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Through the Looking Glass [PHOTO THREAD]

GrifterGrifter BermudaModerator mod
edited July 2008 in Artist's Corner
Feel free to post, critique, and discuss photography here.

Just in case you have a Canon point and shoot:

http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Supercharge_Your_Camera_with_Open-Source_CHDK_Firmware#What_You.27ll_Need

Grifter on
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Posts

  • Stupid Mr Whoopsie NameStupid Mr Whoopsie Name Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited May 2008
    So is this where we post MySpace style pictures of ourselves taken in a mirror?

    Stupid Mr Whoopsie Name on
  • Stupid Mr Whoopsie NameStupid Mr Whoopsie Name Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited May 2008
    Because of the thread title...

    Stupid Mr Whoopsie Name on
  • GrifterGrifter BermudaModerator mod
    edited May 2008
    One of these days you'll tell a joke that people will find funny. Keep on trying, mate. ;)

    Grifter on
  • Stupid Mr Whoopsie NameStupid Mr Whoopsie Name Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited May 2008
    Knock Knock
    You're mom's a whore.

    Stupid Mr Whoopsie Name on
  • ThreepioThreepio New Westminster, BCRegistered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Photography: The only way I'll ever be able to refer to myself as an artist - and even then, that's pushing it.

    2479441667_f999cf0c3c.jpg
    One of my first attempts at an HDR shot. This is a Playground in Port Moody, shot with a Sony Alpha 350k DSLR using the 18-70 kit lens at f/3.5 with 1/60 exposure. The raw was imported into Aperture, versioned to adjust the exposures, then exported to Photomatix. I played with the tone mapping until I came up with this, which felt more true to what I remembered in the shot. I like the result.

    2458118459_98737fc112.jpg
    This made me chuckle. The government telling people to stay off Native land. Hiyo! It was a brighter day, I enjoyed the way the colours popped and the how the shadows fell. Sony A350k again, this time with a Minolta 50mm prime at f/2.2 with a 1/4000 exposure at ISO 400.

    2441587469_7c4738e2d3.jpg
    Canon XSi for this one, with an IS lens at 80mm. It's a little blown out - but I thought it looked sharp. f/13, 1/200.

    Threepio on
    142.jpg
  • bombardierbombardier Moderator mod
    edited May 2008
    saltiness wrote: »
    Visiting the Golden Gate.

    annagg.jpg

    This is such a nice photo. Feels right out of the 70s.

    bombardier on
  • saltinesssaltiness Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Thanks for the comment, bomb. That's what I was going for.

    -replying to the end of the old thread here-
    Uncle Long wrote:
    Saltiness,

    Love the capture. The lighting is a bit harsh and I'd have liked a wider DOF. What was your f/x.x on that?

    I shot it at f/2.8 but it's on 6x6 medium format at 80mm so it's pretty shallow. That's also why there's dust and junk on it - I didn't clean the chrome completely when I scanned it. It's Provia 100F if anyone's interested.

    saltiness on
    XBL: heavenkils
  • PilcrowPilcrow Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    I love the colors here, even if the composition is dreadful. I downlodated the LR/Mogrify plugin and have been having fun with borders and captions.

    tulips.jpg

    This couple asked me to take engagement photos for them which I did as a gift. I was thrilled when they used them in their announcement, and even thrilleder to attend their reception tonight and find they had printed out enlargements -- which turned out gorgeous, in my biased opinion -- and displayed them in large vertical triptych frames all around the ballroom floor. I didn't stipulate that my name appear anywhere, so, no publicity, but I really enjoyed seeing that they enjoyed them. There were a lot I liked from their shoot but this one stands out to me.

    001.jpg

    Since doing more portrait photography lately, I've been bored with other subjects. I need to exercise my landscape/abstract/geometry skills more, I think.

    Pilcrow on
  • saltinesssaltiness Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    I like that tulip shot, Pilcrow. The composition is fine for me. The lighting is excellent.

