Photography Related

[red321]

Thread for photography stuff, technical questions, how to, location questions, links to cool photographers, etc. I'll also slip in self promotion crap because why the hell not. For other photographers...feel free to do the same.

If you have a photo you've taken and are proud of...post it here and we'll tell you how good it is....or better yet...post your photo and ask for a critique...because one of the ways to be a better photographer is get feedback on what works, and what doesn't.

Let's try and keep this from becoming a random photo thread....there are plenty of spaces for that.

 

 

 

[red321]

First up...reading a photo book, Photographing the Wild, by Paul Nicklen (https://craftandvision.com/collections/featured/products/photographing-wild). Paul is a National Geographic Photographer, some amazing stuff.

http://www.paulnicklen.com/

He interviews Jimmy Chin, so I jumped over to his website.

http://www.jimmychin.com/

 

Just jaw dropping stuff.

 

[Tank]

is it okay to post in this thread if, oh i don't know, let's say i was shooting on a camping trip and some bear grabbed my camera bag and started to run off.

[red321]

sure...someone here could probably even offer advice on how to try and get a free bag

[Tank]

excellent! see you tomorrow.

[Ray McKigney]

This was the best and most mind-melting method of looking at photographs ever invented.

[gotbeer]

My photographic talent involves pointing my phone and snapping a picture.  Sometimes my finger covers up part of the picture.  Although I have been playing with google cardboard pictures lately.  So on a scale of 1-10.  I think I take pictures like a non Asian.

[Adam]

Dick pics ok?

[AngelsLongBall]

1 minute ago, Adam said:

Dick pics ok?

Obv!

[Stradling]

[Stradling]

[Stradling]

[Docwaukee]

Good idea red.  I've been totally out of the mix for the last few years now.  Damn I miss it.  Here are a few from the archive

This was a shot from above scholl canyon.  

Manhatten Beach.

 

 

Caught the California poppy bloom a few years ago.  

 

the arroyo bridge in pasadena with some cool cloud cover.  

 

maui reef from a helicopter

 

 

[Docwaukee]

also, check out one of my favorit photographers 

http://www.marcadamus.com/gallery/

[red321]

10 hours ago, Adam said:

Dick pics ok?

Not an area I really need to focus on so I won't be much help, but there are a number of books on microscopic photography. You can also buy adapters for your iphone that offer magnification.

 

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=microscope+photography&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Amicroscope+photography

 

 

[red321]

9 hours ago, Stradling said:

Nice contrast between all the horizontal lines and the vertical line of the women. Strong composition. One thing to note with this photo and some of the others, you might want to try and bring back a little detail in the shadows. You've done a nice job of keeping detail in the highlights (sky), but the foreground area is a little dark.

[red321]

That bridge photo has always been one of my favorite of yours doc. Good stuff.

 

and thanks for the Marc Adamus link. Having been to Patagonia...takes a serious stud to go out on Lago Grey in the winter in the middle of a wind storm.

[Adam]

How many people do you think took a header from that bridge?

[AngelsLongBall]

13 minutes ago, Adam said:

How many people do you think took a header from that bridge?

It's nicknamed Suicide Bridge for a reason.  Great pic, doc!

[gotbeer]

1 hour ago, red321 said:

Nice contrast between all the horizontal lines and the vertical line of the women. Strong composition. One thing to note with this photo and some of the others, you might want to try and bring back a little detail in the shadows. You've done a nice job of keeping detail in the highlights (sky), but the foreground area is a little dark.

Comments like this make me realize I know nothing about photography. lol 

This would be my skill level.

https://goo.gl/photos/C49coTj8Zzb9daAm8

https://goo.gl/photos/w9eRiDKpWP3c8BPg7

https://goo.gl/photos/qmuaYBRyE8VwKaCY7

Although I really do like the santa anita picture.  But mostly I take pictures just because.

[red321]

I'd be happy to..."dumb" the comments down if you have a question. Best way to learn...and it's helpful for those providing feedback because it makes them stop and think about what works in a photograph and doesn't...which in turn helps them when they are out taking pictures.

Composition means how the photo is laid out. For example, where Stradling chose to place the woman, the use of horizontal lines, vertical lines, etc. It might not have even been done consciously, some people just have a knack for how the image is laid out. If you want to learn more, look up the term rule of third. Learn the rule of thirds...and then break it.

Shadow is dark area of image, Highlights is lighter area of image. 

Santa Anita photo is nice...I bet it would be stellar if you could take a similar image after a storm when the mountains are snow capped...or better yet if the horses were coming down the stretch or just taking off from the starting line. Pretty cool idea to use the panoramic.

I like the ocean one, the structure/boat silhouette helps break up what would be a fairly boring foreground...but you probably want to correct the horizon so it doesn't appear tilted.

 

Not sure if you intended to, but it looks like your settings on those photos allow other people to download them.

[mp170.6]

@red321 what cameras and lenses are in your camera bag these days?

[Ray McKigney]

As a teenager, I admired the photography of Ken Marcus quite a bit.

[nate]

Red, what kind of equipment are you using?  Do you use a cell phone for photos at all?

I have a friend that is a pro photographer and I was talking to him the other day and he was saying that he has stopped using his DSLR (1DX) as often and uses one of those Sony NEX cameras now.  Only uses the 1DX for portraits for the most part now.

[red321]

I still have all my Canon equipment, but I haven't used it for much lately outside of some event work. On the Canon side I have a 6d, with a host of lenses including 24-105L, 17-36-L, 100-400L, 70-200L, 85mm, 100 macro, 14mm

But I've starting shifting away from dSLR to mirrorless. For most of what I'm doing, a mirrorless works just fine, and in a lot of cases it's actually better (street photography). After our trip to NY last year, I just realized it was becoming a huge hassle to lug all the equipment and lenses...plus walking around all day with the dSLR, plus another lens...was a pain in the ass.

So, I invested in a Fuji XT1 and a couple of lenses. 18-55 and 35mm. I'm loving the fuji system. It's lightweight, and I think it makes me a better photographer. Manual is much easier to use, dials for all the key settings, and it's smaller and lightweight. A lot easier to take with me on trips, and I find I take it with me a lot more than I was the dSLR...and as they say, the Best Camera is the one you take with you. At this point I will probably be investing most of my camera related money in rounding out my fuji lenses and adding a wide angle prime, portrait lens, and telephoto zoom.

Another cool thing about the Fuji (and other mirrorless systems), is I can use adapters and lenses from other systems. For example, I can use my Canon EOS lenses, but I can also use old manual lenses from Pentax, Minolta, Canon, Nikon, etc. I can scrounge ebay or garage sales and find manual lenses in great shape and pick, them up for $50 instead of $800 for a new fuji prime lens, or $1800 for a canon prime lens. I picked up a Pentax 50, 1.4 prime lens for $50. It's awesome, completely manual and wonderful bokeh. Using the Fuji black and white conversion I get wonderful portraits. Not something I would use for landscape, but for travel, street, and portrait photography where tack sharpness isn't as critical, they offer some intriguing possibilities.