This morning, I woke up antsy to head up to Black Mountain Ranch. Unfortunately I will have to wait a few more weeks before I head up the long dirt road that carves it way to my personal freedom, but knowing that the cowboys are up there getting ready, dusting off the saddles in the tack room, the wranglers are out on the trails bush whacking and cobweb clearing, I know it soon will be my reality once again.

If you have never had a chance to head up to our Colorado Dude Ranch, I can’t suggest it enough. The property is some of the most beautiful I have ever seen, the cabins are my own personal sanctuary, and the food is truly good home cooking that you just can’t seem to find in the city.  The favorite part of the ranch (other than the people and horses that make it so special) are the trails.

So take a peek around and it might be time to head out on your own four legged friend…

We only have a few spots left on our Adult’s Only Week (and really only a few). So what are you waiting for? Give us a call at 1-800-967-2401 or send us an email to get your riding in! We are waiting for you! howdy@blackmtnranch.com 

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the Mom’s celebrating today! We are so blessed to have wonderful mothers, grandmothers, and great grandmothers at our ranch! We hope you are spoiled with love by those surrounding you today!

If you are still looking for a gift to get Mom, now is the perfect time to treat Mom to a week at our all inclusive dude ranch vacation for an extra special Mother’s Day treat!

We have the following weeks available and would love to show your Mom the time of her life at our Colorado dude ranch!

If your mom is more adventurous and is looking for a solo week spent in the mountains of Colorado riding horseback, learning how to fly fish or raft the Colorado River, send her to our dude ranch for a week she will always remember:

Adult’s Only Weeks:

• May 26th- June 2nd 2013- Only premium and one standard cabins left available! 
• September 1st- 8th 2013- BOOK NOW! Only 1 Standard Cabin Available! 

Have you and your mother always dreamed about spending a week riding horses, camping, and a trip to the rodeo with the entire family? Bring the entire family for a week of adventure she will never forget!

Summer Season:

• June 16th- 23rd 2013 - All options of accommodations available
  
• June 23rd- 30th 2013- 2 Standard and 1 Premium Cabins Left Available
  
• June 30th- July 7th 2013- 1 Standard cabin and Suites Left Available
• July 7th- 14th 2013- Standard Cabins, 2 Suites and 1 Premium Cabin Left Available 
• July 14th-21st 2013- Standard Cabins and Suites Left Available
• July 21st-28th 2013- Only Two Suites Left Available! BOOK NOW! 
  
• July 28th-August 4th 2013- Only Three Standard  Cabins Available! BOOK NOW! 
• August 4th-11th 2013- Standard Cabins and Suites Left Available 
• August 11th-18th 2013- Only Two Suites Left Available and 1 Premium Cabin
• August 18th-25th 2013 -Only 1 Premium Cabin and Suites Left Available! BOOK NOW! 

Please do not hesitate to call us (1-800-967-2401) with any questions you have or send us an email at howdy@blackmtnranch.com!

Have a great Mother’s Day whatever you do and we hope to see you at our fine Colorado Dude Ranch!

Cheers,

Black Mountain Ranch

The May Family & Staff from around the World 

Time for a bit of fun now. I have been taking ‘jump shots’ on my travels around the world for many years now. It’s almost become a signature thing. During all this time I’ve never met anybody who wasn’t happy to have a go and who didn’t smile at the result.

Jump shots are about catching action at its peak, an action photo technique that with a bit of practice and familiarity with your camera anyone can do with any type of camera. Here’s how you’ll get some great ones.

You need lots of light to help ‘freeze’ the action. Don’t worry if it’s frontal light shining directly on your subject(s) they’ll be too focussed on getting as high as possible to worry about squinting. This is one time where backlighting won’t look as good.

• Get your subject(s) into position with a background you like and frame them up with at least a third of viewfinder space above their head. It helps if you squat down and get low. Shooting up makes them look like they’ve got further off the ground.
• Tell your subject(s) you want them to be animated. Throw hands up in the air and kick heels up or out. Straight legs will show they only got a few inches off the ground. If they bend at the knees and get their feet away from the ground it looks  much more dynamic.
• Of course timing is key and if you’ve got more than one person in your jump shot they are going to all need to jump at the same time. Though you can get some funny results if their timing is off…

Get a timing routine going and tell them clearly what it is. I like to say “1, 2, 3 Jump!” with the request that they start the jump after the 3 so they are getting airborne as I say “Ju”.