    The engagement shot is good but I would consider cropping in on the bottom about 1/6th of the way to get rid of the point of her blouse - it's distracting and draws your eyes outside of the frame.

    saltiness on
    XBL: heavenkils
  • PilcrowPilcrow Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    saltiness wrote: »
    The engagement shot is good but I would consider cropping in on the bottom about 1/6th of the way to get rid of the point of her blouse - it's distracting and draws your eyes outside of the frame.
    Ah, thanks, well spotted. Is the fix any better? (merely replaced the file, refresh page to see change)

    Pilcrow on
  • saltinesssaltiness Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Pilcrow wrote: »
    saltiness wrote: »
    The engagement shot is good but I would consider cropping in on the bottom about 1/6th of the way to get rid of the point of her blouse - it's distracting and draws your eyes outside of the frame.
    Ah, thanks, well spotted. Is the fix any better? (merely replaced the file, refresh page to see change)
    Looks better. Although next time you should leave the original up so others can have a say. I'm not always right, even though I wish I were.

    saltiness on
    XBL: heavenkils
  • freemanfreeman Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Love the playground shot threepio....

    Went hiking a few weeks ago and found a hollow river (frozen on the top and you know, hollow underneath)...

    2411198565_9cc8a100d0.jpg

    freeman on
  • PilcrowPilcrow Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Oh that is cool. I've never seen anything like that.

    Pilcrow on
  • foursquaremanfoursquareman Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Wow freeman, that's heaps cool. Love the photo.


    Some photos I took when out with my boy.

    2481834159_4514a57e36.jpg

    2481833497_9e680d73ee.jpg

    2481831441_04d0ea208a.jpg

    foursquareman on
  • PlacerPlacer Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Pilcrow, those are some nice shots, really liked the style of the borders too; how did you do those?

    PS: Getting a 28mm F/2.8, from nikkor, is this awesome [Y/N]?

    Placer on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • 2 Marcus 2 Ravens2 Marcus 2 Ravens CanadaRegistered User regular
    edited May 2008
    threepio: The second two don't do anything for me, but I love that first one a lot.

    freeman: I stared at that picture for a long while before I gave up on trying to figure it out and just read it. That is one hell of a find.

    2 Marcus 2 Ravens on
  • gilraingilrain Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Freeman: that is such a unique, interesting subject, that I hope you shot a few hundred photos of it with varying compositions and approaches. I really think the shot you have there is only just adequate. I'd love to see more, if you have them.

    gilrain on
  • anableanable North TexasRegistered User regular
    edited May 2008
    freeman wrote: »
    Love the playground shot threepio....

    Went hiking a few weeks ago and found a hollow river (frozen on the top and you know, hollow underneath)...

    2411198565_9cc8a100d0.jpg

    This is really, really cool. But there's a visual illusion and I can't figure out if I'm seeing it "right" or not. At first glance it looks like you took the picture from above the ice and rocks with the top of the frame being furthest away. But then, because the running water looks like it's dropping from a ceiling, I started seeing the top of the frame be closest to the camera as if you were shooting from between the rocks and ice. Either way, it's awesome.


    Away from my PC, so these are older:
    2208395972_5435635ee8.jpg

    2207603659_6f0ddec310.jpg

    anable on
  • PilcrowPilcrow Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Placer wrote: »
    Pilcrow, those are some nice shots, really liked the style of the borders too; how did you do those?

    PS: Getting a 28mm F/2.8, from nikkor, is this awesome [Y/N]?

    [Y]

    As for the borders, I used this guide --

    http://www.flickr.com/groups/adobe_lightroom/discuss/72157603747748847/?search=borders

    Lightroom enabled, YES. Had to make a donation to get the Mogrify plugin, but it's worth it I think.

    Pilcrow on
  • ThreepioThreepio New Westminster, BCRegistered User regular
    edited May 2008
    freeman wrote: »
    Love the playground shot threepio....

    Went hiking a few weeks ago and found a hollow river (frozen on the top and you know, hollow underneath)...

