Simon Walker, Founder & CEO of Glopho | Favourite Sites | The Good Web Guide

Simon Walker, founder & CEO of Glopho gives a little insight into what his daily digital digest includes...Click on the link to have a peek   Simon Walker, Founder & CEO of Glopho | Favourite Sites | The Good Web Guide

Remembrance Day

Today is the day we all take some time to remember the brave soldiers who gave their lives for our freedom and so much more.

Browsing the Daily Mail website, I fell upon this touching article about photographs that survive from the war.
The photographs collected for the article really highlight emotions and characters that were created by the horrendous time.
You can find the Daily Mail article here.

Take a moment to look through some of these photographs, and if you have any photographs of your own from remembrance day services or events that you attended, do upload them to glopho so that we can all share what we did on this sacred day. We've already had some beautiful uploads from across the world;  these are just two of my favourite.

Time Out Competition

It's competition time again, and this time it's in collaboration with Time Out London.

Since becoming a free publication Time Out has confirmed its' status as the must-have guide to what's going on in London, and we couldn't think of a better way for you all to find the things you want to do, and getting to more events that are making the news. So pick up a copy, work out your schedule, and don't forget to take your camera, phone or camera-phone, and record those goings-ons!

You can win an iPhone 5 simply by submitting your own favourite news picture from the summer. That is to say the picture should be your own, and your favourite one of your own pictures. Most of us have loads on our phones, and they often get so little attention. This is your chance to release them, let them make the news and win you a fancy new phone.

And the winner, to be judged by our own Picture Editor, will get their hands on an iPhone 5 and a photography masterclass in London.

So enter now!
http://www.timeout.com/london/feature/3257/win-an-iphone-5-with-glopho

Shooting fireworks

Taking pictures at night can be a real challenge, but try capturing the bright lights of pyrotechnics against the night sky whilst getting exposure and aperture settings right, and you can get in a right pickle. We're hoping these tips might help you if you want to get some great pictures from a fireworks display this year.

• Try and use a tripod or a solid object, like a table or a wall to rest your camera on and be prepared to Improvise. A rolled up scarf or other props might help get the stability and position you want.

• Bear in mind that fireworks are streams of light. If you want to capture their path, you’ll need a longer exposure time to capture the whole trail of each firework, or of a series of fireworks. You might need 2 or 3 seconds, maybe more to make sure you know how to set this on your camera.

• Turn off the flash on your smartphone, and consider using a specialist app, like SlowShutter, which lets you use long exposures.

• Use a “cable release” button, and if you don’t have one think about using a short self-timer to take the picture. This will allow you to place the camera, and not accidentally jog it when pressing the button.

• Experiment with different exposures. We’d suggest starting at 4 seconds at f5.6 and try changing things from there.

• Try mixing Flash and a long exposure. This will freeze objects and people in the foreground with the benefit of flash, while the long exposure will capture the firework trail.

• Remember it’s not all about the fireworks. Turn around from time to time and you’ll see the delight and excitement in the faces of the spectators, You might even get a firework reflected in someone’s glasses.

• Choose your spot carefully, and be aware of where you are likely to get the best shots as you won’t be able to move much once the action starts. Where are the other spectators, and where are the fireworks expected to be appearing.

• If you camera allows you to, turn off autofocus  to stop the camera constantly ‘hunting’ for focus, and just set the camera to infinity.

• Remember remember: Sparklers make good pictures too! Try using a long exposure again, and you can make lots of interesting pictures by drawing or writing with the sparkler.

• Try using a feature in the landscape as a silhouette to give your image some scale and add to the interest. A tree, a church spire or a group of people if you manage to shoot from a low position.

• And finally, if you're using digital especially, SHOOT LOTS! Because you can.