Photo of the Day September 2017

[keyrex]

Noted. I just don't class myself as one of the fabulous photographers on here, so think there are others more qualified.

I beg to differ AFB, having seen some of your photos you are certainly pro standard if not a pro.
I really appreciate the comments and so does my son, i agree about the bush, it does distract from the beach scene, hopefully he can work on that and get a better shot next time.

It is nice to see him interested, enjoying taking photos and developing his techniques. The comments from people on here are not to be taken lightly due to the standard of the photographers and, lets be honest, even negative criticism will help him improve. So, thanks again for commenting.

Incidentally, it was taken in Wales and not a drop of rain anywhere! lol

 

[Cheese&Apple]

Eyes of a common house fly

I've always been intrigued by photographs that show what the eye can't see. Because of this I recently picked-up a very inexpensive (as lenses go) super macro lens: the Zong Yi Optics 20mm f/2.0, 4 to 4.5 x magnification.

This type of photography is far more of a challenge than I expected but lots of fun to try. I used a single off camera speed light with diffuser at full power to get 36 images shot at f/8 that were focus stacked in Ps.

It was also an excuse to play with my new D850. Note: If you've been following the release of the D850, one of the new features is in-camera focus stacking but it can't be used with a manual focus lens like this one.

 

[Apple fanboy]

I beg to differ AFB, having seen some of your photos you are certainly pro standard if not a pro.
I really appreciate the comments and so does my son, i agree about the bush, it does distract from the beach scene, hopefully he can work on that and get a better shot next time.

It is nice to see him interested, enjoying taking photos and developing his techniques. The comments from people on here are not to be taken lightly due to the standard of the photographers and, lets be honest, even negative criticism will help him improve. So, thanks again for commenting.

Incidentally, it was taken in Wales and not a drop of rain anywhere! lol

No rain in Wales? Lies!
Nice of you to say btw but I'm no pro. Just pro equipment.
And yes it must be nice to share a common interest with your child. I'll post more critique if he likes with his next shots. That said though I am off to IBC for the next few days so might not be around as much.
[doublepost=1505328170][/doublepost]

Eyes of a common house fly

I've always been intrigued by photographs that show what the eye can't see. Because of this I recently picked-up a very inexpensive (as lenses go) super macro lens: the Zong Yi Optics 20mm f/2.0, 4 to 4.5 x magnification.

This type of photography is far more of a challenge than I expected but lots of fun to try. I used a single off camera speed light with diffuser at full power to get 36 images shot at f/8 that were focus stacked in Ps.

It was also an excuse to play with my new D850. Note: If you've been following the release of the D850, one of the new features is in-camera focus stacking but it can't be used with a manual focus lens like this one.

I'd love to see the results of in camera focus stacking of that D850. It's probably the most tempting feature for me. You need to get hold of the 105mm macro Nikon do. It's great.
I'd be interested to know if it stacks RAW images or just J-peg like the in camera time lapse.
[doublepost=1505328272][/doublepost]

OK, sorry we haven't helped you much; I consider myself less qualified than Apple Fanboy to comment on other's photos, but, if you cropped it something like below, it will take out most of the distracting bush but leave enough to be interesting, and make the main subject of the beach and sea stand out more. By doing this I also noticed the beachcomber on the right hand side which wasn't a prominent feature before.
I cloned out the out of focus foliage from the very top right hand corner (in the clouds) as well.
This is just a personal opinion by the way

View attachment 717434

Cheers

Hugh

Less qualified. Based on what? Your stuff is good. Plus you shoot regularly which is more than I do!

 

[keyrex]

No rain in Wales? Lies!
Nice of you to say btw but I'm no pro. Just pro equipment.
And yes it must be nice to share a common interest with your child. I'll post more critique if he likes with his next shots. That said though I am off to IBC for the next few days so might not be around as much.

