Tumgik
#got a new 18-55mm lens & i’m in love
dailykatrina · 3 years
Text
PART I
The primary purpose of this blog was to publish the picture of my friend Elīna wearing a red beret. First time we interacted was at our coursmates movie night at his place far away in 2010. We didn’t like each other first. I don’t remember how exactly we became friends (as I don’t remember what was the movie we watched that night. Was it a film by Coen brothers? Or something from Clint Eastwood?). Nevertheless, something more important became evident soon after - we were about to embark on a journey of imagination together and enhance the everyday in such ways that no object would be left as ordinary. 
PART II
This blog became abandoned. It is true. I moved to France in 2016 and it took me about 3 years to fully settle. I’ve traveled a lot during this time as well. There was a lot happening and a lot of effort was put into learning new language, taking care of seemingly never-ending bureaucratic procedures and money earning activities. I didn’t post much during that time and there’s another reason for that. I’ve got a 35mm vintage Canon camera and it didn’t feel right to mix those well framed shots with random everydayness from my phone camera on the same platform. 
I’ve posted some photo series on flickr. There’s only two (or three) that I personally find succesfull and feel the importance of. 
PART III
I went to a film and photo developement workshop as a present for my 29th birthday. It’s been a dream coming true. I knew that I want to experiment with developement and to be more in charge of how sensitive my photography is. However, I continued to develop at an external film lab. My Paris apartment was too small to welcome a darkroom.
PART IV
I got my first real* camera when I was 16 or 17. It was a digital Canon EOS 400. I can still summon the feelings of pride about the marketing speech I gave to my father (in order for him to sponsor this lavish desire). I loved taking black and white and low iso pictures with that camera and a few years later I even expanded my lens collection. However, I loved shooting with the basic 18-55mm lens the most. As much as I almost always shoot on Program with my vintage Canon still today. 
I had a blog on Blogspot. It was called '1000 airplanes on the roof'. That blog was important. I erased it. I even erased the archive of the images I had on my computer from that time. But it was important and there are images I can still recall in my memory that don’t exist in any other realm anymore. JV was following that blog. He asked me to have one of the pictures in full size and I shared it with him. It’s the only picture left from that blog that has a materiality today. 
*I had a point and shoot sony pocket camera before, but my mother lost it a year after I got it. 
PART V
I’ve started using instagram when I moved to France as a way to communicate with my friends. A place for everyday randomness and stunning French landscapes. I love taking pictures with my phone. I am not a farmer of a photography who willfully cultivates and constructs his images. I am a hunter. Or rather, outside of these binaries, I'm just perceptive and sensitive towards objects/elements existing outside of me and them falling into certain ‘images’ that pierce me. I feel like things are cinematographic. And I love to archive things. You know by now that I can be manic and a compulsive eraser, having an inner fight between a desire to share and a desire to keep to myself. Not that there ever was an ambition - even after years of (intermittently occasional but ever-present) shooting, I still considered painting as my primary artistic interest. Painting would be the one I would give my time to. Not photography. 
PART VI 
I am not a painter today. I even developed a fear of a brush. It makes me feel anxious. My last painting teacher criticized my way of being too detail oriented (lack of confidence) and I was vulnerable to that. It made me cry. I am hoping to come back to it one day but for now I need more time for the expression to ripen. 
Things happened photography wise, things that I've already mentioned and some other things that I haven't. I got a Ricoh pocket camera (my digital Canon died of being unused a long time ago already). I realized that I lack literacy, awareness and vocabulary about my own pictorial expressions. I realized that most of my photography is not well served by the small digital format (thanks JV!). I realized that I don’t want my pictures (don’t mind about the phone pictures but not the 135 and MF) to be a scroll through in the middle of the instagram garbage and adds (thanks SF!). I realized that I want the images I capture to be tangible (Thanks to both JV and SF). 
PART VII
It took time to understand what kind of enlarger woud fit my needs best. I didn’t think I’ll get there on my own. But like with everything - persistence and diligence are likely to take you anywhere you want to get to. 
The everyday is important and I am still trying to capture it. Elīna is not here with me but our friendship is a shared book where we both keep writing our experiences. It might not have an immediate visuality. But we'll talk about it and make it alive once we're together. Life continues to be beautiful and ugly and final in both of these expressions as always. I snap this and that and post it here and there. The medium for that is inconstant. 
Sometimes I get into the habit of sharing 
and sometimes 
I get out of it. 
But this place, 
for now 
it’s a place 
of memories 
of an era. 
2 notes · View notes
tinybigmoments · 7 years
Text
Review: Canon Lens 85mm f/1.8
Tumblr media
Hey everybody! 2017 started insanely busy for me, which is good and I can't complain but I miss blogging more. I'm with two jobs now, working from 9am to 9pm, my family was visiting me and I did lots of road trips that were amazing and I will be posting soon about them. Can't wait to show all my photographs! Actually, this post is all about my new baby. I finally got a portrait lens that I wanted so much since college. I am still shooting with my regular 18-55mm for the blog but from now on, sometimes y'all will be seeing pictures taken with my 85mm.
I did a lot of research and read a bunch of reviews until I decided to get the Canon 85mm lens with 1.8 aperture. And may I say I am loving it! My other option was the 50mm f/1.4 and if you're asking why I went for the 85mm is because I like to photograph mostly landscapes. The 85mm has a pretty sharp result comparing to the 50mm when it comes to landscapes and for portraits the bokeh is absolutely stunning! The background gets so blurred and the front object very defined, giving me a really pro results. I have to be careful now because the scar on my forehead is appearing so much more with this lens hahaha. Also, it works really good at low light and it's really easy to choose what you want to keep sharp and what you want to leave blurred.
Take a look at these examples:
Landscape taken with 85mm f/1.8 and same image at 100%, this definition! 
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Portrait taken with 85mm f/1.8:
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Object with a beautiful bokeh in the background. Really good in low light.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Focusing option: Sharp background / Blurred first object (tree) or Sharp first object (tree) / blurred background: 
Tumblr media Tumblr media
That being said, I am having GREAT results as you can see. Those were my first pictures trying out this lens, they are a little too bright and I am still struggling with how far I need to go to take a good landscape/full body portrait shot and how much of white lights it captures since it's a 1.8 aperture, but, I am definitely loving the shallow depth of field of its focus. Here are more examples of photos that we took. Hope this review is useful as the ones that I read on the internet. Will be back soon with my other adventures. And if you are wondering, all of these pics were taken in San Francisco downtown and the piers. See yaa!
