Just got the canon 50mm 1.8, beautiful lens for £99 
Tate modern today... c&c welcome. (clickable) No PP on this either!
wow
Tate modern today... c&c welcome. (clickable) No PP on this either!
wow
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Photo of the Day - December 2009
- Thread starter Ja Di ksw
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Thank you very much, I find your comments quite touching. I think everyone has their own way of viewing the world and their own emphasis when considering subjects. Some people tend to gravitate to action shots. Some to nature shots. Some to portraits. Some to still lifes. Some to landscapes. Professionals also often have their own focus--though they are usually skilled at everything. I tend to focus on the everyday and common--trying to look at objects which we all routinely see/ignore and attempting to capture them in a manner that highlights the overlooked wonder in them. That's my own thing. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. But I personally feel that there is a wealth of photographic potential just lying in wait around the house (or around the corner), wanting to be discovered. Again, not to everyone's taste but it works for me
Thanks again and I wish you the best.
I'm just learning on our new Canon T1i, so constructive criticism is welcome!
I posted some verbal criticisms earlier in the thread. I then got kind of excited about your subject and decided to see what I could do with it.
I found a wine bottle, cork, and glass and did a test shoot during the day.
Somewhat similar to what you did. I decided that I liked having the wine glass in the composition as I suggested to you. However the lighting was craptastic. While it is fine from a levels perspective, it does nothing for the subject. To be honest, while I could have arranged the composition better in this test image, the light was such a huge issue that nothing would have resulted in an interesting image. Light like this is great for some images, but in this specific example it killed it. So I waited around for night, knowing that it would allow me to better manage the light.
I played around with lighting once the sun had set. Tried front light, side light, back light. Actually, this isn't totally true: I already knew what type and direction of light I needed to translate the image in my head into something on my computer. While I looked at various light angles, I kind of knew from the start what I would settle on.
I think you can appreciate what a dramatic difference the "right" light makes in the image. It's almost night and day. Introducing shadows to this image transforms it from a random snapshot into something that is interesting visually. NEVER underestimate the impact of light on an image. I'm not sure whether light or composition is more important to the visual impact of an image, but lighting tends to get ignored more often. Sometimes it's unavoidable: you are out and about and are stuck with the light you get. But for times when you can actually take control of the light, being aware of it and manipulating it to suite your subject will pay off manyfold.
While I was happy with this shot as a color image, I was curious to see how it would do as a black and white. Here's the result:
Personally I see it as an improvement. The original image really wasn't about color--it was about constrast and texture. B&W brings this out perfectly.
I'm not saying my version of this theme is better. You may hate it. But I wanted to show you in images what I visualized when I wrote out my earlier critique. And a huge thanks for the underlying idea. I probably wouldn't have thought of this on my own but I really like where it went.
Oh, and while I usually don't post EXIF data (who really cares what gear I use?) in this specific instance I want to.
f/11, 1/20 sec, ISO 1600 on a nikon D700 24-70/2.8. Handheld. I used f/11 because I wanted the wine glass stem to be in focus. I took a shot at f/2.8 but wasn't happy with the shallow depth of field. The reason I am even bothering with this is to let you know that images like this are possible even with the "kit" lens that comes with many DSLRs. Even with an entry level camera, it's possible to create something like this (though you might require a tripod to keep the ISO down, and thus the noise at a reasonable level). Oftentimes you will hear that to create images in low-light you have to have a "fast" (and often expensive) lens. While it is true for some images, it isn't true for all. I used a "slow" aperture of f/11 (even though my lens goes to f/2.8 and I have a prime that goes to f/1.4). The reason is that those apertures were "wrong" for what I hoped to achieve. Again, this image could have been created with an entry level DSLR and kit lens. Hell, it could have been created with a good point and shoot. It isn't always about the gear. It's about knowing how to translate what you see in your mind's eye into what will show up on your screen. Oftentimes you don't need "pro" gear to accomplish this.
^^^ Wonderful look and feel to this photo. Great use of color and good framing to boot. Love the way the red stands out against the blue of the water. The rocks at the very bottom seem to intrude on the subject to my eye. They could be cropped off to enhance the main element.
^^^ I really like all of the night shots of these wonderful older English towns. The color and capture is great on the right storefront, but the blow-out of the store windows on the left hurt my eye. Well, detract from the picture at least... I played with it in post, and this is just an example of the imperfections we have to live with as photographers. Post won't adjust the bright windows without looking crappy and too many vertical elements on the left side are lost if it is cropped off. Nice shot.
