Photo Assignment: April/May '07: Spring

[handicap18]

Ok, here we go,,, after a short hyatus the assignment is back. This month and into May we'll tackle the subject of Spring. What does spring mean to you, flowers starting to bloom, April showers, bugs coming out, etc... If it needs to be, then I'll start another assignment for May. We'll play it by ear on exactly how long the assignment will last. Not all of us have time to get out there within a 2 week time period. So we'll see how things go.

As for the topic relating to Disney, if you've ever been in the spring time then you might have walked around Epcot for the Flower & Garden Festival. Not to metion all the other flowers in bloom around the parks.

Remember, the idea behind these photo assignments is to go out and use your camera. Try different angles. Maybe take something you though wouldn't make a good picture. Use your imagination. Maybe you've been stuck on AUTO or one of the other preprogramed ICON's. Try using Shutter priority or Aperture priority or even Manual. Switch ISO's. See how your camera works and what you can do with it. It doesn't matter what kind of camera you have. So long as it takes a picture it can be used for the assignment.

Above all,,,,,, Have fun!

For the purpose of education and the benefit of others, please try to include your EXIFdata (ISO, Shutter, aperture, white balance, compensation, any post processing, etc..., you can also include your camera model and if you have dSLR, then the lens you used as well).

 

[deletedpenguin]

Will we be limited to one submission?

 

[handicap18]

Will we be limited to one submission?

No. You can post a bunch of pics, but do it in a fair matter. Maybe like 4 per post. Then if you have more make another post. We've been pretty good in the past with the assignments and other threads about not getting out of control. What I hope doesn't happen (and it hasn't yet) is to have just a few people posting a lot of pics. I'd rather see a lot of people posting a few pics. Luckily, that is how it has gone in the past. So if we stick with what works, then we'll be all right.

 

[deletedpenguin]

That's why I figured, it's just hard to narrow photos down to your "best" It's all relative.

 

[mabas9395]

How do I know if I won or not? (j/k)

 

[steery1]

As for the topic relating to Disney, if you've ever been in the spring time then you might have walked around Epcot for the Flower & Garden Festival. Not to metion all the other flowers in bloom around the parks.

So does this mean it has to relate to Disney or not?
(Sorry for being a thicko!)

BTW. Thanks for starting this up again handicap18

 

[handicap18]

So does this mean it has to relate to Disney or not?
(Sorry for being a thicko!)

BTW. Thanks for starting this up again handicap18

No it does not have to be Disney related. In fact you'll probably notice on these assignments that the majority of photos are not Disney. If you happen to be in Disney during the month of one of the assignments then by all means post pictures you took at Disney that fit the subject theme. But many of us only get to Disney once every few years so we'll find something from our end of the universe.

 

[tinksdad]

How do I know if I won or not? (j/k)

The large check in the mail!!

 

[jann1033]

That's why I figured, it's just hard to narrow photos down to your "best" It's all relative.

with mine it's mostly relative to how out of focus, badly composed, over/underexposed the rest are

 

[Furgus]

Do we post pics in this thread, or will this be turned into a question and answer?

 

[tinksdad]

OK, I'll go! Went out this morning and got a couple. Both of these were taken with a 50mm f/1.8 lens

This is a flower bed at the entrance to a small shopping center. I like the contrast of colors. Just before the sun was coming up over the mountains. Fill flash, off camera to the left: 1/2 power, manual. Higher f/stop for maximum depth of field.

Model = NIKON D200
Exposure Time = 1/13"
F Number = F16
Exposure Program = Manual
ISO Speed Ratings = 100
Exposure Bias Value = ±0EV
Focal Length = 50mm
Exposure Mode = Manual exposure
White Balance = Auto white balance
Scene Capture Type = Normal
Gain Control = None
Contrast = Normal
Saturation = Normal
Sharpness = Hard

Yucca bloom right around the corner. Used a lower f/stop to blur the background and give the bloom some isolation.

Model = NIKON D200
Exposure Time = 1/320"
F Number = F5
Exposure Program = Manual
ISO Speed Ratings = 100
Exposure Bias Value = ±0EV
Metering Mode = Spot
Focal Length = 50mm
Custom Rendered = Normal process
Exposure Mode = Manual exposure
Scene Capture Type = Normal
Gain Control = None
Contrast = Normal
Saturation = Normal
Sharpness = Hard

 

[MarkBarbieri]

Here are a couple that I took around the house this morning.

