Hark's 2014 Occasional Photos

[hark]

You can fix that one using lens correction if you are willing to sacrifice a part of the shot and can live with some mild distortion. This one might need another degree here or there but it's just an example. We might know there's some distortion but that doesn't mean anyone else sees it.

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If you got LR, I can give you the values I used for this one.

Just in case:

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Thanks for doing this, J-see! I appreciate seeing the LR values and will take a look at the photo in LR and plug them in. I really wanted the starburst in the photo, but for the building to be correct, the starburst has to be cropped out. As I mentioned in my response to Jake, I need to turn on the in-camera grid lines so I make sure I'm standing right in the middle of my subject for this type of photo. Thanks again!

 

[J-see]

Thanks for doing this, J-see! I appreciate seeing the LR values and will take a look at the photo in LR and plug them in. I really wanted the starburst in the photo, but for the building to be correct, the starburst has to be cropped out. As I mentioned in my response to Jake, I need to turn on the in-camera grid lines so I make sure I'm standing right in the middle of my subject for this type of photo. Thanks again!

I couldn't do both I fear. If I had included the burst, the center would shift to the left or if not, the left would have empty space. There was only that much image.

If you happened to have cropped this one, even if only a bit, you can have your cake and eat it too.

If you use the values in LR, try upping vertical to around 10. It might unsqueeze it a bit.

 

[BackdoorArts]

I'm not sure how you created all the colorful lines in PS,...

Line Tool. Set it to Pixels (default is Shape) and hold down the shift key to do perfect vertical or horizontal lines easily. Do each one in a separate layer and use the move tool to get them where you want. EZ-PZ.

 

[hark]

I couldn't do both I fear. If I had included the burst, the center would shift to the left or if not, the left would have empty space. There was only that much image.

If you happened to have cropped this one, even if only a bit, you can have your cake and eat it too.

If you use the values in LR, try upping vertical to around 10. It might unsqueeze it a bit.

Thanks! I will give it a try.

Line Tool. Set it to Pixels (default is Shape) and hold down the shift key to do perfect vertical or horizontal lines easily. Do each one in a separate layer and use the move tool to get them where you want. EZ-PZ.

Don't think I've ever tried out the Line Tool. I'll give it a go so I know how to do it in the future! Plus I want to be able to say it's EZ-PZ.

 

[hark]

This past weekend my church participated in a mission's project with GAiN by bagging rice and beans which will get shipped overseas. There were 44k bags of rice and beans packaged on Saturday.

When I pulled into the parking lot, these two GAiN trucks caught my eye. Ever since Jake submitted a corner shot for the 2013 Kelby Photo Walk, I've been captivated by corners. Although these trucks really aren't a 'corner,' the way they were parked reminded me of one.


GAiN Truck by *Hark*, on Flickr

 

[hark]

After reading about the weekly assignment titled earth, I felt the best way to represent the earth is with a circular fisheye lens. The problem is I don't own one and don't think I'd use one enough to justify getting one. So I looked online to see if it was possible to create a fisheye effect using Photoshop. Yes it is!

Here is the video which explains the steps to accomplish the effect.

And this is the result of following the tutorial:

 

[Blacktop]

Thanks for that video @hark.

 

[hark]

Thanks for that video @hark.

You are quite welcome. The only reason I thought of trying this was due to the weekly contest. And now that I have the ability to create a similar look of a fisheye photo, I don't need to buy a fisheye lens--wouldn't use one that often either. The hardest thing was to take a photo that would look decent after applying the effect. Most of the photos I took didn't work well for it. It works better if you start with a larger, main subject, but I didn't know that when I took the photos.

 

[Marilynne]

The D7100 has a fisheye setting. Maybe you could give that a try also. Don't think you'd get a nice round shot though.

 

[hark]

The D7100 has a fisheye setting. Maybe you could give that a try also. Don't think you'd get a nice round shot though.

I wasn't aware of that so thanks for the info, Marilynne! There are fisheye lenses and then there are circular fisheye lenses--bet I could create something using my 14mm rectilinear lens then do more post processing if I need or want the circular image. Terrific info!

