We've had snow on the ground for over 3 weeks now, without even a single blade of frozen grass peeking through. If I go outside I feel like I'm living in an old B&W film. Or maybe a photograph with a bit of selective color!
The branches of the trees are bending low to the ground with the weight of the ice and snow
Canon 17-55mm f/2.8IS
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/2000)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 55 mm
Exposure: +1.85
ISO Speed: 200
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Day 29-365 "It's a White, Black (and Gray) World"
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Day 28-365 "Ice Blanket"
We were expecting a lot of snow last night, but after a few hours it turned to icy rain. Very bad for leaving the house. Schools are closed, and it is very dreary. One saving grace: the trees are beautiful. Unfortunately, you have to stand in the freezing rain to get a shot. A few quick snaps while trying to protect my camera kept me from getting too many or even taking time to compose well.
Winter; when will it end?
Canon 50mm 1.4
Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/3.2
Focal Length: 50 mm
Exposure: +0.10
ISO Speed: 200
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Day 27-365 "Art Gallery?"
I'm not particularly fond of showing the photographs I take (except on flickr ;-)), but I have an upstairs hallway where I keep some black-framed ones. Almost no one goes down this hallway, even my family. It leads to a room that has my computer where I download my images. I'm getting tired of seeing the image as on the wall and as you can see, I'm slowly trying to change them out.
Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 IS
Exposure: 0.04 sec (1/25)
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 17 mm
Exposure: -0.35
ISO Speed: 400
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: On
Monday, January 26, 2009
A Guide to Shooting Self-Portraits for Those Who Are Afraid to Try
Last year I finished 365 days of continuous self-portraits. Although this is not unusual - a lot of photographers have done it - I found it a wonderful challenge that taught me a lot. Since completing it, I've had a number people ask me for tips and I'd like to encourage everyone to try it. After all, you will never find a more willing subject than yourself!
For your first attempt, try one that is easy: a mirror shot.
Get your reflection in focus and be aware of the background to make sure it is not distracting. Make sure you have enough light; an on camera flash will probably not work well here. You can get a little more creative with this idea by finding other reflective surfaces to use.
Next, try a shot without the reflective crutch. A tripod will be immensely helpful for this, but you can improvise with tables, beanbags, whatever is handy and will hold your camera still. The self-timer on your camera will be really helpful for this. If you have a wireless remote, even better. The remote will keep you from running back and forth to constantly take each shot. Set your camera for a narrow aperture to get more of you in focus. Wide open apertures can make wonderful self-portraits, but until you get comfortable with focusing, narrow will be more helpful at keeping things in focus. You may find yourself doing a lot of trial and error shots to begin with. It's not necessarily a bad thing. You will start finding out what works and what doesn't and soon you will find what steps you can eliminate.
One of the most difficult things to figure out is how to focus on yourself. You can set up a shot using something as a stand-in (a chair, a lamp, a lightstand, a teddy bear), set your timer and then take your stand-ins place. It can work, but not necessarily efficiently. Eventually, for close-ups, I would just chose the focal point I wanted on my camera, stand in front of the lens using my wireless remote, and push the button halfway, moving my body until my lens focused on me. There are other techniques such as using a flashlight in a dark room to get the camera's autofocus to focus on the thing it "sees", what your flashlight is highlighting.
If you are not comfortable in front of the camera (one of the reasons most of us are photographers), remember that you can act as foolish as you like. No one needs to see the outtakes but you. Try dancing, singing or listening to music to loosen up. Make silly faces, use a prop. As for smiling? Wulf said something once when we were all thinking about doing self portraits,
"Try chuckling to your self as you take the picture - I found it gives a more natural looking smile than actually trying to smile."
Oddly enough, it works.
Equipment you might need? Get a point and shoot camera and you're set. But if you have a DSLR and the aforementioned tripod and remote, you might want to add a 50mm lens. I used all my lenses at one time or another (except the 100mm macro, I didn't want to get THAT close), but the nifty fifty was my workhorse, giving me sharp headshots and dealing with often insufficient lighting.
