Official BeyondUnreal Photography Thread
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I know I don't take good shots, but at the time, they always seem like they will turn out to be really good and cool. :/ I also blame my lack of knowing wtf I'm doing with my D40 and the stock 135mm lens that's attached to it (I'd really like to get a 1.2 50mm lens for it) But I guess they are worth posting, even though they pale in comparison to the recent shots in here.
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actually, those shots are pretty cool Jackal.
I particularly love photography that captures nature when it's not pristine.
don't get me wrong; big, pretty, sunny landscapes are nice and all. but wet or dry, decaying or sprouting, splintered or hollow, gritty nature is the best.
my only critique would be that all of your shots are head on, where they would look a lot better if they followed the rule of thirds. your 3rd shot is the closest to adhering to the rule, while the rest take the subject and put it front-center; the mark of an amateur
otherwise they're good and I especially like the attention you paid to texture.
maybe that was even unconscious as you were shooting, but the bark, the damp wood, the leaves and the couch (err, recliner chair or whatever) provide great "feel" to the pictures.
I particularly love photography that captures nature when it's not pristine.
don't get me wrong; big, pretty, sunny landscapes are nice and all. but wet or dry, decaying or sprouting, splintered or hollow, gritty nature is the best.
my only critique would be that all of your shots are head on, where they would look a lot better if they followed the rule of thirds. your 3rd shot is the closest to adhering to the rule, while the rest take the subject and put it front-center; the mark of an amateur
otherwise they're good and I especially like the attention you paid to texture.
maybe that was even unconscious as you were shooting, but the bark, the damp wood, the leaves and the couch (err, recliner chair or whatever) provide great "feel" to the pictures.
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Trust me I know.
I always forget about the 3rds though. I also think it's because I'm still learning my camera for the most part. When I do try the Ro3rd's, I always end up ****ing it up and focusing on some dumb **** in the background. And since my eyes are completely GONE, it makes it kinda hard to do this.
I did have multiple angles and some offset pictures of the 1st one, but after looking at all 20 of them that one was the best impo. I have learned to take a lot of shots and then go through them and pick it out instead of trying to get that one, single perfect shot.
I always forget about the 3rds though. I also think it's because I'm still learning my camera for the most part. When I do try the Ro3rd's, I always end up ****ing it up and focusing on some dumb **** in the background. And since my eyes are completely GONE, it makes it kinda hard to do this.
I did have multiple angles and some offset pictures of the 1st one, but after looking at all 20 of them that one was the best impo. I have learned to take a lot of shots and then go through them and pick it out instead of trying to get that one, single perfect shot.
Personally, I find it to be a good idea to take my time and find only one or two perspectives for a single motif, and try to make it a good one. Then I take a big load of shots with different settings (ISO, shutter time etc.) to account for my inexperience. I like to believe I learn things that way. What do other, more experienced people here think is the best approach?
That said, I can understand your frustration with not being content with the actual results of work that seemed promising when you took it. So far I only found one good advice for myself in that department: stick with it and learn. Of the photographs you posted, I like the rotten seat the best, although that's largely because of the interesting motif. While I do not necessarily agree with sticking to the rule of thirds (I know I do that way too often myself - rules are there to be broken, and a lot of beginner photographers are real slaves to it, which is just as bad as head-on shots), I agree that the pictures you posted could have been better with other perspectives (some come to mind for the seat immediately). Taking inspiration from better photographers works really well in that department, I found, as does playing around.
In any case: keep on posting and let's not get discouraged by the great work some post here!
my only critique would be that all of your shots are head on, where they would look a lot better if they followed the rule of thirds. your 3rd shot is the closest to adhering to the rule, while the rest take the subject and put it front-center; the mark of an amateur
The rule of thirds is no rule,
its just a guideline to make people understand what makes a dynamic shot.
The rule of third should be broken as much as possible, but only when you understand the rule.
My advice, Learn how the greatest of painters created their compositions.
@ Jackel: love that chair!
Nice portrait-lens, lightstrong, but to think that the 1.4 is almost 1000 euro's cheaper...
and its sharpest focal point is as far as I know 2.x.. and if you want sharpness.. getting the 1.2 just for the 1.2 is kinda..
you get the point.
Also, you would not be able to get mayor amounths of detail with the 50mm since it only has a DOF (Depth of field) that is very small.. and everything in front of that dof will ber very to extremely blurry.
(So making a photo of a wall might result in a semi-blurry mess)
I would suggest a wide angle objective for that chair-shot though.
around 10-14mm to get the maximum of the scenery, foreground/background/chair.
_____
Iso = Always 100.. well... Preferable.
Obviously there are always scenario's where you want to increase the Iso (dark rooms, rave's, disco's, poorly lit enviroments).
but if you want the least amounth of noise in your photo.. keep the ISO as low as possible, Use a strong stable tripod if possible and use a remote to "Click" and shoot.
