That first shot is stunning Pope! The DOF is exactly right and it makes so graphic, and the white lines at the edge of the leaves, just stunning. You have a great eye for composition and subject, finding that shot in what I'm guessing is a very ordinary environment. Your second shot really pales in comparison, I don't know if it is because it's posted just after the first shot wich is very clean, but I find your second one too cluttered.
I just got the trial for Photomatix and am trying to find out if I am doing the HDR/tonemapping process correctly. Here are the two I tried to do today.
I think both look good, mcavotim. I like that neither has that overdone hdr look that reminds me of HL2. :^:
Here's another of those iris-leaf pics.
PS - thanks, Djfindus!!! As for "ordinary environment" - it was a small planting of irises around a tree in someone's front lawn. I was just lucky that the afternoon sun was being dapppled by the overhead trees enough that the irises were getting this glow from the backlight without being uniformly lit. I was just in the right place at the right time.
Pope those first two are fantastic, but that third is probably my favorite shot of yours ever. It's just incredibly simple and clean with great tones and fills the frame perfectly. Wallpaper size plznowkthx. (1024x768)
So, right now I'm thinking of getting a Nikon D80 in the near future. Is there anything I should be aware of with this camera? Are there any comparable cameras of different brands that I should look at? This will be the first camera I have where I get to fiddle around with different lenses, so is there anything I should know when it comes to that?
pope, I'm going to have to agree. Those are all fantastic, and that third one is easily the best. I know I've seen those kinds of shots done before, and quite reguarily, but these are just perfect.
Is that prime lens f/2.8? Check out the jealous guy standing riiiight over
<
here.
Those shots are both very pretty! Great colors and clarity. The bokeh in #2 is very slightly busy, but it's still a great pic.
Indeed it is f/2.8! I picked it up on eBay for $500, saving myself $200 over the Sigma 70-200mm version and $400 over the Canon 70-200mm. I was a bit hesitant about the fact that it was prime, but I haven't regretted it. I loooove this lens.
2 of my 3 lenses are prime and they're what I use 90% of the time (Sigma 105/2.8 macro and Canon 50/1.8). I can get wide with my zoom (Tamron 17-35) but I am seldom out in the sweeping landscapes that would most benefit from wide so I rarely use it. I think a 200 prime would be excellent to have. I keep longing for a longer lens. Congrats on your awesome purchase!
I'm also loving my new lens. I picked up the Canon 200mL prime:
The subject is astonishing in that second one. Very solid work. Congrats on the lens. It's sometimes daunting lookin at the pricetag on the high-end stuff, but I've found that there are definitely worthwhile solutions out there (which is why I got the Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 for 460 shipped instead of the brand spankin' new 70-200mm f/2.8 for 1300+).
Long - Love the sandpiper - it really pops out of the frame. I would’ve gone for a much tighter crop, myself, as the entire right hand side of the frame doesn’t have much to it. The storm is fantastic, just lovely. The WB on the kids is way too blue, but otherwise good. The last shot is nice, but the slight out of focus bits on the left hand side of the frame are a bit unsettling. The textures are great but having OOF bits both in front and behind a point on a single object isn’t desirable in this case.
Pilcrow - Wow. Wonderfully dynamic shot in the case of the first. Second is similarly really well done. Third is nearly perfect, but I think the whites are clipping a bit much. With a bit more recovery I’d take two (so to speak).
erasian - Stunning as usual. I am really jealous of your abstract stuff. The second one in particular is stunning, but that little white fleck on the centre of the left hand side of the frame (it’s a tiny white fleck amidst a dark part of the bokeh) distracts me - I may just be insane, though.
mcavotim - I don’t get the first one. Did it really need HDR to get that image? Regardless, there’s something funky about the way the images were lined up - you’ve got serious ghosting occurring around the bigger knob that’s rather unpleasant. Tone mapping is nice and conservative, but the ghosting gives away that it’s an HDR (which is the worst possible thing an HDR can do in my opinion).
