Page 16 - Cape-Camera-Sept-Oct-2021

September/October 2021 Cape Camera

E & D Report Back

Alll images by Hendrick Louw
Macro Photography - Hendrick Louw - 15th September 2021

Starting off his passionate presentation, Hendrik stressed that as portraiture or landscape – even photojournalism, where the
‘Macro’ is not a photographic genre but purely a technical defi- same parameters apply in regard to lighting, depth of field,
nition! The difference between macro and close-up photog- tonal and dynamic range, etc. Lines, shapes and spaces are as
raphy is that close-up means you are just shooting at a short important in macro as in any other photographic genre.
distance from the subject, for which you can use virtually any He also covered the equipment necessary for macro photogra-
lens. Macro means you are taking super close-ups of objects at phy and briefly discussed the use of close-up dioptres, convert-
1:1 - meaning, the size of the image on your sensor is equal to ers, extension tubes, macro-function lenses, reverse rings but
the size of the item you are photographing in real life. recommends the ‘real thing’ - a top class macro lens to get the
He shared his life-long passion in the form of magnificent pho- desired results.
tographs which brought to light the fascinating ‘little’ world Hendrik’s Golden Rules are: Patience, patience, patience and
that surrounds us - explaining at the same time the techniques some more; use full manual mode only (focus and exposure);
he used to achieve his amazing images. “It is all about the eyes early morning light is the best; get dirty; it’s a living subject –
and the use of light”, he emphasised. Some of the main genres treat it like a human (photography-wise)!
of photography can be also used in macro photography, such

The Art of Nightscape Photography - Kyle Goetsch - 20th October 2021

Kyle is no stranger to CTPS , this being his third presentation • Panorama – these are multiple images stitched together in
on an element of landscape photography, which was very well post-processing (shot in portrait mode with good overlap-
attended. The points that stood out from his excellent talk were ping of about 40% to help the computer with the stitching).
that planning of night shots is crucial to a successful image and • Blended image – take two images of the same location and
starts long before pressing the shutter! He advocated sketch- time with different settings (one image exposed correctly for
ing out one’s idea for a composition to help visualising the final the sky and the other for the foreground).
result. • Time lapse – take multiple images consecutively to cre-
When he has an idea, he then uses Google maps to find a suit- ate a video (usually requires several hours and hundreds of
able location that fits his idea and then looks for accommoda- images which need specialised software to process in post-
tion in the vicinity. When arriving at a particular place he scouts production).
the area in day light for the perfect composition that includes
the pre-visualised foreground and uses the Photo pills apps to • Star Trails – there are generally two methods: the single im-
show him were the Milky Way or possibility for star trails will be age which creates a much softer and more natural image or
at a particular time of the night and year! the stacked images which are better when there is a bright
foreground as one can set up a perfect exposure for a single
He then explained in details the different technique options for 30 sec image.
night photography: For all the above, it is essential to know your camera inside out,
• Single image – for direct Milky Way photos with silhouetted and knowing which buttons to use in the dark goes a long way
foreground or ambient light. to the success of a shoot! Perseverance is key and it can often
• Light Painting - the light source should not be too bright take many years to achieve a previously visualised outcome!
but rather subtle.

15 Cape Town Photographic Society