Dale
The kind of lighting and location we dream of! Well done! That would look glorious spanned across two screens... care to add a little watermark and let us download it?
One more from the Red Tail Hawk series I shot last weekend.
C&C always welcome.
That is a long lens you have there (420mm) by by little EXIF reader. It that one of the Canon 400s or a Sigma 500? Extender, maybe?
These birds make great subjects and your photo shows the power and majesty of the red tail. I like the compliment given by the green and blues in the background, but I feel that there is too much open space around the bird. Maybe crop in a bit from the top and bottom.
Dale
another of my buddy Jedi, he is such a gentle giant, 90+ lbs of love and gentleness
While I did some PP on this, basic issue is bright lighting, aka the sun, from LH side.
I used fill flash (pop up) to lighten up his dark side, this is about as good as I could tweak the shot in PSE8.
By taking these shots, and working on them, I'm now thinking lighting/composition/etc more and more. Not quite second nature, maybe that will come over time.
Looking back, I wish I took some at smaller aperture, ƒ/4.5 kinda looses the focus at the length of his body in this shot to compare, though it does emphasize his face/eyes.
Next up - his action/frisbee shots. He's 8 and still loves to play for hours.
While I did some PP on this, basic issue is bright lighting, aka the sun, from LH side.
I used fill flash (pop up) to lighten up his dark side, this is about as good as I could tweak the shot in PSE8.
By taking these shots, and working on them, I'm now thinking lighting/composition/etc more and more. Not quite second nature, maybe that will come over time.
Looking back, I wish I took some at smaller aperture, ƒ/4.5 kinda looses the focus at the length of his body in this shot to compare, though it does emphasize his face/eyes.
Next up - his action/frisbee shots. He's 8 and still loves to play for hours.
.....
I was curious to see how it would do as a black and white. Here's the result:
Personally I see it as an improvement. The original image really wasn't about color--it was about constrast and texture. B&W brings this out perfectly.
I'm not saying my version of this theme is better. You may hate it. But I wanted to show you in images what I visualized when I wrote out my earlier critique. And a huge thanks for the underlying idea. I probably wouldn't have thought of this on my own but I really like where it went.
Oh, and while I usually don't post EXIF data (who really cares what gear I use?) in this specific instance I want to.
f/11, 1/20 sec, ISO 1600 on a nikon D700 24-70/2.8. Handheld. I used f/11 because I wanted the wine glass stem to be in focus. I took a shot at f/2.8 but wasn't happy with the shallow depth of field. The reason I am even bothering with this is to let you know that images like this are possible even with the "kit" lens that comes with many DSLRs. Even with an entry level camera, it's possible to create something like this (though you might require a tripod to keep the ISO down, and thus the noise at a reasonable level). Oftentimes you will hear that to create images in low-light you have to have a "fast" (and often expensive) lens. While it is true for some images, it isn't true for all. I used a "slow" aperture of f/11 (even though my lens goes to f/2.8 and I have a prime that goes to f/1.4). The reason is that those apertures were "wrong" for what I hoped to achieve. Again, this image could have been created with an entry level DSLR and kit lens. Hell, it could have been created with a good point and shoot. It isn't always about the gear. It's about knowing how to translate what you see in your mind's eye into what will show up on your screen. Oftentimes you don't need "pro" gear to accomplish this.
Thx for posting your thoughts, insight, and method. I enjoyed following your shooting session.
The B&W is great result.
I agree, it's not about the "gear", but about the approach for creating the "shot". As you reach limits with your gear, then look at additional lens/etc.
I say this, hoping as I reach limits with my gear my wife will agree some coin for future gear.....
Salmon Restoration
This is my brother-in-law at work restoring the salmon stream haibitat in Port Townsend, WA.
This is my brother-in-law at work restoring the salmon stream haibitat in Port Townsend, WA.
This is somewhat cheating. I posted a similar composition yesterday in a critique of another's image. The initial shot was a snapshot taken in diffuse light. Didn't do anything for me. I shot again at night where I had more control over the light. I felt it was better, but I wasn't totally happy (the backlighting brought out some text on the label that I found distracting). Today I had some nice strong sun shining onto my dining room table and I revisited the subject.
