Why hello, and thanks. Know of any good places to take photos for a hobbyist? Most of my photos come from vacations where there's actual elevation and interesting landscapes (or architecture). I usually don't find much to want to take pictures of in the bog that is Florida.
Why hello, and thanks. Know of any good places to take photos for a hobbyist? Most of my photos come from vacations where there's actual elevation and interesting landscapes (or architecture). I usually don't find much to want to take pictures of in the bog that is Florida.
That would depend on what you want to talk pictures of.
SheriResident FlufferMy Living RoomRegistered Userregular
edited July 2010
For nature, there's a ton of botanical gardens and small and large state parks in the area. Some of the gardens will charge you to get in (Bok Sanctuary off 27, for example), but it's often well worth it -- but not in the middle of July. I'd wait until it cools off; the really pretty stuff doesn't start to bloom until at least September. I believe Bok actually has a list of 'what's blooming' on their website.
Landscapes, you're screwed. The closest you're going to get is beach sunsets. Florida is flat.
Architecture, you could take a trip downtown and see what you can get around the Church St area for starters. I'd go mostly for the cities, and Tampa/St. Pete isn't too far away, but between the cities you're not going to find much interesting in the way of buildings.
Thats pretty funny but i don't get the /p/ at the point in the blue line or the "one exposure per motive" label on the bottom axis.
...and for us old timers it should put the "found an old film camera" at time=0. My first digital camera was an hp p&s and had 1.3MP that thing was crap-tastic compared to my film camera.
Edit: One of my friends cleared up "one exposure per motive" = "one shot per idea". (Which lines up with "found a film camera")
CommunistCow on
No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
0
SheriResident FlufferMy Living RoomRegistered Userregular
edited July 2010
/p/ is 4chan
like /b/, except it probably won't scar you for life
EDIT: I just realized I've never BEEN to 4chan
So I went to /p/
And uh, I don't feel like I suck
So maybe part of that graph is wrong
Rename /p/ to, like, fredmiranda.com/forums or something
One exposure per motive? My harddrive is full of outtakes of all the photos I put up on flickr. Even with the best photographers I don't doubt there's a significant wheat/chaff ratio.
Gafoto on
0
SheriResident FlufferMy Living RoomRegistered Userregular
The assignment was actually really simple. We had to go back and re-shoot the same location we used for our first assignment keeping certain exposure controls in mind (this is an intro to photography class). I actually couldn't go back to my first subject since the security at the cemetary had already told me I couldn't take pictures of the headstones.
Mr Obersmith on
Battle.net - Obersmith#1709
Live - MrObersmith
PSN - Obersmith
Young man we will not have fluid dynamics photos in this thread!
There was actually a fluid dynamics class at CU that was half engineers studying fluid dynamics and the other half were photography students who learned to take photos of fluids. Very interesting class from what I heard.
Thats cool but I'm not sure I like the flare/bleeding of the background over the left side of the glass(?). What is the line going down the center of the object? Is that a seam on the container or a PS artifact?
CommunistCow on
No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
The first one has a bit too much grain for my liking and the background is too busy for the foreground. My eyes are drawn to the right because of the red and other plants. The sunset is kind of interesting but it is still a sunset.
CommunistCow on
No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
Went on a 5 day bus tour of Scotland, took a ton of touristy photos, these are my picks of the bunch
Highlands
Rannoch Moor
Loch Ness
Thistle 1
Thistle 2
Hairy Coo
Sueve : I think the bee photo would look better with a close crop around the bee and flower, then the grain would add to the photo rather than distract.
So I took all the change I had lying around my room for the past 4+ years and took it to a coinstar. I ended up having $412 in change which put a nice dent in my recent purchase of an Alien Bee 800 with a portable battery pack and 24"x36" soft box.
Fashion shoot from last week. I tried doing some new compositing techniques which didn't come out exactly how I wanted but at least I learned some stuffs.
mmmmmm overexposed rocks.
...and one of the failed composite photos. I think next time it would work better with buckets of water rather than bottles of water. Also a closer crop would probably help because I don't think the silhouette of the background adds anything.
