Project365 - Clouds...

Introduction

Years ago, I worked with a Chief IT Architect who had an odd method of making requests: he would take his brow into his hand, close his eyes, and intone the things he wanted us to contemplate. My personal favorite was "Cloud. I'm thinking of cloud..." This Project365 entry is dedicated to Ron.

The Setup
My simplest setup - my trusty Canon 60D, with the Canon 24-105mm f/4 L mounted. All handheld and outdoors - no tripod or strobes.
The Photos
It's still winter in Southern Alberta, so the skies are a steel grey, and the clouds a stark white against it.

The sky was certainly many shades of grey, looking West over the foothills.

The clouds had remarkable contrast.

Just look at the gradient colour in the sky !

The best photo of the lot, in my humble opinion.











Lessons Learned
Great beauty is all around us, even when it isn't brightly coloured ! I'm pleased that I am learning to see this beauty, and share it with the world.

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Project365 - Auto Strobism

Introduction

I have started following a blog which gives an introductory course to Strobism - the advanced use of various types of lights and light modifiers in photography. I started with a course called "Lighting 101". It is a fantastic resource for amateur photographers who want to sharpen their skills with lighting various situations.

In the course of my reading, I came across a challenging situation, in which the author was attempting to light a helicopter mid-flight ! While I haven't got a helicopter of my own to photograph, I thought I would attempt to duplicate the technique.
The Setup
My trusty Canon 60D was mated with the general-purpose Canon 24-105mm f/4 L lens & mounted on the Manfrotto tripod. The flash was mounted with the Cactus v5 remote trigger, so that it could be mounted off-camera.

This nifty little DIY mod is called a "lightbulb". The idea is that the sour cream container acts as a diffuser, and the light is thrown in all directions. In practice, it works very well, and I will likely keep this little mod in my kit.
























The Photos

Here is the basic setup: the "lightbulb" is placed inside the car between the front seats, and when triggered will light the car from inside. As you can see, I substituted Pat's car in the dark garage for the helicopter in the night sky.

This is a step towards the end product - you can see the desired effect. You can ALSO see the lightbulb peeking up above the dash !

I couldn't decide how to set up the shot with only one flash. So I also tried it in the back seat, to see how it looked. I don't like it as well, as the front seats are in deep shadow and you can't see anything but the silhouette of the fuzzy dice. In the perfect world, I'd like to shoot this with two flashes, one in the front, and one in the back.

Here is the final photograph, with the desired effect. Overall, I'm pleased with the effect, although one day I'll re-shoot it with a second flash.









Lessons Learned
Photography is really the craft of manipulating light. I thoroughly enjoyed this shoot, as it is an interesting & creative way to experiment with light. I might later try to reuse the technique, but with more light sources, and even models in the cabin.

Project365 - Get Out of the Way !

Introduction

While experimenting with Depth of Field, in a previous post, Pat suggested that using a fork on a plate might be a bit boring ! Instead, she handed me her David Yarmin ring to shoot. It's beautiful, to begin with, but has lots of interesting details - the facets of the stone, the twists in the ring itself, and the detail around the stone.

The Setup

Of course, the camera body was my Canon 60D, and I mounted it on a Manfrotto tripod. Next I mounted the Canon 40mm f/2.8 prime lens, and a 20mm extension tube because my subject was small, and wanted it to fill the frame. Next, I mounted my Canon 430EX II flash with the Cactus v5 triggers on a second tripod, and affixed a 8" snoot to focus the light very tightly. The flash was set to 1/64 power, and a 108mm beam.

The Photos

Oops ! See the orange tinge in the stone and the setting ? That's a reflection off of my t-shirt ! I only noticed it after I started processing the photos. This will never do...

 

 

This one is better. But if you look carefully at the bottom right of the stone, you can see my shadow outlined ! Sigh - another decent photo ruined by an accidental reflection. Next !

 

This picture is pleasing to the eye - no reflections, nice Depth of field, and an interesting composition. I also like how the facets of the cut stone show up, and the position of the flash helps draw out the detail of the mount.

 

 

 

Lessons Learned

As the first two photos illustrate, I must remember to get OUT of my own photos ! Being aware of one's surroundings, and how they might affect the photograph, are of paramount importance to the budding photographer.

 

Project365 - Depth of Field

Introduction

In a previous post, I remarked that there IS such a thing as too much Depth of Field (DoF). I thought it detracted to the composition of the photographs. But then I wondered if I could turn that detraction into an advantage. To me, it seemed to be a good thing to experiment with ! So tonight's Project365 entry is about my experiments with Depth of Field.

