Located on the North and South Fork of Long Island the area known as the Hamptons is one of the most popular vacation spots in New York. The Hamptons has a deep rich history that goes back to the 1600′s. Like many other New England colonies it was originally farmland, over the years it port of trade, Revolutionary War staging point, refuge for artists and poets, and favorite vacation spot. There are even legends the infamous pirate Captain Kidd visited its shores and left buried treasure still waiting to be found.

If you’re looking for treasure in the Hamptons there’s no need to get out your shovel and start digging, just take stroll through any of its quaint towns and shops and you’ll be rewarded. Many of the towns in the Hamptons such as Amagansett, Bridgehampton, and Quogue are filled with historical landmarks, museums and other cultural centers. To get the most out of the Hamptons you’ll need to visit during peak season which runs from Memorial Day through Labor Day. During this time every town and village will have artist’s exhibits, traveling museum exhibits, and photography and music concerts.

Many people who choose to vacation in the Hamptons choose to stay for two to three weeks and there is a wide range of lodging choices to choose from. The most basic will be the Bed & Breakfast Inn’s. Run by the owners and a small staff there is no way you can beat them on service and price. If you are looking for something a little more private there are many traditional motels and hotels all across the Hamptons that can accommodate you. When you want get the most out of a Hampton’s vacation consider renting a beachfront house or cottage. The styles range from small intimate cottages, to large palatial modern mansions. Beachfront properties are the most sought after locations. Nothing can quite compare to watching a sunrise from a private balcony every morning. The next time your looking for a place to get away from your daily stress unplug and recharge your batteries, a vacation to the Hamptons may be just the ticket.

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Photography is art. Individuals will spend hours in museums and galleries analyzing a person’s photographs for the meaning. Like painting photographs have a message, sometimes it will evoke sadness, happiness, a carefree attitude, and thought. There are many techniques a budding photographer will learn to evoke the emotions they desire. One such technique is using artificial lighting. Artificial lighting is not always as fun and easy as sunlight, but you can use it to create some wonderful photographs once you know how.

Indoor lighting is often fluorescent and tungsten bulbs. Tungsten bulbs are used by professional photographers, as “hot lights” because of the high temperature they produce. In photography it is important to understand the temperature scale in relation to the colors they will produce. A hot light will produce more red and reduce the blue. Firelight and candle light though not artificial can be used in doors to create shadows and depth.

When using indoor lights, specifically artificial light you will need to understand exposure. When you have less light it will take longer to expose the film to capture a photograph. Part of exposure is the angle. Lets talk about taking pictures in a museum. For instance I was in a museum with minerals behind glass and a woman made the statement if she took the picture nothing would come from it. This is not true. First in a darker room where you have direct light on the object you will not want to use the flash.

The flash will bounce the light back at the picture. The next step is to get as close to the glass as possible. The third consideration is the angle. Taking the picture head on of the object will bounce the light and shadows about. You will need to angle the camera to the side or up from the ground to attain the photograph. If you do not have glass in the way the angle will still be important, especially when taking portraits. Shooting any subject head on is likely to create shadows and take away from the print. The best angle for shooting portraits is often up into the face.

When shooting faces or other objects you usually want a three dimensional contrast. You will need to search for the planes and contours of the subject, especially in portrait photography. The planes and contours will help you determine the angle you will shoot the subject from. The shadows will often provide the three dimensional contrast if you find the correct planes and angle to shoot from. This helps with pictures that you want to stand-alone.

Artificial lighting needs to be moveable. Just turning on your home lights will not give you the desired affect. Instead it can wash out the subject, place the light at the wrong angle, or create too much shadow in one area. You need to have lights set up on tripods to change the angle to suit your needs. Rooms are small which is one reason over head lights can either be too powerful or not direct enough.

Following lighting tips will increase your photography skills. Most amateur photographers find taking a class on lighting and having a few books on the subject will help them learn proper lighting techniques. The reason for classes is to provide feedback. You may be happy with the shot, but suggestions can help you make the shot perfect in the future.

Artificial lighting has advantages over outdoor or natural lighting, but sometimes the picture turns out better with natural light. It might be a matter of preference or the desire of a client or subject for that matter. You never have artificial lighting outside for the most part; you usually rely on your camera flash to help with the picture quality. When you choose your lighting, look for the best lighting situation to enhance your subject and make your picture as natural as possible.

By: Dan Feildman

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Planning a wedding? Then you know how hard it is to find a venue for your reception. After awhile all those hotel banquet halls begin to look alike. Why not put your creative thinking cap on and expand your thinking? Why not try something unique? Why not try a museum?

Museum Wedding Venues

Many museums rent out their spaces for weddings and other events. And, if you think having your wedding at a museum would be boring, think again. Consider the attractions your guests would be surrounded by at some of the following museums:

Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, Illinois

For a unique wedding venue in Chicago, consider the Museum of Science and Industry, located at 57th Street and Lake Shore Drive. The Museum of Science and Industry has so much to offer that it’s hard to know where to begin. You have your choice of numerous unique spaces within the Museum, such as the U-505 Exhibit, where your guests will have the opportunity to dine alongside a 252 ft. submarine. But not any submarine. This submarine was the only German submarine captured during WWII. Seating capacity is 120 guests.

