10 brilliant music videos shot with a Canon 5D mkII

Besides being a great machine for photo taking, the 5D mkII is pretty darn fantastic when it comes to shooting video. Check out these music vids, all taken with an EOS 5D.

World Photography Day '11 winners

Stephen Buhagiar placed first in our WPD competition with his entry named 'Thoughts & Smoke'.

Congratulations Stephen and well done!

Emil Vassallo was also the lucky winner of a 200 Euro voucher; his vote was drawn from the 200 something votes submitted in our voting box!


'Thoughts & Smoke', by Stephen Buhagiar, winner of the 1000 Euro voucher.

How to win a €200 Canon voucher

We could all do with a little help towards that nice big lens, that new HS system compact, or that sexy little camcorder. Here's how to win a €200 Canon voucher...

Step 1: Visit our outlet in St. Julian's Road San Gwann. Make sure you take the right road or it could cost you a €30 ticket for going up a one way street. Not very wise.
Step 2: Have a good look at our exhibited photos. And when I say good, I mean good. The entrants are competing for a €1000 voucher, and 20% of the votes will come from people like you. So be fair please.
Step 3: On deciding your favourite photo, fill out the form laid on the stand next to the exhibit. Deposit your vote into the voting box.
Step 4: If you are tempted to fill out another form, please think again. We will be going through the votes after the lottery and if the winner has voted multiple times he will be disqualified. Immediately.
Step 5: Keep your fingers crossed!

:-) Until the next!

Our 15 WPD finalists

After more than 24 hours of careful thinking our judges cast their votes. Here are the 15 finalists that were announced on Tuesday.




'A Friend in Need' - Lionel M. Cassola
Photo number 13




Charles Mifsud
Photo number 9




'A Touch of Burma' - Jan Zammit
Photo number 10




'Barn Owl' - Ian Balzan
Photo number 3




'Fire Lion' - Edward Cauchi
Photo number 15




'Reflected Drop' - Duncan Cauchi
Photo number 7




'Blue Splash' - Christopher Azzopardi
Photo number 11




'Musical Chairs' - Sergio Morana
Photo number 2




'Sweet Finish' - Sabrina Vassallo
Photo number 6




'Valletta' - Simon Theuma Marshall
Photo number 12


'Thoughts and Smoke' - Stephen Buhagiar
Photo number 4




Robert Cuschieri
Photo number 1




'Golden Hour' - Clayton Curmi
Photo number 14




Joe Smith
Photo number 5




'Sunset on Derwent Water' - Rosita Vassallo
Photo number 8

The World Photography Day Exhibition will open on Monday the 8th of August and will run until the 19th August, Monday to Friday 8am to 4.30pm at our San Gwann premises.

Take a shot at voting for your favourite photo during the exhibit, and you can be the winner of a 200 Euro voucher to spend on any Canon photo-video product of your choice!

A lottery draw will take place and the first drawn vote with the correct answer will be the lucky winner!

Until then ;-)

WPD competition entries!

Last night we received the very last entries for the World Photography Day '11 competition.
We are well impressed with the photos sent over - an incredible 207 entries were sent in, all showcasing the talent and creativity we have on the Maltese Islands.

The 15 finalists will be announced by today - I do not envy our panel of judges, they have a tough job to do! Keep watching our facebook page for the news!

A big well done to all, and another final good luck!!

The canonmalta.com team ;-)

World Photography Day '11 competition

Avantech Ltd. is celebrating World Photography Day!! Be a part of our competition and take a chance at being one of our 15 finalists and exhibition - the winner will win a 1000 Euro voucher!

Click on the poster above for more info.

Please read our terms & conditions before entering:

1. The subject for the World Photography Day Competition is open.
2. Entrants can submit up to one photo electronically, on info@avantech.com.mt, up until midnight 31st July. Please include name & surname, contact number and address.
3. The competition is open to Maltese Islands residents only. Employees of Avantech Ltd., as well as their immediate families are not eligible to enter.
4. Entries will be judged by a panel of judges. The judges will select a shortlist of fifteen photographs (the 'Finalists') They will consider a range of factors including composition, technical ability, originality, and the commercial appeal of the photographs.
5. The finalists have to present a high res copy of their image at the Avantech premises by Tuesday the 2nd of August at 4pm. Any finalists who fail to present their work will be disqualified.
6. The general public will be invited to vote for the Finalist they like the best at the Avantech premises, when the finalists are being exhibited from the 8th till the 19th of August. The public will be asked to fill in a form and answer a skill question; one of the voters will be drawn to win a 200 Euro voucher for Canon photo-video products from Avantech Ltd. The public will count for 20% of the final votes.
7. The competition winner will receive a prize of 1,000 Euro voucher worth for Canon photo-video products from Avantech Ltd.
8. Prizes are as stated and cannot be sold or transferred.
9. In the event of a technical problem or evidence of impropriety with regard to the public’s vote, the judges shall have the final decision.
10. All entries must be the original work of the entrant and must not infringe the rights of any other party. The entrants must be the sole owner of copyright in all photographs entered. Further, entrants must not have breached any laws when taking their photographs.
11. Prior to submission, entrants must not have offered any of their entries for sale, been paid for any publication of any of their entries or won or been a runner up in any other photographic competition with any of their entries.
12. Entrants will retain copyright in the photographs that they submit to Avantech Ltd. By entering the competition all entrants grant to Avantech Ltd. the right to publish and exhibit their photographs on Facebook, the Avantech website, CanonMalta.com blog, CanonMalta.com webpage, and any other medium seen fit to promote the competition and event
13. By entering, entrants will be deemed to have agreed to be bound by these rules and Avantech Ltd. reserves the right to exclude any entry from the competition at any time and in its absolute discretion if Avantech has reason to believe that an entrant has breached these rules.
14. Avantech Ltd. reserves the right to cancel this competition or alter any of the rules at any stage, if deemed necessary in its opinion, and if circumstances arise outside of its control.

GOOD LUCK!!

EF 50mm f/1.8 II - the 'nifty fifty'

The 50mm f/1.8 lens has earned the nickname the 'nifty fifty' because of it's low price and sharp optical quality.

The 50mm f/1.8 is the least expensive lens at this focal range. And dear readers, this lens is a marvel. I’ll keep it very simple - why the 50mm f/1.8 is a must:

1. At a little over a 100 Euros, it is very cheap and easy on the pocket for everyone including hobbyists.
2. Do not let the cheap price fool you. The 50mm is fantastically sharp, owing it's amazing optical quality to it's simple design.
3. Very light and compact, it is super-easy to carry around.
4. With an f/1.8 maximum aperture, this is a fast lens. This means that it has a bigger aperture that will allow you to shoot at high shutter speeds even in low light.
5. Last but not least, the 50mm f/1.8 offers a great learning curve. Faced with the limitation of a fixed focal length, you will find yourself being more creative and more involved in the photographic process. In a nutshell, prime lenses offer great exercise for your composition techniques.

Conclusion: If you do not own the 'nifty fifty' as yet, I truly recommend you get one! It won't cost you that much and I guarantee you will love it!

The 50mm f/1.8 can be purchased from Avantech in St. Julians Road, San Gwann, for 109.99 Euros inc VAT.

Canon wins 4 honours at the 2011 TIPA Awards!

TIPA (Technical Image Press Association) Awards are recognised as the most coveted imaging accolades in the world. Winning one award is an achievement, so Canon’s haul of 4 awards across a wide range of imaging products demonstrates the company’s continued excellence.






Being recognised by the TIPA Awards is a great achievement, but to be honoured with 4 awards is recognition of the Canon brands excellence and dominance across different areas of imaging product.

The TIPA panel comprises editors from 29 leading global photography titles which ensures the independence and prestige of winning a TIPA award. Canon won awards in DSLR, compact camera, lens and printer categories.

• Best DSLR Entry Level: Canon EOS 600D

• Best Superzoom Camera: Canon PowerShot SX230 HS

• Best Professional Lens: Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM

• Best Multifunctional Photo Printer: Canon PIXMA MG8150

Canon unveils the EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II – the ideal telephoto lens for aspiring photographers

London, UK, 13th June 2011 – Canon today announces the launch of its latest high-quality telephoto zoom lens. The new EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II is a compact and affordable lens, offering powerful telephoto performance combined with high image quality, making it ideal for photographers wanting to get closer to the action.







The versatile new lens enables photographers to shoot a variety of subjects due to its variable focal range. It’s ideal for shooting anything from portraits to longer-distance subjects, such as wildlife, sports, or even features within a landscape – ensuring the moment is always captured in impressive detail.

The EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II will be available separately and also as part of a double lens kit, bundled alongside the recently-announced EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II with EOS 550D, EOS 600D and EOS 60D bodies, providing beginners with a fantastic start to their photography system, all in one box.

Designed and manufactured to exacting standards, the EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II reflects Canon’s premium design philosophy, with an enhanced exterior design and a number of premium technologies to ensure leading image quality.

Canon’s four-stop Image Stabilizer (IS) counters image blur during low light and handheld shooting, and the inclusion of an Ultra-low Dispersion (UD) lens element and Canon’s Super Spectra Coatings also ensure beautifully crisp, high contrast and glare-free images. The latest EF-S lens to be added to Canon’s range is ideal for photographers seeking an affordable and versatile lens for general-purpose telephoto photography.

The new EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II will be available from July 2011.

We have moved!

Hello all!

What a hectic last few weeks it has been! Finally we are all settling down at our new premises in San Gwann - we promise to be more active in the coming days!
For all those who were unaware of our move or new location, here is a map:






We hope to welcome all of you here in the coming days!

The CanonMalta.com team :-) x

Our top B&W shots as submitted by our Facebook fans!

Hi all!

We did have quite a good number of B&W photos posted on our facebook page following our last blog post!

Our favourites......... :-)


By Angie Borda


By Annelise Grech


Marie Claire Cremona - 'We'll Wait Together'


Nicky Scicluna - 'LOVE'


By Sarah P. Warrington


By Sirach Vassallo

Keep it everyone!

The CanonMalta.com team :-)

Tutorial: Black & White Photography

Black and white photography is enjoying a revival, although it has never really gone away. Why does it continue to be so popular?



There is a certain nostalgia about black and white; not just memories of old photographs but early television too. In fact black and white is very effective at emphasizing the shapes and tones of the subject. Black and white can produce a strong image from a subject that might look weaker in colour.

To help your understanding of black and white photography this tutorial will look at the following areas:
• Winter landscapes
• Portraits
• Urban landscapes
• Night photography
• Using filters
• ‘Seeing’ in black and white
• Shooting JPEG and RAW files

Winter landscapes
Winter landscapes are well suited to black and white photography. At this time of year there is often very little colour in a scene – no vibrant greens and few red or yellow flowers. A snow-covered landscape is already mostly monochrome. You can concentrate on the shapes of leafless trees, stone walls and buildings. Composition and contrast become key elements of the image.

The rule-of-thirds is especially useful in black and white photography, with little colour to distract the eye. Imagine a grid drawn in the camera viewfinder – two vertical lines and two horizontal lines giving four intersections. Aim to place your main subject at one of these intersections. This produces a strong composition.

Another compositional aid is the receding perspective. You can see this if you take a photograph looking down a road or along railway tracks. The lines of the road or track appear to converge, even though we know they are parallel. The eye is attracted to the lines and drawn into the image.

When to use black and white

Certain situations lend themselves to black and white images. Below are examples you should consider.



Portraits
Black and white photography works very well with portraits. In part, this might be because many iconic portraits from the last hundred years are monochrome and we are familiar with the style. But it is also because when the colour is stripped away it leaves us with character and personality. Adding side lighting is particularly effective as it gives strong contrast between highlights and shadows.

Urban landscapes

Architectural photographs are often shot in monochrome to emphasise the shape of the buildings. The increased contrast possible with black and white over colour suits the subject well. These photographs are often taken in the early morning, partly to avoid the distractions of traffic and people, but also to take advantage of light from a sun low in the sky. This light throws long shadows and can produce attractive texture when it falls across rough stone or concrete. These images can also often benefit from the simplicity and stark nature of black and white.



Night photography
Photography at night is worth trying in both black and white as well as colour. Often the yellow glow of street lights brings a scene alive. Alternatively, the texture and patterns in a scene are shown to better effect in monochrome.

The importance of colour
In black and white film photography, filters are often used to change the tones in the image. Yellow and red filters, for example, absorb blue light, making blue skies appear darker in the image.



Using filters
This not only makes the scene more dramatic, but also increases the contrast between any white clouds and the sky. All EOS cameras and a number of PowerShots, such as the PowerShot G12 and Product_PowerShot SX30 IS , can accept filters. Alternatively a filter effect is available in the Picture Style settings on Canon EOS digital cameras . You can select yellow, red, orange or green to change the monochrome tones to simulate the effect of filters. Check your camera instruction manual for details.