CommunistCow on
No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
Rat: I far prefer your hairy cow to a normal cow. Just looks a lot more interesting to me.
Cow: I don't know how much hair you have, but that floating rocks idea is interesting to me as well. If you could perfect your technique and set her right in the center of it, I think the resulting photo would really be something.
A friend and I volunteered to remake a website for this local association of Somali Bantu refugees. They want the imagery on the site to show some of the things that their assocation is doing and/or has to offer. We came up with this idea and they seemed to like it, so I took some shots and picked these four from them.
Handicrafts:
Agriculture:
Sports/recreation:
Education (strong focus on ESL - English as a Second Language):
Cow: You have some awesome experimentation going on there. I think your model's blasé expressions detract, though I know you've talked about how you struggle sometimes to get them to work with you. I don't think the last picture is that bad, though I think he almost center position detracts more than the framing. Having her play off of the shape created by the background would have tied the two elements together. Right now it's just one sitting in front of the other. The first image doesn't have this problem as much. I'm not sure if that's because her skirt follows the ridge or if it's just my personal impression.
Pinch: I think it's a great idea, but right now I really only think the first one is executed really well. The second shot is pretty good, but I think the DOF should include all of the fruit. The ball shot bothers me because I find the UPC bar is distracting and the background behind the kid looks crooked. The last one is mostly good too, but the framing is slightly off center. I'm curious where these people are. It sounds like these refugees are state side, but your processing (the brownish tone and expressed highlights) makes it look like they're still in Africa.
Thanks for the crits anable. I took the barcode off the ball and straightened the background out a little. I think the angle I shot at leaves the vertical lines still making the whole thing look crooked, so I'll have to reshoot to fix that. I agree about the DOF on the mango. What is bothering me is that if you look closely the front of the basket is also slightly out of focus.
Oh, and I shot these in their community here in Phoenix. They chose this area because of its resemblance (geography, weather, etc.) to their home back in Somalia. Still, the brownish tone and expressed highlights is, in part, due to my post-processing choices.
Just my subjective view, but on the 2nd one the person in the background seems too much out of focus, which makes the hands and mango in the foreground pop out a little strangely.. though I think the effect is partly exacerbated due to the hands being more visible in that one in particular. The 1st and 4th stand out as the best ones to me.
Just my subjective view, but on the 2nd one the person in the background seems too much out of focus, which makes the hands and mango in the foreground pop out a little strangely.. though I think the effect is partly exacerbated due to the hands being more visible in that one in particular. The 1st and 4th stand out as the best ones to me.
Did you say mango?
On a more serious note, I feel like the picture with the mango is a bit too desaturated. I'm certainly not saying to do any cheesy selective coloring stuff, but I confused it for a potato the first time I saw it. Her clothing even looks more saturated than the mango at this point. Nice stuff though!
Well if I'm gonna critique people I'd better expose myself... (to criticism).
I'm aware that some technical aspects are not quite right. These were taken with a lowly Canon S3 IS. It is a decent camera, but the viewfinder is limiting. I'm more or less a beginner though. Very much looking forward to getting a proper DSLR soon. The only post-processing I've done is small tweaks on shadows/highlights.
Lynx at Whipsnade Zoo (England)
Red panda!
Not seaworthy. Near the harbor at Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight
So I got my ab800 and it is pretty sweet. The tripod and softbox are a bit bigger than I imagined...even though I pulled out a tape measure when thinking about softbox size.
I'm heading out to Oregon and the Redwoods for vacay so I shall attempt to get some artistic nature/vacation pictures for you guys
CommunistCow on
No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
Actually most studio strobes have modelling lights that change brightness when the flash bulb brightness is changed. Otherwise why use a modelling light at all?
I'm going to be visiting a cave sometime over the next few days. I've no idea how to take shots... any ideas?
Rohan on
...and I thought of how all those people died, and what a good death that is. That nobody can blame you for it, because everyone else died along with you, and it is the fault of none, save those who did the killing.
...and I thought of how all those people died, and what a good death that is. That nobody can blame you for it, because everyone else died along with you, and it is the fault of none, save those who did the killing.
So I'm thinking about selling all my lenses except for my Nikon 35mm/1.8 and my Tamron 17-50/2.8.
