Call on spring with BenQ E1480

Spring is the most photogenic season of the year. Flowers are in bloom and trees are covered with tender green leaves. It’s the right time to walk into the woods, gardens or parks to discover the colorful world. Luckily, I live close by Yangmingshan National Park. As long as I am free, and the sun shines in the sky, I’d carry my cameras, strolling around the park and shooting pictures of spring. (這篇是專為BenQ E1480撰寫的網誌，最後會放在 BenQ Club，拿出來跟大家分享)。



BenQ E1480, like a DSLR, has 4 creative exposure modes: AV (Aperture Priority), TV (Shutter priority), M (Manual) and P (Program). However, I recently have fallen in love with LOMO mode that creates lomo-like effect by adding over-saturated colors and darkening the corners of a picture. Most of the time, I use LOMO mode to shoot pictures under harsh lighting conditions, for the purpose of turning an ordinary scene into a dramatic picture.





The calla, one of the major flowers in Yangmingshan Natinal Park. LOMO mode.

I also use LOMO mode to make the subjects stand out of a picture so as to catch the eyes of the viewers. Take the following two pictures for example. The first one is messy in terms of visual effects, even though the lighting and white flowers are beautiful. On the contrary, the second picture shot with LOMO mode is much more pleasant to watch, because the corners of the frame were darkened, making the white flowers stand out the picture.


Bad example. Program mode. The picture is not clean enough in terms visual effects.



LOMO mode. The subjects stand out of the picture.

Even though LOMO mode is useful, don’t abuse it. If a scene is full of colors, and the lighting is soft and beautiful, use one of the creative exposure modes, such as program, would be good enough to get a good picture.




In spring, Yangmingshan National Park is full of colors. Program mode.


Sometimes, I employ LOMO mode to enhance the contrast of a picture although the scene is colorful enough.

Besides landscape, I enjoy close-up shooting of flowers. Simply change the focus mode of E1480 to Macro (3rd icon from left), and then you can get closer to your subjects. The following two pictures are shot with program mode. In addition to using close-up focus, I set exposure compensation to +0.7 EV so as to get correct exposure when shooting backlit subjects.




Program mode,  + 0.7EV. Macro focus.





When shooting flowers, pay attention to lighting. The softer, the better. The morning sun pierced into the woods and lighted up the petals of azalea only to create a dramatic image. Program mode, Macro focus, + 0.7EV.

It’s a good alternative to employ black-and-white mode to shoot flowers with beautiful form and lines. In shooting the following picture, I use black-and-white mode in order to highlight the form of the petals and the sun that shines on the flowers in the foreground.

 

Chinese hydrangea. Program mode, Macro focus, + 0.7EV. Macro focus.



I discovered the coming of spring from my dog Happy. One day in late March, the sun finally came out after more than one week of cold cloudy days. In that morning, when opening the front door, I found Happy lying on the rock table that had been warmed up by sunshine. From its half-closed eyes, I could tell that Happy really enjoyed bathing in the sun and welcoming the coming of spring.


LOMO mode. My dog Happy, bathing in the sun.

Spring is the most beautiful season of Yangmingshan National Park located in northern Taiwan. During the season, it is like a huge garden full of sakura, azalea, calla, etc. Therefore, when it comes to weekends, the area is bumper to bumper and crammed with people coming to view the flowers. The following pictures were shot in 2011 when I called on the spring of Yangmingshan National Park.


Azalea in full bloom.


Leaves of the Azalea.


 The calla field.


The calla in full bloom.


Calla in full bloom.


A green-tree tunnel.