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Photo Assignment: Weekend 11/03/07


Perspective control lenses


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Jeff,

You sandbagger! You holding out on us? How cool is that? I'm very impressed. . . .
 
Feedback II

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Beerteam is back with more wonderful photography. The shot is a bit atypical in that it doesn't include a bike, something he is very good about. I'm glad I got to read a bit about this photo in his explanation. I confess that I looked at rather quickly and missed the fact that the sky is actually a reflection of the sky in water. It's a wonderfully lit shot besides. I think like a great painting it's easy to glance at and say, "oh, a tree," but a closer inspection reveals a great deal of thought and even planning, although he did say he took it rather quickly. It's a wondeful photo.

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I don't think this technically was taken this weekend, but Rocketman isn't trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes, either. He posted a wonderful trip report about his recent holiday. I just love the simplicity, the layers, and the story in this photo. My wife was looking over my shoulder last night as I was showing her some of these and she said, "Ooh, I LOVE that shot!" I do, too. The compression of the telephoto lens and the very shallow depth of field make the subject really pop in this photo. The lighting (late afternoon) is also very subtle, very subdued. It's really an effective photo. Nice work, RM.

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I don't think you need me to tell you what an amazing artifact Bluestune's submission this week is. Quite a lot has already been said about it and I appreciate his willingness to illuminate his technique for us to learn from. It's worth emphasizing that this image was recorded with a "point n' shoot" camera, lending credence to the belief that it's the photographer and not the camera that makes an image. It's a magnificent study. It's a tremendous close-up, but there's no missing what it is. The beautiful, warm earth-tones of the leaf stand in stark relief to the other-worldly blue of his fuel tank. This subtlety and three-dimensionality of the shadows are what is most fascinating to me. If you can recall his previous entries, the raindrops on the fender for example, we can see that Bluestune is a photographer who paints with light. We all do, but he's very thoughtful about how he adds and controls light in these images he's shared.

This is one of my favorite photos submitted to any of these threads so far. It's just wonderful. . . .

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MLS2GO is back with another submission this week, one which I think fits the theme well, especially considering that it is on a motorcycle forum. This is, perhaps, our most universally beloved symbols, is it not? His choice of composition is nice, centralizing and focusing on the arrow itself and not so much the sign. The bullet holes add an ominous air to the picture and makes me ask what did this sign do to merit its assasination. Pure and simple, that's for sure.

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I think the most important thing to say about this photo is how much I hate Kbasa and curse the good fortune he has to own such a magnificent motorcycle. I don't really know him very well, but whatever his story is, he couldn't possibly deserve this.

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Seriously, though, this is a nice series of photos of a beautiful subject. I like the headlight refelcted in the fender but I prefer this shot, I think. Something about an afternoon ride in the country and the no parking sign (as was pointed out) tell a story here. The angle from which it's taken is flattering to the bike (is there a bad angle on a bike like this?) and he handles the lighting well, given that he's starting to shoot into the sun. The leaves, the grass, the rolling hills. . . . It's all good.

Got to put my game face on and go to work. More later. . . .
 
Great find, Rebecca! The end result can be very interesting. Im trying hard to avoid the impulse buy Do you have one?

Some of the sample images look like the old Vaseline around the edges of your UV filter trick.
I don't have one of the lenses but I have done a few shots with a friends digital SLR with one on it. My sense was that it was more on the artsy side rather than a serious commercial lens. But it was very fun to use and you can see from the sample images on the site that it makes some great images.

I am surprised that no one has one - they have been out a while. If you do a search on Dgrin you might find some info on it.

Where's ian408? He's probably shot with one......
 
Feedback III

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Jackie joins us this week with a photo that might have been as at home in the "Shadow of a Doubt" assignment. Still, this fits our theme well, too. I love these shadow studies, particularly when the shadow is especially distorted as this one is. The picture of this dilapidated old house is infinitely more interesting with the added interest of the shadows. I agree with Jackie's assessment that the image is over-exposed. It is, however, very nicely composed and interesting which goes a long way towards successful.

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I already gushed of BMWDean's second submission, which I referred to as Bikerotica. It's obviously a simple photo but an imaginative interpretation. It also goes to show that have good subjects helps. This would make a nice desktop, greeting card, etc.

