Photo Corner

[Papa6]

Please post thumbnail links to your photos to keep within Rocky's rules and guidelines please.

OK, I posted this picture for a competition on a canon forum but, I'll post it here and everyone join in and post your shots. also, when you see the larger picture, click on it and it will bring up a full size shot to appreciate it.

Stats:

Camera: Canon EOS 400D

Lens: 25-90mm Canon EFS lens

ISO:100

F: 9

Exp time: 5 seconds

focal length: 28mm

Edited March 18, 2008 by Papa6

[WhiteKnight77]

Moved to the relevent forum.

[Guest]

Not sure how do post the thumbnail, but I think this is within the guidelines....

One of my favorite weather photos from last spring

www.dmassphoto.com

Edited March 18, 2008 by durka-durka

[Ruin]

That's great Durka! I like that a lot, but I love low-light photography, so I could be biased.

Here's one of my favorites. Sticking with both themes (Washington, DC and Night-Time) I give you:

Washington Monument #6

I made a larger print of this, I think 16x20 (I really don't remember) and love it. It's great. Can't wait to get it in a frame and in the apartment.

Going through my old DC photos, I realize I've got some great ones I need to touch up and use in a portfolio.

Papa6, have you made a portfolio of your work? Just curious as to what you did to make one, if you have.

[Guest]

Ruin,

Awesome photo, perfect time of twilight as well. Have you ever tried shooting storms/lightning? Seeing that you're a cav scout, and you live in NC, it probably would be a nice adventure for ya! I've shot lightning for years here in East TN, and it's a lot different than shooting out west, much more dramatic and harder as well.

Also, are you trying to put a professional portfolio together, or just something for fun? What kind of portfolio are you trying to put together I guess is a better question.

[Ruin]

Durka,

Thanks! I've never tried it. I always thought I needed a better lens. Never really thought about it to be honest, mainly because finding a place to set up out here that gets a good shot (and isn't trespassing) is hard. Also, because of the mountains, getting a clear view of the lightning without interfering clouds and terrain is tough - I find this to be true of sunsets and sunrises too.

Where in east TN are you? We're probably scary close to each other.

I want a portfolio that is obviously amateur, but still looks pro if that makes sense. I want one that shows off my best pictures in large format and high-quality (that's why I bought this camera - High-Q). I want it to be something that can sit on my coffee table but can also be taken to a potential employer too.

[Guest]

Hmm..... Lemme start at the beginning...

1. I live in Knoxville, and all my storm shots are taken on the top of a mountain or in some valley, either way, it's a real thrill during the spring, because you only have a few minutes once you hear a storm is coming to get out the door and get to your spot to shoot...here are some things to keep in mind....

A: Do some research and find 1 to 3 spots around your area that you think would make a good night/storm shot. You probably want one that faces in 3 different directions.

B: Pay attention to how the weather moves. Example: Here in the Tennessee Valley, storms hit either hit the Cumberlands and peter out, or get funneled (sp?) from GA. In Knoxville, I usually have about 10 spots picked around town and in the mountains, because once it hits the city, it will either go about 10mi north or 5mi south of me. It sounds complicated, but half an hour paying attention to your weather reports and the geography will get you all you need to know.

C: Once the weather hits, grab your s&*% and get out the house and go to your pre-positioned spot. Set up your tripod, and wait for the storm to come. You'll probably get a successful shoot 3 out of 10 times, but it's worth it.

D: Composition is 9/10ths of the shot. Only take photos of stuff that will look good without lightning, because lightning itself is rather boring.

Anywho, that's all I have to say about that

Portfolios:

Some things I've learned is to keep the selection fairly small, and only put the absolute best photos you have in a book. No employer wants to sift through 50 photos somebody has taken. There may be 15 or so great shots, but I keep it a rule to put no more than 20 in mine. Lets face it, not every shot is going to be great.

Keep it updated. I *try* to update mine every 6mo.

No employer wants to spend their time twisting and turning a portfolio every other page. Keep your horizontal photos together as best as possible, and your verticals the same.

There are many places that offer high quality portfolio books. Lost Luggage probably has the coolest, but they're expensive. Mpix has a really nice cheap book as well. I put all my stuff on mini-cds now, because I haven't been asked for a print portfolio in over a year:)

Hope this helps.

[Ruin]

Durka,

So how do you shoot? Open the shutter and hope for the best? I understand the setup and finding a location, etc. - I know how the weather moves near my place. But how do you actually make the shot?

As far as a portfolio. I might make two - one larger one of about 50 pictures, and one smaller one of about 15. We'll see. That'll come later this summer.

Picture Thread:

One of the Old Post Office in DC - also a digital experimentation with B&W.

[Papa6]

Ruin, I made my first photobook and it's on sale at lulu.com

put "christopher jackson" in the search box and the book is titled "2007 cherry blossom festival"

[Ruin]

Chris, I saw those pictures when you took them. They were stunning. I'm not quite looking into sales just yet. First trying to find a way just to show off, haha. Large format pictures in the living room are going to be a good way to go also.

