Imre Z. Balint, BSc, MPM, MBA

For episode 12 , my goal was to help novice photographers not only see how much can be involved with a photo shoot, but also to keep some of those things in mind in order not to miss critical shots and to be prepared for the majority of events that might occur. To elaborate on the latter, here's an example. Let's say I've gone hiking to capture some dramatic vistas, which generally means I'd be shooting with a wider lens. But, maybe I've spotted some wildlife in the distance and I have a chance to take a few shots. Being prepared in this case means that I know exactly where my telephoto lens is in my bag, and my camera is set in a way where all I pretty much have to do is swap lenses and shoot; the focus, metering, etc. in general are set in such a manner that I can catch that moment before it passes. But here is where things become a little more complicated, and perhaps something I could have also mentioned in the video now that I think about it. Not only is it a...

Well I'm in a hurry to post this as Saturday Night Live has already started, but indeed the 12th episode of my photography series has been uploaded. I shall write the supplemental blog post tomorrow... off I run! Remember to subscribe and check me out on Facebook !

Alright, hopefully you've found Episode 11 on ND filters interesting. These filters can certainly be quite useful and can be easily overlooked, especially by novice photographers. The first half of the video was quite self-explanatory, so I want to jump right to the part about using ND filters to slow down your shutter speed or in other words allowing you to take longer exposures. Indeed, getting that silky look for streams of water during the daytime with lots of light would be quite tricky without such filters, but the same goes for shots of lightning. Now before I get into this, I want to say that shooting lightning can and is dangerous. Simply said, I don't recommend doing it unless you have truly done your research about lightning safety and you know what you're doing. A common way to get shots of lightning is by setting up your camera to take a very long exposure, say anywhere from 5 to 30 seconds pointing in a direction where you expect lightning to discharge....

Well I had to run out late last night so I haven't posted this until now, but wow, what a reception. I've received over 270 hits and they still keep coming! You can check out the video of the E-P2's shutter in action by looking below or by clicking here . If you want to stay up-to-date with my videos, please subscribe and check me out on Facebook .

Wonderful timing! Dinner is ready and my video just finished uploading to YouTube. Episode 11 turned out pretty good if I do say so myself, and hopefully you'll be a brave soul and try out the fabulous and sometimes under-appreciated neutral density filter. Now I'm going to write my supplemental blog post tomorrow (I need some time off ya know! :) but in a short while I'll be uploading another video, this time featuring some high-speed clips of... I ain't sayin yet, so you'll have to check back to find out!

Alright, here we go. Well Episode 10 was indeed a long one, but packed full of 3D goodness for those of you out there wanting to create such photographs. By the way, I accidentally said "red-green" glasses in a couple of sections... really that should be red-blue! If you view my video with the annotations, then you'll see those notes pop up. Anyway, that aside, I was quite happy with how this episode turned out. As I watched my video again, I really don't know if there is that much more to add. The only thing I can really stress, whether you have the luxury of shooting with two cameras or just one, is the part about trying to get your two photos to look as identical as possible in the sense of focus, exposure, white balance, and alignment (which could really include size; both shots should be essentially the same size). The more discrepancies you have between the two photos, the poorer the 3D effect will become; our brains are just too smart for us to fool gosh dar...

The 10th episode of my photography series, on 3D photography, has just finished uploading to YouTube! Check out my channel to see it in HD or view it below. Tomorrow evening I'll write up my supplemental post, as it is indeed a tad late now. Remember to subscribe and check me out on Facebook ! Become a Fan too!

Ok, I just uploaded Episode 9a about color polarizing filters, as I left the poor things out of my previous episode on the "regular" variety. I have to admit that I haven't used these types very much, as I've always found myself iffy about what scenery they would match to. But after playing with them a little more recently, I'd love to give them a go again; perhaps take them downtown and see what interesting hues I could get off of windows on skyscrapers. For those of you interested in getting your hands on these filters, several manufacturers do make them. The ones I have specifically are #170 and #173 from Cokin . I should point out that I'm not being sponsored by this company, nor am I affiliated with them, but I can say with enthusiasm that I very much like their products. As usual, please subscribe so you can stay up-to-date with my videos and also check out my page on Facebook . TTFN

Ok, I've had my dinner so I'm ready to write my supplemental post to Episode 9 about polarizing filters. In the video I covered a fair bit about the physics of light polarization, but I'd like to highlight that you really don't need to know it in depth, or almost at all, to be able to successfully use a polarizing filter. But heck, being the geek I am, I love exploring why things work the way they do, hence the physics segment. If you'd like to prod into this subject further, definitely check out some of the links I've provided; Colorado University has very cool interactive sections in their web-based tutorial. In regard to their use, something that I didn't cover in the video is that this is not usually a filter you want to keep on your lens at all times. The major factor as to why is because of the loss of light through the filter. So for example if you're shooting an area that requires longer exposure times, then the shutter speed may slow to the...

Wow. To say the least, I think Episode 9 has taken by far the longest to complete. For several evenings last week I spent my time researching the technical aspects of light polarization, to ensure that I would represent it as accurately as I could for the video. Then all day yesterday I wrote and finalized the script, along with recording the narration and shooting all the video. As for the editing and uploading, well that was all done today. Yet, I still somehow managed to squeeze a little extra energy out of me to complete some details on my Facebook profile. Feel free to become a fan by the way! As I'm getting hungry and my budgies need their cage cleaned, I'll write my supplementary post for this episode tomorrow evening. To view my videos in glorious HD, check out my YouTube Channel , where you can also subscribe so you can stay up-to-date with my videos.

Yeay! CD Baby has put up my new album on their website! Click here to check it out! I think it looks great and from what I know this is now the second location selling my album; the first being iTunes. It's so very cool to see... and hear! I'm really glad I did this, otherwise my songs would not be doing a whole lot sitting on my backup drive. I also used CD Baby's link maker to generate that snazzy mini-banner (see below). You bet I'll be placing this on my website and wherever else I can! Woot! And yes, I think you should check my songs out! ;^)

Well I was supposed to do an episode on polarizing filters, but having cloudy skies this week didn't help. Polarizers have a really cool effect on a blue sky that I wanted to record, so I'll just have to wait until next week to do that. But this morning I managed to upload Episode 8 to YouTube featuring UV filters. UV filters are overall quite simple things, and as I pointed out in the video, what it tends to come down to in digital photography is your stance on protecting the exposed front lens element of your lenses. I've been on some forums where this topic comes up and I have to admit that I find it quite amusing when photographers become quite passionate (even angry!) about their use. In my humble opinion, I personally believe to each their own. If you feel that you'd rather not use one to maximize every ounce of quality coming from your lens, then don't use one. On the other hand, good quality UV filters do offer wonderful benefits in regard to keeping ...