Leica Autumn 2017

Hi Leia, note that I'm just a hobbyist too! But I love getting out and taking pictures as do you.

I've certainly run into the effect that you're showing in the above photo. There's a neat shot among these flowers, but how to get it?

There is some combination of following that is quite likely to help. While trying to get the shot it's up to you to try them all in any combination to see if something "pops-out:"

(The mechanics of the camera toward the below choices: Aperture Priority ("A" mode), so that you get to choose the aperture that the camera shoots at. Camera set to auto-ISO too, and the exposure compensation ("-3 ... 0 ... +3") set to around "-1" to keep the skies from saturating. If you're shooting into the sun, set exposure compensation to around "-2" or so, then boost light of the subject and foreground back at your computer. Again, this keeps the photo away from being so saturated that detail is lost in significant portion of the photo.)

1) Raise the aperture number until just a few more things are in focus. Don't go for higher aperture than that for a shot like this: there's a neat effect here when foreground and background have a nice blurry smoothness, 'bokeh,' leaving just the subject in sharp focus.
2) Sometimes when you're close to the subject, the aperture number can't go high enough to get all of what you need in focus. When you step back a few feet (sometimes more) and then refocus, more of your subject will be in focus. You'll probably need to crop the resulting photo on your computer to get back to the shot you want. (As long as you don't have to down crop to a very small region of the original photo, the 'image quality' won't suffer.)
3) Frame the shot a bit differently. Pretend you are at the surface of a sphere surrounding your subject. Go to different points on that sphere to see if there is a location where the subject is suddenly separated from everything else. Here, the subject is three or such (i.e., often an odd-number) of the flower stalks. The rest of the flowers should be part of the foreground or background, so separated by space and/or by "blur" from your subject.

There's a lot to think about and balance when getting your shots! Along with the above, I try to pay attention to the background too:

1) How much blur is "just right?" (Raise or lower aperture accordingly.)
2) Even when the background is blurry, sometimes something in the background really adds to the shot. Try to find whatever that is.
3) If there are leaves or anything else translucent in your subject, having the sun shining from behind them can make them glow. Or produce a glowing outline to your subject ...

Don't be afraid to "rearrange" the subject, foreground, or background objects if you can. If there's a twig that's "photobombing" your shot? If you can reach it, move it out of the way. If having something in the foreground would add to the shot (often it does), look around: can you move something into the shot to make it better?

Finally, I mentioned a "sphere" being something to imagine yourself on. Don't stay at the same height for all of your trial shots, change the height that you're taking the shot from as well.

Sometimes I'll take eight or nine shots of something, just varying a few things at time a little bit, from the above lists. Back home at the computer, I'll review them, to see which one of the shots is best to start editing from.
 
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I want to know how they keep their knees from staining green while sliding. White uniforms show that in stark relief. :^)

Closer inspection, most guy's right knees are dirt stained - why just the right I wonder?

From Thursday evening. I was skunked after this one shot: clouds covered the Sun for the rest of the evening.

View attachment 15224
one shot by Carl B, on Flickr

Leica T with 11-23mm wide-angle zoom. From the camera's jpeg: battery had been dead for a while and the camera reverted to jpegs only. Still nice, but not the detail I can get from raw.


Not sure why it's always the right knee, right legged saves maybe! It reminds me of that old Wishbone Ash album.... "There's the Rub"
 
Leia, I have started to realise this too, after several years but only the last three with a full frame camera. It's a fine line between using a very narrow depth of field and cancelling out all the information behind that makes the picture make some sense.... I speak English and I'm still not sure I'm making sense! I'm beginning to see that maybe a bit more depth of field can be useful :)
 
Hi Leia, note that I'm just a hobbyist too! But I love getting out and taking pictures as do you.

I've certainly run into the effect that you're showing in the above photo. There's a neat shot among these flowers, but how to get it?

There is some combination of following that is quite likely to help. While trying to get the shot it's up to you to try them all in any combination to see if something "pops-out:"

(The mechanics of the camera toward the below choices: Aperture Priority ("A" mode), so that you get to choose the aperture that the camera shoots at. Camera set to auto-ISO too, and the exposure compensation ("-3 ... 0 ... +3") set to around "-1" to keep the skies from saturating. If you're shooting into the sun, set exposure compensation to around "-2" or so, then boost light of the subject and foreground back at your computer. Again, this keeps the photo away from being so saturated that detail is lost in significant portion of the photo.)

1) Raise the aperture number until just a few more things are in focus. Don't go for higher aperture than that for a shot like this: there's a neat effect here when foreground and background have a nice blurry smoothness, 'bokeh,' leaving just the subject in sharp focus.
2) Sometimes when you're close to the subject, the aperture number can't go high enough to get all of what you need in focus. When you step back a few feet (sometimes more) and then refocus, more of your subject will be in focus. You'll probably need to crop the resulting photo on your computer to get back to the shot you want. (As long as you don't have to down crop to a very small region of the original photo, the 'image quality' won't suffer.)
3) Frame the shot a bit differently. Pretend you are at the surface of a sphere surrounding your subject. Go to different points on that sphere to see if there is a location where the subject is suddenly separated from everything else. Here, the subject is three or such (i.e., often an odd-number) of the flower stalks. The rest of the flowers should be part of the foreground or background, so separated by space and/or by "blur" from your subject.

