Posted by Marijanne |
- my pleasure..
Posted by =d= on November 10, 2009, 7:22 am, in reply to "A big huge thank you to Donalyn"
75.105.41.179Thanks for your assistance with him.
I'm glad we got to try a variety of things with him. .. but I've gotta say, I think this one is my favorite:
.. or ... wait .... maybe it's this one!! LOL
(I love this horse against black!!)
- Do you have...
Posted by SandyC on November 10, 2009, 2:24 pm, in reply to "my pleasure.."
69.72.119.64...a black 'background' that you carry with you for these shoots?
And is that artificial lighting? The first one sure looks like sunlight. The second...not sure.
Beautiful!! - Re: Do you have...
Posted by Ron on November 10, 2009, 2:31 pm, in reply to "Do you have..."
75.104.160.36I can answer until she comes in. It's a secret. - OK...kind of figured that.
Posted by SandyC on November 10, 2009, 3:17 pm, in reply to "Re: Do you have..."
69.72.119.64
- LOL...
Posted by =d= on November 10, 2009, 3:58 pm, in reply to "OK...kind of figured that."
75.105.41.179good grief.. I need to head him off at the pass, don't I !!
It's a bit of both. I have studio lights and a black backdrop... but if an image lends itsself (w/lighting/pose.. whatever) to be better in an edited form, then I might try it.
Sometimes, a directional natural light, like on those two images, looked more dramatic on black. (which in this case, I generated).
That first shot (the first one I showed, WAS shot against a black backdrop.. but it was in the shade... so, by my way of thinking, it looked a bit 'flat'. I liked the pose, and thought I liked the soft light until I was working on some of the other shots. .. I can never make myself happy sometimes.. LOL - Thanks for the 'secret'
Posted by SandyC on November 11, 2009, 5:52 am, in reply to "LOL... "
69.72.22.16Perhaps I should tell you I'm more than just casually interested in how you got that effect. I bought a 'starter' dSLR in Feb 08 and have been learning while playing around with it since then.
My primary subject has been birds since I can sit in the house and take pics through a window.....
yes I'm quite lazy!>lol!
BTW, I love your pics of the hummingbird at the flowers from a few weeks back posted on this board....
Below is a male cardinal. I'm just having fun with my camera and learning along the way...
- Lovely, SandyC...
Posted by Sharon
on November 11, 2009, 8:08 am, in reply to "Thanks for the 'secret'"
71.128.111.103especially if it was shot through glass. Good motivation to keep your windows clean!
How do you like the Sony? My DLSR is a Nikon but my first couple of digital cameras were Sony and I was always pleased.
Thanks for sharing! - Re: Lovely, SandyC...
Posted by SandyC on November 11, 2009, 10:29 am, in reply to "Lovely, SandyC..."
69.72.119.52I love just having a dSLR camera! Never had a film SLR...so I don't have a lot of knowledge, one camera over another. When I'm ready to upgrade(right now, in my dreams)I will be asking for advice. Any you'd like to give now would be appreciated too.
Oh, and it's funny when my hubby tells me how good the view is from different windows around the house.>LOL
- maybe...
Posted by Sharon
on November 11, 2009, 10:36 am, in reply to "Re: Lovely, SandyC..."
71.128.111.103...after Christmas you can get a super good deal. I heard the other day that electronic companies are going to be drastically dropping prices even before Christmas, given how the consumer buying is down.
For me, I just kept upgrading and upgrading my camera because I wanted to have the best digital output I could in addition to low light capability and some other features. My advice would be to bite the bullet and get the best camera you can afford... and then never look back. Only because for me, I was never quite satisfied with the lower end ones. I would have saved money in the long run if I had just gotten the one I wanted to begin with. HOWEVER, the cameras did get a LOT better while I was using the cheaper ones, so there is a benefit to waiting, too, but sometime you just gotta jump off. - ohhhhhhhhhh that's Nice!!
Posted by =d= on November 11, 2009, 7:35 am, in reply to "Thanks for the 'secret'"
75.105.41.179The exif data said it was shot on f1.0 ?? Is that right?? .. Do you have a huge honkin lens for birds??? (I'm drooling at the thought of that much glass!!.. LOL)
I LOVE cardinals! We don't see many out here.. but I remember them from when we lived back east. (in MD & VA)
The color and bokeh on your image is great!
I'll be happy to answer any questions, if I can, along the way if you have any. - question
Posted by SandyC on November 11, 2009, 2:29 pm, in reply to "ohhhhhhhhhh that's Nice!!"
69.72.119.52OK you may regret offering to answer questions.>grin
Is the background of the cardinal blotchy? It may be my screen...from here I can see individual pixels. So the background doesn't have a smooth appearance. It comes out smooth if I print it off...and even in my photoshop. But when I shrink it in my paint program for posting, I get that blotchy appearance.
Here's another eastern bird. Do you have these in CA? A rose-breasted grosbeak...This background isn't as blotchy. Might be that the grass is more uniform in color....
I think I need to move my 'yardsticks' around. I seem to have a lot of birds land and then look to the left before going to the feeders.
- that bird's only got one leg
Posted by =d= on November 11, 2009, 4:42 pm, in reply to "question"
75.105.41.179It looks like he's standing on his right leg, not his left... but maybe it's his left leg with his right leg up behind his body. (?) .. anyway, at first look, it looks like he's a one legged bird.. LOL
Do you have Photoshop? .. even "Photoshop Elements" ? (you can get Elements at Costco for around $70 or so. .. worth it's weight in gold).
