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Photos: Pretty Pictures (PICS...many of them. You have been warned)

  
  

Page: 1234(5)

 
 
Smoothly
18:41 / 17.03.07
Thanks.
It's interesting that you say that, Franca, because when I was processing it my instincts were the same. I tried various tighter crops but after deliberating I came back to this. I just think he needs some space to walk into, and I missed the reflection in the wet pavement. But I dunno, you've got me doubting myself again. I might have another play with it. Thanks for the feedback.
 
 
Olulabelle
15:11 / 20.03.07
because when I was processing it

As in processing it in a dark room? You know, old school stylee?
 
 
Smoothly
18:43 / 20.03.07
No, sorry, as in the digital darkroom.
 
 
buddhatomic
14:21 / 21.03.07
I'm no photographer, but that doesn't mean I'm not constantly taking pictures.

Going with the tree theme,


I like it when people who have no artistic intent with their picture come up with something interesting. This one was by my uncle, who was just testing out his new camera.
  
 
buddhatomic
14:22 / 21.03.07
Whoops, I forgot that it might be a bright idea to shrink down the images. Sorry, I just woke up...
 
 
Sibelian 2.0
12:57 / 29.03.07
AWFULLY smug about this one...

  
 
Olulabelle
20:42 / 11.04.07
That is absolutely beautiful. So you should be.

Latest offering:



I was pleased with it before the castle-explosion-fantastical-brilliance thing Sibelian has got going on. Now I can't see it objectively.
 
 
Sibelian 2.0
13:45 / 16.04.07
Your shot's good!

/...feels guilty

I don't think I should post on this thread. I studied photography for 4 years... I have a dimploma and everything...
 
 
Olulabelle
17:20 / 17.04.07
dimploma

Is that like a diploma, but with a really cute smile?

As to whether you should post in this thread, of course you should! This thread is for discussing and admiring (or not as the case may be) other people's photographs. That's like saying people who studied writing can't post in a thread where writing takes place.

Are you a photographer for a living then?
 
 
Sibelian 2.0
22:29 / 17.04.07
Well, it was a typo. But it *is* a bit like a diploma with a cute grin, to be honest, nobody in industry gives a toss whether you've got a diploma, they're only interested in your portfolio. This being the case, um, no, I don't take photos professionally as a primary career, although I have managed to make some money out of it in the past... which is a bit disappointing... um, the reason being that my portfolio is a bit too... arty. Commercial photography is where the money is if (like me) you're not very well connected and they like people who can work to a tight brief which is not necessarily my strong suit...

Sigh.
 
 
electric monk
18:32 / 21.09.07
I'm still on the eggs. Finally had some time to set up this shot.



I think I overdid the saturation...
 
 
Olulabelle
21:15 / 21.09.07
Why eggs? Why like that?

I quite like it and certainly the purple is lovely so I don't think saturation is an issue. I'm just a bit bemused about it. My eye doesn't feel drawn to anything really. The cracked egg slightly draws my eye but the texture of it isn't interesting enough to hold my gaze. But I might like it more if I knew a bit about it.
 
 
electric monk
02:16 / 22.09.07
It's a birth-rebirth thing with me. I find these fragile little fortresses every now and again, tossed aside after they've done their job. They're nice reminders that life goes on, y'know? That a delicate little thing like that can carry a delicate little creature till it's ready to be in the world. I just find it all amazing, and have to stop and ponder it sometimes. The photos are a way for me to preserve that and hopefully pass it on. Plus, I like closeups that reveal details and intricacies of a subject.

These particular eggs are lizard eggs. I found them in a plastic cup in my garage. Some mama lizard thought they'd be safe there, I guess. Half were hatched out, some didn't hatch at all, and two of them had the little crackle where the babies tried to hatch out and couldn't. I wanted to show eggs in different states and to show a progression, a hatching-out.

I see what you mean about the eye not being drawn anywhere. I think if all the eggs were in focus, that might help. My eye glides right over the three in the back.
 
 
Olulabelle
10:00 / 23.09.07
Now I'm really upset about the unhatched lizards that tried to hatch and couldn't and when I look at the picture it makes me feel sad. I can't think about the picture in an objective way at all now that I know that.

