Learn and Explore Photography

Tips for fall foliage photos, and state foliage websites

John Tworsky

Acadia National Park Fall Foliage

Acadia National Park – Maine
Got a great image to share? Enter it in our Thanksgiving Card photo contest.

Foliage Photography:
Tips for great pictures

Filters

A polarizing filter is really the only “must have” filter to bring along for great digital fall foliage pictures. A polarizer creates dramatic fall foliage pictures by darkening the sky, increasing contrast and deepening colors and removing the sheen from the leaves. Most other filter effects such as enhancing reds and oranges, sepia and graduated effects can be easily created in Photoshop. Your standard protective UV filter should be removed before putting your polarizer on – never stack filters. Also, don’t forget to remove your polarizer when you move back inside, as it reduces light by one to two f-stops.

A second type of filter is an enhancing filter which does just what the name implies – enhances. This filter is especially effective with the bright primary colors of autumn (reds, oranges and browns). A third filter is a Color / Neutral Graduated filter which utilizes a color (or gray) that gradually diminishes from dark to light across the filter. These filters are often used to deepen the sky or to balance the exposure between foreground and background, which helps you keep the sky blue rather than washed out.

Tips

  • Nothing takes away from foliage more than a bright white overcast sky. In these situations, try to reduce the amount of sky in your images.
  • Dramatic storm clouds of autumn thunderstorms interspersed with blue sky make a stunning backdrop for the brilliant colors of fall, especially when the vivid colors are brought out with a polarizer filter.
  • Use a tripod for the sharpest possible image. This will allow an ISO of 100 or 200. Remember to use a remote release or self timer to prevent motion when pressing the shutter.
  • Colors are warmer and can be more dramatic closer to sunrise and sunset. The hour before and after sunrise and sunset are considered by many to be the “magic hours” where you get an amazing quality of light.
  • Experiment, take lots of pictures and above all have fun!
  • Since you are shooting more with your digital camera, be sure to edit out some images before showing off your work to family and friends
Once you’ve assembled your camera and a few filters, all you’ll need is foliage at the peak of color. We’ve assembled a list of state hotlines below to help schedule your trip. Need some ideas for places to shoot, be sure to visit Bergen County Camera’s Where to take great Pictures page. Have some suggestions of your own? Please send us an email and we’ll include your suggestions.

Fall foliage websites and hotlines

The Foliage Network

New Jersey 
mid to late October 
Connecticut
 
 Late September - mid October 
Maine 
Early September - mid October
 
Massachusetts
 
October 
New Hampshire 
Late September - mid October
 
New York
 
Late September - late October
 
Pennsylvania 
Early October
 
Vermont 
Early September - Late October
 
Virginia 
September - Late November
 
Delaware 
Late October
 
Maryland 
Late September - Late October
 
Rhode Island 
Late September - mid October

Remember to visit Bergen County Camera in Englewood or Westwood, NJ for filters, tripods, lenses, cameras and prints.

Free Saturday Focus Sessions – October and November

John Tworsky

Focus sessions are free and take place in the Westwood store from 9:30 am – 10 am and our Englewood location from 10:30 am – 11:00 am. All sessions will allow for questions and answers. Please bring your camera and any images along that you have questions about.

Here’s the schedule for October and November

October 1 – Millbrook Winery Trip Review

October 8 – Show us your Photos – Please bring no more than 2 prints for review

October 15 – Outdoor Sports Photography

October 22 – What’s in Your Camera Bag or Should Be

October 29 – Halloween Photos

November 5 – How to Shoot a Great Holiday Card Photo

November 12 – Getting Better Flash Photos

November 19 – How to Shoot Great Party Photos

November 26 – Thanksgiving Weekend – No Focus Session in Either Location

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!

Free Saturday Focus Sessions for August 13 – October 1

Brendan Rahl

Focus sessions are free and take place in the Westwood store from 9:30 am – 10 am and our Englewood location from 10:30 am – 11:00 am. All sessions will allow for questions and answers. Please bring your camera and any images along that you have questions about.

Here’s the schedule for August 13 – October 1, 2011

August 13 – All About Camcorders – How To Choose

August 20 – What’s in Your Camera Bag or Should Be

August 27 – Sensor Cleaning

September 3 – Labor Day – No Session

September 10 – Tripods & Monopods

September 17 – How to Photograph at a Vineyard

September 24 – New Jersey Photo Expo tomorrow – No Session

October 1 – Millbrook Winery Trip Review

These are free events – bring a friend along if you’d like. Share with your friends on Facebook – Click the Like button below.

Bergen county Camera's NJ Photo Expo

Free Saturday Focus Sessions for July 2 – August 13

John Tworsky

Focus sessions are free and take place in the Westwood store from 9:30 am – 10 am and our Englewood location from 10:30 am – 11:00 am. All sessions will allow for question and answers. Please bring your camera and any images along that you have questions about.