So with everything set, lock in your focus by aiming at your subject(s) and squeezing the trigger halfway down. Shout out your  instructions and keep your camera perfectly still as they jump. Exactly when you press the shutter button depends on the amount of light you have and your camera itself. This is where a bit of practice comes in. You’re aiming to get your subject(s) at the apex of their jump so usually you have to press sometime on the way up. Take a shot, then check it out and adjust accordingly if you need to.

Once you’ve got the hang of it you’ll find there are many situations where a jump shot can be executed. I’ve done them in knee deep water at the beach, with energetic friends on skis and with many different (sometimes quite famous) backdrops.

Finally, if you’re feeling confident try some variation with the mid air poses. Be imaginative, get elevated and have fun!

Today marks the first leg of the Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby.  Although it takes years of training and a lifetime of dreams, this afternoon only 20 thoroughbreds will race before the world in the Kentucky Derby — the fastest two minutes in sports.

Today Rosie Napravnik will try and make history riding Mylute: to become the first woman to ever win the Kentucky Derby. Rosie is no stranger to horses or the fast moving world of the races.

She began riding ponies at the age of 2 and by the time she was 7 she already knew that she wanted to be a jockey. She began riding races in 2005 and has already won more than 1500 races, 3 consecutive riding titles at The Fairgrounds Racecourse, and ridden an undefeated Eclipse Champion in Shanghai Bobby. She became the first female jockey to win the Kentucky Oaks in 2012 aboard Believe You Can. In 2011 she rode Pants on Fire in the Kentucky Derby to a 9th place finish, the best by a female jockey to date.

Mylute’s trainer, Tom Amoss is a huge fan of Rosie (and should be with her impressive background)! “Her biggest strength is tremendous knowledge of pace,” Amoss said. “For those who don’t understand that, a fifth of a second is a length in horse racing. That means one second is five lengths – it’s not hard to understand that knowing where to place your horse to give it the best chance to finish on the end is extremely important.

“And second, she just has an ability to communicate with horses that I haven’t seen since Pat Day. He had it, Rosie’s got it, and I don’t know how to define it. It’s a God-given gift.”

Here is a little more about Mylute for those Derby fans out there:

We will be wishing her luck today as she tries for a shot at history! Good luck Rosie!

We are so excited that our gates will be open in less than a month! We hope you are planning on joining us for what is shaping up to be our best summer yet! (We know, we say that every year, but they truly do get better and better at Black Mountain Ranch!)

If you are looking for a week long all inclusive escape with your partner or best friend, our Adult’s Only Week’s are some of the best at the ranch. We only have a few weeks and spots left open, so please book now before we are sold out!

• May 26th- June 2nd 2013- Only premium and standard cabins left available
• September 1st- 8th 2013- Only 2 premium cabins left
• September 8th- 15th 2013-  Only 1 cabin left available

Our summer season is not to be missed and a great week to bring the entire family to our award winning Colorado dude ranch vacation! Our All Inclusive ranch vacations are still available for the following weeks:

• June 16th- 23rd 2013 - All options of accommodations available
  
• June 23rd- 30th 2013- Only 2 Standard and 1 Premium Cabins Left Available- BOOK NOW!
  
• June 30th- July 7th 2013- 1 Standard cabin and Suites Left Available- BOOK NOW! 
• July 7th- 14th 2013- Standard Cabins, Suites and 1 Premium Cabin Left Available! 
• July 14th-21st 2013-  Only Standard Cabins and Suites Left Available
• July 21st-28th 2013- Only Suites Left Available! BOOK NOW! 
  
• July 28th-August 4th 2013- Standard and Premium Cabins Available 
• August 4th-11th 2013- Only Standard Cabins and Suites Left Available 
• August 11th-18th 2013- All options of accommodations available
• August 18th-25th 2013 -Only 1 Premium Cabin and Suites Left Available!

Visit our rates and reservations page or send us an email to howdy@blackmtnranch.com to chat with Amy or Kaylee about booking your stay at the best dude ranch vacation in the west! We are looking forward to chatting with you and please do not hesitate to give us a call at 1-800-967-2401 with any questions that you might have!

