HDR - Woods

So a couple of days ago, as everybody was enjoying their Friday afternoon, after work I decided to have a walk through the local woods, and found a really cool location for shooting, I think portrait will work really well against this park ranger style cabin.

Quick Glossary!

HDR  = High Dynamic Range
Exposure = How light or dark the image is, and how sensitive the image is with the light through the lens
Bracketing = The levels of exposure, can be digitally changed on most digital cameras. HDR uses 3 different levels usually.
AEB = Auto Exposure Bracketing (the camera works it out for you instead of changing settings manually)
Photographer = A term used loosley by keen amateurs who own a camera, who don't like their day job


When you see a HDR shot, you will see in my blog, that they can look slightly/totally surreal. When you stack these images, in most software you can choose the 'style' of the shot. I normally go for the 'painterly' effect. A lot of pepole like grunge, but I have heard photographers say that is not too dissimilar to vomit on a canvas.

What's the point? To photograph something that you want to capture all of the dynamic tonal range. A camera's eye does not have the range of the human eye, no matter how good a camera/lens. Some things that you shoot will have highlights/shadows to extreme to capture. And also, when you get it right - in the edit afterwards, a finished HDR image (comprising of normally 3 or more images of the same shot at different exposures), it makes you say "wow -  that's pretty cool".

Skip the next two paragraphs if you're keen to get to the images/you don't speak camera.

I recently found out how to take more accurate HDR shots, putting the camera on continuous shooting, setting it to 2 second self timer, and using a 3 stop (A)uto (E)xposure (B)racketing system. This enables you to choose the level of exposure, with also another two either side of the stop you have chosen. For example, normal, under exposed and over exposed, but you get to literally scroll through the brackets of just how exposed you want. When you click the shutter, it will take three successive images, at different exposures.

Obviously this is a real help, as it saves you accidently altering the framing as you adjust settings manually, as the camera does this for you! I really like this technique, and can't believ it has taken me so long to find it! It is beneficial to HDR, as obviously you need exactly the same amount of detail/frame in every shot. 

Me looking like a chimneysweep, thanks to HDR!! HDR isn't preferred for portrait, as you can see it brings out all the highlights and shadows that you didn't know existed!

 

My favourite of the afternoon's shots, this comprised of 9 shots at  different exposures - see how the different shades of green are picked out against the bright sky behind, which in real life looked very overcast, but this has a very nice grey/pale blue feel

 

 

 

The eerie wood cabin, with smashed glass and weeds all around had a particularly spooky feel, looks great in mono HDR!

HDR puddle!

Upward perspective of an autumnul tree, colour boosted by HDR, 3 exposures used.

The back of the cabin (6 exposures)

 

 

Colour version, 3 exposures

Cool lines of foreground perspective balanced by brambles!

Uprooted oak tree b+w, and below in mono, with a warm temperature

 

Wide view of the cabin, In 'gunge', and mono

 

IRELAND

Almost anywhere in autumn's October/November crossover is enough to make you want to get your camera out to capture the reds and abundant oranges, but I have just returned from Ireland, and discovered a different shade of green.

Becky and I booked the trip last minute, securing flights, and hostels. Pretty much everything else was left unplanned. We had an outline of towns and cities that we wanted to visit (which we did), but that is the most exciting and invigorating way to see somewhere new. Organised fun is not in either mine or Becky's parameter.

Quay street, witgh someone trying to find the right key.









The Claddagh is the harbour on the Atlantic coast, and alongsied it are sn array of beautiful cottages each differently coloured. I found this vintage BMW, and thought it looked at home in the harbour.

The river Corrib estuary into the Atlantic











A 4 piece traditional Irish folk band busking on bank holiday when we arrived.

We flew into Dublin on a cold, wet typically Irish morning. After a fairly bumpy plane ride, we then took a 3 hour coach from the airport to Galway. As we have a friend over on the west coast, we thought it would be a great excuse to combine a catch-up with some culture. We only had 24 hours in this city, but by far, this was not enough!! Whenever there is Guiness involved, time very quickly evaporates! Guinness is so much tastier in Ireland. Apparantly, it is to do with how the Guinness travels, and the pipes that connect the tap to the barrell. In Britain for example, a pint doesn't really leave a white 'heady' residue on your glass as you drink it. It should! The city of Galway is fairly small, packed with little backstreets with local businesses. Very accommodating for tourists, still it retains it's culture and class. For instance, the first pub that we visited, had a flautist and a drummer just 'jamming'. That made the Guinness go even faster.