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
0 notes
chefseyephotography · 5 years
Photo
Tumblr media
I have OFFICIALLY joined the Fujifilm family and sold all of my Panasonic LUMIX gear. I've moved from MFT back to APS-C. My NEW kit of older equipment consists of the Fujifilm X-E2, for all my street photography and my newly added X-T1, for all my professional and studio work. I plan to add the X-H1 later this year to round out my camera bodies. For lenses I've gone 100% manual with the Meike 25mm f1.7 and the 7Artisan 55mm f1.4. I plan to add the Fujinon 18-55mm f2.8-4 kit zoom and the Rokinon 12mm f2 wide-angle to complete my initial lens collection. Let me say for the record, the Panasonic LUMIX line of cameras are fantastic but where they really shine is 4K video. The thing is, I'm not a videographer. I'm a photographer and I love how Fujifilm cameras render both colour, black and white and monochrome. I've got a lot to learn about this new camera system. Bare with me and stay tuned for new photos. #Fujifilm #FujiXE2 #XE2 #FujiXT1 #XT1 #7Artisans #7Artisans55mm #Meike25mm #7ArtisanLenses #MeikeLenses #Cameras #Photography #Photographers #ShadowAndLight #Gear #Fujifilm_XSeries #FujiGear (at Washington, District of Columbia) https://www.instagram.com/p/BzAxuM-hmT8/?igshid=n7250ndpm4nh
0 notes
leireunzueta · 7 years
Text
How I edit my landscape photographs taken with Fujifilm cameras
Last week I received an email from a fellow photographer wondering if I could explain how did I finally manage to edit my landscape work with the Fujis. That is why I decided to write about what the process has been like for me. 
My journey with Fujifilm cameras started a couple of years ago when I wanted something smaller and lighter for my trips. Back then, I used to bring a full backpack with a camera, several lenses, filters and a tripod. For cityscapes though, I would bring the 6D and one lens. I remember that it always ended up being a big hustle and so uncomfortable to carry it around from one place to another. So I made up my mind, and chose to get a X Pro1 with a couple of lenses. In the summer of 2015, before going on our month and a half trip to the US and Canada, I really wanted to get familiar with the new system and went to shoot several portraits in the forest with some friends. I was sold immediately and that’s when my love for Fujifilm cameras started. I really enjoyed the sharpness and the quality of the images and I loved the camera itself. It was one of the most beautiful cameras I had ever seen and so much fun to shoot with. 
While in the US, I took the X Pro1 around NYC and other cities in California, Oregon and Washington. I was really happy, it was perfect for what I wanted. Small and great, much easier to carry on a day out exploring the streets than lugging around the 6D. I also shot landscapes with the Fuji around the Capilano Suspension Bridge near Vancouver and in the Olympic Peninsula in WA. The experiment with a new system turned out to be really exciting and I was happy with the results. So last year (May 2016), I got the XT1, and up until August or so my 6D stayed in a shelf. I also stopped taking a bag with filters, the tripod... and guess what? Everything felt lighter and so much comfortable. I loved everything about the cameras and when I used them for portraits or as daily carry I literally thought I would sell my Canon gear.
My favorite thing about these cameras has always been their size, the layout of buttons and dials, the EVF and simply how beautiful they are. Also the dynamic range is incredible, and I’m always amazed by how I can get the perfect balance between the highlights and shadows. This is so much better compared to my 6D where I always have to underexpose to get some details in the clouds in post production. With the Fujis though, it only takes one look through the viewfinder to adjust the settings and you’re done. But there was something major that stopped me from selling my Canon and actually keeping both systems, and that was my editing. I couldn’t match the looks between my Canon and Fuji files. For some reason the landscapes were really difficult to edit to my liking. I could have given up and sell all my Fuji gear, but I didn’t. I just loved it so much for all the other situations!
Now that I think about it and after months of working on it, I guess my problem was with colors and the learning curve of working with a different kind of sensor and processor. I know people love the color these cameras produce, but I don’t really enjoy the blue tones SOOC and I totally dislike the greens and the way the camera renders them in landscape photographs. I have also figured out that the photographs I make on cloudy and misty days are much easier to edit to my liking than the ones taken on sunny days, I just can’t handle to edit those blue, cloudless skies (this also happens to me with the 6D, by the way). I love muted tones and for some reason I couldn’t achieve that with my usual editing. Sometimes the vivid colors of these files just don’t speak to me because I find them really different to my editing. So it was a matter of learning what works for me and what doesn’t when post processing the files and that, unfortunately, took me longer than expected.
As I mentioned earlier, if you take a look around my portfolio, you will see that the majority of my work is done on rainy and cloudy days. I believe it’s the atmosphere of those days that really pulls me to get out and photograph nature and landscapes. Light conditions and the time of the day that you shoot at can make a phograph go from stunning to meh. That is a fact. So I started to go out to photograph on days like those described above, and slowly I started developing some presets that worked for these images. Rich colors mixed with dark shadows, that was it! I developed a moody and dark way of editing that really caught my attention and made me really picky when choosing the time and conditions in which I went out to shoot with the Fujifilm cameras. 
Last summer we went on a 13000km roadtrip in our van to Norway. I knew that I would be photographing some of the most spectacular locations for landscape and travel photographers like me, so I wanted to be prepared. Since we were sleeping in our van, I decided to bring the big camera bag along with the 6D +17-40mm, the XT1+ 18-55mm and the X100T. For some strange reason, I always reached for the Fujis, so I only used the 6D for 15 photos in total and the 2000 + others were from the XT1 with the kit lens and the X100T. This made me even more excited than the previous year. I didn’t hesitate to use the Fuji for landscapes and the conditions were just as I wanted them: misty, moody and super cloudy. People may think I’m a weirdo for loving that kind of weather for my summer holidays, but when travel and landscape photography is your job and a trip like this is the perfect occasion to create some portfolio worth images, that’s all you really wish for. As soon as I came back home from Norway, I pulled out the files into Lightroom and applied my own presets. I was relieved, it had worked. I was improving, and on my way to finally love these cameras and the editing process of their files.
