Monday, September 19, 2005

Wedding Prayer



Nikon D100, Nikkor 50mm f1.8D

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

The converging organ pipes, black and white and the vertical with the cross at third of the height makes this a great composition. I think it may a tad better if it was slightly sharper.
benedict

Thursday, October 6, 2005 at 9:41:00 PM PDT  
Blogger Warren T. said...

Benedict,

Thanks for the comment. I really appreciate it!

Check back often.

Regards,

Warren

Friday, October 7, 2005 at 10:08:00 AM PDT  

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Monday, September 12, 2005

Friends


I had a chance to try out my new Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 lens on our trip to Disneyland last week. Here is a cute shot of my daughter Madison and her good friend Dylan. Taken at iso 800 so is slightly grainy.

5 Comments:

Blogger Warren T. said...

Very cute, Benson! It's a great capture of the moment.

I don't see much grain at all.

I realize that this may have been a split second grab shot, but it would have been nice to see a little of Madison's face.

Just my opinion... if you cropped out either one of the two background objects (the mill house or the riverboat), it may put more emphasis on the two kids, and make the center of interest more focused on the kids. As it is, the busy details of the riverboat, for example, competes for my attention. So when I first look at the picture, I see the kids, then my eye wants to focus on the stuff to either side a little too much. The side stuff competes for attention a little too much for me.

If you want to keep the composition as is, you could have shot at a larger aperture to throw the background more out of focus.

By keeping one of the background objects in the shot, you would retain some environmental information. Just my own preference, but I would keep the mill house in the background because it is more muted in tone, and I would crop out the riverboat with it's busy detail and bright sky that its under.

Alternatively, you can do a close crop of just the kids, and it would work too because of the cute pose.

I love the pose, and the picture works great in black and white.

I was wondering why you decided to get a 28-75mm zoom when your kit lens already has the range covered. Is it because your 28-75mm is a constant f2.8?

Thanks for posting!

--Warren

Tuesday, September 13, 2005 at 11:34:00 AM PDT  
Blogger Warren T. said...

All,

I just want to emphasize that all that stuff I said about cropping and composition in my previous comment were my personal opinions that I tossed out to stimulate thinking and discussion. After all, this is what the forum is supposed to be about. I find it personally stimulating and useful to be thinking about this, but at the same time, I enjoy all pictures at face value too.

This picture is fine as it is, and I respect every photographer's own point of view on a particular subject.

I hope you all understand this.

Don't be afraid to post pictures or comments. There is no right or wrong, it's all good.

And despite my email rant, please continue to enjoy the pictures and comments posted without feeling obliged to say anything. I know you're out there.

--WT

Tuesday, September 13, 2005 at 11:54:00 AM PDT  
Blogger Benson said...

A few comments based on Warren's comments.

1. It does not bother me at all as far as comments positive or negative. I do try to post pictures that I feel are worthwhile to share with the group or that I want feedback on to help develop my photographic abilities.

2. I too would have preferred seeing Madison's face but it's not easy to ask a 2 year old to kiss her friend and face the camera at the same time. ;-)

3. I appreciate the comments about cropping. Lately I have been shooting exclusively in raw so I am forced to look more critically at my pictures to correct white balance, exposure, cropping, etc. before finally storing them in jpg to save room on my hard drive. Before I just accepted the picture as it was taken but now I have to see how I can improve it.

4. I got the Tamron 28-75mm for the constant aperture 2.8. I found more flexibility with the faster lens. I can't comment on clarity yet until I've used it more. A lot of good reviews on this lens especially for the price.

Sorry for the long post. Nice thing about electronic posting, no waste of paper or ink (just time to read it, sorry).

Tuesday, September 13, 2005 at 12:09:00 PM PDT  
Blogger Warren T. said...

I like fast glass too! Many years ago, I picked up a Sigma 28-70mm f2.8 (constant) based on Martin's recommendation. I used that lens for many years with my F3HP and F4s, and I was happy with the results. The downside was that the lens was huge for its zoom range! Nevertheless, I lived with the size. I finally sold it because I needed a zoom with a wider range for my D100.

Recently, I decided to invest in some fast, prime AF glass, so I bought a 50mm f1.8D and a 85mm f.8D, and I'm very happy with these lenses. You can't beat the 50mm for speed and compactness, and it's a great value at around $100.

On my wish list is the legendary Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8. One of these days...

--WT

Tuesday, September 13, 2005 at 12:41:00 PM PDT  
Blogger Warren T. said...

