Photos # 23

A few pics from the range today



7mm Mag


12 guage slug

Nice!

Here is one from traveling back home today.

Awesome pics guys. I'm a newb photographer and have been reading a lot about how to take better pics. I'm trying to reverse-engineer how these pics were taken. Is it too much work to ask if you guys can include the iso/aperture/shutter speed of these pics?
I'd like to see how close (or far off) I am from actual.
Thanks.

I asked this same question a long time ago and some one suggested to download opanda iexif software. It reads the exif info when you right click on a photo.
Anyone have other suggestions?

This is the site that WCW told me about back in February.
http://www.opanda.com/en/iexif/index.html


(Message edited by dmonte3283 on November 17, 2009)

Bakes I like the Jack-O-Lantern Vs. the firing squad. Here's my Jack-O-Lantern Vs. fire!

JP, my shot of the GBH was a long ways away so heavy crop and it's a little noisy but I just liked the poise.

40D
Focal length 400mm
Apetuer f/8
Shutter speed 1/800
ISO 400

Take lots of shots, it will come.

Thanks for the reply Randy.
I'm currently shooting with a D100, Nikkor 28-200mm (made in china)kit lens. My pics never turn out as sharp as I'd like. How much is technique and how much is lens quality? What lens would you recommend a newb pick up for better/sharper quality pics?
By the way...I was way off on everything on your GBH pic...lol!

JP, I'm pretty much a newbe myself but have gotten lots of tips from people on this board, Rich Dykmans, Riley, Walt, and others that I try and shoot with as much as I can & that has helped a lot. Not up to speed with Nikon gear but Ryan Taylor might chime in on that. My favorite lens by far is the canon 70-200 f4 IS as far as being sharp it's money. I'm sure Nikon has something in that range. Here is one I shot the other day with the 70-200.

Here are the setting for the duck shot.

Canon 40D
Shot in manual
200mm
f/4
1/1600 sec.
ISO 200

having good glass helps but a lot of it is knowing how to use your camera. you can have the baddest camera w/ the absolute best glass money can buy, but if you don't know how to use your camera, your pics will still look like crap.

these are the lenses that i like.

nikon 70-200mmf2.8 $1900
nikon 17-55mmf2.8 $1350
nikon 50mmf1.8 $125
nikon 85mmf1.8 $430
nikon 10.5mmf2.8 $700
nikon 14mmf2.8 $1720

all are b&h prices.

you can rent them before buying them at borrowlenses.com. they ship item(s) to you and rental time don't start until receipt of item(s) and ends when shipped to return.

Very nice duck pic Randy. That's the sharpness I'm looking for. I'll try to shoot a pic using your duck pic settings and post for comparison. I finally moved off the "green box of shame" to manual mode so maybe my technique needs help too.I forgot to add in the other post that my Nikkor 28-200mm (made in china) kit lens is 3.5-5.6.

don't let the word "kit" hold you back. i've taken many shots w/ my kit lens (18-70mmf3.5-4.5) that a lot of people like.

and i highly recommend the 50mmf1.8. it's cheap and is a lot of fun to shoot with.

Thanks Joe for the info. I totally hear what you are saying about "knowing how to use equipment". I have tried to replicate shots taken by others using their exact parameters, lighting, etc, but my pics just don't come out "sharp". Now, what's sharp to one person may not be sharp to another. But, to me, the duck pic is "sharp".
I really like the 70-200mm f2.8 but I paid less for my first car. lol I guess you have to pay if you want to play.
I like the idea of try-before-you-buy. Will look into borrowlenses.com.
Thanks.

this was shot w/ the kit lens.

Nice shot Joe, great eyes. How did you light that shot?

thanks!

speedlight + umbrella + light stand + trigger

Alex's dog Aslan

Some beach dwellers from today. All cropped and shot at f4.5 around 1/2000th.

Very cool pics Rich.
Randy, I tried taking some pics using your parameters but there was not enough lighting and pics were completely underexposed. I had to play around with some settings to get this pic.
Does this look "sharp" to you guys?
My settings:
iso 200
200mm
f5.6
1/1.8sec (using tripod)
metering = spot
white balance flourescent (pic taken at the office this morning).
Pics that I take using a tripod turn out ok, but when I'm in the boat...forget it. It looks like I took them using a aim & shoot.

Awesome shot of the dogs Joe. Was that using tripod or handheld?

Rich, were your beach shots handheld?

Your shot above is slightly underexposed because you spot metered (although that's not a bad way to go with very bright flowers). You've got very thin depth of field which for a shot like that may or may not be the look you want. The focus point looks like its just a tad behind the main leaf, notice how the pot looks like the sharpest object in the shot and it looks like it could use more sharpening either in cam or in your computer.

I would have shot that at either f8+ to get more of the elements in focus or less then f5.6 to get more BG blur, to me you're kind of in no man's land at f5.6 but that's subjective of course.

I would have used more ISO like say 400 to 640 to get a faster shutter because that can help even on a pod. At 1/8 sec you should be using MLU/timer or at least a remote release to get ultra sharp images at 200mm.

What camera and lens was that shot with?

My shots were all handheld (with the first bird I had the rig balanced on a fence.)

thanks. it was handheld.

Rich in your 1st bird shot it looks a little funky in the bottom right corner (where the sand goes from sharp to blur) BTW I really like the way you captured the foam in #3, sharp image, I like.

JP, all in all it's not a bad shot, nice colors. I Agree with Rich about shutter speed. Keep shooting.

A few more, all crops.

I noticed that too Randy, I think I was too close, right on the edge of the MFD of the lens.

Your duck shot is a keeper with that wonderful light!

