blonde Camera Club

[RED-DOG]

Nice.

I like the overhead ice rink shot best.

[Geo the Sarge]

Nice.

I like the overhead ice rink shot best.

Funny you say that Tom. Was having difficulty getting good shots of Ailee on the carousel as it was spinning so switched to sports continuous mode, where it takes about 12 shots at one press.

We were on the big wheel for the ice rink shot and I had forgot to switch it back. When I run all the pics quickly through windows media viewer I have caught a young lad falling on his arse.

Have just spent the last couple of hours going back through this thread as I'm compiling a sort of slide show movie which I will post on here as a sort of review of the pics for the last year so others can see without having to go through all the pages.

That said, I've had a whale of a time remembering getting a kicking in the editing suite or not debate, Machka and Woodsey providing some stunning shots (as well as others) and the sheer amount of knowledge provided, not only on photography but other subjects.

Geo

[leethefish]

Took this of the floods near syston (Leicester)... Love the reflection in the water

Click to see full-size image.

[RED-DOG]

The trick with editing (Imo) is to help make your photographs look more like what you actually saw.

Click to see full-size image.

[RED-DOG]

I enjoy a daily walk in the countryside whatever the weather, but these overcast winter days mean that photographs usually turn out pretty monochromatic.

Today I tried to find a bit of colour.


This is a bit of green insulation tape on a fence. I wonder why it's there?

Click to see full-size image.

This hazel sapling is playing host to some kind of parasitic plant with red berries.

Click to see full-size image.

Hi Vis lichen on a blackthorn twig.

Click to see full-size image.

Rose hips. How do they work, do birds eat them? Why is only one of each pair dead and ripe?

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

   

[bobby1]

Would like to pass on my thanks for all the great pics posted on this thread. I really enjoy looking thru them all.

Thanks

[Sheriff Fatman]

Hello Camera Peeps, hoping to get some advice.

At a visit to the in-laws today, my photography-mad father-in-law was showing off his brand new DSLR that he'd purchased this morning.  Following an opportunistic "what did you do with the old one?" question, I'm now the proud owner of a well-loved Canon EOS 450D plus bog-standard 18-55 lens and a few accessories.  I think the £100 he asked is probably a bargain for all this, based on a quick scan at eBay prices for that model.

Now the hard part - learning how to do a piece of kit like this justice!

I was gobsmacked to discover that the shiny screen on the back of this isn't intended to be used as a viewfinder so am now re-discovering the art of actually looking through the viewfinder which I last employed over 10 years ago!  I'm also rapidly realising why people keep saying that a DSLR is 'not for beginners' (hence always resisting the temptation to buy one at full price was fairly easy to do!)

I'm considering buying books, finding a course, but suspect that the best way to improve is trial and error.  I'd be interested in people's thoughts as to the best way to go about this, or what their particular recommendations are as to a good source of learning material.  I have a decent enough piece of kit now, so I can no longer blame anything on the inadequacy of the camera/lens.

[Sheriff Fatman]

By the way, while trying to find this thread using the search function, I stumbled across the Underwater Photography thread from a few years ago.

There are some great pictures on it, so it might be of interest to people on this thread who missed this at the time.

http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=32217.0

[Graham C]

I still have the 450D, it's a good camera.  Don't be too daunted with all the functions, you don't need to use them all.   I mainly shoot in Aperture Priority mode  (AV setting).  It's an easy setting to start out with as you don't have to worry about exposure times just yet.  You can set the depth of field and shoot away.    Trial and Error is the best way and rather than say xxx is the best way to do things, it's probably easier if you see what you want to do and if you find you can't do it, ask away.  You get used to looking through the viewfinder   When I'm on the Mrs's point and shoot, it always catches me out that you don't need the viewfinder now.

In the mean time, Scott Kelby writes some excellent photography books that just let you know what you want to do.  If you want to take photos in the dark, he doesn't faff about explaining why you need a certain exposure in a certain way but simply says "DO THIS" and away you can go.   This is the book I have http://www.amazon.co.uk/Digital-Photography-Book-Step---step/dp/032147404X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1356911242&sr=8-3

A useful photography site/forum is http://www.dpreview.com/, worth a scout around there if you are interested.  I find there's always some handy tips in the relevant forum sections - the Canon Rebel SLR forum in our case (US Version of it was called the Rebel btw)

[Graham C]

I've been trying to collide drops again today but sadly didn't get what I wanted.  I managed it a few times but they're slightly out of focus which is pretty annoying.  Still I ended up with a few drops I liked, here's a couple, there's  a few more on my photo site




Back on it in a day or two.

[millidonk]

love it Silo. how on earth do you do that? (will Google it tomorrow and try myself)

[Graham C]

Cheers,

There supposed to be drops of water crashing into each other to give this sort of effect


but I haven't got it right yet.  These are taken on a 150mm macro lens with a 2 second exposure using an off camera flash to freeze the drops of coloured water as they fall.  It's supposed to be possible to get what I'm after using these settings but I think I may find it easier using a quicker exposure and not using flash, trouble at this time of year for me could be lighting, it's gloomy outside and I don't have any white studio lights.  

It's all about timing the drops right, timing isn't my strong point

[millidonk]

tbh, I prefer your bottom two to what its supposed to look like. Don't have an external flash and my camera isn't capable of taking long exposures.

[Graham C]

Yeah I agree, they're probably nicer to look at but I was please with actually getting a shot of two drops colliding.

You should be able to get some great drop shots still. Can you set the exposure time manually?  Try for a fast exposure and just take the shots in a light room.  You'll need something to hold the device you are dripping from.  You'll need to focus on where the drops hit the water (about an inch above the water surface) and you'll never be able to hold the syringe/paintbrush/whatever and get it in the same place each time so get something to hold it, I use a plastic tube held in a clamp which has a syringe on the end pushing the liquid through.

FWIW, I took hundreds of photos of these yesterday and only got a few that I thought were half decent and if I'm criticial, even some of those either shouldn't have made the grade or are no different from what I've already taken.  It's a lot of trying, don't be put off if you can't get it straight away, of course I will hate you if you do

[millidonk]

Cheers for the info Silo, can set it manually but think the max exposure is like 8 seconds.

Had a look at this site: http://www.diyphotography.net/the-comprehensive-water-drop-photography-guide

Got a tripod where I can hover the camera over a paint tray or roasting tin or whatever and put droplets in that way. Will give it a go when I get a chance and let ya know how I get on.