I've been threatening to take a photography class, but no one gives a class way out where I live! This is SOOOOO perfect and completely addresses my needs! Sharon, you are so patient and so amazing! I feel like you're talking directly to me in terms I can totally understand. I am very grateful. I cannot wait to put it into practice!

Sharon, while I haven't been posting directly to your photo tip threads, I've been following them avidly. I so appreciate all the effort you've gone to to explain in such an easy way so many aspects of taking good [better for some of us] pictures. The last week or so I've been very busy organizing and then hosting our family reunion at a local fancy diner and have not had a real chance to digest the latest installments. The macro stuff interests me very much. I've tried to use my macro recently and found when I did the camera refused to take the picture?? Odd. LOL.. I'll figure it out but I suspect I'll have to dig through the manual to see what the problem is. Your post makes me suspect it has something to do with the camera not being able to focus on what I'm trying to do or the distance, or something..heh.. and it won't fire as self preservation. Smiles. I'll figure it out and then be back to digest more of your post. Btw, I got a tripod for my birthday! Yay.. I relative I had staying with me for a while apparently absconded with my last tripod. Grrrr... Needless to say I'm looking forward to using the tripod to work on some of your 'lessons'. Thanks for all your great work on our behalf.

Posted by canarybird (My Page) on Sat, Sep 5, 09 at 21:57 Food Photo Tips: Part 9 - How to set up a Tripod Hi again everyone. I'm back with another entry on how to use your digital camera for taking tabletop photos. Sorry my tutorial is a few days late this time. It's been a busy week over here. I wanted to give several camera tips today but once started on how to set up a tripod, I was carried away when creating the photos and diagrams, so it took longer than expected. As there are many photos, some may be small size, but all will expand with a mouse click. Setting up a tripod can be a little more confusing than one might first imagine. If you have tried it for the first time by turning all the knobs and flipping the locks, you may have ended up with legs that won't sit still and a top piece that hangs over and won't stay upright. Whatever you do, try these suggestions without a camera attached until you have got the hang of it. Here below is a typical entry level lightweight tripod, shown in its folded position. Total length is 14 inches, weight just under 2 pounds. Price around $75.00. Note that in this position the long handle, called the 'pan-handle' is bent downwards and the small crank handle is also folded down. First thing to do is lift up both to get them away from the legs (right). The next step is to flip up a leg locking lever (below left), and extend one leg fully, being sure all lower sections have snapped open: Close the leg lock lever and then do the same with the other two legs, being sure all sections are fully extended and the levers are locked: Only then should you open the three legs. Press the leg braces down and tighten the leg brace nut. Now the tripod is open, turn it so one leg is the leading leg in front of the camera and the other two legs are on either side of you, so you are standing in the space between them. Attaching the camera to the tripod: Two ways to attach the camera to the tripod are 1. by a screw on the tripod head which screws up into the base of the camera or 2. the quick-release plate, which comes in different forms, but is a fast way to put on and take off your camera from the tripod. The tripod I show here has a quick-release plate, which once screwed to the bottom of the camera, will enable the camera to be snapped into place on the quick-release platform of the tripod head by opening the lever. Here below is a camera, the quick-release plate with its screw and a small coin. The coin is used to turn the screw, attaching the plate to the camera. Here is the plate affixed to the bottom of the camera, and showing how to open the quick release lever: By holding open the quick-release lever with one hand, you can slip the camera with the attached plate into the platform, and then press the lever closed: By loosening the side tilt locking nut, you can then lift up the platform and your camera is ready to operate in a vertical position: When you were first setting up your tripod, after extending the legs, you may have found the head is pointing in the wrong direction. If the tripod head is pointing in the wrong direction, you need to loosen the panning lock nut and swivel the head until it is pointing forward and the pan-handle is at your left hand. The following examples are with the legs withdrawn so the tripod is shorter and can be used on a table: Panning or turning around the tripod head Here you see that with the panning lock nut loosened, you