Jeremiah Pierucci: Blog https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog en-us (C) Jeremiah Pierucci climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) Thu, 15 Jan 2015 05:14:00 GMT Thu, 15 Jan 2015 05:14:00 GMT Liberty Bell, North Cascades, Washington https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2015/1/liberty-bell-north-cascades-washington Washington Pass along the North Cascades highway has a wonderful viewpoint with a great little loop trail. It has fantastic views of Liberty Bell and the highway below it.

Fall is the best time to photograph here as the Aspen trees are turning yellow and create a stark contrast to the evergreen trees surrounding them.


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For a shot like this, you'll want a wide angle lens and possibly a ND filter. I used an ND filter here to get a longer exposure in order to get the streaks of lights from cars driving along the highway. I took three or four photos and then combine then into one to get one long light streak along the entire highway. I only overlayed them on the bottom half of the photo in order to keep the clouds from looking too messy.

Here is another shot taken a little later showing stars and wispy clouds.

Liberty Bell MountainTaken after sunset

When you first turn onto the view point road, immediately to the left is a large open field. There are tons of opportunities here for creative compositions. Just be aware there is a lot of soggy areas here so watch where you step.

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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) liberty bell national park night photography north cascades photography washington https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2015/1/liberty-bell-north-cascades-washington Thu, 15 Jan 2015 05:06:40 GMT
California Coast - Bixby Bridge - Big Sur https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2014/12/california-coast I seem to find myself down near Monterery, CA every year or so and it's a beautiful area. I spent one night near Big Sur at the Bixby Bridge. This bridge is pretty famous and has been in a number of movies. I did my best to capture some interesting shots.

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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) big sur bixby bixby bridge bridge california night photography https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2014/12/california-coast Wed, 17 Dec 2014 05:42:57 GMT
More Mt. Rainier https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2014/12/more-mt-rainier I spent a lot of time at Mt. Rainier this year. What can I say, it's beautiful and in my back yard. Most of these photos are from either Paradise or Tipsoo Lake at Chinook Pass.

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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) chinook mountain night pass photography rainier https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2014/12/more-mt-rainier Wed, 17 Dec 2014 05:38:48 GMT
More Studio Shots https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2014/12/more-studio-shots I know, I know. I REALLY need to update my blog more often but then, I'm lazy so . . . .

Madi, Coby, Vanna, and Penny came over for some photographs. Can you say photogenic. What cute dogs.

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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) dog frenchie photogrpahy studio https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2014/12/more-studio-shots Wed, 17 Dec 2014 05:34:54 GMT
Prosser Balloon Rally https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2015/1/prosser-balloon-rally Every year people descend on the sleepy eastern Washington town Prosser, WA to watch The Great Prosser Balloon Rally. 

http://www.prosserballoonrally.org/

Hot air balloon rallys are a great chance to get some beautiful and unique photographs. What is especially great about the Prosser rally is that due to the typical wind conditions, the balloons almost always cross right over the Yakima River which you can see makes for some wonderful reflections. The balloons take off from the Prosser Airport and usually land just east of town. The most popular spot to watch from is the main bridge over the Yakima. The bridge will be full of people on both sides. This is a great spot to photograph from if you can find some room with the crowds. I'd definitely NOT plan on using a tripod with all the people there.

My favorite place to shoot from is the end of 9th street by the Prosser Falls Education Center


View Larger Map

To shoot here you will need a flexible zoom lens say from about 50mm to 200mm. There will be other people there too but in my experience not too many. You may want to photograph from the bridge on one day and from the end of 9th street on another day too. You may also want to photograph at the airport earlier in the morning to get closeup photos of the balloons being prepped like this one.

There is also a night glow that is fun to attend where you can capture photos of the balloons lit up. Just be aware that unlike other rallys I've been too, you can't get right night to the balloons and there are only five or six balloons. This is just due to the space constraints as it's held in a high school football stadium.

Of course eastern Washington has big open skies as well an you can have some fun with night photography if you'd like as well.

Just remember that the hot air balloons only fly if the weather is just right. I was there one day when the weather looked great to me and everyone expected the balloons to fly but it turns out there was moderate wind shear. If you go, I'd plan on being there the entire rally to maximize your chances of seeing the balloons fly.

Have fun!

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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) balloon hot air balloon photography prosser rally https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2015/1/prosser-balloon-rally Tue, 30 Sep 2014 03:45:00 GMT
Mt. Rainier Photos https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2014/8/mt-rainier-photos Wild Flowers on Mt. RainierWild Flowers on Mt. RainierWild flower are usually at their peak near Paradise in August.

