Photographers' Union Thread

[major_panic]

Hello there people,

Well in my travails and sojourns here in the Lemonade Stand, I've noticed that we have quite a lot of photographers on Interference. Now, I also noticed that while we have a lot of threads for specific photography, we don't have a thread for photographers at all. This seemed like a bit of a travesty, so I thought it might be a good idea to start one.

So I guess the idea behind this thread is that it's somewhere that all photographers can come, discuss, learn and get new ideas and techniques from. Everyone perceives things differently to everyone else, and so we can all learn a lot from one another, whether we're just starting out or have been photographing for ages.

I'll start off the thread by way of an introduction, and hope everyone else will do the same sorta thing:

I've only been a serious photographer for about 3 months now; over Christmas I got my cousin's old Canon 300D (with an 18-55 and a 75-300 lens) as he was upgrading to something better.

I've only actually had four or five specific trips to go out and take photos, and so I consider myself an absolute beginner to this whole thing. I'm still a bit scared of things like shooting in RAW - that'll be my next project - and I have had no photography classes or training of any sort.

I do attend a church very regularly, so I guess most of my experience (all of what, ten days' worth) will be in band photography. I'm also very interested in landscape photography and just everything in general.

And now, a picture or two that I've taken:

Thanks for reading, please join in, don't let this thread die!

 

[mad1]

I like the third one!

 

[Justin24]

Hello my name is Justin. I post photos in the scenic thread. I have been photographing landscape and portraits for six years. I have a nikon d200, before the nikon I had a canon rebel xt. The lenses I use are 18-50mm, 55-200mm, 75-300mm, 85mm,50mm, and 17-55mm. I have a studio kit which includes strobes and continuous lighting. I am building my portfolio. I have released a coffee table book, one of. Photos was chosen by kodak as picture of the day and displayed in NY times square on their jumbo tron screen. I have done a photo shoot for zoostation a U2 tribute band. I am going to Ecuador for 2 weeks in June for a photo project.

 

[Justin24]

I recommend shooting in Raw, but you will need photoshop to edit the pictures and save them in jpg format. Don't worry raw is like a negative the original will not be ruined. Pssst I have only taken 2 classes I think learning on your own is best but it does not hurt to read or take a class or two.

 

[Justin24]

Are you from Ireland majorpanic? The last pic of the church and statue looks familiar. Cork?

 

[Justin24]

To get this effect.

Put the camera on a tripod a very sturdy tripod. A shutter release cable. Make sure your lens is on manual focus and not automatic. Make sure your camera is on manual mode to and have the aperture go to bulb so when you use the shutter release cable and lock it in place the mirror stays up exposing the photo to as much light as possible. I used an F-11 setting at ISO 400. White Balance was automatic and the focal length was 18mm. The exposure time was 309.6 seconds

Have the subject stand back from the camera but facing it. Have them shine a light (flashlight) for about 20 seconds, then have them turn off the light. cover the lens with your hand but try not to touch the lens. Then have the subject move forward a bit more and repeat the process.

You can change the setting to how you want it to look and you don't have to expose it for that long (309.6 seconds)

 

[MissVelvetDress_75]

What a cool photo!

 

[major_panic]

Hey Justin, no I'm not from Ireland, the photo is actually from Hyde Park in Sydney. I'm from Melbourne.

That is a ridiculously cool photo, but incredibly complicated. At the moment, I'm just learning how to use ISO, aperture, shutter speed and balance them.

For example, high ISO (1600 I think), large aperture and I think a mediumish shutter speed of about 1/128 for concert photography:

What sort of recommendations do people have for various settings? For example, I'm heading off to Wilsons Prom tommorrow, which is a beachy place with a pier. I was thinking probably some long exposure shots, low ISO, mid-range aperture - all depending on the situation, of course.

 

[Justin24]

Ok first off if your going to do a long exposure then use a tripod! If you don't have a wireless or wired shutter release cable then set your camera on a timer mmm 20 second exposure should be fine if there is light. If it over exposes due to to much light cut down the time or use a lower iso. I recommend either a 100 to a 400 iso. Bulb (which leaves the mirror open) or a timed exposure which I mentioned above. Also what's the lowest {-stop your lenses go to? The lower the better for low light. Example your lens lowest stop is 1.4 is extreemely well for low light conditions too. Major panic email me at justinschlesinger@gmail.com if you need more assistance.