Did I actually just quote myself? Sheesh. What's next? Maybe I'll start refering to myself in the third person. . . .

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Speaking of greeting cards, BeerTeam has got another winner here (although it is yet another bikeless picture. This is a disturbing trend. . . .) This photo is just wonderful. It is beautifully composed with the river leading the viewer's eye directly up to the mill. It is spot-on exposure, great saturation. . . . Just a wonderful picture. Both the texture and the reflection in the water add such a degree of interest. Imagine this photo horizontally composed without the water--just a mundane picture of a building. I agree with Rapid_Roy; sometimes BeerTeam makes me want to smash my camera!

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Speaking of whom, I think RR was being a little hard on himself with this week's submission. This is a nicely composed, well-exposed shot. It does fit the theme and is not without visual interest. What's not to like? What does grab my attention in this shot is the vine creeping up the wall--this makes for a much more specific subject. Suppose Roy had decided to move in just a bit closer and perhpas compose the shot vertically, for something like this:

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It's very easy for me to make a suggestion like this after the fact, and of course I accomplished this by breaking the rules. But it helps to notice the details about a scene that grabs your attention. Sure, it's interesting, but what specifically is interesting about it? Sometimes honing in on a detail reveals a more powerful image.

Oh, by the way, 1,000 bonus points for the new avatar. Very nice.

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Sonnata joins us this week with a stark image. I like the way this is composed, with the flag poles arrananged in an ascending order. I hate to see a photo of a flag unfurled, but we can't control the wind, can we? The sky in this picture is so dark and so blue. I'm pretty certain a poloraizing filter was used. Perhaps too much of a good thing? I know that I've shot some skies that I thought were too blue. I wonder if a different composition might have greater visual interest, but with a subject so high and inaccessible, I don't know what you might have done differently.

25 bonus points for teaching me the word finial and I agree that one being out of kilter does add a point of visual interest.

Barring any last-minute submissions, that about wraps up this week. Thanks for all the great photos. We've learned a lot this week. We've seen one of the Poobah's cool rides; we've learned that one of our members is a published architectural photographer; we've visited Mexico; we learned what a hockey puck looks like when you are actually playing hockey; we've seen the wisdom of taking it one day at a time; we've learned that a torch is an indispensibel lighting tool; we've seen that with product photography, simpler is better; and--perhaps most importantly--it's the photographer and not the camera.
 
Back to you.

Barring any last-minute submissions, that about wraps up this week. Thanks for all the great photos. We've learned a lot this week. We've seen one of the Poobah's cool rides; we've learned that one of our members is a published architectural photographer; we've visited Mexico; we learned what a hockey puck looks like when you are actually playing hockey; we've seen the wisdom of taking it one day at a time; we've learned that a torch is an indispensibel lighting tool; we've seen that with product photography, simpler is better; and--perhaps most importantly--it's the photographer and not the camera.

Damn your anglophilia, I'll have to give you all those bonus points back!
Thanks for all this week's input.
 
Speaking of whom, I think RR was being a little hard on himself with this week's submission. This is a nicely composed, well-exposed shot. It does fit the theme and is not without visual interest. What's not to like? What does grab my attention in this shot is the vine creeping up the wall--this makes for a much more specific subject. Suppose Roy had decided to move in just a bit closer and perhpas compose the shot vertically, for something like this:



It's very easy for me to make a suggestion like this after the fact, and of course I accomplished this by breaking the rules. But it helps to notice the details about a scene that grabs your attention. Sure, it's interesting, but what specifically is interesting about it? Sometimes honing in on a detail reveals a more powerful image.

Oh, by the way, 1,000 bonus points for the new avatar. Very nice.


Thank you. I knew there was a picture in there, I wasn't happy with why I couldn't find it. There was something about that when I looked at it, and I should have taken more shots. If I had zoomed in and messed with some settings, it might have shown up better. I have learned to not rush. You have also shown me the eye is the best tool, my only drawback is mine is connected to my brain. :laugh
 
Thanks for another great review, I love reading your comments as with each one I am introduced to something new, be it an idea or some aspect or detail of a photograph I would have overwise overlooked.