The second one is nice in terms of HDR processing. Outside of that it really needs straightening.
anable - You lucky bastard. Those are gorgeous. Even the chimp with the busy bokeh is really pleasing. Congrats on the new lense. I have a rich friend of my father’s who supposedly has an old MX and several lenses (a 300mm prime is rumoured) that she’s looking to get rid of for a song. My father is supposed to be bringing them over at some point this week so I can ensure they’re all good before I buy them. I am quivering in anticipation of finding a 50mm f/1.2 and some FA* (Pentax’s version of L glass) lenses, as she reportedly only ever buys the best of anything.
I got two shots while out taking our puppy for a walk today that I thought were pretty good. Well, three shots, but the other is in the photo assignment thread. Comments and criticisms?
The last one is a 20â€x8†crop. Does anyone know if that’s a possible print size, or getting it printed with borders and having the shop do some magic while mounting it to a Gatorfoam backing would work? I’ll be asking when I go in to print, but I’d like to find out sooner so I can start thinking about alternative croppings if needed.
And DMoon - you're right about the white fleck. I'll correct that at some point. Thanks! I like your pic of the walk in the park. There's a green hexagonal lens flare on the trunk of the tree that I would be tempted to try to correct, but it's minor. The slope of the hill is nice, and the separation that gives foreground and background is also nice. Very fine composition overall.
Rohan: The center composition is kinda boring. Try different angles and such. And not to be mean, but macro flowers are cliche
Ah yeah, they are alright, it's just difficult to find many interesting things to photograph in your garden when you've already scoured it several times over that week >_>
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.
Rohan: The center composition is kinda boring. Try different angles and such. And not to be mean, but macro flowers are cliche
Ah yeah, they are alright, it's just difficult to find many interesting things to photograph in your garden when you've already scoured it several times over that week >_>
Make that a challenge, then! Everything anyone's photo'ed is probably something someone's photo'ed before. "There's nothing new under the sun..." and all that. So what can you do to make it YOUR pic of a flower? Not that I am any good at this, but it's a good mindset if you want to push yourself artistically.
anable, the 2nd one's background is a bit overwhelming. It sort of detracts from the main subject of the photo.
You and several others have mentioned this and while I understand that even with the bokeh the background is distracting, I'm at a loss for how to fix this. There were trees in all directions so getting him against the sky isn't really an option and black and white (in my opinion) makes it worse. I can't think of anything else besides some selective coloring.
anable, the 2nd one's background is a bit overwhelming. It sort of detracts from the main subject of the photo.
You and several others have mentioned this and while I understand that even with the bokeh the background is distracting, I'm at a loss for how to fix this. There were trees in all directions so getting him against the sky isn't really an option and black and white (in my opinion) makes it worse. I can't think of anything else besides some selective coloring.
A 200mm f/1.8 would do the trick. The pack mule might frighten the monkey away, though, and even the best pack mule sags under phenomenal load.
Selective colouring is a horrible thing, but selective partial desaturation can be done tastefully if great care is taken. Increasing the black levels might make the chimp pop out of the trees a bit more too, but you'd lose some details in the coat that you may not want to sacrifice.
anable, the 2nd one's background is a bit overwhelming. It sort of detracts from the main subject of the photo.
You and several others have mentioned this and while I understand that even with the bokeh the background is distracting, I'm at a loss for how to fix this. There were trees in all directions so getting him against the sky isn't really an option and black and white (in my opinion) makes it worse. I can't think of anything else besides some selective coloring.
A 200mm f/1.8 would do the trick. The pack mule might frighten the monkey away, though, and even the best pack mule sags under phenomenal load.
Selective colouring is a horrible thing, but selective partial desaturation can be done tastefully if great care is taken. Increasing the black levels might make the chimp pop out of the trees a bit more too, but you'd lose some details in the coat that you may not want to sacrifice.
The coat I'm not as worried about as the facial expression which gets lost in the shadows. It's already a brighter photo than I normally like because of this.
'Allo all, been awhile since I've posted. I've managed to scrape together these few offerings, even though I remain as yet in the numbing grips of some pestilential indolence--anywho, crits and comments are welcome, as always.
Note: I'm not sure if it's because of the JPEG conversion or the way I posted them, but the second and third seem a bit fuzzy. I'm going to try reposting them and see if I can't fix the prob.
Gravity and Punishment on
"I assure you, your distaste only reveals your ignorance."
