Random Photos

[Rive]

A holiday at some nearby city...
...
...and a sudden 'wedding tram '

(On-demand retro vehicle from the city hall to the usual celebratory spot)

And a random spring street photo:

 

[docnet]

The last photo is one of artificial islands called THUMS islands. They're facades that hide the drilling rigs behind a series of artificial landscape and fake condos. The islands pollute the nearby beaches.

 

[Andy Resnick]

Went to a Great Blue Heron Rookery (a Heronry) today:

 

[WWGD]

A couple of years ago, I introduced you to Joel Poinsett, who brought a certain festive holiday plant to the US.

He appears every year in Greenville SC's Poinsettia Christmas Parade.

View attachment 337678

He looks pretty good for a 244-year-old.

He's the precursor of Topology as well, Poinsett Topology.

 

[DennisN]

Close-up of a candle, shot a while ago for fun:

Close-up of the burning candle wick:

(shot with Sony A6000 + Canon nFD 100mm Macro f/4 + a 15mm extension tube)
(I've had the lens for a while, got it for a good price second hand; what's nice with a 100mm macro lens is that you can shoot from a bit larger distance than with a 50mm macro lens)

 

[berkeman]

Close-up of the burning candle wick:

I won't ask if any recreational substances were involved in this photo shoot...

 

[Averagesupernova]

As with all of my photos, the focus is never the best, etc. Usually only have a cell phone cam to work with. Just interesting subject matter. My 4-leggers are very difficult to get good pix of.

 

[jtbell]

 

[nsaspook]

 

[nsaspook]

 

[berkeman]

@nsaspook -- Is that the museum in McMinnville, Oregon? I may add that to my bucket list...

This is my semi-local one that I've been to several times, including to see General Chuck Yeager one time several years ago: https://aerospaceca.org/

 

[Andy Resnick]

Buds on a lilac getting ready to pop:

1:1 crop from image using 55 mm Micro-Nikkor + extension tube M2 at close focus (1:1 reproduction), f/8 1/500s auto-ISO. Handheld +light breezes = spray and pray :)

 

[Borg]

@nsaspook -- Is that the museum in McMinnville, Oregon? I may add that to my bucket list...

That did look like the Spruce Goose in the background of the second to last photo.

 

[nsaspook]

@nsaspook -- Is that the museum in McMinnville, Oregon? I may add that to my bucket list...

This is my semi-local one that I've been to several times, including to see General Chuck Yeager one time several years ago: https://aerospaceca.org/

Yes, it's McMinnville, Oregon. They also have a 747 themed water-park.

 

[nsaspook]

That did look like the Spruce Goose in the background of the second to last photo.

 

[DennisN]

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I don't see any loose doors on your photos... so I guess there's no Boeing there, right?

 

[Tom.G]

Too many years ago, I watched the Spruce Goose being moved from dead storage, down the Los Angeles River, to a custom-built geodesic dome in Long Beach CA.

My next door neighbor was a retired heavy-construction foreman who was consulted about the move; that's how I got an early enough warning to get on a chartered boat on the river to watch the move.

The Goose was lifted by a large crane with slings under the wings (and probably under the tail, but I don't remember that detail) and placed on a barge to float down the river to its new home as a tourist attraction. After several years it was moved 'up North' for display.

The geodesic dome is still there and is now a cruise ship terminal, and occasionally a movie set.

Photos were taken but I would have to go thru a few thousand 35mm slides from the back of a closet to find them. In place of doing that, here are a few links.

A few years ago, a local newspaper did a short article and video about the dome and Goose:
https://www.presstelegram.com/2021/...e-forgotten-history-of-a-long-beach-landmark/

More history of the Goose can be found with:
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=when+was+the+spruce+goose+in+long+beach+ca

Cheers,
Tom

 

[jtbell]

 

[Rive]

Li'l neon party garden in the kitchen...

Weather is good: a week or two and the'll be planted outside...
Well, a week or two and some of them will try to attack the lamps

ps.: protagonists: tomatoes, bell peppers, celery, eggplants, kohlrabi

 

[berkeman]

Me at track days...

