A new toy

A new lens got added to the collection today, a Canon 24-105mm f/4 L IS. I'm just a wee bit excited :-)

| 10 Mar 2010 | #

12 Month Anniversary

Yesterday was the 12 month anniversary of starting my photoblog - Learning 2 See - an attempt at posting one image per week day, in some sort of thematic grouping.

What it's shown me is that producing quality shots on a regular basis is really difficult. It's an incredible time sink. To succeed, you need to be scheduling photo shoots on a regular basis, and being prepared to take enough shots to throw away 90% of them. In my attempt to keep the commitment of a shot per weekday, I've had to use quite a few shots that I'm not happy with - whether it be the composition, or the technical execution that has failed - just so I could have something to post. But out of the 218 or so shots posted so far, there's some captures that I think have worked.

So has it been worthwhile?

Absolutely!

I've learnt a lot, and I think I'm a better photographer today than what I was 12 months ago. But as per usual with any field of endeavour, the more you learn, the more you realise how much you don't know. I've got a long way to go, but I'm glad about the journey so far.

| 23 Sep 2009 | #

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie...

What can be done with an Apple iPhone and a telescope on a clear night?

Crude Astrophotography.

| 14 Apr 2009 | #

What tripod do I have?

So when planning a photo trip overseas I keep on forgetting what tripod I'm currently using. It's embarrassing. So once and for all - the tripod I use is a SLIK U9000.

At least now it's on my blog so I can find it without having to go back into my Amazon account and looking up past orders from 5 years ago.

Oh, and by the way, I'm soon off to Wellington, NZ.

| 16 Feb 2009 | #

Photoshoot September 2008

Out on a photoshoot with Adam, a fellow Canon DSLR affectionado. We met before dawn and walked through the eastern side of the Adelaide parklands, discovering many wonders and treasures.

Surprisingly, I was only a little jealous of his new 50mm f/1.4 :-)

Also of note, this week I started a new photoblog, Learning To See, in an attempt to force me to keep shooting regularly.

| 27 Sep 2008 | #

Just some photos

| 05 Jan 2007 | #

L Glass

After this past weekend I'm now the proud owner of some L glass, the Canon EF 70-200 f4 lens.

I then spent a couple of hours at the zoo, playing with my new toy. Some samples will be coming soon to ploon. All I can say is that I agree with the online reports - once you've used L glass, there's no looking back :-P Fast, Sharp, Light-weight, Not-too-expensive. Love it!

| 28 Mar 2006 | #

Photography: White Balance

This article on colour balance is very useful - I'm only now getting a grip on white colour balance and how to increase the saturation of photos in-camera rather than in post-production.

Simple rule: Colour temperature at noon on a fine day is about 5500K. To add more red to an image move your colour balance towards shade, ie. 7000K - the camera thinks the colour temperature is cooler, so it adds more red. To add more blue, move your white balance towards sunrise/sunset, ie. 3500K ie. camera thinks the colour temperature is hotter, so adds more blue to compensate.

Back the front, but makes sense :-) Experimentation is the key.

| 24 Jan 2006 | #

Sound activated flashes

Foo camp did fun things with balloons and sound activated flashes. Looks like it was good fun.

Re-found via nat.

Reading elsewhere on the web, things like smashing lightbulbs and popping waterballons work well. And of course the traditional shooting bullets through apples. More fun things to add to my todo list :)

| 05 Oct 2005 | #

ploon.net goes live

Opened up ploon.net - my photoblogging site. We'll see how it goes.

| 01 Apr 2005 | #

First Shots

First shots with the new camera :)

| 16 Mar 2005 | #

New Toy

My new toy arrived yesterday. Woohoo!

[Aside: UPS Suck. I arrived home to find a UPS truck outside my apartment, so I ask the guy if there is a package for me - afterall, I was expecting one. He said that he didn't, and that it would probably come tomorrow. I went inside, a little frustrated. After talking to S, I went back downstairs to double-check with him - the UPS website said the package was Out for delivery i.e. in a van. I then found a note that the UPS guy left on the front door of the apartment block after I left saying that he had attempted delivery and no-one was home. That wasn't true because S and I were in the apartment. So I went to the Dry Cleaners room - the place UPS drops undeliverable packages. They didn't have my package either, so I drove around the complex and finally found the UPS van at another apartment block. After confronting him again, he handed over the package - he said he got "confused". This made me angry because he lied to my face about the package, and then put the note on the apartment security door after lying and didn't attempt delivery. This isn't the first time a UPS driver has been too lazy to deliver a package either. At least the camera arrived safely.]

| 10 Mar 2005 | #

Understanding Exposure

Recently finished Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera (Updated Edition) by Bryan Peterson. I found this book really useful to me - I'm just a newbie photographer - so having Peterson explain things like the relationship between film sensitivity, aperture and shutter speed was exactly what I needed to hear. His explanation of correct exposures verses creatively-correct exposures made a light go off in my head. Similarly his division of different apertures into story-telling exposures, singular theme exposures and "Who Cares?" exposures, along with his discussion of shutter speeds - freezing the action, panning, and implying motion was succinct and useful.

Learning how TTL metering works, 18% grey, being able to correctly exposure everything from sunrise to sunset, snow, lots of green etc etc etc, all filled in gaps in my knowledge. Peterson takes photos that I like, and uses examples of his own work plentifully in this book. I like both his writing style and his photographic style. I've taken to writing some of his hints on 4x6" index cards to carry when out photographing. Out of the many books on photography I have read, this one is the best.

On a scale of 1 to 5, this book is a must read.

| 03 Mar 2005 | #

Offspring

| 21 Jan 2005 | #

Photo Tidbits

Thinking about photography today - found this great Photo Tidbits site.

| 30 Dec 2004 | #

Love my tripod

I'm enjoying using my SLIK U9000 tripod - inside shots without flash are now possible, and the results aren't too bad either. It's very easy to use, lightweight and the quick-release mount bracket isn't too bulky on the camera. So I've re-read a pre-review of the E300 again - makes me really want one. The time will come shortly when I'll just have to upgrade to a DSLR.

| 30 Dec 2004 | #

Online photography course

Garrett LeSage posted about Jodie Coston's Free photography course at the morgueFile.

I'm bookmarking, because if I can find some free time, I'd really like to take better photos. Buying this might help, but I need to get the most out what I have beforehand.

| 23 Oct 2004 | #

About hugin

Chris wrote this about Hugin:

There are some early packages available, but they don't seem to work yet

Did I listen? No. Did the pre-built packages work for me? No. Brain in gear? No.

| 07 Sep 2004 | #

Creating Panoramic Photos

When I was in Chicago recently I took a few panoramic shots - specifically of the White Sox and Willow Creek Church. Haven't got around to stitching them together because the panoramic software that comes with my camera doesn't run under Linux.

Recently Chris wrote up how he did it, but I still didn't get around to it.

Today I just found this article, which looks pretty good as well. I'm running out of excuses :-)

| 06 Sep 2004 | #