Photo Projects - Practical Approach

[Gen.Libeb]

@izzikio_rage - Hows your new camera working out for you ?
btw your signature appears all messed up , is it just me ?
@sujoyp - like the xmas tree & candles.
@nac - whats that ?

Already posted a couple of christmas shots from sunday in the photography thread. I got 2 more for here.

*farm3.staticflickr.com/2829/11552581955_70a55c190d_c.jpg

*farm6.staticflickr.com/5537/11552636323_488cdc3138_b.jpg

 

[sujoyp]

@gen nice colorful christmas shots

Izziko's signature is messed up coz TDF have disabled html codes in signature...so all html tags are messing up

 

[izzikio_rage]

@gen: new camera (it's been 6 months now, so not sure it still qualifies as new) is great, still figuring out new stuff for it. Still get comments from people about how 'itne me to proper bada wala SLR aa jaata, yeh kyun le liya ). But it's good fun, next step is to get my hands on some manual focus, fast, prime lenses (hoping for a 50mm f/1.4 minolta MD mount lens since I have ordered the adapter to fit it on my cam)

@sujoy: good shots, but way below your usual standard of shots .... so waiting for more

@nac ... nice shot, but I guess a macro shot with the ornament focused would also look amazing.

 

[nac]

Gen, That's decoration star you see people let it hang in their house for christmas. I fell sick few days ago, I planned to go out for taking some pictures. But I couldn't it, so I shot that one.

Amlan, That's wasn't for the project. It was more like greeting card.

 

[izzikio_rage]

My entry for this project

*farm6.staticflickr.com/5487/11567316546_38517557b5_c.jpg
Merry Christmas everyone by Amlan Mathur, on Flickr

 

[sujoyp]

@amlan those shots were taken 3 years back I put them as sample ...I wished to shoot christmas but my bad schedule and evening gym made it impossible...lets see if I get something in new year I will post it in this project

 

[nac]

Photo Project: Bokeh

*imageshack.com/a/img802/4238/egbp.jpg

 

[izzikio_rage]

That is a pretty awesome bokeh Surauna, Guess the full zoom and aperture wide open idea worked for you too

 

[nac]

Yeah, it's working... I wish I could get that nice round bokeh like in the marigold photo...

 

[sujoyp]

Nice bokeh nac ...round bokeh is quit difficult to get.....keep trying

 

[nac]

Need decent highlights in the background and right size subject. If I zoom in all the way, frame only covers an inch or two tall subject.

This was taken when I was trying on new years eve for this same project. There was good enough highlight to get that round bokeh, but I couldn't find any decent subject at that time.

Spoiler

No subject in the first one, just the bokeh
*imageshack.com/a/img543/5777/py22.jpg *imageshack.com/a/img833/9720/x6n2.jpg

 

[sujoyp]

@amlan its all about setup...without a setup I dont think its possible..

 

[Gen.Libeb]

new year eve bokeh is nice. I've never got remotely close to getting a bokeh like that.

 

[izzikio_rage]

Project : Bokeh

Since I got my hands on the close up convertor I've been searching for others on ebay and all. Seems like a pretty good option, it is available at around Rs 800 for a set of lenses (+1, +2, +4, +5). Also there are the reverse mounting rings for your normal lenses ( Though I think this can only be done with a manual lens since reverse mounting kills the af, electronic aperture control and all)

Almost all these options gave some really amazing macros and really smooth creamy bokehs. Worth a try if you want to do macro photography on the cheap

 

[izzikio_rage]

Can we make the next project about shooting during the golden hour (during sunrise and at sunset). It gives some amazing pictures, specially if you are planning to do portraits. Plus it'll get all of us lazy people out of our beds early in the morning

Sujoy, if you agree then lets start this up

 

[sujoyp]

sorry amlan I didnt notice your last comment.

I have all three of them those closeup lens which cost 500 ...reverse ring to mount manual lenses and manual extension tubes ...all three have some or other advantage disadvantages...if anyone interested then I can give a explaination else u better off getting a macro lens like me later

yaah sure we can have a golden hour photo project...but please explain exactly what kind of pic u want explain in detail in 200 words

 

[izzikio_rage]

Project: Golden hour Photography

In photography, the golden hour (sometimes known as magic hour) is the first and last hour of sunlight during the day. This is the time of sunset/sunrise. Due to the diffused slanting light (which is a warm golden, hence the name) at this time you get images that have soft shadows, beautiful highlights, a higher dynamic range and very bright saturated colors.

*farm8.staticflickr.com/7167/6572564669_eebbbd990d.jpg

How to shoot it
That's the easiest bit, you just need to shoot using natural light during the first and last hour of sunlight during the day. You can pretty much shoot anything, landscapes, portraits or even street photography. Just a few tips
1. keep your aperture wide open as the amount of light is less
2. Keep a high ISO to counter the lower light
3. Set the white balance on your camera to cloudy to make the picture even warmer. In auto, your camera will neutralize the beautiful golden color
4 SHOOT FAST : since you only have a limited time for this and the light changes very quickly. So prepare everything beforehand

Stuff to try out

1. Rim lighting: You keep the sun hidden behind your subject so that it highlights all the outlines of the subject. You might need a reflector to reflect the rays back on the subject to make them brighter. Just use a large sheet, chart paper, thermocole sheet for this
*farm6.staticflickr.com/5101/5608324654_e13b600ed2.jpg

2. Flare: Change position so that the sunlight hits your lens directly. This will give the photo a warm glow and add rainbow like colors and round lens flares to your picture. Changing your aperture, lens or even angle will give very different effects.

*new.photographyconcentrate.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/large_curtkristina-0171.jpg

3. Landscapes: Same as normal. Just reduce your aperture to f/8 or lower. If you can set your camera up on a tripod or place it on something (wall, chair, a sleeping cow) and trigger it via a 10sec timer, then reduce the ISO to the lowest and increase shutter speed to get a bright image. If not, then just shoot handheld in landscape mode.

*www.photographymad.com/files/images/hot-air-balloons-sunrise.jpg

Give this a shot this weekend, and lets share our results here next week.

 

[sujoyp]

wow ...very nice...Now I can try something...I have an idea in my mind..lets see if I can apply it somehow

 

[sujoyp]

what a bad luck ...woke up for these golden hour shoot and sky is all dull with just red sun behind

Managed these shots ...will try more

*farm4.staticflickr.com/3805/12024054884_ba4c2989e7_z.jpg
DSC_1074 by sujoyp, on Flickr

*farm4.staticflickr.com/3737/12024541686_d697fa87c2_z.jpg
DSC_1041 by sujoyp, on Flickr

Actually I had the idea to show two worrier fight in golden hour but my other worrier had a broken leg and can not stand on its own ...will try to repair it and follow my idea

 

[nac]

This time of the year, it will be little foggy/misty in the morning. You can try to get one like the sample one posted (landscape).