Remember that self-portraits are not just facial shots. A shot of your hand playing a piano keyboard, your feet with swim fins, or your nose sniffing a flower can tell a great deal about you. Take silly shots, and ones that serious. Record important events and everyday ones. Analyze your images and decide what worked, what didn't and use what you learned.
Once you get the basics down, start getting creative. Try wide angle close-ups, ghetto lighting, high ISO, natural lighting, and, yes, intentionally out of focus shots. Go into your editing program and see what you can do to enhance the image. Cropping often saves a shot that didn't quite come out the way you hoped. A wonderful by-product of doing so many self-portraits was that my editing skills improved quite a bit, as well as my knowledge of lighting and camera settings.
So try some self-portraits and post them here on the forum or be brave and try a threesixtyfive or a fiftytwo. Stick with it and you will be surprised at how much you learn!
For your first attempt, try one that is easy: a mirror shot.
Get your reflection in focus and be aware of the background to make sure it is not distracting. Make sure you have enough light; an on camera flash will probably not work well here. You can get a little more creative with this idea by finding other reflective surfaces to use.
Next, try a shot without the reflective crutch. A tripod will be immensely helpful for this, but you can improvise with tables, beanbags, whatever is handy and will hold your camera still. The self-timer on your camera will be really helpful for this. If you have a wireless remote, even better. The remote will keep you from running back and forth to constantly take each shot. Set your camera for a narrow aperture to get more of you in focus. Wide open apertures can make wonderful self-portraits, but until you get comfortable with focusing, narrow will be more helpful at keeping things in focus. You may find yourself doing a lot of trial and error shots to begin with. It's not necessarily a bad thing. You will start finding out what works and what doesn't and soon you will find what steps you can eliminate.
One of the most difficult things to figure out is how to focus on yourself. You can set up a shot using something as a stand-in (a chair, a lamp, a lightstand, a teddy bear), set your timer and then take your stand-ins place. It can work, but not necessarily efficiently. Eventually, for close-ups, I would just chose the focal point I wanted on my camera, stand in front of the lens using my wireless remote, and push the button halfway, moving my body until my lens focused on me. There are other techniques such as using a flashlight in a dark room to get the camera's autofocus to focus on the thing it "sees", what your flashlight is highlighting.
If you are not comfortable in front of the camera (one of the reasons most of us are photographers), remember that you can act as foolish as you like. No one needs to see the outtakes but you. Try dancing, singing or listening to music to loosen up. Make silly faces, use a prop. As for smiling? Wulf said something once when we were all thinking about doing self portraits,
"Try chuckling to your self as you take the picture - I found it gives a more natural looking smile than actually trying to smile."
Oddly enough, it works.
Equipment you might need? Get a point and shoot camera and you're set. But if you have a DSLR and the aforementioned tripod and remote, you might want to add a 50mm lens. I used all my lenses at one time or another (except the 100mm macro, I didn't want to get THAT close), but the nifty fifty was my workhorse, giving me sharp headshots and dealing with often insufficient lighting.
Remember that self-portraits are not just facial shots. A shot of your hand playing a piano keyboard, your feet with swim fins, or your nose sniffing a flower can tell a great deal about you. Take silly shots, and ones that serious. Record important events and everyday ones. Analyze your images and decide what worked, what didn't and use what you learned.
Once you get the basics down, start getting creative. Try wide angle close-ups, ghetto lighting, high ISO, natural lighting, and, yes, intentionally out of focus shots. Go into your editing program and see what you can do to enhance the image. Cropping often saves a shot that didn't quite come out the way you hoped. A wonderful by-product of doing so many self-portraits was that my editing skills improved quite a bit, as well as my knowledge of lighting and camera settings.
