mikeee
Senior Member
fun!
Dangerous Spouse Pics
- Thread starter Dangerspouse
- Start date
fun!
When I was asked to take some T-Ball photos, I told my friend I didn't have any experience but would be glad to do it at no charge. So I went to where I could find some moving subjects...a waterfront park that has lots of seagulls. They are large enough to lock focus and don't fly too fast. That 30 minutes of practice was my first foray into BBF and AF-C. Once I was finished, I was hooked on BBF.
Do you have any large aquatic birds around your area - or possibly some geese? If you have success with flying seagulls or something close to their size, believe me when I say it's a whole lot easier to focus on moving people.
Dangerspouse
Senior Member
Thanks Cindy! I'm a little too far inland for gulls (not far from Pike County PA), but we have plenty of raptors here - expecially vultures, which would certainly fit the bill. I'm struggling to understand some basic concepts though it seems, because I haven't had much luck even with those large, sluggish beasts. I think I'm gonna post a general question over in the D500 forum soon to see if I can get some insights from the experienced members here. (I do use BBF btw, and love it!)
Thanks Cindy! I'm a little too far inland for gulls (not far from Pike County PA), but we have plenty of raptors here - expecially vultures, which would certainly fit the bill. I'm struggling to understand some basic concepts though it seems, because I haven't had much luck even with those large, sluggish beasts. I think I'm gonna post a general question over in the D500 forum soon to see if I can get some insights from the experienced members here. (I do use BBF btw, and love it!)
I'm about 50 miles inland, and we have them here - for some reason they like WalMart parking lots. :beguiled: We used to have a WalMart in one town, and they still show up there. Then WalMart built a new facility several miles away, and they hang out in that parking lot, too. :indecisiveness: But I'm within a couple miles of the Delaware River (as the crow flies) which is probably why we have so many of them as well as Bald Eagles.
Vultures can be a little tricky to photograph simply due to them having a lack of contrast. The camera might struggle to focus on something that is a dark, solid color so don't be surprised if you don't get great results with vultures. No need to respond here. I don't want to hijack your thread especially since you will be posting questions elsewhere.
Dangerspouse
Senior Member
Attempts for this week's "Macro" challenge.
First, while I was laying in the yard playing with my cat I spotted this tiny little mushroom under a leaf. I ran inside and grabbed the D500 and 40mm Micro, and popped off a couple of shots. I didn't take as many as I would have liked though because I was getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. Gah! Anyway:
While I was lying there the cat came over to see what I was doing, covered in dust from the undergrowth:
Then...the cat brought me in another cricket. My cat goes after these large cave crickets that populate our area, and usually brings them over to me dead or not. This particular one was mostly dead, just twitching a bit. I put it out of its misery, then realized it would make a good macro pic. So I set up two softboxes, put a lens mounted ring light on the 40, and put the camera on a stacking rail. The cricket was impaled on a thin metal spike:
And here we are with the final shot, a 6-shot stack:
I can see why my cat likes playing with them. So adorable....
First, while I was laying in the yard playing with my cat I spotted this tiny little mushroom under a leaf. I ran inside and grabbed the D500 and 40mm Micro, and popped off a couple of shots. I didn't take as many as I would have liked though because I was getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. Gah! Anyway:
While I was lying there the cat came over to see what I was doing, covered in dust from the undergrowth:
Then...the cat brought me in another cricket. My cat goes after these large cave crickets that populate our area, and usually brings them over to me dead or not. This particular one was mostly dead, just twitching a bit. I put it out of its misery, then realized it would make a good macro pic. So I set up two softboxes, put a lens mounted ring light on the 40, and put the camera on a stacking rail. The cricket was impaled on a thin metal spike:
And here we are with the final shot, a 6-shot stack:
I can see why my cat likes playing with them. So adorable....
