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GAF Photography Q4 2015

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Alright. Then your goal is just to photography something that interests you. Photography is very personal and you can do whatever you want with it. Just giving my thoughts on your stuff and how I think you can continue to improve. I know personally my street shots improved a great deal (in my own opinion) once I started to have a goal for my shooting (though it constantly can change depending on what I find during that day) as well as thinking about composition as well.

If you are on your way to work and no time for thinking about what you are doing with regards to subject and composition then fine, just know that you can continue to improve a lot if you consider more than "I should take a picture of this."
Oh don't worry that much I do know. Usually if I have a planned session I'll usually find a location and just plan to be there for at least an hour and just experiment, though it's not summer anymore so I just do what I can at this moment in time. I really should grab a photography book for tips, but I'm in that "I'm cheap" phase currently. Though I will be honest I do not want to be in a random persons face for too long taking a picture. I usually do my best to be in and out before they even notice. Or at least to the point where I'm not being a disturbance.
 

vern

Member
Oh don't worry that much I do know. Usually if I have a planned session I'll usually find a location and just plan to be there for at least an hour and just experiment, though it's not summer anymore so I just do what I can at this moment in time. I really should grab a photography book for tips, but I'm in that "I'm cheap" phase currently. Though I will be honest I do not want to be in a random persons face for too long taking a picture. I usually do my best to be in and out before they even notice. Or at least to the point where I'm not being a disturbance.

Yeah it's cold as shit here in Beijing too.. haven't been taking photos much. Yesterday was -18 with wind chill. Fingers freeze. Maybe explore different types of photography during the winter? Get inside with model or two :D
 
Yeah it's cold as shit here in Beijing too.. haven't been taking photos much. Yesterday was -18 with wind chill. Fingers freeze. Maybe explore different types of photography during the winter? Get inside with model or two :D
Would love to, but I never invested in lighting equipment nor do I know any models. I want to learn how to do portrait work, but I don't think I have any good portrait lenses.
 

vern

Member
Would love to, but I never invested in lighting equipment nor do I know any models. I want to learn how to do portrait work, but I don't think I have any good portrait lenses.

Got friends? Girlfriend? Natural light in your apartment? Tripod... Do self portraits? It's fun to try new things. It'll help with your street stuff too because you'll be forced to think differently when you do other stuff, and maybe can apply it back to the street.
 

pringles

Member
That's dreamy, pringles. Very well done.
Thanks!
How did you achieve that? I'd love to get a shot like that but not sure how to go about setting everything up, Long exposure shots with light like that will usually end up looking close to daytime lighting.
Exif: f/20.0, 30s, ISO640. Stopped down to get that starburst-effect on the moon in that shot. Then I kinda controlled the detail in the shadows by adjusting ISO. I guess that maybe you're shooting wide open ?
 

snaffles

Member
Some photos from the last couple of months. Have just been shooting in jpeg and not bothering with post processing. Makes life a lot simpler. I'm sure I'll get the itch to shoot raw and go mess around in photoshop again soon enough though.




 

3phemeral

Member
Thanks!

Exif: f/20.0, 30s, ISO640. Stopped down to get that starburst-effect on the moon in that shot. Then I kinda controlled the detail in the shadows by adjusting ISO. I guess that maybe you're shooting wide open ?

Hmm... My camera is capable of those settings though I'm not sure what you mean when you say "stopped down." Not sure how much difference it makes but I have a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX30V. No special lens attachments, just the default, built-in one.
 

Number45

Member
Hmm... My camera is capable of those settings though I'm not sure what you mean when you say "stopped down." Not sure how much difference it makes but I have a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX30V. No special lens attachments, just the default, built-in one.
He means that he reduced the aperture size (larger f/ number, f/20 in this case) to get the depth of field and the starburst effect.
 

3phemeral

Member
He means that he reduced the aperture size (larger f/ number, f/20 in this case) to get the depth of field and the starburst effect.

Ah, gotchya. Thank you :) Hopefully this winter I'll be able to go out and try out a few moonlit snow shots.

