StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Well, I finally have access to a new camera after asking for all that advice (Thanks in retrospect), as my dad bought a new Canon EOS 40D with a Sigma 18-200mm Lense. (I can post a review if anyone's interested).
The idiot of a store rep forgot to leave the battery charger in the box, so I didn't have much of a battery for the first week of use, but I did get some nice stuff, which I shall now post in a number of threads. .

First off: Photos from the trendier part of Tel-Aviv's old Dockside (A thriving nightclub and restaurant area, which is now being modified via drainage and increased renovation):


Redding Power plant.
528 Megawatts, natural gas, uses the ocean to help cool the turbines.


Drooling homeless

Homeless man from a different angle (I prefer the first one).


Yaaaaawn! (Nice portrait, No? )



Fisherman & Son. (Look at his legs).

Airplane coming in to land at the nearby airstrip. (Right behind the powerplant, not international).
It came down fast, a friend called my attention to it so loudly I jumped and ducked .


Advertising pole, fun angle .



Kaleidoscope! (Has potential as an item I think).

A local market. (Lots of cool stuff from guns to trinkets and seashells).





The old entrance to the (commercial) harbour, which is now being drained.
A wonderful example of really bad design in transport by Jews . (No prizes for realizing what's so bad about it ).

Famous old crane. The inner harbour is being gradually drained to provide more of a beach on that area.


Lots of rollerbladers and cyclists on the dock. (Although I haven't done it there, the wheels tend to get stuck in between the wooden planks).

Stretch and look.

a quickr pickr post

Ooooooh, snappy camera.

Nice camera.

You have some really good landscape shots. Looks like a great place to shoot at.

DEATH wrote:

Yaaaaawn!

I'm not certain, but I think you might need to have some fillings checked...

Kanastrous wrote:

DEATH wrote:
I'm not certain, but I think you might need to have some fillings checked...

Well, the dude enjoys 600g of meat as much as I do. (Although he's able to eat that much as a single meal, having an extra 12 cm of height and gullet capacity on me) .

Thanks everyone

I love the colours, especially the one with the powerplant: that's almost exactly what I see in the sky when I'm wearing my sunglasses (I don't know what it is, but the sky is bluer and the grass is greener when I'm wearing them).

Phantasee wrote:I love the colours, especially the one with the powerplant: that's almost exactly what I see in the sky when I'm wearing my sunglasses (I don't know what it is, but the sky is bluer and the grass is greener when I'm wearing them).

Thanks. I LOVE how Blue skies come out in the Canon, it's a very strong "blooming" shade of blue, the colours are sometimes even stronger than in RL only for the sky, but in a good way, Y'know?
I'd hoped it would be better at preventing "burnt" skies (See the yawn), with the 14 bit and large range whatjits, and it is, to a point. I can't seem to lower the exposure though, only the Flash exposure

I find it hilarious that you're taking pictures of a homeless guy instead of hot chicks.

DEATH wrote:I'd hoped it would be better at preventing "burnt" skies (See the yawn), with the 14 bit and large range whatjits, and it is, to a point. I can't seem to lower the exposure though, only the Flash exposure

As far as I can tell, the camera exposure locked on the dark(er) foreground so that the person is exposed properly, which then blows out the sky. So, you gotta make the camera lock onto the sky and expose that properly which then makes the person too dark, but that's not a problem since Photoshop can easily fix that. Point the camera at the sky, press the button halfway down or hit the exposure-lock function (your camera should have one, read the manual, mine does so your should) to lock in the exposure, then swing it down and press it down the rest of the way to take the picture.

Also look for an exposure compensation setting somewhere and turn it down a bit, maybe -2/3 EV or so. Find the exposure mode setting as well and try changing it from the default to "spot" or one of the other settings, that can help in making the camera properly expose what you want it to instead of what it thinks you want.

So now you got your picture with a large part that's underexposed, now load it up in Photoshop and get to work with the Curves tool. I use a Curves adjustment layer since it makes my life easier if I screw up. You can see an example of the settings I'm using below as well as the results. Play around with the settings and see what looks best.

Before:



After:

DEATH wrote:

Phantasee wrote:I love the colours, especially the one with the powerplant: that's almost exactly what I see in the sky when I'm wearing my sunglasses (I don't know what it is, but the sky is bluer and the grass is greener when I'm wearing them).

Thanks. I LOVE how Blue skies come out in the Canon, it's a very strong "blooming" shade of blue, the colours are sometimes even stronger than in RL only for the sky, but in a good way, Y'know?
I'd hoped it would be better at preventing "burnt" skies (See the yawn), with the 14 bit and large range whatjits, and it is, to a point. I can't seem to lower the exposure though, only the Flash exposure

Well obviously you will get pretty blue skies if you shoot in landscape mode. THe camera will be optimized to do that.