There's a lot to think about and balance when getting your shots! Along with the above, I try to pay attention to the background too:

1) How much blur is "just right?" (Raise or lower aperture accordingly.)
2) Even when the background is blurry, sometimes something in the background really adds to the shot. Try to find whatever that is.
3) If there are leaves or anything else translucent in your subject, having the sun shining from behind them can make them glow. Or produce a glowing outline to your subject ...

Don't be afraid to "rearrange" the subject, foreground, or background objects if you can. If there's a twig that's "photobombing" your shot? If you can reach it, move it out of the way. If having something in the foreground would add to the shot (often it does), look around: can you move something into the shot to make it better?

Finally, I mentioned a "sphere" being something to imagine yourself on. Don't stay at the same height for all of your trial shots, change the height that you're taking the shot from as well.

Sometimes I'll take eight or nine shots of something, just varying a few things at time a little bit, from the above lists. Back home at the computer, I'll review them, to see which one of the shots is best to start editing from.
Wow! thanks for all the information you share, but honestly, I need some time to digest all of it. I will seriously keep your suggestions in mind. really appreciate!
 
Leia, I have started to realise this too, after several years but only the last three with a full frame camera. It's a fine line between using a very narrow depth of field and cancelling out all the information behind that makes the picture make some sense.... I speak English and I'm still not sure I'm making sense! I'm beginning to see that maybe a bit more depth of field can be useful :)
I am trying to understand! just kidding! I understood what you tried to tell me. I just need time to learn. thanks!
 
M240 50mm Summilux Mastin Fuji Pushed

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I like the angle for this one, and the depth of field that keeps the subject petals sharp, while providing "pop" by having the foreground and background out of focus. Great color palette too: limited, but nicely coordinated.
 
Had some amazing light last night, with no clouds masking the sun toward sundown:

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tcaap water tower
by Carl B, on Flickr

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rice creek by old twin cities army ammunition plant
by Carl B, on Flickr

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a walk with his dog
by Carl B, on Flickr

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moon shot
by Carl B, on Flickr

This was with the 24-90mm, a Marumi poliarizing filter used for all of these. The polarizer had greater or lesser effect - didn't bother taking it off as I didn't bring a camera bag. The water tower shot has a serious crop (~75%), but the resolution holds up nicely.
 
Fall is slowly making its way into Virginia- Summer is slowly relenting. YAY for Summer! We still get to use the Pool in October...

ANYWAY! Canon 100mm F3.5, late version- been around the world and back twice. First time from Australia to America the lens was stated to be "Not worth opening up" as the coating suffered so much damage from the infamous Canon oil outgassing attack. Second time- two of them sent to me as a gift to use for parts. Both cleaned up nicely- my view is it is better to remove the coating than to leave it looking like Wax paper. Anyway- this one is going back to Australia, where the photographer bought it 40 years ago. I'm keeping the second one.

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Canon 100F3.5 9x
by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

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Canon 100F3.5 9x
by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

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Canon 100F3.5 9x
by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

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Canon 100F3.5 9x
by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

All shots wide-open, Y2 filter, on the M Monochrom.
 
Rice Creek in Arden Hills, just before it crosses Lexington Ave.

D-LUX at f16, 22mm, ISO 400, 1/3200. I should have shot this at lowest ISO to reduce the grain in the areas lightened in post-processing. So not quite optimal, but only noticeable when zoomed-in.

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rice creek sunset
by Carl B, on Flickr
 
Few more dog walking pics...... M240 ZM50 1.5 Sonnar

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Great pics! That afternoon must have been a highlight of the week.

50mm worked well even for the rainbow shot. My first instinct would be to grab a lot of the rainbow with a wide-angle, but then your true subjects would have been much smaller. So 50mm was the better choice/constraint, and the composition works superbly.

Any reason for the Zeiss 50mm vs. Summilux 50mm?

Did Little B get off-leash for some of this?
 
Great pics! That afternoon must have been a highlight of the week.

50mm worked well even for the rainbow shot. My first instinct would be to grab a lot of the rainbow with a wide-angle, but then your true subjects would have been much smaller. So 50mm was the better choice/constraint, and the composition works superbly.

Any reason for the Zeiss 50mm vs. Summilux 50mm?

Did Little B get off-leash for some of this?


Thanks Carl, I have been under some pressure not to "spoil" every outing with my picture taking! I decided to be brave and just take the one lens/camera combo. The Zeiss is much lighter and that's probably the only real reason to take it in this case! I use the horrible plastic camera strap that came with the M240 and unfortunately soon after we began our walk, one side became detached from the strap lugs and I was lucky not to drop it in the mire, because it was windy I had to just wrap it around my wrist in the end and fix it when I got home. Don't know why I haven't bought a better strap by now.

Little B didn't get off the lead here, it's peppered with rabbit holes and we hadn't taken him here before and so I was anxious not to lose him. One whiff of rabbit or squirrel and he becomes totally deaf to our cries ;)
 
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