Standing Tall

Mat and I went for a walk through a small town on the outskirts of the city yesterday. He didn’t take his camera as just wanted to go for a walk, but I couldn’t be parted as ever!!

During one part of the walk, Mat sat down on a bench with a coffee (in –5 degrees!), while I chose to continue walking. I found a small clearing, just off the path, so decided to see what was there. I walked into the clearing to find a small shaded area, surrounded by trees- almost impossible to find if you weren’t looking. Small patches of light broke through the cover of the branches, providing thin beams that shone pointed to the centre. I tried to focus on one burst of light, taking the photo up the trunk of the tree to give an idea of scale. I used an aperture of F8, as I wanted the tree to be in focus, while making the background slightly blurred.

I increased the contrast in Photoshop, while slightly decreasing the brightness to make the image appear more dramatic. I decreased the saturation slightly, as I had changed the hue to make the green tones more prominent, and didn’t want this to be obvious when looking at the image. I’m pleased with this image, but regret not using low-key mode, as it could’ve made the image seem more dramatic without having to sacrifice details, as with post-processing.

Bex

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Experiments

First of all, I shall lay to rest your shock of being able to read a new blog post while still in daylight! (If you’re British, that is). This evening, Mat and I are going to a concert!! We didn’t want to have a night off from Daily Wanders, so decided to prepare a post before leaving.

This is a photo from a recent walk through my local area. Mat was experimenting with flashguns again so I decided to abandon him, although I didn’t completely abandon the concept of experimenting with light. I tried to take a photo of a curled up leaf, but decided it looked dull and was lost in the background. I used flash in conjunction with point metering, in order to lose some of the background. I ended up taking around 10 photos in order to get the desired effect; each one varying in flash intensity, and the amount I over/under exposed the image. This is taken at F5.6 at a shutter speed of 1/160 at ISO 100.

Some of the photo seemed a little over exposed where it caught more of the flash. In order to correct this, I darkened the shadows in Photoshop. I sharpened the image to pick up final details of the leaf. Another twig stemmed from the branch, which I tried to remove by using flash. However, this left a large black space at the bottom of the photo. I cropped it to make it seem more symmetrical. I love experimenting with photos in this way; it’s part of the fun and makes the end result much more satisfying.

Bex

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Opportunities

Bex and I managed to go out for a wander today. I had a few tricks that I wanted to try out today so this was the perfect opportunity. One of the tricks was a ‘time warp’ effect, so I tried a few times with varying results.

One of the times that I tried it was on a small flower. So for the best effect I put the flower in the centre of the frame and used an aperture of F14. I metered off the flower because it was the key part of the scene. To create the ‘time warp’ effect I put the camera onto a tripod, selected a slow shutter speed (1/10^th of a second) then while the shutter was open I zoomed the lens in. This gives a very different motion blur to normal with the photo appearing stretched towards the edges of the frame. I tried zooming the lens different amounts but I think this one has the best effect.

I didn’t change anything when I put the photo onto the computer because I really liked the effect that I had created. The exposure had been set perfectly by the camera so I didn’t need to change anything in that respect and the colours had been reproduced accurately by the camera.

I’m very pleased with the effect I had managed to produced today; I will try out different techniques in the future to see if I can make a different effect.

Mat

Autumn Leaves

I managed to go out for a walk today so I went back to the nature reserve, but I went a different way to normal. I did this because I wanted to find some different places to photograph. It was quite early, the sun was just starting to rise and the low light levels made some interesting photographic opportunities.

The light was spot lighting this tree in particular, so to exaggerate this effect I decided to use the built in flash. This made the background go very dark but kept the leaf very bright and clear. I used an aperture of F5.6 to ensure the whole leaf was in focus but the background was left blurred. Also I reduced the green to ensure the amount of yellow was reproduced correctly.

The only editing I did to the photo was to crop the photo so the leaf was in the bottom right of the frame. I didn’t change anything else because I like the effect of the photo, the exposure was calculated perfectly and all the colours have been reproduced faithfully.

I took quite a few photos today, and I’m sure I will return to take some more in the near future.

Bex says hi from her holiday, she says that she’s missing you already and will be taking many photos throughout her holiday to show you when she returns.

Mat

One Last

I took this picture on my walk yesterday; it was one of the first shots I took on our walk and it’s one of the pictures I mentioned yesterday that I was especially pleased with.

It had been raining that afternoon, so raindrops were still on all the plants around the town. As I was walking past a hedgerow, I noticed a few leaves that had almost broken away from the branches due to the excess rain. I loved how some rain has stayed on the leaf, giving the effect of a lens. I focused on this leaf in particular, using an aperture of F4.5 to blur the edges of the leaf to make the picture seem more surreal. I used low key gradation to make the photo seem more dramatic and emphasise the contrast in the image.