Learn to shoot in manual, you have a 40D, specially designed to make it easier to do that (the wheel in place of the button pad on back).

Don't be one of those guys with the super expensive camera that shoots only in the preset modes. Try out aperture or shutter priority, or full out manual. While the auto modes can be good, and often have thier place, shooting manual will make the pictures just that much better alot, and be alot more satisfying.

Also are you shooting in RAW or in Jpeg?

For a shot like that I would shoot low iso, a fast shutter, and a wide open aperture (assuming you didn't want the factory to be fully in focus, a smaller aperture, slower shutter if you did) and have hte flash fire off. This would iluminate the subject, and allow for the background to be properly exposed.

I would then follow up with post processing, and do something like aerius suggested.

This will let you get those pretty blues, like in this picture:



(I'll get the rest of the airshow up tonite or tommorow.)

aerius wrote:I find it hilarious that you're taking pictures of a homeless guy instead of hot chicks.

Guess who's more least likely raise a fuss due to a stranger taking pictures of them without lengthy explanations and requests (That will result in the shot dissapearing):
A) Parents of naked babies running around the Place.
B) Boyfriends of hot chicks in bikinis (Or females themselves).
C) An unconscious, drunk homeless dude.
D) Your fiance.
.

DEATH wrote:I'd hoped it would be better at preventing "burnt" skies (See the yawn), with the 14 bit and large range whatjits, and it is, to a point. I can't seem to lower the exposure though, only the Flash exposure

As far as I can tell, the camera exposure locked on the dark(er) foreground so that the person is exposed properly, which then blows out the sky. So, you gotta make the camera lock onto the sky and expose that properly which then makes the person too dark, but that's not a problem since Photoshop can easily fix that.

But what about actually focusing on the subject? (I know what AEL is/works, although I can't get it to work properly on the Canon, maybe it's only possible in Manual with something disabled).

Point the camera at the sky, press the button halfway down or hit the exposure-lock function (your camera should have one, read the manual, mine does so your should) to lock in the exposure, then swing it down and press it down the rest of the way to take the picture.

I prefer darkening slightly, getting a good evaluated metering, and maybe adding in a forced flash. Usually gets better results, and Coronas of light can make for nifty side-effects. (Ask Ace ).

Also look for an exposure compensation setting somewhere and turn it down a bit, maybe -2/3 EV or so.

I found it, but it reads as "Flash EV", despite being on the primary adjustable elements buttons. Very odd thing .

Find the exposure mode setting as well and try changing it from the default to "spot" or one of the other settings, that can help in making the camera properly expose what you want it to instead of what it thinks you want.

You think I use "Spot" metering? God no, center weighted at worst, and usually evaluative (Whole light reading).

So now you got your picture with a large part that's underexposed, now load it up in Photoshop and get to work with the Curves tool.

I played with that a bit (When you gave me the colours advice), although I lack photo shop now. I really need to redownload PAINT.Net, or find a good alternative "Alternative". Again.

I use a Curves adjustment layer since it makes my life easier if I screw up. You can see an example of the settings I'm using below as well as the results. Play around with the settings and see what looks best.

Thanks for the advice, I'll keep it in mind. (The problem is deciding when it will help, and doing it well. Theory, and recognizing the need for it and practice all being seperate processess, etc. I prefer just getting the image right, it prevents lazyness, which happens easily enough in digital).

I've been considering trying film recently, since my dad wants some poster or meter sized prints for his office, problem is having a film with me all the time for some excellent shot. (Most of my stuff is 3-5 MP sized, which makes for A3 prints)

Darth Mall wrote: Learn to shoot in manual, you have a 40D, specially designed to make it easier to do that (the wheel in place of the button pad on back).

I prefer to use "P" (Programmable) to adjust the settings, but to let the camera set the rest. (For day to day shooting, not trying for artistic "flowing water/stars" effects). The Image and angle are where I'm best at, as opposed to figuring out that most people like extreme contrast to extreme saturation and how much is too much, etc'. (Although Kromachrome style pics would be fun to do as well...).

darth mall wrote: Don't be one of those guys with the super expensive camera that shoots only in the preset modes.

Hey, it's not MY camera . I use presets then adjust and finetune according to circumstance. (I do know how to do DOF, shutter blur, panning etc', I just never carry a tripod with me, and I always get F-stops mixed up... Doofus that I am).

darth mall wrote:shooting manual will make the pictures just that much better alot, and be alot more satisfying.

Arguably. It depends what you're doing, and tweaking is easier for me than building up, I lack that much understanding, experience and confidence.
I shoot in programmable most in the time (Camera sets the settings, I tweak and adjust).

mall wrote: Also are you shooting in RAW or in Jpeg?