The Setup

This was a little bit more complex. Of course, the camera body was my Canon 60D, and I mounted it on a Manfrotto tripod. Next I mated the camera body with my Canon 40mm f/2.8 prime lens, and used a 20mm extension tube. My subject was tiny, and wanted it to fill the frame. Next, I mounted my Canon 430EX II flash with the Cactus v5 triggers on a second tripod, and affixed a 8" snoot to focus the light very tightly. The flash was set to 1/64 power, and a 108mm beam.

The Photos

I shot a great number of test shots, attempting to dial in the settings. These are a sampling of some of the more interesting ones.

Here is one of the early photos of the set. You'll note how shallow the DoF is - not even the length of the tines of the fork ! I like the overall effect, but not the lighting or the background.

 

I turned the fork over, hoping to achieve a more interesting look. The farthest tine is sharply in focus, while the nearest is blurry. I still don't like the background !

 

THIS is more the effect I was hoping for ! The ends of the tines are in focus, and by placing the fork on a white plate, the background loses importance. Best, the blurriness increases as the eye travels down the tines.

 

 

 

Lessons Learned

After about two dozen shots, I started to achieve the look I was after. But it proved that I can use Depth of Field as an artistic part of the composition. Something I wouldn't have understood yesterday !

 

Project365 - The Golden Hour

Introduction

Photographers will try to explain that their craft is light. Without light, human beings cannot "see". So in order to best show off their work, photographers will work with and manipulate light to show off their subject in a flattering way. Sometimes that's easier said than done. During the winter, for example, the sun is low & the days are short. Our skies are grey and overcast.

It is a long-preserved tenet in photography that the hour immediately after daybreak, and immediately before sunset are the so-called "golden hours" of photography. The sun is typically bright, while being low on the horizon. This helps with creating dramatic effects such as silhouettes and romantic, softly-lit scenes. To say the least, the light can be very flattering.

The Setup

I travel with my trusty Canon 60D, and it is almost always equipped with the Canon 24-105mm f/4 L series lens. This is effectively my default setup.

These photos were shot handheld, which implied that I needed to balance shutter speed with ISO. If the ISO is too high, the photos appear grainy - what photographers call "noise". If the shutter is open for too long, I ran the risk of camera shake causing blurry photos. And I had the aperture set fairly closed, as I wanted the entire field in focus. Finally, the white-balance was set to "shady" in the beginning, and later to "flash".

The Photos

In this example, the photo seems flat, almost monochromatic. While I tried to use perspective to make the photo visually interesting, the lighting wasn't really so great.

We see approximately the same effect in this photo. The photo seems boring, almost lifeless. These images were taken around 4PM, about two hours before the sun started to set.

This photo is better, as the lights on the tower are starting to glow, creating a little bit more contrast & therefore a bit of drama. However the hotel behind still seems drab. I do like the warm glow of the streetlamps in the foreground.

The same can be seen in this photo of the Belaggio hotel. The building lighting is starting to show up. These photos were taken around 6:15 PM, as the sun was beginning to set.

 

This photo, a shameless "I was there" tourist shot, really shows off the tower. The lights create a beautiful, dramatic effect, while the sky is still light enough to provide a beautiful background.

Note: in order to get my girlfriend to not be a silhouette, I was forced to use my on-board flash. Hence the lighting appears harsh, and badly reflected off her glasses. :-(

 

Here is a great example of the "golden hour". The sky creates a beautiful blue backdrop, while the external lighting of the building creates accent-points and contrast on the building itself. It is light enough to make out the details at the base of the hotel, and dark enough to allow the accent lighting to glow beautifully.

Lessons Learned

I have said previously that I love shooting in Las Vegas. Both the sunrise & sunset create opportunities to take advantage of the Golden Hour of photography. Couple that with clear skies and bright lights, and it becomes a fantastic place to shoot dramatic skyline photos.

 

Project365 - Street Photography

Introduction

I travel to Las Vegas at least once a year. I love the glamour and the bright lights. It's simply a photographer's paradise to shoot at night ! But when the sun is shining, the same glitz looks a little bit shabby. Many parts of the infamous Las Vegas Strip are downright seedy !

I am learning about Street Photography. While there is no prescriptive definition of the term, the very best examples depict real people in real situations. Often, their faces are wrought with raw emotion. Admittedly, I am not very good at it.