I didn’t have to do any editing, as I was pleased with the original photograph. I love how you can see the veins of the leaf through the water droplets; it seems to add to the mystery of the image. I am going on holiday tomorrow, so I shall leave you in the capable hands of Mat for the weekend. Au revoir!!

Bex

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Designer Leaf (It’s all about the labels…)

Mat and I went out for another walk today; this time in the afternoon. We took a few photos, and a few that I am especially pleased with. This isn’t one of them, but I fancied a fun upload, instead of a more abstract shot that I might normally upload.

I took this picture as we were on our way home after a short walk. As we were walking along the path, I noticed this rather strange looking leaf. A sticker from an apple had been left behind, perhaps from a school child walking home. It brought a smile to me, just because it was so out of the ordinary!

The picture didn’t stand out as much as I would’ve liked it to, so I tried to edit it in Photoshop. I increased the contrast, whilst decreasing the brightness to create a more striking effect. I also increased the saturation and sharpened the whole image.

I think it’s nice to relax and see the funny side of things instead of being serious all the time.

Bex

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Hidden

I managed to go out again today, instead of going to the lake I went in the opposite direction, down by the canal. I like it down by the canal, sometime if a boat goes past while I’m out then I stop to chat to them, they’re all very friendly and we can be talking for ages.

Running alongside the canal is a hedge; it is always full of life with plenty of flowers and wildlife hiding inside. This time there wasn’t much wildlife but there were plenty of flowers.  This group caught my eye as I was walking past; I thought the composition was spot on. I used an aperture of F8 to ensure the depth of field was large enough and the sharpness was crisp.

When I uploaded the photo onto my computer I decided against changing anything, because I really like the effect of the photo. With the branch in the foreground and the other trees blurred in the background.

I’m glad that I’m back now; Bex and I are meeting up tomorrow, hopefully if the weather is nice and we get a chance, we may go out for a photography wander. If not, I’ve still got a few photos from today that I could upload.

Mat

Dramatic Red

I wasn’t able to go for a photography wander today so I looked through my computer for some more inspiration. I was looking through the photos from a fairly recent trip to the local duck pond, and I stumbled across this photo of some lovely red flowers.

This was one of the first photos that I had taken on the walk, we had just started arrived at the duck ponds and where looking around for photo opportunities. We walked round a corner and this red flower ‘jumped’ out at me. It was late evening and the sun was creating some very dramatic light effects. The light was focused directly onto the flower with the surroundings in shadow; I really liked this effect as it creates a very moody atmosphere. As it was quite late I had to take the photo with the aperture wide open (F4), which created a shallow depth of field. Also I had to use quite a high ISO to counteract the low light levels; this unfortunately added quite a lot of noise into the photo.

When editing the photo I reduced the overall noise and sharpened the photo. I also increased the brightness, I did this to emphasise the mood created by the lighting. Overall the photo has come out very pleasing I think.

Bex and I have planned to go out tomorrow, so hopefully we shall have some new material to upload for you very soon.

Mat

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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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

An Unknown Plant

The weather was really nice today so I was sitting in the garden enjoying the nice weather. I noticed in one of the trees, this plant that was hanging down. I’m not sure what specific plant it is, but I thought it might make an interesting photographic opportunity.

I used the widest aperture I could to ensure the background was blurred appropriately. I also used the flash to pick out the white of the plant. The wind was blowing quite fast so I had to use a fast shutter speed, this meant I required a moderately high ISO.

When I edited the photo I decided to increase the brightness, this has the effect of making the white clearer. I also made the shadows darker, this focuses the attention onto the plant itself. Also I cropped the photo so that the plant was towards the left part of the frame, I think this enhances the composition of the photo.

Overall I think the photo has worked very well, and I’m quite pleased with the editing that I did. I will try to find out what plant this is, if I find out I shall let you all know.

Also a quick congratulations to everyone who received their GCSE results today, I know you all worked very hard to get the grades you received. So very well done to you all.

Mat

Nettles

I managed to go for a quick walk while the sunshine was out. I sat down on a park bench for a quick rest, when I spotted a clump of nettles.

I liked how they were surrounding a small open patch that only had grass on. So I used the programmed auto mode because I didn’t have much time and focused on the central leaf. I used the flash to light up the scene because it was late in the evening and there wasn’t very much light. I used a narrow aperture to make sure that most of the scene was in focus.

When I edited the photo I decided to increase the colour temperature and the saturation; by doing this the photo looks more vibrant and interesting. I also cropped the photo to emphasise the effect of the emptiness in the centre. I used quite a high ISO so as there was quite a lot of noise, which I had to reduce in Photoshop.

Bex and I are planning on meeting up tomorrow, so maybe we might get a chance to go for a photography wander. I hope we get a chance while the weather is still nice.

Mat

Inspiration

I took this photo a while back while out wandering with Bex. The weather was very nice so we had gone for a walk in the local nature reserve.

I used the aperture priority mode so I could use the maximum aperture. This has the effect of making the subject very sharp while blurring the background. Having the subject in the centre of the frame creates a better composition because of the symmetry.