Does anyone have any tips for below freezing temperatures? Last year I went out in -10 F weather and my battery lasted about 30 minutes on a full charge. I was thinking about using those heating packs you use for your gloves and just rubber-banding them to the camera but I'm not sure if there are better solutions.
 

Lender

Member
I have a problem with Flickr (and windows viewer) I now work in glorious 4K on my monitor, and my pictures look tack sharp when looking at them in photoshop. I mean seriously, you could yourself when watching it. Problem 1 though: When I save them to my pc, the only way I can see them as sharp in windows viewer as in photoshop is to reduce the size of texts, apps, and other items to 100% instead of the default 150 in the display settings. The downside of dropping it down to 100% is that everything becomes so damn small.

Same thing with flickr, but here dialing down size doesn't even work. While my pictures are tack sharp in Photoshop, they lose an incredible amount of detail now. I always thought Flickr added some sharpness when uploading (this might be a personal observation), but now it's just bad. Anyone knows how I can fix this?
 
Got friends? Girlfriend? Natural light in your apartment? Tripod... Do self portraits? It's fun to try new things. It'll help with your street stuff too because you'll be forced to think differently when you do other stuff, and maybe can apply it back to the street.
I really do need a tripod. My girlfriend wants me to do portraits of her actually. Granted these would be done outdoors.
 

JORMBO

Darkness no more
Would love to, but I never invested in lighting equipment nor do I know any models. I want to learn how to do portrait work, but I don't think I have any good portrait lenses.

I got started with model photography using a beat up old rebel and kit lens. There's a lot you can do with good natural light. Even a single strobe isn't too expensive if you want to get started with artifical light, and there's a lot you can do with one light. Don't let equipment hold you back. As you get more experience you can buy better stuff and grow into it.

Windows can produce really nice light
p655406803-4.jpg


And so can a cheap strobe and piece of cardboard for fill
p982657410-3.jpg
 

JORMBO

Darkness no more
I really need to see if there's a book that discusses lighting. I know the basics, but it's essentially just basics.

Scott Kelby has some good intro books on studio lighting (look for "Light it, Shoot It, Retouch It"). He also has a large website filled with video tutorials from various photographers (http://kelbyone.com/). When starting out I just subscribed for a month, watched tons of videos then canceled. They have a lot of content for studio and natural light.

And there is also a ton of information on Youtube or Google you can find for free.
 
Scott Kelby has some good intro books on studio lighting (look for "Light it, Shoot It, Retouch It"). He also has a large website filled with video tutorials from various photographers (http://kelbyone.com/). When starting out I just subscribed for a month, watched tons of videos then canceled. They have a lot of content for studio and natural light.

And there is also a ton of information on Youtube or Google you can find for free.
Thanks, I should check some stuff out then. Why can't I find that book used for $10?
 

Koriandrr

Member
Ooohhh boy, my partner just ordered an Olympus M.ZUIKO 40-150mm 1:2.8 PRO Lens. I am so going to steal that for shoots. Soooo sexxyyy and sharp. D:

EDIT:
JadedWriter - there's these small portable studios for around £20-30 that you can use to get the hang of lighting. I got one of these to take photos of my figures and I've learned so much about lighting, just from using it on a smaller scale. Same rules apply, just different tools :)
 

vern

Member
@ JadedWriter

That third photo... dude has some huge hands/knuckles lol.

All photos are subject in center of frame, mix it up a bit yeah? Rule of thirds? Framing? Again, different angles or viewpoints? Leading lines?

I love street photography so I'm always commenting on your stuff...I want it to get better. Hope you don't mind.
 
@ JadedWriter

That third photo... dude has some huge hands/knuckles lol.

All photos are subject in center of frame, mix it up a bit yeah? Rule of thirds? Framing? Again, different angles or viewpoints? Leading lines?

