PF Photography: Tips, Tricks, & Photo Sharing

[turbo]

Aspen was somewhat cooperative in the modified light tent this afternoon.

You have a nice model. Keep using Aspen. Cats love small quiet spaces, especially if they are warm (flood-lights), and they are generally lazy enough to hold still for long periods. They generally look better with less ambient light, and more open pupils, but that's the way it goes. I used to try to use my ferrets as models, but although they liked small spaces, they did not give a damn about warmth, nor did they hold still for long. Those little rascals always had something that needed doing NOW!

 

[larkspur]

More Still Life

I wanted something blue so I used Windex...

A combination of both:

 

[larkspur]

You have a nice model. Keep using Aspen. Cats love small quiet spaces, especially if they are warm (flood-lights), and they are generally lazy enough to hold still for long periods. They generally look better with less ambient light, and more open pupils, but that's the way it goes. I used to try to use my ferrets as models, but although they liked small spaces, they did not give a damn about warmth, nor did they hold still for long. Those little rascals always had something that needed doing NOW!

Aspen was moving so much I had to use a flash, hence small pupils. She likes smooth hard surfaces to lay on and the tile board was perfect for her. I had to keep throwing little objects off camera to get her attention.

 

[turbo]

Well, she's pretty and if she'll submit to light-tenting you've got a rich source of images. Many of my best ferret images were taken when they were really sleepy, and were just waking up or ready to crash.

 

[Astronuc]

A combination of both:

Great pictures, larkspur!

I love the tongue. or Our calico, Pumpkin used to do that, but her tongue poked out about 2-3 mm.

 

[Math Jeans]

Heh. Larkspur, I wish I could take pictures like you do.

I love that last picture with your cat and the glass bottle. The cat looks like he/she just drank the Windex .

 

[Andre]

Well larkspur, clearly demonstrates that the most important part of the camera is the eight inch behind it. Very well done.

 

[larkspur]

Great pictures, larkspur!

I love to tongue. or Our calico, Pumpkin used to do that, but her tongue poked out about 2-3 mm.

I love the tongue too.

I love that last picture with your cat and the glass bottle. The cat looks like he/she just drank the Windex .

That is what made her eyes so blue

 

[larkspur]

Well larkspur, clearly demonstrates that the most important part of the camera is the eight inch behind it. Very well done.

Thanks Andre!

 

[lisab]

My kitty, Sweet Miss Phoebe, sat very still and stared at Aspen for the longest time...she, too, is a big fan of your photos!

 

[Evo]

Super pictures, as always larkspur!

 

[Ms Music]

Pardon me, can I join in on the fun? Most of my pics are on my home computer and I am at work, but I wanted to share this one. (I have been enjoying this thread in the background)

DSE anyone?

 

[larkspur]

My kitty, Sweet Miss Phoebe, sat very still and stared at Aspen for the longest time...she, too, is a big fan of your photos!

Aww! Post some pictures of her!

Super pictures, as always larkspur!

Thanks Evo!

Pardon me, can I join in on the fun? Most of my pics are on my home computer and I am at work, but I wanted to share this one. (I have been enjoying this thread in the background)

DSE anyone?

Thanks for joining in! Nice abstract photo. What does DSE stand for?

 

[Ms Music]

Double Slit Experiment... sorry.

My kid did it for a science project.

 

[larkspur]

Double Slit Experiment... sorry.

My kid did it for a science project.

When I googled DSE the first hit was for Detroit Speed and Engineering. I thought...hmmm kinda looks like a tail light that had been distorted some way. Now it makes more sense.

 

[Ms Music]

That IS funny! Sorry I didn't spell it out...

The spot is about the size of your fingernail, I used my macro lense. That whole picture is no bigger than about 2x2 (inches). I had more fun photographing the science project than she did with the whole thing... ;-)

 

[turbo]

Aspen was moving so much I had to use a flash, hence small pupils. She likes smooth hard surfaces to lay on and the tile board was perfect for her. I had to keep throwing little objects off camera to get her attention.

How does Aspen get those pupils stopped down so fast if you're using a flash? Are you using red-eye reduction to pre-flash her?

Beautiful cat, BTW.

 

[larkspur]

How does Aspen get those pupils stopped down so fast if you're using a flash? Are you using red-eye reduction to pre-flash her?

Beautiful cat, BTW.

I had three compact fluorescent lights(one hanging from the ceiling fan chain and one on each side) on her too and the tile board she is laying on was white. I call it a modified light tent because I used the canopy on my bed to hang the black backdrop and then I put white muslin cloth over the lamps to soften them.

