Free Saturday Focus Session Schedule – July

Brendan Rahl

Focus sessions are free and take place in the Westwood store from 9:30 am – 10 am and at our Englewood store from 10:30 – 11:00 am. All sessions will allow for questions and answers. Please bring your camera and any images along that you have questions about.  On Focus Sessions marked Westwood only, Englewood will host a general Question and Answer session from 10:30 am – 11:00 am.

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 6 – Concerts & Events

July 13 – Wildlife Photography

July 20 – How to Photograph Waterfalls

July 27 – Critique Your Prints

August 3 – Sensor Cleaning

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!

 

Panama Photo Safari – Tranquilo Bay Eco Lodge

Brendan Rahl

Starting this September, Bergen County Camera is embarking on a Panama Photo Safari with award winning nature photographer Franklin Viola.  Here is a great video detailing some of the sights and adventures available around the Tranquilo Bay Eco Lodge. For more information feel free to check out our original blog post or browse our other posts about the trip!

For more information on how to book this photo safari please contact Bergen County Camera.

Panama Photo Safari – About the Trip and Guide

Franklin Viola

On Sept. 14, I will be escorting and guiding Bergen County Camera’s Panama Photo Safari on a seven night, eight day adventure through Tranquilo Bay, Panama.  I will be accompanied by my longtime friend and BCC owner Tom Gramegna. He will be along to experience firsthand some of the amazing diversity of flora and fauna that Tranquilo Bay offers us. Here is some background on my history and experiences, and some of what you can expect when you join us for this exciting trip.

 

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In 1994, the British Museum of Natural History recognized me as one of the top ten wildlife photographers of the year for an underwater image I captured of a spawning tube sponge off of Little Cayman Island. Unfortunately, I did not get to attend the ceremony in London as I was already committed to leading a photo safari through the Bay Islands of Honduras.

 

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The “skinny” Americas have always been inviting to me, whether it be piloting a ship throughout her islands as a Merchant Marine officer (my first career), or scuba diving her spectacular reefs as a professional nature and travel photographer. My cameras have always discovering wondrous treasures, both natural and man-made, throughout Latin America.

 

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I will be spending 6 months in Panama, staying at the Tranquilo Bay Eco-Adventure Lodge. It is perhaps the finest ‘built’ resort my 25 years of travel have revealed, and I will be spending my time there documenting some of the islands lush tropical vegetation, along with her encyclopedia of exotic animals from poison dart frogs to three-toed sloths.

 

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Days here range from sun drenched and humid (though not stifling like my native Texas) to cool and wet when cumulus clouds nourish the jungle and its inhabitants. We will go birding, hiking, kayaking, beach combing, snorkeling, and sometimes we will just relax to slow down the pace with hanging porch hammocks, Hemingway novels and adult beverages.

 

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Wait. Hear it? There in the mangroves. A white-faced capuchin monkey. Dust off your passport, pack your bags, get your binoculars and camera. We should get a great view on the boardwalk. Hope you may join Bergen County Camera and myself for one of our three Photo Safari Panama!

For more information on how to book this photo safari please contact Bergen County Camera.

See more of Franklin Viola’s “Photo of the Day” Panama at:

http://www.violaphoto.com/pod.htm

Fireworks Photography – Where to Photograph – July 4, 2013

John Tworsky

Where to photograph fireworks – these links will be updates as we get closer to July 4th.
North Jersey’s parade, firework and celebration map
List of North Jersey fireworks, times and dates

Here are some basic starting points

If you have any questions, stop by the store, email or call. We’re here to help. Please let us know if you get some great shots we’d love to see!
Please feel free to leave your comments and suggestions. Have a great 4th of July Holiday weekend from all of us at BCC.

Find a fireworks display on NorthJersey.com’s 4th of July celebrations page.

Tripod
Electronic release (available for most cameras at BCC) or 2 second self timer to eliminate the motion caused by pressing the shutter button.
Manually set your camera ISO to 100 (You do not want Auto ISO)
Lens Choice – Wide Angle Zoom to frame what you’d like to capture
Auto White Balance or Daylight
Set your lens to manual focus then focus to infinity (take a test image and make sure things are sharp)
Set your camera to Manual exposure – Try 5 seconds at f/ 16
Carefully release the shutter if not using a release to capture from one to several bursts
Evaluate your exposure – Shorter exposures (or smaller apertures ) will darken the image and capture shorter trails, Longer exposures (or larger apertures ) will lighten the image and capture longer trails.
Evaluate sharpness by zooming in on your image – adjust as needed

If you are using a point a shoot, check your camera’s manual for fireworks mode.

