Bright Horizons

Mat and I went for a walk today. Having had other things to do in the morning, we didn’t leave until late afternoon so didn’t make our way back until the sun started to set.

There is a field, near to where Mat and I live. In this field, a pond has been built, with a small fence to keep dogs from destroying the habitat, and seating inside the fenced area. On the way back, we decided to stop for a rest so sat down next to pond. I looked behind, and could see the sun setting behind the trees. I loved the pattern of the pink clouds in the sky, and the bright stripes of colour. I decided to include a tree in the foreground, as I thought the image would look uninteresting, as there would be no foreground without this. However, I decided to keep it to one side, as I wanted the focus to stay primarily on the background.

I increased the contrast and decreased the brightness in Photoshop, to make sure that all of the foreground detail was lost. I also decreased the hue and increased saturation to make the pink tones appear more prominent. I also sharpened the image slightly, to emphasise the individual branches of each tree and to pick out the individual clouds.

Bex

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Snowy Branches

I took a lot of photos on our wintery walk. I was experimenting with using my flashgun to darken the background while highlighting the foreground. The effect of this focuses the attention onto the subject of the photo.

One of the times I tried this was on a small, snow covered branch. For this photo I used the camera in aperture priority and selected aperture F4.5 to give a minimal depth of field. I left the flash in the evaluative metering mode so that the camera would select the most appropriate power level for the flash. I didn’t need to use a tripod because the shutter speed the camera selected was 1/160^th and this was adequate for the focal length I was using.

I decided not to edit the image because I was happy with the result that I had captured in the camera. I didn’t crop the photo because I didn’t want to spoil the composition that I had made.

Unfortunately the snow is starting to melt, but I still have plenty of images of the snow that I can upload to keep the spirit alive!

Mat

Blurry Water

I took a lot of photos on our pre-dawn walk, this one is one of my favourites so I decided to upload it. We were down at the duckpond and the water was flowing at a reasonable rate; I thought that I could make an interesting blurred effect by using a slow shutter speed.

To create the effect I wanted, I put the camera in aperture priority mode, I did this because I also wanted a large depth of field. I selected an aperture of F13, this gives a massive depth of field but also it means the camera has to choose a slow shutter speed. This gives both of the effects that I was aiming for. I used ISO 100 to ensure that the amount of detail was as high as possible. Because of the slow shutter speed I was using I mounted the camera onto my tripod to ensure the photo was as sharp as possible.

To edit the photo I tweaked the RGB curves to give the photo a warmer feel to it, also by increasing the red curve I made the photo look more autumnal. As the exposure time was very long I also sharpened the photo and then reduced the noise that this produced. Also by increasing the brightness the photo now looks a lot more vibrant.

I’m very pleased with how the photo now looks. I’m slowly getting used to my new camera, and I’m very much enjoying the process of learning how the different features work. I’ve now purchased a flash gun to use with my camera, hopefully I will get a chance to test it this weekend; if I do then I will upload a photo of it to show you.

Mat

A Lone Daisy

This is another photo from yesterday’s short wander. It was actually taken about 50 feet down the path from yesterdays upload!! I noticed how the water droplets had settled onto the daisy; I really liked the effect that it created on the flower.

I thought I should put the camera onto a portrait format; I did this so as to only show the daisy in the centre, it also focuses the attention onto the head of the daisy. I used a large aperture to blur the background so as to not distract the attention away from the daisy. I preselected the white balance to make sure that the daisy petals came out a really clear white against the green background.

After putting the photos onto the computer, I used photoshop to edit them. I reduced the colour temperature to make the white petals even whiter; I also tuned the shadows down a little so as to keep the interest on the flower itself.

I really like how the photo has come out, with the detail of the water droplets and the detail in the petals. Hopefully the weather will make a turn for the better so that I can take some sky shots. Bex and I have been making the best of the bad weather with our photography. Have you been making the most out of the wet weather too?

Mat

Small reflections

This morning, Bex and I went for a walk in our local wood. It had been raining and had just stopped when I saw this piece of grass with the fresh rain dripping from it, and thought it would make a good photo.

I cropped it to focus the attention on the droplet itself. When the taking the photo I used a large aperture to blur the background and keep the attention on the grass and the rain droplet. I love how the reflection is really clear on the raindrop with the reflection of the grass.

I know this is very similar to one of Bex’s earlier photos, but I really like the effect of the water droplet so I thought I would ‘reflect’ Bex’s idea in my own shot!

I really like going for walks after it has rained in the morning because of how the grass and the trees reflect light off of them. When is your favourite time to go for a walk, morning, afternoon, or evening?

