Car Light Trails 1

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Nikon 18 - 70
f/22 at 15 seconds
ISO 100

I thought I would continue with some night photography. On my way home tonight I got off the highway and made my way to an overpass. Luckily this one had a sidewalk so it was OK for me to be there with my tripod and camera gear.

I shot this on Auto white balance but in post I switched it to tungsten. I was in manual exposure mode and I closed the lens down to get as long an exposure as possible. For this shot the shutter was open for a full 15 seconds which allowed many cars to pass and leave their mark in the photograph.

This shot was pretty straightforward. Tomorrow I will present another where I did something a little different.

Two Years Ago Today

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Nikon 18 - 70
f/11 at 6 seconds
ISO 100

This is my first attempt at using layer masks in Photoshop. The photo on the left was taken tonight while the photo on the right of the same scene was taken exactly two years ago.

Although I did not do a great job at matching the two photos the idea of doing a sort of time lapse composite like this is interesting. If I had used the same lens and stood in exactly the same spot it would have been easier to line up the two pictures.

The two photos wouldn't need to be taken two years apart either. They could simply be contrasting seasons, day versus night , or sunshine and stormy weather.

Lurking in the Shadows

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Nikon 24 - 105
f/4.5 at 2 seconds
ISO 100

This shot was taken a couple of nights ago. I have taken pictures of these metal sculptures in daylight but this was the first time tried to do it at night. I chose to use a speedlight off-camera on a stand to my right. I was not that satisfied with the picture. It was missing something. I got a little crazy and started using the self-timer and put myself into the picture. I still didn't like it so I got the idea to stand in front of the flash but not in the frame. This produced the picture above.

Night Light

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Nikon 24 - 105
f/5.6 at 8 seconds
ISO 100

I went out last night after dinner to take a some pictures. It was a nice night, calm and dry. I ended up at Science World. I thought I might see the Olympic Ring lights on a barge but I couldn't see them. I did get this view that I thought was worth a shot or two.

Although you can change the white balance on a digital camera, in a scene like this with a mix of different types of light what do you set your white balance for? Tungsten, Florescent?

I decided to throw an FLD filter on the lens to balance for florescent light and leave the WB on automatic. This produced a very warm rendition of the scene that was rich in browns. I then decided to change the white balance in post to tungsten and that cooled things down to produce photo I included above which is much more true to life.

Physical Graffiti

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Nikon 18 - 70
f/8 1/90
ISO 100

Nothing technical to talk about here here. Being that this is a generally flat surface my f8 aperture should have been enough to get me the details and ISO 100 gets me the least amount of digital noise.

I have stated before that I seem to have an interest in graffiti. I also seem to have an interest in doors. I don't think I am the only photographer who has a fascination for this subject matter. However, each of our motivations may be different. It may require a little reflection to understand mine.

Summer Night Crowd

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Nikon 18 - 70
f/5.6 at 1/15
ISO 400

Once again to me this does not look like a photograph. I used similar camera settings to the last photograph that I posted but it produced much different results.

I liked this photo enough to submit it in Photo Life's annual contest.

Zombie Walk

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Nikon 18 - 70
f/5.6 at 1/16
ISO 400

Sometimes pictures happen by accident or at least almost by accident. I was walking through the CNE one evening and thought I would shoot some slow shutter speed, hand held shots as I went.

I upped my ISO to 400 so that the exposures wouldn't be too long. Some of the shots still came out too blurry. This one on the other hand is not. But the blur in this picture has given it a quality different from photograph where you freeze the action. It almost appears like a painting and not a photograph.

I especially like the two people in the foreground on the left. If you have been reading my blog at all you already know that this painterly quality pleases me.

Portrait Location Search

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Tamron 10 - 24
f/8 at 1/125
ISO 100

I took this picture simply as a record of a possible location for future shooting. I was lucky enough to have a beautiful sunny winter day. I specifically went to this location to decide whether it had possibilities for a photo shoot. My conclusion is YES.

The building behind me is abandoned. The door is locked with a rusty chain and padlock. As you can see from the leaves on the steps, no one goes into this rather large and beautiful building anymore. I got there just in time to get some interesting light and snapped a couple of pics before the sun disappeared from the pillars in the background.

There is another large building on this property that is not used anymore either. However, when I passed by it today it was surrounded by film-crew trucks. Obviously I am not the only person who recognizes the photogenic qualities this place has to offer. They are luckier than me however because they have access inside the buildings. I don't. I will keep this place a secret for now.

Forklift Fotography

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Nikon 28 - 105
f/4 at 0.3s
ISO 100

This shot was a little tricky. I wanted to shoot something where I work. It is a warehouse environment with only florescent lighting.

I decided I wanted an action shot with me on the forklift. I used gaffer's tape to fix a tripod to the top of the cage that protects the driver and I used a Manfrotto clamp to mount my SB-600 to the mast.

I set the WB to florescent and I put a green gel on the flash. I shot in manual mode and chose a slow shutter speed to get some blur in the background. The self timer was set at 5 seconds. I would trigger the timer then start driving and five seconds later the shutter would release and I would have a shot.