I'm half tempted to sell the tamron lens as well and switching to a 7D for my next purchase. I'm currently using a Nikon D40, and I can keep the 35mm for that.
I just wish that the focus areas were spread out more.
On the 4th I made my first attempt at photographing fireworks at a local display. There was a pretty steep learning curve and most of the early shots were boring/terrible.
However, I pretty quickly determined that, for the most part, I preferred shots that were focused on things in the foreground and then silhouetted by the fireworks.
I thought I'd post a few and see if you guys think that works or if it's terrible. Like I said, first try at this so I really had no idea what I was doing and can only get better from here. I wasn't really sure how to frame/compose something like this either, so any tips on that would be super cool as well.
And then straight fireworks shots:
I tend to like more abstract stuff, so that last one is my favorite of the night.
No, but really... this is my favorite. A sharp, vibrant fireworks photo is beautiful. I can also see about a billion samey, lovely fireworks photos every summer. I like this one. The silhouettes tell more of the story of watching fireworks. The hazy, chaotic atmosphere also tells a different (more real in my experience) story of the event. I see better the smoke, noise, and light of the event.
The fence the people are behind adds another element. Just a hint of a reminder that the fireworks really symbolize the brutal wars we fought and fight for this country, and their repercussions.
I just wish that the focus areas were spread out more.
Do a lot of people use the focus areas? Personally, I always just tell it to center focus, lock on to the focal plane that I want, and then frame my shot. Especially in busy shots or macro, the camera rarely guesses correctly what I wanted to focus on so center focus is a lot less of a headache for me.
However, I pretty quickly determined that, for the most part, I preferred shots that were focused on things in the foreground and then silhouetted by the fireworks.
I thought I'd post a few and see if you guys think that works or if it's terrible. Like I said, first try at this so I really had no idea what I was doing and can only get better from here. I wasn't really sure how to frame/compose something like this either, so any tips on that would be super cool as well.
So yeah, any thoughts?
Remember that you can play with the silhouettes as much as any other object. Right now, all of your shots are from the same perspective with the same fence and the same people which makes it look like you were trying to capture the fireworks more than the foreground. Get in close. Back away. Move to the side. Playing with your composition is the same whether the silhouettes are from fireworks or a sunset or anything else.
No, but really... this is my favorite. A sharp, vibrant fireworks photo is beautiful. I can also see about a billion samey, lovely fireworks photos every summer. I like this one. The silhouettes tell more of the story of watching fireworks. The hazy, chaotic atmosphere also tells a different (more real in my experience) story of the event. I see better the smoke, noise, and light of the event.
The fence the people are behind adds another element. Just a hint of a reminder that the fireworks really symbolize the brutal wars we fought and fight for this country, and their repercussions.
It's early. I'm probably waxing too eloquent. ;P
I wish I could say all of that was intentional, but I'll settle for that being the impression it makes! Thanks for the comments, I'll try to keep that style in mind for future fireworks.
However, I pretty quickly determined that, for the most part, I preferred shots that were focused on things in the foreground and then silhouetted by the fireworks.
I thought I'd post a few and see if you guys think that works or if it's terrible. Like I said, first try at this so I really had no idea what I was doing and can only get better from here. I wasn't really sure how to frame/compose something like this either, so any tips on that would be super cool as well.
So yeah, any thoughts?
Remember that you can play with the silhouettes as much as any other object. Right now, all of your shots are from the same perspective with the same fence and the same people which makes it look like you were trying to capture the fireworks more than the foreground. Get in close. Back away. Move to the side. Playing with your composition is the same whether the silhouettes are from fireworks or a sunset or anything else.
That's a really good point, and I'll keep it in mind for next time I try this. A little inconvenient because of the tripod, but not impossible.
Nostregar on
0
SheriResident FlufferMy Living RoomRegistered Userregular
edited July 2010
Okay so this isn't exactly the best photo, but I am super-duper excited about having just hung my first Big Print. It's a 16x24 float mount from Black River Imaging and I love it and now I'm addicted and just bought four large ThinWraps from Bay Photo.
