Project 365 2013 - A Learning Journey/Moab Man

Moab Man

Senior Member
I've decided to join in as I have really enjoyed looking through others pictures. However, as a newbie, the one thing I will do differently is post each new thing I "Learned" along the way. Some of these "Learned" lessons will be obvious lessons to many but I'm sure someone starting out could find them really useful like the one I will add today. Some of them, like today's, are things I already knew but had that AHA! moment where I finally put that piece of the puzzle in its correct spot.

Day 1, 2013 - Forgotten Apples
Day1AppleOrchardWeb.jpg

LEARNED: Pay attention to the exposure meter. I always knew it was there, knew what it was for, but never stopped to think to make sure it was zero'd out. Reason I never paid attention to it? The camera gave me the all is good appropriate green light and beep but I never thought to check what the exposure was doing until... While shooting this orchard picture I heard in my head the voice of the photographer that works for my business say in reference to another picture I took that it looked good but was a little underexposed. That was when I looked at the meter and I was about to make the same mistake.

LEARNED: Auto darkening lenses are quite the handicap when shooting outside in the bright snow. Impossible to see any of the info displayed in the viewfinder. The LCD is also difficult to see.
 
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piperbarb

Senior Member
Actually, that's a good idea. It makes you more conscious of what you photograph and helps you understand your camera's behavior better. Back in the days when I used film, I would think about exposure and composition because film wasn't cheap and you had to develop it, etc. I still do that today. I did a lot of B&W so I would also think about how it looked that way, too. It's a good habit to get into. I think one of the pitfalls of digital photography is that people just snap a bunch of images and hope that something will come out okay, and if not, they figure there is software to fix it for them.
 

Moab Man

Senior Member
Day 2, 2013 - Downy Woodpecker


While shooting the orchard the day prior I discovered a large number of birds living there in the orchard. Most were feeding off the old apples but these little guys were everywhere pecking away at the bugs in the bark. I plan to visit these guys regularly - beautiful birds and they aren't too nervous of me crunching around in the snow below them.

Day2DownyWoodpeckerWeb.jpg

LEARNED: Having been here for that last explosion when it was found that a number of peoples photos had been swiped and re-credited to someone else - I have learned this from all of that. When posting a picture I will put my name, email address, and year in the lower right corner. My thought is four-fold. First, if someone were to try and crop out my signature it throws off the photo a bit due to the size of the signature block. Second, I made it a part of the pictures background color so while it's there, and large, it doesn't IMO scream out to loudly from the picture or take away from it. Think about it, all of you pro's on here would not sell an image to someone from the posted image and a large signature block I think would help to keep your work yours. Third, I have included my email if someone wanted to contact me for permission (I've seen photos I have wanted to use but could not figure out how to contact the owner and had to pass on the photo) to use my photo or if someone with scruples wants to report my photo showing up somewhere that it shouldn't. And fourth, I have my original work so I could always regenerate the picture without the large signature block. That's my 2 cents.
 

Dave_W

The Dude
Nice sharp image! I like it.

As for your second section on watermarking, it is also a good idea to keep your image size down around 300k or so. There's not much a person can do with such a small image since stock photographs have to be a minimum of 3mb's and higher.
 

Moab Man

Senior Member
keep your image size down around 300k or so. There's not much a person can do with such a small image since stock photographs have to be a minimum of 3mb's and higher.

Thank you for that input! This comment is exactly what I'm wanting my 365 thread to be - extremely useful information that will give newbies the bumps they need, as well as myself, to navigate their journey.

Again, thank you sir.
 

AxeMan - Rick S.

Senior Member
Another way you can "mark" your photos is in Lightroom (if you have it) You can imbed information in side the EXIF data file.

The downside to this is it's not visible unless you have a EXIF reader, and if someone knows what they are doing it can be erased or changed.

In my case when my photo was "swiped" the EXIF file was still intact, which made proving the photo was really mine easier.

Food for thought

Sample of part of my EXIF that goes into all my photos I process in Lightroom

Click for full image

Capture.JPG
 

Moab Man

Senior Member
Day 3, 2013 - Lab

Here is a picture of our extreme camera shy dog laying on her rug. It took great skill and the cunning of a ninja to get this shot. Ok, truth be told I had to drug her and my daughter is pulling really hard on her fur to open the eyes :D. I forget the breed she is but she has a disproportionately large head and her nickname is Ox-head.

Day3LabWeb.jpg
 

Moab Man

Senior Member
She is a chocolate but there was something specific to her origin that her head is very large and boxy than traditional. My wife knows better than I do.
 

Moab Man

Senior Member
Day 4, 2013 - Dance

I was out on my evening walkabout to find a picture for today when my trip only took about five steps. This young lady was dancing the proverbial "as if no one is watching" dance. What caught my eye, besides the fun she was having, was how mute all the surrounding colors were but the light was catching her just right. And because she looks to be a minor I blurred her face.

Day4DanceWeb.jpg
 
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Moab Man

Senior Member
Day 5, 2013 - Just interesting to look at.

In the evening sun everything was blue. I did initially correct for the color but that only showed how dirty the air is right now so I put it back.

Day5ConcertinaWireWeb.jpg
 

Moab Man

Senior Member
Day 6, 2013 - Peppermint Shrimp

Took a lot of work as these guys shun the light but here is one of four Peppermint Shrimp in our aquarium.

Day6PeppermintShrimpWeb.jpg
 

Moab Man

Senior Member
Day 7, 2013 - Australian Dog

Here is a picture of our other dog Freckles. We rescued her from the pound a number of years ago. She is some kind of a working dog, and we have been told by our vet she is some kind of an Australian cattle dog. Unfortunately, we have not been able to narrow down exactly what she is because we would love another one when her time has come and gone. Hands down this is the naturally smartest dog we've ever owned and naturally has no tail except for this finger-like stub. Anyway, please enjoy the picture.

Day7AustralianWeb.jpg
 

Moab Man

Senior Member
Day 8, 2013 - Snuggles

Here is a picture of our cat Snuggles. She doesn't have an ounce of mean or common sense.

Day8SnugglesWeb.jpg
 
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Moab Man

Senior Member
Day 11, 2013 - Frozen Berries

I love finding frozen fruit that somehow has hung around too long but looks as fresh as it did during the summer.

Day11BerriesWeb.jpg
 
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