 

[Justin24]

Major this would explain better than me. Long Exposures

 

[bonocomet]

Ooh nice thread idea. My daughter is a photographer (not pro yet but hoping to make a career of it) Our main newspaper in San Diego has used her work a few times now, and she's the photographer for the company we work for. I'll tell her about this thread.

 

[BVS]

To get this effect.

Put the camera on a tripod a very sturdy tripod. A shutter release cable. Make sure your lens is on manual focus and not automatic. Make sure your camera is on manual mode to and have the aperture go to bulb so when you use the shutter release cable and lock it in place the mirror stays up exposing the photo to as much light as possible. I used an F-11 setting at ISO 400. White Balance was automatic and the focal length was 18mm. The exposure time was 309.6 seconds

Have the subject stand back from the camera but facing it. Have them shine a light (flashlight) for about 20 seconds, then have them turn off the light. cover the lens with your hand but try not to touch the lens. Then have the subject move forward a bit more and repeat the process.

You can change the setting to how you want it to look and you don't have to expose it for that long (309.6 seconds)

Great photo Justin!

I did a lot of experimentation with long exposures when I took photagraphy in hs and college...

Another trick I used to play with is a long exposure but changing your zoom while you're exposing. So either zoom in or zoom out while exposing and you get a great effect, if done right the center still remains focused and the surroundings create a blurry tunnel. It can create some great shots, key is a very sturdy tripod and a smooth zoom.

 

[jets]

Great idea for a thread !

I'm Pete in Newcastle Australia & just started possting on interference (despite registering ages ago....)

I've been doing photography on & off for a few years, now using an Olympus E 3-30 & gradually building with a few lenses.

I started just shooting sport, mainly soccer & cycling & now getting more interested in landscapes.

I see the benefit of shooting in RAW, but am too lazy to post-process

Sport:

And Landscape

 

[Sicy]

Woah that one is pretty cool.

 

[major_panic]

I'm really annoyed. Went all the way to Wilson's Prom, and it ended up being overcast and not sunny, which kinda sucked. Granted, I had a good time there with family, but I didn't get many photos. But here's what I did get:

 

[Justin24]

The best times to shoot are sunrise/very early morning and sunset. The worst times to shoot are any time from 10 am to 330pm. To much light can wash out a pic unless your using a lens hood, neutral density filter or UV filter.

 

[randhail]

Two questions for the more seasoned photographers here:

I'm going to be spending 3-4 day in Yosemite this summer as well as 2 days in Santa Cruz and was wondering if it's worth my while to lug a tripod around with me on the trip - more specifically taking it with my on my hikes at Yosemite.

Second, I've got a 40d and have the 17-40L lens and am wondering if I should consider getting something wider (like the sigma 10-20)?

 

[Justin24]

To answer your first question. I would not bring a tripod unless you camping and plan on taking dusk or dawn shots, you hands are shakey or you plan to put your self in the photo. Having a tripod will only add wait if you need a stable surface try find a boulder. This is my recommendation but its always up to you. They do sell aluminum light weight tripods too.

As far as lenses go there is also the 14-24mm lens but it is quite pricey. The 17 to 40 should be fine. If you ever want to try a lens out go to BorrowLenses.com - Camera Rental and Canon/Nikon Lens Rental

 

[ntalwar]

I'd have to say bring a tripod. Most if not all serious landscape photographers use them.

Second, I've got a 40d and have the 17-40L lens and am wondering if I should consider getting something wider (like the sigma 10-20)?

I think that body has a 1.6 crop factor, so the 17 is really 27mm . The 17-40 would work great on my full-frame body (and I will probably buy one). I'd browse flickr etc for other photos taken with that body/lens and see what type of shots are taken.

 

[Justin24]

i hardly use a tripod for landscape

 

[randhail]

I'd have to say bring a tripod. Most if not all serious landscape photographers use them.



