Egypt will showcase its commitment to enhancing the tourist experience and attracting new visitors from the UAE, GCC, and globally by highlighting the country’s tourism potential, forthcoming projects, and future initiatives at Arabian Travel Market 2024 (ATM) in Dubai as it looks to build on the record 15 million tourists welcomed in 2023.

Declutter old plant pots at over 100 B&Q in-store recycling stations

All photographers love camera hacks, especially when they’re a lot of fun to do and involve using common household items as props to create awe-inspiring images. Today’s lesson from photographer Daniel Aucoin provides seven great ideas for capturing amazing macro photos that really grab attention.

Aucoin describes himself as a fine art landscape photographer who does commercial work on occasion. The tutorials he posts, like the 90-second video below, tend to focus on unique ways to capture the beauty of nature. This is a visual tutorial without dialogue, so all you have to do is sit back and watch Aucoin work his magic. He provides pertinent captions as necessary to clarify the techniques you’ll learn.

The goal for this behind-the-scenes outing was to capture some uncommon images of mushrooms on the forest floor, and Aucoin did a commendable job. But his tricks work equally with a variety of small subjects like buds and blooms, insects and lizards, and other tiny creepy crawlies.

The only “prop” you need for Aucoin’s first hack is a small piece of aluminum foil which he uses to bounce light onto the subject and create enchanting specular highlights. There are no props required for tip #2; rather, he demonstrates how an “inverted tripod” can do more than create an interesting ground-level perspective. As indicated in the caption, “lowering the camera helps separate the subject from the background and increases stability by lowering the center of gravity.”

Sometimes simple camera accessories can be particularly helpful too, like using a polarizing filter to minimize glare and reflections on the subject of your photo. You’ll also see how a small battery-operated light like Aucoin’s Lume Cubes can create micro contrast to enhance the perceived sharpness of an image.

Another useful household item is a small hand-held mirror that can be employed in a variety of ways for creative effects. One trick involves wetting the surface of the mirror with liquid from a water bottle to throw some intriguing reflections into the shot.

There’s still one more handy hack to go and you’ll have to watch the video to see how it works. But here’s something to ponder while observing Aucoin do his thing: Think about ways you can use these simple techniques when photographing macro subjects indoors.

There’s much more to learn about macro and other types of photography on Aucoin’s instructional YouTube channel. So be sure to pay a visit when you have time to explore.

And speaking of hacks, don’t miss the tutorial we featured with another accomplished pro who explains how to create epic landscape photographs with a 3-step “hidden” Photoshop hack.

Let’s face it: There are so many types of lens filters available in different configurations that the task of purchasing these accessories can be extremely confusing. And the choices you make often depend upon the specific types of photographs you shoot and even the manner in which your edit your work.

This quick and enlightening tutorial features Romanian-born photographer Vlad Manea who now lives in Germany. He’s also an adept instructor specializing in quick lessons for beginning shooters. This episode is all about choosing lens filters that will enhance your results, without wasting money by falling victim to the dreaded gear acquisition syndrome, i.e. purchasing filters that you’ll rarely or never use.

The discussion covers a variety of filter options from the common UV and polarizers, to those named VND, ND, CPL, and others. Manea’s goal is to help you make an informed choice by explaining what these filters are designed to accomplish and the most effective ways to use them.

Many photographers routinely mount a UV filter on every lens they own, with the idea that they’ll not only reduce ultraviolet light but protect the front element of the lens from dirt, scratches, and moisture. Manea, on the other hand, says he avoids this type of filter for reasons he explains.

Also a quite common choice is the polarizing filter that can be very effective for reducing glare and reflections from non-metallic surfaces. Its available with a rotating outer ring that enables you to accentuate or lessen the effect and can be particularly valuable for darkening pale blue skies or when there’s water within the frame. These should always be used with discretion, because your images can appear lifeless if you remove all reflections from a shot.

Landscape photographers often refuse to leave home without an assortment of ND filters in their bag, including those of different strengths as well as at least one Variable ND filter for balancing the tones in scenes with a bright sky and  significantly darker foreground. These can be expensive and take a bit of practice to employ properly, but they’re capable of delivering spectacular results.

The foregoing is just a taste of the information Manea provides in this simple guide, so be sure to watch until the end. Then pay a visit to his popular YouTube channel where there much more to be learned about the basics of photography.

And speaking of making informed purchasing decisions, be sure to watch the tutorial we posted recently from another pro who discusses the difference between how many megapixels you want and how many you really need. It’s often not the same!