My Second Shoot

[Ramesses]

Hi Everyone:

Having a free day, I decided to take my camera for the second time around. The pictures are from the Wayfarers Chapel, 10 minutes or less from my house. I took some pictures in the morning, but it was very hazy. When the sun started to breakout, in the afternoon, I went back again and took many more photos.

The Chapel, I believe, was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and it is an all denomination church constructed primarily out of glass, in the Palos Verdes Peninsula, south of Los Angeles.

I am very pleased with my camera and lens – it exceeded expectations. As far as the photographer – it is work in progress.

The pictures are a mixture between the morning and afternoon shoots or hazy and a little bit sunny. The first picture is more or less what the chapel looks like from the outside. The others are more like what I “saw.”

These photos have not been cropped or enhanced. What you see is what I took. It is hard for me to judge the colors of the pictures, because I’m depending on my screen which may vary from one screen to the other. However, I love darker pictures – for better or worse.
Best regards,

Ramesses

 

[xfloggingkylex]

none of these really stand out to me I am sorry to say, probably because they are taken from a standing viewpoint that looks, well, simple.

My favorite here is the picture of the fountain for a few reasons. One, you are crouched down a little and it gives it a perspective not normally seen. Two, the colors are great, and boy is it blue. Three, there is running water, which leads me to a suggestion. You may be just learning on your D40 (doing a great job by the way) but you should click it over to Tv and decrease your shutterspeed to something slower, 1/the focal length and then some to make sure you dont have camera shake. Or if you were to lay down and put your camera on the stones, you could do a much slower shutterspeed without fear of blurring the picture.

Running water looks great with a slow shutterspeed because it gives it a sense of motion and a silky look, whereas yours has a static feeling as everything is frozen perfectly in place.

Good work for someone so new at photography. Just learn to be a little adventureous. After all you have digital. If the shot doesnt turn out how you wanted, delete it.

Editing is something that I have just started to learn to do. Levels is a great way to take care of problems with a picture (light or dark), but I agree, I'd rather have an underexposed shot than an overexposed shot. Of course if you can use levels to make it just right, why wouldn't you? Also, saturation increases in photoshop or GIMP can really make the photo come to life.

 

[his4ever]

I like how you framed the tree with the circle window.

 

[Ramesses]

none of these really stand out to me I am sorry to say, probably because they are taken from a standing viewpoint that looks, well, simple.

My favorite here is the picture of the fountain for a few reasons. One, you are crouched down a little and it gives it a perspective not normally seen. Two, the colors are great, and boy is it blue. Three, there is running water, which leads me to a suggestion. You may be just learning on your D40 (doing a great job by the way) but you should click it over to Tv and decrease your shutterspeed to something slower, 1/the focal length and then some to make sure you dont have camera shake. Or if you were to lay down and put your camera on the stones, you could do a much slower shutterspeed without fear of blurring the picture.

Running water looks great with a slow shutterspeed because it gives it a sense of motion and a silky look, whereas yours has a static feeling as everything is frozen perfectly in place.

Good work for someone so new at photography. Just learn to be a little adventureous. After all you have digital. If the shot doesnt turn out how you wanted, delete it.

Editing is something that I have just started to learn to do. Levels is a great way to take care of problems with a picture (light or dark), but I agree, I'd rather have an underexposed shot than an overexposed shot. Of course if you can use levels to make it just right, why wouldn't you? Also, saturation increases in photoshop or GIMP can really make the photo come to life.

Hi:

Thanks for taking the time and critiquing my photos. You are very right about the camera shake and I’m still learning the D40 and Digital Photography – one step at a time. You know the Chinese proverb: “The journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step…”I’m in my second step.

I changed the kit lens (the 18-55, which I sold already) for the 18-70. It has created a problem that I was afraid of. The D40 body is very light and the 18-70 is much heavier than the 18-55. Therefore, the camera and lens are front heavy. I know that I’m shaking the camera when I press the shutter. This is something that I’m working on with different grips, like one hand under the lens.