Just pro equipment - doesnt that make you at least a semi-pro?
It is nice to share an interest and, lets be honest, it wont last forever, he is 15!!!!! lol
He will upload quite often so your comments will be appreciated, thanks.
Enjoy IBC, i bet you come back with some great shots even though you arent there for photography. I'm sure you'll find time!
[doublepost=1505328624][/doublepost]Hughmac
You are a pro with an incredible portfolio i can only dream of taking shots like yours.
Your comments are very much worth reading (so too are AFB's) and i (we) appreciate them.
Thanks for taking the time to adjust his photo, it does look much better and the beachcomber certainly adds a little something now, i too had not noticed him/her, thank you.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Just pro equipment - doesnt that make you at least a semi-pro?
It is nice to share an interest and, lets be honest, it wont last forever, he is 15!!!!! lol
He will upload quite often so your comments will be appreciated, thanks.
Enjoy IBC, i bet you come back with some great shots even though you arent there for photography. I'm sure you'll find time!
[doublepost=1505328624][/doublepost]Hughmac
You are a pro with an incredible portfolio i can only dream of taking shots like yours.
Your comments are very much worth reading (so too are AFB's) and i (we) appreciate them.
Thanks for taking the time to adjust his photo, it does look much better and the beachcomber certainly adds a little something now, i too had not noticed him/her, thank you.

Just means I had access to some good deals and a very understanding wife!

 

[Cheese&Apple]

I'd love to see the results of in camera focus stacking of that D850. It's probably the most tempting feature for me. You need to get hold of the 105mm macro Nikon do. It's great.
I'd be interested to know if it stacks RAW images or just J-peg like the in camera time lapse.

Technically, the camera doesn't stack the images, it adjusts focus in increments that you determine and set yourself in the menu options. So, yes it does capture the images in RAW if that's your choice. You then have to focus-stack the images in post using something like Ps or Zerene Stacker.

Problem is, given the significant variable such as lens, aperture and distance to subject, it will take a lot practice to know what setting to use for focus shift. But give it time and I'm sure someone will develop an app to assist.

 

[JakeGRex]

OK, sorry we haven't helped you much; I consider myself less qualified than Apple Fanboy to comment on other's photos, but, if you cropped it something like below, it will take out most of the distracting bush but leave enough to be interesting, and make the main subject of the beach and sea stand out more. By doing this I also noticed the beachcomber on the right hand side which wasn't a prominent feature before.
I cloned out the out of focus foliage from the very top right hand corner (in the clouds) as well.
This is just a personal opinion by the way

Cheers

Hugh

First of all i will say that i definitely agree with you on everything you have said and i must say i didn't realise how distracting the foliage was until you mentioned it, I will definitely take that into consideration in my future photos.
For me the beachcomber on the right was something I didn't even notice until you edited the photo, but looking at the way i have structured the photo I feel like I should have crouched down or even walked forward a little bit so i could have the fences drawing you out to the background but overall I agree with what you and apple fanboy are saying and would like to say thank you for giving me feedback on my photo and how i can improve it I am very grateful for this and would like to just say thank you to the both of you.

 

[themumu]

this is one of many photos i took whilst i was on holiday, very similar to my first post except I've just focused on the beach rather than the rose hip bush to the right.

View attachment 717395
any tips on how to improve are much appreciated.

While I agree that the framing is what needs the most work here, I'll suggest that what would have really helped is cropping and zooming with your feet. That is, walk around the area and try a more effective framing. I get that it's a bit useless now that you are away from that location, but it's something you can practice anywhere in preparation for when it matters more.

The photo looks a bit bland and the bush together with the wooden railing look distracting. Perhaps the wooden railing could act as a leading line if it was framed differently, but it does not seem effective as shot. Try different and less common points of view. For example, change the vertical position of the camera when you shoot. The most common way to shoot is with camera held at eye or chest level. See what happens if you hold it closer to the ground, or higher. Walk left and right, back and forward, see how that affects the photos you're getting.

You can try it on just a casual walk around your neighborhood. It can make a dramatic difference to your photos.

Then you can do the easy stuff like enhancing the contrast and saturation, and minor cropping in post.

The regular disclaimer applies, I'm not a pro photographer, many of my pictures suck, if your pictures suck after following my advice, I refuse to be held responsible

A flower from the tundra for day. From almost exactly a year ago.

 

[Apple fanboy]

First of all i will say that i definitely agree with you on everything you have said and i must say i didn't realise how distracting the foliage was until you mentioned it, I will definitely take that into consideration in my future photos.
For me the beachcomber on the right was something I didn't even notice until you edited the photo, but looking at the way i have structured the photo I feel like I should have crouched down or even walked forward a little bit so i could have the fences drawing you out to the background but overall I agree with what you and apple fanboy are saying and would like to say thank you for giving me feedback on my photo and how i can improve it I am very grateful for this and would like to just say thank you to the both of you.

