Absolutely Quackers!

I’m back, I’m revived and I’m ready to blog!! I had a lovely time in Devon with plenty of retail therapy to keep me occupied!!!

On one of the days we went to a local shopping centre; I love it because it stretches from a main building around many winding streets and alleyways laced with markets and quintessentially British pubs. I’ve visited this particular area before, so I decided to take my camera as I missed out previously!!!

I spotted my first photographic opportunity not long after I walked into the main precinct. A man was promoting a local wildlife scheme, with a little help from a friend! The man walked side by side with this incredibly stylish duck! It was quite funny to watch everyone doing a double- take as they realised that this amusing site was actually  real!!

I tried to take a picture but had to use a high ISO to get a fast enough shutter speed to capture the duck before it moved. I couldn’t keep it’s attention long enough to take a decent photo, but when the man saw me he made the duck face me by walking along side.

There was a small roundabout behind it, which gave this shot more interest. I’ve been really into pictures with a more retro feel to them and as I increased the contrast the noise became more prominent creating this effect. I normally strive to illiminate this but I’ll admit that I liked it! To emphasise this, I sharpened the image, increased the contrast and used a grain effect in Photoshop.

I’m really pleased and slightly surprised that something a little arty can come from a snapshot, but sometimes these photos are the best type.

Bex

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Damp Grass

I had taken this photo on Sundays walk after the rain. This photo was taken about 3 feet away from the one I had taken on Sunday! I wasn’t sure which of the two photos I should upload, but I eventually decided that I should upload both of them.

To capture the whole scene, I used an aperture of F8; as the camera was close to the subject a small aperture was required to keep the depth of field large enough. I was experimenting with the pop-up flash on the camera. This time it worked very well, catching all the tiny droplets perfectly; I love how all the droplets reflect the light off the flash. It was quite late in the evening so I had to use a tripod as the shutter speed was 1/8^th of a second.

When editing the photo I decided to adjust the exposure, the photo was a bit dark and I thought it could do with a bit more light. I also increased the saturation because the photo was a bit bland for my liking. Also I cropped the photo down, I took out the left part of the frame because the grass was close to the lens and so was out of focus; also I think the composition has been greatly improved.

Hopefully Bex and I will get a chance to go out for a wander together soon. We have another trip planned soon, but we’re not sure when we will get a chance. When we do go we shall upload some of the photos to show you.

Mat

Green Arch

Bex and I managed to get out for a walk today, so we went for a quick wander round our local area. I managed to borrow Bex’s camera for a short while, so when I saw the branches leaning over I thought it would make an interesting composition.

To make the best composition I used the camera in portrait format. I used the camera in aperture priority and selected an aperture of F8 and a focal length of 14mm. By using these settings I ensured that the whole of the arch was in focus but the background was slightly out of focus. Also I metered of the tree in the background, by doing this the arch turns into a silhouette. I tried a few exposures and I felt that this one had the best effect.

When editing the photo I increased the saturation, I did this to bring increase the green in the photo and to make the colours more faithful to when I took the photo. Also I cropped the photo because I thought it would aid the composition if I took out the bottom right corner of the frame.

Overall I really like this photo, it came out how I wanted it to; with the arch silhouetted in the foreground and the tree in the background.

Mat

The Calm After The Storm

Today there was quite a lot of rain, not quite a storm but still a substantial amount. After the rain had passed and when I had a spare moment I decided to go out for walk. I didn’t have much time so I didn’t venture out too far.

The rain had settled and created some very interesting effects. To capture the droplets of rain on the grass I used an aperture of F5.6 this keeps the droplets sharp but also blurs the background to create a pleasing composition. I tried using the flash on this photo but I wasn’t getting the results I had hoped for; so instead I didn’t use the flash and the photos came out much better.

The only editing I did was to crop the photo down; I positioned the piece of grass into the top left corner of the frame. I think this improves the overall composition. I didn’t change anything else because I was pleased with the rest of the photo.

Bex is back from her holiday and has shown me the photos that she has taken, from the few that I have seen they all look fantastic and some may be on the blog very soon.

Mat

Bridging Leaves

This photo was taken during the wander Bex and I went on a few days go. Bex was taking photos of this leaf when I had an idea. I thought by using an off camera flash gun would make an interesting lighting effect.

So as Bex was taking the photo I held the flashgun for her. She used an aperture of F5.6 and a shutter speed of 1/6th of a second. By using a slow shutter speed the camera is able to sync with the flash gun. Using the flash off the camera created an interesting effect by lighting the underside of the leaf. It illuminates the leaf from a different angle creating a very different effect to normal lighting. We both really liked the effect of  using the off camera flash.

When editing the photo Bex and I had decided to only change the framing and the contrast. By cropping the photo so the leaf was in the bottom left corner of the frame, we both thought this really helped the composition of the photo. We also decided to increase the contrast, this makes the lighting effect ,much more dramatic.

We both really liked the effect of using the off camera flash, I’m definitely going to use it in some of my own photography.

Bex also says hello from her holiday, she had a great time today. And she is missing you all and can’t wait to get back with all her new photographic material.

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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