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Dangerspouse
Senior Member
Man, trying to find a dirt road around here for this week's "Dirt Road" challenge was an exercise in frustration. I guess we're just too developed, even in this otherwise very rural area. I only knew of one unpaved surface, a long unused dirt road that goes by a dilapidated and decaying old barn about 5 miles from my house. But I've never been during the full foliage of summer, so I had no idea how little of the road was visible then. I mean, I literally could not find the road at all once I got past the barn, and that was the portion I wanted to photography because it winds through a beautiful meadow with a sheer series of hills in the background. Oh well, ya works with what ya got, right?
I don't know though. None of these really grab my interest that much. But I did try something new - I watched a video on Image Averaging, a technique apparently used by astrophotographers but now is becoming of interest to landscape shooters. Three of these pics are processed with that method, and looking at them side by side with the originals in Lightroom it does look like it makes a difference, albeit not a dramatic one. But that may be my fault, as I only averaged 5 photos and the video called for 10. Which I forgot.
Oh, and I also lost approximately 3 pints of blood while I was out there. I think the state's entire mosquito population decided to hold their convention there this weekend, and I apparently was the buffet. The things I do to get the shot....
I don't know though. None of these really grab my interest that much. But I did try something new - I watched a video on Image Averaging, a technique apparently used by astrophotographers but now is becoming of interest to landscape shooters. Three of these pics are processed with that method, and looking at them side by side with the originals in Lightroom it does look like it makes a difference, albeit not a dramatic one. But that may be my fault, as I only averaged 5 photos and the video called for 10. Which I forgot.
Oh, and I also lost approximately 3 pints of blood while I was out there. I think the state's entire mosquito population decided to hold their convention there this weekend, and I apparently was the buffet. The things I do to get the shot....
Dangerspouse
Senior Member
Found a tenacious, and apparently very burly, flower that had managed to pierce through a solid concrete sidewalk and thrive.
Dangerspouse
Senior Member
Some of my test shots, alternate shots, and feline assist shots for this week's "Green" challenge.
In retrospect I should have used my D5500 instead of the D500 for this set. To get these shots I had my tripod set up slightly to my front right, with the camera basically butted up against my right ear and tilted down. I had to wrap my right arm around the center column to get my right hand with the loupe into the shot. That meant I couldn't lean back and see the live view screen. If I'd had the D5500's full articulated screen this would have gone much easier.
Because I couldn't see the LV screen, I put the camera in intervalometer mode and had it take 15 shots, one second apart, each time I hit the shutter. In each 15 set group I moved the watch and loupe back and forth, figuring one of the shots should come out in focus through sheer luck. I was in AF-F, group.
My assistant, whilst erstwhile, added a good hour to the shoot. I eventually got him to stretch out and sleep just outside the shot. He's stretched out just above the top border of the pics. He made a better ambient light blocker than assistant.
In retrospect I should have used my D5500 instead of the D500 for this set. To get these shots I had my tripod set up slightly to my front right, with the camera basically butted up against my right ear and tilted down. I had to wrap my right arm around the center column to get my right hand with the loupe into the shot. That meant I couldn't lean back and see the live view screen. If I'd had the D5500's full articulated screen this would have gone much easier.
Because I couldn't see the LV screen, I put the camera in intervalometer mode and had it take 15 shots, one second apart, each time I hit the shutter. In each 15 set group I moved the watch and loupe back and forth, figuring one of the shots should come out in focus through sheer luck. I was in AF-F, group.
My assistant, whilst erstwhile, added a good hour to the shoot. I eventually got him to stretch out and sleep just outside the shot. He's stretched out just above the top border of the pics. He made a better ambient light blocker than assistant.
Dangerspouse
Senior Member
Took my cat out for a walk this afternoon and got some good pics of him yawning. Just have to edit them. But in the meantime, just a couple of other shots from my backyard. Some foliage still clinging to summer colors, and lying on my back looking up through my Japanese maple's branches to an empty sky. I like negative space pictures.
