The Backdoor Hippie's Ranchopalooza of Inconsistently Posted Images - 2013 Version

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
I believe I'd rather be the spider. A Black & Yellow Argiope my wife spotted yesterday.


Did I ever mention how difficult handheld macro photography is on a windy day?

Great shots Jake. Yes, I know about the wind factor in handheld macro shots. Let's just say thanks for digital since there sometimes would not be enough film in the camera to get the sharp shot.
 

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
Thats a tiny hotel :)


Sendt fra min GT-P3110 med Tapatalk

Look at this one:

Motel 500.jpg
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
Thats a tiny hotel :)

It's part of a small set of structures off the side of Rt. 22 here in NJ. The others are still inhabited. I suspect it was at one time a roadside motel with various cabins, and now it may be either long or short term low income rentals. A diner was built out front at some point, which has now been converted into hamburger joint. I've passed it at least a hundred times and never noticed. Yesterday I stopped to shoot the diner and that's when I saw it.
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
I subscribe to the Improve Photography blog and was reading through their 21 Best "Do It Today" Photo Ideas email that I got over the weekend. When I came to #5 Create A "Small World" Photo I recognized an image similar to what I got from the Tiny World app on my iPhone, so I figured why not give it a shot and learn something?!

It recommends a 360 degree panorama, but all the ones I already had are far too long and skinny to work. The iPhone app works on the normal camera view, so I went hunting for a panorama where left and right are fairly close. Following the directions on the linked "How To" article I plugged in a panorama I shot in FL of my brother in-law's dock. There was a hard edge that I did a quick fix on and voila!!

_D612948.jpg



Then, for giggles, I decided not to invert the image before distorting it and turned the world in on itself. The effect was cool, but the edges got weird, so I used the elliptical selection tool and cut out the outside and got this.

_D612948-2.jpg




Not to be stopped there, I decided that I missed the use of the selection tool in the first photo, so I went back, did the same selection and then used content aware fill to eliminate the stretched clouds. It worked for 95% of it, so I had to select 2 small areas and repeat the process.

_D612948-4.jpg



Key seems to be to have a sufficient amount of filler in the foreground so as not to lose detail in the center.

It's not something I'd use every day, or even every month. But it's another tool in the box for when I need an idea on what to do with what's in front of me.
 
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BackdoorArts

Senior Member
I shot a bunch of these on a day where the lighting was just awful for this kind of shot (too many shadows). Then I saw the way the leaves danced in the pool below the horribly low-running falls (no rain) and I was thankful for the gift.

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BackdoorArts

Senior Member
Nice bokeh! I viewed the EXIF data using Opanda, and it lists the ISO as 110. Strange. I wonder if something is off with Opanda?

A result of Auto ISO being turned on. I'm shooting with the 70-200mm and flipped it on to prevent me from accidentally shooting too slow for the focal length - a bad/lazy habit, but with the noise level on the D600 I rarely worry if I'm at native ISO or not provided I get the shot. Auto ISO grabbed the lowest possible ISO for the exposure at my chosen aperture and a minimum shutter speed of 1/200, which apparently isn't one normally available to us manually.
 

hark

Administrator
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Contributor
A result of Auto ISO being turned on. I'm shooting with the 70-200mm and flipped it on to prevent me from accidentally shooting too slow for the focal length - a bad/lazy habit, but with the noise level on the D600 I rarely worry if I'm at native ISO or not provided I get the shot. Auto ISO grabbed the lowest possible ISO for the exposure at my chosen aperture and a minimum shutter speed of 1/200, which apparently isn't one normally available to us manually.

Good to know. I didn't even know there was an ISO 110. Learned something new! ;)
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
I'd read about this place on a Weird NJ blog and saw some rather cool photos, so my brother and I made this a destination on our photo safari last Friday. Great site, easy to find, but unfortunately the perfect day was anything but perfect here since the abundant sunlight did all sorts of nasty things with shadows from the trees that surround the place. We've got it on our list of, "If we're ever in the area on an overcast day..." places. I also rediscovered how to do the "2 Photographers In A Very Small Area Trying To Get Pics" dance.

For the curious, this is Spring Valley Christian Church in Hardwick Twp., just north of Blairstown, New Jersey. It was last used in 1870 for a funeral and had been preserved by the Hardwick Twp. Historical Society. Unlike many ruins, this one is accessible and open to whomever wants to wander in.

10438041304_f9bb56f49f_o.jpg


10438318234_cf2fa21112_o.jpg


10438601284_20f5301273_o.jpg
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
And just in case you were wondering what it looks like in the real world...

10438763606_c4ee0e6d4a_o.jpg



As you can see, it would have been nice to be able to capture the place with more even lighting. Even HDR couldn't tame these shadows.
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
I prefer the real world version myself.

Alas, this is one of the only color photos I could tame to even bother showing anyone. The sun was incredibly bright and we got far too late a start, so it was in exactly the wrong spot and would be for a couple hours. The IR stuff was at least tameable. And while I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, I do like how it captures relics like this.
 
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