2017 Project 52 - 3rd QTR - Sandy(Skitterbug)

[Geoff F]

Spider webs are notoriously difficult to photography, Sandy. You have to start with a perfect web and no wind movement; then have an ideal background with perfect lighting. Your exposure is good here but the web centre is getting a fraction on the soft side. Maybe the web was slightly curved so you couldn't get enough depth of focus, which is another common difficulty. You could probably get away with selectively darkening the bright edge area without too much difficulty.

Recently I was trying to photograph a large spider sitting in its web under similar conditions but I couldn't achieve a clean background and when I tried to move some bright background flowers I disturbed the spider which quickly scampered away. I have managed a few reasonable web photos over the years but a great many attempts have ended in failure where I have simply walked away because the conditions weren't ideal.

The flowers are another tricky subject but this has worked out perfectly. A nice composition with all the main subjects in focus. Bright and cheerful but without any over exposure/saturation issues which could so easily have spoiled the scene.

[Shadowman]

Hi Sandy,

Nice efforts, any particular aspect of the spiderweb that doesn't work for you, were you trying to convey spookiness?

[skitterbug]

Spider webs are notoriously difficult to photography, Sandy. You have to start with a perfect web and no wind movement; then have an ideal background with perfect lighting. Your exposure is good here but the web centre is getting a fraction on the soft side. Maybe the web was slightly curved so you couldn't get enough depth of focus, which is another common difficulty. You could probably get away with selectively darkening the bright edge area without too much difficulty.

Recently I was trying to photograph a large spider sitting in its web under similar conditions but I couldn't achieve a clean background and when I tried to move some bright background flowers I disturbed the spider which quickly scampered away. I have managed a few reasonable web photos over the years but a great many attempts have ended in failure where I have simply walked away because the conditions weren't ideal.

It probably didn't help that I tried to take this picture through a glass window. I appreciate your sharing about difficulties in trying to capture spider webs. I've tried many times in the past to produce something that I liked and I believe this is the first time that I even felt like putting it "out there" for discussion. I reckon I'll keep trying and hope for that "perfect shot" someday.

The flowers are another tricky subject but this has worked out perfectly. A nice composition with all the main subjects in focus. Bright and cheerful but without any over exposure/saturation issues which could so easily have spoiled the scene.

Thank you for the positive feed back regarding the flowers! I was trying out the idea of DOF and the variations that can happen using different aperture settings. I am planning on using the DOF chart to see if I can get this information to become a more natural selection process for me during my setting selections. I'm glad for my sake that photography is a hobby and not a job that I have to depend on to make a living! <LOL>

[skitterbug]

Hi Sandy,

Nice effort

Hi John ~ Thank you!

.......any particular aspect of the spiderweb that doesn't work for you, were you trying to convey spookiness?

I wanted that spiderweb to show up as a silvery silhouette but it didn't even come close to what I imagined it to be. Then I tried to sharpen just the web using a "high pass filter" that Affinity Photo has. This worked okay but still I didn't get that sharp picture that I wanted. I imagined the web on a black background and framed in black. I would enjoy seeing something like this hanging on my wall by my computer! Yep, especially during Halloween! <grin>

[skitterbug]

Week 38 - this Quarter is nearly over! Wow! I haven't strayed too far from home so my subject once again became Mr. Bullfrog. By now, one would think he'd be used to having a camera pointed at him. But alas, he still isn't comfortable about it.

So for settings - I decided to let the camera choose for a change. I picked f/9.0 to start. My zoom lens was fully extended at 250mm because Mr. Bullfrog wouldn't have stayed put if I'd gotten any closer. He seemed edgy for some reason. The rest of the settings ended up being ISO3200 and 1/50ss. I didn't want to clean him up since I found his untidiness amusing.

[Shadowman]

#145, nice effort and reminds me of a recent encounter I had with my 70-300mm lens and a bumble bee. The insect was so close to me that I had to do the moving away before my camera would auto focus. Looks pretty good for 1/50sec, nice enough DOF unless you wanted to overemphasize the eyes. If I would do anything to this image it would be to add a bit of contrast, the colors are what they are.

