The Official non-auto Image thread

[rippergeo]

@jack33- where are those last two pics from? munnar? they look lovely!

here's this mornings sunrise, from kumbalangi bridge, cochin. gave up this morning's treadmill session for it, but I think it was totally worth it.

I've cut back on the PPing after recieving a few unfavourable reviews. Just contrast,saturation and exposure levels have been worked on.
I was shooting away madly, and only towards the last few photos on my 1GB card(which I filled in 1/2 hr) di I realise that I was shooting with the ISO set at 1600. which means almost 750mb and 20 mins of brilliant light wasted on extremely noisy shots. these 3 were the only decent ones I could get out of 1GB after I did the remaining shots at ISO 200.

[rjstyles69]

rippergeo nice shots man. Alas you really cant help mild $crew ups. So which side were you on Kumblangi or Perumbadappu ?

[rippergeo]

I was on the bridge connecting the perumpadappu and kumbalangi. looking east obviously
problem is, I mildly screw up in some way or the other all the time.
another time, I forget that I've been fiddling with the camera, the day before, and I leave it in manual focus and use it as a point and shoot. one more beautiful sunset wasted.

[A S H V I N]

damn nice shots you got there man. i lived in that area for so long and i have never witnessed anything as lovely! i realize that without PS things are way more demanding. like you have to really go for the perfect shots. but its good you are laying off it. because at times it does feel very un realistic.

[kpzen]

One macro from my side

[jack33]

Originally Posted by deepaktpatil

jack33, nice photos dude. Especially the macros, you are surely not a amateur there.

Thanks man.I still don't know 80% of the D80.Those macro shots are with my old nikon p&s.But this thread is helping me learn a lot,guys more and more tips please.
@rippergeo,it was shot in vattavada,about 45 kms from Munnar.That dam is about 2000 ft above Vattavada , a 4wd climb for about 3.5 kms.Those shots of Kumbalangi are amazing and has got that pro feel to it.

[Torqueguru]

@rippergeo
Man, nice clicks. That place is simply awesome, i am yet to catch a sunset there though.
@jack33
Were you using flash in ur macro shots?
Regards,
TG.

[kaushik_s]

Originally Posted by guyonblackybx

Thanks for liking the images.
This not done on PP, its processed on Photomatix. These kind of images are called as HDR(High Defintion Resolution) image. Picture with same frame but different exposure are merged to create these kind of images so that every detail can be brought out in one Image. There is no still camera that can produce HDR image though there are video cameras that claim to capture HDR (Correct me if I am wrong).

BTW what do you mean by Orton?

In Photoshop also you can do HDR (High Dynamic Range AFAIK ;-) ) i.e. blending photographs of difference exposures of exact same frame so that you can get the high dynamics range of the lighting situation. CCD/CMOS have a dynamic range of only around 5 stops or so[correct me if I'm wrong here]. We used to use Graduated ND's during film days to not to get blown-out skies or too dark shadow area during those kind of situations but it has it's limitations(although I use GND's now also). But HDR technique gives one much more control.

Part 2 : Anyway Orton is this technique, Creative Nature Photography - Orton Imagery

And here is one Photograph on which I've applied Orton, not great composition but just to show the technique,

[rippergeo]

I like macros that have been prepared. That is, the subject should be spotless. no dirt, no dust, no diseased areas. those are the pics that have maximum impact.
since we get so up close during macros, every small flaw in the subject is magnified.
also, isnt it better to click macros without the flash? the flash wipes out textures and details.
I wont try posting any macros.I'll get ripped to shreds
I'll stick to what I'm decent at.here's a sunset I clicked near my house.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Please give your suggestions-


2nd picture is intentionally over-exposed to get the transparency of petal. Any other way than over-exposing?

Also-
-Is it best to use, or not to use tripods for shooting flowers? Although tripods tend to give good results, setting them up on the level of flowers seem to be a very difficult task (for a beginner).

-For shooting B&W pictures, is it best to shoot in B&W from camera itself? Or is it better to convert to B&W using PS?

[deepaktpatil]

Originally Posted by kaushik_s

Part 2 : Anyway Orton is this technique, Creative Nature Photography - Orton Imagery

kaushik_s,
Thanks for sharing this link, looks interesting. Especially because of the prospect of using it with existing photos. Let me try and see, only problem is I dont have PS, so will have to figure out using some freeware to do this.

Anyway, thanks again.

[rippergeo]

@crazy driver- loved the 1st pic. great use of a similar coloured background. didnt like the ant on the flower, but wait for others' opinion on that.

I tried the same kind of flower(chrysanthemum?) on a black/dark background. didnt work out too well for me. yours is very nice.

the 2nd pic, I'm not able to make out the petals separately, I can see the veins going through the petals, but the individual petals themselves have merged into one. I dont know how you can get around that problem. wait for more suggestions.

all said and done, if you have achieved the result you wanted after you clicked it, and the pic on the computer scren matches the one you had in mind, thats all that matters IMO.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by rippergeo

@crazy driver- loved the 1st pic. great use of a similar coloured background. didnt like the ant on the flower, but wait for others' opinion on that.
I tried the same kind of flower(chrysanthemum?) on a black/dark background. didnt work out too well for me. yours is very nice.

Thanks rippergeo.

Originally Posted by rippergeo

the 2nd pic, I'm not able to make out the petals separately, I can see the veins going through the petals, but the individual petals themselves have merged into one. I dont know how you can get around that problem. wait for more suggestions.

all said and done, if you have achieved the result you wanted after you clicked it, and the pic on the computer scren matches the one you had in mind, thats all that matters IMO.

Actually, the flower does not have petals as such and the whole flower didnt look too good from the top. Thats why tried a sidewise shot. (atleast i couldn't make out seperately. This is the flower in the pic (small pic because it doesn't deserve to be in this thread)-
Attachment 26800
Thanks again ripper!

[Torqy]

jack33: i like the first picture.....nice perspective. With some cropping, it will come out even better. Keep shooting.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Please give your suggestions-

This is an wonderfully exposed shot, the slight softness actually works in favour of the shot. The ant provides a contrast, so don't worry about it. Although you can consider recropping it for better frame. How's the full frame look like?

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

-For shooting B&W pictures, is it best to shoot in B&W from camera itself? Or is it better to convert to B&W using PS?

No, always use PS to convert it to B&W.