Any photographers in the house?

I did a quick photoshoot of my desktop audio equipment today. Some of them turned out pretty good. I wish I had a tripod as the lighting wasn't great. I cross posted this in the headphone thread.

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tuffalobuffalo wrote:

I did a quick photoshoot of my desktop audio equipment today. Some of them turned out pretty good. I wish I had a tripod as the lighting wasn't great. I cross posted this in the headphone thread.

Nice shots! The blueish light in that second-to-last one stands out a bit, but other than that I think the lighting looks pretty good, actually. I'm a sucker for the wide-open aperture shots like that.

I got this one during Skate with the Canes yesterday, I like the way it turned out, considering I was being rushed through a line at the time:

IMAGE(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7033/6830295641_f927993066.jpg)

Nice shots folks.

We did some cooking around the house this weekend and after a few weeks of quiet, I got the camera out.

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Cooking by swiggers_ERI, on Flickr

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Cooking by swiggers_ERI, on Flickr

In light of the idea of posting feedback on people's shots, today's XKCD seems appropriate.

IMAGE(http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/car_problems.png)

That's awesome. I hadn't checked the day's XKCD yet.

Does cinematography count?

Hilarity. Please don't do that with these.

Here is a selection of photos from a weekend wedding we went to at the end of January. Its taken me a few days/weeks to play with them in Lightroom, but that's been more of a 'figuring it out as I go' exercise. I'd love some feedback.

! -- I'll resize these when I can, it seems Google has removed the embed code option from Picasa's web albums. Frustrating. -- !

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Haakon7 wrote:

Hilarity. Please don't do that with these.

Here is a selection of photos from a weekend wedding we went to at the end of January. Its taken me a few days/weeks to play with them in Lightroom, but that's been more of a 'figuring it out as I go' exercise. I'd love some feedback.

Very nice shots! I really love this one:

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Lens flare can be kinda overused, but it works so perfectly in that one.

On an unrelated note, I'm a stupid person who spends too much money. I preordered new Olympus m43 camera basically as soon as it was announced. I've been following the rumors for a while, and the stats are looking quite nice. MUCH better performance than my current camera (a PEN E-PL1), especially low-light and crazy fast autofocus, which they're claiming is faster than anything else, even DSLRs. (This remains to be seen, but I'm sure it means "fast enough" for me.)

IMAGE(http://i1266.photobucket.com/albums/jj524/picrumors/Schermata02-2455966alle023745.png)

They're expected to ship next month-ish, so it'll be a while, but I am really looking forward to it, especially paired with the 25mm f/1.4.

Ranger Rick wrote:

Very nice shots! I really love this one:

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Lens flare can be kinda overused, but it works so perfectly in that one.

That was just the light on the evening. Nothing's added in there, aside from some adjustments to the contrast, and I'm not really sure I've gotten the levels right. I took several shots angled along that path, and that's the one I'm happiest with.

Some of it is down to chance, too. I was really lucky with the light in the evening after the wedding. I grabbed my camera bag and ran outside and the official wedding photographer grabbed the couple and ran out after me. We were both clicking away furiously.

Thanks for the feedback!

EDIT: Also, I want the Panasonic version of that Olympus. I don't think its out yet, but at least they've released the spiritual successor to the GF1 - the GX1. That's a start, at least.

Haakon7 wrote:

EDIT: Also, I want the Panasonic version of that Olympus. I don't think its out yet, but at least they've released the spiritual successor to the GF1 - the GX1. That's a start, at least.

Yeah, the GX1 looks very nice as well. I really need to stop reading www.43rumors.com, I get too many bad ideas.

Great shots, Haakon! My dad, who's become more and more into photography as he's approaching retirement, is continuously telling me that the best time to photograph is around dawn and dusk due to the angle of the light. As you move towards the centre of the day (of if the day is uniformly overcast) then the light is too flat to really get a good picture without actual studio lights and whatnot.

Some friendly (and unknowledgeable!) criticisms:

Love the three of the evening: however, i personally feel that the bench would look better if it was cropped a little closer and with a little more of a width:height ratio. (i.e. higher width value) kinda like this:

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Same with the duck.

The sea picture, while the composition is really nice, is too washed out because of that uniform light level i mentioned before. And the black bird is really distracting because of the sharp contrast.

The one with the crab shell is a perfectly fine shot but is a bit uninteresting as there's not much contrast. Maybe a macro of the shell with the rest in the background would have been better?

PS. Hope you don't mind me a) altering your photo and b) giving feedback!

