Photo of the Day : December 2010

[Phrasikleia]

D300, 80-200, 200mm, f/4, 1/1600, ISO200

A really compelling image, one of those that breaks rules in all the right ways.

I usually roll my eyes at the arms-over-the-head pose, since it usually comes off looking like a cheesy visual cliché. However, in this case, rather than it appearing like a typically unimaginative come-hither look, she looks a bit domineering, which is a nice twist. And I agree with a previous comment: her eyes have a wonderful intensity here. Nice portrait.

The road to nowhere. Love it.

D300, 300f/4, f/4, 1/800, ISO250

I really like this portrait a lot, but I think some major cropping could make it stronger. The really wonderful part is where the face emerges from the hair, and the rest of the photo doesn't add much to it. Very well seen, at any rate.

Canon 7D with 70-300 at 105mm; 1/30 @ f8; ISO 800

Really nice exposure. You seem to get some consistently fiery sunsets up there.


One from a series I shot yesterday evening...

I should probably add that, as surreal as this photo looks, there is no Photoshop hokus pokus going on here. Just a straight 4-second exposure on a truly remarkable evening.

 

[Keleko]

I forgot to post one yesterday. This is one of our volunteer musicians at church that participated in our Advent pageant.

 

[Doylem]

 

[BarryJ]

Beautiful

Like just about everyone here... love this shot. Love the colour of that sky and the clarity... someone talked about letting the eye wander to take it all in. Gosh... it's like a Nat Geo travelogue !

Barry

 

[VirtualRain]

Thanks everyone for the kind comments on my Burrard Inlet shot. Sometimes the sunsets here are stunning (when you can see them).

Here's another one, taken from the same location and time of day, but looking North (up Indian Arm)...

Canon 7D with 70-300 at 100mm; 1/25 @ f5.6; ISO 400

 

[bld44]

Gumballs.

This is fantastic!

 

[Phrasikleia]

Gumballs.

The M&M shot was an old one of mine. Sure you can use it for a wallpaper.

OK, but you really ought to give credit to the photographer who popularized this technique on the internet. He won a contest doing this with candies and then did it again with an American flag by commission. He posted a photo of his setup, explaining exactly how he accomplished the effect. That was maybe three years ago, and since then the internet has been flooded with imitation photos.

I belong to a couple of camera clubs, and in one of them someone used this technique with pork fat substituted for the candies in a monthly contest. I happened to be the commentator for that month's contest. It was hard to be really excited about the photo when it was really just a riff on a three-year-old idea. But I liked that the maker had substituted something 'ugly' for the candies. And, in the end, it's a very catchy visual, as techniques go. If you can nail it, good for you.

 

[macrumormonger]

Camera Canon EOS REBEL T2i
Exposure 0.003 sec (1/400)
Aperture f/5.6
Focal Length 35 mm
ISO Speed 100
Exposure Bias +5/3 EV

 

[andalusia]

piano keys by tristangage, on Flickr

Camera Nikon D90
Exposure 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture f/5.6
Focal Length 105 mm
ISO Speed 1600

I had access to my friend's new Nikon D90 today, and snapped this in the brief amount of time I was allowed to play with it.

Stunning

 

[Jason Beck]

 

[Fujiko7]

I just loved the meditative quality of this one. I could look at it for hours.

... and your photo for today takes this to an even more abstract level. Fantastic.

I think I know which part of the photo you mean, though. I'll take a look at the original when I get home.

Update: just saw Designer Dale's comment. I think the photo may be a bit over-processed - I probably went a bit heavy on the Edge Sharpen in Aperture, and that combined with that duck being out of focus had that result.

I looked at the original. I think my diagnosis above is correct.

Anyway, here's another from the same day.





Canon EOS 1000D/0.001 sec (1/800)/f1.8/50mm/ISO 200

 

[seattle]

This is fantastic!

Thank you!

OK, but you really ought to give credit to the photographer who popularized this technique on the internet. He won a contest doing this with candies and then did it again with an American flag by commission. He posted a photo of his setup, explaining exactly how he accomplished the effect. That was maybe three years ago, and since then the internet has been flooded with imitation photos.

I belong to a couple of camera clubs, and in one of them someone used this technique with pork fat substituted for the candies in a monthly contest. I happened to be the commentator for that month's contest. It was hard to be really excited about the photo when it was really just a riff on a three-year-old idea. But I liked that the maker had substituted something 'ugly' for the candies. And, in the end, it's a very catchy visual, as techniques go. If you can nail it, good for you.

