The current photo challenge for "Shoot Me" is depth of field, a bit tricky to pull off now that I have a very simple camera. However, I didn't let a little thing like lack of manual mode stop me from giving it a try.
All three of the pictures here are, apart from rotating the image, straight out of the camera. No editing was done, just download from the camera, rotate the image if necessary, and upload to Flickr and the "Shoot Me" group.
The top picture I took with the camera a mere inches away. With camera forced into macro mode I was able to get a fairly shallow depth of field. The focus is all on the bloom in front, anything beyond becomes increasingly blurred. I am pretty happy with this photo and I'm very happy I got a sunny day to take pictures,
The next picture in the series is of the same flowers, but no longer in extreme close-up mode. The flowers are in focus and in the forefront, clearly dominating the photo. The light blurring in the background softens the dried and fallen leaves littering he ground. Not as dramatic as the first picture, but still a good effort.
The morning the light that day was really making the yellow "pop." and I'm glad I got moving before the sun sifted and through them all into shadow.
The third and final picture has me standing up and back a bit. The flowers are still a focal point, but feel is more of a landscape than just the daffodils. By standing up I also changed the horizon, no longer is there a patch of sky in the background. The overall tone is darker as the lights trails off in the back.
The depth of field is much greater and to me the composition is a rather blah. I am a big fan of getting as close in as you can and this series of pictures confirm that to me.
Showing posts with label Shoot Me. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shoot Me. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Shoot Me: Self-Portrait
The third Shoot Me challenge was, appropriately considering the group's name, self-portrait.
I was not particularly thrilled with the assignment, I am usually less than thrilled with pictures of myself. But I decided a challenge is a challenge and I could just put on my big girl pants and suck it up.
It turned out that sometimes I can get a decent shot of myself. I had a handful of pictures I liked and was just able to winnow them down to two. The top picture has great lighting and I like the interplay of all the reds in my sweater, the shutter and my hair.
In the lower picture the lighting was a bit flat, but I really like the pose. I ditched the sweater to tone down all the red. I'm still posing at the railing of the stoop and the picture is pretty much framed the same.
For both pictures I elected not to use a tripod, nor a timed shutter release, or even remote. I just stuck my left arm out and took a picture. I would immediately check the shot and reposition the camera as needed. I was surprised with how well the pictures turned out and that I had more than one to chose from.
I was not particularly thrilled with the assignment, I am usually less than thrilled with pictures of myself. But I decided a challenge is a challenge and I could just put on my big girl pants and suck it up.
It turned out that sometimes I can get a decent shot of myself. I had a handful of pictures I liked and was just able to winnow them down to two. The top picture has great lighting and I like the interplay of all the reds in my sweater, the shutter and my hair.
In the lower picture the lighting was a bit flat, but I really like the pose. I ditched the sweater to tone down all the red. I'm still posing at the railing of the stoop and the picture is pretty much framed the same.
For both pictures I elected not to use a tripod, nor a timed shutter release, or even remote. I just stuck my left arm out and took a picture. I would immediately check the shot and reposition the camera as needed. I was surprised with how well the pictures turned out and that I had more than one to chose from.
Friday, February 01, 2013
Shoot Me: Reflection
The latest Shoot Me challenge is "Reflection" and as you can see, I went for puddles.
We have had endlessly wet weather, so puddles abound. The hard part was getting a bit of sunshine amongst all of the cloudy days. Patience paid off and I ultimately got a bright day that made the puddles sparkle. I had a wide variety to choose from and I had a hard time winnowing the pictures down to just three.
The first one featured here was taken in a parking lot near a playground. I like the contrast of the black and crumbled tarmac to the trees reflected in the water.
Next up is a ditch that is contained within a median dividing the roadway. I like the strong lines in the composition from the roadway, the ditch, and the tree trunks. Another nice aspect is that the individual trees can be matched with their reflections. All in all it's a good picture, I just wish the winter colors were not so muted in tone. I could boost the color, but that really isn't my style.
The third and final picture I think is my favorite,. It asks a bit more of the viewer, but I think that makes it a bit more interesting.
At first glance you don't even notice the reflection, but it is there. A tree is reflected in the puddle of water on the surface of a frozen pond. The refrozen crack in the upper left also roughly mirrors the shape of the tree, a sort of reflection of a reflection. The sky was a bit more overcast for this shot, you can just pick out the clouds that are reflected in the puddle. The clouds, meanwhile, look more like ripples in the ice.
All three pictures were taken last Saturday and within easy walking distance of each other. It was a productive day's work.
We have had endlessly wet weather, so puddles abound. The hard part was getting a bit of sunshine amongst all of the cloudy days. Patience paid off and I ultimately got a bright day that made the puddles sparkle. I had a wide variety to choose from and I had a hard time winnowing the pictures down to just three.
The first one featured here was taken in a parking lot near a playground. I like the contrast of the black and crumbled tarmac to the trees reflected in the water.
Next up is a ditch that is contained within a median dividing the roadway. I like the strong lines in the composition from the roadway, the ditch, and the tree trunks. Another nice aspect is that the individual trees can be matched with their reflections. All in all it's a good picture, I just wish the winter colors were not so muted in tone. I could boost the color, but that really isn't my style.
The third and final picture I think is my favorite,. It asks a bit more of the viewer, but I think that makes it a bit more interesting.
At first glance you don't even notice the reflection, but it is there. A tree is reflected in the puddle of water on the surface of a frozen pond. The refrozen crack in the upper left also roughly mirrors the shape of the tree, a sort of reflection of a reflection. The sky was a bit more overcast for this shot, you can just pick out the clouds that are reflected in the puddle. The clouds, meanwhile, look more like ripples in the ice.
All three pictures were taken last Saturday and within easy walking distance of each other. It was a productive day's work.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Shoot Me: MCP Window Light
New year, new photo group.
It's basically the same group, but now it has migrated over to Facebook. I like the weekly challenge format and hopefully it will be kept up.
The challenge this week was "Window Light," a commodity that is pretty hard to come by with all the gloomy weather we have had this week. Luckily I learned of the challenge early on the one sunny day we had this week. I looked up and saw my daughter in a strip of early morning sunshine and asked to take her picture. Half an hour later the sunlight was gone.
It's basically the same group, but now it has migrated over to Facebook. I like the weekly challenge format and hopefully it will be kept up.
The challenge this week was "Window Light," a commodity that is pretty hard to come by with all the gloomy weather we have had this week. Luckily I learned of the challenge early on the one sunny day we had this week. I looked up and saw my daughter in a strip of early morning sunshine and asked to take her picture. Half an hour later the sunlight was gone.
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