A Must Read for Digital Photographers

Exposure and Metering by David DuChemin

Using your histogram to capture the most information so you can create the best quality pictures.

More Leaves

I think this one needs a real title. Something about beauty and what we choose to focus on, but nothing too cliche. I'm currently at a loss.

Yellow

Whew I just printed a couple versions of those fall leaves to see which one I liked best, and it's very apparent my monitor needs a little calibrating. All of the prints are way more yellow than the images on my monitor. So for those of you who have calibrated monitors, my fall leaves probably looked a little...I don't know...yellow.

Now that I can see what they really look like, here's a better version, I think:

This version still looks washed out to me on my screen, but printed, it definitely looks better.

Uugh, guess I'll add color management hardware to my "To Buy" list. This is an expensive hobby.

Assignment: Fall Part II

I wasn't happy with my last post. It was okay but I wasn't in love with it. On my walk with a good friend this morning, she mentioned she'd been admiring these trees as much as I had and went back to get her camera.

I couldn't resist. It was a beautiful cloudy day, perfect lighting, perfect trees, lovely fence. I drove all the way home and got my camera too.

Here is what I came up with:

ISO 250 110mm f7.1 1/125

I'm much, much happier with this image.

Assignment: Fall

I must say this assignment didn't turn out ANYTHING like I hoped it would. I live on the East Coast for heavens sakes. I wanted LEAVES!!!! Life, the camera, the lighting and the weather did not cooperate this month, however. I guess that happens. Kids are my priority, photography is my hobby. I guess that means sometimes I miss the shot.

I did get a beautiful picture of a naked little newborn in a bunch of red leaves, but I'm not sure her Daddy would love that picture plastered all over the internet so I'll just save it for her Mamma :)

And I'll have to be satisfied with this picture. The craziest thing about moving out here, for me, was the wild turkeys. They wander through our yard in groups of 8-12 a few times a year. It's CRAZY. And really, other than leaves, what says fall more than turkeys? Okay, maybe pumpkins, but I still like the turkeys.

ISO 800 200mm f5.6 1/125

What I like about this picture:

• The subject matter. Not every day you get to photograph wild turkeys wandering through your yard.
• I like that the road is a little bit diagonal, if I'd been able to think about everything fast enough I might have tried to get it an even stronger diagonal line there.
• The stick or crack in the road or whatever it is road seems to work with the composition by pointing back to the group and echoing the shape of the first turkey's tail. That was just luck. Happy luck though.
  

What I don't like about this picture:

• I wish I had captured them in the forest instead of next to the street. It would have been prettier, and emphasized the turkeys more, but my camera was still hooked up to my tripod when we spotted them, and I don't have a quick release. I could have followed them back into the forest but it was raining, and I wasn't willing to risk it with an expensive camera. Thus I grabbed what I could and we have a road for a background.
• As always, focus is not ideal. The depth of field is a little too shallow because I had to shoot wide open. It's a little grainy because I had to push the ISO to 800. How I would love a camera that handles high ISOs well. I seem to need them more often than not.
  

Anyone else??




Next Assignment: Lines
Due: November 20

I'm totally into how lines work with compositions in photographs right now. Let's see what we can come up with when it's intentional, shall we?