2018 Project 52 - 2nd QTR - Sandy(Skitterbug)

[Wavelength]

Lovely indeed.... i think you may even have a more close up of the bird through a crop up!!!

[skitterbug]

Lovely indeed.... i think you may even have a more close up of the bird through a crop up!!!

Hi Nandakumar - I probably could go a bit tighter with the crop but then I introduce more noise than I like. I could smooth it, I suppose but I didn't want to lose too much sharpness by doing that process.

What I really needed to do was use a longer lens <LOL - wish I had one> or move in closer to the subject. <probably not possible either>

Thanks for looking and commenting!

[skitterbug]

Week 23 - So the baby cardinals have taken flight and I haven't seen them since. This is disappointing but not much I'm going to do about it. Hopefully, they are on someone else's property for their enjoyment in viewing.

So it is back to the koi pond and some practice on bullfrogs (no surprise, eh?) and their pond reflections. I don't have a polarizing filter to use yet for my long lens so it is a matter to try and avoid bright spots, etc. I did do a bit of editing in PP to combat some shiny areas and I hope my adjustments are not noticeable.

#1 - ISO640 - f/5.6 - 1/30ss
I left the little leaf directly behind the frog's eye but now I'm wondering if I should have edited that out. Or even if it is possible to do that without it looking totally photo-shopped...... I really do need to get my models to cooperate better!





#2 - ISO100 - f/5.6 - 1/30ss

[Geoff F]

They look OK to me, Sandy.

[skitterbug]

Thank you Geoff!

[FootLoose]

Nice work, Sandy. The frogs looks so serene. What is that saying, "Happy as a frog in a pond"?

[Urbanflyer]

Nicely done!

[Shadowman]

Nice focus on the eyes, no issues with the edits.

[skitterbug]

Nice work, Sandy. The frogs looks so serene. What is that saying, "Happy as a frog in a pond"?

Hi Greg - your saying sounds good to me! Our bullfrogs do seem to be happy. There is another saying that could also apply - "Frogs have it made, they get to eat what bugs them"! LOL
Thanks for commenting!

[skitterbug]

Thank you Judith!

[skitterbug]

Nice focus on the eyes, no issues with the edits.

Hi John - The frogs make it easy to focus on those huge eyes since they tend to sit still. There are times when that's all that can be seen of them! They will float underwater with only the eyes showing.
Thanks for checking them out and commenting!

[skitterbug]

I'm playing with a CPL filter and trying it on for size. I must learn when to use it and when to leave it in the box. I did note that it is designed to be used at 90 degrees from the sunshine - correct? But I also don't understand the idea of "turning it" to suit the scene so any enlightenment about how to adjust the filter and recognize the effect it makes while shooting photos, will be appreciated! Or links to any good discussions about it would be good too. Hummm.... maybe there is a tutorial in CiC... note to self - check that out!!

In the meantime, I spotted this brown field mouse darting back and forth from my herb garden to a small rock pile close by. I'm glad he's outside the house!

Brown Mouse - ISO1600 - f/5.6 - 1/320ss

[Geoff F]

Maybe crop a little tighter at the bottom, Sandy, to reduce the amount of out of focus foreground; which will mean a different size ratio.

Otherwise, this looks fine to me. The eyes and whiskers are sharp so it doesn't matter that its tail is fading out of focus.

[Shadowman]

Regarding the cpl, 90 degrees from the sun and it can be used quite a few compositions. A good measure of when it might make for a good effect is by using sunglasses with anti-glare coating, if you see a sort of golden glow to the environ then the cpl might be useful to use. Of course the cpl can also be used to reduce reflections in water or store windows and also to enhance the look of clouds. I sometimes leave my cpl on my camera when shooting on sunny days during noon time as it helps control skin tone highlights, of course it also drops my overall exposure by a stop or two. The "turning it" means rotating the lens, just be careful you are not unscrewing the filter from your lens as there is a separate thread in between the one that attaches to your lens. Nice mouse shot, how close to it were you?

