Project 52 by Geoff F

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the positive comments. Getting these alternative moon shots is mostly about waiting for the correct conditions, which often don't last long.

I tried a couple of days previously but the cloud cover just wasn't sufficiently dense and either the moon 'burnt through the clouds' or the whole scene was too dark.

[Geoff F]

Two photos this week; just to show the difference between the two varieties of winter/spring flowering irises which grow in my garden.

Iris reticulata



Iris unguicularis



Every year I try to photograph Irises without much success. This time I took a flower indoors and shot against a photo background which, eventually, came out a bit better.

I always find it is difficult to get their colour correct as it keeps changing according to the ambient light and will vary between a pale blue outdoors and rather deep mauve under florescent lights. This is particularly problematic with the I. unguicularis species

This time I even placed a flower beside my computer as I did the final editing and tried to match it. But outside, the colour is totally different. All I could really do was to get the background looking good then tweak the purples a little.

The reticulata was in my greenhouse border so it was difficult to find a good camera angle. Perhaps another year it may be worth growing some in pots.

The unguicularis species produces many blooms over an extended period so I simply cut one which was still a bud then took it inside where it wouldn't get damaged by wind and rain while it opened into a full flower. Each flower only lasts a couple of days.

Canon 7D with 24-105 lens on tripod with mirror lock up and cable release. 1/20 at F14 and ISO 400.

ps. Following discussion in another thread, I have tried linking these last two photos to larger images in my P base galleries so it should open to full size when clicked. (possibly)

[Donald]

Geoff

The impact upon opening the above post and seeing that first image for the first time, was enormously powerful. It really does hit you between the eyes. My compliments.

I don't know how true-to-colour it is, but for my purposes of enjoyment, it doesn't matter. It is a high, high quality image, with the flower leaping out of the screen. I think you have chosen the perfect background to contrast with the flower and by throwing it (the background) out-of-focus in the way that you have, you have left enough texture so that we know it is vegetation we are seeing.

The second one is, I think a very good image. But the first one really pins you against the wall and shouts 'LOOK AT ME'. Wonderful.

[Geoff F]

Thanks, Donald.

Iris reticulata is one of those little plants which always has a great impact, but without being excessively gaudy. The overall flower size is just 2 ins in diameter and with a 4 ins stem.

Always a welcome sign that Spring and warmer weather is just around the corner.

The unguicularis is a little more subdued but more consistent and produces flowers form December to March, in the south. Just one or two flowers at a time, but they do cheer up the winter gloom.

[Goldcoastgolfer]

Really nice Geoff. I'm with Donald on the colours - no idea if they're true to life but from what I'm looking at, they're are lovely to look at.

[kezmal]

Beautiful shots Geoff! You've captured the beautiful purples and mauves in the Irises perfectly and to me look true to their natural colouring

[Kathy O]

Beautiful!

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the compliments. I'm wondering what to do for week 5 now.

[Geoff F]

During periods of rough weather there is always plenty of maintenance work to do on the fishing gear.



Shooting inside the workshop needed flash.1/160 because the subject was actually working; F11 because I wanted to show in reasonable detail, what a fisherman's workshop looks like behind him.

Which required ISO 400; I could have used less, but I wanted to have reasonable brightness at the back of the store. Manual camera settings with a little negative flash compensation.

7D with 24-105 L lens, auto focus.

There were a couple of problems here. Because he was actually working I needed to shoot from a lower angle but there were a couple of florescent lamps just above him; so that limited the possible angles.

In this version, there are some bright highlights on a few metal surfaces. I produced another version without them but couldn't make up my mind. So I did prints and took them to the pub. For once, there wasn't any firm opinion as to which looked best.

This was actually my workshop until I retired from fishing and passed it on to this guy, but left a bit of machinery on a 'shared use' scheme.

It has been mostly dull weather this week and even the odd brighter day has had plenty of moisture in the air, so with showers forecast for tomorrow I decided to stick with this shot.

[dje]

I love to see a man working in his shed Geoff ! This shot works well I think, good colour and detail. Is that smoke coming from the tool he's using ?

Dave

PS Love your Iris shots.

[Geoff F]

Thanks Dave, yes that's smoke from the rope he is cutting with that hand held burning tool. And I shudder to think about all the toxic fumes that occur with burning synthetic rope.

But the door is open, and fishermen never seem to suffer any serious problems. We usually tend to eventually get other diseases and injuries!

[Goldcoastgolfer]

I like the smoke that you've managed to capture - gives the whole workshop a mysterious air about it.

I'm curious as I've just bought my first speedlite - Did you bounce the flash at all? It looks like it's forward facing to me, although the shadows are hidden well.

