Columbia Park

not, a photo by SlowManLuis2011 on Flickr.

As a desparation move I started to shoot at Columbia Park which is a few blocks away from the house. Not much choice really as I only had time to go here to catch the sunrise after dropping off Ashley at Magee. If I dropped off Alyssa at UBC I couldn't make it. Not the best scenenery but good enough to catch some sunrises...

Columbia Park HDR Panorama

Columbia_Park_Panorama, a photo by SlowManLuis2011 on Flickr.

I tried 2 processes here. One was to stitch a panorama together and the other was to do an HDR to capture the dynamic range of light. I did this handheld which is quite amazing as I would have thought a tripod was needed but since I used a high enough shutter speed I was able to get sharp photos which the software can then stitch together. The HDR process was quite interesting as I had to learn some features in the camera that I had not used before. Initially I just manually changed the EV compensation. I tried the bracketing function in the camera which allowed one to set the number of shots and the EV compensation required. To minimize the framing changes I used burst mode to fire the camera. I then discovered that the camera had interval timer function which allowed one to fire a series of shots after specified intervals. SInce I only used one interval it was not really necessary to use this (doh). However if I had wanted to used time lapse photography this would have come in handy. I would have find a way to set the exposure (I was using manual) to use this technique. Interesting learning experience...not please with the HDR result though. It is possible to get 'decent' HDR results that don't look too over-processed but I have to find out how. Back to the drawing board.

fall morning

fall morning 2, a photo by SlowManLuis2011 on Flickr.

This image shows how important early morning or for that matter late afternoon light is to an image. Even a simple hohum image looks terrific because of the morning sun. Have to get out there more often.

100 Portraits

7/100 - Furqan, a photo by SlowManLuis2011 on Flickr.

Another project that I can't seem to keep going with any regularity. I suppose it's the fear of approaching strangers to photograph them. I will keep trying...

back alley (HDR)

back alley, a photo by SlowManLuis2011 on Flickr.

Have to keep trying and playing and understanding how to use this. There are times I want to make it transparent but as this photo is a bit on the so-so side a more pronounced HDR effect I thought was called for.

G+

fall, a photo by SlowManLuis2011 on Flickr.

I've been playing around with Google +. I don't like the interface, seems to be designed by techies as half the time you can't seem to do what you really want. But the content (photography) has inspired me to go out into different directions.

Columbia Park (GND Filter)

Columbia Park, a photo by SlowManLuis2011 on Flickr.

What a world of difference the use of a GND filter makes. Instead of a white sky or a black field we get both. Not the best shot but it does show the possibilities...

Bolsa Chica shoot with Ben

Bolsa Chica egret, a photo by SlowManLuis2011 on Flickr.

Every shoot is a learning experience although the first requirement is actually a long lens. It seems like a 600mm and a 1.5X crop would be needed to get close to the birds. So how do you shoot these birds? A high shutter speed would be needed which you can do with a higher ISO so shooting at 1/200 or higher would be preferable. Surprisingly a narrow DOF is all that is needed as you can get a foot of DOF with a long lens ... more than enough to keep the bird sharp. The contrast between the white colour of the bird and the dark background is a bit of a problem. Minimizing the background would help. Rapid firing is also a good approach as the chance of momement is high. One can certainly get at least a good shot if duplicate shots are taken.

canada day 2011

canadaday 2011, a photo by SlowManLuis2011 on Flickr.

Everyone was wearing red and I thought this would be a good chance to do selective desaturation which I did. Could be better but too lazy to fix.

China Creek Park

China Creek Park, a photo by SlowManLuis2011 on Flickr.

This wasn't quite as blue. It seems the GNDs are responsible for the shifting the colour tone...I wonder how I avoid that?

The city from Spanish Banks

The city from Spanish Banks, a photo by SlowManLuis2011 on Flickr.

This image raises a lot more questions than it answers. I took this shot away from the sun during sunset...doh...I've always shot in the direction of the sun. Having the clouds of course will bring out the light more than it normally will. My puzzle is the blue tone of this image. I used a colour intensifier and LB Neutral polarizer and a Soft GND and I am surprised by the dominance of the blue which isn't there with the naked eye. Is it the result of the filters or the natural colour of the light in the sky during this time in combination with the clouds. I will have to do some more test with the filters...

The Stawamus Chief

2, a photo by SlowManLuis2011 on Flickr.

The Chief was one of the reasons for driving up to Squamish...the other was Shannon Falls but the parking lot was full so we never got to stop at the waterfalls. We drove around the city and I stumbled on this view of the Chief. Had to fix a little of the vignetting caused by the filters. Don't know how to make this better except maybe to go around the golden hours.

Porteau Cove

4, a photo by SlowManLuis2011 on Flickr.

The first turnoff just before the actual Porteau Cove was this little parking lot and along the road was this little waterfalls/water runoff. Hard to position and I was so excited so I took what I can. Nice but could be nicer.

up to Squamish

3, a photo by SlowManLuis2011 on Flickr.

I had been wanting to drive up to Squamish as I had been up there for different reasons but not able to stop for some photos. On a nice sunny Sunday Ashley and i drove up and it was real nice although frustrating at the same time as a lot of photo views was on the highway. We stopped at Lions Bay and I discovered this little beach with a view. One wonders how many of these little hidden spots exist along the way.

And again to kits beach..

And again to kits beach.., a photo by SlowManLuis2011 on Flickr.

A third time at Kits beach and again the sun hid behind the clouds. There was a little bit more peering through and I was able to bring out the colours with photoshop.

Kitsilano Sunset again

Kitsilano Sunset, a photo by SlowManLuis2011 on Flickr.

And again the sun hid behind the clouds. I had to increase the red in curves to get the more saturated effect.

Kits Blue

1, a photo by SlowManLuis2011 on Flickr.

Again the sun hid behind the clouds and I got a lot of blue on this sunset shot. Interesting effect in this image is the subtle way the light comes across the middle even though the sun is hidden behind the clouds. There is just enough light slipping through the breaks in the clouds to make the effect.

Siwash Rock

1, a photo by SlowManLuis2011 on Flickr.

Guess I like this one the best. At least I got some sidelighting but what I really wanted to do was get on the rocks to the side and get the Siwash Rock on "white" water. No such luck. No rocks to get into from where the light was more balanced and where the rocks were to stand on would be against the light and result in a silhoutte...which it did with the images I tried.

3rd Beach rocks

4, a photo by SlowManLuis2011 on Flickr.

Well not this image. Too far away from sunset made for lousy lighting. Technicall Ok but otherwise not very good.

3rd Beach

5, a photo by SlowManLuis2011 on Flickr.

Still can't figure this one out. I guess it's just because I shot too early in the day (outside the 2 hours before sunset) and also shot into the sun. Not a good result except the composition was nice. Had to climb up some rocks to get the vantage point.