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Cardon
Nomad
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Registered: 4-23-2004
Location: Salt Lake City
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The making of a good photograph
Here are a few thoughts on photography.
Its been said that a good photograph is made from 3 elements:
1. 25% is attributed to the camera
2. 25% is attributed to post processing( photoshop)
3. 50% is attributed to photographic eye
The Camera You don't need to have a digital SLR although it can certainly help. Most of todays
Point and Shoot(P&S) cameras can take excellent pictures. Here are two of my favorites that were taken with a little 2 megapixel point and shoot.
Close-ups too with the 2MP point and shoot
And this third one was taken with my digital SLR. It's really no better than what was taken with the P&S. I was able to grab this shot cuz I was
able to focus real fast with the DSLR- something I probably couldn't do with my P&S.
Post Processing
I happen to use Photoshop but it is way overkill for most people. Fortunately there are lots of good programs for processing photos that cost under
$100 or are free. For free get Picasa. For under $100 try Photoshop Elements 4 which I see at Compusa today for $49 or Corel PhotoPaint or ACDSee8.
Do a search and you can find trial versions to see which one you like best.
Whichever program you use just learn these simple adjustments.
Learn to: Color Correct(it's easy), straighten unlevel pics(it's fairly-easy), and sharpen(very easy). Most all digital pics,even those from
expensive cameras, need to have these three things done to the pics.
Photographic Eye
This one takes some practice. Have a curiosity about the world around you. Notice the details of things around you. Here is a suggestion for
improving you "photographic eye". Pick a color and spend the day looking around you to see everything that has red in it-things big and small- and
take pictures of all those things. You'll be amazed at what there is out there. Or, instead of colors, look for anything that has a triangle in it.
Maybe you could be standing in front of your car and you'd notice that the dead butterfly wing stuck on the car has a triangle shape in the wing-take
a picture.
I think one of the most important things for Photographic Eye is to have a love of the things that you photograph. I think everyone here has a
great love for the ole Baja so you've got that going right from the start!
I just got back from Baja and I took a lot of photos but I left a lot behind for you to take. Good Luck,Craig
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bajajudy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6886
Registered: 10-4-2004
Location: San Jose del Cabo,BCS
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Craig
You had to pick the color red, did you
Still have none of that particular color on my computer.
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Cardon
Nomad
Posts: 241
Registered: 4-23-2004
Location: Salt Lake City
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bajajudy
Craig
You had to pick the color red, did you
Still have none of that particular color on my computer. |
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Ken Bondy
Ultra Nomad
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craig those are BEAUTIFUL photos, with good advice. The unusual pelican image is very possibly the best I have ever seen of that animal. All three
of the images are in the category I like best, common subjects beautifully photographed. Great work, post more from your trip please.
++Ken++
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Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8084
Registered: 7-12-2004
Location: Bahia Asuncion
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Cardon
I think one of the most important things for Photographic Eye is to have a love of the things that you photograph. |
I agree with this statement very much.
I believe that one of the great satisfactions of photography is communicating your feelings about the subject to the viewer. I also believe that a
viewer can see when an image has been taken without that love of the subject matter. You can't fake it very easily.
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oladulce
Super Nomad
Posts: 1625
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Card?n, thanks for the tip about using "sharpen" (in Photoshop elements).
I haven't figured out "unsharp mask" yet, but sharpen alone makes a big difference.
Photo-improvement tips are always welcome.
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Skipjack Joe
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Oladulce
Oladulce,
The unsharp mask is more valuable than the sharpen filter. The mask allows you to set the threshold of sharpening you want, whereas the sharpen works
on a preset threshold. The sharpen filter often creates a "halo" around the edges of the image you're sharpening which is very undesirable. That's
especially noticeable with fishing rods.
The reason you may not be seeing the results of "unsharp" is because the threshold may be too small for the image you're working on. Blow up the image
to 100% of it's size in pixels and then use the unsharp mask. Play around with the thresholds and see the results of your work.
If you're doing it for the web you should reduce your image to it's final size first and then do the sharpening, otherwize your sharpening will be
lost during the reduction.
For printing it's different.
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Pompano
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8194
Registered: 11-14-2004
Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
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A hundredth of a second here, a hundredth of a second there - even if you put them end to end they only add up to maybe one, two or three seconds
snatched from eternity."
- Robert Doisneau ( from his book " Three Seconds from Eternity" )
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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oladulce
Super Nomad
Posts: 1625
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I'll keep playing with the Unsharp mask Skipjack.
And I would have tried to sharpen before I reduced, so another good tip.
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Pompano
Elite Nomad
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Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
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Why do you take all those photos?
I think we like the attempt to hold the moment, to turn that fleeting sight into something permanent. A way of being creative and of being part of
the world that you can take home and share the excitement. Photography is a good hobby - Therapeutic you might say. It?s all about remembering
moments. As corny as that sounds, it?s true.
My regrets are not taking too many pictures, it's missing those wonderful, rare, exquisite visual moments that you want to see again... beyond your
memory. Something for the records. It?s like a diary. Most of us are naturally curious and are always looking at the world?s details (I really
should pay more attention while driving) and we like to keep a record of things.