‘Seeing’ in black and white
You don’t need to shoot in black and white; you can take colour photos and then copy and convert the image to black and white after the file has been transferred to your computer. But do bear in mind that a scene that looks good in colour might not work in black and white – and vice versa.

For example, red flowers stand out against a green background when shot in colour. But shoot the same subject in monochrome and you may find that the red and the green both convert to similar shades of grey.

Practice will help to ‘see’ in monochrome, but you can speed up your learning. Generally you will find that black and white images will require more contrast for the same subject in colour. Shoot the same subject twice, first in colour and then in black and white. Both images can be compared on your camera’s LCD screen.

Shooting JPEG and RAW files
Images can be saved in a variety of formats. Choosing the right one depends on what you want to do with them.



All Canon digital cameras can produce JPEG files. These are processed within the camera, discarding any unwanted image data. You can open a JPEG file in the software supplied with your Canon camera and make modifications. Such as converting a colour file to black and white. But you are not working with all the data and this limits the range of changes you can make.

If you enjoy working on images after they have been downloaded to your computer it is better to shoot RAW files. All EOS and some PowerShot cameras can create RAW images. These retain all the data captured by the camera which gives a wider range of options to adjust your photo. You could apply a red, yellow or green filter effect to increase contrast or even add a sepia, blue or purple tint.

We would like to see your favourite B&W shots - any worthy images will be posted onto our blog! Until the next!

TUTORIAL: Full auto and basic modes

This tutorial will take you through the Full auto and Basic Zone modes, starting with Full Auto and then moving into the Basic Zone which includes Portrait mode, Landscape mode, Close-up mode, Sports mode and Night scene mode.

Key Terms

DSLR
Digital Single-Lens Reflex

Mode dial
The dial on top of your EOS DSLR camera.

Full Auto
In the Full Auto mode, the image is automatically optimised. The shutter speed, aperture, ISO and flash settings are automatically selected and transforms the camera into a straight point-and-shoot interface.

Basic Zone
Portrait, Landscape, close-up, sports, night scene modes.

Portrait mode
This is a picture style to make skin tones lighter and softer.

Landscape mode
This is a picture style designed to make blue skies and green trees more vivid.

Close-up mode
This setting works with your camera lens to allow it to focus from a very short distance and allow you to get very close to small objects such as flowers, insects and faces.

Sports mode
This mode is for fast-moving objects when you want to freeze the action. It uses faster shutter speed combined with higher ISO setting.

Depth of field
The range in front of and behind the point of focus where objects will appear to be in focus. The depth-of-field becomes narrower with a larger aperture (lower f-number), longer
focal length lens, and shorter distance between the camera and subject.

Focus
This is where the photo looks the sharpest. Technically, focus is achieved at only one point (plane) and other objects may appear to be in focus within the depth of field.

Camera shake
This is the shaking of the camera caused by unsteady hands during exposure (when the shutter is open), resulting in image blur. The blur is prone to occur with slow shutter speeds and telephoto lenses.

Shutter speed
The shutter controls the amount of time that the light can strike the imaging sensor. Along with the aperture that controls the amount of light, the shutter speed works in combination to control the total amount of light the imaging sensor receives. With the same aperture, using a shutter speed of 1/2 sec. decreases the amount of light by half compared to a shutter speed of 1 sec. And a shutter speed of 1/4 sec. yields one-fourth the amount of light. Unlike the aperture, the difference in the shutter speed readily corresponds to the difference in the amount of light. The shutter speed is indicated by the denominator. For example, "500" means 1/500 sec. Since the sensor can record an image only while the shutter is open, it can freeze (with a fast shutter speed) or blur (with a slow shutter speed) a moving subject.

Exposure
This is when the shutter opens to expose the sensor to the incoming light. Long exposures can occur with the shutter left open for a long time.

Practically Black - Jackie Ranken & low light photography

Jackie Ranken talks about her background and influences including her passion for landscape and low light photography. Jackie also covers tips on achieving beautiful outcomes in your low light photography.

Shoot sports & action like a pro!