[Geoff F]

No suitable bounce surfaces around, Mal, I was rather close and as he is looking downward this probably wouldn't have worked well anyway.

So just straight no nonsense flash used here, Mal. I have previously tried adding a Stofen diffuser in conditions like this and found that it can sometimes help to prevent washed out colours if used correctly.

It needs the flash head to be tilted at 45 degrees to work best. But I found it to be a struggle to put on and take off; and it was another thing to carry around, so I usually don't bother for quick casual shots.

When I first got my 580 Speedlite I was disappointed with the results which were rather harsh and with camera settings which didn't always match what I wanted.

Initially, I was using it in the same manner as my old film camera flash which didn't have any output adjustment. So I would set the camera to shutter priority (Tv) and hope for the best; I even tried P in desperation.

Eventually, I realised the camera was simply adjusting the aperture to fully open and flashing for the average light level. Using Av created too slow a shutter speed.

Then, chiefly for insect photos, I started using manual camera settings and adjusting them to suit the scene. Forget about the flash for now and set up to suit the surroundings (except to keep the shutter speed below 1/250 or use high speed flash). ISO adjustment may need to be used as a 'compensation factor'.

Now, the auto flash output control auto adjusts to suit both the camera settings and the surroundings (using ETTL flash control). Often, a little flash output compensation will help. This does take a bit of experimentation and a few trial shots, although you soon learn what is needed and I usually get it right first time now.

Suddenly, my flash shots started getting better; but I'm still learning about flash photography.

I find that bouncing the flash can work well where there are suitable surfaces and you are at the correct angle for your flash to fall correctly. But for quick one off action shots I found that too often my flash was falling behind the subject and actually making things worse.

Carefully calculated and posed shots can work well with bounce flash although most portrait photographers etc would probably argue that under those conditions alternative lighting sources should be used anyway.

For direct flash shots without some form of diffuser I usually apply a little negative flash compensation in an attempt to prevent over flash problems. It is always easier to add a little extra brightness and saturation during editing than to attempt a correction of over flashed shots.

[Geoff F]

A colder snap has brought more birds to my feeders so during a rare bit of sunshine I tried for some action shots.

This Greenfinch was my first test shot of the day. Manual settings of F8, 1/250 ISO 800. 7D with Sigma 150-500 at around 300 mm. I could have zoomed closer but this was just a test shot and the sort of result which I really wanted required a bit more room.



What I was hoping for was a bit more like this.



It almost worked, although I have made quite a few editing tweaks to even get this far. Maybe next time will work perfectly.

Obviously this shot required more extreme settings. F8, 1/1250, ISO 1000, 277 mm.

Unfortunately, the flying robin was just too far behind the sharp focus spot and in shadow.

[Letrow]

Two photos this week; just to show the difference between the two varieties of winter/spring flowering irises which grow in my garden.




Iris unguicularis



Every year I try to photograph Irises without much success. This time I took a flower indoors and shot against a photo background which, eventually, came out a bit better.

I always find it is difficult to get their colour correct as it keeps changing according to the ambient light and will vary between a pale blue outdoors and rather deep mauve under florescent lights. This is particularly problematic with the I. unguicularis species

This time I even placed a flower beside my computer as I did the final editing and tried to match it. But outside, the colour is totally different. All I could really do was to get the background looking good then tweak the purples a little.

The reticulata was in my greenhouse border so it was difficult to find a good camera angle. Perhaps another year it may be worth growing some in pots.

The unguicularis species produces many blooms over an extended period so I simply cut one which was still a bud then took it inside where it wouldn't get damaged by wind and rain while it opened into a full flower. Each flower only lasts a couple of days.

Canon 7D with 24-105 lens on tripod with mirror lock up and cable release. 1/20 at F14 and ISO 400.

ps. Following discussion in another thread, I have tried linking these last two photos to larger images in my P base galleries so it should open to full size when clicked. (possibly)

I like this one best Geoff. Nice bright colours, sharp and a pleasing background. Great photo.

Edit: That is strange, I couldn't see this photo yesterday, but this is also a great moment to capture

[JPS]

Hi Geoff,
really enjoying your project and I'm learning along the way, so many thanks

[jeechu1970]

Hi Geoff.........nice photos..........i really loved them all

[kezmal]

Great photos of the birds, really like the second one

[Goldcoastgolfer]

Wow - great shots of the birds Geoff - really nice detail and colours. I think I want one of those lenses for my surfing photos

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the positive comments.

The only problem with these bigger lenses, Mal, is that they are either a bit restricted in light levels etc or excessively expensive!

I find the Sigma 150-500 to be a good lens for the price but it is something of a 'good light lens' and really needs F8 to F11 range to perform at it's best, which can mean making compromises with other settings.