Went on photo hike this morning and got lucky.
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Day 42 - Feb 11 by RichyRambo, on Flickr

Ranger Rick wrote:

On an unrelated note, I'm a stupid person who spends too much money. I preordered new Olympus m43 camera basically as soon as it was announced. I've been following the rumors for a while, and the stats are looking quite nice. MUCH better performance than my current camera (a PEN E-PL1), especially low-light and crazy fast autofocus, which they're claiming is faster than anything else, even DSLRs. (This remains to be seen, but I'm sure it means "fast enough" for me.)

IMAGE(http://i1266.photobucket.com/albums/jj524/picrumors/Schermata02-2455966alle023745.png)

They're expected to ship next month-ish, so it'll be a while, but I am really looking forward to it, especially paired with the 25mm f/1.4.

Goodness they look gorgeous. I still use my Grandfather's OM2n and it's probably my favourite camera - they're just joyful to use. The beautiful Zuiko lenses do help of course. I guess only picking one up and using it will tell me if they've preserved the feeling of using an old OM, but they certainly look the part. Let's hope they can live up to the heritage! (and that I can afford one one day).

RichyRambo wrote:

Went on photo hike this morning and got lucky.
IMAGE(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7204/6857689953_db8f5f2e3f.jpg)
Day 42 - Feb 11 by RichyRambo, on Flickr

Nice shot and by 'Got lucky' I'm assuming you mean you were able to get out of the well after you fell in.

Rahmen wrote:
RichyRambo wrote:

Went on photo hike this morning and got lucky.
IMAGE(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7204/6857689953_db8f5f2e3f.jpg)
Day 42 - Feb 11 by RichyRambo, on Flickr

Nice shot and by 'Got lucky' I'm assuming you mean you were able to get out of the well after you fell in.

Haha, yeah. That's an awesome shot. Was it the only one you took or did you have to spend some time getting the circle of light right in the centre?

Duoae wrote:
Rahmen wrote:
RichyRambo wrote:

Went on photo hike this morning and got lucky.
IMAGE(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7204/6857689953_db8f5f2e3f.jpg)
Day 42 - Feb 11 by RichyRambo, on Flickr

Nice shot and by 'Got lucky' I'm assuming you mean you were able to get out of the well after you fell in.

Haha, yeah. That's an awesome shot. Was it the only one you took or did you have to spend some time getting the circle of light right in the centre?

It was from inside an ore oven, entered via a crawl in the bottom got low and then bracketed the shot. Tweaked it via HDR in Photoshop for the final image.

RichyRambo wrote:
Duoae wrote:
Rahmen wrote:
RichyRambo wrote:

Went on photo hike this morning and got lucky.
IMAGE(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7204/6857689953_db8f5f2e3f.jpg)
Day 42 - Feb 11 by RichyRambo, on Flickr

Nice shot and by 'Got lucky' I'm assuming you mean you were able to get out of the well after you fell in.

Haha, yeah. That's an awesome shot. Was it the only one you took or did you have to spend some time getting the circle of light right in the centre?

It was from inside an ore oven, entered via a crawl in the bottom got low and then bracketed the shot. Tweaked it via HDR in Photoshop for the final image.

It does look good. Just be careful with those HDR shots. If you view the large image the edges of the sky/well walls give it away with their funny purple HDR effect thing.

I live in the Pacific Northwest so this time of year the gray sky reaches the ground. I'm looking for suggestions on types of things to shoot outdoors in these more monochromatic conditions.

Richy, just before you die, you see the ring.

Check out this deal
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...

B&H has for 24 hours only, Lightroom 3 for $69.
That's $230 off the recommended selling price.

Even in Canada, having it shipped, and having them pay for duty, it was still $90.
DONE

groan wrote:

Check out this deal
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...

B&H has for 24 hours only, Lightroom 3 for $69.
That's $230 off the recommended selling price.

Even in Canada, having it shipped, and having them pay for duty, it was still $90.
DONE

That is a good deal for Lightroom. I see version 4 is in beta and out pretty soon. Anyone played with that who could compare it to Lightroom 3 and / or Aperture? I've been using Aperture (since it had the $79 deal a year ago) and from a cursory reading there's not a special reason to switch.

Any experience with the Nikon 10-24 f/3.5-4.5G DX? I had the Nikon 14-24 f/2.8 but sold it- it was a bit of overkill on a crop sensor camera, and the 10-24 is less than half the price. I've found myself sadly lacking in the wide angle department since I sold the 14-24. Also, any experience with the 35mm f/1.8? I have and like the 50mm f/1.8, but I think the 35mm will be a better fit for the crop sensor D90 I've got right now.

Rahmen wrote:
groan wrote:

Check out this deal
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...

