The Photographers' Corner 2013-2020

[seraphim]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walt34 Bought a little planter of tulips (hey, it was on sale!) since there aren't any flowers growing in the wild yet. I just like playing around with the lighting, in this case two SB-200s on the lens and anther in various places along the sides. #2 is backlit, the translucency of the petals comes out.

Nice shots. Like the backlighting. I think we've got some fake flowers around here, somewhere...

[Walt34]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Major Tom The second shot up from the bottom looks great mathjak - the one directly above the shot of the statue of liberty. Lots of detail, and looks great.

Yes, it does, and he got that early morning lighting. At least I think it's morning based on the fog in the first shot and the shadows directly under the helicopter in that shot, which I assume was taken after the ride.

That would be tough for me to do. Me and mornings do not play nice together. But I'd manage for that.

[Walt34]

Quote:

Originally Posted by seraphim Nice shots. Like the backlighting. I think we've got some fake flowers around here, somewhere...

Lemme try this one again - the reds are blown out in the jpg. So I reduced exposure in LR and tweaked the shadows a bit.

[seraphim]

ImageUploadedByEarly Retirement Forum1397611754.241878.jpg

The Queen's Night

(Spelling intentional *grin*)

Everyone has to try the mandatory chess board shot...

Needs to be PS'd to blacken the left border by the queen

[seraphim]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walt34 Lemme try this one again - the reds are blown out in the jpg. So I reduced exposure in LR and tweaked the shadows a bit.

Like this one best. Nice translucence in the petals, good exposure...

[Major Tom]

I was just about to say what seraphim said. More detail in the petals this time, and a more pleasing red (due to not being blown out, of course - darn that red channel!)

[ItDontMeanAThing]

When traveling, I always have a photo 'go' back packed for those mornings I unintentionally wake up early. These are from the river mouth in Mersing, Malaysia:

#1
eosM-2014-03-23-03081-2BoatsRiverSide-FULL-mk2.jpg

#2
eosM-2014-03-23-03080-fisherman.jpg

#3
eosM-2014-03-23-03076-skiffs.jpg

[mathjak107]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Major Tom The second shot up from the bottom looks great mathjak - the one directly above the shot of the statue of liberty. Lots of detail, and looks great. Beautifully rich and saturated colors in the pictures of tulips Walt. I like the bottom two.

thanks, it was so foggy it took a lot of work using the nik color efex filters to cut through the fog and get the contrast back in.

[Ronstar]

Mathjak - that second shot from the bottom would make a great poster sized print. Lots of detail to keep the viewer's interest

[Walt34]

Two more from yesterday. I'll play with shooting them some more later on.

[Major Tom]

I need to keep reminding myself of the fact that highlights are often blown out in the previews when images are uploaded to this site (as opposed to a user hosting the image off-site). There is some nice detail in the stamen of this flower Walt, which isn't present in the previews.

[Walt34]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Major Tom I need to keep reminding myself of the fact that highlights are often blown out in the previews when images are uploaded to this site (as opposed to a user hosting the image off-site). There is some nice detail in the stamen of this flower Walt, which isn't present in the previews.

I'm learning to bump the exposure down a bit when posting here. I process in ProPhoto and some detail seem to get lost when converting to jpg.

[Major Tom]

I have spent the last year or so coveting the Fuji X100S, and it is a testament to my ability to control my desires that I don't have one yet. It would fulfill many of my shooting needs as for the majority of the time, I keep a 24mm lens on my old DSLR and would like something more compact, yet with good image quality.

Last night, I watched this video of street photographer Fred Fogherty at work. Interesting to watch him at work in the street, together with the final images he was making. He makes it look so easy. Seasoned pros often make their craft look so effortless. I remember watching Buddy Guy play guitar once and feeling that I could do it too!

A large sensor compact such as the X100S would be great for street shooting. I've attempted some with my bulky old DSLR and while it was OK, it would be nicer to have something a bit less obtrusive. Plus, my 2005-vintage camera has a noisy shutter. Here are a few of my attempts from the past. I'm feeling the urge to get out in the street again and document this city in which I live - and to get better at doing it. Viewing the video of Fred Fogherty at work I love how he is able to visualize subject matter and composition in real time on the street, as potential images unfold in front of him - and capture them. This is something I would love to get better at doing.

