2020 May Favorite Uploads

[Sally R 284]

Those are stunning insect photos Gen. I actually have one I took of the second last one you have there, the orange and black one, and was looking at it the other day and wondering whether to upload it, though I think yours is better. The first one in that last group you posted looks like it has a false end that looks like a head with big eyes when its head is actually at the other end. One of those evolved survival things that some species have I'm guessing, if that is in fact the case. It's amazing what you see in close up detail.

[Sally R 284]

This is a recent upload of a still life I did last year. I decided to photograph a humble egg on its lonesome. I kind of like it because it's so simple with simple elements. I was using natural light that was coming through a frosted window which created a nice diffuse light effect. One day I may build my own lightbox, having seen YouTube clips on how to do it, but quite happy in the meantime figuring out creative ways of using existing natural light.

 

[Sally R 284]

On 07/05/2020 at 03:23, Autumn Sky said:

This  image of Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park, taken on May 1 2020.  Vehicle access to Canada National Parks has been closed because of COVID-19, but I live close enough & was able to cycle

 

Image is really sound technically.  Canon EOS 6D with 24-105L lens, stitch of 4 frames.   As this is Photography Forum, want to say few words about this lens.  It generally has good reviews, but I am getting less and less happy with it.  It is just too soft in the corners when shot at 24mm & I often end up cropping a bit or doing some PS tricks. Shooting 35mm or higher is ok.   But when shooting panos composed of several frames stitched together later problem is naturally gone & result is sharp as a whistle.

 

Autumn Sky, I have experienced the same issue with one of my lenses, the Sigma 17-50mm f2.8 which I use with my crop sensor Nikon D5200. At 17mm it is frustratingly soft in the corners, and only improves marginally if I stop down. However, if I shoot less wide it starts to sharpen nicely. I have some tack sharp images across the frame at 29mm. Sharpness seems excellent around 29-40mm.

 

It is interesting to see that the problem disappears when you stitch the images. I would be interested to see if this happens with my Sigma lens, though I don't currently have stitching software, but will do sometime soonish. That is a beautiful pano by the way!

[gvallee 2,911]

31 minutes ago, Sally R said:

Those are stunning insect photos Gen. I actually have one I took of the second last one you have there, the orange and black one, and was looking at it the other day and wondering whether to upload it, though I think yours is better. The first one in that last group you posted looks like it has a false end that looks like a head with big eyes when its head is actually at the other end. One of those evolved survival things that some species have I'm guessing, if that is in fact the case. It's amazing what you see in close up detail.

 

The planthopper nymph (first image in the second series) is only a few millimetres long. Very tricky to shoot if handheld. Why not upload your Assassin Bug, you have nothing to lose. Once in Costa Rica, I was looking at an insect through my macro lens. I was never able to tell which was the front or the end. The tiny world is amazing.

[Sally R 284]

 

6 minutes ago, gvallee said:

The planthopper nymph (first image in the second series) is only a few millimetres long. Very tricky to shoot if handheld. Why not upload your Assassin Bug, you have nothing to lose. Once in Costa Rica, I was looking at an insect through my macro lens. I was never able to tell which was the front or the end. The tiny world is amazing.

 

Thanks Gen for naming the bug for me. I didn't know it was called an Assassin Bug. Yes maybe I will upload it.

 

That is amazing to capture such a tiny creature hand-held. Yes it is very difficult! Costa Rica would have been amazing. I have seen beautiful photos of the colourful frogs in the cloud forest, and so many incredible birds!

[Autumn Sky 365]

7 hours ago, Sally R said:

 

It is interesting to see that the problem disappears when you stitch the images. I would be interested to see if this happens with my Sigma lens, though I don't currently have stitching software, but will do sometime soonish.

 

I think it makes sense that stitching helps.  The larger the overlap the better.  Then corner in frame 1 becomes superimposed with part of frame 2 which is not in the corner (and vice-versa), and so on.  In addition you create bit of superresolution, which helps also with noise etc.  There is good article, think it was wiskerke that posted it originally here on Alamy:

 

https://petapixel.com/2015/02/21/a-practical-guide-to-creating-superresolution-photos-with-photoshop/

 

This is way more involved than simple pano stitching but underlying principle is that software is able to "clean up" lots of things if it has multiple sources to work with. It is great when you can get it straight out of camera, but I see now people, even with high-end gear using the above.

 

 

[Harry Harrison 385]

17 hours ago, Sally R said:

though I don't currently have stitching software

Might be a good time to try and possibly buy Affinity Photo, 50% off at the moment but I think the offer ends soon, only £25 in the UK.

 

https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/photo/

 

Obviously it does a lot more than stitching but it seems to work fine for that though I use Lightroom Photomerge. If you can get the alignment and overlap right 'in camera' and rotate the camera around a vertical axis on a tripod then the software has to do far less work. Best results and highest resolution with the camera vertical. I understand that isn't always possible though.

Edited May 10 by Harry Harrison

[Sally R 284]

11 hours ago, Autumn Sky said:

I think it makes sense that stitching helps.  The larger the overlap the better.  Then corner in frame 1 becomes superimposed with part of frame 2 which is not in the corner (and vice-versa), and so on.  In addition you create bit of superresolution, which helps also with noise etc.  There is good article, think it was wiskerke that posted it originally here on Alamy:

 

https://petapixel.com/2015/02/21/a-practical-guide-to-creating-superresolution-photos-with-photoshop/

 

This is way more involved than simple pano stitching but underlying principle is that software is able to "clean up" lots of things if it has multiple sources to work with. It is great when you can get it straight out of camera, but I see now people, even with high-end gear using the above.