 

[berkeman]

Too cute not to share

 

[berkeman]

I'm very impressed by Angel Reese after watching the big rivalry game between LSU and Iowa in the women's March Madness tournament last weekend (where LSU lost to Iowa and the amazing Catlin Clark). Angel is a beast around the hoop, and played much of the game on an injured ankle that would have taken most players out of the game.

But her shooting on field goals and freethrows was awful (was she ~50% from the line?), with a goofy style that will not serve her well next year when she goes pro. I can only guess that she refused to listen to her coaches who were trying to help her learn better shooting technique. Hopefully her professional coaching staff will lay down the law next year.

 

[DaveC426913]

Strolling through the parking lot at my yacht club.
(These are not colour-enhanced! Cropping and exposure-balancing only! (honest!))

 

[DennisN]

(These are not colour-enhanced! Cropping and exposure-balancing only! (honest!))

I believe you.

Sunlight, brightly colored cables and a less vidid background, yes, the colors are going to pop out.
I wonder how the colors would look using a CPL filter in front of the lens (if you didn't use one).

 

[morrobay]

Nice clear on-shore Westerly. Air humid 30 C, water 30 C @ Jomtien Beach

 

[jtbell]

Sunday afternoon at the beach, on Lake Erie in Ashtabula, Ohio. The shoreline has receded because of erosion since I came here as a kid about 60 years ago.

 

[jtbell]

Today we started our trip home from "eclipse day", and passed through Chester, West Virginia, at the state's northern tip between Ohio and Pennsylvania.

My father was born in this area. When I was a kid in the 1960s, my parents and I came here every year to visit relatives. I remember the Teapot in its original location at the other end of town, operating as a refreshment and souvenir stand.

History of the Chester Teapot

An information panel near the Teapot displays the linked history, with an addendum about its second restoration in 2014-15. Since then, an annual festival raises funds for its continued maintenance.

n

 

[morrobay]

At Chinese herbs shop

 

[Rive]

No photos please!

Jungle

Contrast

Ready for takeoff

?

 

[DennisN]

No photos please!

I see you are shooting your cat outdoors .
And thus, more dynamic range in the photo.
And the cat has got such a cool stance in the photo; it looks like a real predator.

 

[jack action]

And the cat has got such a cool stance in the photo; it looks like a real predator.

For every mouse and bird crossing its path, it is a real predator.
$\leftarrow$

 

[Rive]

I see you are shooting your cat outdoors .
And thus, more dynamic range in the photo.

Just luck ... The next one came as this:

...and two minutes later she was in the house again, in the darkest corner

For every mouse and bird crossing its path, it is a real predator.

Spiders too

 

[DennisN]

I was playing around with one of my macro lenses today...
I was out in the courtyard shooting some flowers and leaves just for fun (even though it was cloudy)...
...I will post some later...

In the meantime, here are some close-ups of one of my cats (indoors), face and both eyes:

Cutie...

...but still a predator...

Left eye:
(a fun thing is that a clock on my wall can be seen being reflected in her eye here)

Right eye:

(shot handheld with Sony A6000 + Canon nFD 100mm Macro + quite a bit of patience ,
and I pumped up the ISO to 2000 to allow for shorter exposure time (1/200s) to allow for sharper shots;
my hands are not as steady as I wish they were )

 

[DennisN]

...and two minutes later she was in the house again, in the darkest corner

Animals can be quite tricky to photograph, I know . They do as they please.

 

[BillTre]

(a fun thing is that a clock on my wall can be seen being reflected in her eye here)
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Right eye:
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I really like this effect.
There is a well known shot from Blade Runner doing this (a reflected city view at night from a flying vehicle):

I've tried it a few times without great success.

 

[Ibix]

I've tried it a few times without great success.

It's because you're not a replicant.

Look at the pupil size - that shot was not taken in a dark environment. Noting that we don't have cars flying above Los Angeles, I guess that the actor was looking at a screen that was showing a film of the city lights with the brightness turned way up. So his (it's Harrison Ford, isn't it?) pupil contracted and you get clear reflections of very bright point sources.