So I guess you are wondering how I post process them, so I will give you a few hints. As I have said on a previous blog post, I achieve these colors by moving the sliders of three different panels of Lightroom. My most used presets are based on VSCO’s Portra 160+++ which I’ve tweaked until I’ve found something that I really like and works for my images. The following are some common adjustments that you can find on the majority of my images: In the tone curves panel, I always lift the shadows and decrease the highlights a bit. If it’s cloudy, I will accentuate those clouds, but if there’s a dull sky, I will usually blow out the highlights in the basic panel. In the HSL panel, my green tones are usually yellowish, and the yellows are a bit more orange. The saturation of the greens is really low but the luminance however, pretty high. I believe split toning is really important too. I usually have a bluish tone for the highlights and a warmer one for the shadows. Those are the three panels where the “magic” happens in my editing.
Many people have asked me to put my presets for sale, but I don’t think I am ready for that because I believe each of us has to develop our taste and work on something that works for our images. I really encourage people to just keep working on it and not copying literally other’s editing processes. I could show you screenshots of my editing panels, but I adjust every slider in each image, so I don’t think that is worth it. However, I do have some before and after screenshots where you actually see what I mean (check previous blog posts). But I am willing to give people tips and talk about how to think on your editing while you are making the actual photographs and how to improve their editing once you are in Lightroom. If people are interested, I may even create some videos to show you how I work in Lightroom and I can make some videos also editing some of your RAWs, if that is something you might enjoy. 
So what is my plan from now on… Ever since I started to enjoy my new way of editing with Fujifilm cameras, I’ve been saving up to build a lens collection that I am comfortable with. I am currently looking for the 16mm and the 23mm 1.4 since those are my favorite focal lengths. I’m also keeping my Canon system because I can’t let go of my Sigma 35Art for portraits. I have to say that even though I have 4 digital cameras in my bag, they all have a purpose for the work that I do. Except for the X Pro1 maybe, that I only take out when I feel some nostalgia... and I know for sure that I don’t want to sell it. This summer, we are planning on going on a trip to Japan and Indonesia where I want to bring a Fuji camera with the 16, 23 and the 35 1.4 (that I already own). I want to be able to travel light, with everything that I need in a ONA bag. In some of the tests that I’ve seen, it seems like the new XT2 and X PRO2 show less mushing in landscape photographs, and I would love to hear from those who own any of them if that is true or if it's just my eyes suffering from G.A.S (which I admit, Fujifilm cameras make me have it). Hopefully, I will be able to try that for myself sometime soon and we’ll see where that leads to. 
Probably this post was longer than expected and doesn’t answer all your questions... or maybe it leaves out some important information that you were expecting to hear from me. If that is the case, please don’t hesitate to write down in the comments or dropping me an email with your questions. I will try to do my best to give you a detailed answer. 
I would like to finish this post with the before and afters of my favorite 25 photos I’ve taken with the Fujis so far. I hope you like them!
11 notes · View notes
Text
TFTP: Rise Against in Perth, WA
In which we photograph Rise Against and have the best shuttle and replacement bus experiences ever. *Mexican wave.*
Hi, hello, and welcome!
My name is Skyler and oH MY FUCKING LORD YES I PHOTOGRAPHED RISE AGAINST. I honestly cannot believe it either, but here we are. I guess I make up for that with my really shitty lenses and positioning though, so I'm back to being a pathetic idiot. For real though, I was using your standard 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 kit lens and it made me want to die.
We're only one paragraph down and I've managed to include an abundance of self-hatred and suicide references... how fun.
Before we begin, I'd like to take a moment to thank the lovely lads at HBF Stadium and VenuesWest for their assistance in gaining a photo pass, even if it wasn't a "proper", "entry-to-the-pit" one; this experience was actually extremely educational, teaching me to try out new angles, avoid photographing the same people (for social images) twice, that I really need to pay more attention to my camera modes, and that I should just get new freaken lenses. Furthermore, it's only necessary to thank the amazing Bare Bones for hooking us up with a reviewer pass. The guys are some of the kindest and talented people I've had the pleasure of meeting, and seeing them live was incredible. So thank y'all kindly.
Anywho, let's get to it:
T'was a lovely Wednesday 7th February when I found myself doing some last-minute transport calculations and failing to print a ticket. After dragging my lazy ass out of math class I headed home, only to realise that I hadn't worked out a proper schedule for our train-to-train-to-Grill'd-to-bus-to-HBF Stadium trip. It was at this same point that I realised that the Freo line wasn't operating that evening from 7pm till Thursday morning; you know, so it'd be closed
after the concert ended and busses stopped.
Furthermore, I had a pathetic excuse for a digital ticket that refused to transfer or print itself, thus I was in a complete panic.
So I did what any good concert photographer would do: I decided to wing it. The trains, the busses, heck, even the mushroom burgers and tickets. Just go with the flow. What ever will be, will be. Et cetera.
I was of course to regret this when I found myself sprinting to the Freo train and not regaining my breath until we reached Claremont Station, but it's fine. It's all fine. Just go with the flow. I had to become Boxer from Animal Farm;  "I will work harder". "Napoleon is always right". I will plan better. Grill'd burgers make everything alright. Something like that.
Soon enough, we found ourselves at Grill'd, ordering mushroom burgers; you know, those vegan ones we get every single goddamn time because Grill'd only has two (though very amazing) vegan options... besides the chips. But nobody counts that. Regardless, t'was an incredible lunch/dinner/linner and I might've become addicted to it.
We soon headed for HBF Stadium, where after an hour of hectic "I've never photographed here before", I was assisted by a wonderful VenuesWest employee. (I don't want to mention names as I don't know if they'd be all right with that.) The place was crawling with eager concert-goers, and there's nothing I love more than listening to their conversations. It's weird and creepy, I know, but they're usually highly opinionated and I love to answer or debate them in my mind.