 

[turbo]

OK, then she is being flooded with light (in her terms, anyway), since cats are designed to be nocturnal hunters, and she's seeing a LOT of spotlight in the photo-shoots. My ferrets felt the same way, though they were always more "on the edge" and ready to tackle something (even if it was each other) instead of giving me a few seconds of portrait time.

 

[~christina~]

Actually I screwed a large tube around the lens, that is directly and ridgidly connected to the housing, not to the moving parts. It is used to screw on filters, conversion lenses and solar caps. You can push that against the window without harm.

See here

that's a good idea but I'm not sure that's convenient since I change lens' often.

camera=>http://www.dpreview.com/news/0703/07030602nikond40x.asp

[ATTACH=full]121175[/ATTACH]

[/QUOTE]

I like this one the best

 

[Astronuc]

I had three compact fluorescent lights(one hanging from the ceiling fan chain and one on each side) on her too and the tile board she is laying on was white. I call it a modified light tent because I used the canopy on my bed to hang the black backdrop and then I put white muslin cloth over the lamps to soften them.

And Aspen just lay there while you did all that. My cats rarely sit still - unless they've just eaten and are resting.

 

[larkspur]

And Aspen just lay there while you did all that. My cats rarely sit still - unless they've just eaten and are resting.

No, she was moving all around batting a small clip across the tile board. That is why I had to use the flash because I was just getting blurry shots without it.

 

[Evo]

That IS funny! Sorry I didn't spell it out...

The spot is about the size of your fingernail, I used my macro lense. That whole picture is no bigger than about 2x2 (inches). I had more fun photographing the science project than she did with the whole thing... ;-)

That's a great picture Ms Music, welcome to the forum!

 

[Astronuc]

Pardon me, can I join in on the fun? Most of my pics are on my home computer and I am at work, but I wanted to share this one. (I have been enjoying this thread in the background)

DSE anyone?

Cool picture! Welcome to PF, and Thanks for jumping in!

 

[Cyrus]

I wanted something blue so I used Windex...

A combination of both:

Can I RIA your last two? I think the first two are great.

PS, your frames are much better than before.

 

[lisab]

What's RIA?

 

[Cyrus]

Rip it appart! (I find some things awkward with them).

 

[lisab]

I don't understand -- You find some things awkward with whom?

 

[Cyrus]

Her last two pictures.

 

[lisab]

Oh, you don't like cats. Are you allergic, or something else...?

 

[Cyrus]

The lighting on the last two is off. Look how one is bright and one is dark. Its not consistent.

 

[lisab]

Photography isn't my stong suit. I took a film photography course a couple years ago -- it was just enough to school me on the complexity of the subject. There's way more to it than f-stop!

On digital photography I know even less. Light/dark can be adjusted easily; I've found that even re-sizing a digital photo can change that quality. So maybe just posting the photos, if they're different sizes, can change the light/dark property.

 

[AhmedEzz]

http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/9742/img0077jx2.jpg

Didn't photoshop it or anything just reduced its size. Using Canon Powershot A560 or something, not really a good photographer but thought I might share.

 

[larkspur]

The lighting on the last two is off. Look how one is bright and one is dark. Its not consistent.

Thanks Cyrus. That is why I don't like to use the on camera flash. My results are in consistent. Thanks for the RIA.

 

[larkspur]

http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/9742/img0077jx2.jpg

Didn't photoshop it or anything just reduced its size. Using Canon Powershot A560 or something, not really a good photographer but thought I might share.

Beautiful eyes!

 

[Cyrus]

I really like the first two, how did you take them in that glossy white background?

Of the cat pictures, I think this one ins purrrrfect

 

[larkspur]

I really like the first two, how did you take them in that glossy white background?

I have an erasable piece of poster board that I lay down on the bottom of my light tent.

 

[Andre]

that's a good idea but I'm not sure that's convenient since I change lens' often.

Well, when I was young I was not happy carrying a 20 pound case with SLR, 4 lenses (no zoom, those early ones were inferior) further a plethora of filters, macro stuff, flash, tripod on the hikes while trying to keep a couple of kids heading roughly in the same direction at the same pace. All of that replaced by a single 0.7 pound camera.

Although a mini tripod comes in handy occasionaly and 1-2 dioptry macro lens, since in telezoom, macro, the minimum distance is one meter which is simply too much in crowded places.

Also at the zoo, grey owl again at max range zoom, free hand, no glass available.

In winter time, the animals are much more response to public, which makes nice pictures but with bad light.

I admit that the image quality of a bridge camera is slightly inferior (noisier) to the DSLR's. But there are tricks (self processing of RAW images) and composing a much large picture of several pictures, partly covering the landscape with "panorama maker" and then decrease the size again, this reduces noise and increases the resolution and sharpness.