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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) lake night photography rainier star stars tipsoo trails https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2014/8/mt-rainier-photos Sun, 10 Aug 2014 07:10:37 GMT
Seattle and Mt. Rainer from Kerry Park https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2014/8/seattle-and-mt-rainer-from-kerry-park Seattle From Kerry Park

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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) cityscape kerry park mountain photography rainier seattle space needle https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2014/8/seattle-and-mt-rainer-from-kerry-park Sun, 10 Aug 2014 07:08:57 GMT
Columbia River Gorge Wild Flowers https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2014/8/columbia-river-gorge-wild-flowers

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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) columbia hills state park flowers photography wild https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2014/8/columbia-river-gorge-wild-flowers Sun, 10 Aug 2014 07:05:09 GMT
Silver Falls State Park, Oregon https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2014/8/silver-falls-state-park-oregon North Falls

North FallsNorth FallsThis is a combination of nine photos combined.

 

Lower South Falls

Lower South FallsLower South Falls

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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) north falls photography silver falls south falls waterfall https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2014/8/silver-falls-state-park-oregon Sun, 10 Aug 2014 07:01:48 GMT
Death Valley National Park, California - Part 2 https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2014/4/death-valley-national-park-california---part-2 Lee Flat Joshua Tree With Milky Way

 

The Racetrack, Death Valley, CA

 

Mesquite Flats at Sunrise

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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) death valley photography photos startrails the racetrack https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2014/4/death-valley-national-park-california---part-2 Sun, 27 Apr 2014 06:55:00 GMT
Death Valley National Park, California - Part 1 https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2014/4/death-valley-national-park-california Zabriskie Point

 

Zabriskie Point

Zabriskie Point

Cottenball Basin


Cottenball Basin

 

 

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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) death valley photography photos startrails the racetrack https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2014/4/death-valley-national-park-california Sat, 26 Apr 2014 05:13:50 GMT
Sandra's Dogs https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2014/3/sandras-dogs Sandra brought her dogs over for some photos. There were a total of seven dogs. We got individual shots of each dogs and some group shots. All of the dogs did wonderful and we got some fantastic shots.


 

http://AnInstantInTimePhoto.com

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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) pet pet photo photo tacoma https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2014/3/sandras-dogs Sun, 30 Mar 2014 22:00:38 GMT
Wandering Around in Seattle https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2013/11/wandering-around-in-seattle

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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) cityscape photography seattle https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2013/11/wandering-around-in-seattle Thu, 28 Nov 2013 07:12:58 GMT
Photographing The Boys https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2013/11/photographing-the-boys I've been playing around with flash a bit and some ideas for studio photos.

It's pretty easy to get Dillon to stay in this pose. It's his normal state around the house :)

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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) dog dog photo dog photography photo photography https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2013/11/photographing-the-boys Thu, 28 Nov 2013 06:55:52 GMT
A Couple of Days at an AKC Agility Trial https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2013/10/a-couple-of-days-at-an-akc-agility-trial I had some fun taking photos at the AKC agility trial my wife was in this weekend. Taking photos at the location is very challenging as the dogs are obviously very quick and the light is like that of a bat cave. This is where the new D600 is really shining though. I'm getting very usable photos up to ISO 9000.

 

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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) agility akc pets photography https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2013/10/a-couple-of-days-at-an-akc-agility-trial Sun, 27 Oct 2013 22:51:47 GMT
I Finally Made the Jump To Full Frame. Nikon d600 https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2013/10/i-finally-made-the-jump-to-full-frame-nikon-d600 So I finally  made the jump to FX. After reviewing DxoMarks and comparing my d7000 to the d600 and reading numerous reviews, I decided to take the plunge. My wife competes in dog agility and I like to photograph them competing but being in rainy Washington state, many of the trials are indoors where the light is often barely acceptable for photography let alone for action photography. This is the main thing I think the d600 can help with. At high ISO's the noise is much lower than my d7000 and the colors and contrast are much better.

Here is a shot of our puppy in the dark living room with no flash. This is ISO 6400. Wow, is all I have to say!

 

Yes, there is the supposed dust issue with the d600 but every camera I've had has always seemed to have dust on the sensor no matter how much I clean it. I'll keep an eye on it and I've already ordered Delkin SensorScope Camera Cleaning System just in case.

After I use the d600 a bit more and get some more photos to show off, I'll write a bit of a review of the camera.

I bought the camera from Adorama. You can currently get the d600 refurbished for only $1499. This is really a great deal and with the Nikon d610 coming out, I'm guessing the price will drop even more soon.

