You’ve seen the shots. You know they were all shot with one light. The question is - have you figured out exactly how they were shot?

Yes, I’ve actually learned some things from Strobist - and I’m sharing some of those things with you…

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Can anybody guess how I shot Ryu?

The answer has to do with lighting, and here’s a clue: all three of these shots were taken with one small light.

Yes, I’m brushing up on my Strobist skills. No, I’m not quite following the Lighting 102 series, but I’m still playing with small strobes. I used a single Canon 430EX for these shots, but what I’d like to know is this - can you tell how I played with the light from my flash?

On another note, I know the figure on the right (the one Ryu is punching) is a Street Fighter character. Can anybody identify him?

Tags: Strobist, Lighting 102, Canon Speedlite 430EX, Street Fighter, Ryu

You’ve seen the results of my last experiment with rim light and fluid movement, and now I’m going to show you how I did it.

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See more photography-related strips by Aaron Johnson at www.whattheduck.net

The first photography.101 lesson we had was that it’s not about the camera, but we also mentioned the importance of good tools. This is why we’d like to help you pick a better camera.

You see, it’s way too easy to get robbed at the camera store. Yes, camera prices may be dropping, but it’s still too easy to get suckered into buying a camera for certain features that you don’t really want - or need.

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We’ve established that it’s not the camera that takes good pictures - it’s you. Now we’re moving on to helping you make the most of your camera. That’s why we’re going to the basics: how cameras work.

Yup, if we want to take better pictures, knowing our tools - and how they work - is an important step. Even with all the automatic settings modern cameras have, knowing the principles behind these features helps us make better use of them.

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See more photography-related strips by Aaron Johnson at www.whattheduck.net

This is it, the first real installment of the drivebyshooter.net photography.101 series. That’s why I want to make this clear: your camera is a tool for taking photographs. That’s all it is - a piece of equipment. Your camera doesn’t take pictures - you do.

You are the one who sees the opportunity for a great shot. You are the one who frames and composes your image. You are the one who decides when to take the shot.

Your camera is just the tool that lets you record an image.

Now I’m not saying that your camera doesn’t matter - it does. What matters more though is that you know how to use it. That’s what I hope to help you with in this photography.101 series.

Tags: What The Duck, camera, tool

Shooting sports isn’t easy: you can’t just point a camera in the directions of the action, click away, and expect spectacular results. It’s a good thing then that the May-June 2007 issue of Mobile Philippines: The Ultimate Guide to Mobile Technology has a primer on sports photography.

They can’t spell my name right (there’s an “o” missing there somewhere), but they’ve got more than a handful of phone reviews, advice on Formula 1 racing, tips on underwater photography, and of course, some sports photography tips. On top of that, fellow bloggers Jayvee, Markku, and Rico also add to the heft of this issue.

If that doesn’t get you, they’ve got another gorgeous geek on the cover. In this issue, Miss Earth 2004 Priscilla Meirelles graces the cover. If that isn’t reason enough, then I’ll go back to my first one - there’s a primer on sports photography in this issue, and I wrote it.

If you’re my friend, that should be reason enough for you to grab your own copy. If not, you should get one anyway.

Tags: Mobile Philippines, sports photography, Miss Earth 2004, Priscilla Meirelles, m-ph.com, abuggedlife.com, rebelpixel.com, fool45.com

One of the goals I had when I started drivebyshooter.net was to turn it into a photography resource. Yes, I wanted my gallery on it - but I also wanted to share what I’ve learned about the craft. Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten very far on either count. This post, as well as others, I hope, will remedy that.

Yup, I’ve got a new category: photography.101.

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