 

[BackdoorArts]

I love fisheyes, but I've never been a fan of the circular variety - but I get why it would benefit this type of subject. That said, have you thought about/tried doing "tiny planet" modifications?

(may not be the best video on it, but I recognized the name - I know I mentioned it here when I did it last year and linked a video. Use the search function. I think it's in my 2013 365 thread.)

 

[hark]

This afternoon I went back to the park to work on the tiny planet project that Jake posted. While photographing a series of photos to turn into a panoramic shot, this horse drawn hayride came down the walking path. Although I didn't have the walking path in my composition, I really couldn't resist the photo op. Looked like fun, but it smelled kinda like....:eek-new:

 

[hark]

Here are a couple more from this afternoon's outing. I've said it before, but it is worth repeating...this fall has been one of the most color I can ever remember. Normally we get at least one big storm which blows the leaves off the trees early, but this year many leaves are still holding on.

 

[Michael J.]

awesome shots

 

[hark]

awesome shots

Thank you, Michael! Unfortunately I don't have a lot of time to spend on photography as I am a caregiver, but when there is something I really want to capture, I try to make time for it. Today I took a series of shots to create the tiny planet photo that Jake posted, but it will be a few days before I have a chance to work on it. I'm really looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

 

[hark]

Yesterday my mother and I had doctor appointments--his office is connected to a hospital that has a courtyard--so with her wheelchair and backpack of necessities, I limited myself to one lens (18-35mm f/3.5-4.5). As we were leaving the courtyard, I spotted a few trees with very unusual bark and knew I would return with my 105mm lens.

This afternoon I was able to get back over there. These trees had signs indicating they are Japanese Birch trees--their bark is fascinating!

 

[hark]

Yesterday marked 11 years since we adopted this kitten Cherub. I was feeding the mother cat (which was feral) for a couple of months when one day she brought this kitten along. Cherub was so loving and sweet that we adopted both his mother and him. Sadly his mother died several years ago from an abnormal heart condition, but Cherub still has his sweet, angelic personality. And he is chubby just like a little cherub.

 

[Michael J.]

Yesterday marked 11 years since we adopted this kitten Cherub. I was feeding the mother cat (which was feral) for a couple of months when one day she brought this kitten along. Cherub was so loving and sweet that we adopted both his mother and him. Sadly his mother died several years ago from an abnormal heart condition, but Cherub still has his sweet, angelic personality. And he is chubby just like a little cherub.

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My daughter came to me to ask me something. She saw your cat and shout: WOW, such a beautiful cat. Did your friend hark sent it to you"? I asked her why she now from hark. She told me that the name is on the photo. And after that: "Daddy, you should wear your classes if you look to such beautiful photos". Said and off she went.

 

[hark]

My daughter came to me to ask me something. She saw your cat and shout: WOW, such a beautiful cat. Did your friend hark sent it to you"? I asked her why she now from hark. She told me that the name is on the photo. And after that: "Daddy, you should wear your classes if you look to such beautiful photos". Said and off she went.

Please thank your daughter for me, Michael! Her comment is so sweet! Fortunately for me Cherub was patient enough to be my model and allow me several shots.

 

[BackdoorArts]

Yesterday my mother and I had doctor appointments--his office is connected to a hospital that has a courtyard--so with her wheelchair and backpack of necessities, I limited myself to one lens (18-35mm f/3.5-4.5). As we were leaving the courtyard, I spotted a few trees with very unusual bark and knew I would return with my 105mm lens.

This afternoon I was able to get back over there. These trees had signs indicating they are Japanese Birch trees--their bark is fascinating!

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I love trees with bark like this, but I've always found them amazingly difficult to capture in a way that's as interesting as just standing there and looking at it. It's a really hard thing to do and I don't know that I've ever managed to do it well. I think you have in the first shot here, particularly in the bottom 2/3. And while the foliage is lovely, I think it runs too long vertically (and it's leaning left a touch) which gives me too much distraction at the top. I'm thinking a crop just at where the branch breaks off to the left might be better.