B&H has for 24 hours only, Lightroom 3 for $69.
That's $230 off the recommended selling price.

Even in Canada, having it shipped, and having them pay for duty, it was still $90.
DONE

That is a good deal for Lightroom. I see version 4 is in beta and out pretty soon. Anyone played with that who could compare it to Lightroom 3 and / or Aperture? I've been using Aperture (since it had the $79 deal a year ago) and from a cursory reading there's not a special reason to switch.

I've not used Aperture.
I have to admit I've been using a 'borrowed' version of Lightroom. When I saw this it was my opportunity to go legit. I know 4 is coming out. This will make the Upgrade price easier for me.
I'm a poor photographer. (no double meaning here)

Landshrk83 wrote:

Any experience with the Nikon 10-24 f/3.5-4.5G DX? I had the Nikon 14-24 f/2.8 but sold it- it was a bit of overkill on a crop sensor camera, and the 10-24 is less than half the price. I've found myself sadly lacking in the wide angle department since I sold the 14-24. Also, any experience with the 35mm f/1.8? I have and like the 50mm f/1.8, but I think the 35mm will be a better fit for the crop sensor D90 I've got right now.

No experience with the Nikon, but I love my Sigma 10-20
http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/...

it's a dream to work with and SHARP. makes doing interiors a snap and Lightroom has a lens-correction module for it. takes out the barrel distortion on cropped images.

Sweet.

groan wrote:
Landshrk83 wrote:

Any experience with the Nikon 10-24 f/3.5-4.5G DX? I had the Nikon 14-24 f/2.8 but sold it- it was a bit of overkill on a crop sensor camera, and the 10-24 is less than half the price. I've found myself sadly lacking in the wide angle department since I sold the 14-24. Also, any experience with the 35mm f/1.8? I have and like the 50mm f/1.8, but I think the 35mm will be a better fit for the crop sensor D90 I've got right now.

No experience with the Nikon, but I love my Sigma 10-20
http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/...

it's a dream to work with and SHARP. makes doing interiors a snap and Lightroom has a lens-correction module for it. takes out the barrel distortion on cropped images.

Sweet.

I've tried the Sigma 10-20 but I wasn't thrilled with it, and I like to keep with the Nikkor lenses since they tend to retain their resale price a little better than the 3rd party lenses. I haven't, however, tried Lightroom's lens correction module for it, which might improve my opinion.

This is very much a work in progress, but these shots were all, i think, taken with the sigma
http://marcphoto.ca/

groan wrote:

This is very much a work in progress, but these shots were all, i think, taken with the sigma
http://marcphoto.ca/

Those are some very nice shots- I think they reflect my photographic preferences in wide angle. I like to use wide angle lenses to get as close as possible to my subjects rather than "getting it all in"...not that one way is in way superior to another, it just might have reflected my dislike for the Sigma as opposed to your preference for it.

Thanks!
The trick to shooting interiors is to make sure your lens is level to the floor, or perpendicular to the walls.
The minute you angle up or down the walls converge.
That is more difficult to correct. Lightroom has some excellent lens correction tools for barrel distortion and converging walls.
This one
http://marcphoto.ca/featured/light-a...
I had not been exactly level and you can see the walls are leaning out. Raise or lower your camera, not the angle of the lens.

I also like to shoot close with a wide angle. You get some crazy distortion but it can really work.

My next purchase will likely be a portable studio setup, (at least lights, stands, umbrella and or light-box) or a macro lens.
Undecided. I have to buy my Parrot AR Drone Quadricopter before i further my prospective career! Priorities!

Okay, went out (finally) with some good weather yesterday and got some decent shots. Thoughts and criticisms welcome!

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This one i tried to go for an old-style of photo that you tend to see from the 60s/70s where the contrast is quite high and the picture is washed out with red.

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I didn't like this one in colour and was originally going to just set it in B&W but i saw the option to add a tint and really liked the old feel it gives to the picture.

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I really like these two shots. I was sorely tempted to buy the box and plant.... Just didn't have enough money on me and wasn't sure if they would take cards. I did buy some basil and another potted plant though so it wasn't a complete waste of time!

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I corrected this one to be a bit more colder than it was in real life (though the original picture is a bit washed out). Again, going for a certain "old" badly/specifically developed look.

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I cropped this one, the full size is on my flickr account if you want to see it. Not sure I like it, i can almost feel the picture in there somewhere but finding the right bit i want is really hard. I like the space to the left of the fort/watchtower and the decline to its right, along with the rise of the shaded hill. I get the feeling that the clouds actually are in the wrong place - too close to the fort.