    Thanks!

    Also, your hollow river picture is blowing my mind just slightly, in a Jules Verne sort of way.

    Threepio on
    142.jpg
  • UnknownSaintUnknownSaint Kasyn Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Pilcrow - Those are both quite good. Love the colors in the first.

    Anable - Can't say either do much for me. The 1st doesn't present the bending river (which I assume is the intended subject) in any interesting or primary way, and the second is rather boring except for maybe the contrast between the blacks and whites in the two mountains.

    Placer - You can do that and just about any type of borders in Photoshop if you want, it's all just a matter of the canvas size option.

    UnknownSaint on
  • FlyingmanFlyingman Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Lightroom really pulled through on this one.
    shapeform.jpg

    Flyingman on
    PAsig-1.gif
  • bombardierbombardier Moderator mod
    edited May 2008
    saltiness wrote: »
    I shot it at f/2.8 but it's on 6x6 medium format at 80mm so it's pretty shallow. That's also why there's dust and junk on it - I didn't clean the chrome completely when I scanned it. It's Provia 100F if anyone's interested.
    Do you own medium format equipment? What's the conversion factor from 35mm? I've always been interested in the stuff but there's no real access available to it around here.

    bombardier on
  • saltinesssaltiness Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    bombardier wrote: »
    saltiness wrote: »
    I shot it at f/2.8 but it's on 6x6 medium format at 80mm so it's pretty shallow. That's also why there's dust and junk on it - I didn't clean the chrome completely when I scanned it. It's Provia 100F if anyone's interested.
    Do you own medium format equipment? What's the conversion factor from 35mm? I've always been interested in the stuff but there's no real access available to it around here.
    I have a Rolleiflex SLR and a Yashica TLR that are medium format. The crop factor depends a lot on the exact format of the camera. Both mine are 6x6 but there are 6x4.5, 6x7, 6x9 so nobody really considers the crop factor compared to 35mm. I can tell you that an 80mm lens on MF is roughly equivalent to the field of view you get with a 50mm lens on 35.

    saltiness on
    XBL: heavenkils
  • JonisJonis Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    I do like the colors, for sure. How do you like Provia 100F, is that what you primarily use? I've only ever used Portra 160NC, it's always done me good.

    Jonis on
  • saltinesssaltiness Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    I've only used a few rolls of Provia but I like it for portrait stuff. I prefer Velvia or Kodak VS usually. I don't shoot color neg because it sucks to scan and I can't put it in my projector.

    saltiness on
    XBL: heavenkils
  • anableanable North TexasRegistered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Flyingman wrote: »
    Lightroom really pulled through on this one.
    shapeform.jpg

    I like this quite a bit. Good flow and nice contrast. It works really well in black and white.
    Anable - Can't say either do much for me. The 1st doesn't present the bending river (which I assume is the intended subject) in any interesting or primary way, and the second is rather boring except for maybe the contrast between the blacks and whites in the two mountains.

    Yeah, that's pretty valid. I didn't like the first picture myself very much, but I had a lot of people comment on it saying they liked it. I never could figure out why. :P The second one is a personal favorite so you broke my heart with that one.

    More animals!:
    2484711031_9812b49a52_o.jpg

    2484710753_485deea4b4_o.jpg

    Have I mentioned I <3 my lens? Because I do. Oodles.

    anable on
  • PilcrowPilcrow Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Love those, Anable. The first shot portrays remarkable tension. I know I should know but what lens were those shot with?

    Pilcrow on
  • Uncle LongUncle Long Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    It looks like a 200mm prime lens at f/2.8. If I'm not mistaken he got one recently.

    Uncle Long on
  • erisian popeerisian pope Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Man, this thread's off to a killer start!

    Threepio - like the playground shot a lot. The saturation contrasts nicely with the stormy clouds. There's something about the composition that I don't love. Maybe it's the height of the camera? Like if you had crouched down perhaps that would be better? I'm not sure - just something to ponder I guess. Still - very nice!

