Posts in Category: still-life
8/6/2009
Strange Shapes from the Sea
After a storm Parson’s Beach is a rich trove of amazing things from the sea. I always like the shapes the seaweed takes and makes. This very low angle shot, taken from beach level below the seaweed itself, emphasizes the bizarre forms. I really like the flip out LCD on the H50, but I am forever dragging my lens cap and strap in the sand. I have learned to check it before I stuff it back into my camera bag with the camera.
Sony DSC H50 at full wide and macro. F4.0 @ 1/200th @ ISO 100. Programed auto.
Cropped slightly from both bottom and top in Lightroom. Added Vibrance and Clarity, blackpoint to the right. Graduated filter effect from the top to reduce the brightness of the background.
And here is the more conventional view.
Strange Shapes from the Sea Too
6/5/2009
A Little Green and Fluff
Pretty straightforward. See the pattern in the dandelions among the tall grasses. Zoom in to isolate same.
Sony DSC H50 at 465mm equivalent. F4.5 @ 1/250th @ ISO 100. Programed auto.
Cropped slightly for composition. Lightroom standard Clarity and Vibrance and sharpen.
From Around Home Kennebunk ME.
5/23/2009
Pearls in a Nest
A seaweed shot from a more conventional angle, still emphasizing the effects of the low morning light. This is really a composition study. I continue to like the rule of thirds grid in the Sony H50 viewfinder/lcd. I simply do not see it most of the time, but in a case like this it provides a guide to placing the interesting bits. I cropped in camera by using the long end of the zoom, but I still had to crop slightly in Lightroom to get the full effect.
The intense yellow of the pods against the dark background was a problem. I had to use selective luminance control in Lightroom to tone it down a bit. (Lightroom has a mouse control that allows you to click on the color region you want to affect, then just move the mouse up or down to increase or decrease luminance, or saturation or hue for that matter.)
Sony DSC H50 at about 380mm equivalent. F4.5 @ 1/125th @ ISO 200. Programed auto.
Besides cropping in Lightroom, I added my usual Clarity and Vibrance and sharpened. I pulled the blackpoint slightly to the right.
From Around Home Kennebunk ME.
5/17/2009
Trillium (Bloodroot)
I atempted to get into the woods to look for Trillium on Friday morning in the sunshine, but the blackflies (state bird of Maine in May) drove me out. On Saturday morning, despite the general overcast, I armored myself in DEET and penetrated deep into Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge’s headquarters trails in search of early spring wildflowers. (May is early spring in Maine, as far as wildflowers go. And deep is a relative term…the whole trail system is just over a mile long, but it is a very good trail, from a photographic standpoint. I have a whole gallery of images taken there at various times of the year.)
Last year I missed the Trilliums altogether as the season was about 2 weeks advanced. This year I hit it just right, with the Trilliums newly bloomed and fresh, and the Trout Lily just coming on.
The light was still pretty dim in the forest, even at 9am, and the damp of the night’s rain had still not gone off, so the images are atmospheric and appropriate to the day.
For the trillium I used some exposure compensation on the H50 to keep the pure white of the petals from burning out against the dark leaves.
Once more, I am reminded how much I like the flip out LCD of the H50 for wildflower (and general macro) work. I am also reminded how much I have come to rely on the image stabalization. I simply don’t worry about show shutter speeds in situations like this where the subject is still. Without stabilization shots like this would require a tripod.
Sony DSC H50 at full wide and macro (taken at about 1/2 inch). F4.0 @1/80th @ ISO 100.
Just the basic added Vibrance and Clarity in Presence panel, and sharpen, in Lightroom. I moved the backpoint to the right to increase the intensity. Cropped slightly at the left to improve composition.
From Rachel Carson NWR Seasons.
Bonas shot: Pulled back to get the context and shot at the tel end of the zoom (about 300mm equivalent).
Trilliums
5/16/2009
Hard Flowers and Deep Bokeh
The husks of last year’s milkweed (I think) make a flower like presentation all through the marshy areas of Cape May. This cluster, isolated with the long end of the zoom, floating against the variegated green bokeh backdrop, makes for an interesting image.
Sony DSC H50 at 465mm equivalent. F4.5 @ 1/400th @ ISO 100. Programed Auto.
In Lightroom, a bit of recovery for the highlights, added Clarity and Vibrance, and the Sharpen landscapes preset. Bumped up the contrast slightly as well.
From Cape May 2009.
5/10/2009
Along by the Boathouse, Central Park
Another shot from my brief photo time in Central Park, NYC, on a rainy morning. Just shapes really, and light, emphasized by the tight crop.
