Photos (3)

Last weekend I took a couple of pictures of our pet bunny to see if I can get it right without having the red-eye effect.  I didn't use a flash at all as it was taken in daylight.  I do want to try taking pictures using bounce-flash, because I want to figure out how to use flash properly and not get the red-eye effect.

Here are a few of the pictures using different apertures:

(Aperture: f6.3; Speed: 1/500sec)

(Aperture: f8; Speed: 1/400sec)

I have taken a few flower shots as well which reminded me again why I really want a prime macro lens.  Especially for pictures like these where a macro lens would have been ideal:

I used my Sigma zoom lens for this shot, but it would have been much better and I would have been able to capture more detail on the 'little visitor' using a macro lens.

My Equipment - Studio Lighting Starter Kit

A few months ago I started looking for a studio lighting kit so I can start practicing taking proper studio photos.  I have searched online and phoned a few photographic gear shops and then finally found something which I thought is ideal to start out with.

I have purchased a Photon studio lighting starter kit which includes 3 heads, 3 stands, 1 umbrella and two soft boxes.  (See picture below).  It comes with a handy carry case which makes it ideal for travelling.

At the same time I bought a used backdrop and I love the color!  The original stand for the backdrop was quite pricey so the shop manager suggested I use normal light stands (used light stands) which they were also selling at a lower price than the new stands so I opted for those.

I can't wait to start using it!  Space is a bit limited at the moment, so I'm looking out for somewhere where I can actually set up the studio kit and start snapping away!  Exciting times...

Oh, by the way, I took more photos of our pet bunny (see post about red-eye effect) and this time took it in daylight, using no flash at all and the eyes came out perfect!  I will post pictures soon.

Watch this space...

Photos (2)

Here are a few more of my favorite photos.  The plan is to find time (daytime) over the weekend to try and take pictures of our pet bunny again (mentioned in a previous post - red-eye effect), and see if I can manage to get the color of the bunny's eyes to come out without the red-eye effect.  I will post the pictures if I get it right this time!

Photos

Some of my favorite photos I have taken while we lived in the UK.  Here are a few:

Red-eye effect in Animals

Yesterday I have tried taking photos of our pet bunny, but no matter what I tried, his (assuming it is a 'he') eyes had the red-eye effect.  I have found this with many animals and I cannot seem to figure this one out.  In the meantime I have read on Wikipedia that the red-eye reduction doesn't work on animals.  This is what Wikipedia had to say about the causes of the red-eye or red-eye effect in animals:

(Reference:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-eye_effect)

Causes[edit]

Red-eye effect in dog's blue eye only

Odd-eyed cat displays red-eye effect on eyeshine only in its blue eye

Because the light of the flash occurs too fast for the pupil to close, much of the very bright light from the flash passes into the eye through the pupil, reflects off the fundus at the back of the eyeball and out through the pupil. The camera records this reflected light. The main cause of the red color is the ample amount of blood in the choroid which nourishes the back of the eye and is located behind the retina. The blood in the retinal circulation is far less than in the choroid, and plays virtually no role. The eye contains several photostable pigments that all absorb in the short wavelength region, and hence contribute somewhat to the red eye effect.^[1] The lens cuts off deep blue and violet light, below 430 nm (depending on age), and macular pigment absorbs between 400 and 500 nm, but this pigment is located exclusively in the tiny fovea. Melanin, located in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and the choroid, shows a gradually increasing absorption towards the short wavelengths. But blood is the main determinant of the red color, because it is completely transparent at long wavelengths and abruptly starts absorbing at 600 nm. The amount of red light emerging from the pupil depends on the amount of melanin in the layers behind the retina. This amount varies strongly between individuals. Light skinned people with blue eyes have relatively low melanin in the fundus and thus show a much stronger red-eye effect than dark skinned people with brown eyes. The same holds for animals. The color of the iris itself is of virtually no importance for the red-eye effect. This is obvious because the red-eye effect is most apparent when photographing dark adapted subjects, hence with fully dilated pupils. Photographs taken with infra-red light through night vision devices always show very bright pupils because, in the dark, the pupils are fully dilated and the infra-red light is not absorbed by any ocular pigment.

