[neoonwheels]

1. One of my attempts to capture the moon
2. A tree on the way to Kaas
3. A flower at a resort

Camera: Olympus SP 590 UZ

[kpzen]

Originally Posted by typeOnegative

@kpzen: Lovely. What is the setup that you used?

Originally Posted by kaushik_s

@kpzen, great splash shot. Have you tried even faster shutter speed? Mind sharing the technique?

Thanks guys!

This was done with a D40 & 70-300 lens set on 10sec timer. Syncing the drop of lemon and camera shutter was all manual.
Got it right in 4 attempts.

Originally Posted by vivekiny2k

after a burst of rain.

Attachment 549775

Nice perspective.

[C300]

Couple of shots from nearby garden.

Birth!


Nature!

[jacs]

Originally Posted by neoonwheels

1. One of my attempts to capture the moon
2. A tree on the way to Kaas
3. A flower at a resort

Camera: Olympus SP 590 UZ

Neo, loved the water lilly. Humble suggestion, make your signature simple enough not to spoil the beauty of the click.

Originally Posted by C300

Couple of shots from nearby garden.

Birth!
Attachment 550588

Nature!
Attachment 550589

I Love green, Birth is a nice thought and capture.


Here's a tiny sponge flower from my side, captured using my Sigma 70-300mm APO DG in Macro mode.

Have you ever noticed that the beauty of this tiny flower is when its dry and gone...

[chevelle]

The Lone Cypress, 17-Mile Drive, CA




The Ghost Trees, 17-Mile Drive, CA

[Samurai]

The recent long drawn discussion on exposure in the dSLR thread reminded me of the exposure nightmare I went through in 2006 in fireworks photography. I had posted it in Paai.in forum, not here. Since the content is still relevant, I am reposting it here. I am posting this as is from 2006, with no changes. Comments welcome. This is about short-distance fireworks photography, not to be mistaken with shooting massive fireworks from long distance.

Ultimately I found out that only manual exposure and focus will work best with this kind of photography.

Originally Posted by Samurai in PAAI.in during 2006

First let me get this out of the way.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaa...

Since it is Diwali, I figured I'll do some fireworks photography. Based on the last year's experience, I knew this is really tough, but armed with a dSLR I was quite confident, although I wasn't sure about the technique.

So I google for fireworks photography and I get 1000s of links providing tips. Check this one for example...

After reading many such links, I suddenly started having second thoughts. Almost all these links were referring to shooting massive fireworks at great distances. Ooh, it is so easy, just set the focus at infinite, don't worry about metering, ISO at 100, keep aperture between F8 to F16, shutter speed 1-4 seconds, use a tripod and you'll be fine.

Hmm, now what about shooting fireworks that are 5-20 feet away where auto-focus won't work due to darkness, MF is also tough since I can't see the object, long exposure won't work because of the quiickness/closeness, and let's not even talk about metering.

I had use a different technique, actually learn a technique for each type of photography. Can't say it all worked well, but did get some idea, although results are not so great.

1) This was a no-brainer, tripod, long exposure, spot metered...




2) 100 wala chainbomb. Can't meter this, had to do exposure bracketing, manual focussed on a light that was at same distance. Shot away high-speed shots.



3) Continous-AF since the object kept moving and aperture priority.



4) C-AF, Aperture priority, EC -1.



5) Rocket. Oh, boy. This was the toughest one. Manual focus on a object of similar distance. Exposure... lots of trial and error.



I am sure many of you done this before successfully, can we have the secret out please. The international sites simply don't address the Indian kind of fireworks photography.

[Klub Class]

Footboard travel.

[I ]Don't try this at unless you're used to footboard travel. [/i]

[arvindmanju]

very nice picture!

Originally Posted by chevelle

The Lone Cypress, 17-Mile Drive, CA

The Ghost Trees, 17-Mile Drive, CA

King of good times


squirrel having breakfast

[evo8]

@Samurai, One of the difficult things to shoot is fireworks. The biggest villian while shooting fireworks are smoke(I know thats the most obvious). One of the difficulties while shooting fireworks during a festival like Diwali and some event abroad is determining the exact location of the fireworks display and the amount of clicks you are able to click. If you go to any event, you have a time window of at-least 15 minutes and trust me getting good shots in the first few clicks is very difficult(I have noticed). The other aspect is amount of fireworks and magnitude of the sparks, and colors creates good impact. The last aspect is getting and being at the right location to shoot. Settings of of your camera just enables your creativity.

My two cents

A frame that I can think for shooting during Diwali is, get on to a high rise building, or any building with the view of the horizon; with a open window. use the window as a frame and shoot the ariel displays across the horizon.

Finally, Its not about how technical the picture is , Its what youa re trying to portray.

PS - All these are my personal views and suggestions.

Try using manual focus and mode. The chakra is quite good, would've added more impact if it was a coloured one.

Here are some clicks shot @ Singapore, from top of Marina bay sands

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by evo8

The other aspect is amount of fireworks and magnitude of the sparks, and colors creates good impact. The last aspect is getting and being at the right location to shoot. Settings of of your camera just enables your creativity.

My two cents

A frame that I can think for shooting during Diwali is, get on to a high rise building, or any building with the view of the horizon; with a open window. use the window as a frame and shoot the ariel displays across the horizon.

Originally Posted by Samurai

This is about short-distance fireworks photography, not to be mistaken with shooting massive fireworks from long distance.

I was talking about short-distance fireworks photography. Like shooting a flower pot or rocket from 10ft away.

[ampere]

"Let there be light."
Location: Waterfall Estate Valparai.

[shajufx]

Finally my D700 made its first day out. Here is what I got, hope you guys will like. 20mm, f/22, ISO-100, 30 secs.

Sorry for the bad editing, bit of touching here and there !

[typeOnegative]

@Klub Class: Brilliant composition. Is that the good old KSRTC or a private bus you were on?
@arvind manu: Lovely shots.
@ampere: That shot leaves me with a very nice and yet eerie feeling.
@Shaju: Love the long exposure, but the boats kind of look out of focus. Will check this up on Flickr too.

[VindyWheels]

Hi, loved your pic. Beautiful!!!!

Originally Posted by ampere

"Let there be light."
Location: Waterfall Estate Valparai.

Attachment 552104

[ampere]

@Shaju, The small island tells me its Sankey tank! Pardon my ignorance, why is 30 second exposure needed? What time did you capture the snap?

@typeOnegative, My initial feeling was mutual. But then when I realized, it was early morning when I captured that, all my eeriness went away!

@Vindy, Thanks. I know it would have reminded you of your drive. I need to go to that place again but now for a longer time!