It's a duck's life.

On Monday eve, we set off on a 'GoBus' (10 Euro) to Dublin. I didn't get many snaps that evening, mostly as we were checking out Temple Bar, and going from pub to pub, drinking pint after pint listening to Irish folk singers. Temple Bar is a real tourist trap, non more so than 'The Temple Bar', or Oliver St. John Gogarty's, which are nearly 6 Euro for a Guinness. None the less we still had a great night, dancing, singing and drinking. We had booked a day trip with 'Paddywagon Tours', who do trips anywhere between half-day and 5 day trips. We went to the town of Kilkenny, and stopped off along the way at glourious Glendalough, in the Wicklow mountains. Our bus driver, Aaron, was 21 - but full of charm and charisma, we very all soon forgot that he was far younger than the youngest people on the trip - me and Becky at 27! He had a microphone, and spoke at about 75 percent of the time we were on the road. He was very informative, and told us many things about local and national culture. Including that the Wicklow mountains are a hideout for Dublin's criminals, and it's most famous criminal 'The General', stole some paintings and has buried them up there somewhere. There is a 2 million Euro reward for finding them! Kilkenny is a small city, but very dominant in the sport of Hurling, a national game, similar to Lacrosse. Manchester United have won the EPL 19 times, and are deemed the most successful club in the world in soccer, but Kilkenny have won the All-Ireland Hurling final 35 times! Must be something in the water. Each town is associated with their own colours for GAA, and Kilkenny's are orange and black. Almost every car, pub, house, young lad, mother, lampost that you walk past sport these flags/colours. Probably because they're the best! Glendalough was picturesque and charming, while Kilkenny revelled in it's own sporting achievement. Both are beautiful parts of the world.

The monastic village of St. Kevin.

St Kevin was a priest who wanted to become closer to God, and lived in Glendalough by himself until he died, surviving on water and nettles!

 The round tower at the monastic village

The Wicklow gap

Becky at Kilkenny castle.

An over exposed Kilkenny cathedral, but it looks gothic so I didn't delete it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

On our final day, we visited the Guinness storehouse, which was my highlight of the trip. Until you go there, I don't think it's possible to realise what a unique and proud drink Guinness is. From collecting barley by hand in 1759, to the famous commercial of horses emerging from out of the sea, the Guinness brand really has taken the world by storm. As you move up a floor, you learn a new part of the drink's history. In 1959, to mark the bicentenery of Guinness, they dropped 50,000 bottles with messages inside, in the Atlantic ocean. These bottles are now said to be washing up off the coast of Canada, I would love to get my hands on one! Finally, you get enjoy a free pint of the black stuff, at the top of the storehouse that overlooks Dublin. I cannot recommend this tour enough. All in all, Ireland is so charming and rich in culture, it's hard to leave.

My favourite part of a Gunness is when it's 3/4 full, and it's left for you to drool over the colours of the pint settling.

Perfection in a glass.

Slainte! (sl-on-jer) Cheers!!

The River Liffey in central Dublin at night.

Liverpool

I have returned! After my 8 week absense, I am now getting back on the blog wagon, after falling off due to landing a new job at the end of August when I last posted. The blessing of this touring theatre contract that I have is that I travel around the UK and visit some interesting places, the curse is that touring removes your artistic desire, and replaces it with the desire for fast food and sleep.

I set out to do a twelve month project of taking (at least) one photo each day, and keeping a blog - although I have still been taking pics, I haven't been able to blog. So I will find time to post blogs whenever poss.

I have decided to upload a few shots of my recent trip to Liverpool, and got a couple of cool images. I only had an evening and one low battery (schoolboy error not checking before heading out with my gear). I find the docks so interesting, so took a few long exposures there, sans tripod as I didn't pack it for the trip - resting the camera on benches and walls - basically, flat things, to give me that steadiness needed for long exposure. Also, I wondered down Matthew Street and took a few pictures of 'The Cavern'.

As the venue is underground, you have to walk down several flights of stairs, with 'The Cavern' on every wall as you zig-zag down. The writing was white, and in hindsight I should have chosen a better white balance setting as the writing has a sickly coloured creamy tint.

This is outside, at f 1.8, as I wanted the E of Cavern in sharp focus and the rest slightly out.

I like the neon lighting that lights up the brickwork behind, and only that area is lit, the sourrounding area is in darkness.

