Posts Tagged ‘water’
The Golden Gate Bridge at Sunset
Tuesday, April 6th, 2010
Cell Phone Photography
Thursday, November 5th, 2009Last month I ran across a contest that had to do with the BlackBerry Storm. Although it is not really a picture contest, I was able to find a photo in my Storm that I thought was rather unique. I used the unedited picture and posted it as part of my entry. The reaction has been very positive – now we have to see if it wins! (As of this post, I am in 3rd place)
The picture was taken through the windshield of my car as I was sitting in traffic trying to get somewhere. Before I get started, I do NOT condone the activity of texting while driving, taking pictures, posting to twitter, facebook, taking videos or otherwise. With that out of the way, as I was sitting there (not, to barely moving), I noticed a rare opportunity. I grabbed my BlackBerry Storm and held it in what I felt was an “artistic” angle and pressed the shutter release. It was a cool picture. But, what I noticed was a rich blue color in the picture that was not as rich in the sky. The storm clouds were darker, the road signage was slightly blurred… It was a great shot!
When I showed the picture (and my contest entry) to a friend of mine, he asked me what I used to alter the picture – “Was it PhotoShop? Was it LightRoom? What was it, there is no way that came out of your BlackBerry without doctoring it!” I grinned and asked him to think about it. After a few moments, he figured it out and called it a “camera filter of opportunity.” Wow, what a great assessment!
So, how was it done – simple. Some cars – not all – have some sort of sun-screening material on the top edge of the windshield. In this case, I was in my Acura TSX, which has one with a blue tint to it. By holding my camera phone at just the right height and in that “artistic” angle, I was able to produce the shot you see below.
If you think this is a great shot – which I hope you do – I ask you to vote on it. Then, share it with your friends via Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LiveJournal, Xanga, or just share this blog posting with others via email. The only way I can stay in the top end of this contest is to not only get votes, but also get it on as many social networks, blogs, etc. So, if you are going to share it, do so from the links provided after you vote. Thanks in advance friends!
Capture the Moment!
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009
During my current trip to Alabama, I took a ride into Oak Mountain State Park on what most considered a horrible rainy afternoon. While driving through, I saw a lake to my right and was fortunate enough to find that NO ONE was around! Their loss, my gain…
When I came around the corner, I saw a beautiful clash of colorful paddle boats and canoes sitting at the dock. The amount of color was just too much to walk away from, so I parked in the empty lot, put on the best lens I had with me, and walked out to the dock looking for the right angle to get this capture.
All I can say is walk around your subject until you can see what you really want to capture. I never imagined I would stand where I did to capture this shot. But, it was the best for lighting and color. Time was also on my side when the sky opened up and I caught the gorgeous blue sky with gray and white clouds just above the tree line. Don’t stay in if it is raining, you never know what you will find!
Shooting Pictures from the Air
Monday, April 20th, 2009
First and foremost, a very big thank you goes out to my buddy Ross at www.floridaphoto.com for a great flight on a perfect afternoon yesterday. Can’t wait to do it again!
Last time I went flying with Ross I had a Sony DSC-H1. The pics came out ok, but back then I was a pure point-and-shoot kinda guy. No manual settings, everything was set to automatic. The pictures came out fine, but nothing like the ones from yesterday using manual settings on my 450D!
I started out trying to shoot at ISO 100, then 200, only to find out that my shutter speed was way too slow for what I wanted to capture. Based upon his suggestions, I made some adjustments and all I can say is THANKS – it definitely made a difference in the sharpness of the pics.
Another thing I learned is that next time, I won’t be attempting to use my circular polarizer AND I will wear a dark color shirt to minimize the reflections from the inside of of the window on my side. Of course, one of those nifty holes in the window on the other side will help as well Ross – LOL.
If you are looking for aerial photography around South Florida – take a look at Ross’ site mentioned at the opening of this entry. If he doesn’t already have what you want, you won’t be disappointed with his work!
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Location, Location, Location!
Saturday, February 7th, 2009
Sometimes one sets out on a hunt for the perfect location to take pictures of their subject, only to find a surprise location on the way home!
Today I drove down to Watson Island with a friend to get some pictures of his car in front of the Miami skyline. We went there, took the pictures from several angles, and then it started to rain.
We decided it was time to move on and see how the rest of the day would go. Perhaps we would come back if the rain stopped and take a few more pictures before heading in for the day. We ate lunch in Coconut Grove and decided to continue towards home.
As we drove through Coconut Grove, we observed a great photo stop. I jumped out of the car and started shooting… The result – awesome!
If you are taking pictures for fun like me, don’t forget to take a look around while driving to and from your selected location… you may drive by a place that is perfect!
Photographing Running Water
Saturday, January 24th, 2009
While visiting Las Vegas last week, I was able to take over 500 pictures and really get a grasp on the camera settings available to me in full manual mode. Having never done this before, I was pleasantly surprised at the results from a little experimentation with the settings.
As you can see in this picture, the water coming down from the fountain outside of the Paris Hotel and Casino appears to be a light colored curtain of water. Just to compare, I took a picture in full auto mode and was stunned how “ugly” it would look when the flash fires and captures the water droplets in air.
I sat on the sidewalk with my back to the fence separating me from the Las Vegas Strip, put my elbows on my knees and created a rather steady position from which I took this shot. I took several pictures at different time settings until I found the ideal time exposure of one second. The shot looked good on the camera display, but even better when I got it on to the computer screen. Another setting I played with on these shots was the white balance. I believe I set it to “tungsten.” Click the picture and see the picture properties on flickr (towards the lower left of your browser window).
Capturing the Moment
Monday, January 5th, 2009
As I was driving home today, I couldn’t help but notice the light coming off of the lake near the boat ramp I drive by just about daily. With my camera in the seat next to me, I simply stopped, rolled down my window and snapped away.
Since I am still learning what to set for ISO, shutter speed, aperture, and all those fancy controls, I simply sat there and kept changing things on the manual settings until I felt I captured enough to capture the moment the right way.
To get this picture in the right balance (in my eye at least), I ended up selecting the one that looked best on my computer. It was set to 1600 ISO, f/5.0 at 1/25 with a focal length of 46mm. The flash did not fire and after tweaking the exposure slightly in iPhoto, the result is rather surprising.
Another reason that I call this “capturing the moment” is because when I took a look at my Flickr account today, I noticed that there was a picture of mine that had gotten a lot of attention. I captured that moment quite by accident and used everything in automatic mode. Since it got so much attention, I posted it to more Flickr groups and invite you to see it here. Your comments are always welcome here – I would love to hear your thoughts and what you think would make the next shot just that much better! Someone asked via Twitter what camera I was using… It is the Canon Digital Rebel XSi kit for now.
Geotagging your pictures
Sunday, January 4th, 2009
Most of the pictures that I have posted to my Flickr account have been geotagged. That is, they have information attached to them which gives the location of where the photo was taken at.
Geotagging can happen without much interaction if you use a GPS enabled phone to take pictures and upload them to a photo sharing service like the one I use. The picture of this cruise ship at sunrise was obviously taken in Miami, but what if you wanted to take a similar picture when you are in this area? By clicking on the picture and then scrolling down to the “Additional Information” on the bottom right of the photo page, you will see a link to the map for that picture.
As long as the photographer has allowed geotagging, or manually adds pictures to the Flickr map, you will get a pretty good idea of where the picture was taken from.
One caution about leaving geotagging “on” at all times… Remember that if you don’t want people to know where you live, work, or frequent, you may want to think twice about using it. Like I mentioned, MOST of my stuff is mapped, but some things just aren’t!
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