A Picture I took - 2013

Thanks everyone! It has been amazing so far. And I know it's going to be an amazing journey.
 
One light source? Could probably have used just a touch of a reflector on the opposite side to fill the neck and shoulder in the dark. I love the color --but I'm guessing it's just a wall and not a backdrop?
 
jmroberts70 said:
One light source? Could probably have used just a touch of a reflector on the opposite side to fill the neck and shoulder in the dark. I love the color --but I'm guessing it's just a wall and not a backdrop?
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I covered this all with northrop a little ways back. But as a small side note. I actually prefer dark and contrasty. I think if I was going to use a second source, I'd be more interested in using a hair light to help with separation.

You're correct in that it's 'just' a wall.
 
A couple of views from Hurricane Hill on Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic Mtn National Park.

1157496_4690223868498_255840258_n.jpg


Didn't have my tripod with me and was getting yelled at by the family so hurried the shot and blew out the clouds on this one. Still like it a lot, though.

1176343_4690225308534_215435508_n.jpg


No real editing done as I don't have my tools with me other than Canon's DPP. cf this thread for a laptop info request.

BB
 
trewyn15,

It was a single exposure (Exif: f2.8, iso 6400, 20 sec, Canon 6D, Rokinon FE14M-C 14mm F2.8). I used the Star Walk app on the iphone, to find the Milky Way. One needa a place with dark skies, a wide angle lens. and i used this guide to calculate proper exposure to prevent star trail. I used Lightroom 5 to edit the image, pumped up the contrast and clarity a bit on the Milky Way, used temp of around 4000K. and played around a bit with the tone S curve. I'm such a noob with PS, so I tried to edit everything in LR.
 
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LOL @ the Chrysler commercial that is the left side of the image. Ironic considering you are across the street from the GM headquarters but 45 minutes from the Chrysler hq.
Also,
trewyn15 said:
That is beautiful, mind sharing how it was done? Time lapses plus layering? Looks excellent!

Here's one that I took in Sturgeon Bay

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Nice picture! I was actually up in Door County last weekend. Beautiful place. I wish I had the lenses to do some night sky stuff. LOTS of great opportunity there.
That's where my photos were taken, above, about half way up the page. http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1040133016&postcount=771
 
Anh N. said:
Awesome concert shots UnknownSouljer, what setting/gears were used if you don't mind sharing?
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Sure. Most of my work is pretty straight forward and basic, more because of necessity than anything else.

The short list of gear is:
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 24-70 f/2.8L Mark I
Canon 580EXII Flash Unit
2x Pocket Wizard Plus III Radio Triggers
Manfrotto Light Stand with Manfrotto Umbrella Mount and cheap flash Cold-shoe mount on top.

The first image used the following settings:
f/5.6, 1/60th of a second, ISO 200

The second image had nearly identical settings at:
f/5.6, 1/80th of a second, ISO 200


For both: f/5.6 is forgiving enough to have enough in focus, but not everything in focus so that there is at least some pleasing focus falloff. It's also a place on the 24-70 that has excellent sharpness. I believe I had the light set at 1/4 power for both shots, but it's almost irrelevant to say that because obviously other factors come into play like the distance from the subject. An additional key with both was the light position, which of course was off camera.

The first image, the light was directly to the bassists (Chris Matthews) left (Camera right). Once again slightly above head level tilted down. For him it was a bit easier since he was just camped on his amp and mostly stationary except for his head and upper body. So for that it was a matter of capturing and interesting point in his particular performance.

The second image I stationed my light directly on stage right (camera left), the flash was slightly above head height tilted down towards the general position of the singers head (Mike Reason if you're interested in who he is). Then it was a matter of patience. I had to wait for him to turn and face the light in order to capture this image. I could have shot it while he was facing towards the camera but if I had done that then half of his face would've been in shadow. Not necessarily a bad thing, but the greatest point of interest in portraiture is the face, and the most important part of the face is the eyes. If you're missing an eye the image had better be intriguing (portraits in profile being an exception of course).


One thing I should note is that for these I was shooting with a bare flash which makes the light harsh. It seems to work well with concerts as it makes for a hard contrasting image which makes performances seem dynamic. Because of the conditions in the venue I couldn't exactly setup a modifier, just takes up too much space. Although it does make me want to invest in a super small umbrella. Heck even a 1' diameter umbrella would help in terms of surface area... I know there is a super small softbox as well that might be worth me looking into as well.
Additionally since this was a live performance I was limited to where I could place the light stand. In both of those shots, if I could have, I would have refined the placement of the light, but like I say, it was live, things were crazy, and I try to be as unobtrusive as possible. I get the worst feeling ever if I'm blocking the performers just because I have access (even though the managers would be okay with it). However I did consider things like the angle of incidence, so it was thought out, I was just, like I say, limited.

The other thing I should note, is that I'm sorta lucky that I'm shooting in a venue that is okay with me bringing in my flash and blasting it all over the place. It's for an eventual webpage for the Candy Shack, a small club in Los Angeles that I have been commissioned to take images for. I'll drop in the link once the site is up.


Hope that answers all the questions... probably with more detail than you wanted, but I digress.
 
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Anh N. said:
trewyn15,

It was a single exposure (Exif: f2.8, iso 6400, 20 sec, Canon 6D, Rokinon FE14M-C 14mm F2.8). I used the Star Walk app on the iphone, to find the Milky Way. One needa a place with dark skies, a wide angle lens. and i used this guide to calculate proper exposure to prevent star trail. I used Lightroom 5 to edit the image, pumped up the contrast and clarity a bit on the Milky Way, used temp of around 4000K. and played around a bit with the tone S curve. I'm such a noob with PS, so I tried to edit everything in LR.
Click to expand...

High five for using a 6D!
 
Modred189 said:
Nice picture! I was actually up in Door County last weekend. Beautiful place. I wish I had the lenses to do some night sky stuff. LOTS of great opportunity there.
That's where my photos were taken, above, about half way up the page. http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1040133016&postcount=771
Click to expand...

Yes Door County is an amazing place. I have been up there during fall in the past and its simply stunning. I might try and make it over there sometime this fall again and try and get some nice shots of the fall colors.
 
UnknownSouljer said:
Sure. Most of my work is pretty straight forward and basic, more because of necessity than anything else.

*snipped*

Hope that answers all the questions... probably with more detail than you wanted, but I digress.
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Thank you so much for the setup post. It will come in handy. :)
 
 
That bottle shot is rather creative, great work!

I've recently gotten a 16-35 f/4 which I've wanted for ages, I can't wait to use it :D. I've also decided not to sell my D7000. I figure that paired with a 50mm makes for a very versatile and high quality "compact" combo.


Tigers by Empty Quarter, on Flickr


Jessi I by Empty Quarter, on Flickr
 
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