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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) d600 frame full fx nikon photo photography https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2013/10/i-finally-made-the-jump-to-full-frame-nikon-d600 Sat, 26 Oct 2013 01:49:00 GMT
Now Available - Volume 2 of Washington Landscape Photography Locations https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2013/9/now-available---volume-2-of-washington-landscape-photography-locations Washington Landscape Photography Locations- Volume 2 is now available!!

Volume 2 includes six locations including Stonehenge Memorial, Mount Shuksan, Lower Lewis River Falls, Palouse Falls, Sunrise, and Columbia Hills State Park. Included with each location is beautiful high resolution photos, tips and tricks, maps, and directions. A free preview is also available. Just go to ePhotoGuides.com!

ePhotoGuides - Washington Landscape Photography - Volume 2ePhotoGuides - Washington Landscape Photography - Volume 2

ePhotoGuides are eBooks designed to be quick inspiration to photographers. Each ePhotoGuide contain great photography location ideas for taking those perfect photos along with tips and ideas for shooting at each location. The books are specifically targeted at photographers who already know the basics of photography but are looking for new ideas and inspiration on where to take photographs or to expand their skills by trying new things. And, of course, they are eBooks, so save them on your phone or tablet and get out there and start photographing!

ePhotoGuides.com

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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) Columbia Hills State Park Lower Lewis River Falls Mount Shuksan Palouse Falls Stonehenge Stonehenge Memorial Sunrise ePhotoGuides free photography state tips washington https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2013/9/now-available---volume-2-of-washington-landscape-photography-locations Tue, 01 Oct 2013 05:09:02 GMT
Free Preview Now Available - Washington Landscape Photography Locations- Volume 1 https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2013/9/free-preview-now-available---washington-landscape-photography-locations--volume-1 My first ePhotoGuides, Washington Landscape Photography Locations- Volume 1 now has a free preview available. Just go to ePhotoGuides.com to download your free preview!

 

ePhotoGuides are eBooks designed to be quick inspiration to photographers. Each ePhotoGuide contain great photography location ideas for taking those perfect photos along with tips and ideas for shooting at each location. The books are specifically targeted at photographers who already know the basics of photography but are looking for new ideas and inspiration on where to take photographs or to expand their skills by trying new things. And, of course, they are eBooks, so save them on your phone or tablet and get out there and start photographing!

ePhotoGuides.com

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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) ePhotoGuides free photography state tips washington https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2013/9/free-preview-now-available---washington-landscape-photography-locations--volume-1 Sun, 22 Sep 2013 17:26:49 GMT
First ePhotoGuides Washington Landscape Photography - Volume 1 Now Available!!! https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2013/9/first-ephotoguides-washington-landscape-photography---volume-1-now-available I've been working on a little project for a while now and am happy announce that my first ePhotoGuide is now available!!!!

 

ePhotoGuides are eBooks designed to be quick inspiration to photographers. Each ePhotoGuide contain great photography location ideas for taking those perfect photos along with tips and ideas for shooting at each location. The books are specifically targeted at photographers who already know the basics of photography but are looking for new ideas and inspiration on where to take photographs or to expand their skills by trying new things. And, of course, they are eBooks, so save them on your phone or tablet and get out there and start photographing!

ePhotoGuides.com

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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) ePhotoGuides photography state tips washington https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2013/9/first-ephotoguides-washington-landscape-photography---volume-1-now-available Sat, 21 Sep 2013 04:54:59 GMT
Panther Creek Falls https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2013/8/panther-creek-falls f/22 @ 10 mm, 15s, ISO 100

 

f/27 @ 16 mm, 8s, ISO 100

 

f/27 @ 18 mm, 20s, ISO 100

 

f/22 @ 42 mm, 6s, ISO 100

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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) panther creek panther creek falls photography waterfalls https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2013/8/panther-creek-falls Sun, 04 Aug 2013 23:48:11 GMT
Lower Lewis River Falls https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2013/8/lower-lewis-river-falls .5 seconds @ f/27, 15mm, ISO 100

 

.5 seconds @ f/27, 32mm, ISO 100

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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) lower lewis river falls photography waterfall https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2013/8/lower-lewis-river-falls Sun, 04 Aug 2013 23:40:44 GMT
A Day At Mt. Rainier https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2013/7/a-day-at-mt-rainier 1/8 sec @ f/22, ISO 100, panorama

 

1/8 sec @ f/22, 20mm, ISO 100

Upper Tipsoo Lake taken late in the morning. If you just drive by, you don't even know upper Tipsoo Lake exists!

