2012-05-27

My father and I decided to take a few hours for a photo expedition.  This is the first time we do that - take time just to take pictures.  It was a lot of fun.  It was very windy when we got there, which made long exposures just about impossible (tripod or no tripod).  We however managed to get quite a few shots in the few hours we were there.  Hope we get to do something like that again at some point.

The following images are a selection of the many I took.  There were all edited in Google Picasa 3: so quality is not great.  I really have to learn Adobe LightRoom 3 (which I already have purchased and own), because the resulting images are of much higher quality.  But for now, because of time constraints, Picasa will have to do.  I may post some of the same images below processed in LightRoom at some point - it's interesting to compare the difference (it's obvious!).  The one big thing with LightRoom is "noise control" - there is nothing like that to my knowledge in Picasa, which really affects end results. 

Anyways, let me know what you think!  This is very low budget... images taken with my Nikon D60 and all of them were taken with either my father's 100mm lens or 300mm lens. Thanks again dad! :)

2012-05-26

Ode to dandelions!  Not sure why people don't like them... If you research their nutritional strengths, you may be surprised how healthy these little plants are!  Not only that, but they are very valuable for insects as well.  Since it was the season for dandelions, I took a few pictures now and then.  Depth of focus is not always 100% accurate, but I didn't find these too bad.  What do you think?  One of these pictures is NOT a dandelion... do you know which one?

2012-05-09

This image was in the previous post, but I did post processing in Lightroom instead of Picasa.  So much better, it's incredible!  Notice the detail in the bird (white were blown out in other image).  I assume in capable hands, this image could be even better.  Lessons to be learned: don't trust automatic camera settings, but shoot RAW so you can fix things somewhere when they are not perfect.  Also, use good post-processing software! I love Picasa for quick edits/processing, but it's obvious that Lightroom is far superior with regards to image quality!

2012-05-08

Today, it's all about birds.  Went to a local park with the family, while I still had my father's 300mm lens.  So I managed to take quite a few bird pictures.  The biggest challenge I had (as always!) was low light.  At 300mm, there is much less light coming in than at 70mm.  I cheated this time, I just set the camera to "sports mode".  Bad idea for the most part!  Many pictures had some areas that were blown out.  Lesson learned: never trust the machine!  I should of chose a specific ISO, maxed out aperture, used a fast shutter speed and lightly under-expose.  I seem to find fixing an under-exposed image always easier than fixing an over-exposed image. Still learning as I go... having the extra toys really helps though - this is a nice lens! (http://www.nikonusa.com/Nikon-Products/Product/Camera-Lenses/2161/AF-S-VR-Zoom-NIKKOR-70-300mm-f%252F4.5-5.6G-IF-ED.html)

2012-05-07

Last night I spent an hour trying to get some moon pictures.  Thanks to my generous father lending me his Nikon 70 - 300mm (67mm dia.) lens!  It was challenging enough as it is.  The raising moon was more challenging than when it is higher.  Less light and more movement.  Important to have a camera that produces good results at high ISO (my Nikon D60 is not the greatest in this department).  Fairly satisfied with the end results - but I still have lots to learn it seems!