Good to be Back

Now that things are back to normal, Bex and I managed to get out again for quite a long photography wander. I’ve managed to pick up some of Bex’s love for macro photography; because a lot of my recent uploads have been macro and close up photos!

This one was taken on the way back from our wander. I thought I wouldn’t be able to find any more opportunities when this flower ‘jumped’ up at me. I thought the composition was near perfect; because of the high contrast between the white flower, and the blurry green background. I used a wide aperture to limit the focus range, and to create the blurry effect with the background. I didn’t use the flash, because the light levels were good enough and it would have spoilt the effect I was trying to make.

When I edited the photo, I decided to increase the highlight brightness; I did this to make the whites more pure. Also I made the shadows darker while increasing the contrast; this makes the flower more prominent. Also I cropped the photo to put the flower into the left half of the frame, I feel this makes the composition more interesting.

I’m glad things are back to normal. Bex and I are planning to go on many more wanders so expect lots more photos in the next few weeks. Also we have ideas for some set-up shots in the next few days, which I really look forward to doing.

Mat

Turning Over a New Leaf

Both Mat and I were free today so we decided to go to for a mini photography wander. We didn’t have much time so couldn’t go very far; we walked through the local nature reserve. As usual I took mostly macro shots, and this is one of them.

I used shutter speed priority mode so I could under expose, making the picture seem more dramatic. Whilst under exposing, I also used flash. This picked out the highlights and shine of the leaf, and made the dark areas more prominent. Afterwards, I edited the picture by decreasing the brightness further and increasing the contrast. This made the colours too bright so I decreased the saturation.

I used the macro lens, which works incredibly well. I used a 45mm focal length, as the lens doesn’t focus at incredibly close distances and I wanted to capture the detail of all the channels and veins on the leaf.

I enjoyed going on a photography wander with Mat. We haven’t had chance to go together for a while, and I find my photos turn out better as we can suggest things to each other. I look forward to the next time.

Bex

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Thistle While You Wait

I took this photo a few weeks ago while doing a bit of train spotting, (one of my many hobbies). A train had just past and I was waiting for the next one, it must have been delayed because it took a very long time. So in between the two trains I took some more photos to fill the time.

I had spotted a group of weeds which looked very interesting, so I thought I should make a photo out of them. I decided that the photo would look best with a shallow depth of field. I thought that the angle I chose gave the best composition, with just the grass in the background. When I took the photo, I boosted the greens in the camera to give more emphasis to the weed. 

When I put the photo I decided that it didn’t require any editing, I was very impressed with how it looked straight from the camera. I was tempted to increase the saturation, but decided against it because I had already boosted the greens and I liked the effect that it gave.

The holiday is rapidly drawing to a close, I have thoroughly enjoyed it and cannot wait for next years. The weather has been amazing, presenting many photographic opportunities; I’ve made the most out of as many as I can and I hope you all have as well.

Mat

Well Rounded

Now that the bank holiday is over, it was sunny today! I decided to go for a photography wander to soak up some of the sunshine we’d all been so desperately wishing for over the past few days.

I love taking pictures of teasels, as it seems that each picture you take is unique. There are so many angles that it can be taken from and this is just one of them. I took the picture from above, using a large aperture so only a small section of the plant was in focus. I used manual focus so I could blur the top of the teasel and the leaves underneath. This meant that only the spikes were in focus, making the shot more interesting. Later, I edited the picture in Photoshop. I increased the contrast and the saturation. Finally, I sharpened the image to make the spikes more evident.

I’m really pleased with how this picture turned out. Perhaps using manual focus is worth the extra time and effort! As long as it’s used in the right situation, it can give some great effects.

Bex
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Caught

I went out for a walk today as I had some spare time. So I went down to the canal, because the weather was perfect for photo taking. It had just stopped raining and the clouds had started to part. The sun was streaming through the clouds perfectly.

I know the canal was the main feature of the walk but this photo just cropped up in the corner of my eye. The dandelion had just floated past in front of me, and had become caught temporarily on another dandelion. I had to react quite quickly, so I put the camera into auto and left it to decide the specific exposure. I had just enough time to compose the photo before the wind took the dandelion with it.

Because the photo was taken in a hurry the exposure the camera chose wasn't perfect, so I decided to change the brightness and the saturation. I increased the brightness to compensate for the camera choosing the wrong exposure. I also decreased the saturation because I like the effect that it gave the photo; by giving it a more mysterious mood to the photo which I really like.

I’m glad I got a chance to go out after the rain today, I find it’s always the best time to go out to take photos. I find this because the weather changes very rapidly, and the clouds are always very white and diffuse the light perfectly.

Mat

Floating Feather

I decided to go for a photography wander this evening, as I wanted to get some air. I walked through the local nature reserve, as it was getting dark. It had been a cloudy day, and the clouds were beginning to get darker as the evening rolled in. I had been walking for about an hour when I decided to stop and sit down by the water’s edge.

Behind me was a mini waterfall, as the lake goes down into a river; this means that if any leaves or feathers fall in, they get pulled away. I noticed feathers and leaves being sucked into the waterfall as I was sat down. I decided to stay and watch for a few minutes, and noticed this feather moving across the surface.

I must admit that a few aspects of this picture were happy accidents. I had tried taking a picture of the reflections on the water before, but it was lucky that I only got the reflections of the clouds in the picture. I used low-key gradation to try to get a more dramatic shot. Afterwards, I increased the contrast to make both the shadow and the clouds more prominent. I also increased the saturation slightly, as I lost the brown of the feather.

I have really missed taking macro shots; it’s been so busy recently that I haven’t had much chance to take pictures. I’m really pleased with how well this picture turned out, I love how it looks moody. It felt great to have a chance to get back outside for another wander- I can’t wait for the next one!

Bex

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Clinging Mushrooms

I managed to go for very quick wander today while I was having a short break. I saw these mushrooms clinging to the side of a  log that had been chopped down. As I didn’t have much time I left the camera in automatic.

The camera decided to use the flash, because there wasn’t very much light. I really like the effect that it had, it increased the contrast and made the whites brighter. The camera chose a low ISO so the photo still has lots of detail in it.

All I did to edit the photo was to crop the photo and increase the saturation. I cropped out the side of the photo because it didn’t have many mushrooms in and it I thought it was causing a distraction. I also increased the brightness to make the white even brighter.

Bex has been incredibly busy recently and as a result hasn’t had much spare time, which is why I have been doing more uploads than  normal. She has told me that she will be back to normal very soon, and will be blogging as normal.

I hope you all enjoy the last week of the summer holiday.

Mat