I love street photography so I'm always commenting on your stuff...I want it to get better. Hope you don't mind.
I really do need to learn how to get my subject either further to the left or right. I don't know why it's always at the center. I think I'm nervous about the subject not being in focus. Regarding angles. Only so much I can do underneath an umbrella. I'm thinking about going back tomorrow and seeing if I can get some other shots from a better angle, granted the place is a bit crowded and there's only so much I can do with a fixed focal length. Then again now that I think about it I should take an extra fucking second to work on my framing instead of blaming my lens.
 

vern

Member
I really do need to learn how to get my subject either further to the left or right. I don't know why it's always at the center. I think I'm nervous about the subject not being in focus. Regarding angles. Only so much I can do underneath an umbrella. I'm thinking about going back tomorrow and seeing if I can get some other shots from a better angle, granted the place is a bit crowded and there's only so much I can do with a fixed focal length. Then again now that I think about it I should take an extra fucking second to work on my framing instead of blaming my lens.

Yeah man don't make excuses, make something visually interesting. Anyone can point a camera and click.
 
Yeah man don't make excuses, make something visually interesting. Anyone can point a camera and click.
I really need to get a book cause I'm not taking an expensive ass class. I've gotten better I know that much, but there's still so much to learn.
 
I really need to get a book cause I'm not taking an expensive ass class. I've gotten better I know that much, but there's still so much to learn.

All you have to do is shoot more and more. A lot of times, I have a specific shot in mind that I want to take when I go out, and I search for that subject in real life to photograph. Street photography is a lot harder in this regard, but just take your time. Think about what really is drawing your attention to a subject.

When I'm taking pictures, a lot of time I am more concerned with the overall geometry of the composition that the specific subject. Lines move eyes around a scene naturally, and lines are formed by all types of things.

Go watch movies and find the specific shots you find appealing and try to dissect and figure out why you like them so much. There are many cheap, and fun ways to learn.
 
All you have to do is shoot more and more. A lot of times, I have a specific shot in mind that I want to take when I go out, and I search for that subject in real life to photograph. Street photography is a lot harder in this regard, but just take your time. Think about what really is drawing your attention to a subject.

When I'm taking pictures, a lot of time I am more concerned with the overall geometry of the composition that the specific subject. Lines move eyes around a scene naturally, and lines are formed by all types of things.

Go watch movies and find the specific shots you find appealing and try to dissect and figure out why you like them so much. There are many cheap, and fun ways to learn.
I shoot about once or twice a week if I can, but I think what I need to learn is the patience of framing my shots now. Granted half of my concern is a sort of about losing the moment I'm trying to capture though.
 

Koriandrr

Member
I shoot about once or twice a week if I can, but I think what I need to learn is the patience of framing my shots now. Granted half of my concern is a sort of about losing the moment I'm trying to capture though.

I'm no pro, but I do consider myself an overall artist. It sounds to me like you're overthinking things. Just don't think about it, do it. I personally don't even think about how often I shoot, what I shoot. I see something - I take a picture. I have a vision for something specifically, I plan it and do it. I take a walk, it turns into a photoshoot. You know, live it, breathe it kind of thing. Let the moment lead you to the image.
 
I'm no pro, but I do consider myself an overall artist. It sounds to me like you're overthinking things. Just don't think about it, do it. I personally don't even think about how often I shoot, what I shoot. I see something - I take a picture. I have a vision for something specifically, I plan it and do it. I take a walk, it turns into a photoshoot. You know, live it, breathe it kind of thing. Let the moment lead you to the image.
I get and do half of what you're talking about actually. I see something interesting I take a picture. I guess I'm just trying to figure out how to make artistic
to at least impress Vern I guess lol.
 
BTW Jaded, I've been seeing more of your photos showing up on Flickr, and I gotta say there's a pretty big improvement just since you got Lightroom.
 
BTW Jaded, I've been seeing more of your photos showing up on Flickr, and I gotta say there's a pretty big improvement just since you got Lightroom.
Thank you, Lightroom actually has been a big help. I know they'd still be decent looking untouched, but Lightroom really helps make them pop that much extra. A vast improvement over the free shit I was using.
 

vern

Member
I get and do half of what you're talking about actually. I see something interesting I take a picture. I guess I'm just trying to figure out how to make artistic
to at least impress Vern I guess lol.