Oh, and to set the facts straight, I did actually take the beer can Photo on Friday 11/02 so it was within the time frame, but it is equally true that I didn't take it for this Assignment as I hadn't bothered even thinking about the internet or loging in (Gee, I wonder why??):laugh so didn't even knowwhat the assignment was, but that shot seemed to fit and I wanted to keep my hand in!

When I took that I was actually thinking about the previous assignment and during my morinings on the beach before the crowds showed up I had the long lens with me as I was trying to capture some birds shots, it seemed like the perfect time to try some Wide Open close depth-of-field shots. (in between these :drink ) Sandy beaches shot close to ground level are always fun esp. when the sun is still low.

RM
 
Sonnata joins us this week with a stark image. I like the way this is composed, with the flag poles arrananged in an ascending order. I hate to see a photo of a flag unfurled, but we can't control the wind, can we? The sky in this picture is so dark and so blue. I'm pretty certain a poloraizing filter was used. Perhaps too much of a good thing? I know that I've shot some skies that I thought were too blue. I wonder if a different composition might have greater visual interest, but with a subject so high and inaccessible, I don't know what you might have done differently.

25 bonus points for teaching me the word finial and I agree that one being out of kilter does add a point of visual interest.
Actually, only a UV filter was used on a Canon 10D.
ISO Speed 400
Shutter 1/250
Aperture f/22
Focal length 28.0 mm
Metering mode:Average.

Thanks for all the comments. I'm learning a lot. Mostly how formidable our members are with a camera.

While I'm always impressed by the quality of photos people submit, Bluestune's leaf image really appeals to me as well. I especially like the colors as well as the shadow under the leaf & the detail on the edges of the leaf.
 
Tom, thanks for the kind words.

The mill shot was also park the bike, climb down the ditch set up the shot, take 9 exposures, climb on the bike and leave. Total time 5 minutes max.


I guess I should clarify myself on stating I did not do much setup on the photos. The real set up was choosing Sunday weather report, and riding in early light rain and cool with a clear skies in the afternoon. Saturday was a very bright sunny late Fall day, which I used to detail the mud off the airhead GS. Moral of the story, cloudy over cast day is the only day to photograph that mill with my point and shot camera.

You were wondering were the weekly motorcycle pictures were? Well I did not want to post to many pictures so I cut back on the number of post. I do not expect you to review these pictures.


Remember hit F11 on your keyboard
 
Tilt Shift

Someone asked about Tilt-shift lenses.

You can use a tilt shift in two different ways. Architectural control is just one way. With a
Canon TS, you can rotate the mount 90 degrees to make really nice 2 or 3 shot panorama
shot without moving the camera.

Tilt Shift for Landscapes is becoming quite the thing. I'm just starting to get into it.
 
Someone asked about Tilt-shift lenses.

With a Canon TS, you can rotate the mount 90 degrees to make really nice 2 or 3 shot panorama shot without moving the camera.

Tilt Shift for Landscapes is becoming quite the thing. I'm just starting to get into it.

You can do the same panorama technique with any shift lens, tilt or not, whether made by Canon, Nikon, Minolta, Pentax, Schneider, or Olympus.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perspective_correction_lens
 
Classic parallax problem. The old bellows lens 4x5s often had the parallel lens motion feature for parallax correction. Absolutely a godsend for professional architectural photographers. Clients hate pointy buildings that aren't pointy.

Nikon made a shift lens. Or two. Seems like Nikon or Canon made a shift/tilt bellows that you could mount a lens on or maybe it came with a 28PC or some such. Is there some problem with vignetting with shifting the new lenses and would an older Nikon lens for example with the 35mm format covering area be a better choice? Wonder if that stuff is still around somewhere...and unappreciated.

And then there was the 8 x 10 Deardorff. I hate it when I remember stuff that far back.
 
Well, since we've morphed into reflection shots :laugh ..

here's one from this summer's local BMW Square route Rally

I played around with it a bit see if you tell whether its right side up or not ?

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its kinda obvious whats going on once you look closely but still fun (least I had fun doing it!)

RM
 
And Speaking of Reflections..

This pic taken by Beemerchef on his epic ride really had me going for a while till I figured out what was going on with it. Such a simple solution and I thought it very imaginative!
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RM
 
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