Thank you all for submitting and congratulations again. Fantastic work!
Your Point of View: Motion Winners
Learn and Explore Photography
Your Point of View: Motion Entries
Thank you to everyone who entered our third Your Point of View show.
Debra Rothenberg Presentation September 20 – “Bruce Springsteen In Focus 1980 – 2012”
“If a picture is worth a thousand words, then Debra Rothenberg’s book about Bruce Springsteen is priceless.” – Tom Cunningham, Host, Bruce Brunch, 105.7 The Hawk
In honor of Bruce Springsteen’s upcoming 65th Birthday, Bergen County Camera and Gallery 270 are honored to present an inspiring talk, book signing and exhibit by Bergen County’s own Debra Rothenberg. Deb will recount her long road to success with her photography, culminating with the recent realization of her dream to publish a book documenting her decades photographing New Jersey icon, Bruce Springsteen on and off the stage, in concerts all over the world. There are wonderful takeaways regarding the focus and determination necessary to get memorable photographs. While Deb is certainly famous for the Springsteen material, she’s an all round, versatile photographer who’s great candid advice will be appreciated by aspiring photographers of all kinds.
After the approximate one hour talk with suitable time for Q and A, Deb will meet with you and sign and personalize copies of her book, “Bruce Springsteen In Focus 1980 – 2012.” Books will be available for sale and personalization during the event. We will also have a varied group of Debs signed photographs for $100 – $1000 in black and white and color, matted, matted and framed and mounted on metal. Purchase a signed, matted and framed print today and we will include a signed and personalized copy of Deb’s book as our additional thank you gift.
Here’s the schedule of events on September 20th with Debra L. Rothenberg:
9:30 am – 10:30 am Focus Session: Debra will speak about photography and her book on Bruce Springsteen
10:30 am – 1 pm Book Signing and display of Debra’s Photography
Learn more about Debra Rothenberg on her website
Learn more about Bergen County Camera’s Free Saturday Focus Sessions
Your Point of View: Motion Gallery Opening
Join us on Thursday, September 4th from 7 pm until 9 pm as we celebrate photography and the beautiful work of nineteen local photographers. All are welcome to join. Wine and cheese will be served. 
2014 NJ Photo Expo
The NJ Photo Expo Returns on September 12th and 13th. Only at Bergen County Camera in Westwood, NJ. For more information, check njphotoexpo.com.
Great Places to Photograph: Ringwood Manor
Located roughly 30 minutes North-West from Westwood is Ringwood State Park and Ringwood Manor. The property was originally established in 1739 as an ironworks featuring several of the country’s most known iron-smiths. The property still features one of the original iron forges, which still is used on occasion. The main manor was built in 1807 and housed many influential and important subjects in American history. A mixture of nature and outdoor art is sure to provide plenty of photographic opportunities. As you stroll though the paths around Ringwood Manor, you’ll notice plenty of locations featuring well planned symmetry. The equidistant trees, shrubbery, and sculptures combine with reflections to create mesmerizing scenes. Photographers Alfred Hess, Alan Schwab. and Stephen Seyboth recently traveled to Ringwood Manor with Infrared Converted SLR Cameras to shoot the location.
For more information on Ringwood Manor visit their website.
Directions to Ringwood Manor From Bergen County Camera
Ringwood Manor is located on:
Manor Road
Ringwood, NJ 07456
Free Saturday Focus Sessions – July and August
Focus sessions are free and take place in the Westwood store from 9:30 am – 10 am. All sessions will allow for questions and answers. Please bring your camera and any images along that you have questions about. Feel free to use the comment option to make suggestions for future focus sessions.
Hit the “Like Button” to let your friends know. Have suggestions for future focus sessions? Feel free to leave a comment. (Comments actually work now!)
Here’s our upcoming Focus Sessions:
July 19 – Mirrorless Cameras
July 26 – Sensor Cleaning
August 2 – HDR Photography
August 9 – Concert Photography
August 16 – Show Us Your Photos / Print Critique – Limit of Two 8×10″ Photos in Print Form
August 23 – Pet Photography
August 30 – Circle of Fun – Questions and Answers
These are free events – bring a friend along if you’d like. Share with your friends on Facebook – Click the Like button below. Hope you can join us!
Your Point of View – “Motion” Show Guidelines
We’re excited to announce the next Your Point of View Show! Strap yourself in because this show’s theme is “Motion”.
Entrees are limited to one image per photographer. Multiple submissions will result in disqualification.
All submitted images should be color corrected and cropped to an 11×14 aspect ratio.
All entrees must be sent to customerservice@bergencountycamera.com by 6 pm on August 10th, 2014.
