Project 52 By Wendy Stanford

[Goldcoastgolfer]

Great lighting, Wendy. That second photo almost makes it look like a phoenix!

Is it the Nikon 70-300 you have? I've been using Kerry's 55-300 and struggle to keep focus with birds in flight.

[Wendy Stanford]

Thanks Malcolm, the lens is a Tamron 70-300 F4-5.6 DI VC USD, nice lens, very sharp, but I would like use it a bit more, hence trying to get birds in flight. I needed more light, I increased the ISO but didn't make alot of difference, I was shooting around 1/100 to 1/120 need more trying to capture flight.

[Rob Douglas]

WOW, the lighting is spectacular in both shots. Beautiful warm glow. That must have been a gorgeous sunset Wendy.

[Nicola]

great images Wendy,
the only thing I note is something similar to an halo around the cormorant in the last image...
cheers
Nicola

[Bunty Plumchip]

I love the effect wth the darter- it looks like a phoenix. I am not experienced or knowledgeable enough to comment on the technical aspects, but I wish I could make such an artistic capture.

[Dave Humphries]

Thanks Malcolm, the lens is a Tamron 70-300 F4-5.6 DI VC USD, nice lens, very sharp, but I would like use it a bit more, hence trying to get birds in flight. I needed more light, I increased the ISO but didn't make alot of difference, I was shooting around 1/100 to 1/120 need more trying to capture flight.

Hi Wendy,

You can't judge these things at the time on the LCD, just set the iso at 800 and (if you're on Av at f/5.6), the shutter speed must increase by two stops, so 1/400s or more.

You will need better light for birds in flight, a shutter speed of about 1/1000s should be your aiming point, set an iso to achieve that. Noise will only be a problem if you under expose and/or crop significantly (because the lens didn't get the subject large enough in frame).

I appreciate these were first attempts, but some thoughts are;
Week 4 shot 1;
The focus is behind the birds (the trunk on left is sharper than the birds or the trunk where they are standing)
Nice composition, but I'd clone out the rising branch under the tail on right

Week 4 shot 2;
It isn't level
It is over sharpened giving halo
1/80s at 300mm, even with VC, is really 'pushing it' and it shows with camera shake, you must increase the iso above 200 to get better results

Good luck,

[Wendy Stanford]

Thanks for the comments everyone, will be going out to the lagoon soon to try the birds again, perhaps towards sunset rather at sunrise when the light will be better.
Dave, thanks for your advice, I will take on board the iso and shutter speed issue, and go out and practice, practice.
I find it interesting how others look at an image and see different things, looking again I agree totally about the branch under the tail of the bird, but I didn't see it

[Wendy Stanford]

Went hiking in an area that had been burnt by a bushfire several years ago, and the trees have died,creating a landscape of white trees, I wanted to try to capture images that maintain sharpness from the foreground through to the background, and picking the right focus point to achieve this.


F18


F18

F22

[jeechu1970]

Hi........Nice Pictures Wendy I like the third.....i feel.......to get what u wanted.......use wide angle lens........of course.....F No. used by you is right.......

[beckyhumphries]

Hi Wendy,

The first picture is my favourite, the colours are so vivid, and the composition is great.

You certainly have great scenery for your walks!

[Goldcoastgolfer]

Nice captures Wendy. The third one is my favourite as well. Looks like you did a good job picking out the right hyperfocal (is that the right term?) distance.

[Wendy Stanford]

Hi........Nice Pictures Wendy I like the third.....i feel.......to get what u wanted.......use wide angle lens........of course.....F No. used by you is right.......

Thanks Girish, would like a wide angle lens, need to put in a business plan to get it though

[Wendy Stanford]

Hi Wendy,

The first picture is my favourite, the colours are so vivid, and the composition is great.

You certainly have great scenery for your walks!

Thanks Rebecca, the colours of this area are very vibrant , do alot of walking around this area in the summer, ski over it in winter

[Wendy Stanford]

Nice captures Wendy. The third one is my favourite as well. Looks like you did a good job picking out the right hyperfocal (is that the right term?) distance.

Thanks Mal, hyperfocal is the term, I couldn't think of it earlier, I tried different distances and found that at F18-22, about 6 metres was the distance I needed to achieve what I was trying to do. I'm sure there is a proper way to calculate

[Donald]

Thanks Mal, hyperfocal is the term, I couldn't think of it earlier, I tried different distances and found that at F18-22, about 6 metres was the distance I needed to achieve what I was trying to do. I'm sure there is a proper way to calculate

There is.

For the first one, for example, you shot it at 28mm at f18. That gives you a hyperfocal distance of 3.56m. You focused at 2.72m (according to the EXIF data).

What the hyperfocal distance means is that everything from half that (1.78m) to infinity would be in acceptable focus.

As well as the excellent tutorial here on CiC, another very good one on hyperfocal distance is here. That tells you the formula for working out hyperforcal distances.

[Wendy Stanford]

I have been away for work and unable to do anything much photographic for the past week, but back on track now I think.
Thanks for the link Donald, was a great tutorial, I now have a better understanding of the subject, I printed out the chart to have in my bag. another site that I found to be very interesting was Dofmaster.com.

As I didn't have any opportunity to take any shots this past week I have used another where I was trying to find the best hyperfocal distance.

This is a Cattlemans Hut Circ 1880, built on the High Plains, now used as a refuge in the winter for people caught out in a snow storm.
Not sure whether the shadows are distracting or add to the overall ambience

F18, 24mm,ISO200, 1/30

[Goldcoastgolfer]

Not sure whether the shadows are distracting or add to the overall ambience

I think for me the shadows are a little distracting. The one in the foreground tries to reach the cabin but never quite makes it, instead drawing me to the tree in the distance. The shadow on the cabin seems to want to hide some of the detail in teh cabin.

Having said that, I suspect if you converted your photo into a B&W, the shadow will just be another tone amongst the other textures and tones in your photo of which I think there are plenty. I'd be keen to see this photo without the colour in it.

[SpiderBob]

I would like to see the house in just a little better light. It has a mystique about it this way, and not sure that is what you want to portray. I do like the composition.

[Steve S]

Very nice composition wendy. Just a couple nit picks................The flower touching the bottom of the frame, and the one leaning out of the frame on the left side. Also, i think i would like to see a little more of the tree trunk on the top left side.

Great control of the exposure in a fairly hard light.

[Bunty Plumchip]

Re week 6

I like the way that the long stem daisies echo the irregular uprights of the construction and the angles of the corrugated iron, giving an overall organic feel to the composition.

I admit to reading the comments with great interest as I like this sort of subject and am never sure how to deal with the tree shadows etc, never sure how far to sacrifice context and 'truth' for a sleeker image. I am afraid to post often because I feel out of my depth, so it helps to see how similar subject matter is critiqued.

Oddly enough, what distracts me more than the shadows is the branch on the ground to the left of the hut.

The light is hard, and as such, for me, I find the shadows right for the vibe I get, staring at it for a while. Without them, I think the hut may be too harsh for its own existence. If you see what I mean. But what do I know.