 

1/20 @ f/19, 31mm, ISO 200

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1/15 sec @ f/22, ISO 200, 10mm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edith Creek, 1/8 sec @ f/22, 19mm, ISO 100

 

Upper Tipsoo Lake, 20 secs @ f/6.7, 18mm, ISO 200

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Upper Tipsoo Lake, 30 sec @ f/8, 18mm, ISO 200

 

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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) night photograph photography rainier stars sunset tipsoo lake upper tipsoo lake https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2013/7/a-day-at-mt-rainier Sun, 28 Jul 2013 22:20:06 GMT
Melrose Ave in Seattle https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2013/7/melrose-ave-in-seattle 3.0 seconds at f/19, Nikon d7000, Nikon 18-200mm @ 82mm, ISO 100

10 seconds at f/32, Nikon d7000, Nikon 18-200mm @ 62mm, ISO 100 10 seconds at f/22, Nikon d7000, Nikon 18-200mm @ 18mm, ISO 100

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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) dusk needle photography seattle space https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2013/7/melrose-ave-in-seattle Mon, 22 Jul 2013 05:30:28 GMT
Volunteer Park in Seattle https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2013/7/volunteer-park-in-seattle

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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) dusk seattle space needle sunet https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2013/7/volunteer-park-in-seattle Sun, 21 Jul 2013 07:27:03 GMT
Thor’s Well https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2013/7/thors-well Thor's Well 1/10 sec at f/8.0, Nikon d7000, Sigma 10-20mm @ 20mm, ISO 200

Thor's Well is located about 5 minutes south of Yachats Oregon. Park at the viewpoint just before the "Cooks Chasm" sign. The trick with photographing Thor's well is to get a high tide right near sunset and have the right weather, all while trying to stay dry.

After parking at the view point, the trail is at the north end of the parking area. It’s only a short walk down to the beach. Be very careful. You have to walk out onto the walk pretty far to reach Thor’s Well and at high tide sneaker waves are capable of washing over the entire rock area.

map

 

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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) ocean oregon photography thor's well https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2013/7/thors-well Tue, 02 Jul 2013 23:48:00 GMT
Beginner Tutorial: The single most important thing you can do to improve your photos https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2012/12/beginner-tutorial-single-most-important If you are new to photography it probably seems there is an overwhelming amount to learn (and there is) but there are a few key things that can make your photos much better today with very little effort on your part. It doesn't matter if you use a $4000 dollar Nikon dSLR or a $100 point and shoot camera, getting the white balance correct in your photos will make them look much more professional.

The problem with white balance for a new photographer is they often don't know how to adjust it or even what it is.Take a look at the below photo . . .





Nice photo of my wife, right . . . but now take a look at this photo . . .




MUCH better . . . now take a look at them side by side . . .





The difference is most dramatic when you view the photos side by side. You instantly recognize the photo on the right as having more correct or life-like colors. The problems is when people take their own photos, they don't have a "correct" version to compare against so they often don't even know the colors in their photos are not correct, there is just a feeling that the photos are "not that great" or "just okay". So getting the colors correct in your photos can have a massive impact on how they are perceived. So now that you know this, what does it all mean and how do you fix your photos. 

If you are interested in the details of color temperatures and white balance, here is a good explanation from apogeephoto.com but, for the purposes of this tutorial, it's just enough to know that your photo may end up with a color cast that makes the whole photo either too "cool" blue'ish or too "warm" yellow'ish and it can be adjusted.

There are two ways to adjust color balance, either in-camera, or later in a photo editing program.

In-camera is definitely the preferred place to adjust white balance if you are shooting jpegs. If you are shooting RAW, you have much more latitude in the adjustments and can make later during processing and can adjust white balance then but chances are if you shoot in RAW, you already understand white balance and do not need this tutorial. 

Unless you have previously messed with your advanced camera settings, chances are your camera is in what's called "auto" white balance mode where it tries to automatically adjust the white balance for you. And thankfully, with modern cameras, most of them are relatively good at doing this on their own. There are some cameras that are better than others and there are certain lighting situations that almost all cameras will get wrong. Some of these are mixed lighting situations, flash photography, shooting in darker situations (shadows), etc.

 If you take a photo and the colors look good (not too much overall blue or yellow) great your done, if not though, it may be time to dust off the owners manual and figure out how to adjust the white balance on your camera. Most cameras let you choose between a number of presets such as sunny, cloudy, flourescent lights, incandescent lights, etc. Give them a try, you may be surprised how much better your photos look in tricky light situations when you get the white balance set correctly.

So what if you didn't get it right in the camera and now it's too late? If you realize photos you've already taken have a color cast. Any image editing program with a darn will have an option to adjust white balance. It my be called "color temperature", "color cast", "neutral color", or something along these lines.



