An intriguing photograph. I particularly enjoy the crystal formation at the top. Well seen and terrific DOF.
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Photo of the Day - January 2009
- Thread starter Phrasikleia
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An intriguing photograph. I particularly enjoy the crystal formation at the top. Well seen and terrific DOF.
Hmm... Snow is tricky, trying to strike a balance between blown-out whites and unrealistic grays. You are correct, there was very little sunlight breaking through the gray clouds, and if you look closely there were patches of fog floating in between the crystaline frozen trees. It produced a particular mood that I tried to convey. I could boost the snow whiteness a bit, but too much, the trade-off would be to blow out the gray clouds. I settled for a little less realistic gray to keep the subtle contrasts in the snow (like the tracks). Now if there were direct sunlight on the snow, I would agree that the snow would be pure white, but diffused light on a gray day would produce a different effect, gray, when comparing them side by side (perhaps a more realistic gray than the pic..but I digress). I've had some critiques of sun lit snow that was pure white, but it didn't convey the subtle variations and texture. Another thing I noticed was the way it looked versus the website's white background. It magnifies the grayness of the picture. In Aperture the picture is set against a black background, toning down the grayness. Perhaps a black border around the picture would serve to balance the gray a bit, although I am not a big fan of borders. In print I would choose a dark matte, and a light frame.....anyway here is another gloomy pic from the same series:
Ghost Trees:
Thanks for looking, and any criticism. I'm facinated by the different reactions and emotions that this series has evoked.
Anybody want to guess what this is?
January 7, 2009
Nikon D3
AF-S Micro-Nikkor 60mm f/2.8
f/10 @1/10 sec
ISO 1250
You got it!!!
Yes, the keys look a little blue but I decided to leave things that way because I really was more interested in getting the texture of the aluminum power button to show up. My setup for this was not very fancy: I positioned the keyboard near a window, propped it on a black stand and also the power brick from one of my external drives (well, it happened to be right at hand and gave me the additional height I wanted!) draped a black cloth over the back of a chair behind the subject at a little distance, fiddled with various positions and angles, then started shooting. It was a grey day outside -- pouring rain -- but I wanted the less-intense light as I knew that bright lighting would blow out everything. In post-processing I then bumped back the exposure a bit more and kicked up the contrast, which further had an impact on the overall image. It was a fun project!
Yes, the keys look a little blue but I decided to leave things that way because I really was more interested in getting the texture of the aluminum power button to show up. My setup for this was not very fancy: I positioned the keyboard near a window, propped it on a black stand and also the power brick from one of my external drives (well, it happened to be right at hand and gave me the additional height I wanted!) draped a black cloth over the back of a chair behind the subject at a little distance, fiddled with various positions and angles, then started shooting. It was a grey day outside -- pouring rain -- but I wanted the less-intense light as I knew that bright lighting would blow out everything. In post-processing I then bumped back the exposure a bit more and kicked up the contrast, which further had an impact on the overall image. It was a fun project!
Good luck! I wouldn't be able to stand the music playing all the time though.yes, i was there for my first time and i thought it was a great place.
Although i live in the SF Valley.
I want to get one of those apartments up there one day
This shot isn't very fantastic at all compositionally, but I'm just happy I got to see a red-tailed hawk so close (and with the third eyelid up too!) It brought them up and soonafter started grooming (seeing the pictures of it groom with these little beady completely blue-filled eye sockets was somewhat unnerving)
Canon Rebel XT
ISO 100
f/7.1
1/320
Yep, snow is tricky, for all these reasons (and more). And it's difficult to shoot landscapes on a dull day, when the light isn't defining and describing at least some part of the composition. You say you wanted to convey a particular mood, but, well, a dull day generally produces dull pix... and I'm not sure there's any way around that.
In short (and I'm not trying to start an argument, honest
), what your pic says to me is 'dull day', not 'particular mood'. Landscape photography, to me, is 95% about the light; without light it becomes hard work. Your posting suggests a lot of thought. Maybe too much thought? When light is special, there's no need to think... just watch and shoot.
Just out of curiosity where did you take your meter readings from for the original grey snow shot?
Actually I was metering the frosty trees and the fog, which is what I thought was out of the ordinary. I tried to adjust the midcontrast to bring the clouds back from being blownout, unfortunately the snow was also effected.
Yep, snow is tricky, for all these reasons (and more). And it's difficult to shoot landscapes on a dull day, when the light isn't defining and describing at least some part of the composition. You say you wanted to convey a particular mood, but, well, a dull day generally produces dull pix... and I'm not sure there's any way around that.
In short (and I'm not trying to start an argument, honest
Your posting suggests a lot of thought. Maybe too much thought? When light is special, there's no need to think... just watch and shoot.
You mean like this, or am I still way off?
It's time for more macros!
This was taken with a 100mm macro, ring flash and 68mm of extension tubes. Bottle blue fly (Diptera: Calliphoridae). No cropping was done to the pic, I just resized it.
Canon XTi, 100mm macro, 68mm Kenko extension tubes
f14, 1/200, ISO 200
This was taken with a 100mm macro, ring flash and 68mm of extension tubes. Bottle blue fly (Diptera: Calliphoridae). No cropping was done to the pic, I just resized it.
Canon XTi, 100mm macro, 68mm Kenko extension tubes
f14, 1/200, ISO 200
Attachments
It's time for more macros!
This was taken with a 100mm macro, ring flash and 68mm of extension tubes. Bottle blue fly (Diptera: Calliphoridae). No cropping was done to the pic, I just resized it.
Canon XTi, 100mm macro, 68mm Kenko extension tubes
f14, 1/200, ISO 200
Those new tubes seem to be working out great for you!
They definitely are!
I still don't know precisely what working distances I have with them. This weekend I'll do a full test and publish my results! =) I think this one was about 4-5 cm, but don't quote me on that.
Simply superb! There's something about this pic that makes it captivating. Awesome job on the HDR!
It's time for more macros!
This was taken with a 100mm macro, ring flash and 68mm of extension tubes. Bottle blue fly (Diptera: Calliphoridae). No cropping was done to the pic, I just resized it.
Canon XTi, 100mm macro, 68mm Kenko extension tubes
f14, 1/200, ISO 200
Being the squeamish type, I'm rarely taken in by bug shots. This one is an exception. The focus only on the geometry of the eyes really brings out the beauty of their forms and subdues the monstrous qualities of the rest of the fly. Great shot.
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