Photo of the Day - March 2010

[ChefJayPeek]

Thanks everyone for their comments. Sorry it took so long to get back to you, I was off for a couple of days and went camping where there was no internet access. Unfortunately my camera also decided to die while I was out there...

When I get it fixed/replaced, I will be back posting pictures. For now I will just continue to read and learn from the excellent postings here.

As for the rooster? No he did not become a meal. He is a friends rooster and as they are trying to raise a flock of chickens this spring, he will not be going anywhere.

Thanks again everyone!

Chef Jay

 

[gnd]

San Francisco Bay at Dusk

San Francisco bay with the Bay bridge at dusk.

Camera: K20D
Lens: Tamron 17-50mm f2.8
Focal length: 42mm
Aperture: f/8
Exposure time: 4s
ISO: 200
Exposure compensation: +2.5
(I was bracketing but later saw that I don't really need to do HDR)

 

[Doylem]

Great shot... and you picked the right time of the evening. Bracketing seems like a good idea when the lighting is as subtle as this. The foreground doesn't add much, IMO... I'm thinking that's where you could have been standing...

 

[Designer Dale]

Now that's photographic art right there. That's the stuff most people just don't see - even when they're looking.

I like how you can see through to the other side - it's a still life and at the same time it's a subframe framing a landscape! The reflected sky adds a great contrast as to your behind as well. Very nice Dale.

This is great in so many ways. Love it.

Thanks for the kind words, folks. I was more or less location scouting when I took it. The church gets morning light on it's face and it was at sunset. If I can find a decent shot of the church on the same day, I'll post it later this evening.

Dale

 

[VirtualRain]

Stunning!

 

[Joe King]

San Francisco bay with the Bay bridge at dusk.

Just sublime. Well done.

Forty shades of... erm...:

Really bizarre colours for March. Everything's turned burnt yellow

Said on the news yesterday that the cold weather has meant that spring growth is between 30 and 40 days behind normal.

 

[VirtualRain]

If this isn't the pic of the day for today, then I don't know what is!?

BTW, it's the bar that's tilted, not the photographer!

 

[dllavaneras]

Getting the hang of the extension tubes again, after a few weeks of inactivity.

Tachinid fly (family Tachinidae), shot at roughly 2:1, no cropping.


Joe King, I feel your pain. The drought we're going through has everything either brown or black (after the wildfires).

 

[TheReef]

Great balance of lighting, it has a very nice feel to it.

 

[bhansensfd]

Photo taken in the Chianti Valley in Italy

 

[Designer Dale]

The Little White Church

The Evangelische Lutherische Kirche in Elbe, Washington. It's 18 ft. x 24 ft., and seats 46. It was built by German settlers in 1906.

EXIF Summary: 1/30s f/8.0 ISO100 Tamron 28-300VC@28mm Doylemized

Dale

 

[H2Ockey]

Getting the hang of the extension tubes again, after a few weeks of inactivity.

Tachinid fly (family Tachinidae), shot at roughly 2:1, no cropping.

I must say your bug shots are part of what has inspired me to get a macro lens.

This one taken tonight, inspired by your fly...

Juvenile (i think) Wolfe SPider. Body and Head are only about 6-7 mm long. This is with a Sigma 105mm + 2x teleconverter so 2:1 magnification and ~50% crop.

D300
Sigma 105mm +2x Teleconverter = 210mm
effective f/22
1/250s
Flash (not sure if it was pop-up or sb600 for this shot) w/home brew diffuser
ISO 800
Tripod - yes

 

[ChefJayPeek]

BTW, it's the bar that's tilted, not the photographer!

Very nice! Wish I was hoisting a few of those tonight! Alas no bar in this little town even knows how to spell Guinness, let alone carry it on draught!

Here is mine for today, I was able to get some camping pictures before my camera died...

EXIF Summary: 1/82s f/8.0 8.9mm

Chef Jay

 

[capoeirista]

Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, Norwich UK.

 

[Doylem]

Hi chef... A bit like some of your food pix, this shot needs a subject. The eye wanders around the picture area, but there's nowhere for it to 'land'... nothing to hold the attention. Even something as small as a boat or a fisherman would provide a point of focus and interest...

 

[merlynhome]

My Flickr

 

[Fujiko7]

That's a nasty-looking kids' slide there ...

 

[BarryJ]

Tilting Harbour, NL.

