Snapshots by Susan

06/17/2026

Here's one more spring image before I turn the page to summer. This was taken back in May on my Mother's Day camera club road trip to Boston's Public Garden. Near the end of the outing, I said, "This would be perfect if I could see some baby ducklings," and voila! There they were!

These little ducklings were VERY difficult to capture (in a photograph). This kind of image takes some patience. You have to follow them around, stay low and keep your distance. I recommend using a longer lens and a fast shutter speed to freeze the action. The ducklings are bit spaced out but I like the flowers in the background, giving the image a definite spring feeling. This is also a good example of having foreground, middle ground and background interest. The subject of the image is in the middle ground and that is the sharpest part of the image.

Leia V Lux 5 hand held no flash
ISO 400
f/4
ss 1/320th of a second

06/14/2026

Today’s image is a good example of how to use leading lines to bring the viewer’s eye to the subject of your image.

I have walked along Boston’s Charles River Esplanade many times but this image was made on the other side of the river, along the Cambridge Parkway. This path offers a very different perspective of the city skyline.

In this case, the leading lines of the railing and the tree line guide the viewer’s eye gently up the path, taking in the scenic view along the way.

Leica Q f/1.7 lens
ISO 100
f/13
ss 1/125

06/11/2026

Today's tip is a suggestion of a style of image to make if you are stuck shooting in the middle of the day, when the sun is bright. This lighting is not optimal for portraits and moody landscapes but don't fret! It's a good time to use backlighting!

Backlighting can be effective in several situations, but it's especially good in flower photos. Position yourself so that the sun is directly behind your subject. If you are shooting flowers, you'll want to get down very low and fill the frame with the flowers. With the light coming in from behind the flowers, the front can look a bit dark so you can raise your ISO, use a slight flash or slow down your shutter speed to let in more light. In this case I recommend using a large aperture (f/4 or larger) in order to blur out the background.

This is an easy thing to practice and requires no additional equipment. It's especially useful for travel photography when you find yourself out in the middle of the day.

Leica V Lux 5 hand held no flash
ISO 125
f/4
ss 1/1250th of a second

06/07/2026

If you live in Hingham, the June edition of Greet Hingham should be arriving soon. This month features a group of very important citizens; the ladies who make sure that Hingham school children get safely to and from school each day.

I had this image in my mind before I took the shot. I liked the idea of being in a crosswalk. That really sets the environment. I wanted to line the crosswalk with the guards and then top it off with some adorable kids and you have all the makings of an appealing image.

I asked the guards to bring their stop signs but I didn't know the they were going to show up in their bright yellow jackets. A vertical version of this image was used for the cover, using the sky as negative space for the Greet logo and caption.

We are grateful for the public servants and now that you've made it to the end of the school year, enjoy the summer!

Canon R5 24-70mm lens hand held with flash
ISO 800
f/13
ss 1/800th of a second

06/04/2026

I offer a basic photography class that consists of 4 lessons. The first is all about the camera, including all of the menus, buttons and dials. The second is all about composition. I tell you about composition rules and when to break them. On the third lesson, I accompany the student on a photo walk and we put the composition rules into practical application. On the final lesson, we edit a few photos together and I go over lots of editing tips and tools.

This image was made on a recent photo walk with a student. We were walking through World's End in Hingham, discussing nature photography when we happened upon this scene. How lucky! It was a very dramatic example of the fact that you never know what you will encounter when you dedicate time to a photo walk but you know for sure that you won't be able to make an image like this from your living room couch.

I have often seen en plein air painters but I don't think I have ever seen an artist working on a canvas this large. Bonus points for us that the artist was wearing a bright red outfit and set up her canvas between two trees, and a field with purple flowers in the background. The image was really teed up for us.

In addition to all of this, I really love the repetition of the scene on the canvas surrounded by the natural scene itself. The moral of the story is to push yourself to go on more photo walks, whether it's in an urban setting, during vacation or in your local preserve like this. This tip also applies to cell phone photography.

Leica V Lux 5 hand held no flash
ISO 200
f/4.5
ss 1/1000th of a second

05/31/2026

Springtime youth sports are in high gear and I had the opportunity to photograph both of my grandchildren playing baseball and softball, respectively. Kids' sports are a good way to practice your fast shutter speed sports photography because the action is usually a bit slower than high school, college and professional sports. A high shutter speed is helpful to freeze the action and a slow shutter speed can be used in more creative images or to show motion.

In this image, I was photographing one of the "in between moments" of my granddaughter's softball game. These are fun to compose and can help you tell a story when combined with a number of other images. I was not allowed on the field and I was politely asked not to stand next to the dugout so my options were limited. Luckily I was using my Leica V-Lux 5, which has a zoom of 400 mm so I could still reach the action.

Composing a shot of players in the outfield can be pretty boring so I decided to get close to a bright red tube that was covering the top of the fence that surrounded the field. I focused on the player in the foreground, throwing the red tube out of focus and hopefully adding some interest to the composition. It helps that the players' uniforms are also red.

Three of anything in an image is a magic number and I think it works in this case. I like the person in the foreground who appears to have her attention drawn to her teammates and the then the other two are engaging in conversation. I this case, there's no need for a fast shutter speed since the subjects are more or less standing still. (My shutter speed was high because I never changed it while taking action shots)

Leica V-Lux 5, hand held no flash
ISO 200
f/4.5
ss 1/1000th of a second

05/30/2026

From my book signing for my new release, Boston Veterans Appreciation, at the Hingham Historical Society, hosted by executive director Deirdre Anderson and Co-hosted by Jack Doherty, CEO of College Hype. We’re off to the races with the first 1,500 copies sold!

05/28/2026

It was before sunrise on Mother's Day that I met my fellow camera club members in Boston's Public Garden to spend some time taking photographs and enjoying some peacefulness. The wide variety of colorful tulips were at peak bloom, offering endless opportunities for different compositions.

In this case, I wanted to photograph the swan boats on the lagoon. I used a shallow depth of field (f/4.0) to throw the foreground out of focus. I framed the subject of my image (the swan boats) between the flowers and the trees in the background. The viewer's eye will go to the brightest part of the image so I kept this in mind when editing, increasing the brightness on the swans.

I like this image but I think it could be improved by moving to the other side of the lagoon so that I was facing the swans.

Leica V luxe 5 hand held no flash
ISO 1600
f/4
ss 1/125th of a second

05/24/2026

05/21/2026

The Hingham Historical Society's latest event celebrating America's 250th anniversary, Red, White and Bubbly, was festive and fun! The event was held in the historic Old Derby Academy building, now the hoe of the society's heritage museum and visitor's center.

I really enjoy photographing events like this. It gives me a chance to be creative and tell the story of the evening. After the sit down dinner, the Hingham Singers popped in as a surprise guest. They entertained the group with lively historic songs. I chose this low angle to make the singers look more dramatic. I included the "Founded 1764" lettering to give the image context and I noticed someone wearing the red, white and blue, flag scarf so I included that in the image as a pop of color and to add to the patriotic feel.

To check out additional events that will be sponsored by the society, go to www.hinghamhistorical.org

Canon R5 24-70mm lens hand held with flash
ISO 8000
f/7.1
ss 1/60th of a second