Clemson Community Photography Project

Things to see and make photos of on July 3, 2009:

(Note that photographs will be taken between 12:01am on Friday July 3 and 11:59pm the same day -- in other words, you can start just after midnight Thursday night and continue until midnight Friday.)

• Friday activities in a small town
• Clemsonfest!
• Fireworks! (See the tutorial at the bottom)
• (but don't forget these other things; if everyone does Clemsonfest and fireworks, important things will be left out)
• People on College Avenue
• People in city parks
• People in city recreation areas
• Stores, shops, or businesses (be sure to arrange permission first, and before July 3); especially hair dressers, gyms, and other services
• Clemson neighborhoods that show the look of summer
• Clemson neighborhoods that show summer activities, especially children playing
• Campus scenes that are typical of the summer (students dressed for warm weather, outdoor sports, etc.)
• In general, look for photos with people in them

Do you have friends or family who will be away from Clemson on July 3? Well, some say Clemson is where its people are. Get a photo made by someone watching your friend or family member communicating with you. Phone, teleconference, MySpace or Twitter, it doesn't matter. What is important is that someone document that communication in a photo. We are especially seeking photos of military personnel communicating with their families here at home. Email Del Kimbler or call 650-3822 to discuss how best to do this, and give your photo the best chance at being on display!

Fireworks tutorial:

You will need a camera that has manual settings for ISO, shutter speed, and aperture, and a tripod. Some insect repellent and a small flashlight will be very handy.

Set the ISO as low as you can. Whether that is 50 or 200 is not as important as getting it off Auto. (You don't want the camera to begin correcting for dark sky while you shoot.) For ISO 50, use f/8; for ISO100, f/11; for ISO200, f/16. Set the shutter speed either on B (bulb) and use a cable release to keep it open as long as you want (but don't keep it open more than a couple of seconds), or set it to two seconds or so. Actual speed is not critical, you just want time for a shell to fire, burst, and display. If you use RAW mode, it will take a while to save the file; it might be better to use a medium sized JPG format so your camera can save it and be ready for the next shot. The best (most neutral) white balance is daylight. If you are really serious about this, use two cameras and two tripods. Shoot one, then shoot the second one while the first one saves, and keep alternating. If you are using film, use a daylight film and the guidance above for shutter and aperture. (You already know you can ignore the rest about digital cameras and save times.) This wil get you a number of single shots, or double shots if you get lucky.

This information is based on the Jiffy Calculator for Night-Light Exposures. My paper copy was cut out of a magazine and laminated about 40 years ago; it remains more reliable than most light meters. For information about making a montage of several bursts, see and example here.

Good luck,

Del