Fortnightly Challenge - Oct 9 thru Oct 22 - Topic: foofaraw

[Designer Dale]

Tacoma Dome Lighting

Difficult night shoot on a tripod with lots of vibration from traffic. Comments on how to do something like this better?

Dale

Canon Xsi
Tamron 28-300 VC @ 46mm
1/5 sec @ f5.6
ISO 400
Some PS cheating to tone down one of the flood lights

 

[grassland]

brigus nl

Does this count?

 

[Chappers]

Does this count?

Oh yes this is foofaraw.


Dale - I think the picture is fine. Did you achieve what you want to achieve?

 

[deep diver]

Difficult night shoot on a tripod with lots of vibration from traffic. Comments on how to do something like this better?

Dale -- there is nothing wrong with this shot. It's pretty cool. The real question is whether you captured what you wanted. The only thing I would have done differently would be to expose it just a little more. That is, however, strictly personal preference. The image is very good.

grassland -- yes. It definitely fits. I think I'd like to see this place in person (I think.....).

 

[Designer Dale]

<snip>Dale - I think the picture is fine. Did you achieve what you want to achieve?

Dale -- there is nothing wrong with this shot. It's pretty cool. The real question is whether you captured what you wanted. The only thing I would have done differently would be to expose it just a little more. That is, however, strictly personal preference. The image is very good.<snip>.

Thanks for the feedback, folks. Yes, I achieved what I wanted with the shot. It was the first time I had tried shooting at night and wanted C&C. I have others with both more and less exposure, I will play with them tomorrow. In my first round of sorting this was the sharpest.

Dale

 

[tnkrmdc]

Guess that constellation?

Guess the constellation?

 

[tnkrmdc]

This was taken at night with the tree silhouetted by distant city lights with the Big Dipper.

 

[tnkrmdc]

I entered this in a previous contest but I love this photo. So here it is.

 

[Chappers]

Guess the constellation?

Would that be the big dipper/plough?

This was taken at night with the tree silhouetted by distant city lights with the Big Dipper.

Nice shot - like it - want to do it but lots of light pollution were I live - see previous photos on this thread.

I entered this in a previous contest but I love this photo. So here it is.

Seen this before - still like it. I have so far resisted reposting my lightning photo. Yours is a cool shot - plenty of scale.

This thread had some cool info on shooting stars for any one interested https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/386226/

 

[tnkrmdc]

Chappers,
You are right it is the big dipper. For really great star trails, I will have to purchase a portable gaming system to bring with me or bring a cute girl to snuggle with while waiting for the star trail. I just don't have the patience to sit there for 30 minutes, 1 hour or whatever for it to complete.

 

[Chappers]

Chappers,
You are right it is the big dipper. For really great star trails, I will have to purchase a portable gaming system to bring with me or bring a cute girl to snuggle with while waiting for the star trail. I just don't have the patience to sit there for 30 minutes, 1 hour or whatever for it to complete.

Cute girl - far more fun. As long as you don't forget the camera for some reason.

I am still yet to get a tripod and sometimes suffer because of it

 

[deep diver]

I am still yet to get a tripod and sometimes suffer because of it

What about a good three legged stool and a few bean bags?

Okay, I've picked on you enough. Here are 2 serious suggestions. I've tried them both. They are not elegant but they work and they are cheap. 1) Get a bolt that screws into the nut on the bottom of the camera. Tie a good string (I use mason's line) to the bolt. It should be about 6 feet long. Tie a fender washer (those real big ones) to the other end. If you step on the washer and pull up on the camera so that the line is taut, it does a good job of steadying the camera for longer exposures. Adjust the length of the string as needed. I have used this successfully for exposures up to about one second. 2) You can find a fastener at the hardware store that is a bolt on one end and a screw on the other. (I'm sure it has a name but I don't know what it is). The bolt end should fit the nut on the camera bottom. Also get a 6' long 1" or 1.25" diameter dowel rod. Screw the fastener into one end of the dowel. You now have a very serviceable monopod. Cut the dowel to length.

 

[Chappers]

What about a good three legged stool and a few bean bags?

Okay, I've picked on you enough. Here are 2 serious suggestions. I've tried them both. They are not elegant but they work and they are cheap. 1) Get a bolt that screws into the nut on the bottom of the camera. Tie a good string (I use mason's line) to the bolt. It should be about 6 feet long. Tie a fender washer (those real big ones) to the other end. If you step on the washer and pull up on the camera so that the line is taut, it does a good job of steadying the camera for longer exposures. Adjust the length of the string as needed. I have used this successfully for exposures up to about one second. 2) You can find a fastener at the hardware store that is a bolt on one end and a screw on the other. (I'm sure it has a name but I don't know what it is). The bolt end should fit the nut on the camera bottom. Also get a 6' long 1" or 1.25" diameter dowel rod. Screw the fastener into one end of the dowel. You now have a very serviceable monopod. Cut the dowel to length.

Now because you've been kind enough to write this down I'm going to try this when I get get the chance. I will post some shots as and when I can. This counter balances my mothers desire to buy me something for Christmas but I'll still give it a go. You're a gentleman and a scholar.

