is 'manual', which means that if the lighting conditions change, you have to re-adjust. And as I mentioned earlier, time is of the essence so I would rather not re-dial my settings for every situation. With shutter priority, I am selecting the shutter speed high enough so I am sure that my photos won't have camera shake or blur.

The only down-side of selecting shutter priority is that you will not have control over the aperture which in turn means you will not have control over the depth of field (which 'usually' is not of a major concern in family trips). 

Why Shutter Speed of 1/125 or higher?
This one should be obvious. This would prevent camera shake/blur. 1/125 is just a ball park number. Use a higher shutter speed that suits your need. If you subject is moving fast, use higher shutter-speeds like 1/250 or 1/500, depending on how much light you have available and how high ISO can your camera support. 

Why Auto ISO?
This one should be easy to understand (& easy to explain as well). I am sure all of you would agree that our wife & kids do not care about camera noise ! They don't care if the photos have slightly visible noise. All they care about is recording that moment. So it is OK if the pictures have noise. As long as you are able to get good sharp, well exposed pictures, ISO should not really matter.  

Why Exposure Compensation?
This article isn't really about 'what' exposure compensation is and why do we need it. So therefore, I will keep my explanation short, more like a cookbook. If you are shooting outdoors on a sunny day, keep your exposure compensation positive, usually +1. If you are shooting indoors, you would probably not need exposure compensation, but if feel the pictures are coming darker than you would like, dial a +1/3 or +2/3.  If you are capturing a lovely sunset scene and want a good silhouette, dial -1 or -2 depending on your taste. 
 
Hope this articles helps you capture great family pictures on your next trip. I hope following these tricks will free you from worrying about the camera settings and focus more on enjoying those precious moments with your family. 

If this article helped you, post your pictures in the comments and on my facebook link. 
 
 

About "Random Footprints"

I did not blog much before I started with "The Shutterist" website. I did most of my blogging under the title "Random Footprints", which mostly showcased various trips that I made during that time and would serve not only as a platform for showcasing my photography, but can also be used by others planning a trip to those locations. 

I just wanted to put a reference to that website on "The Shutterist", so that if you even wanted to visit those places, you can take these links as a reference. 

Kalsubai, Maharashtra, India
http://randomfootprints.blogspot.com/2011/10/kalsubai-maharashtra.html

Matheran, Maharashtra, India
http://randomfootprints.blogspot.com/2008/11/matheran-maharashtra.html

Lake Calhoun, Minneapolis, Minnesota
http://randomfootprints.blogspot.com/2011/10/lake-calhoun-minneapolis_22.html

New York City, New York,
http://randomfootprints.blogspot.com/2009/12/new-york-city-new-york.html

Stone Arch Bridge, Minneapolis, Minnesota
http://randomfootprints.blogspot.com/2010/01/stone-arch-bridge.html

Mysore, Karnataka, India
http://randomfootprints.blogspot.com/2010/05/mysore-karnataka.html

Goa, India
http://randomfootprints.blogspot.com/2010/06/goa.html


Hope you like these..

Planning a Summer Trip to Michigan

If you live on eastern side of US, you would agree with me that Michigan is one of the most scenic locations that you can visit in US.  The state is surrounded by 3 of the great 5 lakes and so most of these scenic attractions can be found near the lake. 

While this article can be useful for anyone who is interested in planning a vacation to Michigan, this would be more useful for those who are traveling from Cleveland,Ohio.  

So without wasting much time, let me start with the my trip plan. This is a typical 'long-weekend' trip plan where you would start your trip on Friday afternoon and return home Monday night. I prefer scenic locations where I not only enjoy the views but can also exercise my photography skills. Therefore - most of the attractions you see below would be scenic location and not necessarily educational or city trips. 

Friday [Cleveland,OH -> Mackinaw City,MI]
The first destination that I visited was Mackinaw City in Michigan. The drive is about 7 hours from Cleveland which is usually the maximum that I want to drive in a day. 

Things to see:
Mackinac Bridge: Best viewed from Colonial Mackinac Park. If you reach early enough, you can see the sunset right behind the bridge. If you reach late, you can still enjoy the lights on the bridge.

Where to Stay:
Most of the hotels in Mackinaw City have private beaches. I recommend staying in a hotel that has their private beach facing Lake Huron. Next - you wake up early next day and go to that private beach and see sun-rise over Lake Huron. This was an important criteria for me and that's why I chose to stay in "Quality Inn & Suites Beachfront". I booked a room facing the beach that way I could see the sun-rise & the Mackinac bridge from my room. Quite a view !

Here are some of the pictures from my visit to Mackinaw City. 

View from my hotel in Mackinaw City

Mackinac Bridge view from Colonial Park

View of Mackinac Bridge at night

Saturday [Pictured Rocks National Lake Shore]
As I mentioned above, get up early on Saturday morning and see the sun-rise over Lake Huron. Next - pack up your bags and start for Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore latest by 8am.  The journey from Mackinaw City to Pictured Rocks is about 2.5 hours, so you will reach there by 11am. 