Yeah they are some pretty solid shots, the second probably being the best. The first is better than your average cliche slow shutter traffic shot, mostly because you seemed to pay attention and not let any of the lights or poles merge, it's very well balanced. Second just has great tones, though I'd be tempted to see what the shot was before post-processing. And yeah, the compression sucks.
Rohan: The center composition is kinda boring. Try different angles and such. And not to be mean, but macro flowers are cliche
Ah yeah, they are alright, it's just difficult to find many interesting things to photograph in your garden when you've already scoured it several times over that week >_>
Make that a challenge, then! Everything anyone's photo'ed is probably something someone's photo'ed before. "There's nothing new under the sun..." and all that. So what can you do to make it YOUR pic of a flower? Not that I am any good at this, but it's a good mindset if you want to push yourself artistically.
Well, now that you mention it, I do have an idea for another photograph involving that plant... I'll be back later today with the result, weather permitting
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.
anable, the 2nd one's background is a bit overwhelming. It sort of detracts from the main subject of the photo.
You and several others have mentioned this and while I understand that even with the bokeh the background is distracting, I'm at a loss for how to fix this. There were trees in all directions so getting him against the sky isn't really an option and black and white (in my opinion) makes it worse. I can't think of anything else besides some selective coloring.
So, like I said I think the pic is still good. If you really wanted to fine-tune the background you might look at creating a duplicate layer, gaussian-blurring it with various settings, and then masking out the monkey (chimp? ape? I can't tell these primates apart) so the original dude shows through. Selective darkening might also help, maybe even adding a vignette.
EDIT: Those fish are incredibly sharp and colorful. Yay!!! Great pictures.
An-D: I think the composition is really good, but since you can't see a lot of detail in the mountains you kinda lose the impact of the pic a bit. I threw it into photo shop and threw a grayscale adjustment layer on it, and I think it looks great in B&W, give it a try!
An- I think the composition is really good, but since you can't see a lot of detail in the mountains you kinda lose the impact of the pic a bit. I threw it into photo shop and threw a grayscale adjustment layer on it, and I think it looks great in B&W, give it a try!
Interesting, I'll keep grayscale options in mind next time I'm tinkering with a shot like this. Thank you!
Wish I could just edit this into my last post, been tinkering with this one for about an hour. I'm going to put the stages of the picture as links, and post where I ended up...if you all think I went in a wrong direction somewhere, please let me know:
Wish I could just edit this into my last post, been tinkering with this one for about an hour. I'm going to put the stages of the picture as links, and post where I ended up...if you all think I went in a wrong direction somewhere, please let me know:
Hmm, the yellow is just a little too harsh, a little much for my tastes. The subdued oranges and pinks are nice and the contrast between the sunset and the foreground works quite well.
Which reminds me, here's a sunset shot from a while back. The horizon should be spot on but that means the cat walk is...unstraight.
Uncle Long: I love that picture, but really....that catwalk has gotta go. I feel like I'm looking at two pictures rather than one when its on my screen. Where did you take it?
I don't know -- without the catwalk, it's just another pretty sunset. I'd actually advise experimenting with some different crops. I think cutting out the water might be effective, as the catwalk would lose its context and suddenly seem almost surreal. Maybe.
Anable, I really love your animal shots, is there a trick to deciding whether you go with color or black and white? I don't really have an eye for thinking something will look good in b/w until I load it into Lightroom and try it out.
Uncle Long, I really like the shot with the catwalk. I think if you were to crop out the water, and keep the mountains, it'd give the viewer one less thing to look at and make it easier to focus on what's left...as well as make it slightly smaller (I too thought it was two pics, but more because of how it fit on my browser)
Here are some animal shots of my own...
I was also wondering what anyone thought of this particular lens, Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM I'm planning on having it become my walk-around lens, replacing the kit lens that came with the camera.
Crits and comments on the pics and the lens choice are appreciated
MustangArbiter of Unpopular OpinionsRegistered Userregular
edited May 2008
God mid-day sun really kills what would be some good shots.
Half the reason why I hardly take photos anymore, couldn't be stuffed waiting for good light.
