Fresh Start Photography Group

Monthly Meeting - DOF Workshop, David Boyd and Ed Episcopo

Thu, Apr 16 · 6:00 PM EDT

Salem Church Library, 2607 Salem Church Rd, Fredericksburg, VA, US

Details:

Monthly Topic:

We did this workshop about two years ago and it's a topic that is important to all forms of photography. We will also discuss focus stacking and focus peaking, which are tools that can help you get the DOF you need.

In lieu of meeting handouts, you can view/print information for this meeting by clicking the following Dropbox link:

Depth Of Field Document

Please bring your camera, any lens and a tripod. We will be photographing individual flowers and possibly other objects, not to get pretty images, but to learn to use simple techniques to capture better images.

There will be about a fifteen minute discussion covering the techniques we will use to control the DOF and the background. A few sample images will be displayed to demonstrate how the techniques can be used. DOF is the area that will be in focus in your image.

We will place one or more flowers in a small container on each of the meeting room tables. A tripod will be necessary to capture sharp images with small apertures and indoor lighting. We don’t want to use prepared backgrounds and studio lighting, since it will defeat the purpose of this exercise.

Techniques to experiment with:

Move around to get the best and least distracting background. Going low is often a good start.

Change your aperture to increase or decrease your image DOF and to control how your background looks.

Change your focal length. Zoom in to decrease DOF and to reduce the field of view, so there is less background to deal with.

Move closer to the subject. If you move to the minimum focus distance for your lens, you will reduce DOF and maximize background blur.

Change the distance from your subject to the background. If your background is farther away, there will be more background blur.

If your camera has the focus stacking and focus peaking features, try those features to increase your DOF or to blur a close background while keeping the main subject sharp front to back.

If there's enough time:

Use your camera's Live-View feature to zoom in and manually focus on a specific part of the subject. AF will not always give you the focus area you expect. This is more of a factor in close-up photography.

Combine all of the above techniques to get the image you want.

If you don't feel like participating in the exercise, you're still welcome to attend and to participate in the discussion.

***

Monthly Critique:

There will be no critique for this meeting and the critique time will be used for the workshop and to pack our equipment after we finish.

See you there...

The leadership team.

Chatham Closeup, Focus Stacking and Landscapes

Sun, Apr 26 · 9:00 AM EDT

Chatham Manor, 120 Chatham Ln, Fredericksburg, VA, US

We will meet in the Chatham Manor parking area.

Tulips and some flowering trees should be in full bloom at Chatham by late April, so it should be a good time to practice some closeup, focus stacking and landscape photography. We can also practice panoramas, if there is an interest in that.

Almost any lens will work. If you have a lens in the range of 24MM to 105MM or 120MM, it could be useful for a variety of shooting.

If you want to try close-up photography, it would be good to bring a macro or longer zoom lens. A tripod may be useful, but it's not necessary, unless you plan to focus stack images. A tripod would also be useful, but not necessary for a panorama.

If your camera has a focus stacking and or the focus peaking feature, we can also work on those techniques. If your camera doesn't have the focus stacking feature, you can manually focus stack. You will need software like Photoshop or Helicon to stack the images in post processing.

This event is intended to be an informal workshop where we can practice techniques that will help us all grow as photographers.

Chatham Manor Information:

Images from a previous event:

Please read our disclaimer for this event in the link below. By sending an RSVP and joining this meetup event hosted by the Fresh Start photography Meetup, I agree to abide by the rules and regulations in this disclaimer:

Disclaimer Statement

Quarterly Critique - Kim Willits

Thu, May 21 · 6:00 PM EDT

Salem Church Library, 2607 Salem Church Rd, Fredericksburg, VA, US

Quarterly Critique:

This will be our formal critique. A facilitator will review each photo and offer comments and suggestions. Members will also have a chance to offer comments about each image. We will make adjustments to the critique format as necessary.

This will be a friendly and supportive critique. Please upload four photos to the photos section of this meeting at least seven days prior to the meeting. It's not mandatory that you upload photos, but it's strongly suggested.

Please follow the guidelines & instructions below for uploading photos:

Guidelines for Uploading Photos

For suggested Critique Elements:

Guidelines for Critiques

It is by sharing our work and getting constructive criticism that we grow as photographers... :)

See you there...

