Photography 56k no-go zone

[Azraphael]

I've been playing some more with my toy, and getting seriously addicted. I tend to take my camera everywhere with me these days (on top of the fact that I use it for work anyways) and I really do get a bit upset when I come across an interesting subject and realise I left it at home. Below are some pics I've been taking in and around Hout Bay, trying to make the most of the last few days I am in the bay.




Sunset on Llandudno beach...in the middle of winter.




Sunset on Victoria road, just past Camps Bay on the way to Hout Bay


Winter done right, Sea Point Promenade yesterday.


Fog rolling in over Cape Town, shot last week while out scouting from Signal Hill.


Overview of Cape Town (in case you don't recognise the massive rock :p) taken same day as above photo.
I know, the branch in the top right is a bit off-putting, but it's a picture of my mountain bru. And I like it.

New toys for the end of this month will be a polarizing filter, UV filter and tele-converter. Bonus time is far to far away, I must have a tripod and some new glass.

[onona]

Azraphael, you should consider getting an ND or ND grad filter, they really help with sunset shots or shots where you include a lot of sky. It darkens the sky so that you can expose the land/sea for longer. A full dark ND filter (as opposed to ND grad) can be used to expose for quite a long time, so that you can get a nice silky or even misty effect in the water, like in this photo (not mine, found it through google):

http://www.whatdigitalcamera.com/ima...0056_V1_HR.jpg

Don't bother with UV filters as they're useless on digital cameras. A polariser will be very useful though, especially for shots like your Table Mountain one, as it improves contrast and saturation by removing useless reflected light.

[Azraphael]

Thanks for the advice onona, it is much appreciated. Is there any decent literature you would recommend, starting from the very basics up to a more advanced level? I am hoping to do a 3 month course at Ruth Prowse in January (part-time) but so far have taught myself and I am sure there are a lot of bad habits I need to get out of my system.

[Grimnebulin]

Thanks for the advice onona, it is much appreciated. Is there any decent literature you would recommend, starting from the very basics up to a more advanced level? I am hoping to do a 3 month course at Ruth Prowse in January (part-time) but so far have taught myself and I am sure there are a lot of bad habits I need to get out of my system.

Sorry to chime in, just wanted to mention that I'd love to hear how the course goes. I was at Ruth Prowse eons ago when the photography department held an excellent reputation, it would be pleasing to hear if that is still the case these days.

I have no doubt Onona will give you fantastic advice, I'll just add my two cents and say that whilst there is good literature out there, and dozens and dozens of excellent tutorials, the best way to improve is by shooting not just as much as you can, but as much variety as you can. Also, find a forum you'd be comfortable joining, and post your pics for criticism. You need to develop a thick skin, but the quality of relevant advice you'll be getting will be far more valuable then any book you could buy. The other problem I have with literature is that for the purposes of explanation, the photos tend to be very bland. If you want to spend money on something, rather spend it on a book that contains the kind of images you'd like to achieve. But be very excited about next year, you'll be amazed at how different your photos will look six months from now!

Also, don't be afraid to experiment, shoot at different ISO levels, mess about with exposures. If your camera can shoot raw as well as jpg, that's also a great way to understand how light balance and exposure can affect a photograph. The main thing really is just to understand lighting; lighting can make an average photo amazing and can make an amazing moment average.

[onona]

Thanks for the advice onona, it is much appreciated. Is there any decent literature you would recommend, starting from the very basics up to a more advanced level? I am hoping to do a 3 month course at Ruth Prowse in January (part-time) but so far have taught myself and I am sure there are a lot of bad habits I need to get out of my system.

I'm sure a course at Ruth Prowse would be absolutely excellent - you should definitely do that. Regarding books, are you looking for something technical or creative? Learning to use your camera is best accomplished by a combination of reading your camera's manual and experimenting but I'd recommend the Dummies series of books for a solid overview that's very easy to understand - they do books for most major camera models, and do a great job of explaining the technicalities of how your camera actually works. If you're after something for the more creative side, I can indeed recommend a number of books. Start with Michael Freeman's various titles - he does some great ones on composition, exposure and other topics. They're all worth picking up and will keep you busy for a while.