So try some self-portraits and post them here on the forum or be brave and try a threesixtyfive or a fiftytwo. Stick with it and you will be surprised at how much you learn!
Day 26-365 "No, unfortunately theses are not life size :-("
Salted caramels are pretty near perfect. Sweet almost liquid caramel surrounded by dark chocolate and topped with just enough saltiness to compliment the sweet. Yum!
Canon 100mm macro
Exposure: 0.25 sec (1/4)
Aperture: f/8.0
Focal Length: 100 mm
Exposure: +0.30
ISO Speed: 100
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Day 25-365 "Intricate Carving"
Still freezing outside, so I'm looking around my house for things to shoot.
This is the top of an antique piece we own. It is the top edge of a large marble-topped chest with a mirrored piece on top. The entire thing is quite large, but it was originally a shaving stand built by my husband's great-great-grandfather, Josiah Niece around the time of the Civil War. It's beautifully done in black walnut with the hand-carved features above. Ah, the stories it could tell!
Canon 85mm 1.8
Exposure: 0.4
Aperture: f/1.8
Focal Length: 85 mm
Exposure: -0.10
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: On
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Day 24-365 "Broken"
Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 100 mm
Exposure: +1.05
ISO Speed: 100
Day 23-365 "Clean Car"
Ok, I know this is bad. Real bad. You start the day with good photographic intentions ("It's beautiful out. The snow is melting. I'll take some outdoor shots when I get time!") HA! You find yourself after dark, in the garage trying to take a shot of the car you washed because that's what you did instead of shooting outside in the nice weather. You learn some things. There is an incredible glare on a clean car lit with garage lights and a flash. There is no room in the garage for a person with a camera. ISO 1600 can only do so much.
Well, at least I didn't break the 365!
Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/1.4
Focal Length: 50 mm
Exposure: -0.05
ISO Speed: 1600
Exposure Bias: +1 EV
Day 23-365 Apples
Exposure: 0.8
Aperture: f/8.0
Focal Length: 85 mm
Exposure: +0.25
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: -1 EV
Day 21-365 "Oatmeal Cookie Bokeh"
...with a very shallow dof! HBW!
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/800)
Aperture: f/1.4
Focal Length: 50 mm
Exposure: 0.00
ISO Speed: 200
Day 20-365 "Yearning for a Summer Day"
This started out as an experiment for the DPS assignment "High ISO", but all the high ISO did here was make my furniture look dusty. Not that it wasn't a bit dusty anyhow, but this was not the effect I wanted.
Anyway, little Loki either was so entranced by the snow that he didn't notice my camera or he didn't care. Hmm...maybe he will turn into a camera-friendly kitty after all, though I doubt he will ever become the model Teewinot's Oliver has become ;-)!
Exposure: 1/2500 sec
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 44 mm
Exposure: -0.15
ISO Speed: 1600
Day 19-365 "Throw-away"
Bad, bad achy back today. One of those days where you didn't all night from pain and the day light doesn't bring relief. Couldn't forget my 365 though so I took a pic through a window and that's it. Definitely a throw away shot under normal circumstances. But I did catch a drip ;-)!
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1000)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 50 mm
Exposure: +0.35
ISO Speed: 100
Day 18-365 "Negative Space"
One thing I hardly ever do is use negative space when I compose a picture. Had a little try at it this afternoon. I think I'll try to explore this concept a little more later.
My shots were all a little off kilter because I kept sinking into the snow :-).
Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 53 mm
Exposure: +1.55
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: +2 EV
Day 17-365 "Little Sprouts"
All the little herbs in the Aero garden I got for Christmas are now sprouting and looking so sweet and delicate. Hope they get big enough to use soon.
My daughter-in -law's is probably further along than mine now.
Exposure: 0.077 sec (1/13)
Aperture: f/8.0
Focal Length: 100 mm
Exposure: -0.35
ISO Speed: 100
Day 16-365 "Sushi!"