 

[DennisN]

I really like this effect.

Yes, me too.

I had been thinking about trying to achieve the effect for some time, but had not tried it yet.
The shots above got the effect by coincidence actually, I didn't try to achieve it, I was focused on getting the eyes themselves (iris and pupil).

I've also had the (wild?) idea of trying to shoot a photo of an eye where the camera lens can be seen reflected in the eye. I may have to work/experiment a bit to achieve it (if possible). Lenses tend to be very dark and it may be difficult to get enough light for reflection in the eye. Hmm, maybe one could try illuminating the lens from the side(s) to make it more bright, perhaps... we'll see...

 

[DennisN]

Some shots with my macro lens in the courtyard...

Great forget-me-not (Brunnera macrophylla) (a little wet*):

Bishop's hat (Epimedium) (according to Google) (focus stacked):

The cool, silvery leaves on a Great forget-me-not:

(*) I sprayed some water on the great forget-me-not before shooting. It's another trick I've picked up from somewhere; flowers can often become a bit more interesting when wet.
And here's the flower makeup tool :

 

[DennisN]

First bird shots this year... Eurasian blue tits in the courtyard:

A pair:

A lucky shot (though not very sharp, I wasn't prepared for action shots):

A fluffy creature hiding somewhere behind lots of branches:

Enjoying the sunlight:

(shot with Sony A6000 + Sony 55-210mm)

 

[jtbell]

Any of these?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_tit

 

[docnet]

Somebody adding soap to the fountain in front of BG => world's biggest bubble party. The 8 year old me would have one into the fountain but the adult me is somehow afraid of getting weird stares

Even cameras don't like humid weather

 

[morrobay]

Candlelight with recreational Thai girlfriend

 

[jtbell]

Lots of wisteria around here:

 

[DennisN]

This time a naturally wet flower, shot yesterday after some rain:

(shot with a Meyer-Optik Görlitz Oreston 50mm f/1.8 (East German, from the 1960s))

 

[morrobay]

Songkran - Thai new year water throwing celebration. And around Naklua seafood market

 

[Rive]

Animals can be quite tricky to photograph, I know . They do as they please.

Another attempt, different problem - though this one is familiar already

...and finally, with a bit of help, some success:

How to train your dragon cat:

...but still NO for spinach

 

[DennisN]

Another attempt

You definitely have got more detail of the fur of the cat now!
(e.g. on the first photo I see shades of brown, grey and black)

 

[DennisN]

It is a lovely sunny day over here, but still a bit cold.
Sunny days mean photo opportunities for me...

An orange tulip:

(shot with Sony A6000 + Helios 44M7 58mm* + B&W polarization filter)

Do you think the colors look vibrant?
Do you think I boosted the colors when processing?
Well, I did not! Quite the opposite.

I changed the gamma correction, and then the photo got too much saturation (for my taste), so I actually had to decrease the saturation.

Here's the original:

Why so colorful? Well:

1. Sunlight
2. Sunlight coming in from 45 degrees behind the flower, so the flower gets light partly from behind it (and through it)
3. A polarizing filter was used, which can help with colors

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* A fun thing is that the new Dune movie, Dune Part 2, was partially shot with modified Russian vintage lenses, including Helios 44.

Source: ‘Dune: Part Two’ Was Shot Using Vintage Soviet Photo Lenses (Petapixel)

As an example, here is a shot from the movie:

A scene from Dune: Part Two that was shot with the Helios 44 (inset). My note: Christopher Walken is shown to the right.

Look at the background blur in the shot above and notice how it's distorted (it "swirls").
Well, it's the same kind of swirl as in this photo I've previously posted in this thread (photo #3 in that post):

https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/random-photos.994801/post-6507686

 

[BillTre]

Nice shot.
The colors are nice, but I think they could be more vibrant if the side of the flower toward the light (sun) were directly illuminated. Most of the flower is in its own shade.

 

[Flyboy]

Went to Portugal last week for my sister’s wedding…