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Dangerspouse
Senior Member
Peter7100
Senior Member
Tom, I'm curious, does your cat not go out itself as it's normally dogs that require a walk
Dangerspouse
Senior Member
Tom, I'm curious, does your cat not go out itself as it's normally dogs that require a walk
Indeed that is the case, Peter. Our last two cats were allowed to roam freely via a small cat door we had installed. However both one day never came back, much to my wife's ongoing dolor. We live in the middle of a state forest populated by all sorts of fauna, many of which prey on any small animal - cats included. Foxes, black bears, snakes - venomous and constrictor - the odd coyote, and raptors like hawks, eagles, and owls. My wife insisted this cat remain an indoor cat as a result.
However I do allow him the occasional walk around the yard, which he seems to enjoy but also is rather intimidating. He rarely strays more than a few feet from me as we go, and frequently turns and rubs my leg so I will give him a reassuring scritch on the head. It's kind of curious really that he's not more inquisitive as a very large, young male. I should think he'd be champing at the bit to go exploring far afield for mice and rival cats. I sometimes wonder if he didn't suffer some trauma in the outdoors prior to our adopting him, and he remains skittish as a result.
:cat:
Peter7100
Senior Member
Can’t blame the cat as bears and snakes would put me off as well
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Dangerspouse
Senior Member
Dangerspouse
Senior Member
Dangerspouse
Senior Member
A few shots for the Leading Lines challenge. I was going originally going to use the previous picture of the tree with the Dutch angle, but now I'm not so sure.
I live right off the Appalachian Trail at the top of a hill. At the bottom of my hill the trail crosses a cattle and dairy cow pasture (with a sign warning, "HIKERS! PLEASE DON'T APPROACH THE COWS!" at the entrance, lol). A local group of volunteers maintain the wooden planks that were laid down to keep people from sinking into the muck.
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Decisions, decisions....
I live right off the Appalachian Trail at the top of a hill. At the bottom of my hill the trail crosses a cattle and dairy cow pasture (with a sign warning, "HIKERS! PLEASE DON'T APPROACH THE COWS!" at the entrance, lol). A local group of volunteers maintain the wooden planks that were laid down to keep people from sinking into the muck.
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Decisions, decisions....
Peter7100
Senior Member
All good Tom but I really like the ‘Guy on app trail’
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Dangerspouse
Senior Member
Thanks Peter! I still have a few others to process, but so far he is inded on the short list
Dangerspouse
Senior Member
Lol. The local camera club I belong to holds a monthly challenge much like we hold our weekly one. The challenge for our November 2nd meeting coming up is "long exposure of moving water using an ND filter". No surprise, every member I talked to was planning on heading to one of the many streams, lakes, or waterfalls around here to take the stereotypic smooth water shot.
I decided to try something different:
By the way, that is the best rain hat I've ever owned. Got it in Mountain Home, Arkansas, where my MIL lives. Good thick leather, and even foldable. Had it a decade now, and my head stayed completely dry here through take after take after take...after take.....after take.....
God, I did so many takes! This was one of the harder shoots I've ever done. I'm holding a remote shutter release in Bulb mode there, trying to stay as still as possible. This was the best I could manage, but with the water hitting my head and needing to breath occassionally, there is definitely gonna be motion blur even though I was initially in focus. There were two softboxes set up at 45 degree angles left and right to try to cut down on shadows. I metered for the back wall first, setting the exposure to keep it darker than me.
I sure was clean when the shoot was over!
I decided to try something different:
By the way, that is the best rain hat I've ever owned. Got it in Mountain Home, Arkansas, where my MIL lives. Good thick leather, and even foldable. Had it a decade now, and my head stayed completely dry here through take after take after take...after take.....after take.....
God, I did so many takes! This was one of the harder shoots I've ever done. I'm holding a remote shutter release in Bulb mode there, trying to stay as still as possible. This was the best I could manage, but with the water hitting my head and needing to breath occassionally, there is definitely gonna be motion blur even though I was initially in focus. There were two softboxes set up at 45 degree angles left and right to try to cut down on shadows. I metered for the back wall first, setting the exposure to keep it darker than me.
I sure was clean when the shoot was over!
Andy W
Senior Member
My first thought when seeing that was ICM (intentional camera movement), which is in right now.
https://nilsleonhardt.com/intentional-camera-movement/
https://nilsleonhardt.com/intentional-camera-movement/