I also have two huge 20x30 framed prints (thank you, ex-boyfriend) from Alaska that I need to hang, but we just moved into a house so it may be a few days. Anyway, excited!
Posts
Still think you should just clone yourself and then make yourself work for free
Sheri Baldwin Photography | Facebook | Twitter | Etsy Shop | BUY ME STUFF (updated for 2014!)
Classy stuff awaits at Brighton.
-
Another coastal stop before climbing...
-
Up here.
-
Rural stuff. In New Zealand. Shocking.
Why hello, and thanks. Know of any good places to take photos for a hobbyist? Most of my photos come from vacations where there's actual elevation and interesting landscapes (or architecture). I usually don't find much to want to take pictures of in the bog that is Florida.
That would depend on what you want to talk pictures of.
Sheri Baldwin Photography | Facebook | Twitter | Etsy Shop | BUY ME STUFF (updated for 2014!)
Landscapes, you're screwed. The closest you're going to get is beach sunsets. Florida is flat.
Architecture, you could take a trip downtown and see what you can get around the Church St area for starters. I'd go mostly for the cities, and Tampa/St. Pete isn't too far away, but between the cities you're not going to find much interesting in the way of buildings.
Sheri Baldwin Photography | Facebook | Twitter | Etsy Shop | BUY ME STUFF (updated for 2014!)
I apologize to any tiny h-scrolls that might break
Sheri Baldwin Photography | Facebook | Twitter | Etsy Shop | BUY ME STUFF (updated for 2014!)
...and for us old timers it should put the "found an old film camera" at time=0. My first digital camera was an hp p&s and had 1.3MP that thing was crap-tastic compared to my film camera.
Edit: One of my friends cleared up "one exposure per motive" = "one shot per idea". (Which lines up with "found a film camera")
like /b/, except it probably won't scar you for life
EDIT: I just realized I've never BEEN to 4chan
So I went to /p/
And uh, I don't feel like I suck
So maybe part of that graph is wrong
Rename /p/ to, like, fredmiranda.com/forums or something
Sheri Baldwin Photography | Facebook | Twitter | Etsy Shop | BUY ME STUFF (updated for 2014!)
Chuckle and post a photo already
Sheri Baldwin Photography | Facebook | Twitter | Etsy Shop | BUY ME STUFF (updated for 2014!)
Live - MrObersmith
PSN - Obersmith
Oh, I just ran across this gal that does light stencils, pretty awesome idea I really like how crisp the stencils turn out in the photos.
My Portfolio Site
Live - MrObersmith
PSN - Obersmith
Thats cool but I'm not sure I like the flare/bleeding of the background over the left side of the glass(?). What is the line going down the center of the object? Is that a seam on the container or a PS artifact?
Whadya guys think
The first one has a bit too much grain for my liking and the background is too busy for the foreground. My eyes are drawn to the right because of the red and other plants. The sunset is kind of interesting but it is still a sunset.
Highlands
Rannoch Moor
Loch Ness
Thistle 1
Thistle 2
Hairy Coo
Sueve : I think the bee photo would look better with a close crop around the bee and flower, then the grain would add to the photo rather than distract.
Fashion shoot from last week. I tried doing some new compositing techniques which didn't come out exactly how I wanted but at least I learned some stuffs.
mmmmmm overexposed rocks.
...and one of the failed composite photos. I think next time it would work better with buckets of water rather than bottles of water. Also a closer crop would probably help because I don't think the silhouette of the background adds anything.
Cow: I don't know how much hair you have, but that floating rocks idea is interesting to me as well. If you could perfect your technique and set her right in the center of it, I think the resulting photo would really be something.
A friend and I volunteered to remake a website for this local association of Somali Bantu refugees. They want the imagery on the site to show some of the things that their assocation is doing and/or has to offer. We came up with this idea and they seemed to like it, so I took some shots and picked these four from them.
Handicrafts:
Agriculture:
Sports/recreation:
Education (strong focus on ESL - English as a Second Language):
Pinch: I think it's a great idea, but right now I really only think the first one is executed really well. The second shot is pretty good, but I think the DOF should include all of the fruit. The ball shot bothers me because I find the UPC bar is distracting and the background behind the kid looks crooked. The last one is mostly good too, but the framing is slightly off center. I'm curious where these people are. It sounds like these refugees are state side, but your processing (the brownish tone and expressed highlights) makes it look like they're still in Africa.
