Early Friday Photography Blog No. 140

by In Wales Sun May 23rd, 2010 at 07:06:21 AM EST

Photobucket

frontpaged - Nomad

This week, "Longer days" is the topic, to celebrate the light! As usual the tried and tested, "Photos As Usual" and "Ask the Expert" about anything you like, composition, technical things and so on.

Please try to keep to 600 pixels width and 100kb to 150kb max in file size and take a look at Wednesday Photography Blog No.2 for the technical bits on how to post.

Someone's new technology automatically limits width of photos shown to 600 pixels. But it allows you to click and hold on the photos to see the larger version if the file is greater than 600 pixels in width.

Please do not click on post a comment but reply under one of the headers instead.

Have fun, and don't be shy, we want to see your photos!

Early Friday Photography Blog No. 140 | 59 comments (59 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Longer days (none / 0)

"Longer days"

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Thu May 20th, 2010 at 11:32:39 AM EST

Re: Longer days (4.00 / 4)

A late paddle down the Taff. I am not much good at panning the camera though.

Photobucket

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Thu May 20th, 2010 at 11:42:57 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Longer days (none / 0)

Increase chip sensitivity and stop down ;-)

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Thu May 20th, 2010 at 12:38:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Longer days (none / 0)

That wasn't what I was trying to do, I was attempting to pan to follow the motion, not freeze it.

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Thu May 20th, 2010 at 12:46:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Longer days (none / 0)

In other words, to introduce motion blur into the background. Quite right - but you need an instinctive balance between motion and subject. It does take practice ;-)

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Thu May 20th, 2010 at 12:50:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Longer days (4.00 / 5)

That's going to be difficult when the subject isn't static.

That trick works better with things like cars which don't change as they move. When you have someone flailing their arms around, it's going to be very hard to get a balance between a blurred background and a well-defined subject.

I've always found the panning thing hard anyway. I suspect the pros set themselves up with a tripod and try to pan in one axis. But it's still not easy.

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Thu May 20th, 2010 at 07:16:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Longer days (4.00 / 13)

A nice long day in Cumbria.

Photobucket

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Thu May 20th, 2010 at 12:11:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Longer days (none / 1)

These are excellent!

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Thu May 20th, 2010 at 12:35:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Longer days (none / 1)

This looks like one of my grandson's Thomas the Tank Engine setups, coaches and all! He would be thrilled to see that Thomas lives.

I can swear there ain't no heaven but I pray there ain't no hell. _ Blood Sweat & Tears

by Gringo (stargazing camel at aoldotcom) on Sat May 22nd, 2010 at 10:09:12 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Munich, 21:12 (4.00 / 10)

Longer days indeed. Fresh back from sick leave, I spent the last three days racing across Europe on trains, a conference in Lille, and racing back again. First change of trains in Munich included the blue hour:

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Thu May 20th, 2010 at 02:45:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Notre Dame, 19:10 (4.00 / 6)

Gare du Nord, Gare l'Est, and Cité are all stations on Paris metro line 4 -- just fine to meet the Notre Dame again:

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Thu May 20th, 2010 at 02:49:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Gare l'Est, 19:37 (4.00 / 9)

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Thu May 20th, 2010 at 02:49:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Val de Marne, 21:04 (4.00 / 9)

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Thu May 20th, 2010 at 02:50:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Photos as Usual (none / 0)

"Photos as Usual"

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Thu May 20th, 2010 at 11:32:58 AM EST

Re: Photos as Usual (4.00 / 8)

Black dogs are very tricky to photograph.

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Thu May 20th, 2010 at 11:35:21 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Photos as Usual (none / 1)

Shade is easier to work with, especially if the background is midtonal. Personally I avoid taking pix in bright naked sunlight, if at all possible.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Thu May 20th, 2010 at 12:37:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Photos as Usual (none / 0)

Then you have to overexpose the dog, and still not necessarily see the details of it too well.

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Thu May 20th, 2010 at 12:45:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Photos as Usual (none / 0)

No - its much easier to get detail when the basic overall tones are middling, but with highlights.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Thu May 20th, 2010 at 12:48:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Photos as Usual (none / 0)

Where are the highlights on a black dog with no direct light anywhere on it?!

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Thu May 20th, 2010 at 06:08:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Photos as Usual (4.00 / 2)

I don't think that photo would work in anything other than bright sunlight.

It's possibly worth remembering that correction was always part of the process - so it would be fine to darken the background slightly in Photoshop.

If you have a tripod you can do dog in/out shots, bracket the background without dog, and composite the dog in later.

It's hardly a bad shot. I think a lot of people would be happy with that as a pet portrait.

