Sunny weather at last

Sue DOWN THE DRAIN

There were lots of interesting organic things to photograph, but I thought this was different. The light was going down the drain.

I shot it with my telephoto lens, shutter speed 1/200, f4.5, focal length 55mm, ISO 200 . I used a flash to fill the darker parts.

Jason Myers

I used 1/640sec. exposure at 200mm. I had my EC set at 0.67 step to attempt to correct for the backlight. I had the default of "pattern" metering and didn't get the chance to try to change it to spot before the bird left.

The Eagle

Eagle Landing

Mighty Eagle

Graceful Flight

The Eagle

End of Flight

Eagle

The Eagle Has Landed

AnnMarie - Bee Season

I shot a lot of bee photos this week and played with several different settings - this one was my favorite - f 5.6 at 1/125, ISO 400 with evaluative metering.

Donna

Settings: f/5.6, 1/320 sec, ISO 100
I practiced using spot and partial metering. This picture was taken using partial metering. Not a picture I will keep however a good practice pic.

Amy - Sunset with Polly

Photo settings:
Aperture Priority f/5.6, 1/250 sec, ISO 200, 38 mm, Nikon D90

For metering in this photo, I used Center Weighted Average. I played around with my meter and exposures and this seemed to work best with the backlight/sidelight that was happening at sunset.

Photo taken on my dock on Long Lake...subject is my dog, Polly, who is very difficult to shoot. :)

Sara W- Sunrise

Settings- Partial Metering, f/stop 25, ISO 320, at 150MM. The histogram on this one had some clipping in the darker tones, big surprise! I actually was going for the silhouette of the trees in the foreground. Over all I really like the contrast of the dark & light. I took several shots of the same thing while playing with the metering and I think this one turned out best.

Chuck "Peeking Through"

I wanted to find a shot where I could spot meter through a dark foreground, and came across this vantage of the Capitol though the trees in Priest Point Park.  For this shot, I used f/11, 1/1000s, ISO-400, and spot metering.

Arwyn - Playing with light

Aperture priority, f/5.6, ISO 100, partial metering, exposure -1/3.  I was trying to get a shot that highlighted the flowers against the blue sky, but there was just too much light.  I like that I was able to get the flowers at a decent exposure - the first few shots were way too dark - and I love the way the light plays through the leaves (though now that I've shrunk the photo down, it's not as dramatic).  Although I'm still not overly happy with this shot, I was bracketing when taking this photo, so if you combined this picture with those, it would actually be quite nice. This is where Photoshop would definitely come in handy!

Linda- Tulips

OK, as usual, I put off taking photos till the evening before it's due. I was too tired to look around and find anything original to photograph, so I pointed the camera at the slightly late-blooming tulips in my backyard. Sorry.... more tulip pictures ......... SO last month!

I put my Nikon D90 on a tripod and remembered to set my white balance halfway through. It made a LOT of difference! The background with WB set on AUTO was blue-ish and set on CLOUDY made the background nice and green.

I used Aperture priority f/5.6, 1.6 seconds, ISO 200 shot at 150mm.

I did my metering trials and the winner was the matrix (full image) metering. The photo just looked more pleasing and bright.

Patrick - Two Shapes

These are two ceramic figurines that are in a bay window. In the past they have always photographed very dark because of the back lighting. I tried several variations and it was either center-weighted or spot metering that got a better exposure for the figures.

But foliage and a light grey deck in the background came out lighter than I wanted. I started to play with filters and painting in transparent layers to darken those areas. I also flipped the figures and turned them since the angle of the photo made them seem off balance. I think I eventually "Inverted" the photo which cause the middle background to darken.

To get an effect I was more interested in I layered in an unrelated photo (the basin of the water fountain I used last week - solarized and recolored). I played with the opacity of how much the second photo would show through. The final result was a little too gold, so I added a green filter, but erased it from the figures themselves.

While I love looking at more straightforward photos, I'm finding I'm not satisfied with my own work until it is (in an artistic sense) "destroyed" or undone to a certain extent. I still want to see what the subject is, but through layers of intended and accidental transparencies (?) - "filters". Then I'm happy.

Butterfly in Dahlia Garden....

Aperture Mode

Subject at 560mm with focal length @ 105mm

Shutter 1/250 @ f/5.6, ISO 100, Exposure 0 EV

Meter Mode: Center Weighted

I tried capturing "motion" using speed mode but they didn't turn out as well. I used slow shutter speeds hoping to show "movement". In retrospect I should've experimented with faster shutter speeds and focused on clarity rather than motion.

I liked the way the aperture mode caught the detail of the butterfly, showing the antenna and legs. I also liked the "macro" effect....showing the small twigs in comparison to the butterfly.

Sue The Kiss

It was gray and overcast Sunday morning. I shot this with my telephoto lens, shutter speed 1/125, F5.6, ISO 400, Focal legngth 55 mm and used spot metering.

