How different Photographic Treatments change the look of a Subject

Take a bunch of hydrangeas, a hand painted ceramic bowl, a string of pearls, a cedar table, some floaty organza and a couple of torches.  Add to this mix your favourite camera equipment and your editing skills.  Get busy and arrange the items in a pleasant fashion. And now experiment!

In the first photograph, a standard 50mm lens – the plastic fantastic, diffused torchlight, and a long exposure of a couple of seconds was used.  The diffused torchlight was used to “paint” the light onto the hydrangeas.  The brightness, contrast, levels were then adjusted in Photoshop to get this final results.

There’s a real trend toward adding textured layers to photographs these days.  Adding textures really changes the feel of the photo.  It somehow ages the photo, giving it a real retro/grungy/moody look.  I recommend you shoot your own textures or if you really prefer, you can obtain free textures by simply searching Google for “free textures”.  I’ve used 3 different texture layers (my own) to the original image, and have blended them using varying opacities and blending modes.   I find I use overlay, soft light, hard light and multiply the most.

This image is identical to the image above - it has been layered with textures to change it's appearance to a more moody and vintage look.

This final image was shot using a very different technique – in fact it’s a blend of two techniques that I enjoy – the dreamy Lensbaby and the Through the Viewfinder techniques are absolute favourites of mine.  Different brands of Twin Reflex cameras will also yield varying results.  So, in these final two images, I used the Lensbaby Muse with the +4 macro filter; I inserted that into the “tube of darkness” which directly points to the viewfinder on the top of the Twin Reflex Camera.  Using the Muse lens, really softened the overall look of the image and the square format plus some cross-processing, gives it an aged appearance.  Follow this link if you’d like to know more about the Through the Viewfinder technique.

Through the Viewfinder using Lensbaby Muse +macro 4 filter and Argus Argoflex Camera

Through the Viewfinder using Lensbaby Muse + macro 4 filter and Kodak Duoflex Camera

Coming Soon - How to apply textures to your images.

Canon 50D - Noise Problems

Back in July 2009, I bought my Canon 50D and so far I’ve very much enjoyed the photographic journey.  My photographic tastes are eclectic – I don't to stick to any one genre of photography...lol...I love all sorts from close ups, or using a lensbaby, doing long exposures, seascapes, landscapes, portraits, abstracts.  I enjoy checking out what other 50D owners produce with their camera, you can learn a lot from talented photographers who use the same equipment.  So it was a little disturbing to come across various forums around the web that discuss noise issues with the 50D.  I was alerted to this by Simone Byrne (please go immediately and check out her seascapes and landscapes – they are to die for!) Simone and I managed to upgrade our camera gear at about the same time, so I keenly view her work and hope that one day I can display the skill levels, commitment and passion that she does when it comes to photography.  If ever there was a case of it being the person and not the gear who is responsible for the photograph, then Simone definitely fits this saying!

Anyway, back to the noise issue with the Canon 50D.  Simone, like many others, is experiencing serious noise issues, while I am not.  Have a look at the following forums to see some lively discussions.  

PhotoMalaysia

Luminous-Landscape

Better-Photo

Australian Photography

DPreview

Photo-Forum

There seems to be a few opinions to explain the noise, but one thing seems clear - you’re either experiencing noise, or you’re not – there doesn’t seem to be a middle ground.  Are there faulty batches?  Is there a patch that can solve the issue?  Are Canon aware of the problem and what are they doing to keep their Canon fans happy?  

I’ve done my own little experiment and have included the results below.  Please judge for yourself, and feel free to leave a comment letting me know how you’re going with your Canon 50D camera.

Umina Rocks early overcast evening ISO 100

Umina Rocks early overcast evening ISO 250

Umina Rocks early overcast evening ISO 400

100% ISO 100

100% ISO 200

100% ISO 400

I didn't bother with experimenting with higher ISO's in this instance. No noise reduction, whether in-camera or during editing, has been used.

Sunrise at Echo Point, Katoomba

Sunrise at Echo Point, Katoomba, originally uploaded by Adriana Glackin.

It's not very often that I find myself witnessing a sunrise with a camera in hand. Not very often, as in, ummm, never. So it was with a little apprehension that I tagged along to a sunrise shoot at Echo Point this past weekend.
Now, I'm not one to be anal or superstitious about things, but as soon as I put on my shoes and socks in the incorrect order, I knew this was going to be one of those days. Sure enough, I wasn’t 200m from my door when I realised that I had forgotten my jacket, beanie and gloves. Although it’s October, these items are essential for the upper mountains, especially since the sunrise shoot would be one of two locations that day. In the process of performing a U-turn, I managed to spill most of my espresso into my centre console (why don’t they make travel mugs to fit centre consoles I’ll never know...). So with jacket, gloves and beanie now in hand I hurried, as best as the speed limits allow, up the mountains before the sun rose over the horizon. Did I mention there are major road works being carried out in various locations up the mountains, which I hadn’t factored into the time required to get from one end of the mountains to the other?
I could see the sky was getting increasingly lighter with each passing kilometre and I was possibly not going to make it in time. Not only that, but there were no clouds or mist to be seen. I was also 10 minutes behind schedule, and I was meeting two other photographers, lets simply call them P1 and P2, and I certainly didn’t want to keep them waiting. Taking advantage of a red traffic light, I took the opportunity to call P1 and P2 to ascertain their whereabouts. Imagine my surprise (read horror, shock, astonishment) to find they were actually about 25 minutes behind me and would certainly not make it in time...P1 and P2 are dedicated and passionate photographers who think it quite normal to get up at stupid o’clock, drive countless kilometres simply to shoot a stunning sunrise – had they put their shoes and socks on incorrectly that morning as well?
Needless to say, it’s just as well P1 and P2 didn’t make it in time. The sunrise, while pink and pretty, was also very plain, very quick and very ordinary. This wasn’t going to be one of those Kodak moments. There was no cloud. There was no magical Katoomba mist rolling through the valley. And it was over in a matter of minutes.
Remind me again why Cosy Bed Syndrome as mentioned in a previous blog posting is a bad thing?

The Three Sisters, Katoomba B&W

The Three Sisters, Katoomba B&W, originally uploaded by Adriana_G.

I can see why kids jump and down with glee when they get a new toy...as that's exactly what I was doing when I opened up the box of my new Canon EOS 50D - oh what joy I felt! With every squeeze of the shutter, a small but shrill squeal would escape my lips - I just couldn't contain my excitement. Imagine my horror at discovering that I couldn't play with it until the batteries had charged! Gasp!

Anyway, the photograph I've included is from the first outdoor opportunity I've had to shoot with my new camera, who will henceforth be known as "Precious". Going along with Tanya and Peter, fellow photographers (who know what they're doing, btw), was a day spent in rapture as I familiarised myself with Precious, and all the clever things she can do. I borrowed Peter's Sigma 10-20mm lens to take this photo (a lens I think I'm in love with...sigh...), and am very pleased with the results. :)