After a little while longer of waiting, the show was about to start.
First up were Bare Bones, some of the best lads in the whole of Australia. I first met them last year through an interview for Hysteria Magazine, in which I was wrongly credited by the publication. I also reviewed their album Bad Habits (2017) and was a fan of their music, giving them a 5/5. Anyone gonna comment on how that's a plain numeral and not "play this at my funeral/5"? No? Well regardless, I've matured since my days at Hysteria and now use fancy ratings, not those basic af number things. (I'm still salty at Hysteria. That will never change. They're in my book of Most Disliked, alongside Gina Rinehart and Supposed Manager.)
Though I'd only had a five-minute phone call with the band back in May, they appeared to be very humble and down to earth. This was confirmed that night, with Bare Bones playing one hell of a set before Rise Against. I was proud to say the least; I realise it's not my place to care, but I've been attentive to these guys' music for a little under a year, and had seen them grow as musicians. Sure, I had no clue as to what was occurring behind the scenes, but from a fan's perspective, they were progressing in the right direction.
Their performance was phenomenal. A slightly tough crowd, considering the majority of people were too busy waiting in lines for booze, but those present seemed to love the set. The lads did a fantastic job, and I had a bit of a fangirl moment when they played "Thick as Thieves"... stop judging me...
They were the perfect way to start the evening, even with the red lighting.
Intermission.
The lights dimmed, the crowd screamed, the blogger wrote the same "a band is about to go onstage" line that everyone uses, and lo and behold, Rise Against appeared before us. I had a bit of a restrictive photo pass, and could only shoot from the crowd (the photo pass part of it allowed me to bring in professional equipment, which the general admission was prohibited from doing). It was quite the spectacle, really. The guys were super energetic and immersed the entire audience, which is always fun.
We had a three song shooting restriction, which nobody but myself actually followed. I wanted to enjoy the show from a fan's perspective, so after the third song, "The Violence", I set down my DSLR and realised just how incapable I was at audience-ing. But before we get to that, let's focus on this last shooting song:
I was granted permission to run around the venue like a headless goose, so long as I got some decent imagery out of it. So for this song, I ran to the nosebleeds to capture some crowd shots. I received quite a few concerned expressions from staff and security, mostly due to my weird singing whilst shooting; apparently normal people don't do that. But as I was at the top of the crowd, looking down at each and every attendee, I felt at peace. There was something rich and raw within that moment, something that united the entire stadium as one. It was that same emotion that grasped me during SOTA Fest last year, and I loved it. So I took it in. A moment of admiring the scene.
I was soon back in the crowd, and as I said before, I didn't know how to audience properly. I mean, I stood there... just... standing. I sang along to some songs, but felt awkward without a camera and was unsure of where to keep my hands. I was going to run into the pit and join the moshers who were throwing shoes at each other, but then a really sweaty muscular dude almost knocked me over as he headed for the pit, and I realised that if I can't survive the sidelines, there's no way I'd walk out of that pit alive.
So I went back to figuring out where to place my hands.
Rise Against were absolutely incredible. They're such modest people and are wholeheartedly dedicated to entertaining their fans, and anyone with the chance to see them live should do so. There's nothing I love more than (vegetarian and vegan) musicians showing a love for their fans and being the sweetest people ever whilst jamming the fuck out and hosting one of the craziest mosh pits ever. (SOMEONE GET THEM A GRILL'D MUSHROOM BURGER, THEY DESERVE IT!)
Inter- fuck, it was over. But don't fret; this post isn't. We've still got a Drunk Dudes on a BusTM story to tell. Actually, there's over an hour of bus tales to tell, so I think we're gonna summarise it as follows:
- We got to the shuttle and were greeted by a seemingly chillaxed bus driver.- Soon the bus was packed full of drunken weirdos and I loved the atmosphere.- Everything was about to intensify when the driver began, well, driving.- He actually drove like a maniac and was going way over the speed limit; everyone loved it! (Dead serious, no sarcasm. It was amazing.)- Some random dude with a thick Aussie accent screamed "SICKIIIIIIIES FOR EVERYONE TOMORROW!"- Everyone replied with "hear, hear!"- The driver should star in the next Fast and Furious film.- He was driving super recklessly so the drunk guys up the back decided it was only necessary to do the Mexican wave.- When they finally perfected the wave - sorry, we all perfected the wave, because everyone was engaged and loving the moment - someone shouted "GO TEAM" really loudly. - They were being the hilarious drunks and I wished I had some of the beer they were having. Well, I did; it was spilled on me at least three times during the show. Nevertheless, I hadn't drunk any and I regretted that.- The driver ran a red light.- It was kinda like that bus in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and my geek self was thriving.- Unfortunately we reached Claremont Station and had to get off the bus ://- The trains weren't operating so the Drunk GangTM (I'm included okAY I WANT TO BE A PART OF THIS) trekked to the bus stop. - The replacement busses were running late so we had to stand there for over half an hour. I loved it.- The Drunks were trying to hitchhike and scared a lot of passing traffic.- They started terrorising passing Grill'd employees and screaming "ONE OF US! ONE OF US!" until we were all chanting.- There was one couple who seemed to be normal backpackers but they were having some weird-ass conversations regarding red suitcases and pillows. - We were getting pretty reckless so somebody called the railway security Transperth people whose profession titles I've momentarily forgotten.- It took a fair few patrol cars to keep us at bay. It's not like we were harming anyone, though; just screaming at passing cars. - I wish I took a group photo of everyone but that would've required crossing the street and it was midnight and I had no energy left to avoid getting run over by a truck. Or the shuttle bus. In all honesty, I was mainly concerned the bus would arrive the moment I got to the other side of the road and would leave without me.- The replacement bus finally came and barely anyone paid for their tickets.- It was one of those large ones that had a caterpillar in the middle (what? I can't explain things) so we were fortunate enough all fit in and travel together.- I had a lovely chat about the comfort levels of the bus' seats with some obviously intoxicated lad.- One dude boarded at a random stop out of nowhere and was like, "Hold up, y'all are coming from Rise Against? I WAS THERE TOO! FAAAAAAM!!!" - Someone got kicked off unfairly at the side of the road and we still miss him dearly.- After he was kicked off, everyone went dead silent for a couple dozen seconds before someone at the back started singing loudly, "The wheels on the bus go round and round..." and then everyone joined in and Broadway was shook. - We went the really long way and it was like 1am when we reached the Perth bus station.- I LOVE MY BUS FAM AND I WISH WE COULD HAVE A REUNION SOMETIME SO PLEASE CONTACT ME IF YOU WERE THERE AND WE CAN AT LEAST ACKNOWLEDGE OUR BUS PRESENCE OR SOMETHING. PLEASE. I'M SLIGHTLY DESPERATE, I DON'T CARE HOW WEIRD OR CREEPY THIS SOUNDS.