New little sushi restaurant opened up nearby, so my daughter and I went to lunch. Excellent spicy tuna rolls and tuna cucumber rolls. Funny, there was a time when the idea of raw tuna, well...
Not happy with the focus, but when I pulled out the camera the waitress came over to watch and made me a bit self-conscious. I told her it was so pretty I had to photograph it and then I put my camera away without checking my settings.
Exposure: 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 50 mm
Exposure: +0.60
ISO Speed: 100
Day 15-365 "Cashmere and Pearls"
This started out as a picture without me in it. How I ended up in this I have no idea.
Exposure: 0.077 sec (1/13)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 85 mm
Exposure: -0.05
ISO Speed: 100
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Day 14-365 "Beyond the Garden Gate..."
...is some very cold bokeh!
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1600)
Aperture: f/1.4
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire
Day 13-365 "Just Go with the Snow"
No more complaining about the cold snowy weather outside. Just work with it.
Doing a fake TtV the other day, and then talking to Kristybee www.flickr.com/photos/lilylove/ about it, made me think I should break out my Duaflex and use it outside. I had fun for 5 minutes until my fingers got cold and stiff. So this is what's left. I edited it a bit to try and get an old color photograph feel, but not much I could do with the composition. So I guess I'm complaining about the cold again :-)!
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/400)
Aperture: f/1.4
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire
Monday, January 12, 2009
Day 12-365 "Simple Pleasures of Winter"
I am feeling a little "whited out" at the moment. The cold weather is keeping the snow on the ground and I feel a little chilled all the time. Best thing to do is look for something that you would not enjoy half as much in a warmer mouth, but gives you a bit of joy when it's cold. Hot chocolate with handmade marshmallows fits the bill. Not cocoa, you understand, which is a different treat, but hot chocolate, where delicate shavings of chocolate are stirred into hot milk and melt into a rich, mellow and smooth drink with an aroma that can take you back to childhood or a European cafe, whatever you are in the mood for.
Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/6.3
Focal Length: 31 mm
ISO Speed: 400
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash fired, red-eye reduction
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Day 11-365 "Remembrance"
I went out to take some snow pics today. Got back and started playing around with them. This was my least favorite shot until I did a little editing on it. It then triggered some hazy memory of my childhood, being pulled along a snowy street on a sled by my mother. Doesn't even really look like my old street, but the feeling is the same: pines weighted by heavy snow, flakes falling all around, the quiet broken only by crunching footsteps, the feeling that the world was all black and white and gray.
So that is why it became my photo of the day.
Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture: f/8
Focal Length: 31 mm
ISO Speed: 400
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Day 10-365 "Through My Window on a Snowy Day"
I was going to wait until after the snowfall to go out and take some shots, but unfortunately it turned into a light icy rain and I was less than enthusiastic. So I took a shot through a window. I was less than enthusiastic. What could I do? Play in Photoshop! Four results. I am less than enthusiastic. Winter is a good time to practice though.
1. (Top left) Boosted color, contrast, added vignette.
2. (Top right) Sepia tint, contrast, sharpen
3. (Bottom left) B&W, film grain, fake TTV (that's all I remember
4. (Bottom right) B&W, sharpen, contrast
Friday, January 9, 2009
Day 8-365 "Rare Cat Photo"
This is a shot of the rare Loki cat, found in this part of the world. It is fond of humans, but does not like to be photographed. Indeed, only minutes after this shot was taken, he attacked my shooting hand as a warning not to invade his area again. of course, as is his nature, he immediately felt shame and remorse for the attack and gripped my hand tightly and tried to lick it to death.
Exposure: 0.077 sec (1/13)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 400
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash fired, red-eye reduction
Day 8-365 "How Low Can You Go?"
Meet my new tripod. Has this lovely trick of being able to get nice and low for a shot. Old tripod is a bit jealous. I had to explain he would still be the go-to guy for hikes as Mr. Show-off has a bit of heft to him. So he's unimpressed by the newcomer's tricks.
