Any photographers in here?

[rjmhotrod]

I just returned from a trip to Idaho and Yellowstone a couple of days ago. I took lots of pics and may post a few here later on. I have a question though. Here is a pic of a manmade waterfall at my inlaws house that I took. As you can see - it's a long shutter speed (I think 1 sec). It was late in the evening on an overcast day which made lighting conditions possible to get this pic. Now I've tried this same type of shot during the day with no real acceptable results. On a sunny day with an fstop of f25, I couldn't even get a 1/4 sec shutter speed shot without massive overexposure. However I've seen these types of pictures taken that look beautiful. I'm curious what guys are using to achieve long shutter speeds (1/4 sec or longer) taken in the middle of the day. Are they using some type of ND filters in addition to high fstops? What about different meterings?

 

[ChopstickHero]

I just returned from a trip to Idaho and Yellowstone a couple of days ago. I took lots of pics and may post a few here later on. I have a question though. Here is a pic of a manmade waterfall at my inlaws house that I took. As you can see - it's a long shutter speed (I think 1 sec). It was late in the evening on an overcast day which made lighting conditions possible to get this pic. Now I've tried this same type of shot during the day with no real acceptable results. On a sunny day with an fstop of f25, I couldn't even get a 1/4 sec shutter speed shot without massive overexposure. However I've seen these types of pictures taken that look beautiful. I'm curious what guys are using to achieve long shutter speeds (1/4 sec or longer) taken in the middle of the day. Are they using some type of ND filters in addition to high fstops? What about different meterings?

Nice shot, that came out nicely. These shots are alot harder when it is sunny outside. Even at the smallest aperture, it's hard to capture shots like that. Definitely using some kind of neutral density filter will help ... perhaps even stacking two of them. a good ND filter is about 2 stops, so stacking a few can give you 4 to 8 stops less light. you would have to turn your ISO down to the lowest setting setting and hopefully by then, you will be able to get some more blur in the water.

Check this link out: http://www.singh-ray.com/varind.html

 

[rjmhotrod]

Thanks Chopstick. I thought filters might be the key as I tried everything I could think of (small fstop, e.g. - f25, changing ISO to 100, etc...) to no avail. There were lots of water shots in Yellowstone that would have turned out gorgeous if I could have used a slow shutter speed. Thanks for the link too - that filter looks really nice. Maybe I can catch one on eBay or something.

 

[rjmhotrod]

So here are a few pics from Yellowstone. I was very frustrated on this trip as some of the conditions for photography were less than ideal (rain, overcast, cold & windy, wife and kids who didn't want to wait for me to take pics - the last one is the killer). I'd love to go back there for a week by myself and just take pics - as long as it takes to get the shot.

Feel free to critique. That's why I posted them. I'm still figuring out how to shoot. Photography is so much harder when you try to do more than just take pictures.

^^This shot very nearly came out nice. It was raining (notice the drop on the lens) and the fam was complaining because they were hungry. "Hurry up Dad, we want to go eat!!"

^^What I love about this shot - the range of colors. Between the minerals in the terrace, the blue of water, and rich blue of the sky. Good film may have captured this shot better. What I don't love about this shot - the specks of dust on the lens!!

^^I love the idea of this shot. My wife and youngest daughter walking along the boardwalk. It kind of represents the timeline of their lives (to me anyway). I wish I would have composed this shot differently though - should have panned more to the left to get more lake and get mom and daughter closer to the center of the pic.

^^This is a candid pic of my oldest daughter while we were waiting for the rest of the fam. She was just sitting there and I started snapping away and got this nice one. She doesn't smile alot for pics so candids of her really work well.

 

[winty87]

any tips for taking night/starry/norther light pics?

I'm guessing the shutter speed set to bulb, but what about fstop? We have a forcast for extreme activity norther light action... I'm hoping to capture some.

I just learned this today in my photo class. I believe you want to set your F/Stop to infinity and slowest shutterspeed as possible.

 

[Breeegz]

thanks...

now I need to figure out how to change my fstop :0

 

[winty87]

that button with the +/- next to the on off switch. If you hold that down and spin your thumb dial to the right that'll change your F/Stop. I was playing with my friends the other day.