Improving Fireworks photos
Shoot with a tripod – it will give a more natural cascade of light

Shooting the Finale!
The finale is many times brighter than rest of the show. Be ready to choose a shorter exposure or smaller aperture to prevent overexposure. The exposure you need is dependent on the number of simultaneous bursts. In some really incredible finales I’ve found myself shooting at 1/4 or 1/8th of a second. Experiment for best results.

Why use a tripod?

Hand-held image above shows motion from camera shake in the burst of light.

The image below is steadied by a tripod, 5 seconds, f16 at 100 ISO

Other Techniques
Set your camera to B and lock open your shutter – keep the lens covered with a dark hat and remove the hat to capture a burst then recover and repeat to capture several bursts. Just be careful not to bump your camera.
You can even zoom the lens during exposure for some interesting effects

Experiment and best of all have fun

Gallery images below shot mainly at 5 seconds, f16 at 100 ISO

Free Saturday Focus Session Schedule – June – July

Brendan Rahl

Focus sessions are free and take place in the Westwood store from 9:30 am – 10 am and at our Englewood store from 10:30 – 11:00 am. All sessions will allow for questions and answers. Please bring your camera and any images along that you have questions about.  On Focus Sessions marked Westwood only, Englewood will host a general Question and Answer session from 10:30 am – 11:00 am.

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:

June 8 – Portrait Photography

June 15 – Fireworks Photography

June 22 – Longwood Gardens Trip Review (Westwood Only)

June 29 – Get Your Camera Ready for Vacation

July 6 – Concerts & Events

July 13 – Wildlife Photography

July 20 – How to Photograph Waterfalls

July 27 – Critique Your Prints

August 3 – Sensor Cleaning

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!

 

Lensbaby goes to Grounds For Sculpture

Carly Rahl

Sunday, April 14th, Bergen County Camera partnered with Lensbaby to create an unforgettable trip down to Hamilton New Jersey’s Grounds For Sculpture. Lensbaby provided lenses for the participants to walk around the gardens and explore their creativity with.

Lensbaby is a Portland, Oregon based company that launched in 2004. The idea of the Lensbaby started with a vacuum tube and has evolved throughout the years into eight different optics which each create a unique effect. See attached gallery for examples of images from the trip that were taken with several different optics.

Grounds For Sculpture is a 42-acre property located in Hamilton, New Jersey. It was the former location of the NJ State Fairgrounds and has been transformed into a array of sculptures, flowers, trees, and more for the public to wander and enjoy.

Click on an image below to see it larger and to see which Lensbaby optic the image was shot with.

Boot
Macro
Glass
Shadow
Tree
Relaxing
Path
A Couple of Statues
Zen
Bridge
Peacock

[Show as slideshow]

Alan Schwab and Heather Lang – Photography show opening May 20th at the Rivervale Public Library

John Tworsky

Heather Lang and Alan Schwab will be exhibiting at the River Vale Public Library from May 20th through June 18th. An opening reception will be held at the River Vale Public Library on May 20th at 7 pm. Heather and Alan both work at Bergen County Camera in Westwood, NJ.

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Michael Massaia – Afterlife 2013 Opening April 18 at Gallery 270

John Tworsky

Here’s a preview of Michael Massaia’s next show “Afterlife 2013” featuring images from the Jersey shore – before and after Sandy. The photographs are split toned silver gelatin contact prints and gold platinum prints.

Gallery 270 will be hosting an Artist Reception on Thursday April 18, 2013 from 7 – 9 pm. Light refreshments will be served. We hope you can join us at our Westwood location for a great evening with the artist. This show will be on display from April 11, 2013 – June 8, 2013.  For gallery info please call 201-664-4113 or visit www.gallery270.com

Michael has just won the Hearst 8×10 award with a photograph from his “Seeing the Black Dog” portfolio of work. In the world of photography, this is a very prestigious award. It was chosen as one of the eight winning bodies of work from all fifty states, 2400 entries and 78 different countries. The judges are composed of the most respected photographers, gallerist and experts in photography.

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