No problem. Have you entered this weeks competition? Always a good place to get critique. Plus the person won the week before so they usually know what they are talking about!

 

[Cheese&Apple]

this is one of many photos i took whilst i was on holiday, very similar to my first post except I've just focused on the beach rather than the rose hip bush to the right.

View attachment 717395
any tips on how to improve are much appreciated.

Ok, I'll take a crack at this but keep in mind that I'm not a landscape photographer and shoot primarily wildlife and, as of this morning, dead bugs.

Technically, this photo is good. Composition, exposure and focus are spot-on. What's lacking is the subject and that can be the toughest part of all.

My suggestions:

• You've got nice leading lines (the path with posts/rail) which are really nice to have in a landscape shot but, they lead to an empty beach. It's a bit of a let-down to draw the viewers eyes into the shot and they don't land on anything of interest. Don't be afraid to stage a shot. In this case, have someone stand on the beach at the bottom of the path gazing out to the ocean. Maybe a couple holding hands and watching the sunset....which leads to my second point.
• It looks to me like the shot was taken around mid morning or mid afternoon when the sun is too strong, hot and harsh. A shot like this, as with just about any landscape shot, will benefit from the dynamic light and shadows of the golden hours of sunrise or sunset.

Patience and an infinite amount of practice are all that you need JakeGRex. Keep shooting and posting as it takes a lot of trial and a ton of error along the way.

Cheers,
Peter

 

[themumu]

Eyes of a common house fly

I've always been intrigued by photographs that show what the eye can't see. Because of this I recently picked-up a very inexpensive (as lenses go) super macro lens: the Zong Yi Optics 20mm f/2.0, 4 to 4.5 x magnification.

This type of photography is far more of a challenge than I expected but lots of fun to try. I used a single off camera speed light with diffuser at full power to get 36 images shot at f/8 that were focus stacked in Ps.

It was also an excuse to play with my new D850. Note: If you've been following the release of the D850, one of the new features is in-camera focus stacking but it can't be used with a manual focus lens like this one.

I can't in good faith "like" this photo. It creeps the hell out of me. Can you put it against a pink backdrop or something, to balance out the gobbles of evil emanating from this monster?

 

[Nick Milner]

Peekaboo.

 

[Cheese&Apple]

I can't in good faith "like" this photo. It creeps the hell out of me. Can you put it against a pink backdrop or something, to balance out the gobbles of evil emanating from this monster?

LOL. Think you're creeped-out...what till MacRy sees it. He'll break-out into shakes, shivers and cold sweats.

 

[Hughmac]

Less qualified. Based on what? Your stuff is good. Plus you shoot regularly which is more than I do!

Thank you, but I still make silly mistakes; for example, by forgetting to return settings to my norms then wondering why things look wrong the next shot I take.

Hughmac
You are a pro with an incredible portfolio i can only dream of taking shots like yours.
Your comments are very much worth reading (so too are AFB's) and i (we) appreciate them.
Thanks for taking the time to adjust his photo, it does look much better and the beachcomber certainly adds a little something now, i too had not noticed him/her, thank you.

That's very complimentary of you; nowhere near a pro but I admit to having improved over the last few months

First of all i will say that i definitely agree with you on everything you have said and i must say i didn't realise how distracting the foliage was until you mentioned it, I will definitely take that into consideration in my future photos.
For me the beachcomber on the right was something I didn't even notice until you edited the photo, but looking at the way i have structured the photo I feel like I should have crouched down or even walked forward a little bit so i could have the fences drawing you out to the background but overall I agree with what you and apple fanboy are saying and would like to say thank you for giving me feedback on my photo and how i can improve it I am very grateful for this and would like to just say thank you to the both of you.

You're very welcome, and already doing well. Keep at it, keep submitting. It's taken me 3½ years to get as far as I have, and if I remember well enough AFB is about a year ahead of me.
Walking forward one step and maybe one to the left would have given the similar results as my quick edit.