[joebranko]

For week 36, I think I'll post a spiderweb pic I've been struggling with. Maybe the initial photo isn't what it should be and that's why I can't achieve the look that I wanted. I tried sharpening it and darkening the background. The web was on the outside of a north facing window and looked interesting. The light at the top would be reflection from oncoming traffic. It didn't annoy me much so I didn't mess with that area once I reached this point in PP.
Settings used: ISO200 - 96mm - f/5.0 - 1/60ss (07:38 - early morning for me)

Spider Web




Week 37 and I decided a face full of flowers might be nice. These are blooming behind our home in my "secret area". I like going there for peace and quiet.
Settings used: ISO200 - 49mm - f/7.1 - 1/8ss (19:00 on an overcast evening)

Chrysanthemum

The flowers are beautiful! Great job!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[Geoff F]

That is a very clear image of the frog from such a high Iso, I don't like going beyond Iso 800. But what else could you do, the shutter speed and aperture were already at their limits; although possibly you could have opened the aperture just a fraction wider.

[skitterbug]

Hi John ~ I'm fortunate to have a somewhat willing subject. There are times when I can get very close to Mr. Bullfrog. And then times like the above photo, that he seems restless!

It is interesting you mentioned the bumble bee incident. Yesterday evening, we had a hummingbird moth flitting in the open flowers. Try as I might, I was never able to get a photo of it! I was either too close, too far, not in focus, etc. My frustration levels were high. Maybe I'll get some more chances and I hope I can accomplish the task of capturing a decent photo of it!

Thanks for your encouragement!

#145, nice effort and reminds me of a recent encounter I had with my 70-300mm lens and a bumble bee. The insect was so close to me that I had to do the moving away before my camera would auto focus. Looks pretty good for 1/50sec, nice enough DOF unless you wanted to overemphasize the eyes. If I would do anything to this image it would be to add a bit of contrast, the colors are what they are.

[skitterbug]

Thank you Joe!

The flowers are beautiful! Great job!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[skitterbug]

Hi Geoff ~ I was curious to see what the camera would do after I chose the aperture of f/9.0. And I was surprised by the ISO setting as you were. I was afraid that I'd get a lot of noise but was pleased by the results. I'm still trying to become comfortable with the correlation of the three settings and feel I still have a ways to go before completely understanding how one setting affects the rest. I learn best through trial and error...... and then hopefully an occasional success!

Thank you for commenting! I appreciate the feedback that I've receive!

That is a very clear image of the frog from such a high Iso, I don't like going beyond Iso 800. But what else could you do, the shutter speed and aperture were already at their limits; although possibly you could have opened the aperture just a fraction wider.

[skitterbug]

Week 39 and the last week of this quarter! I'm going to finish by posting four photos that I took while visiting the zoo. Now I thought going to the zoo to take take pictures of animals would be easy. How wrong I was. There are fences, posts, grass, plexiglass or whatever that stuff is (filthy with all sorts of "yuck") and people that get in the way. And then the animals don't cooperate at all! The lighting is horrible, always coming from the wrong direction.... Yes can you tell? I am feeling sorry for myself! But anyway, I did get a few that I think are worth posting for comments.

Elephants and giraffe (that I'm still processing) are my favorite. I have two of the elephants that were walking rapidly toward chunks of hay that had been put out for them. They had to go by one spot that mercifully did not have thick posts, etc. in the way. I don't like the fence behind them but it is a zoo setting so I left it alone. I think I would have damaged the pics by trying to edit that stuff out of them. And sadly, there wasn't any light reflecting from the eyes.......

#1 - Elephant - ISO100 - 84mm - f/7.1 - 1/320ss




#2 - Second Elephant


The swan didn't have a lot of stuff blocking it. It was dredging up sticks from the bottom of the pond!
ISO500 - 131mm - f/5.6 - 1/500ss



And this swan was strolling along the fence. There wasn't much of a barrier between it and us. It ended up being too close for my zoom lens so I have this pose of it.
ISO160 - 65mm - f/4.5 - 1/500ss

[Urbanflyer]

Sounds like a nice day anyway!~

[Geoff F]

The elephants are basically OK, Sandy. The first one is a good scene although it is a pity about those bright silver wire tensioners in the fence. Just plain wire would have been so much better. I wonder if you could zoom in and tone them down with a small brush?