The tripod because your hands no mather how stable.. will always move/shake a little bit and that means.. blurring in your photo.
The remote control.. because when you "Click" with your fingers.. your camera will move/shake a little.. and will result in a minimal to maximum amounth of blurryness.
Find reviews on the lenses you are using, A decent review will tell you all about the lens.
its Bokey, the Chromatic Aberration, its noice, how many elements, how well it works in direct sunlight etc.
Learn about wide angle, macro, zoom and non-zoom lenses,
surf trough various artsy/photographical websites searching for work that touches you and stimulates you to try and create your own works of art.
ow.. and take as many shots as you can especially with a dslr (digital camera).
I sometimes come home with over 50 shots of the same insect just to find that one shot that is slightly sharper or slightly more interesting.
Ow.. and most importantly.. understand light.. sunlight, lamplight.. light!
To stay OT:
Patiently:
,,Opin da doohr humin!!"
- ,,Yea humin!! we haf bin weeting patiuntly for joo to opin teh door"
*looks at all the stains on the door*
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Uhh, the cat on the right seems to need some mental help. It has that "I'm going to murder you once I get inside" look on it's face.
But I love it.
But I love it.
to think that the left cat (purdy) is 20 years old, and the cat on the right (Mambo) is 20 months old.
thanks btw
thanks btw
20 years? And still in good health? Mine's well on the way, nearing 17.
Has this "hehe once you sit on me I'll eat you" look...
Has this "hehe once you sit on me I'll eat you" look...
"Chairy? I don't know, haven't heard from her in a while. I heard she got some work done. She was gonna move up north to the big city, said she was gonna get back into children's television.." -PeeWee
What do you get when you cross-breed a moth and thumper?
well..
gnight ya'all!
Just that those aren't ears but a smelling organs. They can smell a female in great distance 3 dimensionally with them.
And great shot
I don't know about that. if you understand the rule, you have to avoid breaking it because most people who are new to photography won't come to understand it otherwise. the only way to learn it is to apply it every time they shoot.
it doesn't mean you strictly compose every single shot you take within the "rule," but it should be followed in a general sense each time you take a picture. in this way, you learn how to work with it while working around it.
it's a necessary guideline in that it provides people who don't necessarily possess a creative eye with a "trick" they can use to turn their photography from average to compelling.
you don't tell people to break the rule, but you let someone work around it in their own way once they have more experience.
see, I think this is misleading.
some of the greatest painters in history have made use of extremely boring composition.
da Vinci, Van Gogh, Whistler, O'Keefe, etc.
painting is far removed from photography nowadays, so much so that I would advise against copying the compositional style of most artists. it's just a completely different medium that looks for very different techniques when it comes to content and composition.
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I'll post a couple more shots from Nicaragua, I know it's a world apart and no one really knows what I did there but dammit this is a photography thread and I will post pics.
[screenshot]http://imgur.com/QjNGo.jpg[/screenshot]
Literally I am standing near the rim of an active volcano, the "clouds" on the left are fumes from it. The rim and crater (bout 200 feet across) are behind where the picture is facing.
[screenshot]http://imgur.com/8C7K7.jpg[/screenshot]
Guess which game this made me think of.
[screenshot]http://imgur.com/wkbYt.jpg[/screenshot]
good old sunrise on top of a mountain.
[screenshot]http://imgur.com/IXBFy.jpg[/screenshot]
and lastly, an enormous lake (use the clouds to judge how big it is) that fills up an extinct volcanic crater. it is fresh water, and I took a swim in it.
[screenshot]http://imgur.com/QjNGo.jpg[/screenshot]
Literally I am standing near the rim of an active volcano, the "clouds" on the left are fumes from it. The rim and crater (bout 200 feet across) are behind where the picture is facing.
[screenshot]http://imgur.com/8C7K7.jpg[/screenshot]
Guess which game this made me think of.
[screenshot]http://imgur.com/wkbYt.jpg[/screenshot]
good old sunrise on top of a mountain.
[screenshot]http://imgur.com/IXBFy.jpg[/screenshot]
and lastly, an enormous lake (use the clouds to judge how big it is) that fills up an extinct volcanic crater. it is fresh water, and I took a swim in it.
First picture: Is that Masaya? A couple of my colleagues at school from the volcanology dept are doing lots of work there.
Second picture: I lived in the middle of an integrated coffee farm that looked almost exactly like that. The shade plants were bananas, avocadoes, and citrus fruits. It was an edible forest.
First picture: Yes! Excellent guess, this is on top of Masaya (pronounced messiah for others reading this). Interesting choice of research location - any clue what they're studying? It is certainly a beautiful place to work, and the town has some of the nicest (though poorest) folks ive ever met. Did you know the country's ex-dictator Samosa used to take his enemies up in a helicopter and drop them alive into this volcano? I shuddered when I found that out.