Another space within the Museum is the Rotunda, which is a spectacular hall of marble, featuring a 120-ft. domed ceiling. The seated capacity in the Rotunda is 800 guests.

The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago also has several themed venues within their space which would make any wedding or reception stand out. These include “The Bronzeville Blues Club” with a theme of Chicago’s musical roots. Entering through the Rotunda, guests will enter the “Bronzeville Blues Club” awash in candles and blue lighting; dine on Creole inspired hors d’oeuvres, while enjoying the sounds of an authentic Blues Trio.

Or, perhaps you’d like to try the “Hollywood Canteen” – a recreation of The Hollywood Canteen, which opened its doors in 1942, and quickly became a hot spot for servicemen and Hollywood’s biggest names. Your guests will be welcomed into this recreation by a long red carpet, lined with red velvet ropes.

The Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona

Located in Central Phoenix, the Heard Museum has been a Phoenix institution for more than 75 years. Encompassing more than 130,000 square feet of gallery and education space, the Heard Museum has one of the finest collections of Native American art and cultural exhibits. And, the exhibits aren’t the only things worth seeing at the Heard; there’s also the interesting architecture and grounds, which include arched walkways, brick patios and lovely courtyards, which serve as picturesque backdrops for your wedding photos.

The Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester, Massachusetts

The Higgins Armory Museum is the only museum in the Western Hemisphere devoted to arms and armor, housed in an Art Deco building with a vaulted Medieval Great Hall. Talk about a unique wedding venue! How many people have their wedding amid suits of armor from the Renaissance?

Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum in Key West, Florida

This tropical wedding venue is historic as well as beautiful. You can get married on a bridge overlooking a koi pond, then provide your guests with a private tour of Ernest Hemingway’s home. For guests who cannot attend, they can watch the wedding on the Museum’s live web cam.

The Stagecoach Inn Museum in Newberry Park, California

For those history buffs who love stagecoaches and the American pioneer period, the Stagecoach Inn Museum is for you. Located off the 101 Freeway halfway between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, the Stagecoach Inn has a rather long history and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The museum is actually a replica of the original Stagecoach Inn built in 1876, as well as spacious grounds which feature replicas of a pioneer home, a Spanish-Mexican adobe and a Chumash dwelling. Live oak trees, flower gardens, wooded areas and rose arbor grace the lawns.

Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia

The Poe Museum is dedicated to, who else, Edgar Allan Poe, the American author of short stories, detective fiction, poetry and science fiction. Imagine the theme wedding one could have by getting married at the Poe Museum! Treat your guests to a wedding and reception in Poe’s Enchanted Garden, which can accommodate up to 100 guests. The garden was inspired by one of his poems, “To One in Paradise.”

Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio

If the two of you are into football, why not consider the Pro Football Hall of Fame? Instead of a bouquet, the bride can toss a football. Well, it’s just an idea.

No matter where you live there is bound to be a museum near you that hosts weddings. Museums offer a truly unique venue which your guests will remember years after the wedding. The museums can be historical, fun, or downright odd and you’re sure to find one which suits your tastes. Now, if only the Spam Museum would offer weddings…. Oh, well, one can’t have everything.

By: Shari Hearn

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It may seem like an oversimplification to say that a camera is nothing but a box with lens at one end and a sensitive surface at the other, together with some means of controlling the latter’s exposure to the light passed by the lens. Yet that has always been, and still is, the basis of a camera. In the early days of photography before the 1840′s cameras were simple, wooden, light-tight boxes having a lens and a slot or slide to take a sensitised plate. Exposures were made by removing and replacing a cap over the lens, and the camera had to be taken into the darkroom to be unloaded.

In the 1840′s slide holders were introduced and other improvements such as bellows or sliding boxes, one inside the other for focusing purposes, made cameras a little easier to use. Primitive shutters to control exposure timing, together with ‘stops’ consisting of brass strips punched with holes of various sizes to control depth of field, arrived soon after.

Many very fine photographs were taken with these cameras and examples can be found in several museums. Nevertheless, one almost needed the strength of an ox to carry all the equipment to a desired location and, since plates had to be developed
and coated on the spot, a portable darkroom was required. One of the most famous pioneers, Roger Fenton, had to convert a horse-drawn baker’s van into a darkroom to take to the Crimean War in 1855; so one needed a deep pocket as well.

For sheer quality and artistry it would be hard to beat many of the pictures taken in the first thirty or forty years of photography, which goes to prove that it is the man (or woman!) behind the camera that counts. Modern cameras, even the modestly priced ones, are marvels of sophistication when compared with the early models, but the basic function is still the same.

By: Linda McDermott

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