Macro, Landscape & Possibly Night Photography at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens

Thu, Jun 18 · 4:00 PM EDT

Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens, 1800 Lakeside Avenue, Richmond, VA, US

***Lewis Ginter has NOT released their schedule for Flowers After 5 2026, so this is a placeholder for June.***

Hone your night photography skills at Lewis Ginter Gardens while you listen to live music! Explore the gardens at your leisure, photographing seasonal flowers and insects, orchids inside the Conservatory, and landscapes.

You can find the Flowers After 5 lineup, along with other information here: https://www.lewisginter.org/visit/events/flowers-after-5/.

Our mission: To create stunning well-lit flowers and/or insects and garden landscapes (think pathways with trees lit in specific places to accentuate your focus, or an illuminated colorful flower with a pond or dark greenery in the background). Night photography allows you to decide what is visible and what remains hidden. Light painting can transform your images into a dramatic photo, or a whimsical fairy-like scene.

What you need to know before you go!
Since our goal is to photograph at night, you will need a flash and/or a static light like a Lume Cube. These will help you light up your subjects while keeping the rest of your scene mostly hidden. There are walkways with lights in the garden where you may not need any lighting. We can also set up some lights for a group landscape shot, depending upon the foot traffic (usually there aren't many people in the garden during a concert, especially after dark). The moon will be at 55%, so we may have more ambient light which can work to our advantage when doing landscape shots, assuming we have a clear night.

We will have a brief discussion before we photograph to review settings and how we shoot with a flash and/or static light. Please note that this is not a meetup to initially set up your flash! You should already have a working flash associated with your camera (and/or a working static light). If you're bringing a stand for your light, please ensure that you do not impede the garden walkways.

What to Bring:

*Mid Range Lens (like a 24mm-120mm) for landscape shots

This will give you more options when creating your scene.

• Macro Lens (for flowers and insects)
  *Flash with a Diffuser (Diffusers offer a softer light than the flash itself. You can buy them on Amazon for less than $15) A medium size is usually all that's necessary to put over your flash/speedlight. If you don't have a flash, a static light can also do the trick. Static lights also have the benefit of adjustable Kelvin temperatures and brightness levels. They are usually less expensive than speedlights.
• Static Light Source, like a Lume Cube, and potentially a light stand (A Light stand is not required - you can sometimes handhold your light like you would a flash, or you can prop the light up using objects around you). We should have at least 2 light stands for group landscape shots.
  *Tripod. If you want to create landscapes at night, you will need a tripod for longer exposures.

Schedule:

Let's meet just inside the gardens when you exit the main building after you purchase your tickets at 5:00pm. The sun sets at 6:13pm, so arriving early will allow us to talk about our settings and get in a little practice photographing with a flash/static light while we can still see what we're doing! If you are running late, just get your tickets and enter the gardens. You will probably find us nearby.

Remember that the pathways are narrow, and too many people can make it difficult for other visitors to maneuver around us.

When you are ready to leave, feel free leave the gardens, but please remember to share your pics on meetup! I'd love to see them!

FYI - You can return to your car and re-enter the gardens as needed. Food and drinks are available for purchase from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the concert site, under Bloemendaal House tent. You can also bring snacks, but only water is allowed inside the garden, so you will have to return to your car to eat.

Please note the butterfly area will be closed in 2025 - 2026 to build a future permanent butterfly enclosure.

Tripods are allowed as long as they do not block the walkways.

Admission prices vary, so please refer to the following link for details: http://www.lewisginter.org/visit/hours-admissions/.

To view a map of the gardens, click the following: http://www.lewisginter.org/visit/gardens/map/ .

Lewis Ginter has touchless refillable water stations for refillable water bottles. If you want to take advantage of this, don't forget your water bottle! All other food and drinks must be paid for inside the gardens.

Please let me know if you have any questions in the Comment section below, and hope to see you at the gardens!

Please read our disclaimer for this event in the link below. By sending an RSVP and joining this meetup event hosted by the Fresh Start photography Meetup, I agree to abide by the rules and regulations in this disclaimer:

Disclaimer Statement