    Saltiness - I love the Golden Gate Portrait! That's all I can say - top notch!

    Pilcrow - I love the tulips. Composition is fine! The quality of the light is spectacular! The portrait is very very good, too. There are many people on my other photo forum (texasphotoforum) who are professionals whose portraits are not that fine.

    Freeman - Hollow River is way cool. I wish the "horizon" line weren't so close to being centered, but the colors and whatnot are great!

    Flyingman - I agree on the parking garage shot. It's nice.

    anable - I definitely prefer the prarie-dog shots, and of them the first is the most interesting. Very fine!!



    IMG_8826.jpg

    This dude was about 4mm wide. It was windy and he was swaying in the wind, getting a good pic was tough!

    erisian pope on
  • anableanable North TexasRegistered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Pilcrow wrote: »
    Love those, Anable. The first shot portrays remarkable tension. I know I should know but what lens were those shot with?
    Uncle Long wrote: »
    It looks like a 200mm prime lens at f/2.8. If I'm not mistaken he got one recently.

    Indeed it is. The shots were at f/5.6 and f/6.3 respectively, but they are from my prime 200mmL.

    anable on
  • spacerobotspacerobot Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Pilcrow- I really like the flowers, the color and lighting do it just right for me.
    Freeman- This picture blows my mind, I've never even heard of anything like that before. Very cool picture! I would love to see more like it. How thick was the ice? I"m assuming it wasn't thick enough to walk on.
    flyingman- I really like the shades of the sky and clouds in contrast with the concrete.
    Anable- I like the prairiedogs, but the blurriness at the top of the first picture, along with the way the grass is patterned makes my eyes cross. I really like the prairie dogs expressions and the detail of the shot. Where were those taken at?
    Erisian- I like the detail on the spider, especially with the tiny hairs. How close did you have to get to it to take that? 4mm is pretty tiny, especially if its blowing in the wind. I'd be afraid the wind would blow it right onto my face.


    I went camping this past weekend to Maquoketa Caves State Park, in Iowa. I was hoping to get pictures of the caves, but I had to decide if I wanted to take pictures, or go in the caves. I decided on spelunking rather than photography, I didn't want to do both since I didn't want my camera to get muddy or broken (you had to crawl through the caves). But I did get a bunch of shots at our campsite. I love taking pictures of people, which I don't get to do very often.

    Here is our campsite. I really like taking pictures in the morning when the sun isn't too bright.
    2485701660_25f4e7cee5_b.jpg

    My friend Amy and I found a nice patch of ferns about 50 meters behind our campsite. They were very pretty.
    2484878505_32afd52e4b_b.jpg

    On our way back home we decided to stop at an abandoned house to eat lunch inside of it. The floors looked too rotted and dangerous, so instead we ate outside on the side of the road. Here is my friend Cathy eating watermelon.
    2484902737_3e69042da4_b.jpg


    These next two are both of Cathy eating watermelon, but I cant decide which one is better (if either are good at all). Does the truck take away from the picture? I really like the bumper sticker in contrast with the watermelon.
    2484901613_dbfcd1746f_b.jpg
    2484903003_709e7f05ba_b.jpg

    And a windmill farm. Windmills are awesome pieces of machinery.
    2484906275_ec97e85ab3_b.jpg

    I always wonder, would these pictures be better people were not in them? Do I only like them because I have an emotional attachment to the people, like pet photos? I would love any crits on these pictures.

    spacerobot on
    test.jpg
  • anableanable North TexasRegistered User regular
    edited May 2008
    spacerobot wrote: »
    Anable- I like the prairiedogs, but the blurriness at the top of the first picture, along with the way the grass is patterned makes my eyes cross. I really like the prairie dogs expressions and the detail of the shot. Where were those taken at?

    Just a local park here in Oklahoma. Nothing too special.
    spacerobot wrote: »
    I always wonder, would these pictures be better people were not in them? Do I only like them because I have an emotional attachment to the people, like pet photos? I would love any crits on these pictures.

