Day 29: July 2010 Photo-a-Day Thread

[Colin Southern]

3 days to go!

[rick55]

Canon 500D, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, 580EX fired as fill with -1 FEC, no reflector (a bit windy), full EXIF, PAD slideshow.

Male Northern Cardinal: not as bright as spring, but still nice. The birds were back at the feeder today, having forgiven me for rearranging things. I set up the camera a little bit closer (3m), same kind of rig, tethered with me inside the house.

The biggest problem with this whole setup is that the feeder is really in deep shade, and the light ends up pretty flat unless I provide something extra, which is hard to get natural-looking. It will probably be ideal in the fall: the light will be better, and the birds will be more interested as some of their other food sources are less available. Something to look forward to.

Cheers,
Rick

[Klickit]

Stunning bright bird, Rick. He looks a tad p****d off, as though you've caught him at a sneaky moment.

[Klickit]

Beware the Floating Mandarin



I was aiming at something different today, so got the Tamron macro onto the D80. For once, the sharpness is reasonable, but I hated the background. Ah, me-thought, I can change that and make a nice grad with a drop shadow. But the drop shadow eluded me, giving what should have been a grounded mandarin an odd floating effect. Just goes to show that keeping within the bounds of your ability is important.

Camera: NIKON D80
Lens: Tamron SP AF 90mm F2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272E)
Focal length: 90*mm*(equiv. 135*mm)
Aperture: F29
Exposure time: 10"
ISO speed rating: 200
Program: Aperture priority
Metering Mode: Center-weighted average
White Balance: Auto
Focus Mode: Manual
Noise Reduction: Off
Flash: Flash did not fire

[GrimTheRipper]

Didn't get a chance to make a pix all day. But this was a quick-snap by the gasstation. I tried to get closer, but it flew away. I believed it's a sparrow.



Pentax KX

[carregwen]

The biggest problem with this whole setup is that the feeder is really in deep shade, and the light ends up pretty flat unless I provide something extra, which is hard to get natural-looking.

Good shot, Rick. Very rich colour. Could you use flash to get more light?

[rick55]

Great effect, Kit. Even if it wasn't what you intended, you should remember how you did it: it's a wonderful image. Not to mention that you did a great capture of the mandarin to start with.

Cheers,
Rick

[rick55]

Didn't get a chance to make a pix all day. But this was a quick-snap by the gasstation. I tried to get closer, but it flew away. I believed it's a sparrow.

It's a good effect, Alan: the long shadows are interesting. Maybe a tighter crop, so that your attention is drawn to the bird and piece of food more quickly?

Cheers,
Rick

[rick55]

Good shot, Rick. Very rich colour. Could you use flash to get more light?

Thanks, Rob. I've been firing the flash with -1 FEC, to try for subtle fill and give a little catchlight. You're probably right: I'll try it with 0, or even +1, see if I can cast a bit of shadow without looking obviously "lit." With the deep shade, maybe I can use the diffuse sunlight as fill, and the flash as key light.

Cheers,
Rick

[Antonio Correia]

Setúbal is in a process of decay and degradation. Unfortunately. I can't help it of course.
Globalization is very good and very bad. The circumstances of life provoked the situation for which I can't see the way out for this town.

Maybe I am just an old guy who - like many before me - thinks the future is not bright. Europe is slowly going down submitted to the interest of some.

The "azulejos" - squares of clay painted in blue - as traditional as those I saw in India in the splendorous days of Portugal - XVI Century - are falling from the wall in sight of degradation without exit.

[Dave Humphries]

You have been warned









Creepy (I hope) macro series (wicked smilie), you can blame Rick for giving me the idea, with suggestions (a couple of days ago) to rotate one of my shots

All shot with the usual combination of D5000 and Nikkor 105mm f2.8 VR2 Macro lens

These were quite a crop - it was actually a pretty small spider, the body only about 1/8" (or 3mm) across.

The usual recent EXIF: 1/60s, f32 upright views, f27 inverted views, iso1600, on camera flash and exposure at +1 EC/FEC.

All shot on the green wheelie bin

[wilgk]

Dave!!!!!!
that is SO not fair
the mental health warning - was too close to the image - the 8 legged monster was visible before I had a chance to run & hide!

I usually love your advice, but on this you have to see the beauty of Golden Retrievers - Rescue Maltese - Horses - Birds and as for those Bambi's well!!
These are all examples of beautiful creatures to study & watch and photograph.

Arachnids are just horrible things that creep & crawl and do no good at all for my blood pressure....however I have been married for 23 years so whilst not a fan of it, I am 'au fait' with the concept of compromise

Thus I understand your need for macro expression, so.........
go find a LadyBug!!

[carregwen]

When you have cycled 18 miles and you get to the half-way point before you turn around and cycle back a further 18 miles, the one thing you want is a cold beer. There are three pubs in this village. They were all closed. The cafe had gone into liquidation (ironic word that, isn't it?), and the local shop was... wait for it... closed. The only other shop (also closed, and possibly also in liquidation) had this terrific window display, which I thought exemplifies the very finest of Welsh retail. Enjoy.

PAD gallery

[PopsPhotos]

I've spent all day cooped up, getting ready for a meeting tonight.



Pops

[Dave Humphries]

Thus I understand your need for macro expression, so.........
go find a LadyBug!!

Ironically, I shot one last night, but it didn't pass muster and went in the bin.

I'll see what I can do - the one I saw last night was briefly spotted again tonight, but then disappeared

[rick55]

I love the second image, António. It shows decay perfectly: the beautiful tiles that are there with the missing section. Great eye.

The first one is telling a different story. With a person in the picture, it distracts from the tiles. To me, it dilutes the impact, but it's definitely a more complex story. Again the beautiful tiles and the missing part, but what is the person? Should he have been fixing the wall, and he failed? Is he aware of the beautiful tiles behind him? He seems to be ignoring them. Is he decaying along with the wall, or is the message that we no longer have resources for painting tiles when there are people without jobs? Very complex, a lot of levels.

Cheers,
Rick

[rick55]

Beautiful shots, Dave: crisp and well composed. The lighting is perfect, and the shadow just far enough away to give a sense of space.

Creepy (I hope) macro series (wicked smilie), you can blame Rick for giving me the idea, with suggestions (a couple of days ago) to rotate one of my shots

Don't blame me: if you'd just muddle these a little, no one would be bothered.

Cheers,
Rick

[rick55]

That's a UHF Yagi antenna, Rob. Do you mean to tell me that people still (gasp) receive TV signals over the air in Wales? Good Lord, are you going to post a picture of a phone booth next?

Cheers,
Rick

[GrimTheRipper]

This thing is creepy... How can you do that? Why won't the spider jump on you and say, "Stop taking a pictures of me!"

EDIT: Does it got 6 eyes?

[rick55]

Good shot, Rick. Very rich colour. Could you use flash to get more light?

I had been firing the flash at -1 FEC to try for a subtle fill. Per Rob's suggestion, I inverted the ratio: I set -1 EC, and +1.5 FEC, to get this.



I think it's an improvement over the shot from a couple of days ago of the same bird (or a sibling) here:



The one today, the first image, has the underside illuminated without losing the highlights and backlights from the overhead (shaded) sunlight. The lighting is also actually less harsh, since with more even lighting, I didn't have to boost the shadows as much.

I did get some highlights off the feeder that I had to try to burn, but I think the bird is much better lit with the flash boosted.

C&C greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
Rick