However or studio work I'm beginning to start contemplating getting a DSLR, additionally, I'm not going to part with the FZ8.

 

[Moonbear]

No, she was moving all around batting a small clip across the tile board. That is why I had to use the flash because I was just getting blurry shots without it.

That's why I can never get a good photo of my cat. She NEVER sits still. And, I only compound the problem because I have a tendency to follow the motion when trying to snap the photo, so end up moving the camera too (then again, if I didn't, I'd probably have a lot of pictures of empty floor or sofas, because she'd be out of the frame by the time I pushed the shutter button). What do they use for high speed photography of things like race cars? I need that for my cat!

 

[Ms Music]

What do they use for high speed photography of things like race cars?

A big lense so you don't have to be so close to the action, and a fast shutter. I have had really good luck with my digital set on "sport" setting, it takes about 2.5 pictures per second. You can actually see the action on playback mode. Its cool!

Thanks all for the big warm welcome...:!)

 

[turbo]

That's why I can never get a good photo of my cat. She NEVER sits still. And, I only compound the problem because I have a tendency to follow the motion when trying to snap the photo, so end up moving the camera too (then again, if I didn't, I'd probably have a lot of pictures of empty floor or sofas, because she'd be out of the frame by the time I pushed the shutter button). What do they use for high speed photography of things like race cars? I need that for my cat!

I found that to get pictures of my ferrets (the last one was named Turbo for a reason!) I had to get them when they were all played-out and dozy. You also need a responsive camera. My old P&S Olympus 3040 Zoom is great for family pictures, but the delay between pressing the button and getting the shutter/flash to operate was infuriating when shooting speedy critters. I'd always miss that special moment, somehow.

I got some OK pictures of Simon, my cousin's cat with that camera, mostly when he was sitting staring out a window or like this one, where he was hunting insects in her garden.

 

[larkspur]

Sensor Dust!

I just had to blow dust off my sensor with a Hurricane blower and was crossing my fingers hoping that would do the trick. It did! I really did not want to have to clean the sensor with a swab and eclipse solution.

 

[turbo]

One of my 30Ds has a sensor spot, and I've got to get a cleaning kit. So far, I've been OK with cloning out the spot, but I really need to address the problem.

 

[larkspur]

One of my 30Ds has a sensor spot, and I've got to get a cleaning kit. So far, I've been OK with cloning out the spot, but I really need to address the problem.

I thought I would have to clean the sensor but the blower took care of it. Wheeeeww!

 

[larkspur]

That's why I can never get a good photo of my cat. She NEVER sits still. And, I only compound the problem because I have a tendency to follow the motion when trying to snap the photo, so end up moving the camera too (then again, if I didn't, I'd probably have a lot of pictures of empty floor or sofas, because she'd be out of the frame by the time I pushed the shutter button). What do they use for high speed photography of things like race cars? I need that for my cat!

That is what you need to do...take her outside so you have a lot of light and will get a faster shutter speed. I am sure she would love to sink her paws into that snow. You could put a leash on her...that is all it takes to get one of my cats to fall to the ground on her side like she has been tied down. Snap Snap Snap away!

 

[Moonbear]

I found that to get pictures of my ferrets (the last one was named Turbo for a reason!) I had to get them when they were all played-out and dozy.

I wear out before she does! Even when she looks like she's all done and ready to quit, if I get out the camera, just turning it on gets her all curious and on the move again. I can play with her until she's stretched out on the floor panting, and she'll still find another burst of energy if I get out the camera (too bad, because it would make such a cute photo when she's all stretched like that).

 

[turbo]

Maybe she would like something similar to "ferret bowling". After we got slippery Pergo flooring in the living room, I'd grab Turbo and fling him across the floor. He'd struggle to get his feet under him, and with legs a-churning he'd manage to get stopped and run back to me. He'd play keep-away until he decided to let me catch him, and I'd bowl him the length of the living room again. He would often initiate these games when I was sitting at the computer working, and after about 10 or 15 minutes of this, he would come directly back to me and stand, putting his front paws on my leg. That was the sign that bowling was over and he wanted me to hold him while he napped.

 

[lisab]

PF, meet Sweet Miss Phoebe. SMP, meet my new friends at PF.

 

[larkspur]

PF, meet Sweet Miss Phoebe. SMP, meet my new friends at PF.

View attachment 12836

A tuxedo cat! She is adorable!

 

[Astronuc]

PF, meet Sweet Miss Phoebe. SMP, meet my new friends at PF.

View attachment 12836

Wonderful picture. I'm familiar with that expression.