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Thread: Amateur Photography Thread

  1. #601
    facetious maximus Yves's Avatar
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    As promised, for better or worse, here is a small sampling of my first foray into the world of macro and close-up photography:

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/102902...7645365401128/
    "Corn Flakes pissed in. You ranted. Mission accomplished. Thread closed."

    -Cozy 3:16-

  2. #602
    Moderator Duncan Glenday's Avatar
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    Since you started, I've seen a huge growth in the quality of your pictures' subject choice, composition, and vision, Yves.

    Nice.
    Regards,

    Duncan

  3. #603
    facetious maximus Yves's Avatar
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    I appreciate that Duncan. It started "clicking" for me (pun intended) with continued practice. The more comfortable I got with my camera, the more I could visualize and realize the photos I wanted. I'm pushing my camera a lot more than when I started; using almost every f-stop and iso it offers. Of course for macro the f-stop really doesn't make a lot of difference.

    I'm really enjoying myself and this thread has been a great help, esp. early on.
    "Corn Flakes pissed in. You ranted. Mission accomplished. Thread closed."

    -Cozy 3:16-

  4. #604
    Last edited by UnephenStephen; 07-29-2014 at 04:46 PM.
    "She said you are the air I breathe
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  5. #605
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    Great shots Yves - - - macro is a unique and interesting road - often less traveled. What type of lens are you using ??? Camera settings ???

    I have a ton of pics from last week up at Mom's house in the Adirondacks . . . should tackle them here pretty soon me thinks.

    ~JK

  6. #606
    "She said you are the air I breathe
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  7. #607
    facetious maximus Yves's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by WHORG View Post
    Great shots Yves - - - macro is a unique and interesting road - often less traveled. What type of lens are you using ??? Camera settings ???

    I have a ton of pics from last week up at Mom's house in the Adirondacks . . . should tackle them here pretty soon me thinks.

    ~JK
    Thanks Josef... I have a Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM lens. My settings did not vary too much. Most are either at f/8 or f/11, ISO 100 or 200 depending on the lighting. You're so close to the subject that you don't really need to open up any wider nor are you going to get too much depth of field.
    "Corn Flakes pissed in. You ranted. Mission accomplished. Thread closed."

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  8. #608
    General Miscreant Greg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yves View Post
    Thanks Josef... I have a Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM lens. My settings did not vary too much. Most are either at f/8 or f/11, ISO 100 or 200 depending on the lighting. You're so close to the subject that you don't really need to open up any wider nor are you going to get too much depth of field.
    Actually, there's a lot of variation with depth of field, even at just a few inches. I have shot the same subject at f/2.8, f/4 and f/8 with distinctly different results. I usually go for f/2.8 at very close macro distances, but sometimes you do actually need the extra depth of field--especially when the central element of the image has too much three-dimensionality to it be kept in focus at the widest aperture. But, in contrast, when you have a subject on which the center of focus is planar, or reasonably flat across the image, f/2.8 works really well to isolate that plane of interest from the fore and background.

    Using two of your images as examples: I would have closed down the aperture by two stops for IMG_3267 to get more of the white feathery plumes and the flower head the seeds are attached to in more even crispness. It's a great shot as it is, but I think slightly shaper focus focus at those two depths of the image would really make it pop.

    For IMG_3392, I would have opened up the aperture all the way to better isolate the caterpillar from the chain link fence, blur that imitation blue into the background bokeh. I might have actually gotten a bit closer to the subject, also, as that lens is certainly capable of focusing down to just an inch or two. But, keeping the eyes of the caterpillar in focus is important for that sort of composition.

    smaller apertures really work best in macro photography for keeping more three-dimensional objects that are the central element in focus across their critical "depth of interest". If you stop down too far, you'll get too much background in focus, as I think you've got with IMG_3369, where some of the lower blades of grass could have benefitted from a wider aperture to throw them more out of focus to highlight the beads of water on the top leaves; Similar to the effect you got with IMG_3378, where the background was farther away, and the smaller aperture didn't make as much of a difference.

  9. #609
    facetious maximus Yves's Avatar
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    Thanks Greg,

    I was so focused on lighting and composition that I did not really bother with f-stops all that much. The caterpillar was one where, had I immediately looked at the photo after taking it, I would have opened up the camera some more. My next wave of macro shots will feature some more open f-stops. My issue, when I did bother with it, was trying to get as much focus on the main subject as possible. However, I now realize that the metering on my camera was set to spot metering which may not have been the best setting for this sort of photography. It was set there for my bird session where I was far away from my subject and wanted a minimal focus outside my target.

    Still learning...
    "Corn Flakes pissed in. You ranted. Mission accomplished. Thread closed."

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  10. #610
    General Miscreant Greg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yves View Post
    My issue, when I did bother with it, was trying to get as much focus on the main subject as possible. However, I now realize that the metering on my camera was set to spot metering which may not have been the best setting for this sort of photography. It was set there for my bird session where I was far away from my subject and wanted a minimal focus outside my target.
    Actually, I use center-weighted or spot metering when shooting macro as I can focus right on the most important part of the subject without having to worry about the matrix metering missing it while doing its average. Especially when shooting bugs as the eye is most important.