I took an identical picture to this in daylight in 2010, last time I was here. In darkness, with no tripod, its much trickier to get a shot that you're happy with. I'm not happy with this, as all the highlights are blown out, I obviously had to wide and aperture for this shot, or too long of a shutter exposure.

This ship was in the harbour, and looked great in the dock's light. Pleased with this, but not sure why I decided not to change my perspective as the lampost is awfully distracting. Maybe that's art?







I have set myself some challenges to complete before Christmas.

Capture some deer at Cannock Chase (on camera)
Photograph a sporting event
Get some autumnul shots full of colour
Photograph a foggy wood


Until next time, bye.      

A Midsummer Nights Dream

Day 83
22nd August 2012


This evening I was asked by Tread The Boards theatre company to photograph their final dress rehearsal, and use some of the images outside of the entrance to let the audience know what they are in for!

I have done this 'job' before, and I always find that it's trial and error to get your good shots. Always juggling ISO, shutter speed and aperture, it's difficult to get right. Especially in the dark of the audience!

Here comes the science. Skip to the pictures if you don't like lectures! Maybe you might learn something!

ISO
The sensor's sensitivity to light, normally runs from 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200. At 100, the sensor is very sensitive to light, and is perfect for shooting in sunlight/outdoors. At 3200, the sesnsor doesn't really care anymore, it just wants to brighten things up at any cost, so for that reason you lose quality. The darker the scene/lighting, be it natural or illuminous the higher you have to mark your ISO - that is of course providing you don't want to use flash.


Aperture
This is the part of the lens that you pay your money for! Anywhere from wide as f/32 to f/1.2, you can actively tell the lens how much light to let in. This is controlled by the motors inside the lens that open up to the width of your lens, or decrease to the size of a pea - and smaller. A wide aperture, f11 and above, is ideal for landscapes, as then you can really get everything into focus, as well as absorbing those nice colours in the sky. This would be no good indoors though, as there is a mild chance that everything will be dark at that level, which is where you use your low numbers. Also low f stop numbers help you to isolate your subject and get a really sharp focus on one thing.


Shutter Speed
Basically, the blink of an eye. Imagine opening and closing your eye anywhere from 1/4000'th of a second - all the way to 30 seconds, thats how ss basically works. It's the amount of time that the mirror in the camera has to deflect what it sees through the lens, up to the sensor. Faster shutter speeds are great for sport, capturing a surfer on wave for example, freezing the action in time, getting those droplets of water flying around. Long shutter speeds are perfect for night photography, capturing a busy city scene - like London Bridge lit up at night - it doesn't change colour or move (except when the Queen sails through), so you can shoot a long exposure, also water is great for this, as it smooths out the surface.

Flash
Everybody uses flash on cameras, but when is it most effective? Obviously as a substitute for natural or low light. It makes camera believe that there is more light around what you are shooting than there actually is. With DSLR's, Flashguns are a musthave for indoor photography (i actually haven't got one), as the inbuilt flash that pops up isn't great - it's harsh, and always washes out people's faces of any natural skin tone. External flash however, is great because you can change the direction of the flash, bouncing it off hard surfaces that maybe around the subject. Flash can really save the day! I doubt you'd ever see a wedding photographer shooting indoors wihout their flash.


The human eye has all these things in built (apart from flash), I'll give you some for instance's.

When you've been in a really bright outdoorsy type of place, and you have to go in to a room with no windows or the curtains drawn with no light, or vice versa, when your eyes adjust themselves to the available light - this like ISO, sensitivity to light. Or when you wake up, with a rotten hangover. Like that.

When you focus on your finger in front of your nose (closing one eye), your pupil dilates slightly to let more or less light in, and when you move it away further or take it away, your pupils adjust automatically. This like aperture, constantly evaluating what we look at, and what we focus on. We can't focus on everything all the time, no matter how 20/20 you are!

When you close your eyes, and open them for any length of time, that's shutter speed. Imagine that a camera's eye is always closed, and only opens when you take a shot.


That being said, you can tell how many things there are to consider when shooting indoors, without a flash, it's a constsnt balancing act, with change of lighting in theatre, the moving people and their props - here are a few shots of the show.

So if the pictures are blurred, not light enough, too dark, if the quality isn't quite right - you know how to fix it! Get your camera out and go take some pictures!


Tread The Boards 22/8/12
A Midsummer Night's Dream