2018 Project 52 - 2nd QTR - Sandy(Skitterbug)

Week 24 - I had a trip into Sidney, Ohio so I decided to take the Tokina WAL and Mark II along to see if I could get a better photo of the Big Four Bridge located there. As usual, I didn't plan enough time so I was a bit rushed. (my bad)

I did get a couple of photos that I kept however and hope to get feedback on how to possibly do a better job capturing this railroad bridge. One thing that I thought about was that it would be super if a train had been using it. I can't find a freight train schedule to give me any ideas when trains would pass through Sidney on this track. I may have to decide if I want to camp out sometime and simply wait! <grin>

I am not planning on running right out and purchasing anything new but out of curiosity, would a FF camera do a better job as far as capturing the full scene? And is there a better lens to be used? I am always interested in what others think! :)

#1 - The first photo shows the top part of the railroad bridge. It has graffiti on it that makes me sad. Why people want to deface landmarks is beyond me. ISO640 - f/9 - 1/1000ss

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...3qtZjPW-X2.jpg


#2 - I did remove some electrical wires and a road sign. ISO640 - f/10 - 1/1000ss

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...GV9bRsK-X2.jpg

#3 - ISO640 - f/10 - 1/1000ss

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...bDnR7S9-X2.jpg

For me, the last one is the best, although I would crop out those leaves on the top left corner which are forcing their way into a scene where they have no purpose.

And I would also crop a little bit from the left side of #2. There is a rather dark clump of trees there which are tending to dominate the scene and 'crowd out' the bridge view.

Hi Geoff - thanks for the suggestions. Too bad I didn't have a chainsaw along to help clear out the trees that were hiding what I wanted to capture! <chortle> There just doesn't seem to be a good way to get the full view of this bridge! <sigh>

At some point, I'll probably give it another try - there has to be a way to accomplish what I want!. <grin>

Hi Sandy,

I would think that the 18-55mm lens at 18mm with your current camera has enough angle of view to capture the whole scene. Nice shots.

At some point, I'll probably give it another try - there has to be a way to accomplish what I want!

Aerial view required. Get yourself a hang glider. :eek:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shadowman

Hi Sandy,

I would think that the 18-55mm lens at 18mm with your current camera has enough angle of view to capture the whole scene. Nice shots.

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Hi John - I need to remove the info about the Rebel and its lenses from my signature. I gifted them to my daughter.

A couple months ago, I pick up a refurbished Canon EFS 24mm so maybe that is what I ought to try based on your suggestion. I haven't used it much yet. Now might be the time. <chuckle>

Thank you! :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Geoff F

At some point, I'll probably give it another try - there has to be a way to accomplish what I want!

Aerial view required. Get yourself a hang glider. :eek:

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Hi Geoff - Let's see.... maybe 50 years ago, I might have been game to try a hang glider but not now! <YIKES INDEED>

Thanks for the laugh for today! :)

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Originally Posted by skitterbug

Hi Geoff - Let's see.... maybe 50 years ago, I might have been game to try a hang glider but not now! <YIKES INDEED>

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How about a drone with a camera?:) (I hate drones).

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Originally Posted by Cantab

How about a drone with a camera? :) (I hate drones).

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Hi Bruce - I admire those who can control drones for photography and produce good work. However, I could see my attempt at using a drone ending like this - drone smashing into the front of the train, me in court and hearing a verdict ending my photo experience! <LOL> So I think I'll pass on this suggestion! :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by skitterbug

Hi John - I need to remove the info about the Rebel and its lenses from my signature. I gifted them to my daughter.

A couple months ago, I pick up a refurbished Canon EFS 24mm so maybe that is what I ought to try based on your suggestion. I haven't used it much yet. Now might be the time. <chuckle>

Thank you! :)

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Hi Sandy,

I didn't notice the Tokina lens, at 16mm it might do the trick with only a bit of UWA distortion.

Very fine shots; i love the lush green vegetation all around....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shadowman

Hi Sandy,

I didn't notice the Tokina lens, at 16mm it might do the trick with only a bit of UWA distortion.

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Hi John - You probably didn't see it because I was "bad" and never got around to listing it until I revamped my signature yesterday.
I haven't used the Tokina much because of the distortion that I did have in some of my attempts. I have figured out how to correct some of the distortion just recently in Affinity Photo so I believe I'll be putting the Tokina into play a bit more!
Thanks! I appreciate the feedback! :D

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Originally Posted by Wavelength

Very fine shots; i love the lush green vegetation all around....