Things to see:

1. You will drive over the Mackinac Bridge (which itself is very scenic). 
2. The drive in upper peninsula is very scenic. Enjoy the drive. Keep those windows and sunroofs open. 
3. Once you reach Pictured Rocks, there are many (& I mean many places to visit). Visit this link (http://www.nps.gov/piro/planyourvisit/placestogo.htm) and pick the kind of attractions that you like. I recommend that you at least visit Miners Castle.
4. Book a Sunset Cruise (in advance, if possible). This cruise about 2 hours long and is the most important thing that you wanna do there. 
5. If you can swin, go for Kayaking. 
6. Enjoy the clean water of Lake Superior. 

Where to Stay: 

1. If you are planning to stay for more than a day in Pictured Rocks, then I would recommend you stay near Pictured Rocks. It will be expensive, but worth.
2. In my case, I did not want to stay overnight in Pictured Rocks, so I went back to lower peninsula and booked a hotel in Gaylord, MI. Alternatively, you can also stay in Mackinaw City (depending on how much you want to drive). The reason for coming back in lower peninsula was my next destination, Sleeping Bear Dunes. 

Here are some of the pictures from my visit to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. 

Pictures from the Sunset Cruise

Pictures from Sunset Cruise

Pictures from Sunset Cruise

Pictures from Sunset Cruise

Sunday [Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore]

Drive from Gaylord, MI to Sleeping Bear Dunes, one of the most spectacular places in Michigan. The drive is about 2 hours. Again - compromise on your sleep a bit and start early (about 7.30ish) to reach Sleeping Bear Dunes by 9.30am. Go to the Park Office directly and pay the park fees ($10, I think). 

Things to see:

1. Empire Bluff Trail
2. Platte River Point
3. Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive [MOST IMPORTANT]
4. Dune Climb [its a really really long trail, but you don't have to complete it, you can always come back half way or whenever you feel like]
5. Inspiration Point [If you have time]

You sure don't want to miss the scenic drive. There are about 12-13 points in the drive. Most of those points can be skipped except the main one, Point 9. DO NOT MISS THIS. 

Where to Stay:

1. Again, if you are planning stay for more than a day in Sleeping bear dunes, it is recommended that you stay near the park. It is expensive, but worth. 
2. If you want a slightly cheaper option closer to your next destination then book a hotel in Cadillac,MI or Manistee, MI or Ludington, MI. 

Here are some of the pictures from my visit to Sleeping Bear Dunes.

At Dune Climb

Scenic Drive - Point 9

More pictures from Scenic Drive

From the Scenic Drive

View at the end of Empire Bluff Trail

Scenic Drive - Point 9

Platte Rive Point

Platte River Point

Scenic Drive

Monday [Silver Lake Dunes]

Ok so this destination is going to for those who like adventures, water sports etc. Silver Lake Dunes is not particularly 'super scenic'. It is beautiful, but the main reason to visit this place would be to enjoy the buggy rides and other water sports.  Depending on where you book your hotel, the drive to reach this place is less than 2 hours. Because this is the day where you want to return back home, you would probably not spend a lot of time in this place.

Things to do:

1. Buggy Rides (must do)
2. Jet Ski

Here are some of the pictures from Silver Lake Dunes. 

At the end, you return back home.

Here's the map of all destinations you covered in this trip. 

Additional Places to Visit:

Here are some other places that you can visit in Michigan, that I could not visit during my visit to Michigan. 

1. Mackinac Island
2. Traverse City
3. SooLocks
4. Turnip Rock

I do not have much information on 'interestingness' of these spots as I have not visited them myself. But these are some of the places worth mentioning. 

Do post your Michigan pictures in the comments below ! Have fun !

Composite On My Mind #4thJulyFireworks

4th of July, Independence Day for USA is popularly known for Fireworks displays in various cities in United States. I have been in US for last 3-4 years and have visited the Fireworks show every year. Last year, I went to Coe Lake, Berea to capture photos of Fireworks. Here are some of the pictures that I got last year. 

I was happy with my shots when I reviewed them last year. But when I saw these pictures this year, I felt that something was missing and there was not enough in these fireworks shots to give them a 'wow' factor. 

Here's what I thought were the problems with last years shots

1. Isolated Fireworks captured as long exposure. 
2. No foreground
3. No background
4. Pictures were more like - Fireworks on a black background

But that's not what I saw with my eyes when I went to Coe Lake. I could see water, fountain, trees etc etc. Even though fireworks were the most important elements of these photos, it could not recreate the overall mood of the "Fireworks at Coe Lake". Coe lake was not visible at all and so if I show these pictures to anyone, they cannot readily know that these pictures were taken at Coe Lake. Right?