I do not know what photographer you are talking about. I saw a similar shot on another forum and figured out the setup on my own. I did not claim to have an original idea.

 

[MSUSpartan]

@Flickr

 

[Keleko]

My daughter singing in the lobby at the Fox theater in Atlanta. It was far too dim and resulted in quite a noisy picture, but I'm just happy it is as good as it is even at ISO 3200.

 

[TH3D4RKKN1GH7]

My Gaffer and buddy Shane on the way home from a day of shooting.

 

[Jason Beck]

 

[Jason Beck]

My Gaffer and buddy Shane on the way home from a day of shooting.

That is very, very good.

 

[xStep]

Grand Canyon Sunset
Looking SSW

Camera: Sony DSC-P200
ISO: 100
Speed: 1/100
Aperture: 5.6
Flash: On (exposure trickery or nice happenstance)

 

[Phrasikleia]

Great scene for a backlit shot. I really like the light hitting the wooden planks in the foreground as a secondary point of interest.

It's tough to make that kind of minimalism so interesting. So little in the frame, yet so much to explore. Do I see the remnants of some cloning to the right of the sun, or that just something showing through the fog?

I do not know what photographer you are talking about. I saw a similar shot on another forum and figured out the setup on my own. I did not claim to have an original idea.

Sorry, I just felt as though you could have been a bit more forthcoming, especially since AxelMonkey didn't specify he had seen the similar image on this forum. You did do a really nice job of it, by the way. It's easy to spoil that kind of shot with the wrong kind of lighting (which happened with that pork fat version I mentioned). Have you tried doing something other than candy to kind of make it your own?

 

[pdxflint]

Backpackin'

Cyclocross spectators come in all sizes. This from several weeks ago at the season finale of the Oregon Cross Crusade cyclocross season.


D300, 80-200f/2.8, 120mm, f/2.8, 1/500, ISO800

To see a short slideshow/video of the day (with music soundtrack,) check it out on Youtube here. Be sure to change the resolution to 720p HD on the bottom right, and once it starts playing (wait for the player to change resolution,) click the 'pop out' button (next to resolution button) to view full-size.

A really compelling image, one of those that breaks rules in all the right ways.

Thanks... it didn't work for me in color, lots of competing background, so I did a high contrast/split tone, and kind of liked the results.

really like this portrait a lot, but I think some major cropping could make it stronger. The really wonderful part is where the face emerges from the hair, and the rest of the photo doesn't add much to it. Very well seen, at any rate.

You're right... I didn't crop this. I might give that a try. I liked how her face was mostly hidden, and the shape of her nose in the backlight seems to match the waves in her hair...

One from a series I shot yesterday evening...

I should probably add that, as surreal as this photo looks, there is no Photoshop hokus pokus going on here. Just a straight 4-second exposure on a truly remarkable evening.

Again, another very striking and beautiful landscape. It's almost surreal, the color in the sky above the clouds contrasted with below. I'll have to say that your landscapes have evolved into a very nice body of work.

 

[harcosparky]

Just found this thread and thought I would post one of my first attempts at " Birds In Flight "

 

[otter]

 

[TheReef]

^^^ Absolutely stunning photos over the last few pages, there's way too many to comment on

Pentax K20D - 1.6s - f/10.0 - ISO250 - 24mm

 

[seattle]

Sorry, I just felt as though you could have been a bit more forthcoming, especially since AxelMonkey didn't specify he had seen the similar image on this forum. You did do a really nice job of it, by the way. It's easy to spoil that kind of shot with the wrong kind of lighting (which happened with that pork fat version I mentioned). Have you tried doing something other than candy to kind of make it your own?

No problem. I had assumed that he saw my other shot from earlier this year. I should not have assumed that. Thanks for the feedback. I have tried other things but colorful candy seems to work the best. I will keep trying to find other things though.

 

[gnd]

Love the simplicity and "texture" of the fog.

Pentax K20D - 1.6s - f/10.0 - ISO250 - 24mm

Lovely colour pallete, didn't you used to shoot with a K10D?

Just found this thread and thought I would post one of my first attempts at " Birds In Flight "

Looks like the bird is carrying either a GPS device or a mobile phone