Can you take it again with all the eggs in focus and then we could see if it makes a difference.
 
 
lille christina
15:31 / 23.09.07
Sundays are the best days to just hang online. Today I feel like contributing to this thread of wonderful pictures. I especially like the last one, "The Majestic", in which Mr. Catberry looks like a little king.


Alone in Bergen


Mr. Catberry is very spleepy today


A bug at the walls of the University of Bergen


A tree in leave pants


my scary eye


tom's scary eye


the light fell down


the majestic
 
 
Smoothly
17:00 / 24.09.07
Love that last picture, Christina - majestic indeed.

I like the egg picture, monk, but agree with Olulabelle that it leaves the viewer a little uncertain about the emphasis. I think that’s largely a matter of focus. The depth of field is very shallow and it appears that the sharpest point is the patch of fabric between the first and second egg (specifically that rather pubic looking hair). Since you say that this picture is more about the relative integrity of the eggs rather than singling one out for particular emphasis, I think you’re right that using a much smaller aperture to bring all of them into focus would have told that story better. And because the last 3 eggs all appear to be whole, paring the arrangement down to just the nearest three (broken, cracked, whole) might have told it more succinctly.

I know what you mean about the saturation, and it’s a dilemma because on the one hand it brings out the mottling on the shells, but then also floods the image with the purple. A plainer ground might have worked better. Sitting the eggs on a plain sheet of paper would be less distracting, and make more of the shadows created by the side-lighting.

I still struggle to predict how a camera is going to react to colour. My Nikon has a tendency to over-saturate (particularly reds) and I have to dial it down afterwards. But other times it's as if there's no colour in the scene at all:

  
 
lille christina
20:11 / 24.09.07
How pretty. I love that picture. Something about it makes me want to sit on the bench that is facing the river. Where was it taken?
 
 
electric monk
20:12 / 24.09.07
I'm sorry I've upset you, Lula. Thank you for trying to help me on this. And thank you as well, Smoothly. I'm going to take the advice you've both given me and try the shot again.

I really dig "Alone in Bergen". I love the contrast between the bright green of the plant and the cold, blue pavement.

And I kind of like the lack of saturation in the riverside pic. Just that hint of blue in the waters while everything else looks greyscale. Very moody.
 
 
Smoothly
20:43 / 24.09.07
Thanks Christina. It was taken on the South Bank in London, just opposite the National Theatre, shortly after a humungous downpour.

Looking forward to seeing the results, EM. I keep meaning to try some still lifes myself, so the more inspiration I can get the better.
 
 
Olulabelle
20:49 / 24.09.07
I am only upset by the sad baby lizard trying to escape... oh poor baby lizard...

I have a camera question. Well actually it is a lens question. Where is my query best directed? I feel sure we have a photo questions thread and in fact I believe I might have even started it.
 
 
Smoothly
22:22 / 24.09.07
Here, I think.
 
 
HCE
14:28 / 25.09.07
Just popping to say how much I'm enjoying this thread and how great all the images are.
 
 
Tsuga
22:56 / 26.09.07
Here's a cool plant around here, umbrella leaf, Diphylleia cymosa. It's really not the greatest photograph, but you can see the beauty of the subject:
  
 
ghadis
00:04 / 27.09.07
Thats a great photo Tsuga. Has it been touched up a bit? The red of the stalk is shooting out. May be my screen though.
 
 
ghadis
00:06 / 27.09.07
or my drunken eyesight of course!
 
 
Tsuga
00:15 / 27.09.07
No, that is the actual color. The camera may have been set to "vivid", though, which can kind of saturate it a little. But that's about what they look like. Let me see if I can see the info...yes, vivid is right. Damn, there's alot of info there.
 
 
Mistoffelees
09:10 / 27.09.07
That plant somehow reminds me of seventies playgrounds. Maybe because of the bright colours and the geometricals shapes?
 
 
Olulabelle
11:15 / 30.09.07
I really like that picture but I wish the leaf underneath wasn't wet because the shiny white bit of that is moving my eye away from the actual plant itself.

Can you fix it in photoshop?
 
 
imaginary mice
14:30 / 30.09.07
Here's one I took in May 2005. It's still one of my favourites.