You don't need to impress me. Do it for yourself. I told you I think your stuff has improved also. Just I want you to improve more so next time you don't post 3 images that are essentially the same again. :p
 
I know, just fucking with you. Just inherited a tripod my dad wasn't using so eventually I gotta put that to work. Oddly enough I had different looking stuff but opted not to post it. Some times I just have no idea what to share on here.
DSC_5279 by Marcus Beasley, on Flickr
DSC_5350 by Marcus Beasley, on Flickr
I also thought these were interesting and just kept them private.
 

vern

Member
I'm gonna quote myself because I can't access flickr recently (lol China) so I can't upload any new photos I've taken, and because I was bottom of the page'd a few pages back. But @Jaded Writer, feel free to rip my photos apart.

I'll give some commentary as well about what I like regarding these photos.

This one I was just walking by and saw this old lady playing mahjong through the window. It was kind of your style, see something interesting and quickly point and shoot. I got lucky she looked up at me. She's center of the frame but sometimes that works, plus you get the reflections and textures and depth and I just personally think this photo works really well.

Suzhou, Jiangsu, China by Eric, on Flickr

This one I just saw a dude chill as fuck smoking a ciggy... waited for him to take a drag and shot. Utilized rule of thirds, has some nice lines and textures. It's not amazing or anything but I think it works for what I'm trying to do.

Suzhou, Jiangsu, China by Eric, on Flickr

This one is what I'm talking about with regards to angles and perspectives. I like it, but maybe lots of people don't. Didn't get much in the way of likes on Instagram so maybe it's just me.

Suzhou, Jiangsu, China by Eric, on Flickr

Another photo with subject in center of frame. I think the lines along the wall lead your eyes to the subject. Then the kid's eyes kind of lead away back and up to the left to see what he's looking at. Plus the dad looks like Chinese version of Guy Pierce (I think that's his name... Memento dude).

Suzhou, Jiangsu, China by Eric, on Flickr

Leading lines, smog/fog, rule of thirds. Nothing super special just a nice scene.

Suzhou, Jiangsu, China by Eric, on Flickr

This one I actually kind of prefer in Black and White after going back and looking again, but here it is in color. I know in America you can't really barge in on a group and get photos without worrying about getting shot/stabbed, but luckily in China I can walk right up and shove my camera in there and it's pretty normal. They are playing a claw type game trying to win cigarettes. I used the crowd to frame the shot. Everyone is focused on the game, so I did too.

Suzhou, Jiangsu, China by Eric, on Flickr

Just a girl and a phone. Again nothing super special, but try to compose the shot to make it visually compelling using some basic photography composition rules.

Suzhou, Jiangsu, China by Eric, on Flickr


Again, feel free to comment and critique. I'd love to know your thoughts considering I always give you mine. Anyone else jump in too, with regards to composition, post-processing, whatever. I always like to get feedback. It's the best way to learn besides just shooting more.
 
Your pictures just make me wish I had a really good wide angle lens. My favorite one is with the dad holding his son. Your stuff is actually showing me that I can actually take a picture of someone through a window, I usually just leave that person alone, but I should give that a try one day. You do pay attention to a lot of stuff regarding composition, which is the one thing I don't pay that much attention to, which I can honestly say is my problem. I think sometimes I'll experiment with it if I can, other times, not so much. Really depends on the time allotted to me. Also looking at what you have I probably don't use enough stuff cause I'm being too picky probably. You actually have some nice long exposure cityscape shots which translates to shot on a tripod. Man now that I think about it I probably don't even share my most interesting ones cause I just assume they're boring.
I think I was actually experimenting with composition in this shot:
DSC_5047 by Marcus Beasley, on Flickr
I mean yeah the kid is still center frame bu the railing helps to draw the eye and fill the frame and there's also a curve to the left that also give the picture some activity.
 

Shiggie

Member
Some photos from the last couple of months. Have just been shooting in jpeg and not bothering with post processing. Makes life a lot simpler. I'm sure I'll get the itch to shoot raw and go mess around in photoshop again soon enough though.