I actually spent last weekend and most of this week in rural Scotland. I'm still going through all my photos but these are three of my favourites so far.

The first one is a 30 second exposure I took from the private harbour of the house we were staying in on Loch Tay. I took it after sunset, but the long exposure captures enough light to make the image look like it was taken much earlier, and it also serves to smooth the water out. I'd have shot for even longer but had no ND filter with me, boooo!



The second photo is of Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness. The original colour image was a little dull, but a B&W conversion makes the details pop much better, and also helps to enhance the structure's shape. I had to wait while our boat went around the castle, as the view from the middle of the loch is boring due to a hill directly behind the castle; waiting patiently instead to move around the castle rewarded me with this silhouetted view which is much better.



Lastly, the most awesome busker ever.

[Flangenimblick]

onona, your photo's have redoubled my excitement for when I move to Edinburgh this Thursday! :D :D :D

Love the pics! The last one, did you take it in such a way as to make it look ancient, or was that done in editing?

[onona]

You're moving to Edinburgh next week? Awesome! We actually visited Edinburgh on Sunday, catching the end of the Fringe festival. It's such a beautiful city, I loved the old stone buildings and cobbled streets. And even better than that, Scotland's beautiful countryside is on your doorstep!

I edited that pic of the piper to look like an old shot. It somehow just suited the subject.

[Flangenimblick]

You're moving to Edinburgh next week? Awesome! We actually visited Edinburgh on Sunday, catching the end of the Fringe festival. It's such a beautiful city, I loved the old stone buildings and cobbled streets. And even better than that, Scotland's beautiful countryside is on your doorstep!

I edited that pic of the piper to look like an old shot. It somehow just suited the subject.

Yeah! I'm leaving Thursday and as of Friday afternoon, I'll be living in my new apartment! :D

Ooooh, Fringe festival! I'm excited for all the festivals I'll be able to experience! I live right next to the Festival Theatre, so I'm there like a bear! I hate cities, but I fell in love with Edinburgh the moment I set foot in it! Been there twice and loved every second of it! After I'm there for a while, myself and a friend want to go camping, but I think we'll wait until after winter :p


Gorgeous pic. Did you edit it like that in photoshop? Probably black & white and fading the edges?

[onona]

Yeah I think it would be hard to not fall in love with Edinburgh, heh :P You'll definitely need to wait until spring to came though, as Scotland is very cold in winter. But you'll find plenty of beautiful places to go camping - when we were driving around the highlands and Perthshire, we saw plenty of caravan and camping sites alongside lochs and in the mountains. You're pretty spoiled for choice when it comes to camping in many parts of Europe, actually. You may also want to consider Scandinavia specifically - the right to camp is enshrined in law (allemansr?tten/allemannsrett/jokamiehenoikeus in Sweden/Norway/Finland respectively) and considering how gorgeous the Scandinavian countryside is, if you're into camping you should definitely check it out. Flying to Scandinavia from the UK is quick and cheap.

I edited the pic in Aperture using a plugin especially for monochrome photography called Silver Efex Pro. I've actually spent this afternoon going through my various travel collections, focusing on black and white images. Here are a few new ones.

The Notre Dame cathedral in Paris.



A bridge over the river Seine in Paris.



The London Eye here in London.



A sauna on the banks of the frozen Torneträsk lake in Lapland, Sweden.



A light snow flurry in Gamla Stan (the old town), in Stockholm, Sweden.

[Flangenimblick]

Stunning. These I would have on my wall!

I've heard of Aperture. Awesome, is there a windows equivalent? Or is Photoshop it?



Cool, will make arrangements in the spring then :) I've been to Scandinavia once before, visited a few places and climbed a glacier, but most definitely want to go back. When I get around to going through my oodles of pics I'll post some of the good ones here. Not looking forward to the Scottish cold >_< but what'cha gonna do?

[onona]

Thanks :-)) Aperture is very similar in function and toolset to Adobe's Lightroom, so you might want to investigate that. You can certainly accomplish the same kinds of editing and looks in Photoshop, but photographic-specific applications like Aperture and Lightroom make things a lot simpler and also provide a robust framework to organise and share your photo collections. I occasionally do a bit of editing in Photoshop but do the vast majority of my photographic stuff in Aperture.