Looking forward to seeing y’all at the ranch!

There’s probably more action to try and capture during a regular week at Black Mountain Ranch than there is on your usual summer vacation. Unfortunately most people without a lot of experience or practice in this area are often a bit disappointed by their action photo efforts. So here’s how you can try and make them a bit better.

You’ll need 3 things:

1. A good ‘fast’ camera
2. Shooting action skills
3. A level of knowledge and understanding of what you are photographing

Now those of you with a basic ‘point and shoot’ camera already put off by No.1 above, don’t be deterred. Do read on. While a good (preferably Digital SLR camera) is no doubt a significant advantage in this area of photography there are still things you can do with the most basic of cameras to improve your action photos. So bear with me. Please?

1. A Good ‘fast’ Camera

To capture ‘the moment’ in action shots you primarily need light and a fast shutter speed. To let more light in so your shutter speeds can be fast (1/1000 or more) a camera with the ability to allow high ISO settings (800 or more) helps hugely, as does a lens with a wide aperture (f4.0 or less). Then to get up close you’ll need a long lens (70-200 mm zoom minimum).

Aperture f4.0 Shutter speed1/4000 ISO 800 Focal length 70mm

It also helps to have a quick auto focus system and a minimal amount of shutter (or more accurately ‘processor’) lag. That is the time that passes between the moment you press the shutter release button to the moment the camera actually gets the shot. Add to that the desirability of quick camera write times – the speed at which your camera stores each photo before allowing itself to be ready for action again, and it’s not hard to see why the sports action guys turn up to events with serious bits of kit.

But all these things are about shooting pics good enough for Sports Illustrated. Whatever your camera is the most important thing you can do to help yourself take better action shots is to understand its capabilities and limitations and make it work for you as best you can.

If you have a point and shoot camera explore what (if any) over-rides or extras you have. It may be that you have a sports setting, it may be that you can shoot in ‘bursts’ (more than one shot at a time before the camera ‘writes’ the images), or it may be that you can adjust the ISO settings. Even read the manual (god forbid!) so you know what your fastest shutter speed and widest aperture are. At the very minimum have a play and get familiar with your camera’s shutter lag so you can anticipate it, see how long it is before it’s ready to shoot again and check how far you can zoom. Knowing all this will help you set up the camera as best you can and push the button at the right time.

If you are lucky enough to have a DSLR, get used to start using the manual controls to amp up the shutter speed, open the aperture and increase the ISO. Depending on the amount of ambient light you have available, you’ll probably find it easier to shoot on either shutter speed priority if you have plenty of light (where you set the shutter speed and the camera deals with the aperture), or aperture priority if the light is not so good (aperture as wide as possible and let the camera get the best shutter speed available).

If you have a Servo Zoom facility switch it on. It will allow the camera to keep the moving object continually in focus if you have the button pressed halfway down. Set the shot selection to ‘burst’ or continuous (rather than single shot) then strap on your longest lens (with an aperture of f4.0 or less) and you’re good to go. Shutter lag and camera write issues are less of a problem with a DSLR.

….And turn your flash off. It won’t help you and you’ll only annoy people.

2. Shooting Action Skills

One of the most important skills is simply thinking ahead. You don’t have much time once the action gets going. So work out where and when you are going to take your photos. Think about your composition. Look at the background and the lighting. If there are distracting elements in the background, move. When it comes to light, what you generally don’t want for portraits (i.e. harsh direct light) is often good for action, especially if you want to ‘freeze’ it. Watch a few subjects pass through your selected shooting area and see how the lighting affects them and if your camera settings are appropriate.

Depending on what kind of action you are shooting, pre-focusing is a useful trick often used by the pros. You decide in advance where you want to take the shot and set your focus to that point (usually with a test subject). Then fix that focus point and wait until your subject comes into frame and shoot as it arrives there. This can be easier than trying to focus on a rapidly moving subject and is good when you can accurately predict where your subject will be (like barrel racing), the downside is it’s not so good for action which moves a bit more randomly (like bull-riding).