 

[NVP5White]

I think what you mean is focus to infinity. I would recommend against an f-stop lower then the mid-teens. Any smaller and you will get a form of distortion called diffraction. You can read up on it from a practical perspective here: http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/diffraction.htm

And while bulb is a mighty fine setting, it does not give you the consistancy needed for back to back shots. Plus you literaly have to have your finger on the shutter which WILL lead to camera shake and blurry pics. I think that the 30 second exposure feature should provide sufficient time to catch the Northern Lights, especially at only f/16 or so. And don' forget your tripod. For practical advice on tripods go here: http://www.bythom.com/support.htm

Be sure to post you pics ASAP. BTW, I have a forcast in NoVA for extreme boring weather...high 70's chance of rain in the PM. Yesssssssss.

 

[winty87]

^^Thats what my instructor said. I just got them basackwards

 

[Breeegz]

it was cloudy last night... argh

if Itook some RAW would anybody "Develop" them for me?

 

[Breeegz]

I think what you mean is focus to infinity. I would recommend against an f-stop lower then the mid-teens. Any smaller and you will get a form of distortion called diffraction. You can read up on it from a practical perspective here: http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/diffraction.htm

And while bulb is a mighty fine setting, it does not give you the consistancy needed for back to back shots. Plus you literaly have to have your finger on the shutter which WILL lead to camera shake and blurry pics. I think that the 30 second exposure feature should provide sufficient time to catch the Northern Lights, especially at only f/16 or so. And don' forget your tripod. For practical advice on tripods go here: http://www.bythom.com/support.htm

Be sure to post you pics ASAP. BTW, I have a forcast in NoVA for extreme boring weather...high 70's chance of rain in the PM. Yesssssssss.

after achiving diffraction I am in agreement, I could post the worst of them, but instead I'll post my first night shots. These are the ones that turned out.

my wife and MiL

 

[ChopstickHero]

after achiving diffraction I am in agreement, I could post the worst of them, but instead I'll post my first night shots. These are the ones that turned out.

my wife and MiL

'

Cool pics. Try running your pics through NoiseNinja or NeatImage. i have tried the demo versions and they work quite well. i'm sure the full version will have some more tweaking and features avail. What exposure times and settings were they?

 

[NVP5White]

Cool pics. Try running your pics through NoiseNinja or NeatImage. i have tried the demo versions and they work quite well. i'm sure the full version will have some more tweaking and features avail. What exposure times and settings were they?

Or try changing to a manual setting that allows you to set your ISO to 200. Keep it there ans you'll get two benefits: 1) you'll reduce the noise considerable, and 2) you'll get longer exposures on a moderate f-stop like f/11 or f/16. If I had to tell, I would say you lightened the pictures a bit which has made the noise probalem worse then it really is.

Make sure you have a good tripod, too. I find that I have to have the legs on my tripod father for night shots. Anf if I'm on soft ground I either really press the legs into the ground or keep downward pressure on the tripod with my left hand during the shot. I also release my righ-hand grip on the camera and just use my index finger to activate the shutter. This prevents little lovements that can blur the image.

 

[G-Papi]

can you use a shutter release cable?

 

[Breeegz]

'

Cool pics. Try running your pics through NoiseNinja or NeatImage. i have tried the demo versions and they work quite well. i'm sure the full version will have some more tweaking and features avail. What exposure times and settings were they?

Thanks I'll try them out...

I kinda went against what was told to me for the settings. I tried an fstop of about 16, but it didn't look like my pictures were coming in, so I started changing it... I believe for these pics my fstop was 9ish (or 7.5-9) and I have a couple with an fstop of 3.5 that were the noisiest... I didn't change my exposure time to anything but 30 seconds. I had my wife and MiL hold completely still for 30 seconds while I illuminated them with a flash light... aside from the noise the pictures did what I wanted to do, I was pleased since I wasn't sure if I could capture the northern lights (I had my doubts) but now I can go back and really take the pictures.

Or try changing to a manual setting that allows you to set your ISO to 200. Keep it there ans you'll get two benefits: 1) you'll reduce the noise considerable, and 2) you'll get longer exposures on a moderate f-stop like f/11 or f/16. If I had to tell, I would say you lightened the pictures a bit which has made the noise probalem worse then it really is. I also had problems running my camera in the dark (couldn't remember which way was infinity focus)

Make sure you have a good tripod, too. I find that I have to have the legs on my tripod father for night shots. Anf if I'm on soft ground I either really press the legs into the ground or keep downward pressure on the tripod with my left hand during the shot. I also release my righ-hand grip on the camera and just use my index finger to activate the shutter. This prevents little lovements that can blur the image.

