Grassroots Photographers, post YOUR favorite photos (one per day)| Off-Topic Discussion forum |

skierd Dork
6/12/14 1:47 a.m.

Stealing this from another forum that I like to post on, with inspiration from the recent Photography thread that's posted in the GRM section.

This is a thread with a purpose of getting some of your shots out there; whether you want to show off, find out if a picture is interesting or not, receive general comments/critiques or just to show us where the world of photographic adventures is taking you or has taken you, post 'em in here. Limit it to one per day or else it'll end up just being a flood of pictures with no real input, and please include your equipment to prevent the usual gear follow-up questions later.

Let's mostly keep the discussion in this thread to the pictures and artistic/technical evaluations of the pictures. Gear talk is always good and fun too, but lets focus on the end product over the tools. Be critical if you must, but don't be mean or degrading about it; at the same time, I'm sure everyone will appreciate honesty, so if a shot doesn't work for you, say it!

Film or digital doesn't matter, doesn't even have to be car-related. Keep it clean, no NSFW images please.

skierd Dork
6/12/14 1:51 a.m.

I'll start...

kylini HalfDork
6/12/14 7:31 a.m.

Nikon D3100 w/ kit 18-55 mm VR lens I picked up refurb before Christmas for $350. Took this driving back from Iowa to Missouri in Bowling Green, which got rain instead of snow before freezing. Used the fine technique of lying on the ground and shoving the camera into a drainage ditch at its widest setting.

Higher res: http://kylini.com/full/iceberries.jpg

Sky_Render Dork
6/12/14 7:35 a.m.

I use an old Canon rebel, because I'm cheap. And a Tamron lens. Because I'm cheap.

fujioko Reader
6/12/14 7:38 a.m.

[ Kodak DX6490. Picked up at a garage sale for $7.00

4cylndrfury MegaDork
6/12/14 7:40 a.m.

This is one of my favorites...but Im no pro, and have only the 5mp lens in my phone, and the host of tools supplied by instagram. Im sure I will get flamed because "vintage glass is aaaalways superior", but I really liked the way this pic came out

Sky_Render Dork
6/12/14 7:45 a.m.

That's a neat picture; I'll give you that. And I'm a snob.

The problem with attempting to do depth-of-field tricks using software is that it never looks right to me. It also seems to introduce a lot of noise into the photo (see all the red "dots" on that car's paint). The crux of the matter is that "point and shoot" digital cameras and phone cameras have such a small aperture that you just can't really get a narrow depth of field.

4cylndrfury MegaDork
6/12/14 7:54 a.m.

A few years back I got SWMBO a Sony Alpha 500, which came with a standard combo lens. She also wants a macro, and maybe some equipment to shoot better portraits. With a few filters, shes able to do some pretty cool work with it. She did take some classes in HS and college, but shes not really passionate about it. She speaks about photography in her past like she loved it, but today she rarely gets it out unless its a birthday or other special occasion.

Full disclosure, I was hoping to get her interested in a hobby again, so that I wouldnt feel so guilty about being so involved in cars and such, while she sits bored in the house. Unfortunately, that was a few hundred dollar gamble (back then) which hasnt yet paid off...Perhaps I will "borrow" her Sony and try my hand with a better bit of kit.

Grtechguy UltimaDork
6/12/14 8:16 a.m.

aircooled UltimaDork
6/12/14 10:45 a.m.

More for content then quality. I wish the faces were a bit more visible (sort of a combination of shock and joy):

bigdaddylee82 Dork
6/12/14 10:53 a.m.

My bad, I skimmed the intro. Removed the others for the time being.

Carlanna Lake, Ketchikan, AK

Circa 2002 Sony Cyber Shot DCS P52 (I think), point & shoot. Picture was made in Dec. of '05, I have no idea what settings I used. I'd guess a long-ish exposure, it's not like the point & shoot has a lot of options.

Lee

Swank Force One MegaDork
6/12/14 10:57 a.m.

Hot off the phone. Wish i was using the good camera for this one.

Will go back and pull some off the Pentax later.

DaveEstey UberDork
6/12/14 10:58 a.m.

aircooled UltimaDork
6/12/14 10:59 a.m.

I will throw another one in here that is more to the spirit:

Shot at the Botanical Gardens near Hilo HI (big island). It had just opened and there were lots of these guys running around. The camera is one of those built in lens point and shoots. Not perfect, but it does pretty good, and its more portable then a SLR.

Nice to have a preview with a shot like this, clearly metering is an issue. Sometimes it's hard to find a mid-bright point, so straddling the bright / dark line can work. Probably the best idea (if you can) is to take a few (stopping up and down) and blending in Photoshop. Clearly more difficult with something that moves.

Do the fancy cameras have the ability to burst a few frames at different f stops?

(Sorry, just saw the ONE PER DAY note in the title)

oldeskewltoy SuperDork
6/12/14 11:32 a.m.

thestig99 HalfDork
6/12/14 11:47 a.m.

Old picture, I think still with my old Canon P&S.

skierd Dork
6/12/14 12:49 p.m.

4cylndrfury wrote: She did take some classes in HS and college, but shes not really passionate about it. She speaks about photography in her past like she loved it, but today she rarely gets it out unless its a birthday or other special occasion. Full disclosure, I was hoping to get her interested in a hobby again, so that I wouldnt feel so guilty about being so involved in cars and such, while she sits bored in the house. Unfortunately, that was a few hundred dollar gamble (back then) which hasnt yet paid off...Perhaps I will "borrow" her Sony and try my hand with a better bit of kit.

Full disclosure that's kind of my idea with this thread, particularly the first half. Sometimes it's hard to figure out what or why to go shoot, so you don't... I hadn't touched my camera in almost 3 months but might have found myself a volunteer opportunity that'll kick my motivation in the butt. Digital is essentially free once you've got the camera and the computer.

So get out and shoot! OR go back and reprocess some old shots, or just post up an old favorite or three.

skierd Dork
6/12/14 12:57 p.m.

Pentax K30, Pentax SMC-M 50mm F/2, and a happy dog named Sitka.

DanielCut New Reader
6/12/14 1:27 p.m.

Sebastian Vettel at COTA 2012. Taken with Canon 60D and 70-200 lens.

Sky_Render Dork
6/12/14 1:41 p.m.

DanielCut wrote: Sebastian Vettel at COTA 2012. Taken with Canon 60D and 70-200 lens.

That is really good.

nicksta43 UltraDork
6/12/14 2:30 p.m.

I really wish I had enough disposable income to justify a good camera. I took some classes in highschool but nothing really stuck. I'm consistently composing shots in my head but the camera phone doesn't cut it.

Bobzilla PowerDork
6/12/14 2:33 p.m.

Taken this past winter on the surface of Hoth:

kylini Reader
6/12/14 2:56 p.m.

I'd love to hear more about how y'all took the photos you post. If the lighting was weird, how did you make the exposure? How do you get that sweet F1 motion blur? How much do you leave to the camera and how much do you manually set. Things like that.

DanielCut New Reader
6/12/14 3:51 p.m.

I shoot almost exclusively on manual. The F1 shot was a pan shot with a very slow shutter speed and narrow aperture. It took some trial and error to not have the shot completely blown out and still get the effect I wanted.