Pigsty

[Einstein]

This is a pigsty down the road from me. Its really creepy and smells bad. I don't think i captured the eeriness of it but am happy with some of my shots. C&C always appreciated!

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2

3

4

5

 

[Bynx]

Good job rendering. Great detail and clarity.

 

[ann]

again, too flat, just a bit of curves will help out those pigs. #3 is certainly better than the next two , at least on my monitor

the last two don't look sharp, and it isn't a matter of "live" items, perhaps a bit of sharpening would help the lack of contrast.

fun subject matter and good for you for trying something most folks would pass on.

 

[Einstein]

Thanks for your comments.

Good call on the sharpening, i havent used that tool yet so i will give it a try. I agree #3 is better than 4 and 5. I was having trouble finding a balance in the last two beacause there are some whites that were getting blown out when i upped the contrast more. But will keep playing with them.

Also these are long exposures. If you look at the pigs Jaw in #5 its blured because he decided to yawn! Each image is 3 shots and i think they were something like 3,15,30 secs or something.

 

[ann]

i am going to assume that your using a tripod. how about mirror lock up, that will make a huge difference in sharpness.

did you tell them yawning wasn't allowed

 

[Einstein]

I told them to stay still but the cheeky porkers wouldnt listen! I didnt have my tri pod so i was resting the camera on walls etc... but im sure it stayed still.

Whats a mirror lock up?

 

[ann]

you need to see if your camera will allow mirror lock up.

you activate that function, and then fire the shutter once, at which point the mirror locks up so there is no vibration of the mirror hitting the prisim and then you fire once more and the shutter fires. It is also best to use a shutter release cable to avoid any touching of the camera.

Years ago there was an test made on film, *doesn't make any difference that it was film" the same shot was taken hand held at 1/500 the same shot was made on the camera on a tripod and a third was done with the mirror locked up and the results are shocking. There is a huge difference with each step.
just an fyi

 

[Einstein]

nm just googled it, you could be right especially since i had the camera resting on pretty unstable mounts. ill go back and shoot this with my tripod and might even try MLU

thanks ann

 

[ann]

keep on working and figuring out what works the best for you.

when i first started "playing around" i used a tripod, but not mirror lock up. When i got more serious i began using mirror lock up all the time so we all learn by experience and practice.

 

[AverageJoe]

Nice pigs!, interesting idea for an HDR, I would have never thought they would have been still.

Interesting about the mirror lockup, I'm assuming shooting via LiveView would provide the same thing?

 

[ann]

don't understand "live view " being the same as mirror lock up, or i don't understand the question.

when the mirror is in lock up mode one can't see through the lens as the mirror is locked up blocking the prism.

there is a lot of movement with the internal workings of the camera and that is why the rule of thumb for shutter speeds is to be faster than the longest focal length of the lens to help overcome the jar of the mirror moving out of the way to allow the shutter to fire then drop back down again, all that creates camera motion. The tripod helps dampen that series of motions, but mirror lock up elemates all movement especially if used with a cable release or remote control, which in turns creates sharper images.

altho, i have live view on my camera it is not a function i use with my personal work.

hope this helps and makes sense; i best get out my manual and check up on "live view".

 

[AverageJoe]

Ann, everything you've said makes sense, including that golden rule of having a shutter speed greater than or equal to your focal length. When live view is turned on (Canon) the shutter flips up, the sensor is active and the image is displayed on the LCD continuously. You can then set all your exposure settings and take a recording without the shutter moving. In addition to that, you can re-frame your image (keeping in mind some view finders only offer 95% coverage).

Aside from the shutter, what other moving parts are there on a DSLR?

 

[Einstein]

Thanks average joe! i have them well trained

 

[ann]

the mirror is a moving part and it creates a lot of vibration.

i use nikons and never in live view mode, so thanks for the information.