Always JPEg, I have maybe 3 RAW images total. I may start taking JPEG+RAW, when somewhere interesting or with adverse photo conditions, but I lack the filtering perception to cut down batches into the sizes needed for individual painstacking photoshopping. (Crop, Picasa adjustments, and a few settings and elements lightly massaged in Picasa is the limit).

d mall wrote: For a shot like that I would shoot low iso, a fast shutter, and a wide open aperture (assuming you didn't want the factory to be fully in focus, a smaller aperture, slower shutter if you did) and have hte flash fire off.

Use the Flash? Are you high, the Factory was over a kilometer away . I was using a strong zoom (200mm top end lense, remember ).


Right, I need to upload some more of the new sets.

What do you (Loyal critics/experts) want more:

• Jazz/Rock concert
• The ancient city of Jaffo (Tel-Aviv Arab area)
• Awesome beach in the North of Israel. (Never shown before).
• Village + House

DEATH wrote:

Darth Mall wrote: Learn to shoot in manual, you have a 40D, specially designed to make it easier to do that (the wheel in place of the button pad on back).

I prefer to use "P" (Programmable) to adjust the settings, but to let the camera set the rest. (For day to day shooting, not trying for artistic "flowing water/stars" effects). The Image and angle are where I'm best at, as opposed to figuring out that most people like extreme contrast to extreme saturation and how much is too much, etc'. (Although Kromachrome style pics would be fun to do as well...).

Well, thats better than shooting in full auto . I tend to do the saturation/contrast in the post processing vs on camera.

DEATH wrote:

darth mall wrote: Don't be one of those guys with the super expensive camera that shoots only in the preset modes.

Hey, it's not MY camera . I use presets then adjust and finetune according to circumstance. (I do know how to do DOF, shutter blur, panning etc', I just never carry a tripod with me, and I always get F-stops mixed up... Doofus that I am).

Haha. Your dads camera? F-Stops are pretty easy, the general gist is the higher the number the smaller the aperture, so the bigger the number the larger the DoF. And with that fancy IS lense you should only need the tripod in the dark. Learn to manhandle the large lenses!

DEATH wrote:

darth mall wrote:shooting manual will make the pictures just that much better alot, and be alot more satisfying.

Arguably. It depends what you're doing, and tweaking is easier for me than building up, I lack that much understanding, experience and confidence.
I shoot in programmable most in the time (Camera sets the settings, I tweak and adjust).

Well thats not htat bad then, I just noticed on that factory one it was in landscape.

DEATH wrote:

mall wrote: Also are you shooting in RAW or in Jpeg?

Always JPEg, I have maybe 3 RAW images total. I may start taking JPEG+RAW, when somewhere interesting or with adverse photo conditions, but I lack the filtering perception to cut down batches into the sizes needed for individual painstacking photoshopping. (Crop, Picasa adjustments, and a few settings and elements lightly massaged in Picasa is the limit).

You really ought to try raw. You can recover what might have been bad shot, and do some awesome things to good pictures. Course you need the harddrive space, but I've found myself deleting the really bad pictures (out of focus/over/under exposed to hell/ accidental shots) now that i need to save space.

It's also really good for tagging the pictures, and building up the library, even if you shoot jpeg.

PM me if you want some info on lightroom

DEATH wrote:

d mall wrote: For a shot like that I would shoot low iso, a fast shutter, and a wide open aperture (assuming you didn't want the factory to be fully in focus, a smaller aperture, slower shutter if you did) and have hte flash fire off.

Use the Flash? Are you high, the Factory was over a kilometer away . I was using a strong zoom (200mm top end lense, remember ).

I meant the one with the guy infront of it you doof. That would allow for the factory to not be blow out and for the guy to be correctly exposed

DEATH wrote:

aerius wrote:I find it hilarious that you're taking pictures of a homeless guy instead of hot chicks.

Guess who's more least likely raise a fuss due to a stranger taking pictures of them without lengthy explanations and requests (That will result in the shot dissapearing):
A) Parents of naked babies running around the Place.
B) Boyfriends of hot chicks in bikinis (Or females themselves).
C) An unconscious, drunk homeless dude.
D) Your fiance.
.

It's not that hard, last year I was down at the beach with my buddy when we went and introduced ourselves to a group of chicks. After a few minutes of working the mojo we had them smiling and posing for pictures.

DEATH wrote:But what about actually focusing on the subject? (I know what AEL is/works, although I can't get it to work properly on the Canon, maybe it's only possible in Manual with something disabled).

Read the manual, it's in there somewhere. You can download the manual in PDF form from the Canon website, then do a search for AEL and how to use it.

I found it, but it reads as "Flash EV", despite being on the primary adjustable elements buttons. Very odd thing .