The Setup

Truth be told, this was a spur of the moment, "out the car window" shot ! I used my Canon 60D handheld, with my "general purpose" Canon 24-105mm f/4 L series lens. Back button focus was extremely helpful in getting this shot !

The Photo

When I first took the shot, I was looking at the man and his dog. I was interested by the expression on the man's face & and the state of his dog. Frankly, I never noticed the OTHER homeless man, huddled beside the railing ! When I compare the two, it makes me realize that homelessness has many faces.

Lessons Learned

This photo was not so much about technique or even composition. It's about learning to "see" the environment, and capturing it faithfully. While I was unable to capture the other man's face, mostly because I never saw it, you can still feel an element of desperation in his body language.

 

Project365 - Street Photography

Introduction

Street photography is an art-form all in itself. The images tend to be very raw, often depicting human emotions in a very intimate way. For the record, I have ZERO experience with it. Perhaps our trip to Las Vegas will present me with opportunities to try my hand at it.

 

The Setup

The objective is to be as I obtrusive as possible. So no tripods, no flash, no huge lenses. But you do need a zoom of some form. This is not the venue for portrait photography !

Camera - Canon 60D, Lens - Canon 24-105mm f/4 L

The Photos

Whoops ! Forgot to set the white balance correctly. But if you look at the man on the left's body language, he is clearly impatient to get his morning cup of joe.

This photo worked out well ! I wanted to capture & convey how Dad is still, while the kids are in near-constant motion. I had to lower the shutter speed to about 1/5 of a second to achieve this look.

This solitary travellers surrounded by empty chairs. I like the look, even though he is not really doing anything particularly interesting. I might have messed around with the depth of field, but Ias more concerned with not getting caught taking his picture !

 

Lessons Learned

I need to research and practise this area of photography better. This was a reasonable first attempt, although I need to get in front of the subjects, in order to capture the raw expressions. I might also shoot them in monochrome, to highlight the contrasts rather than the colors.

 

 

Project365 - all Prime, All the Time !

Introduction

Pat cleaned out the fish tank (aka Freddie & Mercury's home) today. The water is crystal clear, and I wanted to re-visit shooting the guys. The first attempt was pretty good, but there was a lot of crud floating about in the water. I have also been reading a lot of discussion forums where the "Pros" talk about only shooting with prime lenses. Prime lenses have no zoom capabilities - when describing lenses, they give a range 24-105mm for example. A prime lens only has one number, like my 40mm lens.

The Setup

Camera - my Canon 60D, lens - the "Shorty McForty" a Canon 40mm f/2.8, flash - Canon 430EX II, trigger - Cactus v5

The flash is off-camera, so I can move around without moving the light. Which is important, because with a prime lens, you zoom with your feet !

The Photos

While this photo is slightly over-exposed, it shows how translucent Mercury's body really is. You can clearly make out the veins in his arms & legs !

 

 

Here, the strobe is indirect, so Freddie's head is in shadow. But the detail of his scales & fins is remarkable !

 

 

 

 

Lessons Learned

I keep forgetting that my prime has a nice wide Aperture of f/2.8 ! It is a very bright lens, allowing lots of light onto the sensor. I must remember to shoot with it more, as I get nice crisp photos with it.

 

Project365 - Training to Use My Wide Angle Lens

Introduction

We spent the day in Cornwall, visiting family. Since I had an idea about shooting a vertorama (which I did in a previous post), I had mounted a wide-angle lens on my camera body. I thought it might make for some interesting perspective. In this shoot, we scouted around town, looking at the sights through a wide-angle lens !

The Setup

My faithful Canon 60D was mated with my Canon 17-40mm F/4L series lens. I shot handheld, with the white balance set for bright sunshine. Not wanting to blur my backgrounds, I shot at f/11. Then it was all about braving the cold and determining if I could operate the controls with my gloves on !

The Photos

There's an old electric locomotive set aside near where we were staying. I love the feeling of depth I get from shooting this photo wide.

It is remarkably easy to create leading lines - lines which draw the viewer through the photo - and the wide-angle lens helps make that experience even longer !

 

Another example of leading lines. You can't help but have your eye drawn along the horizontal crossbar to the barrel at the end. So the effect is to draw the viewer's eye from right to left throughout the photo.

Lessons Learned

While this was a straight-forward shoot, it taught me how to use leading lines to add a focal point to the photos. It helps draw in the viewer to better experience it.