The Big Photography Thread

[Mike Martin]

Spectacular Ken!

[RichieP_MechE]

Mike, I like the orange tones in your photo - really captured the feeling of a sunrise.

 

And nice work as always, Ken!

[KenElevenShadows]

Thanks, man!!!

 

I don't remember if I posted this long exposure coastal photo from Mendocino, CA:

 

http://www.elevenshadows.com/travels/mendocino-santacruz2012/images/105bowlingballbeach10sf14iso200-flat2.jpg

[wjwilcox]

Very nice, Ken. Long exposures do wonderful things to moving water.

[KenElevenShadows]

Thanks! I love what they do to moving water. So gorgeous. Some people take really loooooooooooong exposures of water. I'm talking 30, 40 minutes. Not seconds, but *minutes*. It renders the sea as a completely white, smooth surface.

[KenElevenShadows]

http://www.elevenshadows.com/travels/tronapinnacleskillbillchurch-2013july/images/2235_kenlee_killbillchurch3-mojave.jpg

 

While I'm here, I should post another photo. This is a photo of the "Kill Bill" Church, featured in a scene where Bill had attempted to dispatch Uma Thurman's character in a bloody hail of gunfire.

 

Aren't most of us intrigued by those desolate, hopeless desert scenes we see, thinking, "Where is that?" It conjures up different worlds. And true to form, the "Kill Bill" Church was desolate, nearby to nowhere.

 

The church was also featured in "True Confessions" with Robert DeNiro, a movie based loosely on the Black Dahlia murders.

[Mike Martin]

In North Carolina this week visiting my parents. My mom isn't doing real well, so taking some pictures of birds (and a squirrel) while she's resting has been a good distraction.

 

IMG_5922 by Mike M Martin, on Flickr

 

IMG_7234 by Mike M Martin, on Flickr

 

IMG_7025 by Mike M Martin, on Flickr

 

IMG_6617 by Mike M Martin, on Flickr

 

IMG_6499 by Mike M Martin, on Flickr

 

IMG_6843 by Mike M Martin, on Flickr

 

IMG_6661 by Mike M Martin, on Flickr

 

IMG_5854 by Mike M Martin, on Flickr

[Brettymike]

WOW!!! Stunning top gun photo's Mike!!!

 

Brett.

[joegerardi]

Thank you Mike. That first bird photo categorically proves that even in the animal world, the married male is always wrong!

 

..Joe

[Brettymike]

I still can't believe how masterfully you setup timed and captured those photo's Mike.

Truly the best photography I've seen anywhere.

(If Casio went boom , photography is your forte ).

 

Brett

[wjwilcox]

Gorgeous bird photos, Mike. Do you use a remote control or motion sensor trigger?

 

[Mike Martin]

Wow, thanks everyone. I really appreciate the kind words.

 

The photos are a combination of manual shots, remote trigger and motion sensor trigger. I took an unbelievable number of photos over the last week to get these. 95% of them get deleted right away when shooting with the motion sensor. I probably took 1,000 pictures this week.

 

Each time I set up the camera for a shot, it's just a waiting game hoping that they land right spot. I shot so many with a narrow depth of field, placement was crucial. The sparrows and finches are pretty easy to get but there were others including several Cardinals that elluded me all week. I managed to get a Woodpecker yesterday and a few other Bluebirds that I haven't uploaded yet.

[Kenny.]

I've never seen this thread before...or maybe just never payed attention to it. Anyway, I'm currently taking a Digital Pictures/Filmmaking class in school right now, and I absolutely hate it. Maybe it has something to do with me being "terrible" at taking pictures (by the course's definition, of course...), but learning about aperture, ISO, lenses, depth of field, ect., is just not my thing.

 

That said, it's inspiring to see your photos, Mike. Fantastic stuff.

[Joe Muscara]

I've never seen this thread before...or maybe just never payed attention to it. Anyway, I'm currently taking a Digital Pictures/Filmmaking class in school right now, and I absolutely hate it. Maybe it has something to do with me being "terrible" at taking pictures (by the course's definition, of course...), but learning about aperture, ISO, lenses, depth of field, ect., is just not my thing.

 

That said, it's inspiring to see your photos, Mike. Fantastic stuff.

It can be hard to keep track of. There are a lot of numbers, and I tend to use my DSLR in spurts, so I forget what the settings mean from one outing to the next. Or I forget that I should do X for the conditions. I drive myself crazy.

 

I would suggest to you that you just keep at it, experiment, and have fun. In today's digital age, you can throw out anything you don't want without wasting all those chemicals, film, and paper.

 

Also, the only one who really gets to say if you are "terrible" at taking pictures is you, and you should never say things like that about yourself.

[KenElevenShadows]

Hey Mike, those are fantastic photos of the various animals! Really great stuff!!!!

[KenElevenShadows]

I've never seen this thread before...or maybe just never payed attention to it. Anyway, I'm currently taking a Digital Pictures/Filmmaking class in school right now, and I absolutely hate it. Maybe it has something to do with me being "terrible" at taking pictures (by the course's definition, of course...), but learning about aperture, ISO, lenses, depth of field, ect., is just not my thing.

