What I Learned from Ken Rockwell Today!!

[JTPhotography]

That I can forget about using a tripod with a 14mm lens, because the movement of objects placed very close to the front of the lens is so exagerrated, hand held is the only way to be precise.

Oops, I broke a rule! I was about 18 inches away from these pilings and had no problem leveling and lining them up exactly where I wanted them, and if I hadn't, it wouldn't have been a problem correcting it in post.



Seriously, not trying to make this a "bash Rockwell" thread, but I read his tutorial on using wide angle lenses and couldn't believe some of the stuff in there. For the beginners, read as much as you can, but always take it with a grain of salt, rules are made to be broken. Learn the rules, and if you find something that works for you, go with it.

 

[lambertpix]

Good thing you didn't listen too closely to Ken. This turned out nicely, Rockwell notwithstanding.

 

[ronlane]

^^ agreed. A nice photo, even if you didn't do it his way.

 

[Tinderbox (UK)]

Ken would be proud of you, did you use raw or jpeg and increase the color saturation to maximum.

Some Ken Rockwell FAQ

John.

That I can forget about using a tripod with a 14mm lens, because the movement of objects placed very close to the front of the lens is so exagerrated, hand held is the only way to be precise.

Oops, I broke a rule! I was about 18 inches away from these pilings and had no problem leveling and lining them up exactly where I wanted them, and if I hadn't, it wouldn't have been a problem correcting it in post.

View attachment 59859

Seriously, not trying to make this a "bash Rockwell" thread, but I read his tutorial on using wide angle lenses and couldn't believe some of the stuff in there. For the beginners, read as much as you can, but always take it with a grain of salt, rules are made to be broken. Learn the rules, and if you find something that works for you, go with it.

 

[Derrel]

The big lesson though is that it is both much easier,and much faster to make minor framing adjustments when shooting with an ultra-wide when you can move the camera all over the place, and find *the absolute best* camera position, rather than take a shot, set up a tripod, and then fire with an "well, this is good enough" kind of attitude. That's not just a Ken Rockwell article topic...that's pretty common knowledge among very experienced photographers...use your own body, eyes, and brain, and look through the camera, move up, down, sideways, forward, backward, whatever, and find the very BEST PLACE to position the camera...then if you need support [as in tripod], put the camera right there, where you found to be the best camera position, on the tripod.

One can dick around and try 15,20 different tripod positions and maybe hit the best spot, or literally move the camera through an almost endless series of minor variations, with the camera hand-held at eye level, and find what you think is the **very best** place to shoot from. Again...that's like a 100 year-old method...I thought everybody knew this method. Guess not--Ken's written an article detailing yet another well-known 'secret' people used to learn from real mentors, in the real world.

Ever wondered why motion picture directors and directors of photography and cinematographers have used the "director's viewfinder" devices for decades? When the camera is big and awkward, it's nice to be able to explore many different camera placements and evaluate them, without the need to actually move around a 150 pound camera and tripod...

Directors Viewfinder - Manufactured by Alan Gordon Enterprises, Inc. - Hollywood, CA 90038

Alan Gordon Enterprises Mark Vb Director's Viewfinder 1000-01

 

[runnah]

I like to form a "frame" with my fingers and then make ooo'ing and ahhh'ing noise.

 

[JTPhotography]

The big lesson though is that it is both much easier,and much faster to make minor framing adjustments when shooting with an ultra-wide when you can move the camera all over the place, and find *the absolute best* camera position, rather than take a shot, set up a tripod, and then fire with an "well, this is good enough" kind of attitude. That's not just a Ken Rockwell article topic...that's pretty common knowledge among very experienced photographers...use your own body, eyes, and brain, and look through the camera, move up, down, sideways, forward, backward, whatever, and find the very BEST PLACE to position the camera...then if you need support [as in tripod], put the camera right there, where you found to be the best camera position, on the tripod.

One can dick around and try 15,20 different tripod positions and maybe hit the best spot, or literally move the camera through an almost endless series of minor variations, with the camera hand-held at eye level, and find what you think is the **very best** place to shoot from. Again...that's like a 100 year-old method...I thought everybody knew this method. Guess not--Ken's written an article detailing yet another well-known 'secret' people used to learn from real mentors, in the real world.

Ever wondered why motion picture directors and directors of photography and cinematographers have used the "director's viewfinder" devices for decades? When the camera is big and awkward, it's nice to be able to explore many different camera placements and evaluate them, without the need to actually move around a 150 pound camera and tripod...

Directors Viewfinder - Manufactured by Alan Gordon Enterprises, Inc. - Hollywood, CA 90038

Alan Gordon Enterprises Mark Vb Director's Viewfinder 1000-01

I totally agree. I always walk around and hand hold the camera with tripod legs shortened, find the shot, then set up. Rockwell point was that you can't make the minor position adjustments necessary to get the position exact, only your hands can do that. I do KINDA see his point, but it can be done either way. He is anti-tripod though, from what I have seen.

 

[batmura]

This image is marvelous! Incredibly stunning! I can't understand how anyone could shoot this without a tripod? How long was the exposure?

 

[robbins.photo]

That I can forget about using a tripod with a 14mm lens, because the movement of objects placed very close to the front of the lens is so exagerrated, hand held is the only way to be precise.

Oops, I broke a rule! I was about 18 inches away from these pilings and had no problem leveling and lining them up exactly where I wanted them, and if I hadn't, it wouldn't have been a problem correcting it in post.

Seriously, not trying to make this a "bash Rockwell" thread, but I read his tutorial on using wide angle lenses and couldn't believe some of the stuff in there. For the beginners, read as much as you can, but always take it with a grain of salt, rules are made to be broken. Learn the rules, and if you find something that works for you, go with it.

Really more interested in what you learned from Rockwell yesterday - lol. But I get where your coming from - everybody has different techniques and different styles that work well for them. I ran into a fellow wildlife photographer on another forum that got extremely upset when I suggested to a fellow poster that they might want to try shutter priority mode paritcularly for small, fast moving birds in variable lighting conditions.

He read me the riot act. Which curiously enough was not as interesting as it might sound - I mean it starts out pretty fast paced but sort of drags in the middle there.. lol

I tried to explain to him that particularly for small birds in flight keeping your shutter speed above a certain level was crucial - otherwise you'd get motion blur that would ruin the shot. The A mode (which, apparently according to this guy was the only mode that should even exist on a camera) works fine when your lighting is fairly constant once you set your ISO - but if your moving from shadow to sky and back again or have a cloudy day where they are passing in front of the sun - well it can really make using A mode can difficult and it can produce some very unexpected results to say the least.

That's not to say I don't use it myself - in fact I use it quite often when the situation permits. I just found it really bizarre how this guy (and a few others I've run into on the forums) was firmly convinced there was only one right way to take wildlife pictures.

 

[JTPhotography]

This image is marvelous! Incredibly stunning! I can't understand how anyone could shoot this without a tripod? How long was the exposure?

Thanks! 3 seconds at f22, 14mm, ISO 50. I was trying to extend the shutter speed to smooth the water out a bit, but the light was bright.

 

[batmura]

I really, really like this image. I keep coming back. Someday I hope to shoot something half as good. Congrats, sir!

 

[robbins.photo]

I really, really like this image. I keep coming back. Someday I hope to shoot something half as good. Congrats, sir!

Well from the sounds of things it's actually pretty easy, all you have to do is head over to Ken Rockwell's site, read what he has to say, then do exactly what he tells you not to do. BAM! Great photographs.. lol