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

[MATT0404]

Originally Posted by dcstep

Very nice Mattt.

Assuming that's a relatively small hawk, I'm guessing it's a sharp-skinned hawk. If you have some other views, might go to Cornell's AllAboutBirds.org to see if you can compare to other similar birds. Also, searches on Flickr can be very helpful.

Dave

Thanks, Dave! Someone else mentioned the possibility of a cooper's hawk. I'll look into it further.

[oneintheory]

Originally Posted by dcstep

I love it Josh. She has great eyes that you capture well, with a BG that flatters her colors.

The only fault I see is that stray, direct light cutting across her right arm and blouse. If you'd noticed that, I would have been easy to block off. If you cloned it off her arm, then most people wouldn't notice it on her blouse, I suspect.

Dave

Originally Posted by The1

That's good news, and i have to say that's one of my favorite shots of yours.

but like DC said, perhaps just drop the exposure a tiny bit on her arm or something and it would be "Perfect"

Untitled by jsophoto, on Flickr

[The1]

very nice

[The1]

great shot as well Matt.

[dcstep]

Nice fix Josh. I'd love to see more of her...

[oneintheory]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsophot...7628856536027/


Untitled by jsophoto, on Flickr

[TL]

Originally Posted by The1

nice shooting as usual Tim

Originally Posted by dcstep

Tim, I love the weather and the geometric balance in the composition.

Originally Posted by Chewy734

nice shot Tim! Glad you went with B&W in that photo.

Originally Posted by MATT0404

TL, that's a great shot!

thanks guys
I original wanted the cliche women with umbrella in the rain, B&W on the Brooklyn Bridge but couldn't wait too long as I had a lunch meeting. So I quickly snap that one and ran back to the subway.

[The1]

Originally Posted by TL

thanks guys
I original wanted the cliche women with umbrella in the rain, B&W on the Brooklyn Bridge but couldn't wait too long as I had a lunch meeting. So I quickly snap that one and ran back to the subway.

there will be other days

[TL]

Matt - nice shot of the hawk but why is it missing a leg

Josh - nice shot, the warm tones works with the model and background

[The1]

it's name is stumpy

[TL]

Originally Posted by The1

there will be other days

[MATT0404]

Originally Posted by TL

Matt - nice shot of the hawk but why is it missing a leg

Josh - nice shot, the warm tones works with the model and background

Haha, I'm not sure why it's standing on one leg. I have other images showing both legs. I guess it was showing off for the camera.

It was funny how I ran into this guy, though. I went down to the Pittsburgh National Aviary today to take some photos and see the birds. Well, I toured around and was finishing up for the day. Just outside the front doors is a small garden area with a few feeders where a few smaller birds were feeding. As I walked outside, this hawk swooped down straight for the feeder and all the birds scattered in a hurry! I figured he was just being territorial, but it turns out both the cooper and the sharpie frequent bird feeders, not for the seed, but for the birds that are feeding there.

I quickly got my camera up and snapped a few shots while he perched on the wall for about a minute or two. Who would have thought my favorite shot from the day would be taken outside the aviary?

[MATT0404]

A shot from inside the aviary:


Inca Tern by mkrepp, on Flickr

I'm terrible at panning! Definitely need some practice. I like the picture either way, though.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by MATT0404

A shot from inside the aviary:...

I'm terrible at panning! Definitely need some practice. I like the picture either way, though.

Good focus, exposure and about the right shutter speed. I wouldn't pan that one, focus on the hand holding the food up and, use around f/8 or f/11 to get some DOF, and try to move around where you have the bird coming toward you and then shoot. This is where shooting 8-fps is a huge help. You might keep both eyes open so that you can see the bird approaching.

Dave

[The1]

Originally Posted by dcstep

Good focus, exposure and about the right shutter speed. I wouldn't pan that one, focus on the hand holding the food up and, use around f/8 or f/11 to get some DOF, and try to move around where you have the bird coming toward you and then shoot. This is where shooting 8-fps is a huge help. You might keep both eyes open so that you can see the bird approaching.

Dave

I learned this while shooting horse jumping. when only looking through view finder, you often find yourself taking a wild guess at what's about to happen. Or you find yourself watching and waiting till last minute to lift your camera to your eye to get the shot.

keeping both eyes open pretty much allows one eye to see the subject approaching, and just as they leave sight of one eye, they enter the sight of the other eye.

and you don't look goofy with half your face all scrunched up while shooting.



great advice dave.