The world is full of movement. How can you capture this in a single image with your camera? There are two ways; either record a blurred image to convey the impression of motion, or ‘freeze’ the image to capture a moment in time.

Successful action photography requires a mixture of understanding your camera, technique and practice. This tutorial will look at the following areas: • Exposure time • The impact of aperture and ISO • Panning your camera • Sports photography • Image stabilization • Experiment and discover Exposure time To understand how to take action photos, it is important to understand movement in terms of exposure times. If your subject is absolutely still and your camera is on a solid tripod, the shutter speed you use is not that important. 1 second or 1/1000 second will give similar results – at least as far as the sharpness of the subject is concerned. Now imagine there is a dog running across in front of the camera, typically at 16 km an hour. In 1 second it will cover almost 5 metres. If you use an exposure time of 1 second, the dog will appear as a very blurred image. This can be quite effective, giving a strong impression of movement. An exposure time of 1 second might be a little extreme in this situation, but shutter speeds around 1/15 second are worth trying (the dog will move about 30cm). If, on the other hand, you want the dog to appear motionless, you could try a shutter speed of 1/1000 second. In this brief moment, the dog will cover less than 0.5cm. The impact of aperture and ISO If you set a shorter shutter speed, less light gets to the digital sensor on your camera and the image will be underexposed. To compensate you need a wider lens aperture and/or a higher ISO speed setting. A lens with a wide maximum aperture allows you to set a faster shutter speed and expose correctly. Many prime lenses (non-zoom) available for Canon EOS cameras have maximum apertures of f/2.8 or wider and are popular with sports photographers. Learn more about Canon lenses at the new Canon lens site. If you don’t have one of these lenses you can set a higher ISO value, making the sensor more sensitive to light. The downside to this can be an increase in ‘noise’ – coloured speckles across the image. The latest Canon compact digital cameras feature the HS System which lowers noise levels by up to 60%. Panning your camera It is possible to obtain quite a sharp image of a moving subject even at slow shutter speeds. This is done by ‘panning’ the camera; move the camera so that the subject remains in the same position on the sensor during the exposure. It works best with a subject moving at a constant speed in one direction,such as a bird in flight or a car on a racetrack. A good pan shot reverses the normal situation – the subject is sharp, but the background is blurred. Some subjects can be sharp and blurred at the same time. The body of a bird in flight, for example, will be sharp, but the wings moving up and down at right angles to the movement of the camera will be blurred. It is important to find the right position for panning; your subject should be the same distance from you throughout your shot. Good panning takes practice and more practice. One trick is to keep panning after pressing the shutter release, so that the pan becomes a smooth movement. Sports photography One subject where there is usually a lot of movement and action is sport. Track events are predictable; you know where the athletes are going to run. If you are at right angles to the track you can use panning to keep them sharp as they move across your field-of-view. If you get close to the track and aim your camera down the lanes as the athletes run towards you, a slower shutter speed is acceptable. Football, rugby and other events played on a pitch are more difficult to cover because the action moves quickly around a large area. If you are close to a touchline, the players might be very close at one moment and in a far corner of the pitch a few seconds later. Use a faster shutter speed for close shots, as movement appears faster when nearby. You don’t need to be at major sports events to shoot good pictures. Search out local games where the spectators stand on the touchlines and shout encouragement. The action can be just as strong and your viewpoints will be better. Image stabilization Image stabilization is particularly useful when shooting with telephoto lenses as it reduces the effects of camera shake that are more noticeable when using longer focal lengths. Canon’s Optical Image Stabilizer (IS) works by having a ‘floating’ element in the lens. Gyros in the system detect camera movement. This is analyzed by the onboard processor and instructions are sent which move the floating element up and down or from side to side. This keeps the image of the subject in one place on the sensor, even though the camera is moving. The system is so responsive that it can overcome the vibration of an engine if you are shooting from a car or helicopter. Experiment and discover Most photographers shoot action pictures at some time or another, whether it is their children at play, a local sports event or busy street scenes while on holiday. It is possible to calculate the shutter speed needed to ‘freeze’ action by estimating the speed of the action, the direction in relation to the camera, the distance from the camera and the focal length of the lens. By which time you will have missed the shot. It is much better to take lots of pictures, ideally with different exposures, and review the results when you have the time. Digital images record the shutter speed at the time of the exposure and most imaging software will show you this information (along with aperture, ISO setting and other data). Learn from what works so that setting your camera correctly comes naturally. Enter the Gallery There is action happening all around us and opportunities to capture it with great photos. Use the advice in this tutorial, take some great photos and submit them on our facebook page. Your photo could be displayed on our blog as one of the best! http://www.facebook.com/pages/CanonMaltacom/139581842750367

6 quick tips for shooting still life

Still life photography is probably one of the easiest ways to sharpen up your photography skills. Your subjects are static and you have plenty of time to recompose and take multiple photos. Follow our great tips and get practicing!