  
 
Tsuga
16:01 / 30.09.07
That's really nice, mice- it's like I'm there. Lula, I probably could mess with it, but just don't do it, really. I probably should have tried to get the depth of field a tiny bit narrower as well; but that's another thing I rarely do, take time on a shot. It's probably why my shots are mostly mediocre, only sometimes flirting with nice. It seems like the best shots are when I actually slow down enough to think it through.
 
 
Mistoffelees
15:35 / 29.01.09
I got my new camera yesterday and went around the neighbourhood taking my first pictures. The camera´s got oodles of options, menus and buttons, very intimidating, so I mostly just fiddled around and made dozens of photos in the hope that some would turn out fine. Here are my three favourites:

The castle about ten minutes from my home.


The river with the castle´s park on the other side.


And the frozen lake in the castle´s park. Only dogs and ducks dare venture there.
  
 
jentacular dreams
20:36 / 29.01.09
I forgot how much I love this thread. And Mist, your neighbourhood looks a lot nicer than mine!

I finally got myself a DSLR in the summer. It's nothing too fancy, a Nikon D40 with nikon kit 18-55mm lens plus a tamron 80-200mm lens (which doubles as a macro lens) and have been playing with it since the summer. I sorely underestimated how big a difference a proper lens makes compared to my pocket digital. At the moment most of my good photos are more luck than skill, but I think I'm learning from the experience.



Really like this one, but not sure why. I don't know if it's the sense of purpose with everyone looking at the train, or if it's te solid splash of yellow colour on the front of the train (compared to the rest of the reasonably bleak photo). Probably both. That's Grantham station if anyone's thinking it looks familiar.




This one was taken with the zoom lens and then cropped. I also had to adjust the contrast afterwards to bring everything out. I feel it shows a bit too much, but I'm still getting the hang of zoom shots and post processing.




This is my dogs' ball taken with the tamron lens on macro. I like the way it looks almost like a planet nestled in the grass. And the nice yellow-green contrast.




Was lucky enough to go to Athens in the early autumn for a conference and of course the camera came with me. I don't think I did any post-processing on this one.




We had one day for seeing the sights before the conference started and asit's my first time in Athens I couldn't turn down a trip to the Acropolis and Agora.




This is my sister's cat, Alfie, at about 8 months. He's quite the flirt.




A tree at the university. Again, spots of yellow keep me interested. This tree is frequented by a rat which I'm pretty sure has survived all winter just on these apples.




Boats on the canal on a frosty December morn'. This one's been a little saturated after the event (maybe by about 20%). Might turn it into a christmas card for next year.




Gulls on the Trent that same morning. Like the flying goose I needed to play with the contrast a little to bring them out, but unfortunately their heads aren't clear. Can't shake the impression that they look a little too much like the fighters from SG1.




Finally two of my close friends had a baby recently and here she is having her bath (she likes the bath, but *hates* being cold when she comes out). This one's been cropped after it was taken, so is slightly pixely.

I'm still learning the basics of the art, so if anyone has any criticisms (constructive or otherwise) I'm all ears. Or maybe eyes.
 
 
Mistoffelees
20:45 / 05.02.09
Great pictures, gamma! I like Alfie, of course, but the others are also fun to see. The pictures from Greece could be used for a travel guide!

My photos were done with a DSLR too. So far, I just point and click.

And here are two new pictures (from this evening).



  
 
Mistoffelees
16:45 / 26.05.09
So I went to the [east] Berlin zoo today, and took hundreds of pictures, and these I like well enough to post them.


A giant hall for lions, built by socialists.


There were many flying hounds in this hothouse, but they were too fast for me, so here are some flowers.


My friend told me, that guy started posing the second he saw my camera, just like her cat at home.


Like most photos, this is only about 20 % of the original picture. Most animals were at least ten feet away.


Don´t know what his problem was. It was 30°C at the time, so possibly going for some heat reduction?


Another poser, living in a giant sandcastle.


Shaggy wolf, probably feeling the coming thunderstorm.


Just two camels, enjoying each other´s company.


Dude crossing the zoo lane.


There were many of these floating around, he was the most photogenic.

If you want to see larger versions, reload them in a different tab (or there might be more ways to see them enlarged).
 
  

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