The two image editing programs I recommend are Picasa, a free download from Google which I recommend for beginners or Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 , the premier image editing program for advanced users and well worth it's cost. 

In Picasa, choose the 2nd tab and use the "Color Temperature" slider to adjust your white balance. Moving to the left will make the photo blue'er or cooler and to the right, will make it warmer or more yellow. You can also use the neutral color picker to pick a grey (neutral) color is the photo to have Picasa automatically set the white balance for you. This method can be tricky at first.

So go ahead and pull up some of those old photos. Are they too warm or too cool? Now that you know, you can fix it. Give it a try and you may be amazed at how much more professional some of your photos will look.  Just remember, correcting this in jpgs after the fact will never be as good as getting it right in camera in the first place.
 

 
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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) beginner editing lightroom photography picasa temperature tips tutorial white balance https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2012/12/beginner-tutorial-single-most-important Mon, 31 Dec 2012 21:10:00 GMT
Triggertrap Mobile Review. Does it really work? https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2012/12/triggertrap-mobile-review-does-it


Triggertrap Mobile is a promising new application for iOS or Android that allows you to use your smartphone for trigging your camera shutter. But how well does it really work?
The first thing you should understand about Triggertrap is that the way the application interfaces with the camera is very limited. It is nothing more than a fancy cable release. This means the application is limited to only being able to do the same thing the shutter release button on your camera does. Focus and open/close shutter.
The mobile phone simply sends an audio signal that is translated in the Triggertrap dongle that the camera needs for focus or shutter. There is no photo viewing, settings changing, etc. which is a major limitation of Triggertrap . . . more on that later. That being said, using a custom app and the sensors on your mobile phone does allow for some promising control over your camera.

Purchase Experience
The TriggerTrap app is $10 to buy in the Apple Store. You also have to buy a dongle and a cable release cord that plugs the dongle into the camera. Recently, TriggerTrap has added a free version of the app as well that assume has less of the triggering options but might be a good way to first test things out. Figuring out which dongle and cable release cord to buy is trivial thanks to TriggerTrap's easy reference page.

TriggerLESS Triggertrap
I received my dongle and shutter release cord, plugged everything in excited to try it . . . opened the Triggertrap app, clicked the button to take a photo . . . and nothing. I tried over and over and . . . nothing!

I logged into the Triggertrap web site and to my dismay their forums are full of people with the same problem. Maybe it's just me but an applications that exist to remotely trigger your camera that can't remotely trigger your camera seems like a bit of an issue. It turns out according to Triggertrap they had an issue with their supplier and "a small percentage if dongles were not functioning". They had a whole series of steps and elaborate workflow diagrams to test your dongle . . . telling me this was much more than a "small" problem.

Anyhow obvious quality control issues, but stuff happens. so no big deal . . . Triggertrap had a form to fill out to request a replacement dongle. It took a full MONTH before I received the replacement dongle. Not only did it take forever to send a replacement, when they finally did, they sent it the slowest shilling option possible. This was completely unacceptable. Meanwhile the forum was filling up with more and more folks with bad dongles because Triggertrap did nothing to recall the bad inventory that was already in circulation. Shame on you Triggertrap!
I plugged in the new dongle and it did work. Finally!

Setting up Triggertrap
Setting up Triggertrap is a bit of a pain. Luckily the documentation is pretty good. Remember how I was saying the only thing Triggertrap can really do is autofocus or press the shutter button . . . Well this introduces a couple of problems. First of all if you tell Triggertrap to take 2 photos . . . one immediately after the other, you have to worry about shutter lag. If the second trigger signal is sent to the camera too soon (before the first shot is complete), the second photo is never taken. Triggertrap does has some pretty well documented steps to follow to figure out the lag time on your camera and set this on the app but this is something the customer should not have to deal with. Note: this has been addressed in more recent versions of the app; more on this later.

The second big problem with trigger trap only being able to "push" the shutter button is that the only way the app has to control exposure is by holding the shutter open for different amounts of time in bulb mode. This presents some challenges mechanically and it turns out the fastest exposure achievable this way (at least with my Nikon d7000) is 1/4 a second. Triggertrap claims 1/60th of a second but that's definitely not the case in my testing. It may be faster with other cameras or with the built in iPhone camera but the only testing I have done is with the d7000. This, by the way, is why only LE (Long Exposure) HDR is available and not regular HDR.