Number 1

Rowing on Charles River

Jason Myers - Waving Flag

I used a shutter speed of 1/400.

Bob Diercks - Fountain

This photo was taken at ISO 50, f9 at 1/15th of a second. I like that the water is showing motion but I don't think the composition is that interesting. I just wanted to post an example of shutter speed and it's affect on motion.

Amy - Lingering Droplet

I took this photo during a light rainfall one evening this week. That was definitely out of my norm, as I've been too scared to take my camera out in the rain before. I had an umbrella and was just outside on my deck so I felt safe. :)



Photo stats: 50mm, f/1.8, 1/1250 sec, ISO 200

The histogram shows a fairly symmetrical peak that is a little left of center.

I am pleased with this photo; I like the focus on the one raindrop at the tip of the leaf. If I were to do it again I would like more light in the shot so the leaves would be a bit more distinct from the background foliage.

Arwyn - Levitation

This is my fantastic sister who was kind enough to bounce around her backyard while I played with shutter speeds.  I love that the dog is in focus - and so confused looking - while my sister is just slightly blurry as she starts to jump in the air, her feet just barely off the ground.  I wish that I had moved my camera up a bit so she wasn't so centered vertically, but overall, I think this picture is great. Camera settings: 1/80s, f/5, ISO 400, histogram slightly blown out on the right because of the sun and sky, but otherwise decently distributed.

Vicki G. American flag

I saw this flag while driving down I-5 following a down pour. The rain stopped and the sun came out, and clouds disappeared. I pulled off the freeway to take some shots. The flag looked so crisp and clean against the blue sky. this was taken at 6:30 at night with an f/29 ISO 1600, exp. time 1/125 sec.

Linda- Sparkle Candles

This is my "mini" practice for fireworks this summer. :-)

After getting my camera set up on the tripod, I set up some sparkle candles into a votive holder. I needed playdough inside to hold them up. After taking a couple of shots before they were lit I decided that having the ISO at 1000 kept the graininess down.

I used a 50mm 1.8 lens, the shutter speed was 1.3 seconds and the aperture f/22.

Those candles burned down quickly and the photo session was done! I wish I'd had time to try a slightly slower shutter speed, but it was looking good and I didn't want to miss my shots.

Travis Brennan "ProGRT"

The aperture was at F-2, Shutter speed at 1/250s and ISO 100, I had also messed around with the white balance.

Chuck "Procession Drummer"

I snapped this at the Procession of the Species parade on Saturday at 35mm focal length at f/5, 1/250 s, and ISO-250. If I could have taken the time to think about and set up for the shot (the chaos of the parade did not lend itself to that), I would have slowed down the shutter speed to get a trailing effect with her drumsticks.

AnnMarie - Westport Sea Lion

I branched out away from the birds with this curious sea lion... The histogram reading was a bit heavy to the left (dark) however the subject was dark. I was able to pull out some light with the settings used (1/400, F/4.0, ISO 400 at 75mm focal length) and happy that I was able to snap the shot just as he popped up briefly for a look and capture the water droplets in mid-air.

Patrick - "spout"

This is a photo of the fountain outside our classroom. My first photos taken at iso 200 were basically black, so I raised the iso to 800 and then 1600 which worked. But when I imported them into Lightroom I got more interested in the way too dark versions. So this photo was taken at iso 200, 1/2000 sec, f/4, 32.5mm focal length, but lightened till I could begin to see something. I also changed the white balance to Shady, which gave it a more goldenish glow.

Then I went into Elements where I copied and enlarged the water stream and pasted it above the actual one. I used several filters, multiple layers, highlighted some areas and darkened others, and changed the shape of some shadows. I did multiple versions and it was great fun. I've put some other versions on my blog, along with some photos I made with a spinning bike tire, and one of pipes on the building behind our classroom which I blurred by moving the camera.

Waterfall-Pond at Night

Shutter Mode

                            Exposure 15 sec @ f/4.8, ISO 100, Focal Length 42mm, No Flash

Took photo at night under half moon. First photo black since trees blocked moon light. Took regular flash light and shined on water falling into pond. Histogram cutoff as expected to left but did have light in last 1/4 of chart.

I was rather surprised how the camera was able to pick up the detail from the flashlight. It would be interesting to try using different types of light. Also should've experimented leaving shutter speed on longer.

Donna

I selected this picture because I usually only take pictures of people. It's fun to try something new.

1/30S, f14, ISO 200

SUE SLOW SHUTTER SPEED

Taken with telephoto lense, shutter speed 1/15, F22, ISO 100 & Focal length 55mm.

Sara W- Porter catching Pennie

Settings- Shutter speed- 1/2000, F/stop-8, ISO-1250, 65MM. I chose this particular shutter speed because these dogs are very fast and active. The histogram shows a lot of mid-tones however, there is no clipping at either end. I chose this photo because it represents my dogs perfectly. Because they are always so active- it is often difficult to get good pictures of them....I usually end up with feet, butts, or noses. I especially like the way the dirt is being kicked up by Porter's back foot. I think I would try to shoot with the horizon a little less sloped if I could do it again.

