Catching the Light: April 2008

I took my 70-200 mm lens and set it at f/2.8 on aperture priority and set about capturing candid images of people in the crowd at the National Folk Festival held in Canberra in March of this year (2008).

While I was having fun with my camera and lens I was surprised how many people would not make eye contact once they sensed the camera.

Overgrown

My first real effort in HDR was in June 2007, and old truck in a paddock used to hold a water tank.

Both images are processed in Photomatix using 3 images.

I have noticed a green fringing around the top of the tank.

"overgrown"

I like the saturated colours of the paint on this old girl with the HDR processing retaining the drama in the clouds.

"in tact"

I found the fact that despite the old trucks disrepair the light bulb was still in tact a little amusing.

Grounded

An abandoned fishing boat, Pondalowie Bay, South Australia, June long week end 2007.

"grounded"

This old fishing boat was high and dry and seemed to be abandoned. A 3 shot HDR processed in Photomatix. I like the saturated blues of the sky in this one.

"the deck"

Not an HDR image, just a little detail of the deck of the boat.

The Rock & The Sunset

Sunset at Hallett Cove, South Australia. Taken while on a workshop with Caroline Fisher, May 2007.

"the rock & the sunset"

I think I got lucky on this one. I was trying a few new things here. ND filters to darken the scene and enable a slower shutter speed to catch the wave movement. I also had just purchased a reverse ND filter and was trying to take the sunset facing directly into the sun ...... tried a 3 shot HDR exposure to boot.

I'm Hooked ...

... on HDR (high dynamic range) and maybe going a little overboard on some .

Best to look elsewhere for technical explanations. Why re invent the wheel, eh? I found the article at Within Lights enlightening and of course the Wikapedia is always good for an explanation.

I am finding the colours in some of my HDR images a little unreal. Especially the blues of the skies. Not sure if that is the effect of the HDR of use of the circular polariser – maybe a little of both.

I like the oversaturate colours on the old machines etc – some good examples on RedBubble and Flicker. Seems to look a little cartoonish but I think that adds to the style of the image.

The effect on the landscapes is good but I have to watch for the “halo” effect that occurs some times. Easily fixed with a little burning – if my old eyes can see it (mental note to get my glasses checked).

At present I am trying to shoot 3 bracketed shots and processing them in Photomatix Pro . Some good tutorials here: http://tutori alblog.org/hdr-tutorials-roundup/ and here http://stuckincustoms.com here: Vanilla

Anyway, I will let this mania run it’s course and try a few of the different tutorial about. The learning is fun. :)

Check out these two photographers for their HDR efforts

Eastern Beauties

Sacred Lotus – Botanic Gardens, Adelaide, South Australia

Nelumbo nucifera

Blue

"Summer Blues"

"Blue Horizon"

"Cool Blue"

I used the colour temperature in the raw converter in Photoshop to alter the tones of the images to blue.

The "Sticks" at Port Willunga

An icon on the southern coastline of South Australia, the remains of the old jetty at Port Willunga is a must to photograph. Of course, getting the right light to do the old "stick" justice is the hard bit. All that is left of the jetty is a few uprights and a few broken stumps. The location is terrific with the cliffs and ocean and the sun setting on the eastern horizon.

I was down there early December last year (2007) trying to catch the light and practice with my reverse ND grad filter. These are some of the results.

Early evening just before sunset. I was quite taken with the green moss on the craggy rocks.

"Turning Green"
Same rocks just a little later as the sun has set. Different angle with slow shutter speed to catch the movement in the water.
Focal length: 13mm - Apature: f/18 - Exposure: 1 second - ISO: 100.

"The Sticks" just after sunset

"Like a Candle"

Catching the Light

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