So... that was that. I still love my Bus Family just leave me to cry.
Next up: I don't freaken know, but I'm not writing about Hyperfest because I don't have nearly as many adjectives as I'd need for that. (But Midland Grill'd make the best vegan mushroom burgers and I love them for it.)
MUSICAL SUMMARY:
Bare Bones: mY PRECIOUS FAVES I'M SO PROUD *wipes tear*/5
Rise Against: YOU FUCKEN LEGENDS I LOVE YOU/5
Drunk Dudes on Bus: Y'all should get a musical.ly account and start touring and I'll be your photographer and wE CAN ALL LIVE ON A BUS TOGETHER/5
PHOTOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY:
Lenses: Failed me/5
Camera: The love of my life/5
Lighting: Pretty. Good. Pretty good. -Mike Wheeler in Stranger Things/5
Editing: I had to crop some images I'm sorry please don't hate me/5
My sanity: I JUST WANT MY BUS FAMILY BACK IS THAT SERIOUSLY TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR/5
Live long and headbang, xx-Skyler Slate
0 notes
tinyworldsbackup · 7 years
Text
Behind the scenes: Photographing tiny worlds
Learn all about how I take my photos of tiny worlds
1. Start with the gear you have
One of the first questions I get asked is: what camera are you using? While I think you can take a good photo with about any camera, the gear is of course still important, as it informs/limits the set of artistic decisions you can make.
Macro without macro lens I use the Sony Alpha 58, which is an entry level DSLR, together with the 18-55mm kit lens. That's right - it's actually not a macro lens I'm using! While it came down to cost in the beginning to not use a "proper" macro lens, I think those restrictions also gave me an interesting input on my process - with such a lens you tend to capture more of the environment around your subject. If I'd have used a macro lens, I might be just taking the cliche super-closeups with blurry background. I'm not saying those kind of images are bad, but it certainly is interesting to detach yourself from established photography cliches and find your own thing. "Tiny Worlds" started with a digicam And to further the argument that you can shoot good photos with about any camera, here is the photo which started the Tiny Worlds photography series, shot back in 2012.
This was shot with a consumer level digicam. While this gave me of course limitations in terms of what I could capture and how it was a great starting point. My suggestion is to start with the gear you have at hand and build from there. You don't even have to buy a digicam, most phone cameras nowadays have a way better image quality than my old digicam used to have.
Other gear I use So much for my choice of camera and lens. Besides that some gear I regularly use include:
my gray card (for manual white balance using the in-camera software)
my guerilla pod tripod (small, lightweight tripod, prefer it over my bigger one)
Other than that I occasionally use:
battery driven fairy lights (for interesting backgrounds, see: Experiments with fairy lights)
spray bottles, watering can, water bottles (to add moving water to photos, see: Water in Macro)
sparklers, fire, etc.
2. Macro motifs are everywhere
Now that we got the gear out of the way - let's talk about the - in my opinion - most important part: finding a motif and seeing to what ideas and feelings it relates to for you.
The nice thing about macro photography is that interesting motives can be found about anywhere. Even little plants growing out of cracks in a sidewalk may offer an interesting motif, a tiny ecosystem. For example, the photo above was taken on the bottom of an empty flooding basin. That said, I usually prefer to take my photos in the forest or garden though, as you can imagine :P But if you have nothing like that nearby, don't let it keep you down - you just will need to search a bit harder. See the world with other eyes And if you don't find something, it's not so bad either. I try to keep in mind that there is always also the process that matters getting to the motif. Photography is a great excuse to explore the world and see it with other eyes. The resulting photos are just a great way to share those new views and maybe inspire people to look differently at things too!
How to find little animals That said here are some practical tips to find little animals when exploring the garden or forest:
go photographing during "golden hour" (shortly before sunset) - many animals come out during this period and the light is also really lovely
look next to dead wood, wet spots, anything that could be a little hideout - many of the animals I photograph look for wet, dark spots during the day to not dry out (e.g. snails, woodlouse)
slow down, get close to the ground and observe - it's hard to see most tiny things while walking by (except mushrooms and the like)
You can also think about building a little hideout in your garden to observe the little animals around your place.
3. How I capture a motif
Ok, now that I gave you some tips for looking for motives, let's talk about how I actually go about capturing them. I'll try to give you some key-points to how I do it. Note that you shouldn't just copy it 1:1, but rather use it as inspiration and a starting point to find your own approach. Here is the image I'm gonna break down:
I shot this image during a time where a lot of mushrooms were growing in the forest. Those ones stood out to me as they were growing out of a decaying pinecone - wonderfully symbolizing the circle of death and life you can find in nature (hence the title "New Life"). Golden Hour I shot this photo during "golden hour". As you can see everything has a soft glow to it and there are no harsh shadows. I like to work with backlight during this time of the day, especially on translucent objects such as the fungi or moss. Another thing that is great about this time of day is the interesting background it usually allows for. I love those little points of light, called "bokeh". If you want to get "bokeh"/achieve a blurry background you have two factors that influence that. One is your f/Stop, the lower it is the greater the effect will be. The other is (if you are using a zoom lens) how much you are zoomed in to your motif. I usually try to max those both variables out while still keeping composition etc. in mind. Composition "like you are standing there" Talking about composition one thing I really like to do is to place my camera as close to the forest floor as possible and get a perspective on my object slightly from below - making it seem huge. Then I often combine it with a strong (blurry) foreground, giving you the sense as if you could actually be standing there. In this image, I used the moss for that. The rest of the composition process is largely intuition while keeping some principles in mind (empty space, leading lines, etc.). It definitively is good to know some composition principles, so you can use them consciously in your images to communicate a certain feeling. Manual focus and white balance Last but not least, two more things on my process of this image. This was shot in manual focusing mode, as my camera's autofocus sometimes has problems with focusing on the exact thing I want it to. But for many other motifs, I tend to rely on autofocus, as it often is hard to see if the focus is perfect on the tiny LCD screen. The other thing I want to mention beside the focus is how I approach the colors/white balance in my images. I already mentioned the gray card in my gear section. Basically what you do is take a photo of the card in the light of the scene, so the camera knows how to balance the other colors based on that. With my camera, it usually works way better than the automatic white balance modes. However how good this works, is largely dependent on the software in your camera. Usually, you want to do the whitebalance using post-processing software, as it gives you more control. That's something I still am getting accustomed to.
