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Most of us have been at home for several months, working on keeping ourselves busy, pushing ourselves to find ways to improve our photography and (hopefully) learning new camera skills. You probably think you’ve exhausted all of the “photographic possibilities” in your neighborhood, but here are a few suggestions for using your camera to create images that will help…

We are pleased to announce that WPS Founder and Director E. David Luria has not just been sitting home in the Time of the Virus, looking at cute cat videos and watching his hair grow long. NO! He has been writing an Ebook: “Washington Photo Safari’s Guide For Amateur Photographers“, an illustrated 130+ page compilation…

Potomac River and Georgetown at Sunset  from the Kennedy Center Rooftop Terrace Visual tension is a compositional technique that uses a variety of framing approaches to create dynamic elements in a photograph to draw in and stimulate the interest of the viewer. It is a way of using the energy and movement available in various features of the image to draw the…

Himalyan Blue Poppy (45-200mm Zoom at 200mm) WPS Director E. David Luria is always telling his clients to “get closer” when they are on a safari, just like his mother Estela, used to tell him when he was learning photography using a Brownie 620. It’s good advice, so make it a habit to try filling the frame…

Take advantage of the nighttime Holiday Themed safaris that WPS has scheduled during the month of December and try some (or all!) of these tips! Use a sturdy Tripod to hold the camera steady during long exposures Use a remote release or the self-timer so there is no “camera shake” when the shutter is released. Use a…

In photography, the metering mode refers to the way in which a camera determines exposure. The most common metering modes are spot, center-weighted and multi-zone/matrix metering modes. Spot Metering The camera will measure on a very small area of the scene – about 1-5% of the viewfinder. By default, this is the center of the scene, but…

Do you refer to the histogram on your camera when you are out shooting? Do you know how to interpret the results that are shown in a histogram? If not, here is a quick tutorial!   What is a Histogram? A histogram is a graphic depiction of the tonal values in your photograph, organized in 256…

Depth of Field (DoF) is the distance between the nearest and farthest objects that are in acceptably sharp focus in an image. There are three main factors that affect the depth of field: Aperture (F-Stop) Distance from the subject to the camera Lens focal length The use of Aperture to control the DoF: The Aperture (F-Stop)…

In photographic terms, White Balance is the balancing of color temperature in your photos, so that whites in the photo appear white. This balancing of color temperature is controlled by settings on your camera. If you don’t change the White Balance, depending on the type of light that illuminates your subject, you may see a blue, yellow/orange…

“If you see a panther crouch, prepare to say “Ouch!” “Better yet, if called by a panther, don’t anther!” These immortal words penned by the famous poet Ogden Nash are good advice for those of you going on an animal safari in Africa. The only other words of wisdom we could add would be: “Get a telephoto…

As the Independence Day Holiday approaches, here are some tips for capturing some winning shots of the fireworks in your area. Follow these easy steps! 1) Use a tripod and a remote release to minimize camera shake. 2) Use manual focus and manual shooting mode, so that the camera doesn’t try to re-focus while you…

The Benefit Safari held on the afternoon of April 28 at the National Cathedral was a great success, raising $4000, which will be donated to the National Cathedral for the ongoing repairs of the 2011 earthquake damage and to Notre Dame de Paris to rebuild the cathedral after the recent fire. There were 34 participants…