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Thu May 20th, 2010 at 07:05:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Photos as Usual (none / 0)

I usually add a little flash just for a subject that absorbs so much light. Black dogs or other animals can be a special challenge, but one would be surprised at the number of persons with black skin who have told me they or a relative never takes a good picture, especially when grouped with persons of lighter skin. It's a easily resolved in a planned/studio setting and the results are worth it. Use a snoot, barndoor or grid to increase exposure and add highlights just for the dark subject(s). Not always so easy in impromptu situations. I guess an alternative these days would be to do two quick shots using different exposure values and use Photoshop to combine them. It's all about working the light.

I can swear there ain't no heaven but I pray there ain't no hell. _ Blood Sweat & Tears

by Gringo (stargazing camel at aoldotcom) on Sat May 22nd, 2010 at 10:05:12 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Photos as Usual (none / 0)

You could shoot with the sun 3/4 behind the dog, and then use a soft flash fill from the front. The classic interview set up ;-)

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Sat May 22nd, 2010 at 11:22:06 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Photos as Usual (none / 1)

this is axiom. but I like photos breaking rules ...

IMHO there are no solid laws in photographic art but good photographs still rare in regard to the number of shots taken. I calculated that averagely interesting photo comes at rate 1 in 100/150 or even less, good photo at less and exceptionally good picture is the matter of luck like lottery. And scrupulous following rules is not helpful to raise such proportion.

by FarEasterner on Thu May 20th, 2010 at 05:21:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Photos as Usual (4.00 / 7)

and so are puppies

Photobucket

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Thu May 20th, 2010 at 11:36:02 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Photos as Usual (4.00 / 7)

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Thu May 20th, 2010 at 11:41:37 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Lille Europe (4.00 / 9)

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Thu May 20th, 2010 at 03:34:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Lille Europe (4.00 / 7)

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Thu May 20th, 2010 at 03:34:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Paris, Cité (4.00 / 10)

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Thu May 20th, 2010 at 03:35:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Munich, statues (4.00 / 8)

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Thu May 20th, 2010 at 03:36:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Wind power (4.00 / 9)

Mediterranean depression Ulrike unloaded its water on Central Europe while I was travelling, causing quick floods, and watered up substrata resulted in long delays for my train due to temporary speed restrictions. But that weather was fine with the many wind turbines East of Vienna, like these:

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Thu May 20th, 2010 at 03:39:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Wind power (none / 1)

You've been busy!

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Thu May 20th, 2010 at 04:14:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Lille Europe (4.00 / 5)

One more Munich night shot.

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Fri May 21st, 2010 at 02:41:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Lille Europe (none / 0)

Seems bleakly inhuman to me. All about close people pods.

Align culture with our nature. Ot else!

by ormondotvos (ormond.otvosnospamgmialcon) on Fri May 21st, 2010 at 05:29:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Lille Europe (none / 0)

What are "close people pods"?

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Fri May 21st, 2010 at 05:56:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Phewa Lake (4.00 / 10)

Phewa Lake in Nepal. To the east lies Pokhara, in front is Annapurna massif. I increased contrast because the air quality was poor and as you can see it was late morning when I reached Japanese built World Peace Stupa from where I took the picture.

by FarEasterner on Fri May 21st, 2010 at 10:02:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Phewa Lake (4.00 / 10)

Some more pics on Pokhara

Here you can see the city lying by the lake. Tourists cocooned in Lakeside despite it has no proper bund with views over the lake besides other disadvantages like wide roads almost without trees which make walking under the sun exhausting business and overall commercialization (at Annapurna base camp I met one American girl, painter, and she called Pokhara carbon copy of Palm Springs Beach resort in US, but I have no idea what is about). Proper city, old Pokhara with beautiful buildings and temples lie to the north.

When I was returning from Annapurna walking I made a shortcut through Sarangkot, popular destination because of its mountain views. It is located on the edge of the forested ridge, an outlying branch of Annapurna massive. You can see World Peace Stupa on opposite side of the lake. Sarangkot is also popular with paragliders, one flight is priced at about 100 doll.

by FarEasterner on Fri May 21st, 2010 at 10:57:54 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Phewa Lake (none / 0)

The American girl must have meant it's a city for tourists, not a single establishment meant for locals.

Palm Springs is beautiful, but you wouldn't want to spend more than 3 or 4 hours there.

by Upstate NY on Sun May 23rd, 2010 at 09:16:31 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Phewa Lake (none / 0)

I see. Interesting where this Palm Spring located, in California? Anyway the difference that Pokhara is divided into two parts - one Lakeside for tourists and second Old Pokhara and everything in between for locals. Another thing is difficulty in curtailing one's stay in Pokhara to 3-4 hours given it's closest point to civilisation on popular trekking routes around Dhaulagiri and Annapurna massives, not mentioning fabled Mustang which lies behind the Himalayas.

by FarEasterner on Sun May 23rd, 2010 at 10:10:40 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Phewa Lake (4.00 / 3)

Yes, palm Spring is in the desert in California, right outside Joshua Tree National Park, which is an amazing place.