Cheers

Hugh

 

[Alexander.Of.Oz]

Kurilpa Bridge, Brisbane at sunset, with the Modern Art Gallery in the background. It is a pedestrian and cyclist bridge connecting the Brisbane CBD with the Southbank area. I wish I had have known that it gets illuminated in colourful lighting each night and hung around for that too, but I only discovered that on my last night in Brisbane, when we went for a cruise up the Brisbane river that evening and I didn't have my camera with me.

A single exposure assembled from two frames, using my tilt-shift lens, shifted left and right for a quick and easy panorama.

[doublepost=1505343462][/doublepost]

this is one of many photos i took whilst i was on holiday, very similar to my first post except I've just focused on the beach rather than the rose hip bush to the right.

View attachment 717395
any tips on how to improve are much appreciated.

I'm not a landscape expert by any means, but put me down as finding the bush to the right slightly out of place in this scene. I think the image is about the lines drawing you through to the scene beyond and the bush being included is a distraction to this.

Just taking this image to a square crop improved it in my eyes, thanks @Mark0 for getting me to think about square format imagery again. It has nice diagonal lines from the fencing and the waters edge, which draw your eye throughout the frame. A sense of depth is already inherent in the image with the foreground grass on the bottom left of frame and the little bit of plants on the bottom right, then the fencing and the waterline and beach drawing your eye to the green landscape at the back of the image.

Hope that's been of some assistance, and keep taking and posting images regularly. Fingers crossed you'll get more feedback in the future.

 

[Velkus]

iPhone 6s

 

[inkmich]

I can't in good faith "like" this photo. It creeps the hell out of me. Can you put it against a pink backdrop or something, to balance out the gobbles of evil emanating from this monster?

I wholeheartedly agree. I hate flies. Admittedly it is technically a very nice photograph and all but I still hate flies.

 

[someoldguy]

Well , then ...... how 'bout a wasp ???

Surprised this guy came out as good as he did , though I'd have liked to have captured any faceting that may have been in his eyes . Big crop from a lens not renowned for its' macro capabilities .
5D2 , 17-40@40 , f8@1/500 , ISO 400

 

[0007776]

I found a Ptarmigan while out this last weekend. He is just starting to get his white winter feathers.
Ptarmagin.jpg by mrkramer, on Flickr

 

[ChefJayPeek]

Critique accepted and appreciated...

Modist by Jay Peek, on Flickr

Not sure if this is posting properly... Is it just me? I've been driving myself crazy trying to see my pictures on the thread, are they here?

<EDIT>. Ok think I got it now.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Critique accepted and appreciated...

Modist by Jay Peek, on Flickr

Not sure if this is posting properly... Is it just me? I've been driving myself crazy trying to see my pictures on the thread, are they here?

Did you grab the BB code on Flickr? I can't see the image in the thread, but I can in my reply above! Weird.

Probably the thing I would try and change in the image is the three rectangle sign in the middle. Try and put it in the composition or out. Cutting across it is a bit distracting.

Other than that I think the yellow flowers frame the sign nicely.
[doublepost=1505366304][/doublepost]

Well , then ...... how 'bout a wasp ???

View attachment 717525

Surprised this guy came out as good as he did , though I'd have liked to have captured any faceting that may have been in his eyes . Big crop from a lens not renowned for its' macro capabilities .
5D2 , 17-40@40 , f8@1/500 , ISO 400

Wasps are evil.
[doublepost=1505366371][/doublepost]

Thank you, but I still make silly mistakes; for example, by forgetting to return settings to my norms then wondering why things look wrong the next shot I take.


That's very complimentary of you; nowhere near a pro but I admit to having improved over the last few months



You're very welcome, and already doing well. Keep at it, keep submitting. It's taken me 3½ years to get as far as I have, and if I remember well enough AFB is about a year ahead of me.
Walking forward one step and maybe one to the left would have given the similar results as my quick edit.

Cheers

Hugh

A year ahead? I reckon I'm more like 20 years behind!
But yes about right I think.

 

[anotherscotsman]

Another beach long exposure. Comments always appreciated.


Tide coming in by another scotsman, on Flickr

 

[MacRy]

LOL. Think you're creeped-out...what till MacRy sees it. He'll break-out into shakes, shivers and cold sweats.

I'm hiding behind the sofa......I'm not coming out......ever.....

 

[Janichsan]

A statue of Friedrich Schiller on the Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin:

 

[Hughmac]

Motney Hill at High Tide by Hugh Russell, on Flickr

Cheers

Hugh