2018 Project 52 - 3rd Qtr - Sandy (Skitterbug)

[skitterbug]

Nice work, Sandy.

Thank you Greg!

[skitterbug]

Grabbed the camera and went out right after a downpour of rain had finished, just to see if anything interesting was about. Not sure how interesting rabbits are to others but this fellow is a young one now on his own. He wasn't certain about me so he sat for just a short time. He is lifting his foot in anticipation of escape. I like his expression!
Enjoy the photo.

Who? Me?

[billtils]

.. I like his expression! Enjoy the photo.

I do too, and I did .

[skitterbug]

I do too, and I did .

Thanks for checking the 'little hopper' out!

[Geoff F]

That works for me. Good exposure and nicely blurred background.

[skitterbug]

Hi Geoff - I forgot to post the settings I used. I've been experimenting with letting the camera choose the ISO. In this case,in manual mode, I had the aperture at f/5.6 and the speed set for 1/125 since the rabbit was sitting fairly calmly. The camera chose ISO of 3200. I suppose this was because it was just after the rain and the day was rather dreary, but it seemed high to me and my picture was "noisy". I used noise reduction on the picture to make it more acceptable.

Every day seems an adventure when it comes to settings on a camera and what will turn out a decently exposed photo. But I feel I am making progress!

Thanks for commenting!

[Cantab]

Hi Geoff - I forgot to post the settings I used. I've been experimenting with letting the camera choose the ISO. In this case,in manual mode, I had the aperture at f/5.6 and the speed set for 1/125 since the rabbit was sitting fairly calmly.

Sandy, until recently I did everything in manual. This dates back to my days with film before I had an exposure meter and had to guestimate the appropriate shutter and aperture. But more recently, I sometimes set the camera on auto ISO, especially if there may be a need to grab a shot without time to set everything myself. Very often, the aperture and shutter speed settings are considerably more important than the ISO so, to my mind, it often makes sense to leave ISO as the only variable that the camera can monkey with.

[skitterbug]

Sandy, until recently I did everything in manual. This dates back to my days with film before I had an exposure meter and had to guestimate the appropriate shutter and aperture. But more recently, I sometimes set the camera on auto ISO, especially if there may be a need to grab a shot without time to set everything myself. Very often, the aperture and shutter speed settings are considerably more important than the ISO so, to my mind, it often makes sense to leave ISO as the only variable that the camera can monkey with.

Hi Bruce - I appreciate your response about how you are currently setting up for some of your photo work. What I've found happening in my situation is that I'll spot a hummingbird, butterfly, etc., and I want a chance to capture a photo. I usually have my camera preset for the conditions I'm facing only to then find that I've taken a photo that is either over or under exposed because in my haste, I didn't take time to fine tune the settings. So I have been giving the auto ISO a try so I can eliminate one worry.

Another reason is because on the 7D Mark II for some crazy reason, the manufacture decided to put the in camera exposure meter on the right side of the viewfinder. This is annoying because I can't see it without making an extra effort to glance in that direction. I must wear glasses so that increases my difficulty. Yes, I can do it but all the little tweaks take time away from the shot I want!

So I'm long-winded with this post but I wanted to explain why I am experimenting. And I appreciate the feedback about techniques that others use.

Hope everyone is having a great day!

[skitterbug]

Week 35 - We've had problems with Japanese beetles devouring our flowers and vegetation. Finally, I have a dahlia that's been left alone. I like the color and the curly leaves of this one.

Dahlia - ISO250 - f/2.8 - 1/500ss




Yesterday evening, the moon was reddish when it first started its climb into the sky. I tried to capture the beauty of it. My problem with this photo is that there isn't any reference. I needed a church steeple or a bridge or something to give it some balance. Maybe if I'd been able to have some of the stars show up around it, it might have helped? But I'm not sure how to accomplish catching moon and stars together..... Anyway, I was pleased that I could hand hold still enough (leaning against a porch pillar) and catch it decently. So, I'll share it for that reason.

Moon - ISO100 - f/5.6 - 1/25ss

[Geoff F]

Dahlia looks good, Sandy. So easy to get this sort of shot looking dull or alternatively over exposed/over saturated.

Excellent moon, particularly considering your shooting situation; but I wonder about some sort of different crop. Maybe a little tighter or a different ratio such as 5 x 4.