The second one has a better background but its feet are hidden; some days you just can't win.

I have seen swans picking up sticks, carefully examining them carefully then throwing them away. Not sure of the reason, maybe something to do with nest building; possibly a young bird which has yet to construct its first nest so this is a form of training practice? The main area has worked well but that sunlit tail is rather bright and over exposed. Could a little bit of selective tone down be effective? So many times I have had similar issues with swans. In reality they are a tricky subject.

The swan's head is a nice shot. Just one very slight thought. In the background near the base of its beak there is a rather small bright yellowish area. If you could slightly tone down that spot it would be a perfect portrait scene.

[skitterbug]

Sounds like a nice day anyway!~

Hi Judith ~ It was a good day for the zoo since the weather had finally cooled enough to have the animals feeling frisky and content.

[skitterbug]

The elephants are basically OK, Sandy. The first one is a good scene although it is a pity about those bright silver wire tensioners in the fence. Just plain wire would have been so much better. I wonder if you could zoom in and tone them down with a small brush?

Maybe sometime when I invest in a tablet that I can use "brushes" (Wacom perhaps), I may be able to accomplish something as delicate as removing the wires, etc. For now though, my poor elephant will have to remain in the zoo setting. I was really hoping the elephants would play in their pool so I could try some action shots. It is positioned in such a way that the bars, etc. aren't seen or aren't as noticeable. But the handlers fed them hay so that ended all hope to see them play.

The second one has a better background but its feet are hidden; some days you just can't win.

It was certainly one of those days..... animals were not on display that I had hoped to see, etc. It will mean a return trip.

I have seen swans picking up sticks, carefully examining them carefully then throwing them away. Not sure of the reason, maybe something to do with nest building; possibly a young bird which has yet to construct its first nest so this is a form of training practice? The main area has worked well but that sunlit tail is rather bright and over exposed. Could a little bit of selective tone down be effective? So many times I have had similar issues with swans. In reality they are a tricky subject.

I agree with your assessment but again, I didn't try it since I wasn't exactly sure how I'd go about achieving a natural result. It was fun watching this swan though! It seemed healthy and happy in spite of being cooped up.

The swan's head is a nice shot. Just one very slight thought. In the background near the base of its beak there is a rather small bright yellowish area. If you could slightly tone down that spot it would be a perfect portrait scene.

Now I did give this one lots of tries. Good thing the "undo" command works because I went through many attempts to remove that little bright spot. I finally used the "Healing Brush Tool". See if this is what you may have in mind for results. Or if you think there is some more adjustments to make, please feel free to comment! Let me add - Thank you!

[Geoff F]

You have to be careful with the Healing Brush, Sandy, because when getting close to edges it can become a bit too auto enthusiastic in blending everything together. But in this case it has worked well.

Sometimes, when I get problems with this tool, I will start a little further away from an edge and paint towards the edge rather than moving sideways to the edge.

[skitterbug]

You have to be careful with the Healing Brush, Sandy, because when getting close to edges it can become a bit too auto enthusiastic in blending everything together. But in this case it has worked well.

Thank you Geoff! And yes, I found myself struggling to keep the swan's bill intact! But I finally reached this point and decided enough was enough!

Sometimes, when I get problems with this tool, I will start a little further away from an edge and paint towards the edge rather than moving sideways to the edge.

I tried from different positions. Trying to guide the circle created by the brush tool, using a mouse, is quite a challenge for me! I wonder why it always has to be a circle - why not other shapes? If there is a choice, I haven't found it in Affinity Photo yet. I've lots to learn about that application though so perhaps there is a setting within all the options that I have missed!

It is raining here so I'll probably be late with my next quarter's entry. I have something in mind but it has to be a better day than we have now!