Use the viewfinder to see the action. You don’t have time to switch between live looking and looking back through the viewfinder. And don’t ‘chimp’. This is looking back through your photos on the screen. Tempting as it is, you’ll probably miss something whilst doing it. Wait for natural breaks in the action to do this. Keep shooting. Sometimes the best moments come right after you think you’ve got it.

There are 3 main ways to deal with an action subject:

Freezing Action is all about shooting at a fast shutter speed (at least 1/6000 and often much more depending upon the lighting conditions). A suspended moment in time. This is almost impossible to do with a basic point and shoot camera, But if you are in the right place at the right time, a DSLR set up correctly will give you some great shots. 

Shutter speed 1/1600 ISO 4000

Shutter Speed 1/1600 ISO 4000

Blurring Action is done with a much slower shutter speed. Here your point and shoot can compete admirably with the big boys if you get it right. The aim here is to keep the subject sharp while the moving background is blurred, and it’s a great way to show speed. To make it work you have to master a panning technique. This means tracking your subject with the camera so that it stays in the centre of your viewfinder. Then press the shutter halfway down to start the autofocus. Keep moving with your subject and push the button down all the way when it reaches the desired spot. Most importantly, keep panning as you trip the shutter and for a beat afterwards. It take a bit of practice to keep the camera steady and smooth but is well worth it. Rotating your waist and keeping your feet still is the best method.

Shutter speed 1/100

Shutter speed 1/80

Catching Action at its Peak can be done with either a slow or fast shutter. It relies on a sound knowledge of the type of action you are shooting and the premise that in most instances there is a time where the subject slows down at a critical point. This can be when they rise in the air, stop momentarily and then fall back down, or change sharply from one direction to another. It’s the time when the action itself almost seems to freeze and if you shoot at this ‘peak’, it’s possible to catch that stopped motion whatever camera you have.

Shutter speed 1/320 ISO 100

Shutter speed 1/320 ISO 250

3. A Level of Knowledge and Understanding of what you are Photographing

Do your homework and be informed. Arguably as important as the first two points, knowing what your subject matter will do in action situations will really make a huge difference. It will help you know when a situation is critical, anticipate key moments, improve your timing and therefore enable you to capture better shots.

I never knew about guns before I went to the ranch, now I know when the reload happens and can capture the shell being ejected

Knowing more about the art of roping (and a dose of luck) helped me get this

Knowledge about the field of action can help you better decide where you want to position yourself to get your shots. When I first started shooting at Steamboat Springs Rodeo I got what I thought was a good spot near the bull & bronco chute. But I found when the steer wrestlers came on I would get this:

So for that event I decided to move to a low, head on angle at the end of the arena and I got this:

and then this:

Play with different angles and ideas. Every action picture doesn’t have to look the same. Here are 4 very different shots featuring Ryan May roping in the Black Mountain Ranch arena.

Finally, don’t forget your surroundings. This may seem like a no brainer, but by taking a look around you can often see other things that capture the spirit of the event just as vividly as what’s happening in front of you.

Wrangler Helen’s horse Little Joe appears unimpressed by the roping efforts in the arena

An enthusiastic fan at the rodeo

So go out and practice, on your pets, your kids, whatever is moving and get yourself a piece of the action!

Nicola, The Pikey Project 

Next blog: How to get great ‘Jump Shots” Woohoo!

Who amongst us hasn’t had those uncomfortable ‘posed’ shots taken when we were on vacation with the requisite say “cheese’ instruction that we look back on and wince. Taking bad shots of people is easy but don’t worry, taking good shots of people is not as hard as you think as long as you work on getting a few things right:

1.  The subject matter
2.  The background
3. How you’ll frame it
4. Light

These are relevant whether or you are dong a studio portrait shot, an outdoor scene or a moment when people are unaware of you (paparazzi style). Once you get the hang of getting these fundamentals right you can add a few additional tricks I’ll mention as we go along to make sure your subjects will love how you’ve portrayed them.

1. The Subject Matter.

So basically there are two kinds of subject photographs. The posed shot, often used to focus on the physical characteristics of the person themselves and the candid shot, more commonly used to capture what they are doing. It may seem obvious to say, but people tend to look best in photographs when allowed to be themselves and it’s important you remember that regardless which method you choose.

