Grab your camera, Fall is almost here

Well, in this hemisphere anyway.  Here is the first leaf of the season:

ISO 125 f/9 0.5 shutter 56mm

This was taken with a tripod.  I will try some shots with the 50mm lens also, when I borrow it from my friend again.  Next time I will try for more depth of field.  When this photo is magnified it is just a little bit fuzzier than what I was really going for.  I cropped, boosted the saturation of the yellow, and sharpened the image in post processing.  I am using Aperture now as my image software.  Overall, I really like it, but I am still learning how to use it.

Cheers!

A parrot I know

One of these days this parrot is going to squawk, “get the picture right already!”:

ISO 160 f/1.8 1/15 50mm

So, what I have right here is the lens.  I was using a 50mm, and given that the bird is close and has so many lovely colored feathers, I am using that lens to capture those details.

Here is what went wrong.  I was taking a picture of something else with a lot less light, just a minute before, and I forgot to change the f-stop before taking the picture.  The light in this place is crazy, but for this shot, there is no way a 1.8 is necessary or even a good thing.  So, I am letting in light I don’t need and losing depth of field which I do need.

Also, my white balance was set to florescent, but I think I will try tungsten next time, just to see if I prefer it.  It is a bit odd, because usually in this room, florescent works best.  For this parrot, I have tweaked the settings in the post editing process.

So, because I was surprised by this bird, I also didn’t think enough about framing the shot, hence the huge blown out white behind its head, which in some cases might work, but not in this one.

In writing this all out, I am hoping to take the photo differently when I get the chance.  Anything else I should consider? Thanks for reading!

Cheers!

Gorilla in the Garden

I guess technically it is supposed to look more like a jungle or something like that as opposed to a garden, but you have to have a catchy title right?  These photos were shot in the morning, under an overcast sky.  I haven’t done any post editing, what kind might you do with these photos?

ISO 100 135mm f/7.1 1/8

What I like about the one above is that the gorilla was looking at the camera.

ISO 100 127mm f/7.1 1/6

The “problem” with both pictures is that you can tell the gorilla is behind a plastic-like window.  The result is that the color isn’t great.

ISO 640 135mm f/5.6 1/50

This one I like the color better, but you can still see the reflection of the enclosure.

What settings would you use in this situation?

Cheers!

I love/hate my photography club

I belong to a large camera club that is awesome, except for when it isn’t 🙂  Like when my photo gets a good review from the judge but then passed in the first round.  This was the fate of my entry last night:

A bit frustrating.  I like to go though, because there is always something new to be learned and I find that exciting.

Next week’s theme is architecture.  I am entering the photo below, but I know the competition will be tough.  I have seen some of the past winning images, and they are really something else.

ISO 200 f/7.1 1/450

This image was taken with my point and shoot in jpeg.  So, I didn’t have a heck of a lot to work with in post editing.  It is the Steam Clock in Vancouver.  Can you believe that my Canon 50D broke on a train ride across the Rockies to Vancouver?  I was too stunned to be heartbroken.

Anyway, about the post editing.  I use GIMP.  I really don’t have the whole dodge/burn thing down.  I have been trolling youtube for GIMP tutorials, but haven’t come across one yet on this particular topic that speaks to me.  If anyone else has a GIMP tutorial that they love, I would love the link.

Cheers!