That sounds like flash compensation and not the global exposure compensation button...might want to check the manual to see what's going on.

You think I use "Spot" metering? God no, center weighted at worst, and usually evaluative (Whole light reading).

Sometimes spot works, sometimes it doesn't. Evaluative works most of the time but backlight and strong contrasts tend to mess it up. That's when I sometimes go to "spot" to make it expose the subject of interest correctly.

What do you (Loyal critics/experts) want more:

• Jazz/Rock concert
• The ancient city of Jaffo (Tel-Aviv Arab area)
• Awesome beach in the North of Israel. (Never shown before).
• Village + House

Needs more women in short shorts, swimsuits, mini-skirts, and other sexy clothing.

Jazz/Rock concert
The ancient city of Jaffo (Tel-Aviv Arab area)
Awesome beach in the North of Israel. (Never shown before).
Village + House

Don't bother with Jaffa, it's a sucky hellhole that should be restarted from scratch.

Your area...around your village theres potential for some great shots. Also, a few minutes drive from your place, near Kalqilia, there is some pretty kickass typical israeli landscapes waiting for you to take pictures of. I like the view there.

Ace Pace wrote:

Jazz/Rock concert
The ancient city of Jaffo (Tel-Aviv Arab area)
Awesome beach in the North of Israel. (Never shown before).
Village + House

Don't bother with Jaffa, it's a sucky hellhole that should be restarted from scratch.

These are all sets that I already have, I wasn't asking for suggestions . (But thanks anyway)

Ace wrote: Also, a few minutes drive from your place, near Kalqilia

, Send me a PM about where exactly in Kalkilya, assuming it's within the borders, I've decided to start the ocassional weekend hike/venture again).

Ace wrote:Your area...around your village theres potential for some great shots

I have endless sets of shots from my village, the nature reserve and the fields around it, I've uploaded a few already. It's gotten boring and staid for me, I lack inspiration there and need something new to rejuvenate the creative juices.

there is some pretty kickass typical israeli landscapes waiting for you to take pictures of.

Typical Israeli landscapes would be the desert (See - Old pics from the Mechina/service year) or the green mountains of the Golan (Far away, and most of my pics there have other people in them), or the amazingly biblical views of the West bank and Judaea desert. (Where I can't go without a shitload of beurucracy, and I don't want to risk it with my (Lack of) navigation skills).

aerius wrote:

DEATH wrote:

aerius wrote:I find it hilarious that you're taking pictures of a homeless guy instead of hot chicks.

Guess who's more least likely raise a fuss due to a stranger taking pictures of them without lengthy explanations and requests (That will result in the shot dissapearing):
A) Parents of naked babies running around the Place.
B) Boyfriends of hot chicks in bikinis (Or females themselves).
C) An unconscious, drunk homeless dude.
D) Your fiance.
.

It's not that hard, last year I was down at the beach with my buddy when we went and introduced ourselves to a group of chicks. After a few minutes of working the mojo we had them smiling and posing for pictures.

A) I practice when I can on the beaches, with people playing ping-pong for example. (I keep going to the nearby beach in hope of practicing that, It'll pay off eventually, or so I hope).
B)Partner's make it easier, and best I have so far is a parent tag-along. (Which does bad things for a person's "mojo" ).
C) You're You . It depends on the place, I'm rather shy, although I ask people whether they mind me taking pictures of them, and I've been asked to send the shots a few times. (So far it's been of families or BF/GF couples, but one has to start at the bottom ).
So yeah, I know it's not that hard, it's a matter of luck, confidence and the right subjects and mood/location .

aerius wrote:

I found it, but it reads as "Flash EV", despite being on the primary adjustable elements buttons. Very odd thing .

That sounds like flash compensation and not the global exposure compensation button...might want to check the manual to see what's going on.

That's the bugger. I'll try digging through that 60+ page manual again .

What do you (Loyal critics/experts) want more:

• Jazz/Rock concert
• The ancient city of Jaffo (Tel-Aviv Arab area)
• Awesome beach in the North of Israel. (Never shown before).
• Village + House

Needs more women in short shorts, swimsuits, mini-skirts, and other sexy clothing.

Invite me over next time I'm in Canada then .
Kidding, I'll try to ask more individual people whether they mind me taking pics of them, boldness should pay off, eventually. . (I had those pics in great quantities, while soaking wet yesterday, but it's people I know, so, uploading poses a minor moral quandary ).

EDIT: Found how to adjust universal Exposure settings, what a retarded setting, it requires holding down the shutter and twisting one of the dials, and it doesn't appear on any screens. I miss the informative Olympus display. Ah well, I'll have a month to get re-used to it once it gets back from the shop. Thanks!