Mat

Aim for the skies

I managed to get a chance to go out today, in between revision and other homework. I went down the woods for a little photography wander with Bex and her camera. While I had the camera I saw these trees, what I liked about them is how some of them are in shadow while the others are in the daylight This gives the photo some interest, because of the contrast between the left side of the frame and the right side. I edited the image in Photoshop afterwards. I increased the colour temperature and the saturation, while making the shadows darker; this increased the contrast even more.

This is why I love nature; you can go out whatever the weather and take great photos really easily. I randomly looked up and I found this photo. Why don’t you go out and take some photos of nature while the weather's still lovely?

Mat

An odd thing

I have chosen a rather random picture today, and of course; it’s of a rather odd thing to go with my rather strange mood.  Before I confuse you any further, allow me to explain.

It’s my birthday tomorrow, and for the last week I have been annoying all my friends by giving them a daily countdown. This afternoon I went for a walk in the woods, slightly with the intent that I might calm down a bit by the time I got home (no such luck!).

As ever, I was attached to my macro lens. I spotted this fungus on a fallen branch, which wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, but I liked how it seemed to glisten in the sun. I used low-key mode to try and make for a more dramatic shot.

Hopefully I will stop being quite so irritating after tomorrow! Have a good rest of the evening.

Bex

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Finer Things

I've finally had chance to get out and take some photos! Today, I went to our local woods with Bex. When I (eventually) got the camera off of her, I took this photo of a tree that had been cut down years ago. I decided to use the flash to highlight the details like the fungi and moss which were clinging on to the side of it. I used quite a wide aperture (F3.9) which meant that lots of light went through the lens which, when coupled with using the flash, meant that the white highlights on the fungi became more noticeable. I really like how the flash picks out very fine details.

Again, next week I may not get many chances to take any photos. I shall try my best otherwise it’s up to Bex; which is probably no bad thing as I reckon she’s the better photographer!

I think that the flash really helps when picking out detail, but what do you think works best; using flash or increasing the ISO?

Mat

Getting close

I didn’t get a chance to take any industry photos today, so it’s more of the nature close ups again!! Today’s subject is a piece of fungus on a fallen log. I got in really close with the macro setting armed and took the shot.

I used aperture priority and opened it wide open to give the shallowest depth of field possible. I think this effect worked really well, and because of the higher shutter speed and taking the photo at a lower angle the shadows became a lot darker. I think this photo worked very well, although I think it may have been a little too dark.

I will take some more industry shots soon.  But what do you think I should do, now is your time to vote: Industry and man-made, or nature and landscape shots? Perhaps tweet us and tell us your favourite shots? http://www.twitter.com/DailyWanders

Mat

Tangled

Today, I went to visit a relative who lives quite near to me in a more rural area. We both have a wood within walking distance of our homes.

I brought my camera with me as always, as I thought there might be some interesting pictures, so that I could deviate from always choosing pictures of my own area.

The wood I visited today is a lot smaller than the one in my area, meaning that an awful lot less people go walking in there and it’s left to grow on it’s own terms.

I spent about two hours walking today, and I was on my way back when I spotted this leaf tangled in a spider’s web. From the looks of things the spider was long gone, but I loved how some dust had stuck to the silk.

I took the photo in macro, and used the flash to try and capture the web with more detail. I think this worked really well, as not only the spider’s web, but the leaves also, have been captured with all the finer details.

I love finding new places to go, as I think sometimes going to the same places too often can become monotonous.

Bex

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Flutter by

Bex and I went outside of our normal photography area today. We decided to follow a new path, happening to run along the edge of a forest, when we stumbled across an old shed. It was locked and there were no windows so we had no idea what was inside, but in my opinion what was hiding on the outside was of far greater interest to me and the camera! I spotted this little butterfly by chance, just as we were about to move on, so I took a photo before it had a chance to 'flutter by'! It was quite a quick photo, so it needed some editing in Photoshop. After I cropped it and changed the levels some what I think it came out quite well.

You have to be quick to take photos of nature, if your slow then you'll miss some great opportunities. What do you look for in nature, animals and wildlife, or plants and flowers?

Mat

Stumped

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, my favourite way to relax is going for a walk with my SLR and setting myself the challenge of finding the most interesting shot possible- the type of shot that you notice something new every time you look at it.

This afternoon I went for a walk around my local nature reserve accompanied by my umbrella. It started to rain more heavily so I walked through the woods for shelter. When Mat and I go into the woods, we normally sit on a fallen tree to watch the world go by. I was alone today, but decided to stop there never the less. As I walked up to the log I noticed this strange fungus on a tree stump next to the log.

I took this picture in aperture priority to try and get a deeper depth of field. Having looked at this picture a few times so far, I have noticed the pattern on the fungus, the different shades and the texture on the underside.

Keep looking, perhaps get your friends to have a look and see how many details you can spot.

Bex

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