Photo by Jonathan Busuttil

1. Keep an eye out for good photos.
Study the detail. Notice how photographers capture detail, and use light, shapes, textures, colours and patterns to their advantage.

2. Ask yourself - what story do I want to tell with this picture?

3. A background can make or break a photo. Remove any distractions or DIY your own backdrop.

4. Simplicity is key.
Choose a few complimenting or contrasting objects and add objects one by one, photographing and rearranging as you go along, until you find the perfect setup.

5. A little natural light goes a long way
Place your still life composition near a window for soft natural lighting. You can also use a sheet of white paper on the side opposite to the light source to reflect some light into the shadowed areas.

6. Shoot your photos from above or a 45 degree angle.

Share your still photos with us on our facebook page - we will be featuring our favourites on our blog!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/CanonMaltacom/139581842750367

Have a great weekend!

On second thought.....

I honestly think all top 5 entries deserve a little something for their amazing input!
We are giving away a Canon EF travel mug to all top 5 entrants!
Steven Vella, Claudia Portelli, Jonathan Busuttil and Angie Borda - please get in touch on 2148 8800 or fb@canonmalta.com to claim your prize :-)

FOOD glorious food!

I must say I am well impressed with the interest our latest facebook competition, themed 'FOOD', has caused!

With 104 fantastic and tantalisingly delicious entries, and over 8100 global 'likes' - we think everyone deserves a big well done!

Here are our top 5 most 'liked' entries:

Ranking 5th is Angie Borda's contrasting array of veggies, 223 likes



4th place - Jonathan Busuttil's 'Floating Strawberry, 269 likes



Claudia Portelli's retro cake ranks 3rd, with 476 likes



Ranking 2nd is Steven Vella's slice of orange - 647 likes!



And first place is Daniela Agius's olives - 659 likes in total!




What can I say? I'm lucky I did not have to judge this one! :-)

Daniela Agius wins a €100 voucher to spend on any Canon photo-video product her heart desires; whilst we also gave one lucky voter a chance to win a Powershot A495 - which goes to Joseph Masini.

A big well done to everyone! Make sure you check back into our facebook page on a regular basis; don't miss out on our next competition, exclusive special offers - and more!

Have a great Monday!

Tutorial: Night Photography Tips

Night time changes even the most familiar scenes. This creates an opportunity for a whole new range of photos. So put your coat on, take your camera and investigate the exciting world of night photography with our tutorial.



To help you capture the best of night light, this tutorial will cover:

• How to overcome lower light levels
• Getting the exposure correct
• When to take shots
• Suggestions for photographic subjects

Night vision
The digital sensor in your camera has some similarities to the human eye. As light levels drop, you need to get more light to the sensor. This is done by setting a wider lens aperture. The sensor is made up of millions of photo receptors, or pixels (short for picture elements). The sensor can be made more sensitive to light by increasing the camera’s ISO setting. This amplifies the light signals after they have been received by the pixels.

Unfortunately, amplification of the light signals can have a disadvantage. Unwanted background signals are also amplified and above certain levels these show up as ‘noise’ – coloured speckles across the image. The latest Canon compact digital cameras feature the HS System which lowers noise levels by up to 60%. Discover more about the HS System.

Even with the higher ISO settings available with HS System, you will still find that shutter speeds will be significantly slower at night. A tripod or camera clamp are the best options to keep your camera steady during the exposure. But if you do not own either of these, then make sure that you rest you camera on a flat and stable surface such as a low wall, a seat or the roof of your car.

Flash control
One obvious way to cope with low levels of light is to add more. Electronic flash is built in to most cameras for this purpose. It is useful when photographing people indoors and out, but less effective for general night photography. First, the power of the flash is too low to illuminate street scenes or general views. Second, the attraction of many night scenes is their existing illumination – adding further light will often ruin the atmosphere.



