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Photography
- Thread starter Idle Will Kill
- Start date
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Now for something a little more serious (the last pic I posted was just me and some friends having too much fun at night).
My camera right now is a 300D and so far I only have the Kit lens. It still takes great pictures, but it has limitations (zoom, speed...the wide angle is great for the price though)
I took a 12-day cruise to Europe about a month ago and took somewhere around 700-800 pictures. I dread having to post-process the ones I like, but maybe i'll do a few and post them here.
These 2 were shot with my old 3mp Nikon Coolpix.
My camera right now is a 300D and so far I only have the Kit lens. It still takes great pictures, but it has limitations (zoom, speed...the wide angle is great for the price though)
I took a 12-day cruise to Europe about a month ago and took somewhere around 700-800 pictures. I dread having to post-process the ones I like, but maybe i'll do a few and post them here.
These 2 were shot with my old 3mp Nikon Coolpix.
Error Macro
Member
Interesting looking fungus growing in someone's lawn:
Error Macro
Member
Wow, I didn't realize what a difference could be made to a photo just by tweaking some color balance settings...
Comparing that to the earlier version I posted, which is a straight dump from the memory card, just resized.
Comparing that to the earlier version I posted, which is a straight dump from the memory card, just resized.
here are some others i took over the past few months. error macro, if you could PM me your email address, i could send you the other photo., its too big to upload on photobucket, even by resizing to 1024x768 its a bit over their limit.
i dont post-process aside from cropping, or sharpen if the picture comes out too blurry. none of these pictures are tocuhed though, aside from re-sizing, but re-sizing takes out a lot of the detail, the vibrancy of the flowers for instance.
i dont post-process aside from cropping, or sharpen if the picture comes out too blurry. none of these pictures are tocuhed though, aside from re-sizing, but re-sizing takes out a lot of the detail, the vibrancy of the flowers for instance.
BugCatcher
Member
Error Macro said:
Yeah, post processing makes a world of difference, and there is a lot you can do with it depending on your goals. I never put in the effort before, but the effect can be pretty dramatic, so I am trying to use it more. I hope you don't mind, but I used your fungus picture as an example of the difference a few minutes of work can create. Take a look:
I adjusted the color balance, increased saturation, increased contrast, decreased lighting, applied an unsharpening mask, resized it, softened the bottom of the photo slightly, and added a border. If your aim is to reproduce color as accurately as possible, this is going overboard, but I think the result looks nice
Error Macro
Member
Holy cow! Dang, yeah, that is a huge difference! What program did you use? Photoshop? The softening of the bottom is very interesting; helping to make the focus look tighter towards to middle of the picture. That is some great work. That looks very nice, BugCatcher! Thank you for taking the time to make that example.
kitchenmotors
Banned
This one is a little flawed, as I only used about 33% of the original photo, but I like the effect.
Marty Chinn
Member
Wow, some good stuff in this thread. A few months ago I got a Sony DSC-V1, but I really haven't taken advantage of it yet. It's sorta overwhelming how much control you have with it. Given that, I'm still learning how to take pictures with it. I just such with it so far, so I have nothing to show for it. However since I want to contribute, here's something I took earlier this year on my older camera. I've shown this before, but I still like the shot:
DaCocoBrova
Finally bought a new PSP, but then pushed the demon onto someone else. Jesus.
Woah.
Clip Undies' GF's and Olimario's work is fucking fantastic! I assume they've been color corrected and what not, but man, the composition is great. Good work. Very inspiring.
Clip - What kind of camera does your GF use?
Clip Undies' GF's and Olimario's work is fucking fantastic! I assume they've been color corrected and what not, but man, the composition is great. Good work. Very inspiring.
Clip - What kind of camera does your GF use?
BugCatcher
Member
I did that in Paint Shop Pro, actually. I've got Photoshop too, but I've had more experience with PSP so it's easier for me to use. Someday I will teach myself how to use Photoshop properlyError Macro said:
It sounds like you've got some kind of color management on. Photoshop and PSP allow you to tweak your monitor to get the colors as close to real life as possible. It's helpful if you are doing professional work (especially if you are printing), because color tends to vary slightly from monitor to monitor. I'm not sure where the option is in Photoshop, but you should be able to either disable it or adjust the colors to be more accurate than they are now.Desperado said:
Very nice! I love the pool ball picture. I'd like to see more of your work!XMonkey said:
Sony cameras use carl zeiss lenses. They are quite nice.