Generally I like to try and get what I call the ‘unguarded moment’. This is partly because my job is to document all that goes on at the ranch and not interrupt people’s fun. But mostly it’s because I do believe that without the apparent distraction of the camera people are more natural, relaxed and uninhibited and in capturing that moment you end up with a truer portrait of them. To get this paparazzi style shot it helps to get your long lens out and/or use your zoom. Plus you need to be take plenty of pictures when people are distracted by doing something they are enjoying even if it’s just being engrossed in a good conversation or intently watching someone else. The downside is it’s time consuming and you have to do a lot of deleting.

If you don’t have time for this and want to set up the shot remember that people need to feel relaxed and comfortable. Talk to them, put them at ease, keep them entertained. Anything that distracts them from the moment you want to go ‘click’. An old pros trick is to take photos in the set up when people think they are getting ready for the shot. ie just before ‘the pose’. If you have a ‘burst‘ or multiple shot setting on your camera don’t be afraid to use this to get the before and after shots. You’ll often find these are more relaxed and ‘real‘ than the one they think you’ve taken. Another idea is to give your subjects a prop to work with or a character to embody. Again this helps distract from the self-consciousness and awkwardness that people often experience when having their photos taken by giving them something else to concentrate on.

2. The Background.

Not just to avoid a potential pole sticking out of someones’s head, what goes on behind the subject can be positively instrumental on how the person is portrayed. So in many ways it’s just as important to think about as the subject itself.

Many portrait photographers especially when shooting ‘head shots’ like to have a very neutral background in order to accentuate the person. Of course you can simply choose a very plain background:

But if you don’t have that option available to you, you can also ‘neutralise’ a busy background in other ways (and even combine the two).

a)  Reduce the depth of field. If you can, set the camera on aperture priority or if it has no manual settings on the manufacturers portrait setting. This will make the subject be in sharp focus and the background soft and fuzzy.

b) Use your zoom. Step back and then use the zoom to get close to your subject. It will achieve a similar effect of softening the background drawing the eye to them.

Perhaps surprisingly, contrasting or even similar backgrounds can also have a similar accentuating effect, especially if they are strong graphic patterns or textures.

Here the similar colours of the background and Thatcher’s T-shirt make his face and the caption stand more out.

But sometimes the background is important in order to put the subject into a context. So if you find something that looks good behind them it can be nice to work it into the shot. If you are working on a set up portrait you can even orchestrate the scene a little to tell a good story and reveal more about who your subject really is. In this picture (below) proud new father Ryan May was uncomfortable with posing looking at me, so I got him together with things that really mattered to him, the ranch, his new baby girl, horses and his dog and asked him to ‘look away into the future’.

3. Framing

What your subject is doing and where will impact your framing choices. Think about whether you should be shooting wide, head to toe, waist up or close up. The good news is, if you’ve thought about the first two things we’ve covered, how to frame the shot best will become readily apparent to you.

Don’t be afraid to fill the frame by focussing on one or two elements, even cropping things that aren’t as important out. Conversely getting all that is going on in a wider shot can be more effective in a different situation.

Conveying Intense concentration while shooting a gun for example is often all about the eye and the trigger finger

Whilst here I felt I needed to be wide enough to see what was making Zach’s face strain so hard

If you are photographing two people who know each other rather than having them look at you, it can be a nice alternative to have them look at each other.

When shooting a group of people think about re-arranging them so they are not all shoulder to shoulder in one line  Try positioning them so some are above others or even get them to just angle their bodies differently towards you and It’ll make your group portrait look more interesting and connect people up more.

You can even frame your subject in a frame…

Think about your angle of shot. Photographing people at eye level is a good starting place, which means you need to get on their level. With kids this may mean squatting down, and with babies getting even lower. But don’t restrict yourself to this. A different angle sometimes give a really nice alternative perspective. Here’s two very different angles of baby Grace May.

Be prepared. Have any camera settings ready and zooms set so when they enter the frame you can get them right away. This makes anything they do feel more natural. WIth this shot of ranch owner Nowell May (below) I knew the horses were kicking up great dust in the light when looking across the arena and I wanted both the horse and the rider in shot. I set things up then just as Nowell came into frame I called out to him. He looked up and smiled and I immediately hit the trigger and got the shot.