Sony DSC H50 at about 150 mm equivalent. F3.5 @ 1/125 @ ISO 200. Programed Auto.
Minimal processing in Lr beyond the crop. Vibrance, Clarity, Sharpen.
From Central Park.
Bonus shot:
A slightly different view, using the telephoto end of the zoom to crop in tighter.
Tighter on the Boats
4/11/2009
Lichen among the Moss
I did go out yesterday in better light and rework the crocus…but I will save one of those for tomorrow. Today we have a shot from later in the day, from a walk around the never fails me trail at Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge. It is only a mile, but I find something interesting to photograph on every visit.
The moss this early spring is the brightest thing in the forest, so vibrantly green and lush that it has to draw the eye. This shot is right down at moss level, with a cluster of lichen breaking though for interest. I left enough background to, hopefully, supply some scale. This is tiny, tiny stuff shot at the closest 2 cm macro of the H50…which is one of the things I really love about this camera (I don’t love everything about it…just enough to keep me carrying it).
Sony DSC H50 at full wide and macro. F5.6 @ 1/125 @ ISO 100. Programed Auto.
In Lightroom I used a graduated filter pulled up from the bottom to pop up the foreground with added clarity and contrast. You could not apply the kinds of levels I used here in standard processing, or to any area without a lot of detail, but as a graduated filter over appropriate areas of the image it gives a pseudo-hdr effect. After applying it I always find I have to increase the brightness of the whole image. That is in addition to my normal Presence adjustments for this camera, plus both Clarity and Vibrance applied globally and the Sharpen portrait preset.
I always feel a need to remind readers that while the above sounds like a lot of processing, Lightroom makes it easy (you can see your effects applied in real time) and fast (all of that took only about 2 minutes, start to finish).
From Rachel Carson Seasons.
3/29/2009
Monumental Shell
As I have mentioned before, one of the features I like best about the H9/H50 cameras from Sony is the tilt out articulated LCD. It allows getting right down on the ground for images without actually laying down. It allows upward angles from ground level (something that is difficult even if you do lay down). In this case, laying down was not really an option unless I was willing to get wet all over.
When you combine the articulated LCD with a very close macro ability, all kinds of new photographic options open up.
Just a shell on the beach, becomes a monument to shelldom.
Sony DSC H9 at full wide (32mm equivalent). F5.0 @ 1/200 @ ISO 100. Programed Auto. Macro mode.
In Lightroom, basic processing for Presence and sharpness. Recovery and some Fill Light was used to aid the transparency of the water. I used a graduated filter effect to further darken the sky, and added a bit of saturation to the filter as well. Levels were adjusted to bright up the lights +60 and subdue the darks -20. (It is maybe important to mention again that though it sounds like a lot of manipulation in Lightroom, I spent less than 3 minutes on this image in post…Lightroom is very fast.)
From Around Home.
2/19/2009
Pink Space Contemplation
I don’t do much urban photography, mostly because I rarely have free time in an urban setting. This trip to Albuquerque is giving me an opportunity to practice my urban landscape skills. And where better than this city of color?
I saw this building from 3 blocks away and left my intended path to photograph it. This is one of several shots. I played with the zoom and framing bits of detail. The strong shadow, the vivid colors (adobe and sky), the basic shapes, the lone Rock Pigeon perfectly posed…it all comes together here in design that catches the eye and won’t let go. To me it looks like an abstract painting, but with pigeon, as though the artist felt the need to include a natural reference at the last moment. I find it just slightly amusing.
Sony DSC H50 at about 325mm equivalent. F5.0 @ 1/500 @ ISO 100. Programed Auto.
In Lightroom I cropped and straightened somewhat for composition. There was a drainpipe and a corner on the right that had to be dealt with. Clarity and Vibrance in the Presence panel, and a touch of added Saturation. Portrait sharpen preset.
From the Albuquerque gallery.
2/2/2009
Sanibel Shells
Sanibel Island is famous for its shelling and I have already featured one shot of its shells…taken on a shell heap, where storms have pushed up the shells to a great depth. This is different. This is the fresh shell line that forms along the surf. Constantly renewed and constantly changing, never the same from moment to moment. This is what keeps the serious shellers walking the beach all day long.
I took several shots attempting to find a harmonious arrangement of shells that would somehow cohere in the frame.
Sony DSC H50 at about 60mm equiv. F5.6 @ 1/1000 @ ISO 100. Programed Auto.
Recovery in Lightroom for the highlight detail, Clarity, Vibrance and Sharpen. Cropped for composition.