Using TriggerTrap
Setups complete, now to give the app a real workout. That night I setup a startrails photo outside my back door. It was setup to take 120 photos, 1 minute each over a period of 2 hours.
I got up at 2 am and brought the camera inside to see what it did. It had only taken about 13 photos. Grrrr! I've tried at least two other times to do star trails and neither was completely successful. One of them, the Triggertrap app completely froze my iPhone once and the other try, it only took about 30% of the photos it should have taken.

At this point I was done with Triggertrap and I didn't try it again for six months.

TriggerTrap 1.5
When I finally decided to give Triggertrap another go, iPhone version 1.5.2 was out. Triggertrap has finally addressed the confusing setup issue by allowing you to simply choose a camera profile . . . in my case "nikon autofocus" and that's it . . . your set, ready to go. At this time they only have presets for Cannon or Nikon otherwise you have to choose from some universal presets which I did not try. This is a big improvement to the app that allows you to get going and start successfully using the app sooner.

The application has a number of different types of triggers:
  • Cable Release
  • Bang (sound trigger)
  • Timelapse
  • Timewarp
  • DistanceLapse
  • Seismic (vibration or movement)
  • Peekaboo (face detection)
  • Star Trail
  • LE HDR (Long Exposure HDR)
  • LE HDR Timeplapse
  • Tesla (magnets)
  • Motion
  • Bramping
Cable Release
Cable release allows you to choose from four different modes.

B (Bulb) does the same thing the shutter would do if you pushed it on the camera while in bulb mode. The shutter remains open as long as you hold the button down and closes as soon as you release it.

T (Timed Bulb) this is same as bulb except you don't have to hold down the button the whole time. Just press it once to open the shutter and press it again when you want to close the shutter.

P (Program) All this does is press the shutter button once. It's designed to be used to take a photo when you already have the camera set to whatever settings you want to use. This is a traditional remote shutter. It just fires the shutter once, period . . . end of story.

M (Manual) I really don't get why this option even exists. This option is for when the camera is in bulb mode and allows you to dial in how long the shutter should be open for . . . from 1/60sec or longer (remember the app is not capable of any shutter speed quicker than 1/60th a second . . .  1/4 a second in my testing). So what's the point!??? I'm connected to the camera anyhow so why not just operate in "P" mode and set whatever shutter speed I want on the camera without the 1/4sec limitation . . .

To me, the most useful option here is P mode or the traditional cable release mode. With the latest app version and my dongle that works now, cable release mode works very reliably.

Bang (sound trigger)
Blah, it works, who cares . . .  I think some of these mode are very gimicky. This mode I could see being useful if you have to be a few feet from your camera or something and want to trigger with a clap of your hands or something . . . but in general, I don't really every see myself needing this mode.

Timelapse
Timelapse is one of the modes I really like to use. With time lapse, you just choose how many photos to take and over what period of time to take them and the application does the math and tells you how many seconds of video that will make at 15fps and at 30fps as well as what the delay will be between each photo being taken.

It would be nice if the app let you specify either of the two (# of photos, total time period, time between photos) and automatically calculate the other. As it is, you always have to set # of photos and total time.

Timewarp
Timewarp I haven't tried yet but it's a great idea. All it is is time lapse but it speeds up or slows down as it goes. I imagine for you time lapse fanatics out there, you could do some cool stuff with this.

DistanceLapse
This uses the GPS on your iphone to take a photo every time you've moved X number of yards or meters. This is great for time lapse photography while on a road trip or something like that. If you are in traffic or such, you won't get tons of photos while stuck in traffic or at a stop light. It will create a smooth lapse based on movement rather than time. Of course, depending on what you are trying to do with time lapse, this might not be a good thing but it's a cool option to have.

Seismic (vibration or movement)













Blah . . . if you come up with any good uses for this, let me know.
 
Peekaboo (face detection)

I think this really only works with the iphone camera so . . . blah


Star Trail
This is what I use my remotes for the most and the main reason I bought TriggerTrap. With the traditional timers, you always end up with a one second gap between photos. With Triggertrap, there is a gap between photos but it should be much shorter. Be sure to change the TriggerTrap camera profile to manual focus so it doesn't delay the triggering of the shutter to wait for focusing to occur (for star trails you'll be manually focusing anyhow).

LE HDR (Long Exposure HDR)

This is another mode I don't really see a point for. I just setup bracketing on my camera and then use the "P" mode of the standard cable release mode.

LE HDR Timeplapse
I haven't tried this yet but it's definitely something I'd like to play with . . .

Tesla (magnets)

Blah . . . they talk about using this mode with magnets to photograph door movement like a security system or such . . . . whatever . . . not a mode I waste my time with.

Motion
Another "blah" mode.