    I'm glad you bring this up because in a lot of ways it's very easy to turn people photos into pet photos. I think the most important thing is to ask yourself: if this were a stranger in my picture, would it still be a good photo? I think some of your pictures work better than others. For the first one, it's a bit boring. It's just a campsite in the woods. There's nothing really that separates it from any other campsite. The ferns shot I think it cool. You don't see giant patches of ferns every day, so that's interesting and the person helps give it scale that it otherwise wouldn't have. The watermelon/truck shots are on the fence between the two: slightly interesting, but probably means more to you than most people.

    anable on
  • ThreepioThreepio New Westminster, BCRegistered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Threepio - like the playground shot a lot. The saturation contrasts nicely with the stormy clouds. There's something about the composition that I don't love. Maybe it's the height of the camera? Like if you had crouched down perhaps that would be better? I'm not sure - just something to ponder I guess. Still - very nice!

    Thanks for the feedback! I might mosey out there this weekend and see if I can capture it from a different angle. I was standing on a concrete flower box trying to capture the sense of being an adult looking in on a child's world, maybe I'll try to see it from the other viewpoint this time :)

    Threepio on
    142.jpg
  • erisian popeerisian pope Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Threepio wrote: »
    Thanks for the feedback! I might mosey out there this weekend and see if I can capture it from a different angle. I was standing on a concrete flower box trying to capture the sense of being an adult looking in on a child's world, maybe I'll try to see it from the other viewpoint this time :)

    Now that's an interesting perspective to try to capture. I wonder what else you could do to strengthen that interpretation? Maybe a wider lens to make it all a little further away and smaller? Hmm.

    erisian pope on
  • Red_ArremerRed_Arremer Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    There's a lot of great photos in here. The ones I like the most are probably the playground, the wind mills, and the Spider. The Spider is my favorite though. He's the complete, isolated focus of the picture, which I like a lot. Anyways, I have a 35mm Nikon F-601 that makes any pictures I take look better than they really are, but the lens has been limiting to any close up photos I would take with my completely amateur skill level. It's an AF Nikor 24-50mm 1:3.3-4.5. What close up lens would be pretty good for it? I recall asking this question, but all I got was the internet equivalent of a bunch of blank stares, so any help would be great.

    Red_Arremer on
  • erisian popeerisian pope Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    I don't know much of anything about Nikon. I would go to B&H Photo's website and browse their lenses. You would want something that says "macro" in the title. www.bhphotovideo.com


    EDIT:


    Here's a link to the search results on B&H for macro, and filtered to only be Nikon film cameras:
    http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=search&A=search&Q=&ci=0&sb=ps&sq=desc&ac=&bsi=&bhs=t&shs=nikon+macro&ci=8433&basicSubmit=Submit+Query

    There's one result that says * Sigma* USA - Telephoto 105mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro Autofocus Lens for Nikon AF - That's the same basic lens that I am using for my shots, including the tiny spider.



    EDIT EDIT:

    In general you will have a lens that is faster (smaller f-stop number) and sharper if you pick a "prime" lens (that's one that only has one focal length and no zoom, like the sigma I mentioned. That's a 105mm lens. Prime is the alternative to zoom lenses, like the 70-300. Usually a zoom is slower (larger f-stop numbers, like 70-300/3.5-5.6 versus 105/2.8 ... the /2.8 is faster) and less crisp than a prime. That's my $0.02 take it for what it's worth.

    erisian pope on
  • Red_ArremerRed_Arremer Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Ah, thanks! Do you have any suggestions for good books on photography?

    Red_Arremer on
  • anableanable North TexasRegistered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Ah, thanks! Do you have any suggestions for good books on photography?

    This information, along with some basic photography tips, should be added to the OP from now on. I comes up quite a bit. The book that I recall being brought up a few times is Understanding Exposure.

    anable on
  • PilcrowPilcrow Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    I 2nd that book. Excellent, detailed, and easy to understand.

    Pilcrow on
This discussion has been closed.