Home Forums Explore Media Photography The Darkroom Show Us Your Best Stuff, September, 2018

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 19 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #461389
    Anonymous

        Lorell, I hope you don’t mind me starting this month’s “Best of…” thread.

        Guidelines for this thread are:

        This thread will remain a sticky for the duration of the month. You are invited to post as frequently as you like with only one restriction, the photo should be taken by YOU in the month that is posted at the top of this thread. Since you posted the image because you considered it is some of your best work, I [Lorell] am asking that comments be restricted to only praise and applause (unless the photographer specifically requests C&C’s).

        #687153
        Anonymous

            My wife went to a memorial service yesterday; the attendees were given a red rose to take home as a remembrance. Today she asked me to take a photo of it.

            Of course I took more than one shot; so far I like this one the best.


            (Nikon D7500 with Nikkor 18-300mm, shot at 230mm; shutter priority; 1/60 sec; f/11; ISO 100; edited in ACR then PSCS5)

            Since I learn more by hearing what’s wrong with my photos than from comments restricted to praise, please feel free to tell me what you think could be better. (I see a couple of things that may need some attention, but I’m unsure of my reaction and analysis – a frequent problem for me.)

            #687162

            Dave,
            Thanks for starting this monthly thread.
            I want others to comment before I speak and I also want to look at this a little more when my eyes are not so tired. Don’t worry, I’ll be back to make some comments.

            LOREL

            Photography is the art of observation. It has little to to with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them. Elliott Erwitt
            Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II, Zuiko 14-150 mm zoom, Zuiko 2.8 60mm macro, Sigma 2.8 Fish Eye. Nikon D5100

            #687163

            Well Dave, I looked at the rose again today and here is what I came up with.

            The rose itself if beautiful and your focus and color is good. I really love the black edges on the petals, wow, that is different and you captured that well. In addition to that, the veins on the petals and tiny dew drops add a nice texture to the composition.

            But here is what I have trouble with, the lighting. The BRIGHT WHITE background is too harsh. It overpowers the rose. I would rather see this rose with a dark background being artificially lit from above by something with less luminosity. The background is brighter than the subject and is a distraction.

            Photography is the art of observation. It has little to to with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them. Elliott Erwitt
            Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II, Zuiko 14-150 mm zoom, Zuiko 2.8 60mm macro, Sigma 2.8 Fish Eye. Nikon D5100

            #687154
            Anonymous

                Thank you Lorell. As usual, you are spot on; I don’t know how I failed to see how distracting the white blackground is.

                For the past day-and-a-half, I’ve been trying to produce a version with the rose against a dark background, but so far a good result has eluded me.

                #687164

                How about trying to photograph the rose against a dark background and taking a time-exposure while painting the rose with light. Do this in a dark room and use a flash light with a narrow beam of light. Now that you have the nice camera and tripod, you should be able to pull something like this off.

                I usually try this in the evening. I set up my camera to manually focus on the subject then shut the lights off, press the shutter then paint for about 20 – 30 seconds. It takes a bit to get the hang of it, but since you’ll be able to review each shot, you will learn quick.

                Photography is the art of observation. It has little to to with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them. Elliott Erwitt
                Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II, Zuiko 14-150 mm zoom, Zuiko 2.8 60mm macro, Sigma 2.8 Fish Eye. Nikon D5100

                #687167
                Quint
                Default

                    Interesting suggestion, Lorell. Tomorrow I’m set to go out with a friend and do a light painting of a fire lookout tower at our local forest interpretive center. Good timing on your comment.
                    Great flower shot to work with, Dave.

                    Quint Nikon Coolpix 990, Nikon Coolpix P60, Nikon D7000, Nikkor, 35/f1.8, Nikkor 18-140, Nikon SB700 Speedlight.

                    #687155
                    Anonymous

                        I’ll have to try the light-painting thing, Lorell. Thanks for the reminder about this technique, and for the description of how you do this.