A panel of judges will select sixteen finalists.
All images will be shown on Bergen County Camera’s Facebook page and BergenCountyCamera.com and the 16 finalists images will be framed and hung in the gallery for the show.
The finalists will need to submit their own 11×14 print or purchase an 11×14 print through Bergen County Camera. Finalists will be offered a Special Price for images printed through Bergen County Camera. We will mat and frame all finalist images.
The opening will be on Thursday, September 4th from 7-9 pm in Westwood.
A sale price of $200 will be placed on all finalist art. You are welcome to refuse to sell your photo during the show.
Bergen County Camera shall be entitled to a 20% commission for any featured art sold during this show.
We look forward to seeing some fascinating work. Good luck!
Fireworks Photography
Bergen County Camera employee and photography expert Alan Schwab recently hosted our focus session on fireworks photography and created this tip sheet!
Bergen Record – July 4th Celebrations List Check bestofnj.com for a list of upcoming fireworks shows
How to Shoot Fireworks
1. Set your camera to Bulb Mode. If there is no Bulb mode on your mode dial, check in Manual Mode. Change the shutter speed to the longest possible (Often switches from 30 seconds to “Bulb”). In Bulb Mode, the shutter will stay open as long as you hold down the shutter release.
2. Use a Low ISO. (100 or 200)
3. No Long Exposure Noise Reduction, high ISO NR can stay on but is not needed.
4. Set your Aperture between f/8 and f/11
5.Set your White Balance to Auto
6. No Mirror Lock Up
7. Focus your lens manually on infinity. Test where infinity is by focusing on the furthest possible object your lens can resolve sharply.
8. No Dynamic Lighting or Auto Light Optimizer
9. Vivid color mode, leave saturation at normal, landscape (picture style) for Canon users.
10. Turn the Image Stabilizer (IS or VR) off
11. Metering – Matrix or evaluative
12. You will not need to meter anything while shooting. (f/11, Bulb mode, ISO 100)
13. Tripod, short zoom lens 18-70, 24-70, 18-105, 18-140, 24-105, cable release (No need to lock)
14. Tripod will possibly need to be re-positioned (tilt etc.) once show starts. I’ll shoot vertical more often then horizontal.
15. Vary your focal length for composition
16. Fire Shutter (Cable Release) hold rather then lock. Hold for multiple bursts. (2-up to 8 maybe more) Check monitor, exposures should average 2-4 seconds although exposures can last up to 15 seconds. Disregard the histogram.
17. Finale shots need to happen quicker then the rest of the show. These shots can become over exposed quickly due to the number of fireworks exploding. Shutter speeds during the finale can range between 1 second and – 1/30th of a second.
18. JPEG or RAW format. RAW is not necessary unless you feel the need to recover highlights. Shoot JPEG or RAW together or just JPEG. Use a fast card for recovery of write speed times. Raw will offer more color bit information.
19. Bring extra cards, batteries, mini flashlight. The show may be 30 minutes to an hour long. Be careful inserting a memory card in the dark.
20. Add an element of scenic interest to your pictures. Look for a location which has a bridge, skyline, or crowd.
Check out our earlier blog post on Fireworks Photography
As always, if you have any questions about this or any other photographic subject, feel free to stop by, give us a call, message us on facebook, or comment below.
Photo Trip to the Lakota Wolf Preserve October 12th
Out most popular trip is coming around again. Join Bergen County Camera and Tamron on October 12, 2014 as we return to the Lakota Wolf Preserve.
Featuring numerous opportunities to get unobstructed pictures of the wolves in their natural settings. Since you will be photographing the wolves where they live, in a stress free environment, you will get the best possible photo opportunities. Come as close as 3-4 feet of the wolves during our private photography session. We will end our morning at the Brook Hollow Winery for a wrap up session and complimentary wine tasting.
There will be a pre-trip lecture on Creating Great Images at Lakota Wolf in our Westwood store, the date is October 9th. The lecture will cover the layout and rules of Lakota, what to expect, what lenses are best suited, and how to get that great shot! The lecture will be presented by Tamron.
Tamron will be providing free loaner lenses for Nikon, Canon, Sony, and even Pentax cameras. Bonus rebates on all current Tamron lenses will also be offered.
BCC will open a half hour before our 6:00 am bus departure for coffee, bagels and any last minute photography needs. Tickets are $250.00 each and include round trip bus transportation and admission. The bus will depart around 11:00am with a scheduled arrival of 1:00 pm back at the store. This trip is limited to 30 people so be sure to reserve early.
Tickets are available now on Eventbrite.