I'll try that next time, I'll have to double check how to change the ISO (new camera=D50)
I have a tripod, but it is a cheapie. I tried to not touch the camera while it was taking the pictures, using just my finger to push the button, What do you look for in a good tripod?

can you use a shutter release cable?

I have a remote shutter release on my letter to Santa...

 

[Breeegz]

oh snap...

I just found out I have a "Long Exposure NR" setting... That is going to be turned on next time, lol

 

[winty87]

I turned the mini-waterfall one in to get graded in my photo class because the teacher liked it better but he said they both would recieve the same grade. We shoot in color but transfer to B&W through grayscale. The next photo assigns will be using channel mixer.

 

[BeNegative]

Interesting...my pictures looked crisp and fine on my regular monitor, then I checked it out at work on the flat screen, then on my laptop, damn thing got so distorted LOL! Oh well.

 

[ChopstickHero]

My co-worker asked me to do some shots of her daughter. I said I wasn't good with little kids, but I said yes as I thought it would be a good experience. This is my FIRST time taking candids/portraits on purpose (as opposed to just going out and taking pics at events).

First off, Tawna is 3 yrs old and very shy. I really had to smile alot and be nice and introduce her to my SLR. She did warm up a little after alot of shots (about 120) and I did get some smiles out of her. But wow, it is very difficult to get her looking into the camera or to sit still for a second! Alot of coaxing from her parents with promises of candy and stuffed animals! LOL. But i guess a pretty and cute face will result in some cute pictures. I wish I had a long telephoto, so i could really stand back and let her do her thing without looking at me all suspicious. lol

Photoshop was kept to a minimum. Highlighted a little, with some softening. Not much color correction. Lens was Canon 17-55mm, no filters. I hope you guys/gals can give me some straight up critiques on them:

 

[NVP5White]

I'll try that next time, I'll have to double check how to change the ISO (new camera=D50)
I have a tripod, but it is a cheapie. I tried to not touch the camera while it was taking the pictures, using just my finger to push the button, What do you look for in a good tripod?

I have a remote shutter release on my letter to Santa...

I have a D50...the D50 does not have the ability to use a shutter release cable, but neither do any other newish D-SLRs. There are a few options to get longer brighter exposures. First, you can simply set your camera to take the image within the 30 seconds provided by the longerst auto shutter speed. Second you can purchase an IR remote shutter release that functions in a similar fashion to a TV remote.

As for the long exposure noise reduction, that's for the identification of hot pixels. Hot pixes are really much brighter then there immediate and proximate neighbors. The camera identifies which pixels are hot by taking another image of the same length of time but with the mirror down. Since no light can get to the sensor then the whole image should be black. Any pixels showing other then black are deemed "hot" and removed from the real picture you just took. This is generally a good idea on any image lasting over 1 second. The problem with the process is that if you take a 30 second exposure you'll have to wait another 30 second for the camera to take the next picture for the NR, then process both images to get rid of the noise. This can be time consuming and less then effective if you don't suffer from hot pixels (which you do not). In fact, I would say the noise is more a product of high ISO.

CHange your ISO by holding the button identified in white letters as 'ISO' while rotating the command dial with your left thumb. Always set is to 200 unless you really need the extra speed.

Next, instead of using a flash light use the flash. Set it to "slow" in order to use long eposures with the flash. Do this by hiting the flash bolt on the left side of the lens mount (flash will pop up); continue to hold the flash button while rotating the command dial with your right thumb. This will cycle through the different flash modes. Keep rotating the dial until you have 'slow' showing. This will properly expose your subject with the flash at the beginning of the exposure while keeping the shutter open for the rest of the manually set time. If you set it to Slow+Rear you will get the flash to fire at the end of the exposure instead of the beginning.

As for tripods, I'd get the best one you can get your hands on for $150. Check out B&H Photo/Video for good prices. Bogen or Slik are good makes. Get a ball head rated for something north of 11lbs to ensure it is rock steady with your relatively light D50.