Photo-A-Day IV

bikuki · 8th July 2009, 12:08pm

Starting a new thread, and being really lazy in copying the starting post from the last one.

A thread in which to post photos and to comment on the work of others. More for soliciting/offering criticism and discussing technique than for showcasing the latest shot you've fallen in love with, but a wee bit of that now and then is probably okay. If you're bothered by the notion that people might alter your work in Photoshop and repost it, in an instructional capacity, then please, do say so when you post the images in question.

The hard and fast rules, nicked from Brian (via Stu):

- Only one post containing pictures per day
- One to three pics per post MAXIMUM
- Pics MUST be your own work.
- If you can, try and include some shooting data with your images, shutter speed, film type, camera, aperture etc, easy to do with extracted EXIF data from digital shots
- Don't post the same picture more than once (unless you have modified it in some way, obviously)
- For the love of the Gods, keep images posted in here under 800x600 (or link to the larger verions in the gallery)
- Don't be a dick.

Here are some to start you off (click through for larger)

All with Canon 350D, 1st and 3rd with my fisheye adaptor on my original kit lense, and the 2nd with the original kit lense on its own. Haven't a scooby what the shutter speed/ISO/aperture etc are.

**Shannow** · 8th July 2009, 12:13pm

Second one is the best, but suffers from being too much bang in the middle, Square crop of the lower half would greatly improve it.

bikuki · 8th July 2009, 12:18pm

See, I really like the symmetry of it (I'm a bit obsessive about symmetry), plus I love the colours of the sky. I'll see what it looks like cropped to that corner, though. But just for you, Brian

Bobzilla · 8th July 2009, 12:26pm

I'd have thought a square crop right in the middle would have worked because they were so much going on in there. The path leads you right to the horizon. Looks very much like a CD cover.

I quite like the first one but I'd be inclined to give it a stupidly thin crop along the length of the horizon.

I've never been a fan of fisheyes myself unless only used a touch or at the extreme end.

bikuki · 8th July 2009, 12:31pm

?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobzilla

I'd have thought a square crop right in the middle would have worked because they were so much going on in there. The path leads you right to the horizon. Looks very much like a CD cover.

I quite like the first one but I'd be inclined to give it a stupidly thin crop along the length of the horizon.

I've never been a fan of fisheyes myself unless only used a touch or at the extreme end.

I've become obsessed, it's not good. I love using at their full zoom out for extreme closeups, but they do have a usefullness as a super-wide-angle (if the barrel distortion doesn't bother you too much).

~LEE~ · 8th July 2009, 1:13pm

Vikki, what's a fisheye adaptor do?

Bobzilla · 8th July 2009, 1:24pm

Fish eye lens do things like this although if you only use them a little its like using a extra wide angle lens.

bikuki · 8th July 2009, 1:25pm

It's a super-wide-angle lense you screw onto the end of a normal lense that makes photos look like this (nicked from google images cos I couldn't be arsed finding any of my own):

~LEE~ · 8th July 2009, 1:27pm

cool, cheers.

*Potatojunkie* · 9th July 2009, 1:51am

Quote:

Originally Posted by bikuki

Haven't a scooby what the shutter speed/ISO/aperture etc are.

On the Flickr page, click "more properties" and see what happens.

That square crop looks ace. The grainyness even works in its favour, though the colour noise is a bit distracting. Do you have NeatImage or similar? Even shooting RAW and getting aggressive with the noise reduction can work wonders.

2plus2isfive · 9th July 2009, 9:17pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by bikuki

I love the fact the shadows are almost blocked in this; great contrast between the beach and the sky.

My new favorite thing to take pictures of is market stalls

I'd quite like the chap in the first to be in focus...

Hasselblad 500CM, Zeiss Planar 80mm F/2.8 @ F/2.8, probably 1/50th sec, Fuji Pro 400H

Jesus On A Bike · 11th July 2009, 12:42pm

Mwezzi · 13th July 2009, 10:38pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2plus2isfive

I love the fact the shadows are almost blocked in this; great contrast between the beach and the sky.

My new favorite thing to take pictures of is market stalls

I'd quite like the chap in the first to be in focus...

Hasselblad 500CM, Zeiss Planar 80mm F/2.8 @ F/2.8, probably 1/50th sec, Fuji Pro 400H

In the first one, I'm not so sure about the big out-of-focus objects in the foreground. It's not as distracting in the second because it's part of the table and flows along into the point of focus, but the disconnected feel of the first bugs me somewhat.

bikuki · 14th July 2009, 12:11am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mwezzi

In the first one, I'm not so sure about the big out-of-focus objects in the foreground. It's not as distracting in the second because it's part of the table and flows along into the point of focus, but the disconnected feel of the first bugs me somewhat.

Yeh, I'd be tempted to agree for the same reason. I think I'd like it more if it were slightly cropped so less of the out of focus object was in view.

Bobzilla · 19th July 2009, 5:12pm

Click for bigger

Focal Length: 50mm
Aperture: f5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/100th
ISO: 400

Bumped up the exposure in Lightroom as well as playing with the curves a little, messing with a little lens correction, a little sharpening and finished it off by playing with the camera calibration.