Any questions? I hope you found this look behind the scenes of my photography helpful! If you have any more questions or follow-up questions on what I wrote, feel free to ask them in the comments! Also, if you found this article helpful, please share it on social media - it helps a lot! :)
This post originally appeared on www.tinyworlds.org. Click here to read more nature posts.
0 notes
twisttech-blog1 · 7 years
Text
Consoles, OSes, pedals, and alternate contraptions we enjoyed most in 2015 The Ars audits group takes stock after a bustling year.
You discover a great deal of "best of" records on the Internet this time, taking after the extreme September-to-November item dispatch passage and an entire year of new equipment and programming. The Ars audits group is no special case—it's been an amazingly bustling year for us, and it's great to pause for a moment to stop and recollect the great and terrible stuff before going to CES and starting the entire cycle over once more.
Our tastes are everywhere—some of what takes after is stuff we like and effectively utilize, and there are different things we find reasonably fascinating yet don't really prescribe. In the event that there's a through-line, it's that large portions of these things are adornments instead of essential processing gadgets. Infrequently it takes a little extra to make an old telephone or PC feel new once more.
Slaw Device BF-109s
I don't normally need to front my own cash to experiment with rigging at Ars—commonly, if there's something I need to survey, a snappy email or telephone call to a contraption maker is sufficient to get an audit test traveled my direction. However, when I chose I needed to add rudder pedals to my gaming PC—the better to control my spaceships in Elite: Dangerous—the best way to do it was to make a scrappy universal wire exchange to a Polish ledger.
The rudder pedals I'd set my eyes on—the Slaw Device BF-109s—were an overwhelming steel-and-spring bit of unit, hand-constructed each one in turn in a Śmiłowo workshop by a Belarusian individual named Wiaczesław ("Вячеслав") Oziabło. He doesn't have a site and he doesn't acknowledge PayPal, thus the wire exchange.
Most purchaser review rudder pedals are plastic waste—even the ones that cost many dollars. Following a year or a greater amount of utilization, their direction or sliding tracks get gunky, or the flagging begins to get sporadic and jerky, or excited utilize just makes them go into disrepair—or some mix of the majority of the above. The Slaw Device pedals, then again, were depicted by a few sim aficionado locales as being of irreproachable quality, painstakingly planned and developed with an eye toward smooth, predictable performance.t took about a month from when I inquired as to whether I could purchase an arrangement of pedals from when I got them. This incorporated a five-day construct time and, subsequent to wiring Oziabło the $495 asking value (which really wound up being $540 after the wire exchange charges from my credit union), a two-week travel time to touch base in the US.
The underlying impressions from the audit still remain constant very nearly an entire year later: even following many hours of flight time, the pedals coast like ice skates over a solidified oil. They are impeccably touchy even to small developments without jitter. Regardless of whether you have to bump your ship or plane's nose by a solitary degree or pull the rudder hard over, the reaction bend is smooth and moment. The toe brakes are similarly smooth and sans jitter and give you a couple of additional tomahawks to allot things to in space (or work as, you most likely are aware, genuine toe brakes in a flight sim).
The Slaw Device pedals feel like top notch flying machine segments, and they're effectively my most loved buy of 2015. To me, they've been justified regardless of each and every penny of the cost.
Tizen
I'm running with the surveys I loved the most, as opposed to the items I preferred the most. (Despite the fact that on the off chance that you need to know my best telephones of the year, it would be the Nexus 5X and 6P).
I generally adore finding and auditing unusual working frameworks, and toward the start of this current year we got the chance to take a decent, long take a gander at Samsung's Tizen OS. We got tightly to it by means of the Samsung Z1, the main ever Tizen telephone. The gadget isn't sold in the United States, and Samsung certainly wouldn't send us one, so we needed to import it the distance from India.
The OS was initially pitched as Samsung's solution to Google's Android. It was being developed apparently perpetually, and incidentally Samsung appeared to lose its nerve. The OS transitioned from the top of the line OS we had reviewed at Mobile World Congress to a low-end gadget implied for creating nations. While it appeared to be able, there was nothing it offered over Android—it was only a poor duplicate of Android with bunches of harsh edges and without the broad application environment. It was as yet magnificent to get a very close take a gander at Samsung's interpretation of a full OS, however.
Android Auto
My other most loved audit this year was Android Auto. Strategically, Google's in-auto interface is another item that was hard to survey: we required an entire auto just to expound on it! On account of our dazzling new Cars Technica division, we could get a loaner vehicle and test it out.
Like mobile phones quite a while prior, autos are an item class that is all of a sudden anticipated that would be "savvy"— and in the event that you need to be "brilliant," you require programming. Presently, as in the beginning of cell phones, a group of equipment producers are abruptly pushed into the part of making programming. With for all intents and purposes zero understanding, it's nothing unexpected that they make a lackluster display with regards to of it. Seeing the significant programming organizations—to be specific Google and Apple—at the end of the day move in and demonstrate the equipment organizations how it's done is entrancing, and it's something we need to cover more later on. Watching both organizations use their cell phone application store biological community is a characteristic thing for us to cover.
Android Auto likewise needs to adjust usefulness against the should be sheltered and take after government controls. It includes much preferred plan over your common in-auto infotainment, however as a first-gen item it has a great deal of unpleasant edges and an absence of applications. It appears like one day it will be an incredible interface and one that we're trusting Google in the long run transforms into a full auto OS.
