A Celebration of Color, Day 4 - Blue

This was another interesting color. After looking at my portfolio, I realized that with a few exceptions, most of my pictures were of the sky and of the water. I'm already inspired to think about ways by which I can change that. I'm really looking forward to implementing my findings and adding to my work. In the meantime, though, here are some examples:











This first picture was my first foray into abstract photography. I decided I was in love that day. Believe it or not, I took this picture from a store window. I had to think and work fast, but I was happy it turned out well. The key is to turn off the flash and make sure the reflections that are generated are what you actually want. Other than that, this was straightforward - stand near the window and try different angles.

The second picture - Cabo! Composition is my focus in this picture. Another tip - wake up early. This was before anyone had a chance to lie out, so I had the entire pool to myself. Other tips here: Play with the reflections, work with only a moderate amount of sun, and get low - the last point is critical.

This third picture was taken with my macro lens. It reminds me of the fact that I need to work harder where taking pictures of gems is concerned. I don't do so well with literal pictures such as these. Rather, I am far better with the abstract work I do. This was a good exercise, but I think I need more practice here.

Ocean City! I took my sister to the beach for a few days a few years ago, and I enjoyed it far more than I thought I would. This picture was also taken relatively early in the day. Here, I wanted to take advantage of the sun and the warmth it created, but as you can see, I didn't take this in direct sunlight. It's an important point, because this involves planning and determining what time of day is best, depending on the sun. I also liked the pattern created with the chairs and thought that was a nice touch. You should also "get low" here, too.

The last picture is from my early macro photography days. You'll notice it isn't as crisp as it could be, and there isn't enough sun. It's great to see how far I've come since I took this years ago.

Unfortunately, I'm cooped up in meetings from 8 am to 10 pm tomorrow so I won't be able to post tomorrow. :( Till Friday!

Requirements Creep

One definition I've seen is:

"Feature creep (sometimes known as requirements creep or scope creep) is a tendency for product or project requirements to increase during development beyond those originally foreseen, leading to features that weren't originally planned and resulting risk to product quality or schedule. Feature creep may be driven by a client's growing "wish list" or by developers themselves as they see opportunity for improving the product."

So, how on earth does this apply to me?

Well, I want to start taking pictures with a fisheye lens. As you know, I love the distorted and the abstract.

Some examples include:







A fisheye lens would make it much easier to create these special effects. I found one that I liked, and started to do my research.

Unfortunately, I hit a snag: The fisheye lens I want isn't going to be very effective with my camera body. I have an entry-level DSLR with something called an APS-C sensor. While the lens I want will work, the effect is minimized - which is NOT what I want. The reason has something to do with the magnification ratio. As you know, I try not to delve into deep technical matters, so I'll leave it at that. Also, while I could buy a fisheye lens suited for my existing camera, it's not the make and model that I want. Also, I would have to get rid of it once I upgraded.

Basically, I'd have to upgrade my camera body, too - a costly endeavor that I wasn't prepared for. But I don't want to do that for another year. So, for now, I'll have to do weird things with distortions on my own. (Sigh) This is so disappointing, because I know for a fact I'd be terrific at this. I'll just need to wait and be patient.

Then, all of this made me think - yikes, would my other lenses work with a full-frame camera? I'll go into that analysis on Monday - that's going to require some research. Have a great weekend! :) Till Monday!

Contests for this Month - Vote for Me!

As you may know, I resolved to enter at least two contests a month. This is important to me in order to 1) Increase exposure to my work and 2) Win - at some point.

This month, I decided I would not wait until the last minute to submit my pictures. A novel idea, yes. Anyway, here is what I selected:

Pictures2Win - Photos Taken at Unusual Angles - I submitted this picture:



If you click on the above link, you can vote for me (which would be great).

Silicon Beach Trainings Photography Competition - I submitted these:





Unless you're a member of Flickr or Yahoo, I don't think you can comment on these, but Flickr is free for a basic account, so any help is appreciated. :)

I was tempted to sign up for a macro photography contest, but am going to hold off until next month. I have a feeling that more of those will surface in the spring, anyway.

