I'm continuing on my 30 day photographic challenge to master the controls on my camera. These posts chronicle my learning journey. The technical lingo is for helping me master what works and what doesn't. Although I'm pulling the "best" from my shots each day, I recognize they are not "the best."
While I could put the camera in Auto Mode and take some good pictures, that's not my goal. I'm trying to master the controls in Manual Mode so I can use them in a variety of settings to achieve artistic control over my images. One day, this effort will pay off and I'll be able to produce professional quality artistic images. Oh, how fun it will be to compare Then and Now photos!
Day 21
My father-in-law has restored this Chevrolet pickup, so it made for the perfect portrait prop for our family photo this year.
Photographing people is much more challenging than photographing still images. Catching natural lighting at just the right time of day at just the right angle to provide adequate exposure is only part of the equation. Add more than one person and the necessity to alter the aperture to get maximum focus plays an integral role in capturing family portraits. Needless to say, I've still got a lot of work to do in this department! A reshoot is in my future.
Prepare yourself for family photo overload:
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| Exposure ISO 100 f/8 1/100 at 34 mm |
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| Exposure ISO 100 f/5.6 1/100 at 34mm |
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| Exposure ISO 100 f/4.8 1/100 at 56mm |
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| Exposure ISO 100 f/4 1/100 at 32mm |
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| Exposure ISO 100 f/5.6 1/100 at 27mm |
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| Exposure ISO 100 f/5.3 1/100 at 105mm |
Day 22
Night photography with long exposures has caught my fancy. Glad some folks have lit up their homes for the holidays to give me a subject.
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| Exposure ISO 640 f/20 10 seconds at 105mm |
Couldn't pass up this train track photograph since Jamie has reminded me that tracks have become so cliche in portrait photography these days. This long exposure lit up the tracks!
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| Exposure ISO 640 f/6.3 20 seconds at 150mm |
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| Exposure ISO 640 f/6.3 10 seconds at 24mm |
Day 23
A UPS delivery has made me a happy girl! I had forgotten the ease of auto-focus since my lens has been on total manual mode. Today my new 50mm 1.4g arrived.
What an incredible difference just playing around with the various settings. I'm beginning to understand the term "fast glass" and just how important the ability to get more light into the camera at higher shutter speeds is for a photographer.
Here are some quickly made images that have me jumping for joy this afternoon.
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| Exposure ISO 640 f/1.4 1/100 at 50mm |
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here.
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| Exposure ISO 640 f/1.4 1/100 at 50mm |
I love close up images like this pinecone that is part of a wreath hanging on my back door.
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Exposure ISO 400 f/1.4 1/125 at 50mm
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| Exposure ISO 250 f/2 1/125 at 50mm |
I'm not a fan of pictures of myself, but I was quite happy with the sharp focus I achieved in this self-portrait.
Day 24
A few images captured at a family gathering tonight. No flash! Just pumping up the ISO and trying out this new 50mm lens. Loving what it will do. Slight editing in post-production to reduce some shadows and brighten subjects.
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| Exposure ISO 800 f/1.4 1/125 at 50mm |
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| Exposure ISO 1600 f/2.2 1/100 at 50mm |
Very pleased with the low noise in the sock monkey photo, but the noise is starting to show at ISO 1600 in this photo of an heirloom Santa.
Early morning fog
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| Exposure ISO 500 f/1.4 1/320 at 50mm |
And, likely the best photo of the day in terms of Exposure and Depth of Field:
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| Exposure ISO 1600 f/2 1/100 at 50mm |
Sharply focused on her face! This image is best when cropped to eliminate the distractions in the background, but I've included the full image here to see the bokeh effect created in the background using this f-stop. Yes, this is what I'm trying to achieve!
Day 25
Just goofing around with lights from the Christmas tree. Zoomed out during a long exposure to create these light paths.
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Exposure ISO 100 f/6.3 3 seconds at 95mm
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Day 26
This beautiful reminder of the reason for the season lights up U.S. 19.
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| Exposure ISO 100 f/14 10 seconds at 50mm |
