Pretzel's learning curve...

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piperbarb

Senior Member
Pretzel said:
Today's venture to LaFortune Park on my lunch hour...

I actually went in search of the numerous Great-tailed Grackle (or Mexican Grackle) that typically haunt this spot, but wouldn't you know it, there wasn't a single one within photo range. I could hear them, but never spotted more than a blue-black flash. Instead, I found the critters shown below. 111 shots, and only a few worth keeping. UGH! I butchered a lot messing with the fully manual mode of shooting, so I'll be glad for my classes that start this Monday!

A bit over-exposed, eh? This odd couple stayed within 1 foot of each other as they covered the entirety of the large golf-course pond.

<snip>
He let me get fairly close, although he hobbled up the concrete on the other side when I pushed it. It gave me the chance to catch him against a completely bland background so I could highlight the full colored beauty (right before he hoarked up a small fish just seconds after this shot).



Messing with settings, I ended up getting back on the "basic" size of jpeg instead of "fine" jpeg, so might have lost a little bit of detail there, but it's hard to tell if it was that or my attempts to go full manual. Mostly, this day was a fun learning experience, and SO MANY MORE REASONS for me to crave that 55-200mm zoom that's on my short list!
Click to expand...

Love this last one. What did you do to get his ire up? :)
 
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Pretzel

Senior Member
Took a trip to the tracks today. I tried a few "vanishing point" pics lying flat on my belly on the tracks, but none were good as it seems you need to be a bit higher to catch the right vantage point. I'll get back to that idea some day. Until then, a few pics with some editing involved, and one of my boy climbing all over the engine we found.

YES, I climbed all over it too... :) You can make a man out of the boy, but you can't take the boy out of the man!

1st, my fave from the day. Edited to black and white, then blurred the edges a bit.



Then, some tracks with the same edits. This was the one image of the tracks I liked and kept.



Then, a sepia shot... the old track "stop", with enough details you can read the manufacture and patent dates.



Got an HDR of the headlight that I liked...



...and finally, my boy sittin' up high. Love gettin' to spend time with this kid! :D



Have a couple of "old building" shots from the day too, but will save those a bit as it's in the wee hours of the morning, and I'm durn tired!! Excited for my first photography class to start tomorrow night as well. Perhaps I can start refining these rookie skills into something worthwhile!
 
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Pretzel

Senior Member
1st night of photography class, and in 2 hours, I think I learned more than a couple of months of messing with the camera on my own! Can't wait to apply what I've learned!

Until then, as promised, some shots of the local structures that still have some character.

1st, an old (and as far as I know, still original) painted wall advertising a business that used to inhabit this building long in the past...



Then an old fire department building (I think) converted to a more modern business. The new owner's kept the old charm, though... 1 is a pic of the old building with a slightly newer door, then there's the FANTASTIC old garage door, full of tales untold.





Look close in that last one, and you can see the feet, and perhaps the camera, of the photographer. ;)
 
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Pretzel

Senior Member
Here's the original to the painted sign. I like the B&W a little better, but the wife liked the color left in it, so posting it for viewing too. :)

Sapulpa3.jpg
 
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Pretzel

Senior Member
The flowerbed pictured earlier in this thread (pavers and dirt), has slowly progressed into the culmination, today, of a nearly complete renovation (just in time for Mothers Day!), so here are a few pics I took while also practicing "metering in the middle". In the process, I realized my ISO was set to auto, and I had saturation set to +2 somehow. Fixed those two settings, and I'm ready to run out and take some pics for my photography homework tomorrow at lunch.

1st, weed fabric put down and pavers spaced out:



Then added pea gravel between the pavers (and added a couple of the decos):



Put a few more pots/plants in as we decided how we wanted things to look:



Then settled in everything we have (so far) for a flowerbed that's MUCH easier on the eyes than the "bushels o' weed" bed that used to be there:



...and yes, that is a petunia in an old paint can. We got a little creative. :)



More to come as I learn the ins and outs of this beast. Since I found out I had my saturation off a bit, and the auto ISO had yet to be shut off, I went ahead and tried to edit the above pics to a bit "better" than they were. Hopefully, I'll get to where not much editing is needed!
 
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Pretzel

Senior Member
Here's a couple of pics from my first assignment, "Metering to the Middle". We had to set shutter speed to 1/125, ISO to 100, white balance to direct sun, then meter to the middle in manual mode. Since all the other settings were dictated, I metered by adjusting aperture only.

Nothing fancy. He wanted all of them in direct sunlight, sun to our back. At least 1 with a shadow involved, one with a bright color, and one "blander"... so after I finally killed the auto-iso (deceivingly hidden from a rookie) and took out the +2 saturation (still don't know where that came from), I nabbed these photos.

The 1st is a new flower (my 1 choice) in the new container bed, the 2nd was a rose in front of the building at work, and the 3rd... well, it's obvious. A sign right smack dab in the middle of a CLOSE parking space... that I can't use without getting an obnoxious orange window sticker, LOL.

Meter1.jpg

Meter3.jpg

Meter4.jpg

Of course, afterward, he discussed using different settings to offset each other, and we started discussing depth of field, so I'm looking forward to next week's assignment, "Depth of Field" in Aperture Priority mode. Then we'll see how shutter speed follows aperture so we can still "Meter" but manipulate to get the desired depth of field.
 