One last thing to remember about framing is not to chop off limbs at awkward places. Visually this is usually the joints. So if you are going to shoot less than head to toe don’t frame at ankles, knees, elbows or shoulders. Go either side of them and you’ll be fine.

4. Light

It’s a common misconception that to take photos of people you position the light (usually the sun) behind you and have it shining directly on them. Not only does it make your subjects squint uncomfortably but the harsh direct light creates unflattering shadows on their face and shows up every imperfection. What you want is ambient or diffused light, side light or back light.

a) Ambient (or diffused) light is when the light particles are evenly scattered, either by a cloud, a shady spot or non-direct light that enters a window. It gives a lovely soft light with very little harsh shadows that is complimentary for most people.

b) Side lighting gives your subject depth and dimension through the highlights and shadows cast on their face. It can also thin out a face as only half or parts of it is lit but be careful to pay attention to the increased depth of the shadows as they can be unflattering.

c) Backlighting can give a lovely ‘halo effect’ to the subject as well as avoiding any harsh light on their face. In order to avoid the face being too dark against the background (or the subject silhouetted at all), use a reflector board (any old piece of white or shiny metallic card will do) to bounce the light from behind them back onto their face or use the flash on your camera to ‘fill in‘ their face.

The most important thing to remember about taking photos of people is to have fun. Experiment, try different things and if they are aware of it engage your subject in the process. If you both enjoy it – the good results will show.

Nicola

www.thepikeyproject.com

Next blog:  ‘How to take Action Photos’

Howdy Y’all! Summer 2013 is just around the corner and things are shaping up to be another great season here at our fine Colorado Dude Ranch. Wonder why people are saying a week at Black Mountain Ranch was “the most amazing vacation we’ve ever experienced!” Experience a week yourself! Be sure to check out the rest of our reviews online!

We do have space still available- now is the time to book your vacation for a week at our Colorado Dude Ranch! Our Adult’s Only Weeks are filling up fast this year, what are you waiting for? Grab your cowboy boots and join us!

We are also very excited to announce that for the first season we will have a full time massage therapist on the ranch! So when your feet are tired or you are a pinch saddle sore you can enjoy a afternoon massage in your cabin or up at pack camp. We can’t wait to have this at the ranch for our guests (and a massage for our staff or two!)

Don’t miss out on our special offers and events: Sign up for our Newsletter!

When it comes to taking photos I have always maintained that the camera is just a tool. In the same way that buying a canvas, some paints and brushes doesn’t make you the next Picasso, owning a top of the range camera without applying comprehension of composition, light and subject choice won’t make you a good photographer.

Nevertheless “Which camera would you recommend?” is still one of the questions I most get asked at Black Mountain Ranch, so I’m going to try and address that thorny issue now.

First of all, and apologies to those of you who wanted a one line answer, there is no such thing as the perfect camera. If there was, quite frankly there wouldn’t be so many choices on the market and most photographers wouldn’t have more than one camera.

What you can figure out though, is what type camera best fits your needs right now.

So you might want to ask yourself these kinds of questions:

1. What type of photography will you be doing? (portraits, landscapes, family snaps, sports)
2. What do you want to do with your photos? (post on social media sites, make albums/books, print large posters)
3. What experience do you have with operating cameras and how much do you want to play with settings?
4. How important is size and portability to you?
5. What is your budget?

With some answers in your head you can now peruse through the options and see which ‘fits’ best. We’ll do it by size:

1. Smartphones 

The ever-increasing quality of the camera facility in smartphones makes them a real contender these days and there are those who have forsaken their compact camera in favour of them. It’s safe to say that at the top of the smartphone range as long as you don’t want to take low light images these guys will serve you pretty well and their portability is a no-brainer.

The biggest detractions are their small sensor size (due to their slimness), the non-variable aperture and no optical zoom. You also have to consider that taking photos can store up a lot of hard drive space (less room for apps/music) and suck up valuable battery power. Finally it can be fiddly holding the phone and tapping the screen for the camera capture button.

In Summary: Great if you want to take a few pictures in normal conditions to share amongst friends and only want one thing in your pocket. Mega-convenient.