Jr - Slow Shutter

She was on the dyno pulling some top end runs. I think if I was to do anything I would have used a fisheye :)

Bob Diercks - Home Tulips

I took this shot on my property at 1/100 speed, 4.0 for a shallow depth of field, the ISO was 50 with a white balance of 200. I tried to put an emphasis on the one tulip with regard to focus. I think the picture is too hot in the left upper background. The histogram was not clipped at either side but the majority of the graph was to the left or under side. I didn't want to correct more and wash out the background further and not use software to help.

Amy - Red Tulip Field

This photo was taken at 18mm, f/18, ISO 200 at the Tulip Festival in the Skagit Valley.

I would have preferred a beautiful blue sky with some staggered clouds to be in the background, but I guess I should be happy with a bit of a hazy day in WA. That said, I believe the bright sky proved to be the cause of a bit of a spike in the right on the histogram. Otherwise it was quite balanced. I like how I was able to have a broad range of focus. And I liked how being so low to the ground was able to show some leading lines. If I were to do it again, I would have played with some more f stops and checked on the white balance, which I had set on auto.

Chuck "Best Friends"

I took this shot at 80mm using f/5.6, 1/500s, and ISO 200, with the white balance set for sun. I particularly like the reflection in my wife's sunglasses...

Jason Myers - Dumb Cane Leaf

I used f/5.6 ISO 4000 at a focal length of 55mm. I took this shot indoors and was trying to get some back light and wanted to make use of the available light. The histogram is skewed towards the middle left portion.

Patrick Pine

This is a tree from my yard. I used f/5.6, ISO: 200, and 55mm focal length. I took many photos changing these variables, but was not able to get the blur in the background that I wanted.

I eventually used Elements to get more blur -- not exactly what I was after, but in the right direction. I also added the red at the bottom forground to cover some old weed barrier cloth that was showing. Barbra asked me to include the edited photo too.

I think this tree, my camera, and I are going to be spending a lot of time together in the future

Zane - Apple Blossom

This photo is at the closest I could shoot with the lowest F stop at 4.8 to be able to see the detail of the blossom - which is only one inch in diameter. My intention was to maximize sensitivity, using the ISO 800 while maintaining close detail. The histogram is evenly distributed over white and the RGB spectrum.

I like the white and the stillness white speaks to. The blurred background provides a canvas for the white to stand out - though there may be a but too much white in the background. The branch grounds the blossom growing up from the left corner.

The background could have been more varied in colors; though the day was gray, so the tendency was toward that grey.

Camera settings: ISO 800, F/4.5, shutter 1/2000 s

Linda- Pink Blossoms, Pond with Reflections

For this picture I used f/22, ISO 200, 50 mm on a Nikon D90. The location is in back of the Lacey Community Center on Pacific Avenue.

The histogram is not terribly balanced with a high spike in the bright tones and lacking in the brightest tones. The ISO was at 200 which seemed right with the available light (lightly cloudy).

I liked the reflection on the pond which did not show up at the lower apertures. The photo looked nicer with the background trees in slight "out of focus" since the other side of the pond had a few distractions in view. However, if Mount Rainier had been in better view (over the trees) I would have put everything in focus and photoshopped out the unwanted buildings, etc.

I wish I'd had more time to experiment with different settings and had set my WB (I forgot.... it was on auto).

AnnMarie - Hairy Woodpecker

This photo was taken in my backyard - shaded and low light f/5.6, ISO 400, at 1/40s.

Arwyn - Cherry Blossoms

For this picture I used f/5.6, ISO 200, 55 mm, on a Canon XTi in front of the library downtown. The histogram is fairly balanced, but a little more towards the dark end than the light end. It was cloudy, so I thought a higher ISO would work better and would move my histogram further to the right, but anything higher than 200 looked washed out. I was trying to get just a few of the blossoms in focus with the rest of the tree and background blurry, which I think worked really well. I really like the position of the main blossoms in the frame, but I wish the blossoms on the right weren't there, since they take away some of the focus of the picture.

Sara - Blue Flowers

For this photo I had my ISO set at 800 and my f/stop at 10 because although it was sunny outside, I was in a shaded area. This was shot at 35MM. The histogram showed no clipping on either end and a decent balance of tones. There was a spike in the bright tones. I really enjoy the simplicity in this photo as well as the way the closest flowers are blurry. If I could do this over again I would probably go with a lower f/stop to add more light.

Travis Brennan "Downhill MTB"

Aperture was at F4, ISO 400, focal was 18mm and Shutter at 250
If I could change anything it would change the aperture to 3.5 so the background could be a little more blurred and turn the WB down a little, it was set on auto.