Logitech's K811 console
Consoles have the questionable respect of being both totally unexciting and extraordinarily critical. A nice console doesn't justify much remark, yet an awful one can truly make you despise utilizing a PC.
That is the reason, exhausting as it may be, the best contraption I've burned through cash on this year has been Logitech's K811 switchable Bluetooth console (the K810 has a darker complete and a Windows design however is generally indistinguishable). It has a design and key travel that I like, and the inward rechargeable batteries don't hurt (I got it a couple of months before Apple added a similar element to its desktop console). It has a decent backdrop illumination. Be that as it may, the genuine advantage for me is the capacity to match it to up to three gadgets, switchable by squeezing the initial three capacity keys. My work area has my iMac and a smaller than usual PC on it, and I now and again do deal with my iPad Air 2 when I need something more engaged and straightforward. Presently I don't have to stress over keeping numerous consoles around or manage clashing gadget pairings.
You can get this element in a couple of different consoles, including the more affordable (however considerably uglier and AAA-fueled) Logitech K380. Be that as it may, the enhanced nature of the K810/K811 improves it the venture, and I'm glad to have it on my desk.The iPad Mini 4 and 6th gen iPod TouchI'm lumping these two items into one passage in light of the fact that dispassionately they're two of Apple's slightest imperative, minimum mechanically great, most-tore apart iOS items. Both utilize a year ago's Apple A8 chip, so they're not pushing the envelope there. Any individual who has an iPhone of any stripe doesn't generally require an iPod Touch, and iPad Mini gets pressed out a bit by the iPhone 6/6S Plus' bigger screen and the iPad Air 2's lighter weight.
In any case, regardless I like them two, and they're truly pleasant substitutes for their forerunners, the maturing fifth-era iPod Touch and the dull iPad Mini 3. iPods are incredible generally shabby little iDevices for the individuals who don't need or need a cell phone, for children whose guardians would prefer not to spend for costly information arranges, or for engineers on a financial plan. The new one looks precisely like the old one, however it's significantly speedier. The iPad Mini 4 has a fabulous screen that can at long last match the nature of bigger iPads, and it has the speed and the RAM it needs to bolster all of iOS 9's new multitasking highlights.
These are the specialty iest iDevices. I simply happen to like the specialties they fit into.
Nikon AF-S DX Micro-NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8G Fixed Zoom Lens with Auto Focus
I put resources into this Nikon smaller scale focal point spontaneously. I knew I would require an alternate focal point to take item shots throughout the day, and I needed something more suited for large scale photography than the default 18-55mm focal point I got in my D5200 unit. Presently, this focal point is my default—it has super quick concentration, its 40mm central length gives it a chance to take sharp photographs from most separations, and the bokeh is magnificent. It's additionally very lightweight, both in my satchel and on my wallet: the focal point goes for about $275 on Amazon, however I got it for $30 less on Ebay. Unquestionably the best photography speculation I made all year.
Fossil Q Grant smartwatch
by Associate Reviewer Valentina Palladino
Out of the numerous smartwatches that appeared for this present year, I would really spend my cash on the Fossil Q Grant. I've cherished Fossil's style for quite a while, and I had high expectations when I found it would make its own particular line of keen timepieces. The Q Grant doesn't do so much as an Apple Watch or an Android Wear gadget, however I like that on the grounds that nobody, including myself, comprehends what the main role of smartwatches is yet. The Q Grant is wonderfully basic, centered, and does all that I need a watch—shrewd or not—to do. It's unassuming and rich, and it unobtrusively conveys sifted cell phone notices to my wrist as vibrations and little diverse lights. What's more, the way that it's significantly less expensive than a large portion of the opposition at $195 would improve me feel even about putting resources into it.
IntelliGLASS screen defenders
I never intended to get the 2014 Nexus 6, however a telephone protection mess prompted that being the main better than average substitution Android telephone I could traverse my arrangement prior this year.
0 notes
Text
Photography Tips: Your Camera.
If you’re just getting into photography, you’re probably scrolling through tons of sites looking at different cameras and stressing about the prices. There are so many different types of cameras like: 
- DSLR.
 {http://www.digital-slr-guide.com/what-is-a-digital-slr.html} 
Tumblr media
 - Cell phones. 
(iPhones, Androids, Windows.. ETC.) 
Tumblr media
 - Compact Digital cameras/ “Point and Shoot”
{http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/57851/point-and-shoot-camera }
Tumblr media
 - Electronic Viewfinder, Interchangeable Lens/ E.V.I.L. cameras. {http://alphatracks.com/dslr-photography-basics/what-is-an-evil-camera } 
Tumblr media
 — 
 Getting a new camera/lens is exciting, BUT it’s expensive. It’s a big decision that should be carefully considered. Every photographer is different, there are different preferences, ideas and biased knowledge. That is why it’s crucial to take your time. Look at many different reviews, figure out if you like Canon, Nikon, Sony or etc. 
Then go from there. 
Think about how often you plan to use your camera, how it affects your income, daily life etc. Think about the TYPE of style or photography that suits you. I began with cheap point and shoot cameras, I used my iPhone for awhile and then I used my moms camera which was a Nikon Coolpix p510.
Tumblr media
 It eventually became MY camera (she never used it). It went to Idaho, London, Paris and on car rides, hikes and other adventures with me. Then I got serious. My Nikon was good, but I was shooting in Automatic and the Manual options were not very good. To grow as a photographer, you HAVE TO GET OUT OF AUTOMATIC MODE AND INTO MANUAL. Otherwise, getting a big fancy camera yet using automatic is equivalent to using a cell phone camera. So I decided it was time to upgrade. At the time, I had no idea what type of camera I wanted. I knew I wanted a DSLR but I couldn’t decide what brand or model. After asking a couple of my friends who are photographers and heavily researching and watching video reviews I decided to go with a good and simple starter camera, The Canon Rebel EOS t5i.