You'll deal with the cold just fine, I'm sure. You acclimatise pretty quickly when moving to a new country.

[Spindleshanks]

Those are very beautiful Onona, but (and I'm going to be honest here) I prefer virgin photo's. That is, photo's that remain unedited and untouched by any form of digital enhancement whatsoever. Did you ever do film photography? Because therein lies the true magic of photography.

Same goes for film(movies). I really detest digital... but anyway, that's my take on things.

This is my favorite camera: Pentax K1000

[onona]

The notion of "virgin photos" is largely a misnomer though, especially when people hark back to the supposedly "pure" days of film photography. After all, film photographers have always used many darkroom techniques to alter their photos from the original negatives, in much the same way as digital photographers use software to "develop" RAW files, enhancing or adjusting colours and tonal values. I don't add anything into my images or remove anything, all I do is adjust tones and colours in exactly the same way as film photographers do with chemicals in a dark room. Indeed, this is what most digital photographers do. It would be incorrect to assume that most digital photographers edit their images to the extent that the final image contains elements which portray an impure representation of the original; because most lack the skill to do so.

I like film and was shooting some last weekend with a friend on, oddly enough, that very same Pentax you're linking to. But I prefer using a digital camera because it gives me the freedom to delete shots with incorrect exposures and reshoot them after adjusting my settings, without any penalty. Film is great when you have the perfect environment and lighting conditions, but digital gives you greater latitude to take risks.

And personally I enjoy all photography, regardless of the medium in which it was shot. For me, it's about the image itself, not how it was made.

[Spindleshanks]

And personally I enjoy all photography, regardless of the medium in which it was shot. For me, it's about the image itself, not how it was made.

Fair enough. I guess I just can't/won't shake my affinity to film as a medium; it really is magic to me. But especially with motion pictures, digital just robs it of its "feel".

Quentin kinda gets me on this:

[Grimnebulin]

Just to underscore what Onona said; I only made the switch to digital two years ago, up until that point I had used my trusty Nikon 35mm for more than 10 years. So I could probably call myself a bit of a purist, and yet I would agree with Onona 100%. Having spent many hours in the darkroom I can attest to the fact that various techniques are utilised to achieve exactly the same control over exposure that digital cameras allow outside the darkroom. If anything, we were highly encouraged to experiment with various methods of altering exposures.

No amount of digital manipulation can hide a bad photo, and my approach to using my digital is the same as with my 35mm. Digital certaily has not made me a lazier photographer, if anything it provides me the comfort of experimentation without being concerned about rising expenses, and most of all, I never have to experience the sheer horror that is a spool not developing properly.

Shooting on film still holds a magic of sorts to me, the smell of chemicals and the almost journeyman like approach, but I view 35mm and digital as being parts of the same whole. Different tools available to achieve the same end.

[Cleric]

No, you're not a photographer

[Grimnebulin]

No, you're not a photographer

Horrifying. I think I'll amend my previous phrase as follows:

No amount of digital manipulation can hide a bad photo, but bad photos can only benefit from digital manipulation

[Flangenimblick]

"The great irony of photography is that we see an image with the naked eye, and then record it in a way the naked eye cannot see."

Just thought the quote was pretty cool :p

Thanks :-)) Aperture is very similar in function and toolset to Adobe's Lightroom, so you might want to investigate that. You can certainly accomplish the same kinds of editing and looks in Photoshop, but photographic-specific applications like Aperture and Lightroom make things a lot simpler and also provide a robust framework to organise and share your photo collections. I occasionally do a bit of editing in Photoshop but do the vast majority of my photographic stuff in Aperture.

You'll deal with the cold just fine, I'm sure. You acclimatise pretty quickly when moving to a new country.

Lightroom eh? Cool, will take a look. Thanks!

Haha, I have a...Scottish build...so I think I'll be fine there ;)

[onona]

No, you're not a photographer

You stole my link from Facebook! :P

[Cleric]

Me? Never :P