Holiday Show at the Shedd Aquarium

 

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Photos shot with a Canon 7D and a Canon EF 24-105 f/4L. Want the best bag for your DSLR? Check out my favorite, the Lowepro Versapack 200AW. My reviews of the bag can be found here and here.

Cheap Alternative for Getting Your White Balance Right

You just got a DSLR this Christmas... Now what?

Well, one of the things you should know is to learn how to get the white balance of your photos correct. Why is that? Well, you can get some pictures that are more yellow than others, sometimes more blue than what you like, and you should learn how to correct for that. (For a more general discussion of white balance, check out this wikipedia entry.)

Check out my picture below:

Shot with a Canon 5D Mark II

My subject is supposed to be color white but because of the color of the light source, my picture has a really warm tone. So, if I want to produce the white "dress", I would need to have something to correct for the warm tone.

There are a lot of choices out there but I saw this cheap alternative that still gives magnificent results. It's the Polaroid White Balance Lens Cap 77mm. (I got this since the filter size of my "biggest" lens is 77mm.)

So how do you correct your white balance?

First, you have to do a calibration shot. This is done by knowing what the light falling on your subject is like:

If this is how I shoot my subjects...

...then this is how I do a WB calibration shot.

Essentially, "shoot" the location where you would take the picture. That's it!

Well, first, I should mention, you should set your DSLR to the Program (P) or Aperture-Priority (Av) Mode. Then set your camera to manual focus - with the WB cap on your lens, the camera won't be able to focus onto anything. Then, as in a Canon DSLR, take a shot, set that shot as the WB reference, and set your WB mode to Custom. (For shooters with a different brand, please consult your User Guide to change your WB. The important thing is how to get the shot for reference.)

After this, simple process, shoot away!

Shot with a Canon 5D Mark II

Perfect! I got the white balance that I wanted!

And if your point-and-shoot can do custom white balance, then just use the same lens cap to get the proper setting.

These two photos were shot using the Canon Powershot SX230 HS.

And for less than $10, you've got yourself a really good deal!

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Photos made by the Canon 5D Mark II with a Canon EF 24-105 f/4L lens and a Canon Powershot SX230 HS.

Art on Ice at the Millenium Park Ice Rink

Art is everywhere and, as the great artists have found out, you only have to look to see it. While I am not a great artist, I was lucky enough to see the reflections of some of the magnificent buildings along North Michigan on the ice. These were the things I saw.

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All photos shot with the Canon Powershot SX230 HS. My review of the camera can be found here. If you are looking for a great case for your point-and-shoot camera, consider the Lowepro Dublin 20, which I reviewed here.

Famous Marilyn at the Magnificent Mile

She still gets a lot of attention...

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Shots made with a Canon 5D Mark II and a Canon EF 24-105 IS USM f/4L lens. Want the best backpack for your DSLR? Check out my review of my favorite, the Lowepro Versapack 200AW, here and here.

Ice Skating at Millenium Park

[N.B. - currently sick... But I have to have at least one blog post for the week...]


It's that time of the year...

Cloud Gate: Shot A Million Times...

The Wife and I... At 14x Zoom!

There were experts...

And there were some who fell down.

The wife...

... and our friend enjoyed the spectacle.

But of course, the kids enjoyed the rink the most...

The "mandatory" fine art shot...

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Shots made with a Canon Powershot SX230 HS. My review of the point-and-shoot can be found here.

Being Sucked Into A Black Hole

Who would've thought that the best way to demonstrate a black hole is through, or rather underneath, the Cloud Gate.

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Shot made with a Canon Powershot SX230 HS. My review of the camera can be found here. Post processing was done using Adobe Lightroom 3.

Christkindl Market Chicago 2011

 

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Shots made with a Canon 5D Mark II and a Canon EF 24-105 IS USM f/4L lens. Want the best backpack for your DSLR? Check out my review of my favorite, the Lowepro Versapack 200AW, here and here.