Photos are something we can all do...but some with greater skill than others...with imagination and use of tools. With me, I now use a digital
camera after using film cameras for 55 years or so. I always had a camera...like most everyone. Having been involved in fishing most of my life... I
think of using a digital camera to capture images as a ?catch and release? thing. Also being somewhat anal, as someone close to me points out with
regularity, I enjoy documenting the places I've been and the people I've known.
Don't you like the way scenes look frozen in black and white? B&W seems to transform ordinary, boring things into the surreal...and to stop
those moments at a time and mood dictated only by us is very satisfying.
Me, I come and go with my camera ability....too busy fishing I suppose! There's much more to creating a beautiful picture than pointing and
shooting, and learning about all of that has been a very pleasing experience. The expert advice of our Nomad photographers is priceless.
Because listening to music, watching TV & films, reading books, etc. is just consumption of other people's creative output, I like to 'do my own
thing' with paint brush and camera. I have gotten better with the brush than the camera...but hope springs eternal.
We all are doing these things just for the enjoyment...and it gives us an excuse to look like we know what we are doing when we?re just standing there
staring at something.
Allen Ginsburg once said this...I think..(might have been Pogo)....?Writing poetry is like putting quotation marks around bits of life?. The camera
puts quotation marks around that moment in time when you took the shot.. I'm a hoarder. I like to hold on to what I see...but maybe sometimes I
should keep my eyes on the road.
I dedicate this post to the memory of an old camera buff and very good friend....Killer Caine. "Relentless Productions" Video expert and a true Baja
fan. He's killing them out there somewhere right now.
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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elgatoloco
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4332
Registered: 11-19-2002
Location: Yes
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Cardon- Great thread. We just purchased a Canon Rebel EXT digital. Will be using lots of the tips here.
How did you get that awesome shot of the pelican? Was it in your lap?
We previously had two 35mm SLR and would come back from trips with tons of shots, most of which ended up in the round file. Hope that we waste less
photo paper now. I bought a 2mb card for the new camera and can get 532 shots at the highest setting. Got an extra battery so I can edit (read delete)
the photos frequently and only keep the keepers. We shall see.
Pompano - excellent job on why we do it.
MAGA
Making Attorneys Get Attorneys
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Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8084
Registered: 7-12-2004
Location: Bahia Asuncion
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| Quote: | Originally posted by elgatoloco
How did you get that awesome shot of the pelican? Was it in your lap? |
He cropped this image with photoshop?
http://baja.smugmug.com/gallery/1274122/9/60056557
[Edited on 3-21-2006 by Skipjack Joe]
[Edited on 3-21-2006 by Skipjack Joe]
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Natalie Ann
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2819
Registered: 8-22-2003
Location: Berkeley
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Skipjack Joe
| Quote: | Originally posted by elgatoloco
How did you get that awesome shot of the pelican? Was it in your lap? |
He cropped this image with photoshop?
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Cropped a bit - perhaps, but not so much as you might think. This image is as shot - no cropping, resized for web with photoshop.
[Edited on 3-21-2006 by Natalie Ann]
Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.
.....Oscar Wilde
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Cardon
Nomad
Posts: 241
Registered: 4-23-2004
Location: Salt Lake City
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| Quote: | Originally posted by elgatoloco
Cardon- Great thread. We just purchased a Canon Rebel EXT digital. Will be using lots of the tips here.
How did you get that awesome shot of the pelican? Was it in your lap?
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Not in my lap but close. The trick to getting good sea bird shots is to go to where the fishing boats come in , usually between 1pm and 4pm. Here is
a shot I took of someone else getting some good shots in the Loreto Marina.
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academicanarchist
Senior Nomad
Posts: 978
Registered: 9-7-2003
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good photos
Composition of the photograph is important, as is editing after. I use several different programs to edit a photo, including photoshop elements.
[Edited on 3-29-2006 by academicanarchist]
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academicanarchist
Senior Nomad
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time of year
Getting a good background sky is important as well. I particularly like taking shots late fall, winter, early spring, with great blue sky in the
background.
[Edited on 3-29-2006 by academicanarchist]
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academicanarchist
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early spring
This shot, for example, was taken in early March last year.
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Pompano
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8194
Registered: 11-14-2004
Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
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Mood: Optimistic
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editing is also a tool to make a photo more expressive...
This is a helpful thread for camera buffs. I am discovering new tools on my computer photo programs.
Viola! I know how to 'crop' now....as this photo of a 26' panga boat shows. That panga is certainly a long boat..but editing enchances that aspect.
Okay, so it's not rocket science...but like Confucius so often said.."A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step." Now I can clean up
all 17,510 of my old Baja photos and show them to you again..and again..and again
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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Pompano
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8194
Registered: 11-14-2004
Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
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...a photo's subjects and backgrond can set a mood..
Does this photo make you feel a little cold, lonely, and remote? You should..because this place definetely IS!
(Hyder..the southernmost town of Alaska. You have to really 'want' to get there.)
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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Pompano
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8194
Registered: 11-14-2004
Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
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Mood: Optimistic
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Cold....Height....Hunger...Survival
....high cold mountains....harsh survival in the Artic.....Baja it ain't.
Does this photo make you... cold.?..feel like you are very high in the mountains?...want to throw a spear at that mammoth?
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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