When I was in the process of purchasing the camera, I went to many dealers and asked about the balance if I upgraded to a heavier lens. Most of them looked at me like I was talking nonsense. I came to the conclusion that I was worrying about an imaginary problem. I have to get used to it. That is all.

It is hard for me judge, because I’m looking at colors from my screen, which is not that good. I do not know what other people see.

I just added this comment. I included at least three photos, especially the first one, that I do not care for, at all, at the expense of some better ones. If I do not include them, people might not get a rough idea of what the place looks like.

Thanks and best regards,

Ramesses

 

[Ramesses]

I like how you framed the tree with the circle window.

Thanks for your comments. I agree about that shot, but I screwed up with the framing, though. I cut off the top part of the triangle. Therefore, the only way to fix it is to retake it.

Thanks and best regards,

Ramesses

 

[xfloggingkylex]

just make sure your shutterspeed is at least 1/the focal length, and give yourself some more if you are having a hard time keeping it still. Pull your arms against your body to help brace, but dont get too tense or the tension in your muscles will shake the camera. Also, if I am having a problem with camera shake I'll exhale and take the picture while my breath is out so that simply breathing doesnt move my body. Any kind of support helps. Open the aperture if you need to. Bumb the ISO if you still cant get clear shots.

 

[Ramesses]

just make sure your shutterspeed is at least 1/the focal length, and give yourself some more if you are having a hard time keeping it still. Pull your arms against your body to help brace, but dont get too tense or the tension in your muscles will shake the camera. Also, if I am having a problem with camera shake I'll exhale and take the picture while my breath is out so that simply breathing doesnt move my body. Any kind of support helps. Open the aperture if you need to. Bumb the ISO if you still cant get clear shots.

Hi:

Thanks for your advice.

I’m still learning how to work the camera. The little time I have, I spend it going trough the Nikon “so-called” manual. I have to give it to them, though. They are among the top manuals in incomprehensibility and mysteriousness and this is a guy (me) that got along fine with the IBM mainframe manuals.

The night before the "shoot" I was fooling around with the ISO settings and left it on 1600. Another thing, I thought I had in P. I did not realized that you not only have to set mode dial to P but also you have to turn the command dial so you get the * over the P, in the viewfinder. Around 40% of the pictures were taken with the P only. About 70% of the pictures were shot in P or * over P and the rest with A or S, except for the first one, which was in auto.

I’m very proud of the first one. I could not have made it any worse. I wanted to exaggerate the day and conditions that I had to work with, which were not that good.

I am very happy with the camera and lens, though. I do not know if I’ll change it. At this time, I do not see the need unless the technology changes drastically and for the better.

The other day, I went to Sammy’s camera in LA and I got to see the 70-300mm VR ($499.00.) Nice lens, if you can call it that. If I had that lens, back in ’69, I could have watched the moon landing without the aid of a TV. VR o no VR you need a tripod. However, what surprised me the most was how light it seemed compared to my 18-70mm. It is not, but much better balanced. Do I want it? Yeah, if someone gave it to me. When will I get it? I have no idea. I have my hands full with what I have now.

The other thing that impressed me was the magnifying eyepiece DK-21M. I can look through the viewfinder without the aid of reading glasses. I want one of those. No more glasses on top of my head, back to my nose, back to the top of my head, back to…etc., etc. etc. I’ll get it in a week or two.

Nice talking to you,

Ramesses

 

[The_Traveler]

IMO, the toughest part of photography is actually learning to 'see' all the discrete lements in the picture in the viewfinder - the composition, the background, the highlights, shadows, the DOF, movement.

It isn't enough to look at it as a whole but to pick apart all of the dimensions and estimate if you are capturing them the way you intend.

Is the background OOF? Will the shadows be light enough under current light conditions? Do I need fill flash? Is that shadow giving my subject a strange look?

Good portrait or scenic photographers are marvelous at this. According to articles, But don't be discouraged, Cartier-Bresson was terrible at exposure, his contact sheets look like checkerboards.