                        Unfortunately, this rose has passed its photogenic stage, so I’ll need to find another subject.

                        HMMMM? Painting with light; might be a fun Darkroom Challenge theme.

                        Thanks Quint.

                        #687168
                        Quint
                        Default

                            Tried my first light paint photo last night with a friend that has done this. Since this is my first it’s also my best. Hope to improve but here is the fire tower display at our forest interpretive center.

                            Quint Nikon Coolpix 990, Nikon Coolpix P60, Nikon D7000, Nikkor, 35/f1.8, Nikkor 18-140, Nikon SB700 Speedlight.

                            #687165

                            Steve,
                            I think you did really well.
                            First, your composition is spot on. Second, the Tower is effectively offset and the Sign, FOREST CENTER, also off center, has an interesting perspective that leads directly to the tower

                            Did you and your friend light up the entire tower yourselves? i really like that beam of light that flows on the ground coming in from the far right. You really did well. How long were your exposures? How many shots did you take at the shoot?

                            This is good, real good.

                            Photography is the art of observation. It has little to to with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them. Elliott Erwitt
                            Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II, Zuiko 14-150 mm zoom, Zuiko 2.8 60mm macro, Sigma 2.8 Fish Eye. Nikon D5100

                            #687169
                            Quint
                            Default

                                Thanks for the constructive comments, Lorell. This was a fast and definitely informative shoot for me. My friend had two LED flashlights that we used. We set up our cameras on our tripods with open lenses. Mine was an 18 – 140 Nikor on a D7000 crop sensor. He used a full frame Sony AR whatever. We set our lenses wide open (mine 3.5) ISO 200, for about 20 seconds. When the camera person said “go” the light person would turn on and move his light across and down the tower’s length then turn it off. It usually took a few more seconds to finish the 20 secs. Several shots were taken from about 4 locations. It was nice to do this. I false bracketed the RAW shots and ran them through Photomatix then adjusted some colors. The blues and purples were quite strong and need to be lessened. I cropped to catch the Forest Center sign which actually reads: Tillamook Forest Center.

                                Quint Nikon Coolpix 990, Nikon Coolpix P60, Nikon D7000, Nikkor, 35/f1.8, Nikkor 18-140, Nikon SB700 Speedlight.

                                #687156
                                Anonymous

                                    Very nicely done, Quint. And to think this was your first attempt at light painting – that’s even more impressive.

                                    #687157
                                    Anonymous

                                        Just got back from a long walk in the mid-day heat; took a few shots of this flower (from too far away – I’ll go back and get some OOTC closeups) along the way. Here’s one version, majorly cropped from the original…


                                        (Nikon D7500 with Nikkor 18-300mm shot at the max of 300mm, shutter priority, 1/500 sec, f/6.3, ISO 100, edited first in ACR then PSCS5)

                                        C&C is always welcome.

                                        Thanks for looking.

                                        #687166

                                        Dave,
                                        Very Nice, Dave. I really like what is going on in the upper heft hand corner. If you go back, I would be tempted to zero in on just that area and create an abstract type feel. This is one of your specialties, don’t fight it!:lol:

                                        PS If your cropped the photo in half, the side looks like it is a bird with yellow eyes sucking nectar out of the flowers center. Now, I am sitting outside with my notebook and maybe the light is too bright out here but I think that makes for an interesting crop.

                                        Photography is the art of observation. It has little to to with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them. Elliott Erwitt
                                        Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II, Zuiko 14-150 mm zoom, Zuiko 2.8 60mm macro, Sigma 2.8 Fish Eye. Nikon D5100

                                        #687158
                                        Anonymous

                                            Thanks, Lorell.

                                            I agree that zooming in on the area is called for. I’ll return tomorrow and see what I can get. (For this shot I was about 30 feet away, shooting at maximum zoom, thus the lack of sharpness.)

                                            I never would have spotted the bird with yellow eyes – but you’re absolutely right about that.

                                          Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 19 total)
                                          • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.