Recent chatter…

OK – no post for a while :(

Let’s start with a photo…

Here is a warm toned black and white conversion of Garden Creek Falls. This is a great and close place with hundreds of photo opportunities!

The photo details: Canon 20D, Tokina 12-24mm lens @ f/16 and 0.6 seconds, at 12mm with a Polarizing filter. Tripod mounted. ISO 100

I just bought a wonderful New Brunswick Waterfall guide written by fellow photo club member Nicholas Guitard. While some waterfalls take some effort to get to, others, like this one, are literally steps off the highway. And this one is minutes outside of Fredericton! I cannot wait to get to some others, and go back to this one!

Canon service – what a fantastic experience! I was a little upset when I noticed the * button (exposure lock) on my Canon 50D was only working about 20% of the time. I contacted Canon service and filled out their online process and shipped my Camera to Ontario – I think I had it back in a week! Luckily I have a backup (my 20D). Great service, now if only I did not have to pay to ship it to them……

New lens… no, I don’t have it yet, but I am specifically saving up for a Canon EF 70-200 L f/2.8 IS version I. I am 3/4 of the way there and cannot wait! My first L glass :)

That’s all for now – have fun taking photos!

-André

Last minute

Our latest competition theme for the club was 'Saint John River'. I had no photos, and was considering letting this month pass by without entering. But I changed my mind, and went out with a friend at 10pm monday night to see what I could do. I was quite happy with the results, and played with some off camera lighting. Here are the 2 photos I entered:





While I didn't place, my second image got very close, and elicited a booing from the audience when the score was read. :)

What to shoot on a cold day?

Frost on the storm door! What else? But be quick before it melts!

 

Shot with a Canon 50D and a Nikon Micro-Nikkor AI 105mm f2.8 lens (set at f16 I believe, maybe f8), with mirror lockup and remote cable release on my Manfrotto 190D tripod, with a ball head (can’t remember the model right now). White balance was Sunny (Daylight), ISO 100, and a shutter of about 1 second. A little tweaking in RAW and PS (but not much)

BRRRR!!!!!

Christmas Present – A Scott Kelby Book on CS4!

For Christmas I got Scott Kelby’s book “The Adobe Photoshop CS4 Book for Digital Photographers”. I have the same book for CS2, and this one is just as great! I have started thumbing through it and trying some of the techniques.

Here is something I did up today – you like?

I also did a little learning about Bridge (file renaming and keyword manipulation) I can’t wait to try some other topics as well!

Forgotten shot

Odd title I know, but last month we had an intense Photo Club workshop on portrait photography and lighting, and then portrait-centric photo editing. I never posted my shot. I didn’t have many as I was giving the workshop – but I learned a little as well – bonus!

Here is my favourite shot, after post processing – I think it turned out well!

Here is a little before and after – now Michelle is already an attractive woman, but a little editing put on the polish! The left is the JPG file straight from the camera, and the right is after my work on the RAW file.

(I am still playing with Windows Live Writer – so far so good!)

Windows Live Writer

I came across this little MS utility that is part of the Windows Live suite – a local blog composer. Now I thought it was pretty easy to post online, but, well – I will give this a whirl!

Here is a link to ePhotozine , a spot where I found a few good tips – you may want to check it out!

Hmm – now for a photo, how about a shot of some beautiful Henna created by my wife Larissa!

Wow! There are some neat photo effects! Let’s try another…

The first was Reflection, and the second was Drop Shadow – nice!

Ohhh! Maps! Here is Fredericton New Brunswick where I am located, specifically, City Hall.

City Hall, Fredericton New Brunswick, Canada

Well that’s it – now to post and see how it looks!

Holiday Portrait Sessions

On the Sunday before Christmas, I decided to have an open house/photo session for friends and family. (This was a direct copy of what a friend of mine did, but she was charging for her photos.) The intent was to provide a disc to each family of selected and edited prints that they could print themselves. We had some treats out, and had six families come out over the course of the day to get family photos done. Some were formal, and some casual. I think people had varying expectations - one friend said she was surprised to see the 10x20 foot back drop and all the lights, as Larissa just suggested they come over for a family photo so André could practice a little!

It was a fun day - I learned a few things. Shoot less tight to accomodate for different prints - namely 8x10! (Thank goodness for Content Aware Scaling on the background!) Also, glasses are a pain - I think the best solution is to remove the lenses, but a slight tilt helps a lot (put the end of the arms above the ears up about half and inch). Lastly - remove distractions! There were lots of the photos of kids looking at other things in the room (namely other kids) and not the camera!

Oh Well - I guess they day was productive as I learned something, had a good time, and gave a gift to some friends.

Here are a few examples...








...and my sister!