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

[Chewy734]

nice photo of the woman, but I think it would've been nicer if she was looking up towards us?

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by Weebl

Dave, Cornell is quite an achievement. That is my "go to" site for certain information on cats and I am sure their ornithology dept. is comparable. Since I will shoot from 6-10 feet away my DOF is very thin so I will have to shoot fast to get a couple with different focus points per hover.
The ones I like the most are when you can see their tongues hanging out

Yeah, Cornell is the Bomb. I love that they've got images and the bird's vocalizations. They used a butterfly image of mine to illustrate back yard environments to attract birds. I took the image in the wild, but they liked it. They used another in a newletter that came and went.

When you're lucky enough to get that close, then you need to shoot at f/8 or f/11 and push the ISO up to maintain a decent shutter speed.

My example above was about 20-feet away with the 500mm. If you look at the back wing in the Original size, you can see that it's OOF. IF, big if, you can get the eye in focus and, better yet, with a light in it, all else is forgiven.

I keep shooting even when they're on the other side of the flower, knowing that they'll soon move and I may get a lucky shot during the move. I click off one at a time and keep the focus on them by "bumping" the AF and then shoot a burst when they move or approach a flower in my clear view. You can use a tripod, but I find that hand held gives me the highest keeper rate.

Dave

[ArtistikD]

Originally Posted by The1

cool, just gotta find a happy medium. It's a great shot.

so is the bathing suit girl.

Can't believe Weebl caught the tag!!! he must have been staring at the picture for a while i guess.

lol it wasn't really a tag but a design in her bikini

[UdubBadger]

Originally Posted by Chewy734

nice photo of the woman, but I think it would've been nicer if she was looking up towards us?

or at least the frame was leading out on her gaze instead of closing in on it

[Weebl]

Originally Posted by The1

Can't believe Weebl caught the tag!!! he must have been staring at the picture for a while i guess.

If I find a shot that technical comments have been raised and I like the shot, I will study it for a bit before posting.
and I do like how that looks.

Originally Posted by dcstep

...
My example above was about 20-feet away with the 500mm. If you look at the back wing in the Original size, you can see that it's OOF. IF, big if, you can get the eye in focus and, better yet, with a light in it, all else is forgiven.

I keep shooting even when they're on the other side of the flower, knowing that they'll soon move and I may get a lucky shot during the move. I click off one at a time and keep the focus on them by "bumping" the AF and then shoot a burst when they move or approach a flower in my clear view. You can use a tripod, but I find that hand held gives me the highest keeper rate.

Dave

I noticed that and figured you were using the 500. I have the "DOF" but the pixel peeping "zone of sharp" up close tends to be ~ 1/4" at best.

I will shoot like this also. I have noticed that if I press halfway down and then shoot vs bumping then shooting the focus keeper is better. Hopefully that isn't the way with the 5/7D.
I think I'll try the high ISO, thank you.

[oneintheory]

Jamie by jsophoto, on Flickr

[Litos]

i woulda cloned that infant that she has sleeping on her face HAHA !!!!

rest of the shotlooks great.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by Weebl

...
I noticed that and figured you were using the 500. I have the "DOF" but the pixel peeping "zone of sharp" up close tends to be ~ 1/4" at best.

I will shoot like this also. I have noticed that if I press halfway down and then shoot vs bumping then shooting the focus keeper is better. Hopefully that isn't the way with the 5/7D.
I think I'll try the high ISO, thank you.

The 7D is quick, so you "bump" only when you're certain you're on target, olest it very quickly grabs onto some BG. If you hold the shutter down and the bird moves away, which hummers do quite often, then the camera will grab focus on the BG. When I do finally release the shutter I'll always initially stop at half way down to make sure both the AF and IS are up to speed. If you just push through half-way fast enough, you'll catch the IS spinning up and that'll cause shake and OOF condition.

With my 70-200mm at 200mm, with the 1.4x TC and the 25ET I'll still have a 1/4 to 1/2" at f/8. That's enough IF you get the eye in focus. Anyway, if you're at f/8 or f/11 and still only have a 1/4", then you might move back a foot and plan on cropping in post. That'll give you more DOF and still result in decent IQ after processing.

Remember, most viewers don't pixel-peep. I Preview full screen. If there's going to be cropping, then I zoom into the approximate crop to make sure I have enough pixels on the subject so that the most important element will be sharp, even after the image is viewed full-screen. If the eye, for instance, is super sharp, then everyone forgives the OOF area.

The gold standard is to get 90% or more of the animal in focus, along with ancillary things, like the flower in the case of my hummingbird shot. When you get that, then it's the ideal that we all strive for.

Dave

[oneintheory]

Originally Posted by Litos

i woulda cloned that infant that she has sleeping on her face HAHA !!!!

rest of the shotlooks great.

if you're referring to the bubble, then I'm a bit lost.

if you're referring to the mole under her right eye...i don't and will never clone out a distinctive beauty mark like that.

[UdubBadger]

I like it as is

[Weebl]

Sorry, not a fan of the shot. Technically really nice but not the shot.

[M_Six]

[UdubBadger]

I love toy trains

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by UdubBadger

I love toy trains

Then you'd love this guy's back yard. Major 1/28th scale train set up. I'll post more later.

[M_Six]

[Weebl]

Boat from the top of a sand mountain..
I so want to spend my money on a backyard G scale setup... then again a 335 isn't bad either.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by Weebl

Boat from the top of a sand mountain..
I so want to spend my money on a backyard G scale setup... then again a 335 isn't bad either.

Mountain is about right. Sleeping Bear Dunes. BIG sand dunes. Several hundred feet off the water at this point.



And yes, I'll be spending my dough on lenses and not choo-choos. But everyone has a hobby.

(But you did know it was G scale. Interesting.)

[Weebl]

Actually Mark, I thought it was a RC boat an not a real cruiser.
Wow.

What's not to like about trains? 7000 electric HP! I might just buy a SP Dash 9 G scale just to put it on a shelf and look at it.

[oneintheory]

messing around with ring modifiers.

[dcstep]

I only had an hour to hunt today, but this guy was more than just reward:


Bull frog, patiently waiting for his next meal to fly or swim by by dcstep, on Flickr

7D, with 500mm lens and 1.4x TC, hand held at 1/800th second, ISO 400 and f/7.1. This is actually -1/3EV because of the light on its eyes. Taken an hour before sunset.

Dave

[UdubBadger]

ok not gonna lie when I saw the 1st pic I thought it was a tilt shift (glanced right before I left for dinner).

it really is a toy train set. WOW

[Weebl]

Oneintheory and Dave,
A crop that tight is not flattering to the model.

Dave, what do you think about using a CPL in that photo?