Perched

On the way from my early morning walk I spotted a smaller bird flying around; it was flying from tree to tree. It finally perched on one tree long enough for me to take a photo of it. I didn’t have very long to capture the photo before would fly off again.

I already had the telephoto lens attached to my camera so I put the camera into AI servo focus mode and focused and released the focus button then recomposed, so the bird was in the right hand side of the frame looking into the left hand side. I had the camera in shutter priority with a shutter speed of 1/500^th of a second selected, as this would ensure the photo was sharp with no blurring.

I didn’t edit the photo because I was very pleased with the effect that I had created. I didn’t crop the photo because I liked the composition that I had created.

I’m glad I got a chance to photograph a blue tit as it is one of my favourite birds, and very hard to capture a photo of! Hopefully I will get a chance to photograph another one soon.

Mat

Flowering

On the walk I went on yesterday, after attempting to photograph the sunrise I decided to take some photos of the flowers near-by. As the sun was still rising it created a warmer glow on the flowers which created an interesting effect on the orange pattern.

To take full advantage of the warm glow I used a warm white balance, which emphasises the early morning glow of the sun. Instead of using my standard lens I used my telephoto lens as I wanted a very short depth of field. Also I used my flashgun to give the photo some extra punch. I was using manual mode to preselect an aperture of F5.6 and an aperture of 1/300^th of a second. I left the camera to select the ISO automatically.

To edit the photo I increased the contrast and adjusted the white balance to give the photo more vibrancy. I didn’t change anything else because I liked the effect that I had created. I liked the composition that I captured.

Bex and I are planning a photography wander this weekend so we should both have more photos for us to upload throughout the holiday.

Mat

Texture

It’s still winter, and the bleak colourlessness is set continue for a while yet. I have had a busy few days, so haven’t had chance to go for a walk. Whilst looking through my computer for a recent photo to upload, I found an image from an Autumnal trip to the city centre. This photo was taken on the outskirts of town, near to the long stretch of pathway lined with trees that I’ve mentioned on several previous occasions.

I took this photo using an aperture of F5.6 to get a shallow depth of field; I did this to make the amount of texture in the tree appear greater, and to focus on the main branch at the front. I focused on this branch as I liked the shape; it added more interest to the photo. After I took the photo, I edited it. I increased the brightness and contrast to make the image seem more eye catching, and increased the saturation to add vibrancy. I also increased the sharpness, but this was just to pick out finer details in the leaves.

Sometimes I think it’s nice to make an image a little abstract; it makes you think about the photo to a further extent than a hearty “that’s pretty” before moving on. I also think it allows you to focus a little less on small pieces of the composition, making the most of what’s in front of you.

Bex
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Early Waters

Today I decided to get up before dawn to try and capture the sun as it was rising. So I got up and set up my camera equipment about twenty minutes before the sun was due to rise. Unfortunately the sky had mostly clouded over by the time I set up but I decided to carry on anyway.

I put the camera into manual and set the AF into manual mode as well so I could have complete control over every setting. I had set the camera up on my tripod. I set the aperture to F10 to keep the whole scene sharp from front to back. I had preselected the ISO speed to ISO 100 to keep as much detail as possible; I then completed the exposure with a shutter speed of 30 seconds. As I was using a tripod I didn’t need to worry about the long exposure.

To edit the photo, I rotated the rotated the image, and increased the contrast. Before, the image looked a bit flat so by increasing the contrast it makes the photo look punchier. I also increased the saturation to make the sky more orange and to make the photo look more vivid.

I enjoyed my early morning photoshoot, it was a pity that the clouds had set in, but I still enjoyed it. Maybe sometime soon I will go out again to try and capture the sun rising.

Mat

High Flyers

On the walk around our local duckpond, as I previously mentioned there was a lot of birds flying around. As they passed overhead in large groups they made some interesting compositions.

As I had the telephoto lens on this helped to crop into the group of birds. I was using shutter priority with a shutter speed of 1/500^th second; this was fast enough to freeze the birds as they flew past. I didn’t use the built in flash because it wouldn’t have been powerfull enough to reach the birds. The camera selected an aperture of F 5 at ISO 100 to give the correct exposure.

To edit the photo I increased the contrast, lowered the highlight and increased the shadows. I did this to brighten up the undersides of the birds. By increasing the contrast this introduces some extra punch into the photo. I also adjusted the white balance, because this makes the sky look much bluer and makes the photo more dynamic.

I’m very happy with the editing I did to this photo, the photo looks a lot better than when I started. For most of my editing I use the edit software that came with my camera. It works very well and creates very pleasing results.

Mat

Reflecting Twilight

On our walk through town earlier this week we decided to take a walk alongside the harbour. Moored up on one side of the harbour was a boat that had been turned into a restaurant. Opposite the boat was jetty that extended out into the harbour.

To compose the photo I walked along to the end and set my camera up on its tripod. This would ensure that the photo remained sharp across the frame. I then put the camera into aperture priority and selected aperture F18 at ISO100, this gave a shutter speed of 1/30^th of a second. There was a lot of sun around so I decided against using a flash gun as I thought it would spoil the effect of the water.

While editing the photo I thought I would try something different, in the exposure editing section there is an option called: linear. I haven’t found many uses for it so far but I really think it makes the photo look as if was taken during the evening and it creates quite a spooky atmosphere. I didn’t crop the photo because I like how I had framed the photo with the boat and water disappearing off towards the cranes in the right hand corner.

I’m glad I tried experimenting with the editing software or I wouldn’t have created this interesting effect. I’m not sure how useful it will be in the future but I will try out I’m sure.

Mat

Stormy Horizon

I took this photo on Tuesday when I visited town with Mat; after we stopped for coffee, we walked along the harbour side. The British weather isn’t very reliable at the best of times, but it didn’t seem too bad when we got off of the bus; we were sorely mistaken. Whilst walking along the harbour, the sky began to get darker, and streaks of rain became visible. As photogenic as this was; it’s needless to say that we didn’t stay much longer!!!

I tried to under-expose this shot to capture the full presence of the storm, with all the layers within- I think I managed this incredibly well. For some reason, there appear to be vertical lines stretching throughout the image that I couldn’t edit out. Never the less, I liked the image and chose to upload it regardless. I sharpened the picture in Photoshop, to enhance the prominence of the flags and other details of the ship. I also increased contrast in an attempt to make the clouds more dramatic. Apart from this, I have not edited the image, as I didn’t want to make the lines any worse.

I’m really pleased with this image; I think we were very lucky on two accounts. The first being the picturesque scene, the second being that we made it on the bus before the heavens opened!!

Bex
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