Second picture: Right on! The little plants in the foreground are baby coffee plants being grown for harvest, the biggest leaves belong to the banana plant, and avocado trees are grown throughout for shade and food. An edible forest, on top of a mountain. :tup:
Second picture: Right on! The little plants in the foreground are baby coffee plants being grown for harvest, the biggest leaves belong to the banana plant, and avocado trees are grown throughout for shade and food. An edible forest, on top of a mountain. :tup:
Was that Volcan Mombacho by any chance, since you were in that area? I hiked up it with my bro a couple years ago. Just as beautiful on the way up as around the top. :tup:
My friends are doing a few things at Masaya. They're monitoring the level of the lava lake with a gravimeter (lava goes up, gravity anomaly goes up - although it's been basically steady for a long time now), monitoring the gases being vented, and also measuring the groundwater levels like twice a year or something. I think they're hoping that if Masaya shows any signs of activity, they'll be able to report how all those different "volcano vitals" change when it does.
I love 50mm prime lens. Yeah, they are meant for portrait shooting, but using it for things it wasn't intended makes magic happen. It's my favorite lens for sure, and I think you can't go wrong in getting it. 1.2 is nice, but I don't know if it's worth the cash for me. If you can afford it Jackal, by all means buy it.
Also, you only have shallow DOF when using low Fstops such as 1.2 etc. My 1.4 goes to F22, so you can achieve sharp shots. Actually, it's going to be the sharper than any lens that zooms. Any prime lens will do this as they don't move period. I have a hard time switching to zoom lens for this reason. I am so use to the sharpness of my 1.4 and 1.6. If you shoot as the smallest aperture, the shot will have a huge DOF, and it will be sharper than anything else you could use. Buy it Jackal!
Oh yeah, The Momiji(Japanese Maple) are getting super colorful now. I think I like these better than Sakura (Cherry Blossoms). Way more interesting IMO.
Shot this on Sunday with my 50mm 1.4 at F2.8 for 1/15 of a second without a tripod:
Memories
Shot this on Sunday with my 50mm 1.4 at F2.8 for 1/15 of a second without a tripod:
Memories
I have never worked with this rule myself, I only found out half a year ago what it really meant.
Does this mean allmost all of my photo's from before that period where suck?
Painters of history?
Uhm.. yesterday is history?
arent there any painters besides the ones "from history" ?
there are also the painters for the future.. and the painters of history will always have some sort of influences in our futures.
Also you are right some of the painters used boring compostions, but with so many painters there will always be someone that can inspire you.. doesnt need to be a painter offcourse, any artsy artist will obviously do.
You should spend some time on getting deeper into art.. visit a local museum for instance.
Triangle-composition, Symmetric/asymmetric composition, Horizontal/vertical/diagonal/central composition, geometric shaped composition, ritmic composition, open composition, closed composition, lineperspective, atmoschpheric perspective compostion..
dont only yell "Da vinci" or "Van gogh" just because they are famous.
there have been 10000's of painters all having their own style.
Jackson Pollock, andy Warhol, Michaelangelo (was also an architect), Peter Paul Rubens.. want more?
Jacques-louis David was an awesome portrait-painter, theodore gericault was an awesome triangle-composition based painter.
But even William turner has some amazing inspiring work ( http://images.google.nl/images?q=william turner )
to name a few less known artists..
Menno baars inspires me for child-portraits http://images.google.nl/images?q=menno baars
Fon Clement has some interesting vision on flora:
http://images.google.nl/images?q=Fon Klement
Caspter Faassen has some interesting portrait work: http://www.artilijst.nl/kunstenaars/CasperFaassen.htm
And people like Rietveld and Mondriaan can stimulate photographers who like abstract photography.
Want some more modern painters?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Modern_painters
Gene davis had some interesting work that inspired me.
Sure you might not have liked what I showed you,
but there are 1000's of other painters and they are all part of history. (and future)
Even though their compositions might be outdated they are still respected and especially the more artsy fartsy kind of photographer should not only focuss on "rolemodels" and "Inspiration" that are other photographers.
The painters where the first photographers and their vision should not be neglected.
Also understanding different "rules" besides the rule of thirds can always accompany you and help you out when the rule of thirds cannot be used or just does not fit the theme of what you are going for.
Remember your kindergardenteacher or your parents telling you to draw within the lines?
That was the moment your creativity got shoved aside.
Paint frikking outside the lines if you want to.
Do not follow the rules, but only do so if you understand the rules.
"The Style"(de stijl) where a group of painters/artists that wanted to go back before a teacher told them to draw within the lines.
So even not following the rules can be a rule to some artists.
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Oh yeah, The Momiji(Japanese Maple) are getting super colorful now. I think I like these better than Sakura (Cherry Blossoms). Way more interesting IMO.
Shot this on Sunday with my 50mm 1.4 at F2.8 for 1/15 of a second without a tripod:
Memories
win!