    It takes practise, but you'll get used to how the aperture affects macro images pretty quickly. You can always bracket your exposures using f-stops, instead of shutter speeds whne shooting macro, and step in 2- or 3-stop intervals just to make sure you've got as much DoF covered until you get the hang of it.

    But, "flatter" subject don't need as much DoF, while more 3-dimensional subject planes need much more. Sometimes the bokeh behind the subject is what makes the subject pop out of the photo, so don't forsake the wide open lens. Play around, and spend more time on each individual subject until you get the feel for what's really happening.

  11. #611
    facetious maximus Yves's Avatar
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    I appreciate all the advice. I will definitely keep it in mind when returning to macro photos. It all makes perfect sense what you are saying it just never dawned on me as I was shooting. So many things to remember...
    "Corn Flakes pissed in. You ranted. Mission accomplished. Thread closed."

    -Cozy 3:16-

  12. #612
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    Photography is actually a lifelong learning experience - your basic technical skills are fairly simple (shutter speed, aperture, ISO) - - - - but composition, lighting, etc is what makes the hobby really fresh -

    Here's a few from our trip to the Adirondacks:







    That last shot was taken at ISO 6400 wide open (f1.4) - - - bonfire at our friends house (Yves has been there) - - -

    Tons more pics - but mostly family & kids stuff . . .

  13. #613
    facetious maximus Yves's Avatar
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    Your friends still living up on that mountain over looking 9(?) of the 26 peaks? They still got horses? That was a sweet set up!
    "Corn Flakes pissed in. You ranted. Mission accomplished. Thread closed."

    -Cozy 3:16-

  14. #614
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    Yup - they still have the gazebo over on that property with the nice view of the high peaks . . . but we had the bonfire where their regular place is across the hollow. We went over to see them a few times since they had 2 new kittens the kids played with.


  15. #615
    facetious maximus Yves's Avatar
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    Just as I remember it!
    "Corn Flakes pissed in. You ranted. Mission accomplished. Thread closed."

    -Cozy 3:16-

  16. #616
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    I never tire of the coastal destinations here in North Carolina - we've found some really isolated locations to enjoy over the years:


  17. #617
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    I was seriously considering my old Leica (D2) camera on eBay recently . . . they're fetching good money.

    After taking that thing to the beach last weekend, I decided it was worth keeping.


  18. #618
    "She said you are the air I breathe
    The life I love, the dream I weave."


    Unevensong - Camel

  19. #619
    facetious maximus Yves's Avatar
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    I've been thinking about getting Foliobook for my iPad. Anybody here use it? Is it as good as advertised? Is it easy to retrieve my photos from an external drive? What is Dropbox? Should one have photos in Dropbox first?
    "Corn Flakes pissed in. You ranted. Mission accomplished. Thread closed."

    -Cozy 3:16-

  20. #620
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    One of the media people here at work uses Foliobook on his iPad - - - he claims that it's highly reviewed and a great platform for "on the go" photographers = real estate agents, club & festival photographers, etc. You can edit/retouch at length with that app - - -

    Dropbox is a program (app) that allows you to share files across multiple devices . . . you upload files to Dropbox from one machine and they appear on all others sharing that same instance (login/password). I use it A LOT for any files shared between work and home - - - alleviates having to carry around thumb drives all the time.

    If you use the iPad more than a computer . . . then I guess Foliobook might be a better choice for you in editing your pics. It will most certainly allow you to upload single or batches of pics to your photo hosting sites (Flickr, Zenfolio, etc) once processed. Can you calibrate your iPad display at all - - - I'm not sure . . .

    Hope this helps - - -

  21. #621
    facetious maximus Yves's Avatar
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    I simply dump my photos into my computer then move them to an external drive for storage, no processing done to them at all. I'm in the computer dark ages as I still rip photos to DVD-Rs to watch on the TV. I have wi-fi but no Smart TV. What would be the best way for me to view content from my computer on my TV?

    I wanted to use Foliobook in order to have portable "best of" sets of photos to show people. I'm thinking that the retinal display will make the photos look that much better than d/l them to Flickr and sending a link.
    "Corn Flakes pissed in. You ranted. Mission accomplished. Thread closed."

    -Cozy 3:16-

  22. #622
    Last edited by UnephenStephen; 10-23-2014 at 05:24 PM.
    "She said you are the air I breathe
    The life I love, the dream I weave."


    Unevensong - Camel

  23. #623
    Last edited by UnephenStephen; 11-22-2014 at 07:58 AM.
    "She said you are the air I breathe
    The life I love, the dream I weave."


    Unevensong - Camel

  24. #624
    facetious maximus Yves's Avatar
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    In my never ending quest to learn as many different styles of photography as I can, I recently did some street photography. I opted for a monochrome setting as I feel it captures well the mood of a big city like Montréal. Here's a link to a Top 15 compilation:

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/102902...7648930655040/
    "Corn Flakes pissed in. You ranted. Mission accomplished. Thread closed."

    -Cozy 3:16-

  25. #625
    Moderator Duncan Glenday's Avatar
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    Great PJ pics, Yves. I particularly like 4367, 4369, and 4535.
    Regards,

    Duncan

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