Tip #2 ISO & Noise

ISO stands for International Organization for Standardization. For our purposes, it simply means how much light the camera's sensor will capture. A higher ISO will capture more light and produce a brighter image. A lower ISO will capture less light and produce darker images. You'll want to make  sure that you set your camera to the least possible ISO necessary when taking a photo because a higher ISO will result in more "noise" in the image. "Noise" is tiny little specs that can appear in your image when the sensitivity of the sensor is too high.

The ISO settings on most digital cameras range from 100 ISO to 3200 ISO and higher. On a bright sunny day, you can set your camera's ISO to around 100 since so much light is available. Inside, or when it is dark outside/or shade, you can set your camera's ISO to around 800 to 1600. If your image is still underexposed, then you can try using a flash or changing your shutter speed and aperture. 


Here is an example shot outside in the shade. You can see the difference when you change your ISO.

ISO was 100

ISO 400

Tip #1 Shutter Speed

Shutter Speed & Motion Blur

    I get asked a lot when I am shooting a sport how I am able to capture the action shots without the image being blurry. Here are a few tips to keep in mind.

    When you take a photo with your digital camera, light is briefly captured on your camera's sensor. The length of time the light is captured is known as the shutter speed. Many DSLR's have shutter speeds that range from 30 seconds (extremely slow) to 1/4000th of a second or faster.

   Shutter speed affects the exposure of your photo by the amount of time light is captured. Setting your camera to a faster shutter speed may create underexposed images because your camera will have less time to capture light. Shutter speed can also affect how blurry your image will be. The slower the shutter speed, the more motion blur you will get from moving people or objects.

Blur can also be caused by even the slightest movement of your hands while holding the camera. This is known as "camera shake". To reduce or eliminate camera shake you can do several things.

1. Set the shutter speed to a faster setting.
2. Turn on the image stabilization on certain camera lenses.
3. Stabilize your camera by using a tripod.

As a general rule, if you're shooting at a shutter speed slower then 1/60 of a second, you're bound to see blur in the image. To play it safe, try shooting no slower than 1/125 of a second.

2018 All American Marathon #6

1,740 registrants came out to run the All American Marathon on Sunday, March 25th in Fayetteville, NC.

The race is a benefit for Fort Bragg's Morale, Welfare, and Recreation unit. The mayor of Fayetteville, Mitch Colvin and Fort Bragg's Garrison Commander COL Kyle Reed gave opening remarks to kick off the event.

Mitch Colvin - Fayetteville Mayor

COL Kyle Reed- Fort Bragg Garrison Commander

Runners and cyclist lined up at the starting line at 7:00 AM.

The marathon route went through the historic district of Fayetteville to the All American Freeway before ending at the Main Post Parade Field at Fort Bragg.

At the same time the 5K started on Fort Bragg where more participates joined in the race with the others who started the marathon and half marathon earlier.

 Some pets even joined along side their owners during the race.

This was a family event for many who participated.

For some it had a deeper meaning.

Supporters lined the roads cheering and holding signs as others crossed the finish line.

 Participants were award medals as they crossed the finish line.

 It was very inspirational to see all types of athletes finish strong in the marathon.

Edward Knudsen, a 30-year-old soldier from the U.K. finished first in the marathon in 2:34.07.

After crossing the finish line, Fort Bragg's Garrison Commander, COL Kyle Reed congratulated Knudsen on his accomplishment.

Local media interviewed Knudsen about his experience in the United States at Fort Bragg as well as how he feels about winning the All American Marathon coming in first place.

There was a sense of strength and accomplishment for everyone who participated in the marathon. It was such a great turnout. 

 People are looking forward to setting new goals and records next year.

Friday Night Fights (#5)

    

March 16, Friday Night Fights returned to Sports USA.

It was a fun evening of LIVE amateur boxing. A lot of these athletes find boxing to be a main form of exercise and the most functional fitness activities out there. There were some pretty heavy body shots that night as well.

When  you're in the ring with someone who is trying to attack you, you're pretty occupied with just throwing punches and defending. A lot of these young boxers did well to defend their titles.

Boxing is probably my second favorite sport to photograph next to football. It brings back memories to a great movie I watched numerous times as a kid, Rocky. A small-time boxer, gets a supremely rare chance to fight heavy-weight champion Apollo Creed in a round in which he strives to go the distance for his self-respect. 

Actors Sylvester Stallone and Carl Weathers in the final fight of Rocky

"Every Champion was once a contender
that refused to give up."
-Rocky Balboa

Congratulations to all the fighters that competed!
       

Marksmen VS Thunderbolts (#4)

On Sunday night the Fayettville Marksmen went against the Evansville Thunderbolts on Military Appreciation Night. 5,639 fans filled the arena to support their team. 

It was an intense game between the 2 teams. Tension was so high I was able to capture one of the battles between players.

There were a few games the fans were able to participate in on the ice. 

Even though the Marksmen didn't win that night. The fans still enjoyed the game. 

 Next Game: Friday, March 16,2018 vs Knoxville

The Cape Fear Botanical Garden (#3)

                       The Cape Fear Botanical Garden

I was invited to capture a school field trip to the Botanical Garden located in Fayetteville, North Carolina. This was something different from shooting sports. It gave me an opportunity to expand my skills in macro photography.  Macro photography is extreme close-up photography, usually of very small subjects in which the size of the subject in the photograph is greater than life size. (The camera I used was a Canon 7D and my lens was a 50mm.)                                    

Walking pass a tree I saw the sunlight beaming down on these berries hanging from the tree.

This image was shot in full sunlight I adjusted my camera settings to isolate one flower of the tree to create this look.

The tulips were in full bloom.

Hidden deep in the garden was this statue.

  

Hampton Primary's Annual Art Walk (#2)

  
   On March 15th, Hampton Primary School will be having their annual Art Walk. The Art Walk will start at 4:00pm. There will be tons of items auctioned off at this event such as paintings, craft items, as well as services. This will be the first year that I will have some of my digital art available to be auctioned off.

Here are a few prints of my digital art that will be on displayed.  

Please stop by the Art Walk and see some of the other items up for auction and I hope to see you there. 

Girl Behind The Camera

Tori Evans is a documentary photographer based out of North Carolina. Photography and a passion for sports have always been a part of her life and she has turned that passion into a career that has allowed her to capture some of the best athletes from across the states.

Her experience in shooting action sports has grown into an ability to keep things quick, light and fun while always turning out great images no matter the conditions. Tori's photos are meant to tell a story and evoke an emotion.  Documenting moments that are honest, raw, and familiar making each viewer feel a connection to them. Her love for telling stories have crossed over into photojournalism, music, and travel.

​

Not until 2014 did Tori decide to try her hand at professional photography which opened the door to many successful opportunities. Her career path has been pretty diverse, but unexpectedly connected. Her images have graced the covers of many military organizational magazines and have been seen on billboards and marketing campaigns. Tori is taking that candid documentary style to a broader audience, and bringing the fun approach with her.