[skitterbug]

Hi Geoff - When I was doing the initial PP work, I did consider a different crop but it would have put my mouse smack in the middle of the photo and that isn't especially what I wanted. And I wasn't bothered by the poor little thing's tail but was happy to catch focus on his eyes. He was fast!

What I would like to have done was being able to choose a more narrow focus and faster shutter speed. But by using a CPL filter, I couldn't get the light right without increasing the ISO higher than I had it. I felt that the increase would have introduced "noise". I should have taken the filter off but I was playing with it to see what it might do to make a difference in photo results. Of course the mouse didn't stick around very long for me to try various settings anyway. <huge sigh>

Thanks for commenting because your suggestions give me the ground work for trying to get better photos.

[rudi]

Week 23 ….

#1 - ISO640 - f/5.6 - 1/30ss




#2 - ISO100 - f/5.6 - 1/30ss

Nice bullfrog pictures Sandy.
The second one, consider perhaps cropping off the top, to lose the bright spot in the upper left corner, which seems to grab my attention... HTH

[skitterbug]

Regarding the cpl, 90 degrees from the sun and it can be used quite a few compositions. A good measure of when it might make for a good effect is by using sunglasses with anti-glare coating, if you see a sort of golden glow to the environ then the cpl might be useful to use. Of course the cpl can also be used to reduce reflections in water or store windows and also to enhance the look of clouds. I sometimes leave my cpl on my camera when shooting on sunny days during noon time as it helps control skin tone highlights, of course it also drops my overall exposure by a stop or two. The "turning it" means rotating the lens, just be careful you are not unscrewing the filter from your lens as there is a separate thread in between the one that attaches to your lens. Nice mouse shot, how close to it were you?

Hi John - My initial thought about the CPL filter was use for the frog pics on a bright day hoping to slow the glare down a bit. So your answer tells me I am on the right track for that use. <grin> I'll have to try cloud shots especially since I like clouds anyway. Maybe photos at the zoo might be another good place to try it?

I did find that trying to turn the filter can lead to some interesting problems just as you mentioned. Somehow dropping the filter onto concrete would be an end result that I wouldn't like.

My question about rotation - how can I know when to try turning the lens a quarter turn or half turn to make a difference? Where do I see the result of what I am doing? Would I need to take a photo first and then look at the results or how is this done? I feel rather dumb in not knowing but if I don't ask, then I'll never know. <sigh>

The mouse might have been 15 feet from where I was sitting. We have our easy chairs by the koi pond and we enjoy watching birds, fish, frogs, etc. from that point. My tiny herb garden is about 30 feet so he was half way between the border of the garden and the small pile of rock that I want to distribute around the edge of the pond.

Thanks for the information and asking about my experience! And yes, I even enjoy watching an occasional mouse running around! So long as it is outside of the house!

[skitterbug]

Nice bullfrog pictures Sandy.
The second one, consider perhaps cropping off the top, to lose the bright spot in the upper left corner, which seems to grab my attention... HTH

Hi Rudi - Glad you enjoy them.

For the bright spot, you mean the very top left (looking at the pic), not the entire corner? I could try burning it a bit more and maybe that would work too?

Hopefully with the new CPL filter that I'm trying to learn to use properly, will help with some of the glare that I get when photographing the bullfrogs!

Thanks for commenting!

[rudi]

...For the bright spot, you mean the very top left (looking at the pic), not the entire corner? I could try burning it a bit more and maybe that would work too? ….

Yep, I mean to crop off the top to loose the top left.... Or, as you say, burning will probably work too…, or maybe both..
(Off to bed now, it is already 3 am here....)

[skitterbug]

It is 21:00 here but I'll be heading to bed soon too. Early morning church! Yawn, stretch and fall out of bed! Groan.
Sleep well.