I tried editing the photo but every time I tried I didn’t like how it looked, so I asked Bex to try to edit it. She increased the contrast, while decreasing the saturation and brightness. I really like the effect of the editing she did. It looks much better than how my editing looked.

I really like the photo and Bex’s editing, it looks exactly how I wanted it to when I took the photo.

Mat

Drops

I managed to get out today between the spells of rain. Unfortunately Bex is ill at the moment so I shall be doing a few more posts until she gets better.

This one is another macro photo (I’m even starting to sound like Bex!). I managed to get in quite close so that I could keep just the leaf in the photo. I left the camera in the macro setting so that the camera would choose the best settings for the situation. I also used the flash so it would give the leaf a luminous effect.

When I edited the photo I decided that it would look better with the brightness turned down and the contrast increased, it gives it a moody feel along with looking luminous. The picture was very noisy so I had to rigorously sharpen the photo to retain the detail.

Overall this photo has worked very well and I’m quite impressed with it. The editing worked very well and I think I’m slowly getting better at it.

Bex will be better very soon and will be back to blogging as normal. She says that she can’t wait to get back to blogging.

Mat

Branching Out

I was quite busy today but I managed to get out in the later part of the afternoon. Bex was busy today so I had to go out on my own. The weather was wonderful and I was looking at the beautiful sky when I saw these dead branches.

I thought that if I could silhouette them against the sky then it would make an interesting composition. I had to use quite a small aperture, because the depth of field is irrelevant. Also I underexposed the photo so that the branch is a silhouette. I really like the effect of the branch being a silhouette.

When I edited the photo I darkened the shadows to increase the effect of the silhouette. I also cropped out part of the tree in the left corner.

I really like the overall effect of the photo, also the editing made the photo look much better.

Mat

Secluded

Bex and I went for a wander down the local nature reserve for some inspiration and photographic opportunities. We walked past a bush which normally I would have walked past but I saw it from an odd angle and thought it looked rather interesting.

I walked closer to crop out the rest of the bush, and also to alter the perspective. I used the widest aperture I could to blur the background. By blurring the bush, it stops it from being a distracting background. I used the pop-up flash as a fill in flash, because the group of leaves were in shadow.

When I took the photos off the camera, they needed editing quite a bit. So I increased the contrast while also reducing the brightness. This has the effect of blacking out the background and focussing more attention onto the main subject.

Overall I really like the effect of the photo with the background being blacked out and the leaf being very sharp in the foreground. I think the editing was very successful.

Mat

Summer Flowers

I went on another wander today; this time on my own. I went down to the local canal, as I really like the landscape. I went out for about an hour and took quite a few photos! I think that this has to be one of my favourites from the day.

The group of flowers caught my eye as I walked past because the composition was perfect. I used a very wide aperture to make sure I had a short depth of field, to keep only the central flower in focus. Also, I set the photo up so other flowers surrounded the central one to create a better composition.

In the editing stage I increased the saturation and the colour temperature. I did this to make the photo more vibrant. I really like the effect as I think it summarised the beautiful day perfectly. I didn’t crop the photo because I had set up the composition previously.

I may go for another wander tomorrow if I get the chance and the weather stays this nice. I really enjoy going for walks and taking photos in the sunshine- I hope you're enjoying the weather as well.

Mat

Rather Odd

While out on a wander today I spotted this really odd plant; I think it was a flower but I honestly have no idea what it is but I thought that it would make an interesting. Fortunately, Bex had let me borrow her camera today- I took well over 200 hundred photos!

I thought the best composition for this photo was to have the flower right in the centre of the frame, with the background out of focus. I also used the flash to highlight the green parts and to increase the reflection of the rain drops. I boosted the green and red slightly in the camera so that the flower would look more colourful.

After I uploaded the photo onto the computer I decided to improve it in photoshop. I tried a few different techniques but none of them worked successfully; so I asked Bex to have a go at editing. She cropped the photo and increased the contrast, while decreasing the brightness. I really like what she did, the effect that she gave it was much better than any of my other attempts!

I really like this photo, the camera did a good job using the correct exposure, and Bex made it even better with her amazing editing skills. The effect is exactly what I wanted when I took the photo and I really like having the background blurred with boosted reds and greens.

Mat

Setting

It’s mine and Mat’s last evening on holiday together so after we ate we decided to go for a mini photography wander along the local canal. It was about 9pm so the sun was beginning to set.

We didn’t get very far down the canal; the cameras took over and we sat on a bench to take some shots of the sunset. It’s been a cloudy and somewhat miserable day- the clouds hadn’t lifted by the evening.

I love how the trees are just silhouettes; the black really makes the colours in the sky stand out. I increased the saturation in Photoshop when we got back. I know it’s not the most impressive sunset ever, but I loved the colours and wanted to share my last evening on holiday with you.

Bex

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