Gravity and Punishment:
Those shots are fantastic, the first is my favourite, the last one could have been framed a little better though. As in you could have found another angle, it seems as though it would be a great place to shoot though. Perhaps down there amongst the muck and taking the highway on your left out of the image.
Was at Cedar Ck Falls south-west of Brisbane today with the girlfriend. So I've pretty much only got a memory stick full of happy snaps. I did however manage to get this shot, the original was not so great, but this crop is a lot better I think.
UPDATE: Fixed shitty jpeg colour compression, forgot to "save for web." *facepalm*
Really liked the texture of the rock more than anything. New sig came of it
Posts
EDIT:
My Website | My "photo-a-day" 2010
Please comment and give tips.
Thank you very much!!!
Here's another of those iris-leaf pics.
PS - thanks, Djfindus!!! As for "ordinary environment" - it was a small planting of irises around a tree in someone's front lawn. I was just lucky that the afternoon sun was being dapppled by the overhead trees enough that the irises were getting this glow from the backlight without being uniformly lit. I was just in the right place at the right time.
EDIT: Indian paintbrush:
My Website | My "photo-a-day" 2010
Any help would be fantastically awesome!
I found a Lightroom plugin that lets me export with borders. I'm quite happy.
I'm also loving my new lens. I picked up the Canon 200mL prime:
<
here.
Those shots are both very pretty! Great colors and clarity. The bokeh in #2 is very slightly busy, but it's still a great pic.
My Website | My "photo-a-day" 2010
Indeed it is f/2.8! I picked it up on eBay for $500, saving myself $200 over the Sigma 70-200mm version and $400 over the Canon 70-200mm. I was a bit hesitant about the fact that it was prime, but I haven't regretted it. I loooove this lens.
My Website | My "photo-a-day" 2010
The subject is astonishing in that second one. Very solid work. Congrats on the lens. It's sometimes daunting lookin at the pricetag on the high-end stuff, but I've found that there are definitely worthwhile solutions out there (which is why I got the Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 for 460 shipped instead of the brand spankin' new 70-200mm f/2.8 for 1300+).
Ryan M Long Photography
Buy my Prints!
Pilcrow - Wow. Wonderfully dynamic shot in the case of the first. Second is similarly really well done. Third is nearly perfect, but I think the whites are clipping a bit much. With a bit more recovery I’d take two (so to speak).
erasian - Stunning as usual. I am really jealous of your abstract stuff. The second one in particular is stunning, but that little white fleck on the centre of the left hand side of the frame (it’s a tiny white fleck amidst a dark part of the bokeh) distracts me - I may just be insane, though.
mcavotim - I don’t get the first one. Did it really need HDR to get that image? Regardless, there’s something funky about the way the images were lined up - you’ve got serious ghosting occurring around the bigger knob that’s rather unpleasant. Tone mapping is nice and conservative, but the ghosting gives away that it’s an HDR (which is the worst possible thing an HDR can do in my opinion).
The second one is nice in terms of HDR processing. Outside of that it really needs straightening.
anable - You lucky bastard. Those are gorgeous. Even the chimp with the busy bokeh is really pleasing. Congrats on the new lense. I have a rich friend of my father’s who supposedly has an old MX and several lenses (a 300mm prime is rumoured) that she’s looking to get rid of for a song. My father is supposed to be bringing them over at some point this week so I can ensure they’re all good before I buy them. I am quivering in anticipation of finding a 50mm f/1.2 and some FA* (Pentax’s version of L glass) lenses, as she reportedly only ever buys the best of anything.
I got two shots while out taking our puppy for a walk today that I thought were pretty good. Well, three shots, but the other is in the photo assignment thread. Comments and criticisms?
The last one is a 20â€x8†crop. Does anyone know if that’s a possible print size, or getting it printed with borders and having the shop do some magic while mounting it to a Gatorfoam backing would work? I’ll be asking when I go in to print, but I’d like to find out sooner so I can start thinking about alternative croppings if needed.
And DMoon - you're right about the white fleck. I'll correct that at some point. Thanks! I like your pic of the walk in the park. There's a green hexagonal lens flare on the trunk of the tree that I would be tempted to try to correct, but it's minor. The slope of the hill is nice, and the separation that gives foreground and background is also nice. Very fine composition overall.