Sorry about the weird lighting. I was excited to get my new toy!
Lovely, Christmas in January!
Exposure: 0.077 sec (1/13)
Aperture: f/10
Focal Length: 31 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 1 EV
Flash: Flash did not fi
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Day 7-365 "Rainy Day with (just a bit of) Bokeh"
It's been nasty outside, cold icy rain yesterday (along with icy roads), more dreary rain today.
This is just a shot of one of my Christmas wreaths perched on the edge of my patio table. It's too yucky out to take it out to the compost pile, so it will have to sit there a few days. I opened the patio door for a quick pic. Too miserable to go outside for anything, even photography!
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/400)
Aperture: f/1.4
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 400
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire
Day 6-365 "All Eyes on Sid"
As you can tell, I've had very little practice in this area of photography and I don't think I'll be practicing it very much. Hockey is not the easiest thing to shoot. Lots of reflective white, fast moving players and if you're close, you have to shoot through glass and/or net, not to mention the people in front of you.
But the game was good - any win is good - and we saw some great players in action.
Exposure: 0.02 sec (1/50)
Aperture: f/9
Focal Length: 75 mm
ISO Speed: 400
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Day 5-365 Mending
I generally put off this task until there is a small pile and I realize I need something from it. Best to do on a sunny day with good light, the better to prick your fingers with.
BTW, it's hard to focus on a needle when you do a self-portrait. This was the closest I got to all of my tries and even then I had to help it along a bit in photoshop :-(.
Exposure: 0.4 sec (2/5)
Aperture: f/8
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire
Sunday, January 4, 2009
2009: A New Start
For this year, I'm going to start a Photo of the Day. I've been too lax at taking pictures, sometimes going days without shooting anything. I think this will be more interesting than the threesityfive self-portrait series I did last year. That taught me a lot about portrait photography and lighting among other things, but there is still so much to learn! Taking a daily shot also forces you to think about photography in some way everyday. I'm sure there will be a lot of disappointing entries, but that's not the point. It's to work on my skills.
Playing catch-up today :-)!
Day One: "New Year's Day Dinner"
Looks like I need to work on my food photography...
New Year's Day menu:
Individual Beef Wellingtons with Balsamic/Red Wine Sauce
Oven Roasted Potatoes and Green Beans
(Two Desserts!)
Creme Brulee
Apple Strudel
Sparkling Wine with St. Germaine
Day 2: "Christmas Ends"
Tomorrow all the decorations come down, so this is a last glimpse of one of the trees.
Day 3: "La Couronne de Roses"
My husband bought me two dozen roses. They look beautiful in the absence of holiday decorations.
Day 4: Paperwhite - "Spring in January"
My paperwhites are blooming! Cheerful little flowers, perfect for after Christmas when the decorations are down. Surely spring can't be far behind (LOL)!
These were a gift from our friends (and parents of my sweet DIL), Shirley and John. Thanks for Spring in January!
Playing catch-up today :-)!
Day One: "New Year's Day Dinner"
Looks like I need to work on my food photography...
New Year's Day menu:
Individual Beef Wellingtons with Balsamic/Red Wine Sauce
Oven Roasted Potatoes and Green Beans
(Two Desserts!)
Creme Brulee
Apple Strudel
Sparkling Wine with St. Germaine
Day 2: "Christmas Ends"
Tomorrow all the decorations come down, so this is a last glimpse of one of the trees.
Day 3: "La Couronne de Roses"
My husband bought me two dozen roses. They look beautiful in the absence of holiday decorations.
Day 4: Paperwhite - "Spring in January"
My paperwhites are blooming! Cheerful little flowers, perfect for after Christmas when the decorations are down. Surely spring can't be far behind (LOL)!
These were a gift from our friends (and parents of my sweet DIL), Shirley and John. Thanks for Spring in January!
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