[Papa6]

Chris, I saw those pictures when you took them. They were stunning. I'm not quite looking into sales just yet. First trying to find a way just to show off, haha. Large format pictures in the living room are going to be a good way to go also.

oh sure of course. um lulu.com can put your photos on sale. but I put most of my shots on display at..google "the magical landscape" www.trg..... is the url partly but, if you can signup you can get a member gallery made

if lawman has turned off registrations it's bcz he's still redoing his site I can try to contact him and see if he can hook you up.

update; I've dispatched an email to lawman about setting up a username and PW for you.

Edited March 19, 2008 by Papa6

[Ruin]

Wow, thanks Chris! I assume this is the site?

Some beautiful work on here. Looks great. All for free I assume?

[Guest]

Durka,

So how do you shoot? Open the shutter and hope for the best? I understand the setup and finding a location, etc. - I know how the weather moves near my place. But how do you actually make the shot?

As far as a portfolio. I might make two - one larger one of about 50 pictures, and one smaller one of about 15. We'll see. That'll come later this summer.

Picture Thread:

One of the Old Post Office in DC - also a digital experimentation with B&W.

Beautiful BW. Might I suggest a little tweaking in the sky? You can select the sky in PS, and just add a little more contrast (mimmicking a polarizer or green filter) and it'll be beautiul.

About the portfolios...if you're not trying to sell anything, and it's just for yourself, by all means make 50 pages:) Just keep in mind the horizontal/vertical aspect. I did a portfolio once where I just made the horiz photos smaller and kept them oriented to where you didn't have to turn/twist the book to view it. Sorry, didn't want to hijack Papa's thread. If you have any other questions, feel free to pm me anytime:)

Edited March 19, 2008 by durka-durka

[Papa6]

naw Durka, go ahead and help out. I'm learning something from you.

[Guest]

Ruin,

It's actually a LOT simpler than what people would have you believe. Basically, if you're exposing a city scene, you just bring the ISO down to as low as it will go, then meter the brightest light around, and over expose it by about 1-2 stops. Usually this results in a 15-30sec exposure at around f8. Remember, just expose for the scene first, then the lightning should do it's job.

And that's the hard thing about lightning, they're only so predictable. If you get good at reading storms, you'll know where it will be passing through, and you can position yourself so that your scene is between you and the storm, or therabouts. It's not a perfect science, which is why it's so fun and high-paced.

And just remember.....if your in the middle of a storm, and the hairs on your body start to stand up, drop to the ground ASAP!

[Ruin]

Thanks Guys.

Durka, I'll look in to it this summer. I'll probably wait until I move in July so I can try to get photos over the city-scape... the town I live in right now isn't very... picturesque for that sort of thing.

As far as a portfolio... I'll probably make a couple (maybe three - depending on what kind of pricing I find and am willing to pay). I have people over a lot, it'd be cool to have that sort of thing sitting on my table or whatever. Two - one landscape and one vertical. Then have a smaller third one of my "best of the best" of about 15 photos.

Picture Thread:

Dolphin One:

This was an old busted up building in Beaufort, NC. It's not longer there, which is a shame, because I wanted more pics on my new DSLR. I took this in July of 2006 and love this picture. Maybe for no reason at all other than it's uniqueness. No post-processing.

[Papa6]

Wow, thanks Chris! I assume this is the site?

Some beautiful work on here. Looks great. All for free I assume?

Yep! that be the one..

[Metal_Jacket]

I must say that we have some very talented photographic visionaries in this forum.

[Guest]

Here's a shot I took at a flag retirement ceremony last summer. Something about fire always gets me, lol...

[Ruin]

Durka, very nice! That's quite impressive!

Metal_Jacket,

I agree, completely.

Perhaps we should run a friendly competition of some sort. Just a real basic, here's a theme for the week. Shoot one picture and let the members vote. Thoughts anyone? I can pester Rocky about it if there's enough interest.

[dporter]

Here's a shot I took at a flag retirement ceremony last summer. Something about fire always gets me, lol...

A-mazing

All right if I get some time tonight with my slow dial up connection I'll post a picture up and have you guys help me touch it up in photoshop if anyone is willing to help.

Edited March 20, 2008 by dporter

[Guest]

I'd be happy to show you how to touch up a few photos D.

And Ruin, that sounds fun, and it's also an incentive for guys to build up thier portfolio of pics

[Ruin]

dporter, I'm sure we'd all be happy to help you out.

Durka,

I agree.

Another idea I'm going with in August (my birthday), is called SPAD. I saw a few other portfolios of this elsewhere on the web. I wish I could take credit, but I can't. Anyway, it's Self-Portrait-A-Day for a whole year - basically birthday to birthday. Seems really interesting especially if I'm activated in January.

[Guest]

You're getting activated huh? Make sure you bring your camera along:) I had two while I was over there (03-04) and ended up taking close to 3gigs of photos, and about 30-50 rolls of film. Lost the digi during riots after Sadam was captured. Got some great photos and even sold cd's to my company at $20 a piece!

Edited March 20, 2008 by durka-durka

[Ruin]

It's not official yet. No paperwork, but that's the rumor. We were put on Alert in January. I'm waiting though... because this Presidential Election could change everything. We'll see what happens. Right now, I'm working under the assumption I go in January, but we'll see.