My Website | My "photo-a-day" 2010
Ah yeah, they are alright, it's just difficult to find many interesting things to photograph in your garden when you've already scoured it several times over that week >_>
Nothing's forgotten, nothing is ever forgotten
Make that a challenge, then! Everything anyone's photo'ed is probably something someone's photo'ed before. "There's nothing new under the sun..." and all that. So what can you do to make it YOUR pic of a flower? Not that I am any good at this, but it's a good mindset if you want to push yourself artistically.
My Website | My "photo-a-day" 2010
You and several others have mentioned this and while I understand that even with the bokeh the background is distracting, I'm at a loss for how to fix this. There were trees in all directions so getting him against the sky isn't really an option and black and white (in my opinion) makes it worse. I can't think of anything else besides some selective coloring.
A 200mm f/1.8 would do the trick. The pack mule might frighten the monkey away, though, and even the best pack mule sags under phenomenal load.
Selective colouring is a horrible thing, but selective partial desaturation can be done tastefully if great care is taken. Increasing the black levels might make the chimp pop out of the trees a bit more too, but you'd lose some details in the coat that you may not want to sacrifice.
The coat I'm not as worried about as the facial expression which gets lost in the shadows. It's already a brighter photo than I normally like because of this.
Oh well. Here's a fish:
Note: I'm not sure if it's because of the JPEG conversion or the way I posted them, but the second and third seem a bit fuzzy. I'm going to try reposting them and see if I can't fix the prob.
Your Current Signature Picture[/SIGPIC]
Well, now that you mention it, I do have an idea for another photograph involving that plant... I'll be back later today with the result, weather permitting
Nothing's forgotten, nothing is ever forgotten
So, like I said I think the pic is still good. If you really wanted to fine-tune the background you might look at creating a duplicate layer, gaussian-blurring it with various settings, and then masking out the monkey (chimp? ape? I can't tell these primates apart) so the original dude shows through. Selective darkening might also help, maybe even adding a vignette.
EDIT: Those fish are incredibly sharp and colorful. Yay!!! Great pictures.
My Website | My "photo-a-day" 2010
Probably the best panoramic shot I've taken (not sure if thats saying a lot). Let me know what you all think!
Full-Sized Glory
Quoted.
Ryan M Long Photography
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Also, what camera are you using?
My Portfolio Site
Interesting, I'll keep grayscale options in mind next time I'm tinkering with a shot like this. Thank you!
A Kodak z710 point and shoot...
But whats more important is that I'm either getting a Nikon D80 or a Sony A300 in the next two weeks or so...not sure which yet...
-First-
--Second--
---Third---
Where I ended up at
It was shot through a fence that created some light distortion unfortunately.
Ape expressions continue to amuse me:
Who, me?
Hmm, the yellow is just a little too harsh, a little much for my tastes. The subdued oranges and pinks are nice and the contrast between the sunset and the foreground works quite well.
Which reminds me, here's a sunset shot from a while back. The horizon should be spot on but that means the cat walk is...unstraight.
Ryan M Long Photography
Buy my Prints!
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Uncle Long, I really like the shot with the catwalk. I think if you were to crop out the water, and keep the mountains, it'd give the viewer one less thing to look at and make it easier to focus on what's left...as well as make it slightly smaller (I too thought it was two pics, but more because of how it fit on my browser)
Here are some animal shots of my own...
I was also wondering what anyone thought of this particular lens, Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM I'm planning on having it become my walk-around lens, replacing the kit lens that came with the camera.
Crits and comments on the pics and the lens choice are appreciated
Half the reason why I hardly take photos anymore, couldn't be stuffed waiting for good light.
Those shots are fantastic, the first is my favourite, the last one could have been framed a little better though. As in you could have found another angle, it seems as though it would be a great place to shoot though. Perhaps down there amongst the muck and taking the highway on your left out of the image.
Was at Cedar Ck Falls south-west of Brisbane today with the girlfriend. So I've pretty much only got a memory stick full of happy snaps. I did however manage to get this shot, the original was not so great, but this crop is a lot better I think.
UPDATE: Fixed shitty jpeg colour compression, forgot to "save for web." *facepalm*
Really liked the texture of the rock more than anything. New sig came of it