Last night I found a nice looking moon peeping through a hole in the clouds, with the nearby clouds illuminated and producing a ring around the moon. So I quickly put together my camera and a suitable lens, installed the battery and set up my tripod. Went outside again, but in the few minutes it took me to get ready, that moon had disappeared behind thick cloud.

[Cantab]

Sandy, I agree with Geoff: good looking photos.

[skitterbug]

Thank you Bruce and Geoff.

I'm glad you suggested a crop and I tried the one you suggested (5x4). I'll list it first. And then I decided to do another one - 5x7. Not sure which one is better? But by cropping, I did rid the photo of a lot of unnecessary space!

I'll post both crops.

5x4




5x7

[skitterbug]

Last night I found a nice looking moon peeping through a hole in the clouds, with the nearby clouds illuminated and producing a ring around the moon. So I quickly put together my camera and a suitable lens, installed the battery and set up my tripod. Went outside again, but in the few minutes it took me to get ready, that moon had disappeared behind thick cloud.

Geoff, I forgot to comment about your experience getting stuff together for a moonshot! I finally did plunk some $$ down on a tripod but I haven't used it yet. If I'd had tried to set it up last night, I would have missed the "red" in the moon. It didn't take it long to climb high and turn the more creamy white color that I'm used to seeing in a full moon. So I got lucky that I was able to stabilize enough to capture what I did!

Thanks again for commenting and for your suggestions!

[Cantab]

Sandy, after some dithering, I definitely prefer the 5x4 crop over the 5x7.

The reason may be as simple as the moon being larger in the 5x4. Because the two crops have the same physical width on my iPad, the 5x4 is physically taller and hence the moon is physically larger than in the 5x7.

But more importantly (and irrespective of physical size on the screen), the round moon seems to sit better in the slightly off square 5x4 rather than in the more rectangular 5x7.

[Shadowman]

Nice rabbit shot in post #82, nice series post #89.

[skitterbug]

Sandy, after some dithering, I definitely prefer the 5x4 crop over the 5x7.

The reason may be as simple as the moon being larger in the 5x4. Because the two crops have the same physical width on my iPad, the 5x4 is physically taller and hence the moon is physically larger than in the 5x7.

But more importantly (and irrespective of physical size on the screen), the round moon seems to sit better in the slightly off square 5x4 rather than in the more rectangular 5x7.

Hi Bruce - Did you look at them using "lightbox"? I felt that the 5x4 was more of a squared look and the 5x7 was a bit more of a rectangle. If I was framing one of them, it would probably be the rectangle one because it seems a bit more natural than a square.

Before starting this project, I really hadn't realized how different crops affected a picture or someone's perception of a picture. It's been an interesting journey for me. Lots to learn still!

Thanks for commenting!

[skitterbug]

Nice rabbit shot in post #82, nice series post #89.

Thank you John! It has been fun being able to capture photos worth keeping! <grin>

[skitterbug]

Week 36 - posting early, I know but........ We had a visitor in our garden - A Tobacco Hornworm

Thanks to the work of our little ground sparrows, we've had very few pests in our garden. However, this one slipped past them and became a voracious chewing machine! I was using the 100-400 lens so I couldn't get as close to it as I wanted. A heavy crop was used to show this creature in action!

#1 - ISO160 - f/8 - 1/500ss


It is a pretty beastie, if only it didn't chew our tomato plants as heavily as it does. BTW, it turns into the Sphinx Moth - also known as a Hummingbird moth, that I posted photos of a few weeks ago.

#2 - Proud and well camouflaged - ISO160 - f/16 - 1/125ss

[Geoff F]

Both work fine, although with the first image a fraction more space between the caterpillar's head and the frame edge would look better. Just a tiny bit more would make so much difference.

[skitterbug]

Both work fine, although with the first image a fraction more space between the caterpillar's head and the frame edge would look better. Just a tiny bit more would make so much difference.

Hi Geoff - I totally agree but unfortunately, the bottom edge of the viewing area and his head are what they are. I couldn't crop the bottom any differently. After I saw once again that I managed to cut some of my photos off and others like this one, too close, I went hunting for something that could be added to my viewfinder view to give me better perspective. Buried in the menu items, I found the grid lines and I activated this feature. I really hope that helps me be able to see what my final photo should be!

Maybe I'll get lucky (yikes) and have another one appear in our garden! <chuckle>

Thanks for commenting!