Project 52(late start!) by Gary (oldgreygary)

[oldgreygary]

I think that frustrating is my word of the week. On two counts, the weather and not being able to get the images that I see in my head but cannot execute with the camera. First point, well I know we Brits are somewhat obsessed with the weather but the present gloom that has enveloped the country dampens enthusiam and limits what you can do. Especially, outdoot shots. Second point is about going to get images and seeing what you want but not being able to execute them. In another post the suggestion was put forward that the majority of times when someone says that they need to upgrade their camera it is in fact the lenses that are the issue. I certainly think that is the case with the Canon G2. It has a reasonable set of options that you can work with but the limitations of the lens make it difficult to capture what I want to. I have read advice that says get closer to the subject. But, I think in a lot of cases in my experience anyway, that is not possible. The limiting factor is that you cannot physically get closer or if you do it would cause a disturbance and the shot wouldn't be able to take place.
Anyway, I was walking through my local park and quickly took this image. Couldn't get too close (for obvious reasons) so have had to heavily crop the image. This seems to be a recurring theme with the G2 to work with the limitations of the lens. Not a great composition but it could be a contender for cute photo of the week!

Cheers for now

Gary

[Geoff F]

I wonder, Gary, if the camera has actually autofocused on the grass rather than the ducklings. A very common problem unless you can definitely focus on the intended subject, and hold focus if you recompose the scene.

And fluffy birds pose a very poor target for autofocus.

It seems to me that the grass, and furtherest duckling, are better focused than the closest bird.

Maybe try a touch of selective sharpening.

Some people say use a short lens, or prime lens, and 'focus with your feet' but, as you rightly point out, this is often impossible.

When hearing this comment I tend to show a photo of a cliff edge and say 'After you, show me how it's done'.

Manual focus is always a good idea in these circumstances but the manual focus option on that camera is rather coarse. I never had much success with it.

[oldgreygary]

Thanks for the comments Geoff. I must admit it was a shot that I didn't spend much time over and the results shows that.

The system on the G2 is that a yellow light flashes if it's not focused, you come to trust that after a while but as you say not always reliable.

I did try digital zoom (11x, I think) but that was very prone to camera shake and I think would only work with a tripod. It also defaults to JPEG in that mode as well. I have only tried the manual focus a couple of times and it's not really a practical option.

The problem with focusing seems to be when the camera is at the longest focal length (21mm). A couple of times I have focused on an object and the surrounds are sharp but the subject is out of focus. I guess as the G2 is a bit of a ground breaker in its time then a lot of these options on later models would have been improved. But I don't think the blame can be only on the camera. As it was a shot taken on 'the fly' so to speak and probably got a 50-50 chance of being ok. Despite cropping it back a lot still not a very satisfactory image.

Cheers for now

Gary

[Geoff F]

I assume you are using just the centre auto focusing point and holding the shutter button half way when you need to recompose a scene.

The digital zoom is just the same as increasing your image size on a computer, but not as good. I never found it worked for me.

It simply adds more pixels to the zoomed image after the optical zoom has reached its maximum size.

[oldgreygary]

Must admit that this week I have been lacking inspiration and motivation. I think it's a combination of the dull weather and being at a bit of a crossroads with the Canon G2. As said in the last post I feel as if I am looking for images that the lens on the camera cannot deliver. This does tend to get me in the mindset of being slightly sluggish about going out and taking images. As I feel that I am not going to be able to get what I am looking for. Umm, thats very frustrating! Anyway, I was down the allotment on a sunny!!!! early morning and this poppy was standing out like a bright beacon. Flowers are not really my thing but the bright colour of this one just stood out. I used the macro function to take the shot. This is an area that the G2 seems to work well. When there is plenty of colour and the image is close up it performs really well.

Cheers for now

Gary

[Geoff F]

Reds are always tricky but that shot has worked well.

Is that one of those poppies which only flowers for around a day, then spreads seeds everywhere?

I get something similar in my garden, although a slightly different colour.

[Muriel]

That shot should brighten you day. Beautiful flower. Thanks for sharing.

[oldgreygary]

Thanks Muriel and Geoff for your replies. Down the allotment there a lots of 'surprises' that get blown in on the wind. By the weekend just gone the flower had gone. So, I guess its one of those flowers that is short lived. Did you spot the Bumble Bees at the bottom?

Cheers for now

Gary

[oldgreygary]

This week was always going to be about the 2012 Olympics. As the Olympic flame/torch relay passed through the town. It was while trying to do this that the photographer and his camera were exposed (terrible pun!). A lot of people there so I really needed to be able to take shots quickly and without much time to compose. The G2's shutter lag is awful so I was trying to line up shots from a distance and keep on taking shots until the flame passed. But the G2 also takes what seems like forever to process a shot. It makes the situation worse as photographer(me) gets annoyed and cannot get the amount of images that this sort of scenario requires. Arrrrgggghhhh! I think that to move forward in photography and not confine everything to the dustbin I need to find a way to get some better kit. Otherwise, I think that my enthusiasm and energy will disperse.

