Posts in Category: snapshot
3/26/2012: Mt. Washington and the Whites from the car.
My daughter Kelia drove on the way back from Burlington Vermont, a few weeks ago now, and I had the opportunity to enjoy the views of the Green Mountains of Vermont and the White Mountains of New Hampshire. I also, for lack of a better option, tried some “through the windshield” photography. This is as close as we got to Mt. Washington, the highest point in the Northeast. I zoomed in to avoid the top of the steering wheel on one edge of the frame and the rearview mirror on the other, shooting just one side of the windshield mounted GPS, at an angle out the little bit of windshield right in front of the driver. Sometimes you just get a better image than you have any right to expect! I even like the car on the other side of the interstate, caught in dynamic tension entering the frame.
This is, of course, one of a sequence of shots taken at 4fps. I would watch for a gap in the median vegetation and the oncoming traffic, and shoot off a burst. This image is from one of several sequences attempting to catch Mt. Washington as it passed. The picturesque Vermont dairy farm was just a happy accident…or an example of my amazing skills…whichever.
I did crop slightly at the left, bottom and top to improve composition and to eliminate a distracting power station just out of the frame on the left, and the shadow of the rearview mirror at the top.
Shooting through windshield glass required some creative color correction…and I would like to take credit, but honestly just hitting the Auto Color Temperature button in Lightroom did the trick. I did adjust shadows and blackpoint more than for a normal image.
Canon SX40HS at 153mm equivalent field of view. f4.5 @ 1/400th @ ISO 100. Program with iContrast and –1/3EV exposure compensation.
Interestingly enough, there is probably no other vantage point where you could get this particular image of the farm against the mountains. You have to be in a passing car.
8/25/2010
Giessen Backyard
Still rainy days in Germany when I took this shot. I visited a colleagues home in Giessen in the early German evening, and while he discussed roof repairs with his contractor, I looked around for photo options. This is taken straight down from a balcony on the second floor. I like it as an abstract…the contrast of colors and textures and forms.
Canon SD4000IS at 28mm equivalent field of view @ f2.8 @ 1/100th @ ISO 200. Programmed auto.
Adjusted Blackpoint, added Clarity and Vibrance, sharpen, and auto white balance in Lightroom.
From Germany and England 2010.
4/3/2009
Eilean Donan Castle
Eilean Donan, the quintessential Scottish Castle, seen in many films, and subject of millions of tourist snapshots, including this one. Catch it on the right day at the right hour and it is magical. I took wide shots, and mid-shots, and full telephoto. This is a medium tele shot for framing.
Sony DSC H50 at about 150mm equivalent. F4.0 @ 1/200th @ ISO 100. Programed Auto.
Nothing fancy in Lightroom. Recovery for the sky and clouds. Presence increase through Clarity and Vibrance. Landscape sharpen preset.
From Scotland.
3/6/2009
Downtown Carinish
Just down the road from the Bed and Breakfast where we stayed on North Uist in the Hebrides. Could not resist. Something more than a snapshot, but snapshotish certainly. Still makes me smile.
It is an awkward composition, a bit. I normally would not have placed the phone booth that close to the frame, or the sheep either…but I wanted to emphasize the juxtaposition. I think it works.
Sony DSC H50 zoomed in to about 85mm equivalent. F5.6 @ 1/400 @ ISO 100. Programmed Auto.
In Lightroom, Recovery for the sky, some added Presence, via Clarity and Vibrance sliders. Landscape sharpen preset.
From Scotland.
PS.
A bit more Lighroom Work
Okay. So I was always bothered by the burned out white on the sheep’s back, and some found the sky to bright. Recently I have begun experimenting with Lightroom’s graduated filter effect, so I had to try that on the sky. And I also applied Lightroom’s Adjustment brush to reduce the brightness of the burned out area on the sheep’s back. And so…
3/01/2009
Waiting for the Hebrides Ferry
Click the image for a larger gallery view on Smugmug.
I am working on more brooding Scottish landscapes but just to lighten things up, here is a snapshot taken while waiting for the ferry from Skye to Uist (in the Hebrides).
It is just a moment caught. The unstudied pose, the natural setting, the young man so caught up in his music as to be unaware of the public nature of his exposure. I zoomed in and then cropped the image slightly for better composition.
Sony DSC H50 at about 110mm equivalent. F4.0 @ 1/320 @ ISO 100. Programed Auto.
From Scotland.
2/1/2009
Standing Tall
While digiscoping I always carry two cameras…whatever I am digiscoping with, and my Sony DSC H50 superzoom. Some birds are just too close, and there are always sunsets and sunrises, irresistible vistas, and quirky fellow birders.
This was taken out the window of the rental car, from the dike road, not even at full zoom on the H50.
Sony DSC H50 at about 365mm equiv. F5.6 @ 1/1000th @ ISO 100. Programed Auto. -.7 EV exposure compensation.
Clarity, Vibrance and Sharpen in Lightroom. Cropped for effect.
From Space Coast Birding.
1/2/2009
Everglades Tower
Shark Valley in Everglades National Park is simply a must see. I can not imagine anyone not enjoying the tram ride to the tower and back. Close views of wildlife, including Alligators, stunning landscapes, and the tower to climb for even more expansive views.
This is the tower, on what might have been the ideal day for a visit. Just a snapshot really. I took only this one view of the tower as subject, but with the sky and clouds cooperating, it does the job.
Sony DSC H50, wide end of the zoom. F5.6 @ 1/640th @ ISO 100. Programed Auto.
Minimal Clarity, Vibrance, and Sharpening in Lightroom.
From the Sanibel and Everglades Gallery.
12/25/2008
Christmas!
This is what Christmas is about: love, happiness, joy, celebration (and all because of Jesus).
Classic snapshot. “Look at me Kelia!” Using the LCD with the camera held one-handed for the angle.
Sony DSC H50 with the zoom at about 60mm equiv. F3.2 @ 1/50 @ ISO 200, Auto Flash
Noise Reduction and Auto Fix in Photoshop Elements. Like I said, a snapshot all the way.