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Pretzel

Senior Member
Then, just to share a bit of insight into the "artist", and I use that term lightly, here was an attempt to meter to the middle on my trusty steed. Although the bike came out right, the shadow overshadowed (pun intended) this pic, it seems, so my instructor got to talk about different ways to compensate to show more detail in the shadowed area as well as proper pic composition (i.e. always being aware of your background).

Meter2.jpg

A couple of friendly sparrows stopped by, 1 on a paver and 1 on the porch, to laugh at the big bald guy taking pictures of such that shiny rumbling beast.
 
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Pretzel

Senior Member
Finally got around to taking the class homework pics, just messing with depth of field. I won't post pics from every FStop, but will post the largest and smaller aperture pics for perusal. :) I used an old privacy fence for reference and learned how aperture size can effect depth of field. Both pics were taken with the same point of focus, the first with a low aperture (wide opening), and the second with a high aperture (pinhole). It was actually an entertaining assignment because you get to instantly view the difference a "stop" makes and start planning to use and/or avoid it.

Then, at the end, I'll add one of the greater "opportunity" pics I've ever had the chance to take, one that's quite fun!

DSC_0266.jpg

DSC_0267.jpg

These 3 rascals (I'm guessing one was probably a little lady) were having rambunctious fun all over the edge of the rose garden we visited today. I just happened to be lucky enough to catch a great pose before they scampered off!

Squirrely.jpg

I also shot quite a few blooms at the rose garden we visited today, but I'll post those in the flower pics area. :) Happy weekend all!
 
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Pretzel

Senior Member
Messed around with trying to get the moon again tonight. Still limited by my kit lens, so can't really zoom in like I wish I could, and the auto-focus just doesn't work well, so tried the manual approach to focusing to infinity. I still made a couple of mistakes, but this was a better attempt at least.

1) I saw a bright moon when the sky was much lighter, which would have made capturing an image easier, but I dallied...
2) I remembered to set my shutter speed up a bit higher, since it's really a bright object, but forgot I had my ISO to 400 for cloudy day shots the other day.

Moon1.jpg

Ugh, but attempts at moon shots are discouraging. I vow, from now forward, to wait for a little more zoom before trying again. Until then, I'm making a checklist (ISO, aperture, shutter, catch it a bit earlier stupid)... :cool:
 
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Dave_W

The Dude
I found that using spot metering and under exposing the shots by at least 1 to 1.5 stops (sometimes more) gave me more detail in the moon and also kept the slight color of the moon instead of rendering it stark white. It's also important to use the longest exposure delay your camera offers even if you're using a remote release.
 
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Rancher_RIP

RIP
I have struggled enough with my own moon shots it isn't funny. In the winter it is just too cold to stand out and dink around. I am in a rural area so I don't have to go very far to shoot. What is frustrating is that I have some really good moon photos I took with my ultra zoom. I keep working at it and tell myself that I will get it down eventually.
 
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Pretzel

Senior Member
Good Lord, but what a week. Then, to de-stress, I spent the first 2 days of a 3 day weekend workin' my tail off! Mowed our yard, mowed mom's yard, sought out flowers and planters to complete the new front container garden, pulled the sink and toilet in the bathroom to lay new vinyl tile, found a cracked flange under the toilet and fixed that, put it all back in, cleaned and organized the front half of the garage, and... Then, my daughter and her fella, my mom and the three of us at the Castle De La Pretzel all settled in for a hearty dinner grilled by you know who! I don't count grilling on the back porch as work though, as it was a lovely day, I had some tunes goin', and I really don't mind grilling at all.

Yeah. UGH. That about sums it up. Dabbled in photography just a bit with some flower pics (in the flower thread), but here's a couple of "that's how it went" photos.

1st, the now finished front flower bed/container garden. Can you guess as to what my wife's favorite color might be? I did have some yellow blooms on the flower in the bright orange pot, but somehow they got "washed off" when the wife was watering a couple of nights ago. My suspicion is that they were intentionally butchered because they weren't RED! Then I've got my monkey grass in a blue pot, and the wife DID plant her lemon balm in a bright yellow pot at least. (Plus, she surprised me by getting a green watering can, although she said she had to fight the urge to get a red one...) I was tired, so the DOF is a bit skewed, but I was just getting a snapshot near dusk. I'll go for the "official" photo when everything is in bloom.

FLowerbed.jpg

Then, one of my additions (yet to bloom) in a "before" stage. I present the Denver Daisy. (Blue pot (as seen in the above pic), soon to be yellow blooms, to offset some of that red!)

DaisyBefore.jpg

Then, playing with a ball I found in the street in front of our house, I messed with trying to get some stop action skills. I was messing in manual mode and set the shutter speed to 640, which didn't prove to be anywhere near fast enough. It was dusk, so I didn't get to mess around after checking the pics on the computer, so I'll try again tomorrow. Seems everything was in focus except for the flying ball... Gonna try again tomorrow in shutter priority and see what happens at different settings.

FREEZE.JPG

Tomorrow is MY day. I'm takin' the wife, we're hoppin' on the ol' Nomad 1600, and we're riding to random destinations. I commonly refer to that as "wind therapy". Perhaps I'll find some interesting pics along the way!
 
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