Oh, and I shot these in their community here in Phoenix. They chose this area because of its resemblance (geography, weather, etc.) to their home back in Somalia. Still, the brownish tone and expressed highlights is, in part, due to my post-processing choices.
Steam (Ansatz) || GW2 officer (Ansatz.6498)
On a more serious note, I feel like the picture with the mango is a bit too desaturated. I'm certainly not saying to do any cheesy selective coloring stuff, but I confused it for a potato the first time I saw it. Her clothing even looks more saturated than the mango at this point. Nice stuff though!
I'm aware that some technical aspects are not quite right. These were taken with a lowly Canon S3 IS. It is a decent camera, but the viewfinder is limiting. I'm more or less a beginner though. Very much looking forward to getting a proper DSLR soon. The only post-processing I've done is small tweaks on shadows/highlights.
Lynx at Whipsnade Zoo (England)
Red panda!
Not seaworthy. Near the harbor at Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight
Cromlech near St. David's head in Wales
Wall of the dry-stone variety
View across St. Bride's Bay in Wales
Steam (Ansatz) || GW2 officer (Ansatz.6498)
I'm heading out to Oregon and the Redwoods for vacay so I shall attempt to get some artistic nature/vacation pictures for you guys
I just bought a Toptec DV-35.
http://www.lightingrumours.com/30-led-interview-lights-comparison-339
Nothing's forgotten, nothing is ever forgotten
Bring a pack-mule loaded down with lighting gear.
Ryan M Long Photography
Buy my Prints!
Nothing's forgotten, nothing is ever forgotten
I'm half tempted to sell the tamron lens as well and switching to a 7D for my next purchase. I'm currently using a Nikon D40, and I can keep the 35mm for that.
I just wish that the focus areas were spread out more.
7D
D300s
However, I pretty quickly determined that, for the most part, I preferred shots that were focused on things in the foreground and then silhouetted by the fireworks.
I thought I'd post a few and see if you guys think that works or if it's terrible. Like I said, first try at this so I really had no idea what I was doing and can only get better from here. I wasn't really sure how to frame/compose something like this either, so any tips on that would be super cool as well.
And then straight fireworks shots:
I tend to like more abstract stuff, so that last one is my favorite of the night.
So yeah, any thoughts?
No, but really... this is my favorite. A sharp, vibrant fireworks photo is beautiful. I can also see about a billion samey, lovely fireworks photos every summer. I like this one. The silhouettes tell more of the story of watching fireworks. The hazy, chaotic atmosphere also tells a different (more real in my experience) story of the event. I see better the smoke, noise, and light of the event.
The fence the people are behind adds another element. Just a hint of a reminder that the fireworks really symbolize the brutal wars we fought and fight for this country, and their repercussions.
It's early. I'm probably waxing too eloquent. ;P
Steam BoardGameGeek Twitter
Do a lot of people use the focus areas? Personally, I always just tell it to center focus, lock on to the focal plane that I want, and then frame my shot. Especially in busy shots or macro, the camera rarely guesses correctly what I wanted to focus on so center focus is a lot less of a headache for me.
Remember that you can play with the silhouettes as much as any other object. Right now, all of your shots are from the same perspective with the same fence and the same people which makes it look like you were trying to capture the fireworks more than the foreground. Get in close. Back away. Move to the side. Playing with your composition is the same whether the silhouettes are from fireworks or a sunset or anything else.
I wish I could say all of that was intentional, but I'll settle for that being the impression it makes! Thanks for the comments, I'll try to keep that style in mind for future fireworks.
That's a really good point, and I'll keep it in mind for next time I try this. A little inconvenient because of the tripod, but not impossible.
I also have two huge 20x30 framed prints (thank you, ex-boyfriend) from Alaska that I need to hang, but we just moved into a house so it may be a few days. Anyway, excited!
Sheri Baldwin Photography | Facebook | Twitter | Etsy Shop | BUY ME STUFF (updated for 2014!)