Then I put a 3/4 CTO warming gel on the flash as well. My hope was that the green gel would correct for the florescent ambient light and the CTO gel would add some warmth to me the subject of the shot. I don't think it worked as I had hoped. In fact my skin tone is rather pale.

However, I did get the blur in the background that I wanted.

Key Shifting Self Portrait

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Tamron 28 - 105
f/11 at 1/250
ISO 100

This shot is an example of key shifting. I chose to underexpose the the background and light myself with a flash. You can tell that the environment is not really as dark as it appears simply by looking at my eye glasses.

They are equipped with transition lens which means they go dark in bright day light. They are dark in the photo therefore it was fairly bright. I added to the effect by putting a 3/4 CTO gel on the flash which warmed the light making it almost looks like this was taken at sunset.

A second flash lighting part of the boat in the background would have made this more convincing. As it stands most people will probably think I was lit by a flash. Either way I like the picture.

Slow Sync Flash

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Tamron 28 - 105
f/5.6 at 1/6
ISO 200

Since I have only recently started using flash, I am still learning how to mix ambient light with the light produced by a flash unit. So far one of my favourite techniques is to use it in conjunction with a slow shutter speed.

What usually occurs is your subject tends to be frozen and fairly crisp while the rest of the scene blurs especially when the camera is hand held. In this case I was able to freeze the action of one of the dancers but the rest of the dancers and the coloured lights blurred due to camera movement.

I would like to practice with this technique a little more in order to learn what combination of shutter speed and aperture work best.

It's all about Personality

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Tamron 10 - 24
f/5.6 at 1/250
ISO 200

In my experience, one of the best ways to produce an interesting picture is to have an interesting subject. The reception for this wedding was a 60's/70's theme party and the bride and groom had dressed their parts well. I had set up two SB-600s on a light stand with an umbrella and I asked attendees to pose in their costumes.

Some of the people had great costumes but the pictures I took of them were not that interesting. Here on the other hand, this is one of my favourite pics from this event and it is because of their personalities. They were animated and really having some fun and it shows in the photo. The best part of this picture is not my lighting or camera technique, it is the bride and groom.

Getting the Details

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Nikon 28 - 105
f/16 at 1/250
ISO 200
SB 600 Speedlight

I love Gerbera daisies. I have bought them before just to take pictures of them. On this day the bride had chosen them for her bouquet. I was able to pluck a few from a vase and take them back to my hotel room.

I set them up in an empty wine bottle. There was very little light in the room but I set my camera so that none of the ambient light would play a role in the exposure and therefore give me a pure black background. The flowers were lit by a single SB-600 that was hand held but connected to my camera via an SC-17 cable.

I think getting little details like this really helped to make the wedding album complete. Tomorrow, I will present a shot from the reception.

A Captured Moment

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Nikon 28 - 105
f/4.5 at 1/8
ISO 200

After our travels in Jasper my wife and I headed to Edmonton to shoot a wedding. We arrived a day early and scoped out the hotel grounds where the formals were to take place.

The day was overcast, good for shadow contrast but kind of dull in the colour department. So, I mounted two SB-6oos on a monopod and enlisted an attendee to point them where I needed.

Both flash units had a 1/2 CTO gel taped to it to warm up the light. The camera's white balance was set to daylight so the light from the flash warmed up the subjects as in the photo included above. The result is a much nicer photo with better skin tones and nicer colour.

Little Black Bear

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Nikon 70 - 300 VR
f/5 at 1/320
ISO 200

This little black bear had come to the side of a highway to nibble on some grass and while I was there no less than 6 or 7 car loads of humans stopped to point lenses at him. One van that had stopped actually was full of photographers who had paid for some sort of nature tour. Lucky them!

One guy got out and lay on the ground snapping shots with a giant lens and the bear only about 10 feet away. I on the other hand stayed on my feet somewhere near a car that I could dart behind if the bear got irritated and it eventually did just that. It gave some grunts to let us know it didn't like us disturbing its dinner. That was my cue to get back in the car and leave.

Once again this is a good shot for a photo album but it doesn't hold a candle to some of the bear pictures I have seen. This was one of the few shots I got where it didn't have its face buried in the grass and you can actually see it's eye.

Alpinisme

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Nikon 28 – 105
f/6.3 at 1/125
ISO 200

This is another example of roadside nature photography. The area around Jasper has an abundance of wildlife and to see it all you have to do is go for a drive and I'm sure you will have an encounter or two. In the above photo you can see four bighorn sheep that were part of a larger group of no less than thirty animals that were resting and eating at the side of the road.

They drew quite the crowd of onlookers who stopped to take pictures including myself. Some of them decided to hang out in the middle of the road forcing the traffic to come to a halt. The lighting here was not very good. I needed a faster shutter speed but I didn't want to up my ISO for fear of digital noise.

As a result the images were a little lifeless and needed lots of sharpening to make them viewable. I think they make good pictures for our photo album but I am not sure they are technically strong enough to use them for much else.

