Various experiments

Here are various experiments. The first two are HDR and were taken tonight by the beach as the sun set and the others are shots I took in Gisborne (shots of someone walking, light drawing with long exposure,lamp, fireworks, ferns and bottle brush branch with bokeh blur)

Tilt shift photography

Today's experiment was tilt shift photography which is making an image look like its a model village/scene (eg: tiny model buildings, people etc).
My first image isn't that great for the experiment but I have an idea for another one I can try later (which I'll add in).
First of all I created another creation in Photomatix which looks good by itself...



Then, using PhotoShop I added lens blur to create an out of focus area and drawing the eye to a certain in focus area of the image. This fools the eye into thinking the objects aren't real. Photos should be taken at an angle (the higher the better) to create a better effect.



Its a bit hard to see as a small picture but I'll do a clearer one later and put it up. For more info...
http://www.tiltshiftphotography.net/photoshop-tutorial.php

Another photo I had a go with, still not at a great angle though:

Bokeh shapes and framing

Denise bought a photography magazine home from work which had some things to try out to do with blur and framing.
The name for the out of focus area in an image is called Bokeh. You can make shapes with the Bokeh by using different apertures and different lenses. The example to try in the magazine was to poke holes in a piece of cardboard and put it over the window-this would cause the shapes of light. Place an object in front to focus on and create a frame by cutting out a shape on a piece of card and sticking it to the front of the camera. I also learnt that there are all sorts of things you can put over the lens to create filters which I will try another day.

So here is a result of my experiment...



And here are some using framing-I cut out a star shape...

HDR

My first tutorial was creating an HDR Image. HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. What you do is take 3 shots at different exposures and then merge them together to create a more dynamic photo. My camera has an AEB setting (auto exposure bracketing) which I can set to take 3 photos of the same thing in different exposures. So one will be dark, one average and one over exposed (bright).

I discovered a program called Photomatix which I used to merge the photos. There are no rules for the settings in tone mapping, you just play around with them until you get the look you want. http://www.hdrsoft.com/


What I learnt...
Use a tripod because when the photos merge together they might be slightly off if you have moved when taking the photos. You can sort of see it in my image because I didn't use my tripod.
There is an option for making your images more photo-like or painterly. I made mine to look more painted.

So here is my first attempt...It is also my first attempt at adding a photo on here so I hope it works...



Here are the 3 AEB shots that make up the photo:

Studying up

As you can see nothing has been posted up, but I've been doing some research of photography techniques and thinking about buying another lens and/or an external flash for my camera so I can take some interesting shots I've learnt about.
But it looks as though I might not just be using the camera alone after all...I'll probably be going back to my old ways and using Photoshop to create some effects (which is all good as I'll have learnt some more tricks I can use in my graphic design work).

Photography day one...

I've always been interested in taking photos. My first camera was a Fuji disposable I got when I was in standard 4. I took all sorts of photos on it at home and at school, but the other kids at school didn't believe it was a real camera and wanted me to take photos of them for proof.
Mum and Grandma had cameras and were always taking photos of everything so I suppose I learnt to like photography from them. Grandma always said my photos were good and she was especially pleased with one I took on her camera while waiting for my sisters outside the toilets at the arboretum. It was a bird on a branch nearby. I took another similar one a few years ago at Grandmas house. I liked that photo because it gave the feeling of an icy winters day, with a bird sitting on the bare twigs of the tree.
I got my first real camera when I was not much older possibly form one. It was a little Kodak point and click (with an automatic flash) from the Warehouse. It was black with red and yellow parts to it (such as the part where you wound on the photo and the slider that covered the lens). And I remember putting a sticker of some sort (a smiley face I think) on the front too. I really wanted that camera, and was so pleased when I got it for my birthday.
In 2004 (aged 19) that camera finally decided to start taking photos with all sorts of funny lines across it and double exposures. So it was the end. I went to cash converters and bought a new camera, the same as the one Grandma'd had. I thought it was better because it had a zoom on it.
Although I loved the thrill of finishing a film and going to the photo processors to pick up the photos, in 2005 I bought a digital camera. It was another Kodak and was halfway between a compact and a DSLR (bigger than a compact but not as many functions as a DSLR and lens couldn't be changed) but was a really good camera. It came with me everywhere around NZ and Australia, from the outback to up the top of a glacier (which I don't recommend).
But a few years later (2008) I decided I wanted something bigger and better with more mega-pixels (higher resolution) that I could use to take photos for use in my design work. I sold the Kodak to Mel and bought a Canon EOS 450D (DSLR) and a small compact Fujifilm Finepix J15 with an underwater case. The smaller one stays in my bag ready for all occasions and I can use it for snorkeling or at the beach (or up glaciers) in its case without it getting wet.
The larger camera has lots of manual settings and other features that I'm still learning to use. And now that I'm getting the hang of them I can learn to take some more creative photos as I have seen around, instead of just the straight photo or a photo with a blurry background etc.
And even though I'm great at Photoshop and RAW, I want to be able to do things with the camera itself. And take really good photos.
Because I was never able to get into any photography courses/classes my goal this year is to teach myself some new techniques through tutorials on the net. I only have the one lens so far, so I'll see what I can achieve with that.
So, let me begin...