Queen E filter fun

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Originally uploaded by slowmanluis2010

Went up to the top of Queen E Park which I find isn't really situated nicely for landscape photos....as nice as the park is. I used Soft and Hard GNDs with a circular polarizer and discovered how much more dramatic the skies can be when filters are used.

ominous clouds

Science World
Originally uploaded by slowmanluis2010

It finally dawned on me why they say the best locations to shoot is where you live. I have been dropping by this location on the way or after work to play around and have gotten nice results. But today when I had all but given up I noticed how dramatic the clouds were so I took as many as I could and am quite pleased with the results. I didn't use the colour intensifier this time and just used the circular polarizer to get the effect I wanted. It allowed me to shoot at a fairly wide angle (20mm) and I also was careful to avoid the deep dark shadows that results from using a polarizer with a wide angle.

fall colours
Originally uploaded by slowmanluis2010

There are a different ways of looking (capturing) autumn aside from the tack sharp, immaculately composed image. There is the out of focus or the technique of a long exposure combined with rotating the camera. Forgot the fast zoom...ooops.

water blur
Originally uploaded by slowmanluis2010

Long exposures isn't necessarily achieved by taking the longest shutter speed. A shorter shutter speed can result in a more effective result as the water will have more detail. So waves and waterfalls can be done this way.

food court...not
Originally uploaded by slowmanluis2010

Found a useful feature of a GPS...a parks collection and I found one with a waterfall. So instead of hanging around the food court at the mall I went to the park for a couple of hours and took photos. I thought they came out quite good until I got a critique. It appears the shutter speed was too slow and a shorter shutter speed would allow more detail. So back to experimentation...hope to come back soon.

Science World in tungsten
Originally uploaded by slowmanluis2010

I kept the white balance on daylight for some reason I still don't know why which is why the orange of the lights is emphasized. With no post processing one can change the color of an image by changing the white balance setting. A setting of tungsten removes the orange tone and turns it to more of a bluish tone.

sunset from SW Marine Drive
Originally uploaded by slowmanluis2010

Bumped into a photographer with $10k worth of equipment and the wrong graduated ND filter. I sure hope I'm not in the same category...more money than sense.

Science World during the golden hour
Originally uploaded by slowmanluis2010

Used a circular polarizer with the idea of cutting out glare. Might have done that but using a wide angle creates light and dark spots in the image. Maybe using the colour intensifier could have been better...with reflections which help the image the blue colour would also be enhance. And maybe even not using a filter...this was during the golden hour when the light was best.

hidden
Originally uploaded by slowmanluis2010

What started out as quite a gloomy day turned to quite a sunny day. The pattern lately and if it starts out sunny it always turns cloudy. Stumbled on this little pond while roaming around the Rose Garden in Stanley Park...as always saving parking fees by going to the beach or park and hanging out around there. Sure beats paying $10 for parking downtown. There was a big difference in exposure between the center of the photo and the sides as there was a little slope where the water flowed. I had given up on providing detail in the center when it hit me later that a reflector or flash could have provided the necessary light to bring out some detail.

Serve
Originally uploaded by slowmanluis2010

I used the D700 in volleyball...usually get dark, blurry photos as the lighting inside a gym is abysmal. But letting the ISO run and using the 80-400 lens produced some interesting results. At least at the 640X480 size. Now if I can just improve on the composition. Hard to time the great action shots and watch the game at the same time.

doorway to the D700
Originally uploaded by slowmanluis2010

It would seem a Nikon is a Nikon and I have progressed from a D100 to a D70 to a D200 but the D700 has got me a bit perplexed. Seems settings have to be adjusted depending on the subject...flipping between settings is no fun.

Sunset Beach midday
Originally uploaded by slowmanluis2010

Not the best timing for shooting here. The tide was high so the rocks were hidden. It was a bright, sunny day which made for flat lighting and of course I was here in the middle of the day (doh). Had to try and avoid the many ships in the harbour and the buildings/tents across the water at Vanier Park. Liked the way the cloud was a little blurry with the 20 second exposure. The colour and texture of the water was also kind of interesting. I keep promising to try different shutter speeds to see what difference it makes to the image but I keep forgetting. Will have to keep it in mind at the next shoot.