 

That said, it's inspiring to see your photos, Mike. Fantastic stuff.

 

This pertains to photography in general, and not your class.

 

Do you enjoy photography? Not the course, but the whole experience of photography?

 

If the answer is no, then don't read further.

 

If the answer is yes, then here's my advice. For now, screw learning about aperture, ISO, lenses, depth of field, etc. Just don't bother learning it for now. I'm not saying they're not important to know, but that it's not important right NOW.

 

Here's what I think you should do.

 

Presumably you have a DSLR or other digital exchangeable lens camera. Great. Don't buy anything else. Simply go out with it, use the automatic settings, and shoot. Just have fun.

 

After a while, you'll start noticing patterns in the settings, which is automatically recorded by all digital cameras. It records the aperture, ISO, shutter speed, everything. Look for patterns.

 

For portraits, it might be that it uses a large aperture so that it has a narrower depth of field (a thinner "slice" of your image is in focus).

 

Or you may notice that for action photography or landscape, the aperture is smaller, resulting in a wider depth of field....almost everything is in focus!

 

Whatever. Just notice patterns.

 

Don't change anything. Don't buy new lens. Keep using the automatic settings. Just have fun. When you start wondering, "Gee, if I had a new lens, I could do........." or you keep wanting to change the image slightly because it's not quite what you envision or it's not quite looking like a magazine photo you were trying to capture and it frustrates you slightly, then and only then should you start looking at lens and camera settings. If you don't find yourself doing this, then screw it, just keep using the automatic settings and having fun. Those automatic settings are pretty darned good.

 

I talked to a National Geographic photogapher before, a guy in his '60s, a long time ago. I said that I was mostly using the automatic settings of my SLR. He said, "Well, you know, between you and me, those automatic settings are pretty great, and I use them fairly often, especially if I'm in a hurry!"

 

If it works for a National Geographic photographer, it'll be just fine for you and me.

[KenElevenShadows]

Wow, this is pretty big. I've been selected as one of the top ten finalists in the Travel category for Smithsonian Magazine's website!!!!

 

"On behalf of Smithsonian.com, I am pleased to inform you that you are one of the top ten finalists in the Travel category o­­­f our 11th Annual Photo Contest. Your photograph of the sculpture garden in Borrego Springs was one of the best of more than 50,000 entries we received from all over the world."

 

http://www.elevenshadows.com/travels/borregosprings-2013august/images/3034_kenlee_borregospringsnightsky-scorpiongrasshoppermilkyway.jpg

 

 

[KenElevenShadows]

Wow, thanks everyone. I really appreciate the kind words.

 

I look forward to the woodpecker and other ones that you are going to upload.

 

Image 6661 is cool. You focused on the eyes. That's crucial, and you totally nailed this. They're all super great!!!!

 

For animals, I think you have to shoot in volume. You have to know what you're doing, obviously, but it still takes a lot of shots to get some good ones because of how unpredictable they can be and how quick their motions are as well as how wary they are of you, how small they are, and all sorts of other reasons.

[wjwilcox]

Wow, this is pretty big. I've been selected as one of the top ten finalists in the Travel category for Smithsonian Magazine's website!!!!

 

"On behalf of Smithsonian.com, I am pleased to inform you that you are one of the top ten finalists in the Travel category o­­­f our 11th Annual Photo Contest. Your photograph of the sculpture garden in Borrego Springs was one of the best of more than 50,000 entries we received from all over the world."

 

That's HUGE, Ken! Congratulations!

[Joe Muscara]

Congratulations, Ken!

 

As far as your advice to Kenny, I agree with you wholeheartedly. It's not unlike the process I went through. After my QuickTake 200 (which was unfortunately stolen in a burglary along with the Canon 35mm my dad gave me which took great photos despite being fixed lens and from the 50s or so), I bought an Olympus 4040. That was a pretty nice digital, but after a while, I started running into its limitations. That's when I got the Digital Rebel XT. I haven't hit its limits (as a camera) yet. The three lenses are enough to keep me busy. I would like the bigger screen and some other features newer models have, but I can't justify replacing it because for the most part, it's plenty of camera for me.

[RichieP_MechE]

Congrats Ken! A well-deserved honor.

 

And nice job on the wildlife photos Mike!

 

I took an unbelievable number of photos over the last week to get these. 95% of them get deleted right away when shooting with the motion sensor.

This brings up a workflow question for all the guys here: do you delete photos? I pretty much never delete any. I have a little server set up as NAS (currently 2 TB storage capacity) so storage space isn't an issue.

 

 

 

[midinut]

Congrats Ken. Well deserved!

 

Kenny, if you approach it like learning about oscillators, and filters, and envelopes, it might change your perception of photography. I've got a Canon T4i that I've had for a couple of years now. Most of my shooting is done on Automatic. If I'm feeling creative I might mess with an extended exposure setting (mainly to try to capture that cool "flowing water" effect). As Ken said too, if you don't enjoy photography then none of this will help change that viewpoint. I haven't posted any of my pics up here mostly due to these guys bust my ass. But you know, they also probably bust my ass musically as well. That is something I have to get past.