Here’s the schedule for July 2 – August 13, 2011

July 2 – Fireworks Photography

July 9 – Vacation Photography

July 16 – Get Steady – Monopods and Tripods

July 23 – Lenses – From wide and to telephoto – how to select and use.

July 30 – Getting better flash pictures

August 6 – Critique your photos – please bring two prints to discuss what you are doing right and get suggestions to improve

August 13 – Choosing the perfect camcorder

These are free events – bring a friend along if you’d like. Share with your friends on Facebook – Click the Like button below.

Free Saturday Focus Sessions for May 21 – July 2

John Tworsky

Focus sessions are free and take place in the Westwood store from 9:30 – 10 am and our Englewood location from 10:30 am – 11:00 am. All sessions will allow for question and answers. Please bring your camera and any images along that you have questions about.

Here’s the schedule for May 21 – July 2, 2011

May 21 – Sensor Cleaning How to – Learn what’s needed to clean your sensor. This is a great skill to have as dust always happens when your are least prepared!

May 28 – Get Steady – Monopods and Tripods

June 4 – How to photograph at the zoo – great preparation for our June 5 Bronx Zoo trip

June 11 – Longwood Gardens Trip – discussion, critique and suggestions for next steps

June 18 – Online Photofinishing – Books – Albums – Photo Mugs and more!

June 25 –

Westwood – Bronx Zoo trip discussion, critique and suggestions
Englewood Concert Photography

July 2 – Fireworks Photography

These are free events – be sure to bring a friend along if you’d like. Share with your friends on Facebook – Click the Like button below.

The World of HD Video with EOS DSLR’s

John Tworsky

Canon LogoCanon Discover DayCanon Digital Learning Center

In a brief period of time, HD video capability has exploded into the digital SLR world, adding impressive imaging capabilities to today’s Canon EOS SLR cameras.

Join Bergen County Camera at the Park Ridge Marriott on Wednesday, May 25, 2011 from 7 – 9 pm – tickets are $25 per person

If you are a first-time SLR user, or a long-time SLR enthusiast who has shot still images for years, and wonder how to really begin to use these new features to expand your image-making, Canon’s newest two-hour EOS Discovery Day class may be just what you’re looking for.

During this course you will:

  • Understand the foundation of video camera operations.
  • Discover how the video process works from pre-visualizing before shooting through editing and creating a finished product that’s ready for anything from the web to a high-definition DVD disk.
  • Learn the different camera settings and their impact of video such as frames per second, different resolution choices and even discuss optimum memory cards for video use.

Unlock your visual potential between you and your Canon EOS Camera with The World of HD Video with EOS digital SLRs. Attendees will receive at no extra cost a printed 77-page guide, covering the material we’ll discuss in this two-hour presentation.

Register Now

Free Saturday Focus Sessions for April and May

John Tworsky

Focus sessions are free and take place in the Westwood store from 9:30 – 10 am and our Englewood location from 10:30 am – 11:00 am. All sessions will allow for question and answers. Please bring your camera and any images along that you have questions about.

Here’s the schedule for April and May

April 9 – Learn all about Micro 4/3s cameras then visit us for Olympus demo day in Westwood from 10 am – 4 pm

April 16 – Show us your Photos – Critique – please bring 2 – 3 images for an honest appraisal of your images and how to make them better. (printed photos only – no digital files please)

April 23 – Portraits with your Flash

April 30 – Landscape Photography

May 7 – Outdoor Sports Photography

May 14 – Photography at a Botanical Garden – a great preparation for our Longwood Gardens Trip on May 15

May 21 – Sensor Cleaning How to – Learn what’s needed to clean your sensor. This is a great skill to have as dust always happens when your are least prepared!

May 28 – Get Steady – Monopods and Tripods

These are free events – be sure to bring a friend along if you’d like.

Free Saturday Focus Sessions continue at Bergen County Camera

John Tworsky

Focus sessions are Free and will take place in the Westwood store from 9:30 – 10 am and our Englewood location from 10:30 am – 11:00 am (except social media profile session).  All sessions will allow for question and answers. Please bring your camera and any images along that you have questions about.

February 26 – Westwood Only – How to get a great LinkedIn or social media profile picture. With the growth of social networking and its growing importance in business, it has become important to make a good first impression online . . .  this starts with a great profile picture. During our 30 minute session, we’ll talk about lighting, posing, flash, studio lights, backgrounds and more. We’ll also talk about shooting pictures with the proper audience in mind – a LinkedIn profile picture may look nothing like your Facebook, MySpace or Twitter profile picture depending on how you use each.

