Tom Glander Media

Author: Tom

  • Moon Shots

    Above, not my photo. I snagged it from American Scientific.

    To get good moon shots, a long lens is needed for greater magnification. 300mm is pretty darned great… but a 200mm will work quite well, as well.

    Here are the camera settings:

    1. Set the shooting mode to Manual (M).
    2. Set the focal length according to the Moon size and the framing (composition) you want.
    3. Set the aperture to f/8.
    4. Focus on the subject.
    5. Set the ISO to 100.
    6. Adjust the shutter speed, but never above 1s.
    7. Take a test shot and check the histogram. (A histogram is a statistical graph that represents the brightness levels of a scene captured by the camera.

    Above all, practice. Take lots of photos and analyze the results, striving to improve the creative value. Create timelapse moon rises, too.

    To get good shots with buildings, landscapes and the like with the moon prominent, AI has this to say about the 200mm lens:

    • Composition:The 200mm lens offers a wider field of view than a longer lens, making it easier to incorporate foreground elements like trees, buildings, or landscapes into the image, creating more visually interesting compositions. 

    So, it looks to me like the 70-200 is the way to go for what I want to do.

  • Next Sigma Lens

    Current lenses:

    1. Sigma 14mm f/1.4 DG DN Art
    2. Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG DN Art
    3. Sigma sports lens maybe? Like this one:

    Some ideas to consider, and probably the top of the list for getting deep galaxy type shots, would be a 200 mm lens. This could be used for nature photography as well. So, to that end, a Sigma 70-200 may be the way to go. This is from the Sigma Sports lineup.

    Below is the Sigma 70-200 f/1.4 DG DN lens.

    DG stands for full frame compatibility

    DN indicates designed for mirrorless cameras

    • Expressive imaging capabilities with latest optical design
    • Dual High-response Linear Actuator (HLA) focus system
    • Dust and splash-resistant structure
    • Latest OS2 Optical Stabilization up to 7.5 stops
    • Inner zoom and inner focusing
    • Minimized focus breathing at all focal lengths
    • Superior build quality of SIGMA Sports line
    • Completes F2.8 DG DN full-frame mirrorless trio

    For moon photography and moon timelapse, composition will trump must pure moon shots. This blurb says it all:

    Composition:The 200mm lens offers a wider field of view than a longer lens, making it easier to incorporate foreground elements like trees, buildings, or landscapes into the image, creating more visually interesting compositions. 

  • Landscape Photo Rules

    When you shoot a landscape photo, you’ll probably want everything in focus. As a rule, to get everything in focus, you wangt to use a smaller f/stop, a low ISO, and a good tripod. Here are the particulars:

    1. Set exposure to Aperture priority.
    2. Set f/stop to middle of the range, which is usually the lens’ sweet spot for sharpness.
    3. ISO: 100
    4. Use a tripod
    5. Shoot in RAW to capture the greatest dynamic range
    6. Wait for the best light. NOON IS NOT THE BEST. Dusk and dawn are the best.

    That’s pretty much it. Shoot away.

  • Today’s Timelapse Shoot

    The camera is set up in the back, looking out over the valley below. Sunset is about 8 p.m. and I’ll let the camera run until 10 p.m.

    I’ll get a few thousand shots, transfer them to a computer folder, then open that folder with DaVinci Resolve’s incredible editor.

    In Resolve’s Media Editor page, you can set Frame Display Mode to Individual or Sequence.

    Individual will show every shot, regardless of how many. I had 8000 frames in one timelapse that ran for 12 hours.

    Sequence will show a single “stitched together” clip that includes all the individual frames.

    Either way, the outcome can be spectacular.

    The current setup is only going to run for 3 hours. Doing the math, I’m shooting one frame every 8 seconds, so that’s 7 shots in 56 seconds, which I’ll just round up to one minute.

    There are 180 minutes in three hours… so 180 x 7 = 1,260 shots. That’s what I’ll work with, and probably create an Aesop’s Fable from this evening’s shoot.

  • Rotterman Pups First Beach Trip

    Yesterday, June 7, we took the pups to Dana Point for the afternoon. Baby Beach was hopping with people and the breakwater was busy as well.

    I took my A7 R5 with the Sigma 14mm F1.4 lens and went to town shooting stuff. It was a fun event, and I learned some new stuff, like, you can get cool starburst effects at F16 using Aperture Priority. Probably with Shutter Priority or even Auto… it’s the F stop that counts here. But I digress…

    The dogs did great, pretty much ignoring the activity for the most part, with a little excitement coming from other dogs they saw along the way.

    Here’s a great picture of Seven showing alligator teeth to the lady taking her picture.

    Seven and Worf below, enjoying the coastal breeze while eyeing something in the distance. This was their 10 month birthday outing.

    Below is a lantern with that cool sunburst I mentioned above.

    And below is the feature Dana Point is known for… the amazing Dana POINT itself, with sunburst feature. Ok, enough with the sunbursts already. And wow, that rock is old and crusty.

  • Timelapse Values

    The following values are suggestions for starting points for setting up timelapse photography.

    1-2 seconds : Moving cars, people, events
    3-5 seconds: Night shots, motion blur. Clouds moving quickly.
    6-10 seconds: Shadows, sunsets with high clouds.
    10-30 seconds: Astrophotography.

    For spectacular results, try shooting with a 30 second shutter speed and a 15 second interval. Let the camera run all night. One caveat — you need to be in a dark sky location. Light pollution will mess up your galaxy shots for sure. Unless you want the blend of light and dark. This is, after all, an art form. So whatever you like is right for you.

  • The Two Pots

    A new fable from Aesop was just posted to YouTube. I used the timelapse shot from the backyard, of the village lights coming on right after sunset.

    If you want to make timelapse work like this, go for it. I’ll be building out more resource materials on this site and adding more info on my YouTube channel as well.

  • Sunbursts

    Documenting various sunburst photos here. This one is by Mel Moncrieff, shot from his deck in Running Springs, CA.

    The lens is a Canon 16 – 35 L. I hope that someday I’ll be able to capture this kind of beauty. Thanks Mel, for the inspiration you provide.

    Note to self… use a tripod to get better quality sunbursts. This burst below was shot holding the camera in my hand… not the best, but it’s what we get without stabilization.

    Lens is Sigma 14mm F1.4, shot at F16 with Sony A7 R5. Dana Point harbor area.

    Below is one more of the Point part of Dana Point. Same camera, same lens, also hand held.

  • To Better Understand the Sony A7 R5 MENU

    My purchase of a new A7 R5 requires a new learning curve with respect to the Menu. It has been completely revamped, and is much better. That said, it does require some getting used to.

    I created a document in Excel that catalogs all Menu items. The document is easily searched using the native Excel Find function.

    The document allows you to see all the Menu items in one place on your computer or device.

    You can have the document free of charge or any other constraint. If you find it useful, please share the information with others.

    Download the file here.