Stay warm! Till tomorrow!

ISO - not the Classified Ads

The past few days, I've covered various technical basics. My goal is to explain how they can be useful for any camera, for any photographer. Today's topic is ISO.

A technical definition for ISO is "ISO sensitivity expresses the speed of photographic negative materials". I don't know about you, but I'd prefer the English explanation, which is:

Higher ISO -> better pictures in low light (because the image sensor is more sensitive)

Lower ISO -> higher image quality, but only in optimal light situations

ISO that is too high -> pictures with high amounts of noise, which may render them unusable

Examples:

Higher ISO speeds:



The first one was taken at ISO 800. I was using a macro lens, so this enabled me to take clean, precise pictures without worrying about camera shake. The second one, however, was taken with a wide-angle lens. The ISO was set at a very high 1600. The quality of this image is lower, but it's for effect - I wanted to show the drama of the storm that day.

Medium ISO speeds:

  

These were taken at ISO 400, with a wide-angle lens. In both cases, it was fairly dark inside, so I experimented with 800 and 400. I preferred these. I didn't want them to look artificially bright.

Low ISO speeds:



In both cases, I had good amounts of light and wanted the best pictures possible. They were taken at 100 and 200.

My advice:

1) Try different ISO settings so you can see the impact yourself

2) Do not go above 800, unless you're doing so for special effects

3) My default for a bright and sunny day is 100

I hope this helps! Till tomorrow!

Adams Morgan, Two Years Later

I mentioned right before Thanksgiving that a friend and I were planning to return to the Adams Morgan area of DC to take pictures together. I was really looking forward to the outing for several reasons:

1) My friend and I are the types to bounce ideas off each other - I knew I'd see things in a different light.

2) It was a sunny day, so I could practice taking pictures under adverse conditions.

3) I wanted to see if I'd actually learned anything in the last few years.

Well, it was definitely an adventure - cold, sunny, and crowded. Some tips I gave my friend:

1) It's the camera, not the photographer (you've heard this before).

2) Quit while you're ahead - if you've taken several versions of the shot and you don't like it, and you can't fix it - walk away. It's okay. Don't frustrate yourself.

3) Don't hesitate to take multiple versions of the same shot with different settings. You never know what you might like best.

My friend got some terrific shots of leaves and reflections. I'm hoping he'll post them and let me reference them in this blog. There was one in particular that I LOVED.

As for me, it was an interesting outing. Some examples:





The first and third pictures are my favorites. The third reminds me of an Alice in Wonderland scene - distorted, strange, and colorful. My friend and I discovered that although we loved this street, we couldn't get a decent picture straight-on. I then proceeded to tilt my camera, something I've done often. He was a little skeptical, but I don't blame him. :)

The first was taken off of one of the main streets in the neighborhood. Here, my telephoto lens came in handy. It worked great, actually.

The second is from a mural in the neighborhood. I took many more pictures. I think I did a better job with these than with the ones I took a few years ago, because there's more of a point to them. Take a look at my older mural pictures and let me know what you think.

Another result is that I've paid more attention to the abstract aspects of architecture. I enjoyed my buildings shoot, and wanted to incorporate some of that into my DC shots. They're not the same, of course - these are daytime shots, and the others are nighttime shots, but that's okay with me. I'm just trying to push my boundaries as much as possible.

It's contest time! Tomorrow, I'll let you know what I've decided to enter. Till tomorrow!

Thanksgiving!

I'm heading out of town soon, but fear not - I already have good plans for a photo shoot on Sunday.

Several years ago, I learned about abstract photography in Adams Morgan, DC. Some examples:





Bonus points to anyone who can guess what the last picture is, by the way.

What will I do in the neighborhood this time? I don't know. I plan on taking all of my lenses and seeing what unfolds. A friend of mine is coming with me, so I plan to help him with technique and composition, too. I'm really looking forward to it - I love working with people.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Enjoy your long weekends! Till Monday!