Not ready to go shoot your own portrait? For $50 a professional photographer will take your portrait and provide about 8 images on a CD for you to use. If you are planning to have your photograph taken, please be sure to dress for the type of portrait you are seeking – social networking, professional networking etc. Please call the store if you have any questions – 201-664-4113.

Here’s the schedule going forward
Mar 5 – Digital Video with your DSLR
Mar 12 – Great Party Photos
Mar 19 – Sensor Cleaning – howto
Mar 26 -Night Time Photography – Time Exposures
Apr 2 – What you need for Flower Photography
Apr 9 – Micro 4/3’s cameras what’s it all about

These are free events – be sure to bring a friend along if you’d like.

Learn More – Digital Camera Color Accuracy – Gamut

John Tworsky

gamut_purp_correct.
The Purple Iris the way I saw it and my Minolta Dimage captured it.

gamut_purp_incorrect
The Purple Iris as captured by my Canon G2.

Although this story was originally posted in 2002 it still applies today. Not all colors can be captured by a digital camera sensor.

Most of us have taken hundreds of pictures with our digital cameras without giving a thought to the crisp brilliant color images that we’ve captured. With few exceptions digital cameras produce very accurate renditions of what we see. There are times when digital cameras may cause some problems with color. This is especially important for people photographing flowers, artwork and dyed fabrics. Read on to find out more.

Have you ever taken a picture with your digital camera and the color looks nothing like what you saw? Digital cameras use a light sensitive chip to capture color & light. The sensitivity of these chips varies from camera to camera but as a general rule they have difficulty dealing with rich saturated tones.

Why does this happen? First, most of us work with RGB images, which means our images are made up of Red, Green and Blue components. Your camera is sensitive to a range of colors called the gamut. Let’s say your digital camera can capture the colors inside the triangle below. If the object your taking a picture of has a color that lies outside the GAMUT of your camera, your camera automatically chooses a color that is close which lies inside the triangle. In the case of our deep purple Iris flowers the closest color happens to be a shade of blue.

colorspace1

colorspace2

The diagram on the bottom shows the deep purple Iris flower we saw and how the camera chose the closest available color which is actually more of a blue color.

Fall Foliage Photography – State Hotlines & Tips

John Tworsky

Acadia National Park Fall Foliage

Acadia National Park – Maine

Foliage Photography Tips for great pictures

Filters

For digital there is really only one “must have” filter to bring along for great fall foliage pictures – a polarizer. A polarizer creates dramatic fall foliage pictures by darkening the sky, increasing contrast and deepening colors and removing the sheen from the leaves. Most other filter effects such as, enhancing reds and oranges, sepia and graduated effects can be easily created in Photoshop. Your standard protective UV filter should be removed before putting your polarizer on – never stack filters. Also, don’t forget to remove your polarizer when you move back inside as it reduces light by one to two f-stops.

A second type of filter is an enhancing filter which does just what the name implies – enhances – especially the bright primary colors of autumn (reds, oranges and browns).  A third filter is a Color / Neutral Graduated filter which utilizes a color (or gray) that gradually diminishes from dark to light across the filter. These filters are often used to deepen the sky or to balance the exposure between foreground and background, which helps you keep the sky blue rather than blown out.

Tips

  • Nothing takes away from foliage more than a bright white overcast sky. In these situations, try to reduce the amount of sky in your images.
  • Dramatic storm clouds of autumn thunderstorms interspersed with blue sky make a stunning backdrop for the brilliant colors of fall especially when the vivid colors are brought out with a polarizer.
  • Use a tripod for the sharpest possible image to allow an ISO of 100 or 200 and use a remote release or self timer to prevent motion when pressing the shutter.
  • Colors are warmer and can be more dramatic closer to sunrise and sunset. The 1 hour before and after both sunrise and sunset are considered by many to be the “magic hours” where you get an amazing quality of light.
  • Experiment, take lots of pictures and above all have fun!
  • Since your shooting more with your digital camera, be sure to edit down before showing off your work to family and friends
Once you’ve assembled your camera and a few filters, all you’ll need is foliage at the peak of color. We’ve assembled a list of state hotlines below to help schedule your trip. Need some ideas for places to shoot, be sure to visit Bergen County Camera’s Where to take great Pictures page. Have some suggestions of your own please send us an email and we’ll include your suggestions.

Fall Foliage Websites

The Foliage Network

Fall Foliage Hotlines – click on a state below

New Jersey 
mid to late October 
Connecticut
 
 Late Sep - mid October 
Maine 
Early Sep - mid October
 
Massachusetts
 
October 
New Hampshire 
Late Sep - mid October
 
New York
 
Late Sep - late Oct
 
Pennsylvania 
Early October
 
Vermont 
Early Sep-Late October
 
Virginia 
Sep - Late Nov
 
Delaware 
Late October
 
Maryland 
Late Sep Late October
 
Rhode Island 
Late Sep - mid October