The Photographers' Corner 2013-2020

[Major Tom]

mathjak107 - I enjoy looking at your macros. In that last set you posted, I particularly liked the second one down. The leaves provide a pleasing background and (to my eyes at least) the understated and limited overall color palette makes for a pleasing image.

 

[mathjak107]

thanks. setting the camera settings to darken the background in manual lets you do that.

the flash then brightens the subject. some fine tuning with dodging and burning in lightroom gets the look just right.

 

[seraphim]

Mathjak

Try the same thing with a portrait time...

Just don't use a macro setting lol

 

[Walt34]

Light painting. What a concept!

This is one of our house I did a while ago and one I did in a low-light class. The biggest mistake in the 2nd one was not blocking off the lower half of the flashlight. Well, in the first one too.

The house photo is a composite of about four 30-second exposures, one of my first attempts at light painting. The white balance was set on tungsten which gives the sky that deep blue.

One of the lessons learned is that the light from a flashlight goes a lot further than I thought it would in a long exposure.

 

[explanade]

Actually, some of the post processing work flows are like painting pixels, applying different effects and brushes, moving files between 2 or more programs.

Just can't get into that.

 

[mathjak107]

some of my favorite places to photograph are churches.

churches seem to look nice in hdr .

 

[mathjak107]

Mathjak

Try the same thing with a portrait time...

Just don't use a macro setting lol

i can't seem to stop from fiddling with any portraits i shoot. not being a portrait shooter at heart i always have to add my own unique look to them.

my daughter and daughter inlaw

 

[Walt34]

Rainy yucky day so I decided to play around with the macro lens and extension tubes. Those are almonds, BTW.

The left hand R1 flash (mounted on the lens) is turned off because I wanted to emphasize the shadows. That's the reason for the larger SB-900 flash off to the left. And I wanted it farther away to give it more of a point-source light to emphasize shadows in the almonds. Right-hand R1 is -0.7 and the SB-900 is +0.7.

My lavishly equipped studio is, of course, the dining room table.

 

[mathjak107]

it has a bit to much of a done with flash for my taste. if you ever feel like doing it again i would like to see the 2-sb200 with a ratio of 2 to 1 .

 

[Major Tom]

I thought we weren't offering critique unless it was asked for?

I have just spent the last 30 minutes trying to figure out why my photo site won't let me direct link an image to this forum. It has always worked in the past. The fact that I just had a 1/2 glass of wine isn't helping either.........

 

[mathjak107]

not really a critique , it is more a request for further research and comparison.

 

[Major Tom]

On my occasional trips back to the UK, I am fascinated by the way the whole place looks and feels. It is like being a visitor in a place I am familiar with, but now feel like an outsider looking in.

This was the local chippy on a visit a few years ago. Still there, and still run by the same family. This will be of no interest to non-Brits, but may stir a bit of fish and chip inspired nostalgia for some

 

[Major Tom]

not really a critique , it is more a request for further research and comparison.

You'd make a good politician

 

[mathjak107]

nah, i am to honest lol

 

[splitwdw]

Major Tom, Love fish and chips and the shot.

Walt, I must have food on the brain. I thought your almond was a brownie.

 

[seraphim]

Mathjak

Nothing wrong with portraits 1 and 4: maybe burn in the lady's shoulder on number 4. 2 and 3 seem more snapshots.

Nice church images as well.

Still been too lazy to pull out the lights and extension tubes...

 

[seraphim]

The Photographers' Corner



Ok, no critiques on this one. Lol. I know it's faults. It was hastily shot while I sat on the floor, camera in one hand, flash in the other, using a36mm extension tube on a 35-70 zoom. The aperture was too wide and the shutter speed too slow: too slow to be sharp handheld, and too wide to get complete depth of field. Direct flash - no diffusion. Diffused and slightly less power would have been better. A little more distance between flash and subject would have smoothed out the lighting. My arm's only so long. It's an engraving on an old pocket watch. Tricky to control the glare with all the polished curves.

Tomorrow maybe I'll set up a product table and do better. No promises. Retirement has made me laid back, doncha know...

 

[seraphim]

The Photographers' Corner



This is the un-shopped file...

 

[Major Tom]

My problem was that I had no idea what constituted a "good" photograph. When starting out, I wanted to take photos that others would love (don't we all?) I still have absolutely no clue what a "good" photo is, because the ones I don't like are usually the ones that draw comments, and vice versa. At some point, I decided that I was just going to take photos of people and things I enjoyed looking at without a second thought as to whether anyone else would also enjoy them. I do this for myself.

Hollywood, CA. 2007

 

[seraphim]

The Photographers' Corner

And I studied composition for a while, and decided it helped me decide what I liked about a work of art, and helped me include the elements which make - for me - an interesting photo. I like knowing what makes a work of art work for me, and being able to create that photograph.

 

[Ronstar]

Fountain Hills Az

 

[Major Tom]

Downtown Los Angeles. Jan 2006

Downtown Los Angeles. Jan 2005

 

[seraphim]

Tom

Like the 2006 LA shot. Won't say why - that might constitute critique *grin*

 

[seraphim]

The Photographers' Corner



Here's a redux of the pocket watch shot under better (more controlled) conditions: broad diffuse light from left and a silver reflector on the right. Still a few highlights out of control. Maybe a black piece of poster board placed left to block the direct light hitting that curved surface..

Background is a piece of flat rock - thought the gray and rust colors complemented the colors of the watch, without being a distraction. Ran the grain at an angle for a bit of 'motion' - so the image was less static. Angled the watch slightly, again so the image looked less static. Background slightly unfocused so the watch stands out more distinctly.

Lightly burning the corners would help, as well, I think.

I'll work on those highlights.

1/250 f25 35-70 (about 51mm corrected - using a full frame lens on APS camera)
No macro this time

Minor histogram adjustments and cropping on iPad using Photogene.

Suggestions for improvement welcome.

 

[seraphim]

The Photographers' Corner


Untitled by jglennhart, on Flickr

Desaturated a bit, opened up the exposure, and minor 'heals'. Too lazy to reshoot...