The role of melanin in red-eye effect is nicely demonstrated in animals with heterochromia: only the blue eye displays the effect. The effect is still more pronounced in humans and animals with albinism. All forms of albinism involve abnormal production and/or deposition of melanin.

Red-eye effect is seen in photographs of children also because children's eyes have more rapid dark adaption: in low light a child's pupils enlarge sooner, and an enlarged pupil accentuates the red-eye effect.

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From the Wikipedia link given above it would seem like a bounce-flash or using no flash or even using a slower shutter speed might have have helped.

Handheld Light Meters

When reading through the free online course I have written about in one of my previous posts I started thinking that maybe I must get a handheld light meter to use to get better exposure on my photos.  I thought before that it is not really necessary because of the built-in light meter which the Nikon D50 already has, but then came across this link:  http://www.shutterbug.com/content/handheld-light-meters-are-they-still-important-serious-photography

I am definitely looking into investing in an incident light meter.  Too often I'm disappointed by the exposure on the pictures I take.  I am not 100 % confident that I fully understand how the histograms work yet, so I think that using a handheld meter to get the correct exposure will greatly improve the quality of the pictures I take.

Interesting free online photography course

Before enrolling for the course that I am currently busy with I had a look online for some tips on taking better photos and came across this website:

http://bestphotolessons.com/

I have read through some of it and really learned a lot from it.  I never quite understood how the Histograms worked on digital cameras and this shed some light on the topic for me:  http://bestphotolessons.com/lessons/digital-camera-histograms/

It would be interesting to go back to previously taken shots to see which of the histograms shows that my pictures are exposed correctly and which needs some work!

My Equipment - Cokin Filters

When I first bought my Nikon F75 I was very interested in the special effects that can be created using different filters.  Something that seemed particularly interesting to me was the various Cokin filters (square ones) you can use by simply sliding them into an attachment ring that you fit onto your lens.

I loved playing around with them and seeing the results when using it.  Below is a picture of some of the filters I bought at the time.

I have used them only on my film camera and not on my digital Nikon D50 yet, since you can basically do a lot with photoshop anyway.  I thought that there is no point in using it on the digital camera until I found this on the Cokin website:

http://www.cokin.co.uk/pages/digital.htm

I will definitely try these out on my D50 soon and then hopefully be able to post some pictures on here. With the rainy weather we have had lately, I would love to try out the sepia filter as I have read a while ago that Sepia photos work well in wet weather.

The plan is to try out some of these filters on the weekend.  

One filter I always wanted and am planning to get is one of these:  http://www.cokin.co.uk/pages/effects3.htm

I know I can do this on photoshop, but it will take me ages to create the same effect.

Time Management

As I've mentioned in my first post my time is very limited and I need to find time to do the photography course I have enrolled for.  So I found a solution to have at least 40 minutes each morning and afternoon on weekdays to spend some time to study whichever module I am busy with.  As mentioned I work full day 5 days a week.  I travel by bus and this takes ±1 hour to work and ±1 hour back home.  It usually is very quiet on the bus so it would be ideal to just go online then to do some studying.

We looked around at different tablets and notebook-type laptops which I could possibly use to do this.  For some reason none of the tablets would open the actual pages of the modules so I had to settle for a notebook with a 3g stick instead.  I wanted to go for something very small as I would have to carry it around from and to the bus so settled for the gigabyte Q2006 Netbook.  (See the link below).

http://www.computermania.co.za/index.php?option=com_flippingbook&book_id=1&Itemid=73

Now all I need to do is to purchase a new sim card and databundle for the 3g stick and I will be able to go online while I'm commuting to work and back!  I'm really excited to make some progress with this course.