[The1]

just goofing about.

Any advice on black and white PP?


watch-1 by Reed Jackson, on Flickr

[The1]

just for fun, you can tell it's a cold night by the smoke stacks.

why my lightroom exports photos, they seem to get darker after being made into jpegs, anyone else experience this?

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by The1

just for fun, you can tell it's a cold night by the smoke stacks.

why my lightroom exports photos, they seem to get darker after being made into jpegs, anyone else experience this?

What do your default settings look like? I don't use LR, but with DxO I've got preset set to apply an S-curve, add Contrast and add Vibrance. All those will make a finished image look darker. I sometimes add a little brightness to offset when I didn't expose enough "to the right" in my initial image.

I would guess that it's easy to develop your own preset. For the image you show I'd like more Contrast and a little pull down in the RGB curve, if I were doing it myself. Those sliders and curves are all there for your usage. Don't be afraid to push and pull on them, just don't get carried away. (The Saturation slider is where too many people go astray).

Dave

[The1]

Originally Posted by dcstep

What do your default settings look like? I don't use LR, but with DxO I've got preset set to apply an S-curve, add Contrast and add Vibrance. All those will make a finished image look darker. I sometimes add a little brightness to offset when I didn't expose enough "to the right" in my initial image.

I would guess that it's easy to develop your own preset. For the image you show I'd like more Contrast and a little pull down in the RGB curve, if I were doing it myself. Those sliders and curves are all there for your usage. Don't be afraid to push and pull on them, just don't get carried away. (The Saturation slider is where too many people go astray).

Dave

no presets, just simple settings, i like going through my pictures 1 by 1 unless i know there's a grouping like if i do a photoshoot with friends, then i can do a mass edit, then small tweaks, but i start from 0 on everything.

Light room shows you the finished picture, but i'm assuming that somewhere in my transformation from RAW to JPEG somethings going a bit wrong, and i'm losing brightness or exposure, or something. Maybe i've got my quality set too low, and this is the result.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by The1

no presets, just simple settings, i like going through my pictures 1 by 1 unless i know there's a grouping like if i do a photoshoot with friends, then i can do a mass edit, then small tweaks, but i start from 0 on everything.

Light room shows you the finished picture, but i'm assuming that somewhere in my transformation from RAW to JPEG somethings going a bit wrong, and i'm losing brightness or exposure, or something. Maybe i've got my quality set too low, and this is the result.

I set my jpeg quality at 100%. Why wouldn't you???

I think that you should try to find a preset that suits you. The whole point of LR, to me, is to establish your "look" and show your images like you'd like them to look. I like contrast and detail. Many people like an S-curve in their RGB or a pull-down in the middle of the RGB. If your jpegs look like they came out of the camera, what's the point?

Those setting in the camera, like "Scenic", "Portrait", etc. are applying RGB and Contrast adjustments to the in-camera jpeg. You should figure out what you like and use it. Yes, you'll still need to look image by image and tweak, but you'll start from a baseline that you like.

Dave

[The1]

turns out my quality was at 100% afterall

I don't actually change many of my photos over to JPG, so i don't have a need for high quality as most of the jpgs will just become online files viewed on computers.

if i do a shoot for someone, I change all the settings and sizes to suit the need, and put the quality at 100% And if i know pictures will be printed I put the resolution up to 320ppi or in and around that area, so there's the option of size.

I've only been noticing this problem since i installed version 3.7 as well, so i'll have to look into it a bit more and see what's what i guess.

[MATT0404]

Originally Posted by dcstep

Good focus, exposure and about the right shutter speed. I wouldn't pan that one, focus on the hand holding the food up and, use around f/8 or f/11 to get some DOF, and try to move around where you have the bird coming toward you and then shoot. This is where shooting 8-fps is a huge help. You might keep both eyes open so that you can see the bird approaching.

Dave

Thanks, Dave. I guess I really wasn't panning in this particular shot. I was actually focused on the hand and waited for the bird to swoop down for the worm and started firing. I guess this is where you run into the limitations on the 5d2. I probably should have thought about using the 40D. Great advice to keep both eyes open to track the subject. I really hadn't thought of that before.

Here's another shot from inside. The Steller's Sea Eagle. A very impressive bird:


Steller's Sea Eagle by mkrepp, on Flickr