 

[tnkrmdc]

Cute girl - far more fun. As long as you don't forget the camera for some reason.

I am still yet to get a tripod and sometimes suffer because of it

I wish that I steady enough hands to hold camera still enough on certain shots. I probably need treat the camera more like a firearm and control my breathing.

BTW, cute girls are definitely fun but I would be beating myself up if I left my camera somewhere.The girl better be worth it.

Chappers, I have seen a few of your pictures and I like them. How long have you been in photography?

 

[tnkrmdc]

Lunar eclipse

Jupiter - both of these photos were difficult without a tripod.

The moon shot just beautiful. What more can be said.

 

[someoldguy]

Don't know about foofaraw , but this guy is certainly nocturnal. Found him on my last trip to Belize . Canon 5d , 100 macro w/ 2x Kenko extender , f14@200 ,430 ex flash . Focused by flashlight.

 

[Chappers]

The moon shot just beautiful. What more can be said.

With a tripod they could be better - there is only so far I can reduce my heart beat to take these.

Don't know about foofaraw , but this guy is certainly nocturnal. Found him on my last trip to Belize.

Nice shot - love frogs.

Sorry about the quality off this shot but its real foofaraw - just difficult to get a photo.

 

[Designer Dale]

<snip>Sorry about the quality off this shot but its real foofaraw - just difficult to get a photo.

This is a really interesting looking building. I would love to see a photo of it with better light on the front. If it's possible, shoot this again some time and post it here or in the POTD thread.

Dale

 

[deep diver]

I was looking for a good on-line photo calculator which I found athttp://www.tawbaware.com/maxlyons/calc.htm


While looking I found this site: http://www.howardedin.com/. The calculator is not very good and is mostly appropriate for telescopes. His nocturnal images are amazing. Definitely worth a look.

 

[Chappers]

I was looking for a good on-line photo calculator which I found athttp://www.tawbaware.com/maxlyons/calc.htm


While looking I found this site: http://www.howardedin.com/. The calculator is not very good and is mostly appropriate for telescopes. His nocturnal images are amazing. Definitely worth a look.

Now I will need a tripod Great find Bruce This one was recommended recently too http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

 

[deep diver]

I posted this on FOTW but that contest ends after this challenge and I wanted to share it. The FOTW theme is "panorama". I think it might count as foofaraw because of the use of 8 component images and my compulsive attention to getting it done. Mostly I am interested in feedback from this group.

====================

I wanted to do something other than the usual panorama.

This is a concept image that has, admittedly, no artistic merit. Given my time constraints, I had no place other than the local ball field to try this. I had at least hoped for some sun, but this is Cleveland. On the other hand, the sun came out as soon as I got home. Go figure……

This is, for lack of a better term, a “double panorama”. In a normal panorama, the camera is the center of the circle. In this image, I put my son at the center of the circle and moved the camera around him creating a “reverse panorama”. The circle that I made then became the center of everything beyond that circle. This created a normal panoramic view of the park and school. The result is that the background and my son appear to be moving/turning in opposite directions. The 8 individual images cover a bit more than 360 degrees.

 

[Chappers]

I admire your creative flair and the fact you had a go at this shot.

I wonder if you could have been closer to the subject - I have no idea if it would help but he looks a bit lost in the shot. Could pose in some way - pointing at something for example

Damn fine concept though. Pity you had a time constraint. I'm amazed it lines up as well as it does.

 

[deep diver]

I wonder if you could have been closer to the subject - I have no idea if it would help but he looks a bit lost in the shot. Could pose in some way - pointing at something for example.

You are right on all points. Again, time constraints. When I did the test shoot in my back yard (which was done with a stake at the center but no subject/kid) I was looking at the "reverse panorama" concept only. I shot it at about 25' from the stake. When I looked at the images I thought I was too close to get the desired effect. I also felt that there needed to be some point of reference for the subject inside circle. That is why I went for so much of the soccer field in the image. While I could have posed him, I was only interested in testing the concept.

Given what I have learned, being in a good location, and with several more hours to shoot, I think I could come up with something that looks decent.

Interestingly, shooting this took no time at all. The set up and marking off the circle took a lot of time. Lining it up was not all that hard. I was on a flat field, used a tripod, and paid very careful attention to the distant reference points when I was stitching these together.

 

[rubencito]

how about this one

one of the first shots taken with my new Cannon

 

[Chappers]

one of the first shots taken with my new Cannon

The Canon EOS 50D is a nice camera. I know it's one of your first shots with it but it is capable of more. This shot for example is slightly out of focus (maybe use manual focus).

In the light conditions it would have been better to get closer to the subject instead of using the zoom lens (200mm) and as my other suggestion is to crop this picture to remove all all the distraction around the neon sign getting closer would be better. There is a good clear example of this type of shot on page one of this thread.

I'm guessing you're just trying out things and getting used to it and to be honest - I can't talk too loudly as I don't even have a tripod. so I hope you won't be put off by my comments.

Keep posting and keep shooting.