I this Colorado by any chance?
 

vern

Member
snip
I think I was actually experimenting with composition in this shot:

I mean yeah the kid is still center frame bu the railing helps to draw the eye and fill the frame and there's also a curve to the left that also give the picture some activity.

Thanks for the feedback, hope that just seeing some other stuff gets you thinking more, whether it's mine or some other better photographers work, I'm just an amateur too.

Regarding my wide-angle lens, or your fixed-focal length lens or whatever... these are just tools, of course they all come with their own unique drawbacks and advantages, but don't think about the limitations of your gear. If you can't zoom then use your feet and get close, or do the opposite and retreat far away and compose the scene. Of course with street shots it's tough, you can't ask people to wait or go back and cross the street again or whatever, but know your gear and what you want to shoot and then put yourself in a position to succeed.

I know you mostly shoot on your way to and from work, so maybe you can't really go somewhere interesting, compose the scene, then stand around and wait for a cool person to wander past, but maybe you can find time to leave 15 minutes earlier each day and spend more time soaking things, thinking about what you wanna do with the image, and simply waiting. Don't run and gun, it's not an action movie.

With the photo you just posted. I like that it's at a lower angle so you aren't shooting down at him. I like his shirt, he looks like a pretty cool little character. Honestly, I'd probably crop it down a bit. Maybe try it vertically? But overall, already I prefer this shot to anything you posted recently besides the girl putting on her hat.
 
Thanks for the feedback, hope that just seeing some other stuff gets you thinking more, whether it's mine or some other better photographers work, I'm just an amateur too.

Regarding my wide-angle lens, or your fixed-focal length lens or whatever... these are just tools, of course they all come with their own unique drawbacks and advantages, but don't think about the limitations of your gear. If you can't zoom then use your feet and get close, or do the opposite and retreat far away and compose the scene. Of course with street shots it's tough, you can't ask people to wait or go back and cross the street again or whatever, but know your gear and what you want to shoot and then put yourself in a position to succeed.

I know you mostly shoot on your way to and from work, so maybe you can't really go somewhere interesting, compose the scene, then stand around and wait for a cool person to wander past, but maybe you can find time to leave 15 minutes earlier each day and spend more time soaking things, thinking about what you wanna do with the image, and simply waiting. Don't run and gun, it's not an action movie.

With the photo you just posted. I like that it's at a lower angle so you aren't shooting down at him. I like his shirt, he looks like a pretty cool little character. Honestly, I'd probably crop it down a bit. Maybe try it vertically? But overall, already I prefer this shot to anything you posted recently besides the girl putting on her hat.
There have been plenty of times actually where I usually plan something out after work. Those are usually my more experimental days like with the shot I posted. If I'm just heading to to work or the train station or walking around with my girlfriend those really are my "just take the fucking shot" days, which are the majority currently. It being cold and wet now kind of keeps me from just being at a spot for too long. Minus that time I took the ice skating pictures. It being raining just meant I was ducking underneath my umbrella, so I really couldn't do much. I know I learned a good amount from our first switch your angles conversation so I try to incorporate that when I can.
 

snaffles

Member
There have been plenty of times actually where I usually plan something out after work. Those are usually my more experimental days like with the shot I posted. If I'm just heading to to work or the train station or walking around with my girlfriend those really are my "just take the fucking shot" days, which are the majority currently. It being cold and wet now kind of keeps me from just being at a spot for too long. Minus that time I took the ice skating pictures. It being raining just meant I was ducking underneath my umbrella, so I really couldn't do much. I know I learned a good amount from our first switch your angles conversation so I try to incorporate that when I can.

If you aren't enjoying taking the photos you probably aren't going to get much out of them. This morning when i was out walking I saw this beetle on the ground so without really thinking about it I took a photo of it.
Now it is okay, but pretty boring really, so I got down on the ground(probably looking like a total maniac to people on their way to work walking and driving by me) and took this photo.
Which I think is much more interesting. If you are just "taking the fucking shot" as you put it, I would have just settled on the first one and kept going. I realise it is a bit different with street photography because if you get on the ground and start shooting low angle shots of people you might end up with a black eye or worse. But the point is you have to think about your shot and what you want from it.
In this instance I just saw these girls walking by in these weird shoes, if not for the girl happening to look back it would have just looked pervy and I wouldn't have bothered taking a photo(that is my story and I am sticking to it).
 