Taken at 09.30 this morning from my back garden and overlooking the very frosty village.
Due to the sun high to the left, bleaching out any colour I think it looks better in B&W!?!?!?!?
http://images.macrumors.com/vb/images/attach/jpg.gif
Due to the sun high to the left, bleaching out any colour I think it looks better in B&W!?!?!?!?
http://images.macrumors.com/vb/images/attach/jpg.gif
Attachments
I like this quite a bit in B&W. I might crop out a bit of the sky, since the interesting bits for me relate to the village. Take it with a grain of salt though. Nice shot.
This is somewhat cheating. I posted a similar composition yesterday in a critique of another's image. The initial shot was a snapshot taken in diffuse light. Didn't do anything for me. I shot again at night where I had more control over the light. I felt it was better, but I wasn't totally happy (the backlighting brought out some text on the label that I found distracting). Today I had some nice strong sun shining onto my dining room table and I revisited the subject.
Wow! That last shot it perfect! I love the light reflection moving towards the right, honestly. In fact, it was one of the first thoughts that popped into my head when I saw the second set. Very cool, as are the rest of your shots on your gallery.
Also, many thanks for the thoughts. You're right, just graduating from a point and shoot, I find that I'm still somewhat in that mindset. In fact, that is the real reason behind the table/cork/wineglass; I was walking by, saw the bottle and cork and thought, "hey, that'd be a cool shot," and snapped the shutter. As another user stated, the more criticism you hear, the more your brain thinks about things like table color vs cork color, wine glass is in the frame (though that COULD have been due to the viewfinder not capturing 100% of the field... I dont remember whether I saw the glass in the frame or not, honestly), but you get the idea. And now, so do I
I'm having a blast with the camera, however, and that's the point. I'll post more as I take them, and thanks again so much for your thoughts.
Wow! That last shot it perfect! I love the light reflection moving towards the right, honestly. In fact, it was one of the first thoughts that popped into my head when I saw the second set. Very cool, as are the rest of your shots on your gallery.
Also, many thanks for the thoughts. You're right, just graduating from a point and shoot, I find that I'm still somewhat in that mindset. In fact, that is the real reason behind the table/cork/wineglass; I was walking by, saw the bottle and cork and thought, "hey, that'd be a cool shot," and snapped the shutter. As another user stated, the more criticism you hear, the more your brain thinks about things like table color vs cork color, wine glass is in the frame (though that COULD have been due to the viewfinder not capturing 100% of the field... I dont remember whether I saw the glass in the frame or not, honestly), but you get the idea. And now, so do I
I'm having a blast with the camera, however, and that's the point. I'll post more as I take them, and thanks again so much for your thoughts.
Have fun with your camera. Photography can be a very rewarding pastime (or even job)--especially in the digital age with the benefit of instant gratification.
Shoot, shoot, and then shoot some more. Everyone has their own agendas/requirements when it comes to taking pictures. Some are happy with snapshots--and there is nothing wrong with that. Some catch the bug and want to push themselves and their images. Nothing wrong with that either.
MacRumors has a great photography community. Posters range from novices to skilled professional photographers. There is a consistent theme of friendliness and helpfulness from all parties which makes this one of my preferred forums to frequent.
Post your shots as you continue to explore. I look forward to seeing them
wow
Thanks
Thanks
I was trying to actually have more of the rocks showing, like point lower towards the lighthouse. But the viewfinder has a 95% accuracy so there is some space that i forgot about.
Thanks
I would like to know what intentions do you have with the photo? Please PM to discuss future details.
Thanks, Dale. It was taken with the Canon 300 f/4L IS and a 1.4x. I agree it would probably look better cropped tighter, but I already had to crop it quite a bit and didn't want to overdo it. Besides, I tend to keep a bit more of the environment in my bird pictures than most people. I like to say it's because I'm a nature photographer that likes to take photos of birds instead of a birder that like to take pictures. That's my excuse and I'm stickin' to it
Windy Lake Provincial Park. North of Sudbury, ON.
This am... with old Sony DSC F717
Exposure Time: 1 / 249
FNumber: 4
Focal Length: 9.7
ISO Speed Ratings: 100
Auto Exposure
This am... with old Sony DSC F717
Exposure Time: 1 / 249
FNumber: 4
Focal Length: 9.7
ISO Speed Ratings: 100
Auto Exposure