The pasture land between the Sierra foothills and the central valley is absolutely gorgeous (my inner protestant from the blasted pains of the midwest does not approve of the embarrassing bounty of riches here in CA). When we stopped for photos in the place shown I had my new 50mm lens on the camera. There wasn't much room for movement being bounded by barbed wire fences, so I was forced into compositions I wouldn't otherwise choose with the flexibility of the superzoom. I like this photo and I would not have willingly made it with my usual lens.
This is my first try at the "running water" style shot. No tripod, just a steady hand and (more importantly) a VR lens. This one came to life after some camera RAW adjustments which excited me greatly as I've now proven to myself that I have some basic photoshop skills.
In this shot I had to brighten my friend using photoshop, but right after taking it, I popped up the flash and discovered that it works really well in backlit and shadow conditions during the daytime. I have three similar pics using the flash that look more natural, but I posted this one because I took it right after she made it to the top of the boulder and her smile was too good to pass up.
you are the media you consume.
And don't forget to use it when under a tree that is producing dappled light. Because the dappled light is usually so beautiful, you can easily forget that blotchy faces are not nearly so attractive. Turn on your fill flash and poof, the problem goes away.
The other place where fill flash really helps is with flowing water. No shutter can stop water but a flash certainly can. For a short distance--like less than 2 meters.
Here's a picture of some raspberries I picked myself--VERY proud of those raspberries. My little point-and-shoot had no trouble stopping the droplets in midair. I remember when it required a VERY expensive flash gun to do THIS.
"Remember the I35W bridge--who needs terrorists when there are Republicans"
And while you are at it, buy those diffuser tents that go over the nice flash units. Trust me on this, if you have those and learn how to use them, you will take incredible pictures--especially portraits and product shots.
Just remember, photography is about capturing light. It's a whole new world when you have to supply the light too. "Remember the I35W bridge--who needs terrorists when there are Republicans"
http://www.adorama.com/NKSB400AFU.html
It's a very nice technique - should be standard issue on all cameras. ;)
You can also use it to destroy any possible reference point for white balance:
It's a revelation.