Bramping
Bramping is short for bulb ramping. This mode allows you to do time lapses but also specify the starting exposure time and the ending exposure time and the app automatically changes exposure as it goes. The idea would be to do a timeplapse of a sunset or something like that.

Summary
There are a few useability issues in the UI. When moving the sliders, they are very touchy and its difficult to get them to actually stay where you set them as you move your finger off the slider. Most of the sliders have a drop down menu where you can spefically choose the #'s you want but still the slider issue seems like something that could be fixed and is annoying.

Over all now that Triggertrap has improved their application and (hopefully) fixed their dongles, its a useful application, especially for the price.





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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) triggertrap timelapse remote trigger mobile cable release review iphone https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2012/12/triggertrap-mobile-review-does-it Sun, 30 Dec 2012 22:39:00 GMT
Coming Soon . . . A review of the Triggertrap Mobile Application for iPhone https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2012/12/coming-soon-review-of-triggertrap Triggertrap Mobile is a promising new application for iOS or Android that allows you to use your smartphone for trigging your camera shutter. But how well does it really work. Full Review coming soon . . .













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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2012/12/coming-soon-review-of-triggertrap Thu, 27 Dec 2012 15:31:00 GMT
How to Make a DIY Light Box For Photographing In Your Own Mini Studio https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2012/12/how-to-make-diy-light-box-for DSC_4372
Have you ever needed a photo for Ebay but you wanted to make it look more professional than just a “snapshot” or you just wanted a photo of any objet with a clean background that looks professional. It is EASY to make your own little studio for photographing whatever it is you want to photograph and everything you need is probably just laying around the house. Even if you have to buy the supplies, they will only cost you a few dollars.
Here is what you will need.
  • 1 cardboard box – I used 18”X18”X16”
  • Some tracing paper or tissue paper . . . something that is white and will still let a good deal of light through.
  • white poster board
  • tape
  • a box cutter
That’s it. The light box is pretty self explanatory. Here are some photos of mine after it was completed.Cut out one side of the box completey so you can place the box over your subject. Three of the sides are cutout with the box cutter and then covered with the tracing or tissue paper. I left two flaps on the top of the box to control how much ambient light is let in and to just give the box more stability.
DSC_4388  DSC_4389  
DSC_4392
The idea is to use the poster board as the background so you have a nice smooth white background. You can then light up the box with desk lamps, a flash or two, etc. For mine, I use my sb-700 Nikon flash and I also use the built in camera flash although, I make sure to tone it down a lot. Here is a photo of my setup for the photos I took in this post. Depending on what you are shooting, you might want more than one flash/light. You can play around to get some really nice affects. This can also produce some nice shadows that are soft and diffused. If you want edgier shadows, just crank up the flash a bit.
DSC_4395
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It’s not a professional studio, but for a few minutes and a couple dollars, you can get some pretty nice photos.
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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) photography ebay photos lightbox studio diy https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2012/12/how-to-make-diy-light-box-for Wed, 26 Dec 2012 22:19:00 GMT
Favorite Photography Books https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2012/12/photography-books-i-recommend

I love this book. It is the best photography book I have read on photo lighting, ever. Joe McNally has a no nonsense way of communicating what is important for specific lighting scenarios. He has some more recent books as well but this is the one I like the best.

The Moment It Clicks: Photography secrets from one of the world's top shooters

If you are interested in following his blog too, it is here: Joe McNally's Blog

 
 
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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) Favorite Photography Books books joe mcnally the moment it clicks https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2012/12/photography-books-i-recommend Wed, 26 Dec 2012 15:40:00 GMT
Published in Washington Trails Association (WTA) Nov/Dec Edition https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2012/11/published-in-washington-trails WTA used one of my photos again. This time I was lucky enough to get a full page for the featured landscape shot. Very cool to see . . .
 

 
 
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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2012/11/published-in-washington-trails Sat, 03 Nov 2012 21:52:00 GMT
Colorado Trip https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2012/9/colorado-trip In September we drove to Colorado for USDAA Nation Dog Agility Championship. We spent five days in Denver and then a second week traveling western CO taking Fall photos. We missed the peak of the fall colors by a week or two but we still got some wonderful photos and had a great time!

 This photos photo is from Oxbow bend in the Grand Tetons. The misty look is from smoke from all the forest fires that were burning in the area. Photos By JP: Colorado Trip - 2012

This is the classic shot of the Molton barn on Mormon row. Didn't have the best weather but I did what I could. Photos By JP: Colorado Trip - 2012

After the weather didn't cooperate for the Molton Barn, I turned around and took some colorful photos of the sun rising. Photos By JP: Colorado Trip - 2012

At the USDAA Nationals, they also had a Splash Dogs competition where dogs try to jump as far as possible while jumping into water. Very fun to watch!

