Photo of the Day - December 2008

[rouxeny]

Nice! How'd you get yourself on a helicopter? Tour or charter? I've been thinking about doing something like that here, but there seem to have been a lot of helicopter crashes here lately.

 

[valdore]

Nice! How'd you get yourself on a helicopter? Tour or charter? I've been thinking about doing something like that here, but there seem to have been a lot of helicopter crashes here lately.

Thanks!

I just contacted a helicopter pilot a bit prior to my trip to New York, and made arrangements to use his helicopter/pilot services for an hour. I actually had to take the Metro North Railway from Grand Central up to White Plains, meet the pilot there, and then 'copter it back to the city. Wasn't too much of a hassle at all, really, and the price for the flight was a little better that way too. Plus, I thought White Plains was actually a pretty cool, smaller city.

If you feel you can justify the cost of rental, I definitely recommend the experience. Granted it can feel a little goofy hanging on the edge of a rather small helicopter with no door (they're always left at the airport when you're going on a photo flight), but you're so focused on capturing the rare vantage points up there that you forget about the perceived precariousness of dangling in the sky above a city.

I've done this two places, my home Kansas City (MO), and this trip in New York. Of course the price of renting the 'copter/pilot in New York was quite a bit higher than KC, but so it goes.

A guy I know does the aerial stock photography thing for a living, though I'm more in it just for fun maybe once a year or something and when I can afford it. With a bit of justification thrown in there that an aerial image might sell and at least cover the cost of the flight.

 

[MaddMacs]

On the JMT

The John Muir Trail has to be one of the most photogenic places. Taken in 2005.

 

[fett]

Love your dog photo, Fett.

Thanks!

I got a Sekonic light meter for Christmas. This is one of the shots I took while playing around with it.

 

[gnd]

A Warm Drink On A Cold Day

How to heat up Grand Marnier when your hands are cold

50mm, f/1.4, 1/45sec, ISO200, handheld, no flash

 

[Phrasikleia]

The sunny side of the Alps

40mm, f/11, 1/30sec, -0.7ev, ISO 100, PL and ND filters

And just for fun...

...a shot of me taking that shot...

 

[Yoursh]

Took Christmas eve. Me and the camera where frosting over in -10F temps.

 

[TheReef]

^Great capture, that does look cold!

 

[Savagestorm]

^Great capture, that does look cold!

+1, the results look well worth the discomfort.

 

[Essjay]

After being loaded up on smoothies, I took this photo of the California Lighthouse in Aruba. Minimal HDR work, C&C appreciated

 

[Fuzzy14]

Need help!
I had a recent toboggan outing with the work at Xscape but I struggled to get any shots due to the v.poor indoor lighting. The one below is actually me and my boy taken by the wife but typical of what I got.

I'm still using the 18-70mm f3.5-5.6 lens that came in the box with the camera. I was thinking I needed a bigger zoom but have heard that they don't have great ability in low light so have been swaying towards a faster prime (say 50mm f1.4). Any ideas what would have improved things?

 

[Nicholie]

Someone got a D90 for christmas

 

[Fuzzy14]

Was just waiting for midnight so I could post another
Funny enough, another carousel, George Square Glasgow.

Shutter 0.8 (handheld) ISO 100 f/3.5

I know this has been done by others in here but never by me. Funny enough, my tripod mount is permenatly stuck onto the bottom of my camera but I rarely use it outside!

 

[LittleCanonKid]

I love your photo Nicholie. I like how the transition from the bright carousel to the water is sudden but still smooth and well-done. Mind posting the EXIF data?

Fuzzy14, great shot! The lights don't show too much vertical movement for a long handheld exposure. My hands aren't very steady at all.

 

[timmyb]

I'm still using the 18-70mm f3.5-5.6 lens that came in the box with the camera. I was thinking I needed a bigger zoom but have heard that they don't have great ability in low light so have been swaying towards a faster prime (say 50mm f1.4). Any ideas what would have improved things?

What is the EXIF? Bumping up the ISO would help. For me the problem is that there's too much going on round the edges so no attention is drawn to you & your son. Zooming with your feet would be cheaper than buying a new lens!

Gorgeous colours Phrasikleia and Nicholie.
Nice shot Yoursh - I love the steaming puddles(?). I find the tree on the left rather distracting though.
Amazing photo valdore - I'm not sure I'd be able to hang out of a helicopter door however good the opportunities were!

I got a Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 for Christmas, (my first venture away from the D40 kit lens,) and am loving it. Here is a shot taken today, well now yesterday! C&C appreciated.

D40, 50mm, 0.001s, f/1.8, ISO 200

 

[NintendoChick]

Need help!
I had a recent toboggan outing with the work at Xscape but I struggled to get any shots due to the v.poor indoor lighting. The one below is actually me and my boy taken by the wife but typical of what I got.

I'm still using the 18-70mm f3.5-5.6 lens that came in the box with the camera. I was thinking I needed a bigger zoom but have heard that they don't have great ability in low light so have been swaying towards a faster prime (say 50mm f1.4). Any ideas what would have improved things?

I was reading about this problem just the other day...
Did you shoot in auto?

The internal meter on the camera under exposes the shot because of the perfectly white snow. "All meters are calibrated to render an exposure that will make the subject look like a middle tone in the resulting photograph." (http://www.fredparker.com/ultexp1.htm) So, your snow is perfectly gray.

In this case, a longer exposure or larger aperture (smaller f number) would have let in more light, and the image would be correctly exposed. (Your current lens probably isn't to blame )

That xscape place looks pretty interesting. Snow... Indoors!

 

[rabiddoug]

from a trip to Savannah, GA

with my Sony Alpha 200, which I really like so far

my first photo post

 

[Nicholie]

I love your photo Nicholie. I like how the transition from the bright carousel to the water is sudden but still smooth and well-done. Mind posting the EXIF data?

Gladly. Meta can be found in full here.


Camera: Nikon D90
Exposure: 0.125 sec (1/8)
Aperture: f/8
Focal Length: 18 mm

Times like those I wish I had a wide angle lens. It was a hard shot mostly cause the lights on the Carousel. Half of them were out! Since I wanted it in a stop position, I had to wait till it lined up with my spot. Reality is such a pain

 

[fett]

Ferrero Rocher macro.

 

[pilotkid]

This was actually taken awhile ago but I really like it. Taken Near Fountain Hill's, Arizona.

 

[namethisfile]

"Self-Portrait" (top of The Rock observatory deck)

 

[striderboi]

Here's my image and first post

Location: California Academy of Sciences
Shot with a 40D f/3.5 1/50 and 1600 exposure...
There's a little noise but it's very peaceful to me for some reason

 

[appie57]

Winter also in Paris, France. Taken yesterday, it was pretty cold, but clear.

 

[nukiduz]

snowtime

 

[Phrasikleia]

Kamnik, Slovenia