So when I decided to go to Fireworks display this year, I wanted to overcome at-least some of these problems. I knew that there is no way to make my camera see what I am seeing with a single shot. I knew I had to make a composite. Now the only question was - Where should I go and shoot? After discussing with friends, we decided to go to Strongsville. We reached there about 9.15pm (45mins before fireworks) and I see a big grass field with tress almost 0.5 miles away. The sky is beautiful with a moon and lots of stars.  I setup my tripod and took all the different shots of fireworks, moons and stars separately. I later came back home and during post-processing I combined those images to come up with this final image. 

Now when I compare my last year's image with this image, I like this one better. There is certainly improvement, and that's what matters. As Tiger Woods say - "There’s always stuff to work on. You’re never there."

Visit to Vionovich Park in Cleveland

Summer time usually means a lot of sports (cricket, tennis etc) for most of us Indians over here in Cleveland. Me and my few friends were playing Tennis one day. The weather was not particularly great for tennis. It was very windy and the ball kept swinging in the air. But still, we managed to play a couple sets and finally decided that we should stop for the day and go home. While returning home, one of my friend suggested that we go out and shoot.

We started hunting for various locations. He mainly wanted to capture those fancy "Car Trail" pictures during night time and wanted to get something with the downtown skyline. Interesting concept, but we could not find any location from where we could take such a picture (at least not in the time that we had that day).  So we ultimately decided to take picture of downtown, mainly the skyline. Some evening/night shots. 

So again, the question was "Where should we go?". We had a few options in mind 

1. Edgewater Park 
2. Vionovich Park
3. Heritage Park

All these places offered some great views of Cleveland skyline. I have been to Edgewater Park multiple times and had some of my favorite shots from that location. Heritage Park was new for me and him too. But ultimately we decided that we will go to Vionovich Park. 

We started about 8:30 pm and reached in about 30 mins or so. It was almost sunset and we started setting up our tripods and what not ! We started taking different shots and just as it always is, the first dozen shots were really crappy. So what did we do? We did what most amateur photographer (like us) does. We started by blaming the nature - bad light, lots of cloud cover, too windy etc etc. 

Then we settled down and did what a good photographer would do ! We 'worked' the scene (as Scott Kelby says) i.e we tweaked our settings and composition and overall perspective and the result is what you see below. 

The first picture here is not a 'bad' picture in my mind. It's just that I felt something is missing in this picture. 

Exposure: 1.3 sec @ F/16, ISO-100

So I stepped back a little bit, zoomed out further more and changed the perspective slightly and this is what I got. To my mind, the next picture is a better picture because it gives much wider view and it shows the waving flag, indicating that it was a windy day. 

Exposure: 1.3 sec @ F/16, ISO-100

The next one here isn't really a 100% natural, out of camera picture. I always wanted to try a picture with 'perspective distortion', so I tried this. I bent low and took a shot of Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame Museum. The shot straight out of camera was hardly distorted. So I did a little bit of post processing and got the following shot.

Exposure: 1.3 sec @ F/16, ISO-100

The next shot, is a full view of the skyline and Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Museum. 

Exposure: 8 sec @ F/16, ISO-100

The next shot here is my favorite shot from the lot. I just like the overall balance of the shot and how the Key Tower stands out. Also the start burst in the steel lights below. 

Exposure: 30 sec @ F/16, ISO-100

Next one is also very beautiful shot in my mind. I like how every element in the scene is adding a sense of depth in the picture. That moon in the scene,by the way, was much more beautiful than what you could see in the picture. This was a day before the Friday 13th Honey Moon !

Exposure: 15 sec @ F/16, ISO-100

This is another shot without the chains. 

Exposure: 20 sec @ F/100, ISO-100 

And next one is the Star Burst shot. I often at least take one shot that has this star burst effect, if I am shooting during night hours. The results usually are very pleasing, especially if you have street lights like these.

Exposure: 13 sec @ F/13, ISO-100

At the end when we were returning home, we decided to take the "Car Trail" shot. After all, that was the original shot that my friend always wanted. I did a bit of post processing here and de-saturated all the colors except the red one. 

So - these are the pictures that I clicked at Vionovich Park. Hope you liked them. But before I end this article, I want to explain how I got the "Star Burst" shot. 

How to get Star Burst Shot

The secret is pretty simple and it's very basic. Here's what you will need

1. Any camera that allows Manual mode.
2. Tripod
3. Street lights (which usually are available free of cost)

Now do the following exercise

1. Mount your camera on the tripod and compose your shot the way you want. 
2. Start out with a bigger aperture like F/4 (most of the lens support F/4) and dial your shutter speed so that the picture is very slightly 'under exposed'. 
3. Now review your picture. Notice that you may have a very slight or no star burst. 
4. Now gradually increase the Aperture to F/5.6, F/7, F/11 and eventually F/16. If you are in Manual mode, you will have to adjust the shutter speed every time. If you are in Aperture Priority mode, your camera will take care of the shutter speed for you. 
5. Review your picture every time and notice how your star burst becomes clearer as you increase the F-stop and select longer shutter speeds. 

Was this tip helpful? Did you try and take a picture of star burst? I would love to see those. Please paste a link to your star burst picture in the comments below.