Many cameras automatically fire the flash by default in low light. If you are serious about night photography you should switch the flash off. Compact digital cameras usually have an ‘Off’ setting for the built-in flash – check your user manual for details on your camera. EOS cameras only activate the flash automatically in the Full Auto (green square), portrait and macro shooting modes – avoid these for night photography.

Exposure time
Night exposure can be a tricky business.
There are often large dark areas in the scene, with a few bright areas. The auto exposure metering system of your camera can get confused and give an image that is too light or too dark. This is not really a problem with digital cameras. You can take the picture using auto exposure and view the image on the LCD. If the exposure is not correct, simply apply exposure compensation and shoot again.
Most cameras offer exposure compensation in the range of +2 to -2 stops. If the first image looks too dark, apply +1 or +2 stops of compensation. Use -1 or -2 stops of compensation if the image is too light. You can experiment with different settings until the image you take appears to have the correct exposure.

Twilight zone
One of the best times for night photography is just after sunset. Although the sun is below the horizon, it still provides some light. Whilst the sky might look quite dark to your eyes, your camera will pick up this light during a long exposure to give a deep blue background to your main subject. Once you are passed the twilight period, the sky in these photographs will be black.

Sunset sequence
One way to appreciate the power of twilight is to shoot a sequence of pictures from an hour or so before sunset to an hour or so after. This needs a couple of hours of your time, but the results will demonstrate how the sky changes.

Try to find a scene with an interesting subject in the foreground or middle distance. A building, statue or rock formation is ideal. Have your camera on a tripod so that it does not move between shots. However, this is not essential, providing you shoot from about the same position for each exposure.

You need an evening with a fairly cloudless sky. Take the first picture about an hour before sunset, then shoot at 10 or 15 minute intervals. Keep shooting until an hour or so after sunset. When you view the images in sequence you should see the sky change from blue to red to dark blue to black.

Firework bursts
Taking good photographs of fireworks can be difficult so consider the following points:
- PowerShot and IXUS cameras have a Fireworks setting. Check your user manual for details
- Set the camera focusing to manual, if available, and focus on infinity
- Select manual shooting mode and set an aperture of f/8. The shutter speed can be around 1/60 second (for a handheld camera) to 5 or 10 seconds (for a camera on a tripod) at ISO 400
- Switch your camera to movie mode and capture the action as it happens.



City streets
City streets take on a completely different appearance at night. Shop windows glow, neon signs add colour and even ordinary street lighting can make buildings look romantic. If you are able to shoot after a rain shower all the lights will be reflected from the roads and pavements, adding impact to your images.

Magic movement
You can keep your camera steady during long exposures, but what about your subject? Most of the subject is likely to be static – buildings and foreground, for example. The parts that move will mostly be vehicles and people. At night, vehicles will have their lights on – these will leave attractive light trails across the image during an exposure of several seconds.
People who move across the scene at night will often appear as elongated ghosts – you will be able to see through them because the background behind them will have been exposed for some of the exposure.

Enter the Gallery
So just because there is less light, do not think there are less photographic opportunities. Take your camera out and try some night photography using the advice in this tutorial. Then enter your favourite shots on our Facebook page and next month your photo could be displayed as one of the best!

Find our facebook page here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/CanonMaltacom/139581842750367

Canon's HS system for great night shots - we're blown away!!

It's as easy as abc to get a great shot during daylight - the sun gives the perfect lighting. Night shots and low light situations are a completely different matter. Don't you hate it when your photos turn out to be blown out by the flash, or blurred?

The Canon HS SYSTEM combines the DIGIC 4 Image Processor with a High-Sensitivity sensor. The HS SYSTEM helps to reduce noise at high ISO levels and expand the camera's dynamic range, ultimately capturing greater detail and color in images in low-light situations.
By boosting the camera's dynamic range, consumers are able to capture clearer images with less noise and blur than older camera systems. Due to the Canon HS SYSTEM's higher light sensitivity, it helps deliver brilliant, sharp images without the use of the flash, for a more natural look in photographs.

Canon's HS system is currently present in the Powershot G12 and IXUS 1000 HS.

For more info......leave your comments below or should you like to call us please do so on 2148 8800, or email us on fb@canonmalta.com.

Don't let your moments get lost in the dark!