Here is the uncropped, as shot version of the bird in the foam - which do you like better? I'm really struggling with these 7D RAWs using the Canon DPP software, I wish Apple would get the act together and update Aperture with support for the 7D.

Rich and Randy,
Thank you for your advice. On my lunch break today I'll try to shoot the same subject with settings you suggested and see how it turns out.
Rich,
I am shooting with a Nikon D100 and Nikkor 28-200mm (3.5-5.6D) kit lens.
The last three bird pics you posted are sweet. That's the sharpness I'm looking to reproduce.

JP:

That's your problem, you need a Canon! (jk)

The IQ differences between the top lenses and the less expensive models are real but show up in different ways. If you have a shot that is well lit and perfectly set up like Joe's family portrait the base models can really shine as his photo shows.

Different shooting conditions can challenge any lens though, color/contrast/build/AF speed and accuracy/distortion and chromatic aberration control are just a few of the aspects you're paying for with L glass or Nikon's pro models. When you're comfortable with the camera and lenses you have and are getting the most out of them you'll start seeing the limitations any given lens has and know what you'll need.

Randy,

I took the liberty of running your heron shot through Noise Ninja to help smooth out some of that chroma noise. I think it helped a little but there's not much the software can do on a 100kb jpeg. If you can run noise reduction SW on the original RAW (if you have it) a really nice shot would become even better.

Rich, for me I like the BG better on the cropped verson.

Thanks for trying on the GBH noise reduction, it was shot in low light and had to use a higher ISO then I like and heavy crop, shot in Jpeg, I need to start shooting in RAW more. Nice BIF shot, I'm just starting to get into shooting them, that s!@t is hard.

Steamer Lane again, this time with the 500mm.

Nice shots Rich!! #3 is money . 7D? Hand held or tripod?

This time on the tripod, shot some video with it today as well.

I wanna see the video!

P.s. love the 1st and 3rd one Rich.

Nice Rich! #3 is sweet!

wow, nice pics rich! i too wanna see the video! get on it buddy!

Awesome pic WCW. I like how the TransAmerica tower is framed in the bridge. Nice.

(Message edited by mcbean7 on November 23, 2009)

Rich, Those shots area awesome. That last wave looks huge. Wheres the video? Walt, that is a nice frame job on the tower.

Nice bridge shot Walt (as always)

Just some random stuff I shot this week.





Kingfisher in flight, first one I ever got, these suckers are fast.

Damn Randy! That looks like some great POW! Love the 1st shot!

Nick there are no lifts to this spot and never groomed, kind of a locals tradition to do the 45 minute hike to the top but it is pretty sweet to get first tracks on it after a storm. Sorry for the photo quality, shot from the parking lot and heavy crop.

I would say that is worth the 45 min hike!

You mind sharing your local secret? Might have to do a road trip some day...looks sweet. How long of ride down is it?

Not that long of a trip for you Nick, Mt Bachelor in Bend Oregon. It's a pretty good ride down, and after you drop into the tree line it gets even deeper

Some Nikon 300mm f2.8 shots











Handheld, but cropped

1st Thanksgiving with my new grandson

soccer shots look awesome with the 2.8 DOF

Tahoe

Nice shots guys.

Bird shots I got limited subject matter up north in the winter

Walt inspired me with his Bay photos on FB so I thought I would post my first pic...
Unfortunately I did not shoot this in Raw, rookie move!
Photo is from Rio de Janeiro taken two weeks ago.

Now I expect some expert advice on how to make my photos sharper ! Unfortunately I did not have ample time to bust the tripod out on this one.

Canon 40D with 17-40MM F/4 L



(Message edited by attila916 on December 01, 2009)

Here is one from the Tahoe trip over the holiday...
I shot this in manual (but also not raw)

I used the tripod however it is still not as sharp as I would have expected. Advice?

Try stopping down a little less, these hirez crop sensors are subject to diffraction at very small apertures - I wouldn't go past f11.

AF about 1/3 into the scene or manually focus may help as well but I'd bet it's the first issue.

I like your train shot a lot!

+1 on the train shot!

Train shot= SICK.... It almost looks like a stage setup... fake.... i like it....Good shooting

Yeah that train shot is SO SICK! I wouldn't have shot it with a tripod. No need for one at all since you are at a fast enough shutter speed. It isn't as sharp probably because your at a high iso but I like how gritty it is. NOTHING needs to change.

I agree with Ryan, The train shot is perfect the way it is!

I'm going to agree on the train shot, it's got a wonderful mysterious/dark side to it with how you shot it.

I don't think he's questioning his train shot (it's technically fine) but the landscape. That's not an ISO problem on the landscape, he's at ISO100.

Sounds like the train shot evoked some feelings from everyone above and not just me, that's what a great shot does. Nice job on that one for sure!

Thanks guys, excited about the feedback on the train shot! Time to blow it up!!! I have not ordered a print of a digital pic in a long time...

Rich, thanks for the input on the other pic. I just looked at the file and you are spot on, I had it cranked up to 22. I will definitely watch for that in the future and will keep it under f11.

Attila, have played around with cropping the train shot? (You might want to anyhow depending on your print size.)

I would like to print as large as possible, I cropped about a finger off on the left side to hide the pole a bit. What would you recommend?

If it is the size off the sensor I had a print made the other day that was 30x45 which is the aspect ratio off the sensor. I had it done at WHCC.com and I know not everyone can get accounts there but just be known that it CAN be done. If you are on an apple and use aperture the 20x30 prints are the same ratio.

Getting rid of the pole and maybe a small amount off the bottom crossed my mind.

Done and print ordered... tick tock

Thanks!