Your photography isnt rubbish oli, but i dont personally think youre doing all what you could do. macro flowers and all that have been done a billion times over and really take no effort to do (although i have seen a few creative macro flower pictures) Theres nothing wrong with the way theimages look. It's just that they are all textbook examples of what newbie proffessional type photographers do.
Just concentrate less on getting a "new way to present something ordinary through use of camera angle" start thinking of ways to present things through your eyes and through what you know about life. Photography is more about what your mind sees than what your eye or the camera sees. So when youre out there shooting start thinking of images you want to shoot, instead of just looking at something and saying "okay that might be interesting" go in there thinking "okay i am gonna get a tree that is all by itself and im gonna frame it this way". When i shot my little sisters graduation i didnt intend on going there to take pictures for my parents, i went there with some goals and some images in mind. Now, that doesnt mean if you think of somehting while your there you shouldnt shoot it, cause you should. The point is that you start thinking more about composition in relation to content. instead of just on composition with content being the after thought.
Your photography isnt rubbish oli, but i dont personally think youre doing all what you could do. macro flowers and all that have been done a billion times over and really take no effort to do (although i have seen a few creative macro flower pictures) Theres nothing wrong with the way theimages look. It's just that they are all textbook examples of what newbie proffessional type photographers do.
Just concentrate less on getting a "new way to present something ordinary through use of camera angle" start thinking of ways to present things through your eyes and through what you know about life. Photography is more about what your mind sees than what your eye or the camera sees. So when youre out there shooting start thinking of images you want to shoot, instead of just looking at something and saying "okay that might be interesting" go in there thinking "okay i am gonna get a tree that is all by itself and im gonna frame it this way". When i shot my little sisters graduation i didnt intend on going there to take pictures for my parents, i went there with some goals and some images in mind. Now, that doesnt mean if you think of somehting while your there you shouldnt shoot it, cause you should. The point is that you start thinking more about composition in relation to content. instead of just on composition with content being the after thought.
clipunderground
Member
DaCocoBrova said:
DaCoco - Thanks for the compliments man. I think she's an incredible photographer/ digital artist, so I try to post her work every chance I get. I'll have to pass on your compliments. I'm sure she'll appreciate them.
As for the camera she uses, some were taken with her old camera which I totally forgot what it was..nothing overly special though(i'll find out and edit the post later). However, the camera she uses now is a Nikon D70, which is absolutely amazing. Anything she photographs with it, looks stunning. For example, she snapped a shot of a fucking goat the other day. A GOAT! Somehow it's the coolest goat pic I've ever seen. lol... I'm gonna find and post it. You gotta see this shit. hehe. She does edit a lot of her pics in photshop btw, things like color correction and various artsy stuff... but damn I love her work...
Oli, DaCoco is right, great pics dude. Love your work.
DaCocoBrova
Finally bought a new PSP, but then pushed the demon onto someone else. Jesus.
^^
The Nikon D series of digital SLRs are the cat's meow. With her skills, I can only imagine...
Very well said. Photography is a thinking man's (or woman's) hobby.
The Nikon D series of digital SLRs are the cat's meow. With her skills, I can only imagine...
Very well said. Photography is a thinking man's (or woman's) hobby.
sp0rsk said:
Thanks for the tips. I will say a lot of what I do is very cliche, textbook stuff... but I do try to capture some things the way I see them.
That first picture at night with the lights was how I saw my fair city that night. The road was bumpy and the lights seemed really bright in the distance, so I tried to capture all of that.
The tree is in my sister's backyard in St. Louis. I was sitting under it talking to my brother and looked up and saw how beautiful it was, so I tried to capture it the way I saw it.
The problem with photography is that you cant always explain your pictures. I'm still looking for my style and a lot of what I'm doing now is practicing basics and getting a feel for the camera and how it captures. Thanks for the advice and the support.
olimario said:
This is not true, and thats mostly the problem. When i say think of content i mean "know what you are shooting" When you see that image you can explain it to anyone and everyone. That is the ultimate goal of a photographer trying to find his niche. Talking about your own work is *hard* but thinking more about concept is a good start.
sp0rsk said:
Can you explain more about the 'know what you are shooting' idea? And explain a bit about 'thinking more about concept'.