Benson,

I happened to be viewing your personal photo site (3sheep), and I saw the color version of this picture. I think this composition works well in color because the vivid colors of the kids' shirts helps concentrate the focus on the kids (the main subject), and the colors of the background give it some necessary detail to make it interesting.

Just a thought...

--WT

Thursday, November 10, 2005 at 1:27:00 PM PST  

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Saturday, September 10, 2005

Old Kodachrome shot





Back in the 1977, I shot Kodachrome 64. Ektachrome was too blue back then. I'm glad the colors are holding up after almost thirty years. This was a shot of a row of Victorian homes in San Francisco. I shot this with a 105mm lens on a Nikon.

I gave up shooting slides as it was expensive to get prints and the print colors were not accurate. I was a poor student in those days.

1 Comments:

Blogger Warren T. said...

Nice Shot, good composition and nice, even colors. I shot K64 back then too. I think it's still viable to shoot slides today because we can digitize them to be printed at home via Photoshop and inkjets.

--WT

Sunday, September 11, 2005 at 6:11:00 PM PDT  

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Friday, September 09, 2005

Old photo from my archive



I don't remember what year this was. Maybe 1976.

2 Comments:

Blogger Warren T. said...

That's great, Martin! Were you shooting with Leica back then? I don't remember. The slight vignetting effect gives this picture a nice, vintage look. It sure makes me nolstagic, anyway :).

For those of you who don't know, that's me on the left, and my best friend, Greg.

We and Martin and some other friends used to go backpacking together a long time ago.

--Warren

Friday, September 9, 2005 at 2:03:00 PM PDT  
Blogger martin said...

I think I shot this with a Leica M3 and a 50mm lens. Was this the trip we got rained on? It was not a pleasant experience as I recall.

Saturday, September 10, 2005 at 12:12:00 PM PDT  

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Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Passenger



Nikon D100, Tokina 17mm ATX f3.5

How I got this shot: I was riding in the front passenger seat, and since I had my 17mm wide angle mounted, I decided to practice a couple of behind the shoulder, grab shots. I took two shots, and this was the better of the two as far as Genie's expression. I don't think Genie realized that she would be in the picture, hence the relaxed expression.

--Warren

5 Comments:

Blogger Benson said...

With the shot being B&W and Genie's facial expression, there is a very solemn mood. Can't say if I like it or not but it can tell a story if there was caption under it in a newspaper or magazine. Maybe Tony can comment from a photojournalism perspective.

Monday, September 12, 2005 at 9:01:00 AM PDT  
Blogger Warren T. said...

hi Benson,

Thanks for your thoughts on this. I really didn't know what to expect when I tripped the shuuter. I was pleasantly surprised when I got home and looked at the image. It appears to be taken from the point of view of the rear view mirror. I decided to convert it to B&W to give it the mood that I wanted to convey, but I didn't intend for it to be solemn :) I guess B&W will do that sometimes. :)

I don't recall seeing a shot like this in recent memory...but then again, maybe I just haven't looked that hard for it either.

--Warren

Monday, September 12, 2005 at 10:32:00 AM PDT  
Blogger Warren T. said...

By the way, saying that the image conveys a solemn mood is VERY IMPORTANT data for me. I really appreciate that.

Thanks,

Warren

Monday, September 12, 2005 at 11:45:00 AM PDT  
Blogger martin said...

How you presented this photo contributes to the mood. Any manipulation or lack of manipulation will affect the photo. It is a bit dark, the shadows lack detail.

Actually the exposure is dark because of the light coming from the rear window threw the exposure off. You could do a levels adjustment or lighten the shadow areas.

Monday, September 12, 2005 at 5:04:00 PM PDT  
Blogger Warren T. said...

Hey Martin, Thanks for the comment.

The exposure of the car's interior was how I intended it. I already adjusted the levels to my satisfaction. :)

--WT

Monday, September 12, 2005 at 9:53:00 PM PDT  

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Monday, September 05, 2005

Solitude at Caltrain Station, 9/3/2005



Nikon D100

0 Comments:

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Thursday, September 01, 2005

Another hood ornament


Warren told me about Blogger's own photo upload feature so I'm trying it with this shot. I like how this subject is in sharper focus than my previous post but it is the back side of the ornament. Oh well.

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Candid of Madison & Mike


Nikon N50, Quantary 28-80mm, Cheap Color Print Film

This was taken at a family gathering at Benson's house. The on-camera flash is a bit harsh, but sometimes you just have to "run what ya brung". The moment won't wait until you find the right equipment.

--Warren

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