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Hi Nandakumar - We had a long ending to our winter season and spring was also slow to give way to our now more summer-like temperatures. I think that anything green and growing is enjoying the environmental conditions and seem more lush than usual.
Thanks for commenting! The "greens" are indeed beautiful! :)

I was out roaming in our yard when I realized that there were some older vehicles going by, probably headed to a car show. I decided to try my hand for a capture and came up with this one. The sky was a mess so I replaced it using PP technique in Affinity Photo that I recently figured out. So I am anxious to know what others think?

The driver caught me out so I hope he was okay with the idea that he'd make my photo collection. If I knew who he was, I'd offer him a copy. :D So far as I can tell, it is a 1955 Chevy Bel Air 2 Door hardtop.

That off white at the bottom of the pic is the pavement. I wasn't sure what to do about it? I thought about trying to change the color but didn't like the way that turned out. I also thought about cropping it but then it looks weird to see nothing under the car. So definitely, comments are welcome! :)

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...4v8cZb5-X2.jpg

What a clean car! Good reflections in the paintwork and bumper/fender and no tell tale reflection of your goodself, Sandy. There may be some blown out whites (??) but they are not excessive and the fast speed has frozen the wheels; but better these minor issues than miss the shot. Similarly ideally a little more space on the left for the car to drive into would have been nice, but the angle from which you are viewing it is excellent so you recognised the "decisive moment".

You could possibly make the pavement a mid to dark grey like Tarmacadam. Too dark and you woud have the inverse problem! A mid grey to dark might be enough to ensure it is clearly part of the image without drawing the eye so much.

All in all you should be pleased to have captured this so well.

Hi Rufus - I really appreciate your analysis of this photo. You've provided a lot of info that I can incorporate the next time I have the chance to photograph vintage cars! For example, I never thought about reflections of myself on the vehicle's surface. So I was lucky with this one.

I've been playing with this photo a bit. I didn't like the grey color that I chose and I tried several so I got the bright idea to look for my discarded pics and see if there was any with a road on it. Luckily there was one decent one so I used the same technique that I did for the sky. Can't say that it is perfect but I feel it is better than the road surface I have in the original photo.

Thank you for your thoughts! They are definitely helpful to me! :)

Car photo - reworked

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...sgwt7QR-X2.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rufus

What a clean car! Good reflections in the paintwork and bumper/fender and no tell tale reflection of your goodself, Sandy. There may be some blown out whites (??) but they are not excessive and the fast speed has frozen the wheels; but better these minor issues than miss the shot. Similarly ideally a little more space on the left for the car to drive into would have been nice, but the angle from which you are viewing it is excellent so you recognised the "decisive moment".

You could possibly make the pavement a mid to dark grey like Tarmacadam. Too dark and you woud have the inverse problem! A mid grey to dark might be enough to ensure it is clearly part of the image without drawing the eye so much.

All in all you should be pleased to have captured this so well.

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I like that road surface colour, and the fact that it there is texture in it - much softer on the eye than the original - and it is nicely aligned with the tyres.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rufus

I like that road surface colour, and the fact that it there is texture in it - much softer on the eye than the original - and it is nicely aligned with the tyres.

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Hi Rufus - I am fairly pleased with the final photo. I decided to use it for my "desktop background" for a bit because it is different from most of the subjects I usually try and capture.

Thank you for your replies! :)

Week 25 - time for a couple of flowers that are blooming in our landscape. I'm lucky that I am involved in this P52 project or I'd probably just put the camera away until it cools off. We are experiencing high heat. But once I am involved with a task, I like to see it finished. So flowers it is. :D

I hunted for the best looking specimens currently showing and hope that the background is a proper display. We've had lots of windy conditions so capture can be difficult since the flowers wave gaily about. :)

Delphinium - ISO1250 - f/5.6 - 1/640 - It has a very pale shade of purple(?) in its petals, so it isn't perfectly white.

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...96CJ2Xx-X2.jpg

Petunia - ISO1600 - f/5.6 - 1/640

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...pXXxC8B-X2.jpg

Real life outdoor flower scenes are often tricky, Sandy, as you know; and it is often a struggle to find acceptable lighting and pleasing camera angles. Even with putting a lot of thought into a potential scene before shooting, I still get many rejects.

With the Delphinium, I would crop/clone a fraction closer on the right side to give a clean edge. You could lose a little from the bottom if you wanted to retain the same size ratio.

I suspect the Petunia could benefit from a fraction more highlight brightness, but you have some bright areas on the right side.

What I often do in these situations is firstly to use a Curves Adjustment Layer to selectively tone down, with masking, any potential bright areas. Then add another Curves layer to boost the highlights and, if required, to once again mask out any over bright spots.

I find this two stage operation gives me more control and a more natural looking result than attempting to do everything in just one go.

Your compositions are fine.