From these I get the idea that I should sit down and think about every shot at length before shooting it and that I should do my best to control what it is I'm shooting.
If that is what you're saying (and im not saying it is), then I dont think thats my goal in photography. My goal is to be an observer and capture life through my eyes without effecting it. In people photography I dont tell them where to stand, how to pose, or when to smile... I try to capture them as they are. Same goes with nature photography. I don't hold a flower still on a windy day to capture it, I do my best to capture it as if I was never there.
But yes, please explain a bit more of what you were talking about.
DaCocoBrova
Finally bought a new PSP, but then pushed the demon onto someone else. Jesus.
One thing about going digital...
Why do indoor, low light shots look so damn grainy?
This thread has very few indoor shots, and the ones that are posted have a lot of ambiant light, so they look decent.
I try to take my shots at a low ISO to avoid noise, but you need a sh!tload of light to compensate. It's hard for me to consistantly get that 'sweet spot'. I'd rather use natural lighting than have to bring a bunch of lamps and accesories.
Why do indoor, low light shots look so damn grainy?
This thread has very few indoor shots, and the ones that are posted have a lot of ambiant light, so they look decent.
I try to take my shots at a low ISO to avoid noise, but you need a sh!tload of light to compensate. It's hard for me to consistantly get that 'sweet spot'. I'd rather use natural lighting than have to bring a bunch of lamps and accesories.
olimario said:
Yes, you need to plan your photos. I didnt pose or do anything to the people at my sisters graduation it was just exactly how it was. The only difference is that i was looking for certain things, key themes that would shape the content of the picture i want to take. You cant just wander aimlessly. Your good photos shouldnt just be your "i got lucky" photos.
You say you capture life through your eyes, but i dont see that at all in your images. I see someone who is looking for something but cant find it. I dont see any of your conviction or any olimario in those pictures at all. When you say "this is how i see it" thats not true at all, because if i were to sit there, under that tree, and look up i would see it exactly the same way. I'm not seeing the tree through olimarios eyes im just seeing a tree from the viewpoint of someone sitting underneath it. Even great landscape photographers manage to find a way, through iconography or whatever, to put themselves in the image. Think about it this way. When you take a picture of a can as is, sitting on my desk next to my monitor, why should you take that picture? This goes along with what you say your photography is about, so why would you or wouldnt you shoot it? You could say "what is interesting about a can?" and if you say nothing you would be wrong. Perhaps the way it is sitting on my desk is not interesting, but the object itself can be more interesting if you think it through. life as it happens gives you chances to take great photos, but you cant take those photos until you understand that an image without a soul is a dead image.
If this is confusing let me be more clear.
The photos you take as they are have no olimario in it. Put olimario into your pictures and you will make better pictures.
also, you cant tell me you just take pictures of things as they are, youre using a fish eye lens!
i have to throw my laundry in the wash ill bb in a few minutes to write the rest.
-Fish eye aids in how I see things. Gives a more complete view. With the normal lens I couldnt see all of the dinosaur like I could with my own 2 eyes.
-I see what you mean by putting more of me into my pictures. I'm still working to find my own distinct style and eventually I'll work to overemphasize that style.
-I don't rely on 'get lucky' tactics. I do have a vision going into a situation and I try to capture that, but like I said, I refuse to effect my environment.
Hopefully a little more of myself will show in my future pictures. Hopefully.
Feel free to spill your guts on this even more, sp0rks. I'm very interested in what you have to say.
-I see what you mean by putting more of me into my pictures. I'm still working to find my own distinct style and eventually I'll work to overemphasize that style.
-I don't rely on 'get lucky' tactics. I do have a vision going into a situation and I try to capture that, but like I said, I refuse to effect my environment.
Hopefully a little more of myself will show in my future pictures. Hopefully.
Feel free to spill your guts on this even more, sp0rks. I'm very interested in what you have to say.
The brick and park bench is awesome. I would love to have that blown up to about six feet in my living room. The room is super bright and colorful it would be a perfect contrast
Two pet peeves:
Pictures of cats being lazy couch potatoes.
Pictures of powerlines or dishes or with power lines or dishes in them. Unless it exactly the point. I've seen a couple of interesting shots of old european cities were powerlines show interesting contrast but other then that they drive me nuts.
