*OFFICIAL* Snapshot of the Day (one image per post please) #1

[The1]

Originally Posted by Weebl

I like your exposure but I can't figure out what to look at boat or trees.

goal was everything Was my attempt at mixing landscape with a subject.

[The1]

perhaps a smaller verion of the image might work better for that sort of thing so it doesn't let the eye wander as far?

[Weebl]

Not for me, perhaps a different angle or ~30mm. I get the feeling I'm looking through my 300 if that makes sense to you.

[The1]

Originally Posted by Weebl

Not for me, perhaps a different angle or ~30mm. I get the feeling I'm looking through my 300 if that makes sense to you.

aka, you can't see much depth? background is smushed up against forground?

it was 43mm i think, but on a crop body, so could definitely have moved in closer, but on a 29 foot boat, if you go too wide angle, it really really distorts a lot.

I took several all the way around the boat, but this i think was one of the better ones, my situation wasn't exactly the best as i was in a Kayak and trying not to drop 3k worth of camera into the water.

I'm pretty used to shooting that way now, I just have to keep the ISO high so that any wave ripples and me balancing the boat don't effect the shot. but it sometimes sacrifices the clarity.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by The1

Thanks.

I'm working on exposing to the right a bit more, and it's working for me, but it's hard to find that fine like when shooting a white boat as your main object in direct sunlight

so a little over exposed but i can live with it.

Great pic. Looks relaxing as hell. I'll need something like that after the next few weeks go by.

When shooting right you can recover detail that isn't blown. Just throw up a new layer, set the blend mode to soft light, and paint your highlight areas with black. You can the use opacity of that layer to fine tune. You can bring out some detail on the boat, and the lichens and water stains on the rocks.

[The1]

Originally Posted by Weebl

Not for me, perhaps a different angle or ~30mm. I get the feeling I'm looking through my 300 if that makes sense to you.

oh, one other issue i ran into, there were 25 other boats that moored in that obscure basin we were in.... so other angles i took shots of unfortunaty have other boats in them.

I'll see what i can dig up if there's something that works a lil better.

[dcstep]

I play trumpet in several orchestras and bands. Last Saturday the concert band I play in gave a "Childrens Concert" in the City Center Park in Highland Ranch, Colorado. I take my 5D MkII to these events and find that I get a lot of shot opportunities from perspectives that many photographers don't get. The band uses them in publicity material and the members sometimes download shots of themselves for personal use.

I like this clarinet player's pose and the color in her costume and the detail in the clarinet itself. I used the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS at 67mm, f/7.1, ISO 800 and 1/60-second. Remember, I "expose right" (+1EV here) and pull levels down in RAW conversion. People trying to shoot this at ISO 100 or 200 shoot themselves in the foot. They're trying to avoid noise, but they have to open so wide that the lose DOF or underexpose. I make +EV my number one priority, then DOF and let the ISO fall where it may. You can pixel-peep if you like over at Flickr, but noise will not be an issue.


There's always a clown... by dcstep, on Flickr

I use a lot of square crops for internet posting. I think it makes it easy to focus on a strong subject. Either landscape or portrait would have had too much extraneous info for my taste.

[Weebl]

No, I wasn't talking compression,exposure but just wanting to see a bit more wider. Both are equally sharp and I just would like a bit more tree.
Don't get me wrong, I do really like how it came out.
I think the water is running downhill to the right.

Really nice Dave, I like doing the same for my son and the HS orchestra.

[The1]

Originally Posted by Weebl

No, I wasn't talking compression,exposure but just wanting to see a bit more wider. Both are equally sharp and I just would like a bit more tree.
Don't get me wrong, I do really like how it came out.
I think the water is running downhill to the right.

no worries, i'm just trying to get every piece of info out of you that i can so i can one day make one that makes you say "perfect" along with a few other people

[The1]

Originally Posted by dcstep

I use a lot of square crops for internet posting. I think it makes it easy to focus on a strong subject. Either landscape or portrait would have had too much extraneous info for my taste.

this is interesting..... And it makes a lot of sense, especially since a lot of forums are shaped very narrow as well, so an image will fit screen better and get the point across better.

[M_Six]

Nice pic, Dave. And you're right, the square crops works very well there.

I'm been trying to shoot +1EV when I use the 24-105. It works well most of the time. But last week I took some shots of an overgrown barn I've always wanted to shoot and blew out the clouds badly. You really need to watch the EV settings with really bright whites. Your clarinet player's shirt is white, but still shows decent detail. I couldn't bring back anything from the clouds. They were well and truly blown.

[The1]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Nice pic, Dave. And you're right, the square crops works very well there.

I'm been trying to shoot +1EV when I use the 24-105. It works well most of the time. But last week I took some shots of an overgrown barn I've always wanted to shoot and blew out the clouds badly. You really need to watch the EV settings with really bright whites. Your clarinet player's shirt is white, but still shows decent detail. I couldn't bring back anything from the clouds. They were well and truly blown.

do you have "highlights" turned on for when you review a shot?

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by The1

do you have "highlights" turned on for when you review a shot?

I didn't that day, but I do that now. It really does alert you to blown highlights. I drive by that barn often, so I'll get another shot at it.

[The1]

Originally Posted by M_Six

I didn't that day, but I do that now. It really does alert you to blown highlights. I drive by that barn often, so I'll get another shot at it.

I hate the blinking on the screen, but it really does work.

I've been using histogram a bit too, but i find since i've turned blinking hightlights on, i haven't been playing with the histogram as much.

I really need to stop and take more time with each shot, but when people are waiting for you, it's hard to justify the time.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by The1

I hate the blinking on the screen, but it really does work.

I've been using histogram a bit too, but i find since i've turned blinking hightlights on, i haven't been playing with the histogram as much.

I really need to stop and take more time with each shot, but when people are waiting for you, it's hard to justify the time.

Tell me about it. Wifey is the anti-assistant when it comes to me shooting stuff.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by The1

do you have "highlights" turned on for when you review a shot?

Yes, my "blinkies" are on. This shot was in full shade. Hence, there was little danger of blowout on the subject.

A weathered barn with bright clouds is a tough subject, often with huge dynamic range. Time to go reaslistic multi-shot HDR.

[The1]

i seem to have lost some quality in the conversion, should probably go over the settings in my post processing engine, but just to give you an idea of some of the scenery we saw on voyage.

the whitish rock is all quartz, so it was a nice challenge to expose right. It reflected a lot of light.

this lake is called Lake Topaz, it's not connected to any other bodies of water, and it is a dead lake, so going for a swim in it feels a bit eerie. it definitely has chemicles still in it keeping it from growing and moss or seaweed type things on the rocks, so your grip is amaizing walking into it.

[The1]

no regrets!!!!

[MATT0404]

^Great shot!

[Weebl]

Pretty pictures and I hope that was a successful landing.

[The1]

haha, it was a group of crazy kids that all kept jumping and doing crazy stuff, untill i examined one of my pictures really close and realized they were filming it all on a go pro camera

[The1]

Originally Posted by MATT0404

^Great shot!

thanks

was afraid someone was going to complain about the horizon cutting across the subject a bit

seems like the subject distracted from that though