TheTurboFD

Member
I don't take many photos but I think these came out pretty good any C&C would be good. This is for my photography class and the subject we were taking photos of was humans in conflict with nature.

22737834938_4ae0c0a8f5_b.jpg


23142239102_bc85d1d47d_b.jpg
 
If you aren't enjoying taking the photos you probably aren't going to get much out of them. This morning when i was out walking I saw this beetle on the ground so without really thinking about it I took a photo of it.

Now it is okay, but pretty boring really, so I got down on the ground(probably looking like a total maniac to people on their way to work walking and driving by me) and took this photo.

Which I think is much more interesting. If you are just "taking the fucking shot" as you put it, I would have just settled on the first one and kept going. I realise it is a bit different with street photography because if you get on the ground and start shooting low angle shots of people you might end up with a black eye or worse. But the point is you have to think about your shot and what you want from it.
In this instance I just saw these girls walking by in these weird shoes, if not for the girl happening to look back it would have just looked pervy and I wouldn't have bothered taking a photo(that is my story and I am sticking to it).
At the very least my "just take the fucking shot" pics are a lot better than my first couple of hundred shots, where when I look at them now I'm like "what the fuck was I shooting?" On another note took some more pics tonight and almost froze my fucking fingers off, but I think I got some decent art shots...I hope.
DSC_5573 by Marcus Beasley, on Flickr
DSC_5507 by Marcus Beasley, on Flickr
DSC_5465 by Marcus Beasley, on Flickr
DSC_5607 by Marcus Beasley, on Flickr
DSC_5439 by Marcus Beasley, on Flickr
More here:
 

vern

Member
@Jaded Writer - awhile back you posted a photo and it had a long shadow. To me that was the most interesting thing in the set of images you posted that day. Most days here in Beijing are smoggy and gray so we don't get a lot of interesting shadows and light, but the other day I woke up and it was crystal clear, so I took my point & shoot camera (too lazy and cold for my DSLR) out and just took a few photos on the walk to work, similar to what you like to do on your walks to the office. Probably nothing particularly special about this set of pictures, but again its just food for thought on ways to change up your standard street photos and maybe find some more interesting details or ways to compose the pictures.

Shadows and Breakfast by Eric, on Flickr

Shadows and Breakfast by Eric, on Flickr

Shadows and Breakfast by Eric, on Flickr

Shadows and Breakfast by Eric, on Flickr


Shadows and Breakfast by Eric, on Flickr



The rest are just photos from the past few weeks when I managed to find time and energy to go out and shoot.

Beijing by Eric, on Flickr

Beijing by Eric, on Flickr

Beijing by
Eric, on Flickr

Beijing by Eric, on Flickr

Beijing by Eric, on Flickr
 
Those are actually pretty good. The ones I like the most are the one with the woman under an overpass thing, it creates two good long shadows that give shape the picture. I like the two people kissing as well cause the railing and tree help to frame the picture and all the snow picks, especially the close up of the person shoveling. Man that camera handles ISO way better than mine.
This might be an interesting shot to you, has some decent lines going on I would think:
DSC_5408 by Marcus Beasley, on Flickr
This too actually, lines all over:
DSC_5406 by Marcus Beasley, on Flickr
 

pringles

Member
Came really close to running into a moose with my car last night as I was driving out to shoot some northern lights. It was running right across the road in the darkness, I managed to swerve out of the way somehow. Heart was still racing as I shot this:

 
Came really close to running into a moose with my car last night as I was driving out to shoot some northern lights. It was running right across the road in the darkness, I managed to swerve out of the way somehow. Heart was still racing as I shot this:

Sometimes the best pictures have the most interesting stories behind them.
 
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