JOURNEY TO THAILAND

JOURNEY TO THAILAND - In a little more than twenty four hours, I'll be in flight over the Pacific enroute to Chiang Mai, Thailand to participate in an approximately twelve day photo excursion. I cannot say that I'm looking forward to the actual journey, albeit I am very much looking forward to the stay in Thailand. Saying this, I feel like a bit of a wimp. After all, if this were a century ago, I would be looking at an arduous shipboard voyage as opposed to a 24 hour flight. And the primitive conditions that prevailed in 1910 Siam would be a tad more arduous than will be our stay in a luxury hotel. Still, I suspect that my stay in the 700 year old city of Chiang Mai will be quite an adventure. This is my first trip to Asia, so it will probably be a learning experience. I'm sure I'll be suffering a bad case of jet lag when I arrive. So I'll probably stick close to the hotel the first day or so. After that, I suspect I'll have a rather full itinerary. I'll be posting daily journal entries on this blog, so stay tuned for all the details. Larry Elkins Elkinsphotos Fine Art Photography

PIXEL COUNT VS SENSOR SIZE

PHOTO TIP - Everyone knows that the more pixels you pack onto a camera's sensor, the better will be the quality of the resultant photographs. So why don't we have 25 megapixel point and shoot cameras? well, to answer that question, let's play a little game of true and false. The more megapixels packed on your camera's sensor, the better the picture quality will be. True up to a point. False from that point on. Here's why. If you want to pack more megapixels onto a camera's sensor, you have to do one of two things. You can make the sensor larger. Or you can make the pixels smaller. If you choose to make the sensor larger, the camera becomes bulkier and more expensive. So, a decision is made to go with smaller pixels. However, if you attempt to pack too many pixels onto a small sensor, the pixels don't work as well at gathering light. Now there are complex rules of physics that come into play here. But none of that matters. All you're interested in is taking good pictures. Suffice it to say that if you try to pack 25 megapixels onto a point and shoot camera's tiny sensor, the camera ain't gonna take good quality pictures no more. Larry Elkins elkinsphotos.com

ELKINSPHOTOS PROMO

PROMOTIONAL ALERT - Don't forget to check out my website - www.elkinsphotos.com and my blog -History of Photography-Elkinsphotos and if you're going to be in Bisbee AZ between now and mid April, check out my exhibit, 'DeGrazia Gallery In The Sun - A Photo Essay By Larry Elkins' at BizzArt Gallery, #41 Brewery Ave. Larry Elkins Elkinsphotos Fine Art Photography

SUPER TELEPHOTO ON THE CHEAP

QUICK TIP - You'd love to have super telephoto capability but you don't have the big bucks to shell out? Consider a tele-extender. Like everything, there are trade-offs. In exchange for saving money and reducing bulk, you give up some flexibility. But you may find that this is still the answer to your prayers when it comes time to reach out and grab a distant subject. Larry Elkins Elkinsphotos Fine Art Photography

99 BOTTLES OF BEER ON THE WALL AND 40,000 PICS IN THE CAMERA,

PHOTO TIP - Back when I shot film, I used to hear the phrase, "Film is cheap". Well folks, That's not how I remember it. One of my biggest expenses when I'd go on a photo excursion was film and processing. So, I'd have to watch every shot. I'd think to myself, "Is this shot going to work?" If the answer was possibly not, then I would probably not press the shutter. With digital however, I can press the shutter a thousand times in one afternoon and the cost is negligible. This is a good thing. It doesn't mean though, that you should shoot indiscriminately. It does mean that you have options you didn't have before. So shoot away. But think before you shoot. Snap as many photos as you need to, but don't just shotgun. Stay disciplined, but take chances. This means, if you've assessed a proposed shot, and you're still not sure if its going to result in a usable photo, go ahead and shoot. But don't let that option tempt you to shoot without thinking. Larry Elkins Elkins Photos Fine Art Photography

CLOSE TO YOU

PHOTO TIP - Aunt Laura just returned from a vacation at Yellowstone Park and is she ever proud of her photo of a grizzly bear. The only problem is, Aunt Laura's camera was mounted with a 50 mm lens. And Aunt Laura didn't want to get up close and personal with Mr. Grizzly. So the bear in Auntie's photo appears way off in the distance, so distant in fact that you can bearly (pun intended) tell it's a bare. Or vice versa. Anyway, the lesson here isn't to move in closer to the grizzly. The tip is to choose a lens that will bring the big guy in closer without your having to get nose to nose. In any event, the subject of your photo usually needs to fill a good part of the frame. Of course if the main subject of your photo is a mountain, then you might place a person in the distance in order to lend perspective to your main subject, the mountain. But that's another tip for another day. Larry Elkins elkinsphotos.com

EAST OF WOODSTOCK - WEST OF VIETNAM

In the Tom Russell song 'East of Woodstock West of Vietnam', that term refers to Africa. However, half a world east of Woodstock, and almost adjacent to the west of Vietnam, lies the nation of Thailand. And one week from now, that's where I'll be journeying toward. I'll be privileged to spend approximately twelve days photographing the 700 year old walled and moated city of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. While there, I will be using this blog to create 'Adventure In Chiang Mai 2010', a day by day journal of my activities there. This journal will later be edited, augmented and combined with my photographs to create a coffee table photo book. I'll also be mounting a photo exhibit at Bizzart Gallery in March. So, for twelve days beginning about the 30th of January, you'll find me way east of Woodstock -just west of Vietnam experiencing my own adventure in a distant foreign land. Larry Elkins Elkins Photos Fine Art Photography