Tumblr media
This is my current camera^
I’m still learning a lot about it and I have a lot to share about it. It’s a really great camera. I was worried about the switch from Nikon to Canon, but it was silly to worry about that. The first lens I got with it was a 18-55mm, which is a pretty good lens for standard pictures, however, I wanted a lens with better zoom so I recently purchased a Tamron 70-300mm macro lens and I have been loving it.
Tumblr media
(None of the pictures included are mine, the rights go out to the artists and owners.)
Tumblr media
0 notes
Video
(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jovPTYp-jLM)
✅✅ Top 10 BEST Cameras For Beginners: http://amzn.to/2jKi2Fq ✅✅ Canon T6: http://amzn.to/2jyGufi ✅✅ Canon T3i: http://amzn.to/2jyAFyy ✅✅ Canon T6i: http://amzn.to/2jnn237 ✅✅ Panasonic G7: http://amzn.to/2jyULst ✅✅ Canon T6s: http://amzn.to/2iQIMpn ✅✅ Nikon D3400: http://amzn.to/2jyPEbF ✅✅ Nikon D5600: http://amzn.to/2jnAunu ✅✅ Canon 70D: http://amzn.to/2iIzuIP ✅✅ Canon 80D: http://amzn.to/2jyOz3D ✅✅ Sony A6300: http://amzn.to/2iIIT3f ✅✅ Panasonic G85: http://amzn.to/2k4clpr ✅✅ Panasonic GH5: http://amzn.to/2jyPRLY
Best Cheap Beginner DSLR 2017 For Beginners (Canon & Nikon)
Hey whats up everyone, my name’s Chris Winter and in this video, I’m going to go through some of the Best Budget DSLR Cameras so you can decide which one you will be best for you.
So let’s take a look at today's question. So today’s question asks “I’m looking for a DSLR but don’t have a huge amount of money, what cameras are available?”
Well good work getting into the world of DSLR photography, it’s a nice step up from point and shoots and I’m sure you’ll have fun. The great thing about DSLR’s is that there a tone of different options available, especially at budget prices. For starters, you could look at an older DSLR like the Nikon D3100. I used this DSLR when I started out and it’s a great entry level camera.
Pair that up with a lens like the 18-55mm kit lens and you’ll be up and shooting in no time.By the way let me know in the comments section below, which camera do you think is the best budget DSLR Camera and why? and I’ll take a look at your comment. If you’re looking for some a little newer, you could take a look at the T6 from Canon.
This came out just a few months ago and has some pretty sweet features including wifi which means you can transfer photos from your camera wirelessly on the move. Nikon also have a pretty new camera around the $500 mark called the D3400, it’s a lovely little camera and can shoot at around 5 frames per second. If you want to have a flip screen, I’d look at either the Canon T6i or T6s. They’ve also got fantastic autofocus as well.
Now another option you could look at although technically not a DSLR is the Panasonic G7. The G7 is a mirrorless camera which shoots lovely 4k video and is a very popular choice among a lot of youtubers. A new model called the G85 just got released so the G7 is actually even cheaper now so it’s definitely good value. Don’t be afraid to purchase second hand cameras from places like eBay or Gumtree.
DSLR’s generally last a pretty long time and you can get a good deal on a pre owned body. So they some of the best Budget DSLR Cameras.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jovPTYp-jLM https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIrlp8akgxZwIg_Uq1bDOkA https://youtu.be/jovPTYp-jLM
0 notes
Video
(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jovPTYp-jLM)
✅✅ Top 10 BEST Cameras For Beginners: http://amzn.to/2jKi2Fq ✅✅ Canon T6: http://amzn.to/2jyGufi ✅✅ Canon T3i: http://amzn.to/2jyAFyy ✅✅ Canon T6i: http://amzn.to/2jnn237 ✅✅ Panasonic G7: http://amzn.to/2jyULst ✅✅ Canon T6s: http://amzn.to/2iQIMpn ✅✅ Nikon D3400: http://amzn.to/2jyPEbF ✅✅ Nikon D5600: http://amzn.to/2jnAunu ✅✅ Canon 70D: http://amzn.to/2iIzuIP ✅✅ Canon 80D: http://amzn.to/2jyOz3D ✅✅ Sony A6300: http://amzn.to/2iIIT3f ✅✅ Panasonic G85: http://amzn.to/2k4clpr ✅✅ Panasonic GH5: http://amzn.to/2jyPRLY
Best Cheap Beginner DSLR 2017 For Beginners (Canon & Nikon)
Hey whats up everyone, my name’s Chris Winter and in this video, I’m going to go through some of the Best Budget DSLR Cameras so you can decide which one you will be best for you.
So let’s take a look at today's question. So today’s question asks “I’m looking for a DSLR but don’t have a huge amount of money, what cameras are available?”
Well good work getting into the world of DSLR photography, it’s a nice step up from point and shoots and I’m sure you’ll have fun. The great thing about DSLR’s is that there a tone of different options available, especially at budget prices. For starters, you could look at an older DSLR like the Nikon D3100. I used this DSLR when I started out and it’s a great entry level camera.
Pair that up with a lens like the 18-55mm kit lens and you’ll be up and shooting in no time.By the way let me know in the comments section below, which camera do you think is the best budget DSLR Camera and why? and I’ll take a look at your comment. If you’re looking for some a little newer, you could take a look at the T6 from Canon.
This came out just a few months ago and has some pretty sweet features including wifi which means you can transfer photos from your camera wirelessly on the move. Nikon also have a pretty new camera around the $500 mark called the D3400, it’s a lovely little camera and can shoot at around 5 frames per second. If you want to have a flip screen, I’d look at either the Canon T6i or T6s. They’ve also got fantastic autofocus as well.
Now another option you could look at although technically not a DSLR is the Panasonic G7. The G7 is a mirrorless camera which shoots lovely 4k video and is a very popular choice among a lot of youtubers. A new model called the G85 just got released so the G7 is actually even cheaper now so it’s definitely good value. Don’t be afraid to purchase second hand cameras from places like eBay or Gumtree.
DSLR’s generally last a pretty long time and you can get a good deal on a pre owned body. So they some of the best Budget DSLR Cameras.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jovPTYp-jLM https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIrlp8akgxZwIg_Uq1bDOkA https://youtu.be/jovPTYp-jLM
0 notes