A shot taken while I was a rank amateur and knew nothing of POTD Hey chef... check out this article: http://www.macworld.com/article/147141/2010/03/snapshot_foodphotography.html?lsrc=top_2

 

[Schtumple]

Took this a few days before doing the danboard one I posted.

Original/Flickr

 

[Ish]

The Evangelische Lutherische Kirche in Elbe, Washington. It's 18 ft. x 24 ft., and seats 46. It was built by German settlers in 1906.

EXIF Summary: 1/30s f/8.0 ISO100 Tamron 28-300VC@28mm Doylemized

Dale

Nice one. Love the lighting. I saw little wooden churches like that when I lived in Iceland.

Er, Doylemized??

 

[Designer Dale]

Nice one. Love the lighting. I saw little wooden churches like that when I lived in Iceland.

Er, Doylemized??

Doylemize: (v) 1: To apply the photographic philosophy of Doylem. eg. To use a camera mounted on a tripod in a carefully chosen location. To observe the quality of lighting and choose the correct moment for exposure, usually by means of a remote shutter release. 2: To plan a photographic excursion by use of a map to determine optimal lighting in pre-designated areas. 3: To sit on a stool for an extended period of time for the purpose of obtaining optimal light. 4: To apply a strategy in which lunch in a pub is central to a photographic outing.

Doylemized: The past tense of Doylemize or the product of applying any or all of the tactics included in the process described above.

Dale

 

[compuwar]

San Francisco bay with the Bay bridge at dusk.

Camera: K20D
Lens: Tamron 17-50mm f2.8
Focal length: 42mm
Aperture: f/8
Exposure time: 4s
ISO: 200
Exposure compensation: +2.5
(I was bracketing but later saw that I don't really need to do HDR)

I like it a lot. I disagree with Doylm though, I think the negative space of the hill works with the composition.

Paul

 

[VirtualRain]

Doylemize: (v) 1: To apply the photographic philosophy of Doylem. eg. To use a camera mounted on a tripod in a carefully chosen location. To observe the quality of lighting and choose the correct moment for exposure, usually by means of a remote shutter release. 2: To plan a photographic excursion by use of a map to determine optimal lighting in pre-designated areas. 3: To sit on a stool for an extended period of time for the purpose of obtaining optimal light. 4: To apply a strategy in which lunch in a pub is central to a photographic outing.

Doylemized: The past tense of Doylemize or the product of applying any or all of the tactics included in the process described above.

Dale

LOL!!! I particularly need to apply more of defn. 4 to my photography (as in my previous POTD post)

 

[gnd]

Great shot... and you picked the right time of the evening. Bracketing seems like a good idea when the lighting is as subtle as this. The foreground doesn't add much, IMO... I'm thinking that's where you could have been standing...

Stunning!

Just sublime. Well done.

Great balance of lighting, it has a very nice feel to it.

I like it a lot. I disagree with Doylm though, I think the negative space of the hill works with the composition.

Thank you all for the kind words. It's always great to hear praise from the masters
I wanted to take a dusk shot from somewhere up the Berkeley Hills even before I came here. Didn't know where exactly so it took me a while to find my way up there. I was actually late getting there so I was afraid I'd lose the light. It turned out OK though.
I wasn't able to get to the grass down lower as it was all fenced off. I like the green hill in the composition as I think it kind of prevents the eye from leaving the frame.
I also tried HDR with the bracketed shots, but it didn't look natural enough. Could use a little bit more exposure on the grass though.

 

[ChefJayPeek]

Doylem, thank you for your tips on all of the photos. I will also try to remember to have something as the subject, it makes sense. I actually waited until 2 fishermen moved out of the lake shot before I took it. Thinking back, it would have looked much better with them in it. As you can see, I am very new at trying to take more than "snapshots" and really do like what I see and learn here.

BarryJ, thank you for that link. I like what I have read there so far much more so than the other link from the other day. Since food is my passion, I cannot put motor oil on a plate to look like sauce. That may not make me a better food photographer, but oh well. Photography is a hobby for me, more for a reason to go outside into that big world beyond the computer screen and kitchen. I have not given up on food photography, although I know that I will never be taking pictures that are in menus or in catalogs, I accept that and understand what professional food photography entails. I just want to get my food photos to look good enough for FB and my blog. My other photographs on the other hand, I do want to get to the point where people say the things they say about many of the pictures here. So I will continue to shoot as many as I can, and read here what people think and learn what I can.

I got a new camera today, so watch out POTD thread

Thanks again everyone!

Chef Jay