Photos By JP: Colorado Trip - 2012 &emdash;

Maroon Bells near Aspen, CO

Photos By JP: Colorado Trip - 2012 &emdash;

Another from Maroon Bells with the moon

Photos By JP: Colorado Trip - 2012 &emdash;

Sunrise from Crystal Lake

Photos By JP: Colorado Trip 2012 - part 2 &emdash;

I love the colors!

Photos By JP: Colorado Trip 2012 - part 2 &emdash;

Near Ridgway, CO

Photos By JP: Colorado Trip 2012 - part 2 &emdash;

We went to Arches National Park on the way home.

Photos By JP: Colorado Trip 2012 - part 2 &emdash;

Turret Arch through the North Window

Photos By JP: Colorado Trip 2012 - part 2 &emdash;

Balanced Rock

Photos By JP: Colorado Trip 2012 - part 2 &emdash;

I wanted a star trails photo in one of the arches but the clouds ruined that so I tried to get a cool night shot with the clouds.

Photos By JP: Colorado Trip 2012 - part 2 &emdash;

 
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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) colorado landscape photography https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2012/9/colorado-trip Sun, 23 Sep 2012 20:37:00 GMT
San Francisco https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2012/7/san-francisco  
Golden Gate SunriseGolden Gate Sunrise
 
 
 
 
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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) golden gate san francisco https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2012/7/san-francisco Thu, 19 Jul 2012 22:27:00 GMT
Alki Lighthouse https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2012/5/alki-lighthouse I've been wanting to photograph the Alki Lighthouse for some time and finally made it out there. I really didn't know anything about it or if it was even accessible or not. It turns out it's really closed to the public. The only way I found to get to it was to walk along the beach a short way and then take photos from along the fence. It didn't give me quite the angle I wanted but it wasn't bad either.

 
 
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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) Alki Lighthouse https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2012/5/alki-lighthouse Tue, 15 May 2012 21:24:00 GMT
Rose City Classic Dog Show https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2012/1/rose-city-classic-dog-show Sarah and I went to the Rose City Classic Dog Show. Of course I took some photos while we were there. Here they are on Zenfolio.
 

 
 
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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) dog agility dog show https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2012/1/rose-city-classic-dog-show Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:17:00 GMT
Yellowstone 2011 https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2011/9/blog-post

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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2011/9/blog-post Fri, 30 Sep 2011 20:40:00 GMT
Chinook Pass https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2011/9/early-trip-up-to-chinook-pass





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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2011/9/early-trip-up-to-chinook-pass Thu, 08 Sep 2011 22:40:00 GMT
North Cascades Trip https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2011/9/north-cascades-trip






- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2011/9/north-cascades-trip Sun, 04 Sep 2011 10:34:00 GMT
Mt. Rainier https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2011/8/mt-rainier








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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2011/8/mt-rainier Sat, 06 Aug 2011 09:48:00 GMT
Sunrise in July https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2011/7/sunrise-in-july



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone


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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2011/7/sunrise-in-july Wed, 20 Jul 2011 10:34:00 GMT
A few photos from the point-n-shoot camera . . . https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2011/7/few-photos-from-point-n-shoot-camera
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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2011/7/few-photos-from-point-n-shoot-camera Sat, 16 Jul 2011 19:31:00 GMT
Silver Falls State Park https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2011/6/silver-falls-state-park  
 
 
 
 
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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) oregon photography silver falls waterfall https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2011/6/silver-falls-state-park Fri, 17 Jun 2011 19:22:00 GMT
Sequim Agility Trial and Hurricane Ridge https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2011/6/sequim-agility-trial-and-hurricane

 
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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) Agility Hurricane Ridge Sequim https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2011/6/sequim-agility-trial-and-hurricane Sat, 04 Jun 2011 19:17:00 GMT
Dalles Mountain Ranch Road Wild Flowers https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2011/5/dalles-mountain-ranch-road-wild-flowers


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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2011/5/dalles-mountain-ranch-road-wild-flowers Fri, 13 May 2011 22:23:00 GMT
Eagle Creek and Punch Bowl Falls https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2011/5/eagle-creek-and-punch-bowl-falls



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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2011/5/eagle-creek-and-punch-bowl-falls Fri, 13 May 2011 22:21:00 GMT
Easter Egg Hunt https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2011/4/easter-egg-hunt





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climbbike@gmail.com (Jeremiah Pierucci) https://www.jeremiahpierucci.com/blog/2011/4/easter-egg-hunt Sun, 24 Apr 2011 21:44:00 GMT