Today I tried out a technique I learned in an online course recently. For this you wrap a piece of tulle material around your lens secured with a rubber band so that it covers the edges of the lens and gives the picture a soft edge with a touch of colour, depending on what colour material you use. A geranium and a gerbera I currently have in the house were beautiful subjects. I worked with a 150mm lens and, of course, a tripod.
Draping the fabric around my lens hood was really fiddly and there was not much control as to where the fabric arranged itself. So I ended up taking my lens hood off and stretching two layers of material with a hole in the middle over the lens and used manual focus through the hole. That produced some pleasing 'arty' results, and I am looking forward to improving on these when better light is available.
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I have been getting up early a couple of times this week to take pictures of the sunrise as the weather is good at present. Here is what I learned:
Monday: 6am Connought Waters in Chingford It was freezing cold, but clear. There was a light mist over the water and some morning activity with birds, ducks and geese flying around - probably complaining about the early disturbance. My camera was all set up to RAW (professional photography) mode and I had my ND filters ready to use with the rising sun. Well, what can I say? By the time we saw the sun 'rising' above the trees, it was almost daylight. No clouds, meaning no interesting colours in the sky. Once home I found that the ND filter made all the pictures very dark and I could not use my RAW files as I don't want to invest in Photoshop yet. Disappointed but not beaten. Conclusion: Don't run before you can walk! Back to the drawing board. Wednesday: 6am Epping Forest at the top of Forest Road in Walthamstow This time I was better equipped: gloves, hat, NO ND Filters, NO fancy RAW format just good old JPEG. Camera set to M (manual), ISO 100, f8 to 22, 1/60 to 6 seconds, 2 sec self timer to avoid camera shake, and, of course, my tripod. The moon was still fairly full as we had a Harvest Moon recently, so I had a few goes at the setting moon before I turned around and 'played' with the rising sun. There were some clouds and good colour but even up here I could not see the 'Golden Hour' just before the sun rises on the horizon. However, it was good practice to get used to setting my camera and it yielded some reasonable pictures. As always, there is lots of room for improvement (especially finding a better place) and I can't wait to get out there again. Last Monday I entered in the first official competition at my camera club judged by an independent photographer. There were a few things I learned, like
* tone down the background of close-ups so it does not distract from the subject * make sure to crop out disturbing light marks around the perimeter of the picture * occasionally break the rules of composition and light - you might get away with it if it is an interesting picture * remember it is only the opinion of the judge, with which you might not agree * work with photoshop and RAW format for more successful post processing of your photos * there is always some luck involved and a large dollop of what goes on in the photographer's mind One of my photos made the last 16 (out of 60 odd), which I think is pretty good considering I am a relative beginner at competitions. I am certainly looking forward to the next one and will, in the meantime, hone my skills. Here is the photo that got me to no. 16 titled 'Taking a Rest' (Ruddy Darter Dragonfly) In preparation for my upcoming September holiday in the Austrian Alps I have started experimenting with my Canon EOS M5 mirrorless camera mounted on a tripod and manual settings. It's like learning to drive again! Off Auto mode or any other of the preset modes like Av and Tv and on M (manual) there are a lot of considerations:
LIGHTING: Aperture: A small f-stop like 1.8 will let more light in but give you a narrow depth of field, meaning the background will be blurry. Shutter Speed: any values larger than 1/60 sec will keep the shutter open longer and let more light in but pressing the shutter release will give you camera shake and a blurry picture. Tripod and remote release or 2sec self timer essential. ISO: a higher ISO like over 1000 can give you more 'noise' in the picture, meaning it will make the end picture look grainy. Back Lit: if the subject is back lit like shooting against a window with sunlight streaming in, you may need to turn on the flash to compensate for the dark areas facing you. Luckily, once your camera is on the tripod, you can see on the screen the effect of your chosen settings. It leaves your hands free to set the controls and avoids camera shake if using remote release or self timer on long exposures. More things to consider: Background: make sure there are no disturbing features in the background that draw attention away from your image (like the radiator in my pictures). Composition: Centre the main subject or place on one of the intersections of the rule-of-thirds grid. Here are some of my trials. The subject is simply one of my house plants and I experimented with over and under exposure. Somehow I arrived at close-ups again, my favourite shooting mode. Epping Forest 22.8.2018
The first time I took out my new Canon M5 I struggled a bit with the settings. With a mirrorless camera like this (and DSLRs of course) and when not shooting in automatic mode, you have to keep your eye on settings like - Aperture - Time value (speed) - ISO (sensitivity) - White Balance It's like driving a car, at first you have to really think about every setting to work out sharpness, lighting and composition. But the more you do it, the easier it gets until it becomes automatic and you do not have to think about it so much. I have taken better pictures than these in the past but it was real fun following the squirrel around in the trees and catching him just as he started to fly. By the way, that was my last shot and I have often found that the last picture I take is a good one. So don't stop until you have taken that last shot - you will know when that is. Hollow Pond Whipps Cross Road, East London
Yesterday I decided to get up at 5.30am to try out my new Canon M5 on my first sunrise in decades. It was not easy getting out of bed after a late night, and I did not really wake up until I was out 'in the field' and started pressing the shutter release. But it was well worth it, and here are some of the things I learned: - GET READY: get your equipment and outfit ready the evening before and have an early night (not like me). - WRAP UP WARM: even though it was only end of August, mornings can be quite cold, and this one was! - BE EARLY: set up your camera a few minutes before the sun comes up. Once it shows on the horizon you only have a few minutes to take the glorious colours. When the sun appears fully, it is too bright to get a decent shot. - TAKE A TRIPOD: for long exposures in low light conditions your really need a tripod and possibly a remote release to avoid camera shake and blurry pictures. - TAKE ENERGY BARS: if you are not an early breakfast type, take some energy bars to keep you going. Focused thinking does not go well with an empty stomach. - WAIT: When you have taken at least two shots, wait a while. The scene will change and you might take even better shots after a few minutes. - CAMERA CONTROL: Keep your camera on Aperture priority, but also keep your eye on speed, ISO and Whitebalance as well, for the best exposure - TURN AROUND: when walking along, frequently turn around. There may be a great shot behind you. |
AuthorI love taking pictures, particularly of nature, flowers, landscapes, close-ups and architecture. I enjoy travelling and exploring and finding creative ways to capture the world as I see it. Combining my pictures with my inspirational articles gives the reader, I feel, a more holistic experience. A Thoughtful Gift
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