 

Thanks Autumn Sky. While I was aware of stitching and the increased file sizes it produces, I wasn't aware of superresolution as in the above article. I can definitely see the value for making large prints and improving image quality. I can also see how it expands creative possibilities of what you can actually do, and I imagine you think differently when out shooting for such images. I do look forward to trying some of these things in the future.

[Sally R 284]

50 minutes ago, Harry Harrison said:

Might be a good time to try and possibly buy Affinity Photo, 50% off at the moment but I think the offer ends soon, only £25 in the UK.

 

https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/photo/

 

Obviously it does a lot more than stitching but it seems to work fine for that though I use Lightroom Photomerge. If you can get the alignment and overlap right 'in camera' and rotate the camera around a vertical axis on a tripod then the software has to do far less work. Best results and highest resolution with the camera vertical. I understand that isn't always possible though.

 

Thank you Harry. Yes I saw your earlier post about the 50% off for Affinity Photo a while ago. I have to say, it is tempting. I am actually still using Apple Aperture, which I really need to progress from as it is no longer supported/made by Apple. It does a very good job of most things but has its limitations (lack of lens distortion correction being the most annoying).

 

After some research I'd concluded that I'd like to get On1 Photo Raw. I was also waiting for a time in the future when I can afford to buy a new computer, and so start out with new software and computer together. But in the meantime, it would be really interesting to try Affinity Photo, and a good opportunity at that price. I have some images already where I wasn't even thinking about stitching, but I took adjacent shots of something of interest that I have since realised could be successfully stitched together. I frequently use a tripod while shooting landscapes, so yes that can help and I can shoot vertically where possible.

 

I've got major commitments in my life up until the end of July that are hampering the amount of time I can spend doing photography at present, but I so look forward to getting out after that and going crazy with my camera and post-processing too!

[meanderingemu 759]

can't say Covid19 times is great for my photography, but i really had a good time with the Backyard Safari expedition this week...  (note the bread was not planted)

 

 

Edited May 10 by meanderingemu

[Autumn Sky 365]

Planted or not, somebody had a great lunch    Very nice shot

[Autumn Sky 365]

I shoot nature, rarely people.  But during January trek in Southeast Asia I often saw locals, dressed in traditional ethnic clothing, posing at cultural sites.  These were not commercial photo shoots,  just locals hiring photographer to do some photography for personal purposes (I asked)

 

In Vientiane, capital of Laos,  I found this couple, young man and woman -- they were posing in front of Pha That Luang, or Great Stupa, significant cultural monument in city center. It was not wedding or engagement shot.   I took a few pics, they didn't seem to mind.   I didn't think I'd upload it for stock, it does feel inappropriate and intrusive into someone personal life, but I really like the shot so here it is.

 

What do you think?

 

 

[meanderingemu 759]

5 hours ago, Autumn Sky said:

Planted or not, somebody had a great lunch    Very nice shot

 

 

thanks...  i don't see them suffering as this is residential area, so probably as much, if not more, to scavenge as before

[The Blinking Eye 218]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Olivier Parent 686]

Highland F-road near Landmannalaugar in Iceland

 

 

Dettifoss waterfall

 

[Regis 118]

I nearly put it in the Beautiful Nature thread...

😉

It was the first time that I saw a moth in these colours:

 

 

This is a Dysphania fenestrata, they are very nice, but this one got eaten by a gecko a few minutes after we saw it...

 

[The Blinking Eye 218]

16 hours ago, Regis said:

I nearly put it in the Beautiful Nature thread...

😉

It was the first time that I saw a moth in these colours:

 

 

This is a Dysphania fenestrata, they are very nice, but this one got eaten by a gecko a few minutes after we saw it...

 

 

 

What a beautiful creature!

[Regis 118]

9 hours ago, The Blinking Eye said:

 

 

What a beautiful creature!

 

Yes it was.

I was very surprised to see one and at first thought that they were very rare, as I had never seen on before.

But apparently they are pretty common around here...

I will try to get a better photograph of it the next time that I hopefully see one.

[JaniMarkus Hasa 148]

Two unleashed dogs waiting for their master at shop entry. London, England, June 2014.

 

[The Blinking Eye 218]

I have spent a lot of time wandering around empty parking lots lately.

[Michael Ventura 5,198]

Took a Sunday drive out to the "country" of the DC area last weekend.  I self isolated with nature and rural roads.

 

 

 

 

[Sally R 284]

This is a photo I'd forgotten about and found going back through old images, so just uploaded it. It is of the flower buds of a plant called a Holly-leaved Banksia. The depth of field is shallow so the focus is selectively on the buds.

 

[sb photos 240]

Images showing fisherman on the UK's Grand Union Canal enjoying the sunny weather on the first Saturday after the coronavirus pandemic lockdown restrictions were eased.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 18 by sb photos

[Rico 252]

I wasn't too pleased with the original edit of this photo so it went back to Photoshop for a makeover.

[AlbertSnapper 2,354]

 

 

A bit of congestion in rural Wales yesterday.........

 

 

 

 

A farmer follows up the rear of a flock of sheep on the main A44 road, at Walton, near New Radnor, Powys, Wales, UK (photographed from a delivery van)