2. Compact cameras (point and shoot)

Despite falling sales as their market share is attacked by smartphones there are still plenty of compelling reasons to have yourself a dedicated compact camera. Still small enough to put in your pocket (or purse, handbag, saddlebag, murse whatever)  they pack some features that the smartphones don’t plus you have no need to worry about missing that important call or email by running out of juice. Photographically the biggest pro is the bigger sensor size and optical zoom (most have 3 x before they go to digital zoom) and they are a bit sturdier than your expensive smartphone with it’s glass face. Also many compacts have good presets to make your portraits/landscapes/macro(close up) or action shots work a little better and are physically easier to focus and shoot than the smartphone.

If you’re debating between this and a big boy Digital SLR for a bit more dosh you can get some pretty good compact cameras with manual overrides that’ll give you some options to play around with Apertures, Shutter speed and ISO without having to go all the way.

Prices and models of compact cameras vary greatly so you’ll be likely to find something that suits in this category and all will be cheaper than a smartphone or DSLR.

In Summary: Great if you enjoy taking photos and want to do a bit more with them than post them on Facebook. Excellent portability and affordable price still a big bonus.

3. MILC Mirrorless Interchangeable lens camera

The brand new kids on the photo block here to give you even more choice in your quest for the right camera. Their initial purpose was to provide interchangeable lenses and DSLR-like quality imaging (via large sensors) in a small body. To do this they exchanged the mirror (which allows you to view the object exactly as it will be photographed through the viewfinder in the DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) camera with an electronic one. A great innovation. The downside is that being s new format it requires new lenses or an adapter to fit just some of the existing DSLR lenses. However, I reckon this ‘3rd Generation’ of cameras will be the way forward even for the pros.

In Summary: The first really viable option to the DSLR’s in a small size. Wonderful balance between portability and advanced functionality. Well worth checking if you want something more than your point and shoot and you are yet to go the DSLR route.

3. Digital Single Lens Reflex Cameras (DSLR’S)

The only real reason you want to buy a DSLR is if you are really into serious photography. Back in the day compact cameras were so inferior almost everyone who wanted to take a half decent photo had an SLR, then when digital came in, a DSLR. But now small cameras really can deliver great shots for the average user and the MILC’s as they develop will really make people wonder why they have a camera based on 1959 mirror reflex technology. Canon and Nikon make the best. Once you are committed to one brand you’ll find you’ll stay as the investment you’ll need in lenses (which don’t work in rival brand models) will deter you from changing.

Naturally the biggest plus is that they still give you the biggest sensor and the ability to change lenses. The downside is they are big and expensive.

In Summary: Still the best option (currently) for fabulous photos in all conditions.

So do your research, the internet is a great tool for this and remember to continually ask yourself the questions posed at the beginning of this blog about what your needs are. If you can, borrow peoples cameras and try them out. Oh, and don’t get hung up about megapixel size. It’s a myth that more is better. In the early days of digital it did matter, but most cameras, even your smartphone have at least 5 megapixels and that’s ample unless you are planning to blow your pictures up to a massive poster size. So scratch that stress off your list. I’d rather have a camera with a bigger sensor than more megapixels.

Software

These days once you’ve taken your photo there’s plenty that you can do with it to crop, straighten horizons, add effects, frames and the like. Most people still assume you have to splash some more cash on programs like Photoshop, but there are loads of free online and downloadable programs you can use that are almost as good and way easier to use.

Here’s some of the ones I like: Instagram, Snapseed, iPhoto (already loaded on any Mac), GIMP, Picasa and PAINT.net. Generally I don’t like to ‘monkey’ around with my shots too much but here’s a few I did in about 5 minutes with Snapseed.

Woman and Horse

With grunge filter and frame

Hugo

With centre focus, brighten and frame

Rodeo

With black and white, contrast and frame

Cattle Drive

With tiltshift

Finally if you must know this is what’s in my camera bag…

DSLR bodies- Canon 5D Mark III & Canon 7D

Lenses- Canon EF f1.4 50mm prime, Tokina f2.8 11-16mm wide angle, Canon f2.8 17-40mm L, Canon f4.0 17-105mm L, Canon f2.8 70-200mm L

Compact- Canon G12, Olympus Tough (for underwater and adventure stuff)

Software I most use: Aperture (for storage and library system), Snapseed (for quick fun effects), Photoshop (on rare occasions for full digital manipulation)

Happy shopping!

Nicola

www.thepikeyproject.com

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