]



Regarding the legality issues that were discussed earlier here. I found the following quote from photographer Zack Arias on his Q&A blog. I don't suppose there is any such thing as a definitive word on this issue, but this gives me enough confidence to shoot on the street and publish the results on my website -

"I don’t have people sign model releases. Number one I don’t plan on selling these. Number two that adds a whole new level of “What the hell are you doing this for?” kind of questions. Also, in the state I live in, there would have to be some sort of compensation paid for gaining a model release. I really don’t see myself selling these to Nike any time soon. If Nike wanted this kind of work for me then I’d go out and shoot for Nike and tell people I was shooting for Nike and I would compensate them for giving a release. I feel that’s the most professional way of doing that kind of thing.

Without a release I can still show these pictures, sell them as art or editorial, or put them in a book of my work without fear of being sued.

Cheers,
Zack"

The previous quote came from this blog-post on Zack's site.

[FIREd]

I have been playing around with street photography for a while, but I feel so intrusive that it makes me feel uncomfortable. I admire the ability of pro street photographers to just walk up to a subject, stick a camera in their face, and take their picture as if it was completely normal.

[Major Tom]

Agreed FIREd. The approach that seems to work well for some street photographers is when they photograph with the implied consent of the subject. Sometimes, it happens with something as simple as an exchange of glances and smiles. I like the concept of implied consent, as it helps to avoid confrontation.

[Southern Geek]

A few photos from a hike through the Orlando Wetlands Park.
First image is an Anhinga drying its feathers in rays of setting sun.
Second image is an iridescent greed Sweat Bee on a Blue Eyed Grass.
Third image is a gator peering from placid pool of marsh water.

[Southern Geek]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIREd Anybody planning to get a shot of the "blood moon" on Tuesday?

Weather unexpectedly turned out to be good for viewing eclipse in Central Florida. Here a few of the photos that I took using a new 300mm telephoto with a tripod mounted D5100. I did end up kicking myself when I viewed the photos later in the day - all the 'blood moon' photos from the middle of the eclipse sequence had motion blur. I used exposure settings that I had used in prior years with my 200mm telephoto, completely forgetting to compensate for the longer focal length in the exposure times. I blame it on trying to operate at 3AM in the morning with only 2 hours of sleep.

[FIREd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Southern Geek Weather unexpectedly turned out to be good for viewing eclipse in Central Florida. Here a few of the photos that I took using a new 300mm telephoto with a tripod mounted D5100. I did end up kicking myself when I viewed the photos later in the day - all the 'blood moon' photos from the middle of the eclipse sequence had motion blur. I used exposure settings that I had used in prior years with my 200mm telephoto, completely forgetting to compensate for the longer focal length in the exposure times. I blame it on trying to operate at 3AM in the morning with only 2 hours of sleep.

Nice!

Clouds moved in the Bay Area just before the eclipse started. I was only able to get a shot of the partially eclipsed moon through a tiny break in the cloud cover at around 12:20am PST (in the hour and a half that I spent looking at the sky, I only got a glimpse of the moon for a few seconds). I ended up capturing the color, but the definition was not very good because the line of sight was not entirely clear. Thankfully, I had practiced around the same time the night before, when the sky was very clear. So I decided to combine the 2 shots, getting the definition of the moon surface from the clear night and the color from the eclipse.

[Southern Geek]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Southern Geek Weather unexpectedly turned out to be good for viewing eclipse in Central Florida. Here a few of the photos that I took using a new 300mm telephoto with a tripod mounted D5100. I did end up kicking myself when I viewed the photos later in the day - all the 'blood moon' photos from the middle of the eclipse sequence had motion blur. I used exposure settings that I had used in prior years with my 200mm telephoto, completely forgetting to compensate for the longer focal length in the exposure times. I blame it on trying to operate at 3AM in the morning with only 2 hours of sleep.

Embarrassing as it is, here is a 'blood moon' photo along with some photos of the end of the eclipse. Although the motion blur detracts from the 'blood moon' photo, the color is good. I'll know better next time (crossing fingers for good weather on October 8).

[Southern Geek]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIREd Nice! ...Thankfully, I had practiced around the same time the night before, when the sky was very clear. So I decided to combine the 2 shots, getting the definition of the moon surface from the clear night and the color from the eclipse.

That's clever. I'm still learning a lot about post processing. How did you do that?