I think that body has a 1.6 crop factor, so the 17 is really 27mm . The 17-40 would work great on my full-frame body (and I will probably buy one). I'd browse flickr etc for other photos taken with that body/lens and see what type of shots are taken.

I'd hardly consider myself a serious landscape photographer, but I'd love to get some nice shots at dawn and dusk and had a feeling a tripod would be necessary. I know that Manfrotto seems to be the choice amongst many photographers, but do you know of any decent ones that are relatively cheap (say around $100) and lightweight enough to be taken on some long hikes?

The 40 is a 1.6x crop so you're right on with the actual length. I've been poking around the photography on the net forums and it seems like a wider lends would be a good choice. We've have to see what the funds allow though.

Another question that I thought of it would renting a longer lens (70-200) be a decent idea? I've got the 28-135 kit lens which is pretty good, but have read that some people recommend the longer reach to get more detail in the photos.

 

[ntalwar]

^ I think Slik makes some good compact tripods. I need to get a decent one, and I want a pistol-grip head. Not too familiar with the big zooms.

Luminous landscape might have good advice on it.

 

[randhail]

Thanks, I'll have to check them out.

 

[ntalwar]

Another thing with landscapes is exposure bracketing. So you'll need a tripod for stuff like HDR and making composite images later.

 

[Justin24]

randhail i recommend BorrowLenses.com - Camera Rental and Canon/Nikon Lens Rental if you want to rent lenses. since you will be in the bay area they are localb her in sf and you can save money on shipping.

 

[Justin24]

forgot about bracketing. yes remember to bracket. you take 3 different exposures and see which has the better exposure. ntalwar whats hdr?

 

[ntalwar]

forgot about bracketing. yes remember to bracket. you take 3 different exposures and see which has the better exposure. ntalwar whats hdr?

See flickr for examples - it stands for high dynamic range. It's basically blending and used a lot for landscapes. When the foreground is dark and the background is bright, it helps to merge images with different exposures. You have to use a low iso, a tripod, and aperture priority for it. Or a ND filter can be used.

 

[randhail]

randhail i recommend BorrowLenses.com - Camera Rental and Canon/Nikon Lens Rental if you want to rent lenses. since you will be in the bay area they are localb her in sf and you can save money on shipping.

Nice, if I decide to go with a 70-200 lens, I'll to give these guys a chance.

 

[randhail]

Another thing with landscapes is exposure bracketing. So you'll need a tripod for stuff like HDR and making composite images later.

I've never tried the bracketing and HDR, but it definitely something I want to take a shot at.

 

[TranceEnding]

Hello there people,

Well in my travails and sojourns here in the Lemonade Stand, I've noticed that we have quite a lot of photographers on Interference. Now, I also noticed that while we have a lot of threads for specific photography, we don't have a thread for photographers at all. This seemed like a bit of a travesty, so I thought it might be a good idea to start one.

So I guess the idea behind this thread is that it's somewhere that all photographers can come, discuss, learn and get new ideas and techniques from. Everyone perceives things differently to everyone else, and so we can all learn a lot from one another, whether we're just starting out or have been photographing for ages.

I'll start off the thread by way of an introduction, and hope everyone else will do the same sorta thing:

I've only been a serious photographer for about 3 months now; over Christmas I got my cousin's old Canon 300D (with an 18-55 and a 75-300 lens) as he was upgrading to something better.

I've only actually had four or five specific trips to go out and take photos, and so I consider myself an absolute beginner to this whole thing. I'm still a bit scared of things like shooting in RAW - that'll be my next project - and I have had no photography classes or training of any sort.

I do attend a church very regularly, so I guess most of my experience (all of what, ten days' worth) will be in band photography. I'm also very interested in landscape photography and just everything in general.

And now, a picture or two that I've taken:

Thanks for reading, please join in, don't let this thread die!

hey, I haven't done any visiting or posting here for a reeeeeeaaally long time 'til now ... major panic, these photo's are AMAZING !! And you're only starting NOW?!?!

I love the Fender pic and the third shot You've got a freakin' great eye .. wonderful imagery