Here are some pictures of the park next to Palm Springs, and the last is Palm Springs itself.

(I first heard of Annapurna when David Bowie sang about it with his band Tin Machine, and have always wanted to go there.)

by Upstate NY on Sun May 23rd, 2010 at 12:07:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]

setting course for pluto (4.00 / 10)

'The history of public debt is full of irony. It rarely follows our ideas of order and justice.' Thomas Piketty

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Sun May 23rd, 2010 at 04:44:19 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: setting course for pluto (4.00 / 3)

i uploaded this shot to the computer, and by snake i rotated it 90 degrees. as i corrected, it went to 180 and i almost fell over.

if you want to see it in the original, you know what to do. this was the sunset from my land 2 nights ago. no tweaking for colour accenting at all!

goetterdaemerung... which my german partner tells me is a very positive description, twilight as in dawn twilight, the dawn dewdrop on the new rosebud, not the sturm und drang last-battle-of-the-titans i thought it meant.

you know me and sunsets!

'The history of public debt is full of irony. It rarely follows our ideas of order and justice.' Thomas Piketty

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Sun May 23rd, 2010 at 10:01:17 AM EST
[ Parent ]

life in the meadow (4.00 / 6)

'The history of public debt is full of irony. It rarely follows our ideas of order and justice.' Thomas Piketty

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Sun May 23rd, 2010 at 04:45:49 AM EST
[ Parent ]

paddy being his photogenic self! (4.00 / 6)

'The history of public debt is full of irony. It rarely follows our ideas of order and justice.' Thomas Piketty

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Sun May 23rd, 2010 at 04:46:56 AM EST
[ Parent ]

bonfire! (4.00 / 5)

'The history of public debt is full of irony. It rarely follows our ideas of order and justice.' Thomas Piketty

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Sun May 23rd, 2010 at 04:48:05 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Photos as Usual (4.00 / 7)

Gamer Son self portrait

We all bleed the same color.

by budr on Sun May 23rd, 2010 at 08:24:24 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Ask the Expert (none / 0)

"Ask the Expert"

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Thu May 20th, 2010 at 11:33:15 AM EST

Re: Ask the Expert (none / 0)

A challenge to DoDo - which train station is the subject of the leading photo?

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Thu May 20th, 2010 at 11:34:21 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Hrmm (none / 1)

Is this challenge for DoDo exclusively?

by Magnifico on Thu May 20th, 2010 at 08:06:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hrmm (4.00 / 2)

No, feel free to take your own guesses!

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Fri May 21st, 2010 at 04:03:27 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Shrewsbury railway station (4.00 / 4)

I think the picture is of Shrewsbury railway station and appears you took it from somewhere in Shrewsbury Castle.

by Magnifico on Fri May 21st, 2010 at 12:19:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Shrewsbury railway station (4.00 / 2)

Good work!

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Fri May 21st, 2010 at 02:34:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Shrewsbury railway station (4.00 / 3)

I think so to, although most of my experiences of it have been purely from Platform side.

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Fri May 21st, 2010 at 02:46:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Shrewsbury railway station (4.00 / 3)

Wikipedia has a shot from almost the same spot.

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Fri May 21st, 2010 at 02:57:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Ask the Expert (4.00 / 3)

Lovely photo essay.

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Fri May 21st, 2010 at 01:24:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Ask the Expert (none / 0)

Yes, essay is very lovely, though I am no fan of white and black photography unless it was made specifically to create period pictures. In this particular essay I think black and white was used for teaching purpose because in this format it is easier to see mistakes and faults of photographer, his/her technics, and that I found a bit didactic.

by FarEasterner on Fri May 21st, 2010 at 02:10:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Ask the Expert (none / 0)

I don't like poetry very much.

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Fri May 21st, 2010 at 08:50:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Mind the gap (none / 0)

You woud probably avoid stepping stones in a river too ;-)

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Sun May 23rd, 2010 at 11:04:29 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Ask the Expert (none / 0)

The faults? It all depends on the perspective. I think B&W was deliberately chosen for impact and strength of image and it works extremely well in my opinion. I really enjoyed the images.

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Sun May 23rd, 2010 at 06:49:41 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Early Friday Photography Blog No. 140 (none / 1)

Great photos all.

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.

by Drew J Jones (pedobear@pennstatefootball.com) on Sun May 23rd, 2010 at 10:08:57 AM EST

Early Friday Photography Blog No. 140 | 59 comments (59 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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