Water and Stone

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Nikon 28 – 105
f/13 at 1/20
ISO 100

When I go down to a beach or a river I usually spend a lot of time looking at stones. I find them fascinating as each one is unique and generally quite old. Of course, when I search for water to photograph, stones are a welcome addition.

For this shot I was standing on a bridge looking straight down at a small river close to Mount Robson. Photographs are always the result of a series of choices both technically and ascetically. For this photo I chose to use a shutter speed that would not freeze the action of the water. I wanted to see the movement but not as much movement as in the photo from my previous posting. The movement in the water caused the stones to be not crisp or in focus.

The resulting image is somewhat abstract but not unrecognizable. I like this photo but I like stones and water. Others who don't share this same fascination might say this photo lacks a real point of focus or subject. What do you think.

White Water

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Nikon 28 – 105
f/18 at 0.3
ISO 100

On our trip to Jasper last June, I had it in my mind to get some waterfall pictures. However, I am a lazy photographer and don't like to walk or hike too far to find an interesting scene. Luckily this waterfall was right at the side of the highway. We were not the only one's who stopped for a pic.

Of course I wanted to do the traditional slow shutter speed thing so as to blur the running water. It doesn't take much as you can see from the third-of-a-second exposure in the shot above. Colour balance was my biggest problem in post. The original camera settings produced a picture that was way too green and yellow. I added a bit of magenta and blue to tone it down.

Maligne Lake Alberta

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Nikon 28 – 105
f/5.6 at 1/200
ISO 100

This picture was taken in early June. If you want to see snow-capped mountains this is a good time to see them. The weather is warm and the roads have no snow but the mountains still retain much of their snowpack.

In this shot the lake is still covered in ice. It was a beautiful day and my wife and I lingered for some time taking pictures of the scenery and wildlife. One problem technically with this scene is the fact that the white mountains are in full sunshine and the dark green trees are in partial shade.

I exposed the scene so as not to lose detail in the snow and in post I had to reduce the contrast and brighten the area of the trees in the foreground. I am pleased with the final result.

The Road to Mount Robson

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Nikon 28 – 105
f/8 at 1/200
ISO 100

This is a view not many people get to see. Towering to 12,972 feet (3954 m) the peak of Mount Robson is usually hidden behind clouds. In fact I have passed this way before and was unable to see the peak because of clouds.

The motivation behind this image was to create a stock photo people in the travel industry could use to help sell their services especially RV rentals. As a result I spent a little time waiting at the side of the road for some RVs to pass by. I think I was successful but I have not yet made these photos available for sale. That will be a project for next year.

The Kiss

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Nikon 28 – 105
f/8 at 1/60
ISO 100

This shot was taken at the same time and location as the shot in my previous posting. I like this picture but I wish I was just a little closer and that I had set my lens to a larger aperture. The combination of these two things would have produced a less distracting back and foreground with a closer view and greater emphasis on the two chipmunks.

It still is an interesting moment and I am glad I was ready and waiting with my camera. They did this more than once but it happened so briefly that I was unable to get many pictures. This was the best one.

Up Close and Personal

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Nikon 28 – 105
f/5.6 at 1/250
ISO 200

While touring around Jasper we stopped at a picnic area at the side of the highway. There was a small parking lot and some picnic tables next to a small river. It was a nice place to have lunch and there was a group of chipmunks that thought so too.

It was obvious these little guys had learned that everyone who stops there to eat will give them a morsel or two of something tasty. We certainly proved their point. They all looked well fed and all were quite brave.They let me get really close. This shot was not cropped. I got close enough to him/her to fill my frame.

The biggest problem on this day wasn't getting close enough but getting them to sit still long enough for me to choose a good point of view with appropriate lighting and an uncluttered background. I really like this shot and several others I got that day. I may post another one tomorrow.

I Wish I Could Paint

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Nikon 28 – 105
f/18 at 1/20
ISO 200

I have always admired those who can put to canvas what they imagine in their minds. As a result, I took a painting class or two (watercolours) but unfortunately learned I wasn't going to be one of those people. Therefore, I look to my camera to help me create images that I am unable to create with a brush.

Although this photo is not as painterly as I feel a photograph can be, it is a step away from the literal or documentary and a step towards creating what I imagine in my mind. I talked about power in numbers in my last post well there is no substitute for practicing with various photogrpahic techniques. The more you shoot and pay attention to your results, the more you will be able to instinctively use your camera's controls to produce the photos you want.

Locomotion

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Nikon 28 – 105
f/20 at 1/13
ISO 100

I doubt this truck has moved in years. It is now essentially just a picnic table with a beautiful view of Mount Robson and only a few yards from the hummingbird feeder I spoke of in my last posting.

My goal was to try and capture a picture reminiscent of this trucks former life as a machine that moved, made noise, and helped people get work done. To do that I wanted to make it appear that it was in motion. But, how do you make a large stationary object appear to be moving?

The only technique I could come up with at the time was to use a slow shutter speed and zoom the lens during the exposure. I'm not sure I was completely successful at making the truck look like it is moving, but there is motion in the photograph that helps to make it more interesting than just a static shot of an old truck.