Anyway, here's one image I got. If you direct the Hubble telescope on it you might just be able to see the woman carrying the flame. It does capture at least the numbers there and nearly everyone seemed to have some sort of camera!!!

Cheers for now

Gary

[oldgreygary]

More from the London 2012 Olympics. This was an image taken at Boxhill part of the course which was a loop of around 16km (10 miles). These guys had to do 9 laps of this. This image was taken on the last lap and this cyclist the Belgian, Philippe Gilbert had started a breakaway which was to prove decisive as it dragged another bunch away as well and Team GB couldn't go with it. Unfortunately, our guys (Team GB) couldn't get in the medals. However, on the following day one of our women cycle riders (Liz Armitstead) got a silver medal! Any thoughts/comments welcome!

Cheers for now

Gary

[Geoff F]

I just wonder, Gary, if a very slight crop of the bottom and right side would give the appearance of the cyclist going faster?

You certainly got yourself into a good shooting position this time. Nice crisp action shot.

[oldgreygary]

Thanks for your comments Geoff. I noticed at the bottom left hand side there are some tops of grass showing through so the crop would also remove them. I will look at that and re-post.

Below is the amended version. I also thought that it would be useful to put the original as well. As it is a good example of the limitation of the Canon G2 lens. This image was at max. focal length. To be a winner the shot really needs to be a lot 'tighter' so that you can see the riders face. So I have cropped this image right down.That seems to me anyway is when you can engage more with an image. If you can sort of share their world for a brief period. You can then begin to understand what the person/athlete is experiencing.

Cheers for now

Gary

Original version:



Amended crop/processing version:

[Geoff F]

That works well, Gary.

I think there are a number of alternative crops from this one scene. For example something around 4 x 5 ratio which would show the second motor bike and part of the crowd.

[Dave Humphries]

Amended crop/processing version:

Hi Gary,

I was thinking of you there while watching it on TV, bet you're glad you weren't shooting the girls the next day, it certainly rained on them (so well done Liz).

This crop works well and shows that even with a G2 and its limited 'telephoto-ness', it doesn't really show that in this finished image.

If mine, I'd probably do a bit of 'burning' of that motorcycle headlamp to the right of Philippe Gilbert's head, just so it's not quite that bright.

Well done,

[oldgreygary]

Dave thanks for your comments. Liz Armitstead rode a fantastic race the following day. I admit I do go on a bit about limitations of the G2 but it surprises me how it can perform in the right conditions. The world's press were at the event and I was lamenting about the kit they had available to them. A fellow spectator then said to me 'it's not the camera, it's the person behind it that matters!' I partially agree with that but the part of the photograph that you mention is something that would have been lost if I had been able to achieve a shallow DOF. I know PP can achieve this but it would be nice to achieve 'right out of the box' so to speak. I will look at what you mentioned though as I can see what you mean it does see a bit bright and detracts from the main image.

I found this pro-photographers website who does a lot of cycle type photography. If anyone's interested it's worth checking out. It does show a level that you can aspire to.

Here's the link:

http://photos.grahamwatson.com/

Cheers for now

Gary

[oldgreygary]

This week I haven't done any shooting so I went back and chose an image from a couple of weeks ago. This was taken at a local cricket ground and captures the team celebration. Because of the distance from the edge of the ground this is the best I could get. To be effective it really needs to be a lot tighter. I guess in this week and last weeks post they show the good and not so good features of the G2. Close range shots with lots of colour work well. But for distant subjects it lacks the ability to get tight shots with shallow DOF.

Cheers for now

Gary

[oldgreygary]

The Canon G2 is really a bright light, colour junkie. At less bright levels of light it struggles a bit. Over the past couple of days we have been enjoying some belated sunshine. Down on my allotment I have a plant growing called a Glandular Globe Thistle. This is acts like a magnet for bees and butterflies. This image has captured what I think is a honey bee and luckily it has caught it taking nectar from the plant. Any comments welcomed.

Cheers for now

Gary

[Geoff F]

That certain looks like a honey bee to me, Gary.

If you get a chance to photograph the wing veins, check out the outside wing cell on the leading edge. Honey bees have a very long narrow cell here which is quite distinctive when compared with other bees.

I found the G2 could produce good macro work providing you can get close enough and use the review screen for live view shooting. Otherwise you have to aim a bit off centre.

[oldgreygary]

I was up in London at the Oval to watch some County Cricket. I didn't think that I would be able to get shots of the actual play. So, I decided to think more in general terms and try and capture images that evoked the day. In the morning not long after arriving the rain began to fall. So, it seemed an obvious image to get. With the magnificent pavilion in the background and the covers on to protect the ground. Although, it wasn't very nice there was still plenty there to give a visual feast.

My online gallery is now up and running (work in progress!). I chose Smugmug (Basic). So, if you want to see other images from this day or view some of the other images follow the link at the bottom of the post.

I will say that any thoughts/comments welcome but it seems to be more effective to do single posts for that purpose rather than the Project 52. As, the project seems to get a bit lost?

Cheers for now

Gary

[Geoff F]

I can't see your camera settings there, Gary, but that is sharp for a bad light shot. And it shows the overall scene perfectly.