Canon 1D Mark II
Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS
Canon 500D filter
Tripod and remote shutter release

1/2500 at f/6.3
Focal length 200mm
ISO 250
No flash or reflectors
Original was 3504x2336 cropped to 1270x847

In Lightroom:
Switched from Auto white balance to Daylight
Increased exposure 0.52 and Increased black level 11 to increase dynamic range
Boosted contrast +61
Boosted vibrance +15
Decreased highlights to show more detail in flower petal
Increased brightness and saturation of green channel to make spider stand out more from the petal

In Photoshop:
Reduced image size to 800x534
Applied Unsharp mask 150%, 1.0, 0

1/320 at f/10
Focal length 90mm
ISO 400
No flash or reflectors
No cropping

In Lightroom:
Switched from Auto white balance to Shade
Increased exposure 0.42 and Increased black level 5 to increase dynamic range
Boosted vibrance +4
Decreased highlights to show more detail in flower petal
Increased saturation and decreased brightness of purple to showcase the central petals

In Photoshop:
Used healing brush to remove a few spots
Reduced image size to 800x534
Applied Unsharp mask 100%, 1.0, 0

 

[steery1]

Lovely photos Mark. Thanks for posting the exif and PS info.

 

[handicap18]

Sounds good to me- what says spring more than the first Bar-b-que of the season anyway?

Well since you asked for it Jeff,,,,
Not the best of pics. I would have preferred to use my macro lens, but just went with what was on the camera, 18-135mm lens. These are the ribs I smoked yestureday.

ISO 200, 1/25th, f/5.6 at 100mm. Had I really been paying attention I would have upped the ISO, but these were quicky shots:

Different angle:
ISO 200, 1/60th, f/5.6 135mm.

Auto White balance and Center Weight metering on both.

These came out great. Cooked for about 4 1/2 hours at an average temp of about 225*

 

[DVC Jen]

Well since you asked for it Jeff,,,,
Not the best of pics. I would have preferred to use my macro lens, but just went with what was on the camera, 18-135mm lens. These are the ribs I smoked yestureday.

ISO 200, 1/25th, f/5.6 at 100mm. Had I really been paying attention I would have upped the ISO, but these were quicky shots:

Different angle:
ISO 200, 1/60th, f/5.6 135mm.

Auto White balance and Center Weight metering on both.

These came out great. Cooked for about 4 1/2 hours at an average temp of about 225*

Oh that is so not fair. I am starving. Yer mean!

 

[Dismom+two]

Here are my photos...the only Spring I have seen so far here.
These were taken with my Kodak Easyshare on the macro setting.

 

[Amy]

Here are some tulips from my front yard, straight from my Canon S3 IS, didn't even crop:

I used Program mode, shutter 1/160, aperture 4.0

Program mode again, shutter 1/160, aperture 3.5

 

[Lizziejane]

Unfortunately for us, absolutely no sign of flowers yet. Instead, the first sign of spring is the return of birds!

Taken with Canon Rebel XTi
70-300mm IS lens, at 300mm, hand-held (ack!)
Aperature priority f/11
Shutter speed 1/100
ISO 100
White balance on set on cloudy
Developed in Lighthouse: fill-in 10; brightness +10 and vibrancy +35
Cropped from 56 x 36 to 4 x 6 in PSE
Unsharp mask: can't recall the settings!

If I remember the "rule" correctly, the lens at 300mm meant my shutter speed should have been at least 300. Wow, I was way off! Should I have increased my ISO to increase the shutter speed?

 

[photo_chick]

Spring in my back yard means lots of caterpillars that eventually turn into butterflies and moths.

Canon Rebel XT
Sigma 28-80mm lens
Aperture Priority mode
ISO 1600
f/5.6
1/60
In Lightroom: cropped slightly; adjusted color, saturation, and contrast; set white balance; resized for web


It also means going to Zoobilee at the Dallas Zoo...

Canon Rebel XT
Sigma 28-105mm lens
ISO 1600
f/6.7
1/90
In Lightroom:set white balance; resized for web


And the longest surviving group of flowers in my yard blooming is a sure sign that spring is here...

Canon Rebel XT
Sigma 28-80mm lens
Aperture Priority mode
ISO 100
f/5.6
1/180
In Lightroom: adjusted color, contrast, saturation; set white balance; resized for web

 

[steery1]

Should I have increased my ISO to increase the shutter speed?

Don't know but its a great capture. Well done!