Two pet peeves:
Pictures of cats being lazy couch potatoes.
Pictures of powerlines or dishes or with power lines or dishes in them. Unless it exactly the point. I've seen a couple of interesting shots of old european cities were powerlines show interesting contrast but other then that they drive me nuts.
My Friend Emily's photos
http://www.livejournal.com/users/beforeyoufall/
misc
pictures for the CD booklet to Gatsby's American Dream's new CD, 'The Land of Lost Monsters'.
picture of a burned down house.
her new house
new swimming pool
eric and his soundboard
at a wedding
shopping
passing car. it was a blue night, no white balance adjusting here
after concert
funeral
Game Boy!
KEYS!
new hair color
http://www.livejournal.com/users/beforeyoufall/
misc
pictures for the CD booklet to Gatsby's American Dream's new CD, 'The Land of Lost Monsters'.
picture of a burned down house.
her new house
new swimming pool
eric and his soundboard
at a wedding
shopping
passing car. it was a blue night, no white balance adjusting here
after concert
funeral
Game Boy!
KEYS!
new hair color
okay anyway.
Look at your pictures, look at number 7 specifically.
Now, theres nothing really special about the framing of this image, in fact its rather cheesy.
HOWEVERRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!
It is still a hundred times more interesting than any of the other images you posted. Why is that you ask? Because i see things like "family" "christianity" "gods greatness" in this image. I see things you believe in in this image. The sun the sillouhette the scale of the landscape is something that relates to the grandness of nature or in your case god. The people holding hands is family (this the obvious thing and most likely what you saw) and you tie them together you have what seems to me is an image that is very innocent and somewhat "christian" in nature. These are all things you believe in! imagine that! In order to start seeing things like this clearly its probably a good idea to study photographers\painters that do landscapes, youll be suprised how religious landscapes are (hello thomas kincaide) even dating back to the early days of america.
When you know more about every object in the image (going back to the whole can thing) and what they mean in the context of your image, the more successfull images you will take.
Sorry im a little scatterbrain at the moment, i hope you got what i was trying to say.
Look at your pictures, look at number 7 specifically.
Now, theres nothing really special about the framing of this image, in fact its rather cheesy.
HOWEVERRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!
It is still a hundred times more interesting than any of the other images you posted. Why is that you ask? Because i see things like "family" "christianity" "gods greatness" in this image. I see things you believe in in this image. The sun the sillouhette the scale of the landscape is something that relates to the grandness of nature or in your case god. The people holding hands is family (this the obvious thing and most likely what you saw) and you tie them together you have what seems to me is an image that is very innocent and somewhat "christian" in nature. These are all things you believe in! imagine that! In order to start seeing things like this clearly its probably a good idea to study photographers\painters that do landscapes, youll be suprised how religious landscapes are (hello thomas kincaide) even dating back to the early days of america.
When you know more about every object in the image (going back to the whole can thing) and what they mean in the context of your image, the more successfull images you will take.
Sorry im a little scatterbrain at the moment, i hope you got what i was trying to say.
Wedding is good but it would be great if focus was on the women in the back keeping one eye on the child. Changes the whole picture from being a baby picture to being a whole Mother Women grow up thing.
The Gameboy one is a great picture. The open door and light is another great Mothering shot.
The Gameboy one is a great picture. The open door and light is another great Mothering shot.
clipunderground
Member
DaCoco- here's the goat pic I was telling you about:
and another I thought was pretty cool too:
and another I thought was pretty cool too:
DaCocoBrova said:
for grain, it depends on the camera and ISO, i had some 2 MP fuji give me a lot of grain in low light, its just a bad camera, on the other hand my old sony mavica 1.2 mp took good shots indoors, and the G5 is fantastic.
most of my indoor shots are taken w/o the flash, i dont like using flash and usually love the natural tones. if you want clear, sharp pictures and are taking just regular, fast pictures...turn on the room lights, slow down the shutter speed a bit and take a few test shots.
but if you want mood and ambiance, you gotta take more time with each shot, first finding the desired exposure, perhaps using a tripod etc.
im actually trying to get better myslef at taking low light pictures, w/o flash.
here are some of my indoor pictures.
father:
family:
little girl:
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