Dereliction

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Tamron 10 - 24
f/8 at 1/160
ISO 100

I bought a new ultra wide-angle lens this past weekend. I have not had a wide-angle lens for a long time. This particular lens has a field of view of 109 degrees at 10mm. On Sunday afternoon I took a few shots just to test it out.

This old abandoned Mercury pick-up served as my subject. It fits my last post’s theme of transportation. Tomorrow I will present another photo that continues this theme. For this shot I was standing right in front of the truck with the lens set to 10mm. I like the altered perspective this gives.

I look forward to playing around with this lens some more. So far I am happy with it.

Early Sunday Morning

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Nikon 70 – 300 VR
f/5.6 at 1/800
ISO 100
Manfrotto 055 tripod

Yesterday I got up early, made coffee, grabbed my camera and went for a drive. Vancouver was completely clear but as I drove into Burnaby that changed to a thick fog. It stayed that way until I reached the area around Lougheed Mall where it cleared.

For this shot I was facing an early morning sun. I fully zoomed my lens to compress the scene. The best place to shoot from was in the middle of the road. I decided that was too dangerous so I moved to another location on the south side of the road.

I set up my gear and waited for the Skytrain to pass through the scene. I also wanted a few cars and I was lucky they all appeared at the same time. The resulting image is in full colour but because of the slight fog and the fact that I am facing the sun it came out almost like a sapia toned black and white.

Bumble Bee

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Tamron SP90 Macro
f/2.8 at 1/750
ISO 100

I took a few pictures today but I will wait until tomorrow to post one. This picture was taken at the same time as the one from the previous post. I like the composition in this image better than the previous one.

Once again I was hand holding the camera. It would have been nice if the bee lifted its head long enough to get a picture. It was very focused on collecting pollen. I was very focused on gathering pixels.

Bumble WEEEEeeee.....

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Tamron SP90 Macro
f/4 at 1/800
ISO 100

For this shot I hand held the camera with a macro lens and chased this bee around as it went from thistle to thistle, never staying still for very long. Most of the shots were blurry. With this one however, I was lucky to capture the bee in fairy good focus.

The thing I don’t like about the photo is the background. I was paying too much attention to the bee itself and not the background. However, if I had taken the time to position myself to avoid the distracting thistle, I may have missed the shot entirely.

One thing I like about insect pictures is the fact that you actually get to look at them for as long as you want. Like this bee most insects are constantly on the move so it’s hard to get a good look at them.

Also, a macro lens lets you get real close and see details you sometimes can’t see with the naked eye.

Behind the Mask

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Tamron 70 – 300
f/9 at 1s
ISO 100

I was in Venice, Italy one year during the Carnaval celebrations. As an amateur photographer I found it to be an amazing experience. Everyday hundreds of people would parade around St. Marks square in elaborate costumes and allow people to take their picture.

This photo is a combination of one of those pictures sandwiched with a picture of a weathered stucco wall taken somewhere in Venice as well. Originally taken on colour slide film the images were put together and projected on a screen. I then took a picture of the projection with my digital SLR.

In post I only adjusted the brightness and contrast. Sharpening this image only brought out flaws I didn't want to enhance so I left the image soft. No other Photoshop filters were used. The resulting image once again looks more like a painting than a photograph. I did this with several of these images and I was pleased with most of them.

Circle in Square

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Tamron 70 – 300
f/4.2 at 1/60
ISO 100

I was out one day driving around looking for something to take pictures of when I came across an old truck parked at the side of the road. I was interested in the details in the metal doors on the back end. I really liked the tones in the rust.

I think the strongest element in this photo is shape. There is a sharp contrast between what are mostly lines forming squares and rectangles and the circle in the latch mechanism.

The circle definitely becomes the centre of interest because of that contrast. Technically I think the photo could have been improved if I was able to use a smaller aperture to get more depth-of-field. That would have produced a sharper image with more detail in the rust.

Contemplating...

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Tamron 70 - 300
f/22 at 1/60
ISO 200

Boundary Bay is a nice area to go on a sunny day. I usually go with camera in hand, tripod on shoulder and at least a waist bag with lenses and other stuff, all loading me down.

One time when I went there, I saw this woman who carried not even a purse just sitting and enjoying the fresh air and sun. What was she thinking about? My focus was on taking pictures. Her focus seemed to involve more than just her sense of sight.

Someday I will go back there and take my place on that bench unencumbered by camera gear and contemplate…