Kitsilano twilight
Originally uploaded by slowmanluis2010

Arrived at Kitsilano Beach just after the sun had gone down. I wanted to experiment with longer exposures and the results I think are not bad. They are a bit darker than I expected and I could have done longer exposures (2 1/2 minutes was the longest) to brighten the images but I am not sure they would look better. I wish I had a little bit more time to try a few more shots but my wife and dinner beckoned.

clouds in the sky
Originally uploaded by slowmanluis2010

I have been shooting for around 10 years and have some shots with clouds in them but I have only now realized just how important they are to landscape photos. So now that I've noticed them, I immediately think of trying to position myself in such a way as to get them into the photo. The polarizer also helps in providing contrast for the clouds.

Spanish Banks morning

Spanish Banks
Originally uploaded by slowmanluis2010

It was late in the morning so the light wasn't that great. I think mostly because the sun was coming from the back and made the light more frontal. But one can still learn from just experimenting. Best light for the west would be sunset, that way the sky would be lit by an orange colour or at least have some clouds. The sun was coming from the right so there is at least some shadow. The lack of foreground to attract the eye is alleviated somewhat with a low shot which is something to remember. There is always the ground/floor to provide some foreground when no big rocks, trees etc are available to provide interest for the eyes.

Blue skies and white clouds

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Originally uploaded by slowmanluis2010

This is what makes the colour intensifier and circular polarizer so effective. It was a beautiful day and the colours just popped when I used the 2 filters. No post processing required...just the way I like it.

Sunset Beach
Originally uploaded by slowmanluis2010

First time to shoot back in Vancouver. Too early in the afternoon but the rocks were showing because of the low tide. Not bad and the only thing I forgot was the remote trigger. I even tried removing the GND before the shutter closed which allowed a lower than 2 stop exposure for the GND. It really helps to read other photographer's blogs to sometimes get ideas that one would not ordinarily come up with.

little beach
Originally uploaded by slowmanluis2010

While everyone else went to the mall and Disneyland, I headed for Little Corona del Mar again and stayed there for 5 hours from 12 noon to 5pm. My intention was to stay for the sunset but after 5 hours under the hot sun I had little energy left and I noticed that I was starting to make more and more mistakes. And besides I missed everyone. This had to be one of my most successful shoots as I remembered to do all the little things that I needed to do. My major mistake was that I had to set the vari-ND to the minimum setting to be able to see through the viewfinder and that was even minimal and I kept forgetting to adjust the setting back to the darkest setting and so over-exposed a few shots. Shooting during sunset hours as they say is the way to go and I realize that now as the photos lacked the warm colours of sunrise/sunset. But I am quite happy with the results.

Point Vicente Shoot

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Originally uploaded by slowmanluis2010

I wanted to revisit this location to see the effects of using filters. I found the use of the colour intensifier and circular polarizer to be quite effective. The NDs were not as effective. I used the vari-ND (6 stops) and 5 stop ND and I still could not get an effective blur at 30 seconds and F22. Coming at a different time where the light was not so strong would be needed. On the other hand I performed the process in the best way possible as I was able to use the 17-35mm at the widest, used a leveler and a remote trigger. This was on top of the other filters.

Huntington Beach Pier Shoot

Huntington Beach Pier
Originally uploaded by slowmanluis2010

Ok still trying to learn the tools as much as possible. Tried to combine the filters - colour intensifier, circular polarizer, Vari-ND and 5 stop ND. As result I believe using the polarizer will cause colour shifts which are not predictable. Having 4 filters also cause unwanted vignettes so I had to eliminate 1. I tried to go without the 5 stop ND but still got the shifts in colour so I went with the 5-stop ND in the end. This gave me the slow shutter speed that I wanted to blur the water. I now realized that clicking the shutter by hand limits my longest shutter speed to 30 seconds so I believe a remote shutter should be used. This will eliminate camera shake as well as better control of the shutter speed. I can just keep changing the shutter speed (using my watch) until I get the correct exposure.