Pretzel's learning curve...

Pretzel

Senior Member
Another fun set...

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Pretzel

Senior Member
Pretzel, these are very nicely done~!

Pat in NH

Thanks! Shots like this make me wish I had a macro lens, or at least wish I had the time to get the 300mm out and shoot from the hatch. :) Cold stuff is cool (pun intended), but I still wish I was in a place to simply look at OTHER people's pics of it!
 

Pretzel

Senior Member
Remember back in the old days, when you had to actually gather leaves and artfully display them on a posterboard, labeled with common name, scientific name, etc? Ahh, the Junior High leaf collection...

Now, it can all be done digitally with pics and Powerpoint. My son said his pics were the best. ;) (Plus, we had fun walking down the street looking for different sorts of leaves to shoot)

LeafLacebarkElm.jpg

LeafMountainCedar.jpg

LeafSilverMaple.jpg

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This was my fave of the sugar maple...

LeafSugarMaple.jpg

...but, for some reason, this leaf had fallen down on the covered blue beauty, and he went with this one instead. ;)

LeafCamaroSugarMaple.jpg
 
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Picnewb

Senior Member
Ok, honeymoon is over, the main photographer has delivered his pics, and I have permission to share some of the shots I captured as "2nd", or the "Candid Shooter."

First, just because it was funny to see, and fun to capture, shots of the other photographers in action. Both the main shooter, and a few of the "casual."

Dan has been a great friend for quite a while, and it was an AMAZING pleasure to learn from and work with him.

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EVERYONE wanted in on the photo action...

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...even the father of the bride!

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Through the whole ceremony, though, nobody ever got in the way of the official crew (Dan and myself) even once.


I have found myself taking pictures of people taking pictures at the events I am practicing at.....love the idea. I really like you shooting the main photographer......Nice!
 

Pretzel

Senior Member
I've been trying to catch a good cardinal shot for the wife for quite some time, but 1) they are shy and evasive around here, and 2) they are SHY and EVASIVE around here. I finally caught one out in the open, and there I was... trapped with the nifty fifty on the camera, and the zoom stuck in the sling bag. I snapped a couple of shots and started to switch to the zoom, and *poof* he was gone. Either way, I finally got a clear pic, and after some editing and a major crop, I won the smile I was hoping for. :)

Cardinal1.jpg

By the way, just out of curiosity, if I wanted to put up a raw file and see how various people would edit, is there an area here for that? Still working on refining my LR and PS skills, and just curious what some of the "masters" would come up with.
 

Pretzel

Senior Member
Working on my "Zoo in B&W" series, came up with a few more... Not as pleased with the Tiger pics as I would like to be, so I'll need to go back and catch him again. :)

Or maybe I can just go back and play around a bit more with the photos to get 'em cleaner and touch up some of the shadows? As always, I'm open to suggestions!

Tiger1BW.jpg

Tiger2BW.jpg

Queen of the pride... the "King" was zonked out in the corner.

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Shot this Cayman through glass inside the dark "Rain Forest" building and was rather pleased.

CaymanBW.jpg

This last guy, I tend to like more in color, but I think I came up with a "workable" B&W. Again, open to suggestions.

PoisonDartFrog1.jpg

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dramtastic

Senior Member
I agree that lifting the shadows is a great place to start, then try some adjustments using the black and white sliders. Not sure if they were all cropped, but maybe have a play around with different crops. The Poison Dart frog does work better in color IMO, again lifting the shadows then pushing up the yellow a touch. There's plenty of potential left in what you've already got there.
 

Pretzel

Senior Member
Here's a few random "wilderness" shots. :)

1st, a bit of forgotten junk turned... scenic?

NaturalFalls-20.jpg

Wandering the woods in Arkansas, I found quite a few plants going to seed.

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Pretzel

Senior Member
My poor flowerbed now that winter has settled in... :( These were handheld shots after we got home this evening, with just the security floodlights over the garage for lighting. Had the nifty fifty on, aperture at 2.8, and cranked up the ISO to 1600. Took the 1st at 160 shutter speed, 2nd at 200.

Poor little flowers.

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Pretzel

Senior Member
Shot the full moon last night (or slightly before), then ran out and shot it again tonight, to see the difference just one day would make. Thought I'd take daily (nightly) shots until the weather prevents it... just to see what happens. :)

Full - a little fade along the bottom left, so not perfectly full.
XmasMoon.jpg

Day after - full along the bottom, a little fade and crater texture along the top right.
XmasMoon-1.jpg
 
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