are able to swivel the tripod head around. You can also tilt the head down by turning the pan-handle a little as though it were a screwdriver which will release the tilt up/down of the head. When you have the right angle for your photo, turn the pan-handle in the opposite direction to tighten the head at the chosen position: Here are the names of the parts of this tripod, and the parts of the tripod head. Remember you can enlarge each photo with a mouse click: Tabletop Tripod Here is a small but sturdy tabletop tripod which I sometimes use. The legs will extend another 1 1/2 inches by twisting the black locks, and the central column may be raised by loosening the centre twist lock. This tripod has both pan and tilt functions and uses a screw head to fasten it to the bottom of the camera. Well I hope this will be a useful guide if you are using a tripod for the first time. It is always advisable to practise setting up the tripod a few times without your camera attached just in case you are unlucky enough to have it fall over. Set it up on a firm, level ground or floor and check that all levers are locked. If indoors be careful that small children or animals won't be tripping over the legs. I hope you understand all and if you have questions please ask here or PM me. So thanks for joining me. I'll be uploading the next installment soon. And please feel free to save the pages on your computer. Next time I'll show a little about photographing silverware, the flash menu and self-timer. Sharon (Canarybird) :-) (All text and photos copyrighted) Free for personal, non-commercial use Follow-Up Postings: o RE: Food Photo Tips: Part 9 - Setting Up a Tripod clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by publickman (My Page) on Mon, Nov 2, 09 at 2:38 Kevin has a tabletop tripod similar to the one you pictures, and he also has a unipod, which I have not used. We used the tabletop tripod for the Spanokopita demonstration, which you may recall. Lars o RE: Food Photo Tips: Part 9 - Setting Up a Tripod clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by canarybird (My Page) on Mon, Nov 2, 09 at 5:21 I love that little tabletop tripod although it's not been as useful to me as a floor length model. I've never had a unipod or monopod and I think they're best for crowded places where tripods are too bulky, such as sporting events where support is needed for heavy long lenses. The spanokopita demo was great but the camera seemed to be hand held. I think you were using the tabletop tripod in your demo of making little chocolates way back when. I've forgotten their exact name but they looked good. o RE: Food Photo Tips: Part 9 - Setting Up a Tripod clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by publickman (My Page) on Wed, Nov 4, 09 at 2:28 You're right - Gina was holding the camera for that video, as you can tell from her voice, which is the most prominent. I have a lot of raw video with other demonstrations that I have not had time to get around to editing yet. I don't even have my sewing room completely organized yet for video editing, although the computer I use for video editing is already set up there - along with two sewing machines, which have been getting a lot of use lately. When I finish making all the drapes, curtains, pillows, and cushions that I need, I will convert the room to a video editing room. Unfortunately, it is too small to be both simultaneously. I'm still in the process of settling in, and I guess it's going to take a full year. Lars o RE: Food Photo Tips: Part 9 - Setting Up a Tripod clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by canarybird (My Page) on Fri, Nov 6, 09 at 11:32 Making home videos is another field that interests me. But I have only an old two ton Sony video recorder that uses tapes. One day I hope to get a little HD digital video camera for using outdoors especially for recording birds, beach and nature. A dedicated room sounds like a great idea. SharonCb

I think part of this is how well do the host/guest know each other. I was brought up to ask "What can I bring?" when invited to someone's home. If the answer was "Nothing!" I would still feel rude showing up empty handed unless I knew the host well and had entertained back and forth with them enough to know that was expected. An open house to me is very different than a dinner party. It's throwing together all the people the host(s) may know: friends, family, neighbors, co-workers - and if the open house is during the holidays these people may bring along their house guests as well. In that situation, I would expect many people to show up with something - wine, beer, sparkling soda, plates of cookies, dips and crackers, the 'famous jello mold' - lol. So what? That's part of the fun! The move of covering every spare space with food deliberately so there is no room for whatever a guest brought is more than passive/aggressive. It's extremely controlling and not at all in the spirit of a holiday open house.