.. anyway, the faster the 'film speed' (the higher numbers on your iso setting), the more 'noise' (or on film, it would be called 'grain') you see. You were using iso 400 on the first shot (I haven't looked at your exif data on the second shot) ... Is that what you were referring to? .. the "noise" ?
If so, there are filters that will reduce the noise and even out the image.
Or are you talking about "blotchy" being the tonal differences in your out of focus background? I would think it's just colors of stuff in the background thrown out of focus.
(maybe I'm not sure what you mean.. )
Also, sometimes, when you reduce an image to 72dpi for the internet, a lot of data will be dropped.. and you may need to sharpen it a little bit before you post it. When I reduce the size for internet use, I'll size them 2"@300dpi. instead of 72dpi. - Ha ha ha
Posted by SandyC on November 12, 2009, 3:43 am, in reply to "that bird's only got one leg"
69.72.117.206Did not see the one leg problem. I have elements 7. I do my cropping and touch ups with it. But I don't shrink the photo for posting using PS. The manual is online and it's a pain with dial-up, so I've just been learning how to use it by trial and error.
Will look further into it when we get cable.... - Re: Ha ha ha
Posted by =d= on November 12, 2009, 7:41 am, in reply to "Ha ha ha"
75.105.41.179Hey.. the next time you're at Costco, get the book: Photoshop Elements for Dummies.
It's pretty good.. and kind of fun to play with when you're not online.
However... even Elements is so powerful, don't expect to learn or remember everything (in other words, don't allow it to frustrate you). I've been using Photoshop products since around 1995 .. and there's STILL a lot of things that I learn. I use Elements even though I know that Photoshop CS2 (or whatever it is) is more powerful.. but I get what I need done on Elements without any problem. (I got the 'dummies' book this year.. and was amazed.. LOL) - Will look for that....
Posted by SandyC on November 12, 2009, 3:09 pm, in reply to "Re: Ha ha ha"
69.72.120.233It's the layer stuff I can't figure out.... - you'll learn to love layers
Posted by =d= on November 13, 2009, 7:19 am, in reply to "Will look for that...."
75.105.41.179I use them all the time. I think that if you're the type who will take one lesson at a time, you'll have a lot of fun with the book.
(just saying that I know a lot of people don't like to learn from books or manuals but prefer classes instead. ... I like having books/manuals around for easy reference). - Re: you'll learn to love layers
Posted by SandyC on November 13, 2009, 5:33 pm, in reply to "you'll learn to love layers"
69.72.120.101I will try to get out this weekend to buy it. I'm a book learner...don't like classes, tend to drop into the background and eventually fade away.
Books......started my colt from a book; learned to trim hooves from a book; the small amount of knowledge I have about taking pics came from a book....
Nice thing about books is they don't judge a person when they goof or ask a dumb question.... - Re: you'll learn to love layers
Posted by =d= on November 13, 2009, 6:10 pm, in reply to "Re: you'll learn to love layers"
75.105.41.179I like books too so I don't have to ask the same questions more than once... or 'miss something' because I was concentrating on something else.
- Thank you...
Posted by SandyC on November 11, 2009, 8:51 am, in reply to "ohhhhhhhhhh that's Nice!!"
69.72.119.52Means a lot coming from both of you....even though I don't know what bokeh is...sounds good.
We had a Sony outlet store locally and I bought a refurbished A100 model. It was a fairly inexpensive way to get my feet wet. That's just an aftermarket 300mm lens. The reason it says 1.0 is because my auto focus broke when I dropped it on the floor. It was in pieces but my husband was able to put it back together. The AF strip was torn in two.
I have to manually set my white balance and focus. It was disheartening at first but I learned a lot doing things manually. Have to wear my reading glasses to take pics, though.>lol! - Re: manual shooting
Posted by Sharon
on November 11, 2009, 10:32 am, in reply to "Thank you..."
71.128.111.103It's about all I do. I learned back when I had a little Nikon FM2 (an all manual camera) that it was really fun to choose the settings myself. Neat that you were able to benefit from the camera drop.
- Re: Thank you...
Posted by =d= on November 11, 2009, 10:27 am, in reply to "Thank you..."
75.105.41.179bokeh = that GREAT shallow debth of field which throws the backgrounds out of focus. (and thus, beautifully accentuates your subject) - We are having a hard time making a choice
Posted by Marijanne
on November 10, 2009, 7:29 am, in reply to "my pleasure.."
67.142.130.11I love both of those... they are so different, his eye is different so different expressions...
He is pretty photogenic too...
- Re: We are having a hard time making a choice
Posted by Ron on November 10, 2009, 8:32 am, in reply to "We are having a hard time making a choice"
75.104.160.36If you got both of them, you could mount them side by side on the wall. It would give a different look. - good idea (nm)
Posted by Sharon
on November 10, 2009, 8:54 am, in reply to "Re: We are having a hard time making a choice"
71.128.111.103If it were me, I'd be getting several of them. - Re: good idea (nm)
Posted by Ron on November 10, 2009, 10:09 am, in reply to "good idea (nm)"
75.105.32.38That's cause I'm so smart. Actually, we have two pictures of our mares on the wall in the same type of frames. I like the look of them side by side.