[Mike Martin]

Serious congrats Ken! Well deserved!!!

[KenElevenShadows]

Congrats Ken! A well-deserved honor.

 

And nice job on the wildlife photos Mike!

 

I took an unbelievable number of photos over the last week to get these. 95% of them get deleted right away when shooting with the motion sensor.

This brings up a workflow question for all the guys here: do you delete photos? I pretty much never delete any. I have a little server set up as NAS (currently 2 TB storage capacity) so storage space isn't an issue.

 

 

If they're blurry, out of focus, generally unusuable or terrible, I delete them without a second thought. I save the screw-ups that look interesting.

 

And I save the things that look just about as good but am not going to use right that moment.

 

If the photo is obviously messed up, I delete it in the camera and don't even bother downloading it to the computer. I usually do this out in the field.

[KenElevenShadows]

Congrats Ken. Well deserved!

 

Kenny, if you approach it like learning about oscillators, and filters, and envelopes, it might change your perception of photography. I've got a Canon T4i that I've had for a couple of years now. Most of my shooting is done on Automatic. If I'm feeling creative I might mess with an extended exposure setting (mainly to try to capture that cool "flowing water" effect). As Ken said too, if you don't enjoy photography then none of this will help change that viewpoint. I haven't posted any of my pics up here mostly due to these guys bust my ass. But you know, they also probably bust my ass musically as well. That is something I have to get past.

 

Yeah, there's nothing wrong with automatic. Those automatic settings are often very good.

 

The reason I suggested doing this on a DSLR or other exchangeable lens camera is this: the camera is good quality. It's responsive. I think it's irritating to use a camera that has shutter lag. Put some decent glass on that, such as a decent zoom lens, and you're all good. There you have enough quality that you're not going to have crappy looking photos, and you just simply set the automatic settings. Then, consider the rest of my advice and just keep having fun. It is supposed to be fun, y'know?

 

As for sharing stuff regardless of perceived ability level, just go for it. There's always photographers or musicians that can mop the floor with you in one thing or another. That will never change. But who cares? Only a few people get to be the greatest, and even then, you know, it doesn't matter. I played guitar at a gig with Nels Cline, who can mop the floor with anyone. He came up to me after the show and - I'm not being overly modest in saying that I'm not a very technical guitar player and many people can play better than me, although I am inventive - paid me a really great compliment.

 

And anyway, if all else fails, even if I'm not the greatest keyboard player in the world, there's probably a decent chance I can take photos better than Keith Emerson or Rick Wakeman.

[KenElevenShadows]

Serious congrats Ken! Well deserved!!!

 

Thanks everyone for the congrats!

[Kenny.]

Thanks so much for the advice, Ken & Brad! Only issue is that the course is a forced sort of thing, and we were tested on what we know regarding the book facts (the 'camera triangle', what we would do differently, ect.), and it's not that I hate it - just not exactly my passion. We do use DSLRs and we're also starting to get into film making too. I love using depth of field in stills and videos. I definitely wouldn't have explored this if it hadn't been a mandatory course, but I'm glad I'm doing it now (and I'm glad I know all these camera terms), and I'm able to appreciate good photography!

PS - CONGRATS, KEN!

[Brettymike]

Well done Ken11! .

Mike M. , did you have some of your pictures entered?, because if you did I wouldn't be surprised if you won the Smithsonian photo shoot.

(I see last years winning picture is another cool Bird photo! ).

 

Brett

[Michael W]

There are some great photos in this thread, obviously take by pro-level people with pro-level gear. That is not me.

 

I take zillions of photos, but typically only while traveling, and just using point-and-shoot cameras and (yes) iPhone cameras. I have recently put together a collection of my favorite travel photos (and no, these don't contain pics of me or family members). Some samples are below, and the rest are here:

 

Michael's Favorite Travel Photos

 

Venice

http://www.fototime.com/BE26C2E943E8D36/medium800.jpg

 

Madrid

http://www.fototime.com/F92CC5E2063C215/medium800.jpg

 

Moscow

http://www.fototime.com/656DC6332D67026/medium800.jpg

 

Sevilla

http://www.fototime.com/2CB4717AC9D5C7D/xlarge.jpg

 

Paris

http://www.fototime.com/9A231D3575A9531/medium800.jpg

 

Hawaii

http://www.fototime.com/45FBFFBBAE41C15/medium800.jpg

 

Prague

http://www.fototime.com/8DEDDC0426E4AE9/medium800.jpg

 

Los Angeles

http://www.fototime.com/757EEC525202EC7/medium800.jpg

 

Istanbul

http://www.fototime.com/B09F430E9E5BDCC/medium800.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

[KenElevenShadows]

Nice and sharp!

 

I hope to have pro-level gear someday. I am looking to get my first professional full-frame camera soon.