Random Photos

Point Conception · Apr 14, 2022

Four printed snapshots on a page: a fountain plaza with an arch and crowds, a man in uniform by a U.S. Customhouse sign, a street crowd under festive bunting, and a container ship labeled Sarajevo Express.

jtbell · Apr 16, 2022

Dogs in Columbia SC must be very happy.

Oversized sculpture of a silver fire hydrant with chains and bolted flanges, standing beside a street with a white pickup truck and a red-and-white striped concrete barrier in front.

DennisN · Apr 16, 2022

After sunset at a rocky beach, taken yesterday.
The Øresund Bridge can be spotted at the horizon to the left.

Wide panoramic photo at dusk of a shallow bay with a rocky shoreline in the foreground, a glowing orange horizon, and a long bridge with lights on the left.

Lens used: Samyang 12mm f/2.0 (stitched panorama from multiple photos).
Larger version of photo here.

Oldman too · Apr 16, 2022

DennisN said:

After sunset at a rocky beach, taken yesterday.

Awesome light value, that's art!

Oldman too · Apr 16, 2022

Just thought I'd drop this one on the pile also, A.E. hanging out with the Hopis near the Grand canyon.

Black and white photo of a group of six people standing before a stone wall, including a man in a suit and feathered headdress, a woman in a hooded cloak, a young girl, and four people in traditional dress with beaded necklaces.

DennisN · Apr 18, 2022

Oldman too said:

Awesome light value, that's art!

Thanks! I had actually planned to go down to the start of the Öresund Bridge (at the Swedish side) to take some pictures there, but I saw this scene on the way there and decided to get off the bus earlier instead.

Oldman too · Apr 18, 2022

DennisN said:

but I saw this scene on the way there and decided to get off the bus earlier instead.

That was a good call. :ok:

berkeman · Apr 18, 2022

Oldman too said:

Just thought I'd drop this one on the pile also, A.E. hanging out with the Hopis near the Grand canyon.

Is he holding a Peace Pipe? Is that why he has that big grin on his face?

Oldman too · Apr 18, 2022

berkeman said:

Is he holding a Peace Pipe? Is that why he has that big grin on his face?

Why yes, that is a peace pipe, as opposed to a war pipe (or bong).
I can't comment on his smile although I believe the the pic was taken at a ceremony where he was adopted into the tribe.

If he was asked about what was being smoked, his expression may have looked something like this.

Black and white photo of a man with a mustache wearing a large feathered headdress with a beaded headband, neckerchief and fringed clothing, looking to the side.

DennisN · Apr 18, 2022

Oldman too said:

If he was asked about what was being smoked, his expression may have looked something like this.

Einstein: "I went on a trip to the US and visited an ancient tribe. We smoked some strange stuff. And that was the first moment I got the idea of the theory of relativity."

Oldman too · Apr 18, 2022

DennisN said:

Einstein: "I went on a trip to the US and visited an ancient tribe. We smoked some strange stuff. And that was the moment I got the first idea of the theory of relativity."

There is an interesting story behind the Einstein pics I've posted. They aren't very much mainstream A.E. shots and I had to search them using specific criteria. I recently finished reading "Einstein, his life and universe", an amazing biography, if you have read it I don't need to say more, if you haven't had the chance, check it out, you won't be disappointed.

Point Conception · Apr 23, 2022

Gulf of Thailand 1830

Sunset over water with a bright sun low on the horizon, wispy golden clouds streaking across an orange sky, and a dark silhouetted headland, building and pier along the shoreline.

Sunset over the sea with a bright sun low on the horizon, wispy golden clouds above, a dark silhouetted headland and a long pier with boats moored in the foreground.

Orange sunset over calm sea with a bright sun and wispy clouds, a long pier and dark silhouetted hillside on the left, and fishing boats in the foreground.

Point Conception · Apr 23, 2022

Gulf of Thailand 2030 .She for sure has the XX chromosome.

Photo taken at night of a young woman with long dark hair in a patterned sleeveless dress, seated on a blue and green ledge outdoors, looking toward city lights in the distance; a small green plant and a pink cup are on the ledge.

Point Conception · Apr 25, 2022

Northerly view from gulf side mall 80 km South of Bangkok

Coastal city view from an elevated position: a sandy beach lined with palm trees, a Thai flag on a pole, high-rise hotels in the background, and a teal sea under a hazy sky.

DennisN · Apr 28, 2022

Five random photos taken lately:

Red tulips by the canal (lens: Meike 35mm)

Two red tulips in bloom above green grass with several closed tulip buds, against a dark blurred background.

Tombstone in the city cemetery (lens: Meike 35mm)

Weathered mossy gravestone with a carved clasped-hands motif at the top, a memorial plaque reading CHR. ÖSTERBERG, and lichen-covered stone steps in a grassy cemetery.

Copenhagen at night from a distance (lens: Tokina 200mm)

Night view across dark water of a distant city skyline, with clusters of lights along the low horizon and a few taller buildings with red warning lights.

The pylons of Øresund Bridge (lens: Tokina 200mm)

Night view of a cable-stayed bridge with red-illuminated pylons and a long roadway deck, reflected in calm water.

Nothing but Thieves live in Copenhagen, 17 april 2022
(one of my favorite bands, and they were fantastic live, lens: Sony 16-50mm)

Live concert photo under deep blue stage lighting: two guitarists at microphone stands on stage, with a keyboard stand at right and an audience with raised phones at left.

epenguin · Apr 29, 2022

Ah tulips

, yes I'll give you some tulips too.
(I thought of starting a photo competition, open to everybody, with theme 'White and orange tulips')

Clump of orange and yellow-orange tulips in a green metal tub, with cream-white tulips behind them and a flagstone path to the right.

epenguin · Apr 30, 2022

And I'll give you some Copenhagen too.

The visitor is supposed to start here

Bronze statue of a mermaid seated on a large pink granite boulder at the water's edge, her tail curled beneath her, with calm sea behind her.

Can go on to Tivoli Gardens

Ornate white building at dusk with a green onion dome topped by a crescent, minarets and rows of lights, seen across a garden with clipped hedges and a fountain; the sign reads TIVOLI.

Evening view across a pond of the Chinese-style pagoda at Tivoli Gardens, strung with red and gold lights, with a red roller coaster loop behind it and green trees around.

Night view of an ornate building lit with strings of multicoloured lights in red, green and white, with a green and red onion-domed tower and red-tipped spires against a dark sky.

where magic things

Three brown cartoon dogs sculpted in a row on a wooden ledge against a dark background, the largest one in front with big cartoon eyes, golden spheres behind them.

can appear

Night photo of a life-size painted figure of a red-coated soldier with a blue hat and white trousers seated on a wooden railing, beside a brown cartoon-style animal figure.

out of the mind of famous author.

Bronze statue of a seated man in a long coat and cravat, one hand raised in a gesture, holding a folded paper, on a green stone plinth with trees behind.

Here instead a real soldier.

Sentry in a dark navy tunic with white belts and blue-grey trousers, wearing a tall black bearskin hat and carrying a rifle on his shoulder, standing on a cobbled square in front of a stone building.

Oh, and this is surely not Mr. Wheeler's bicycle.

Black vintage city bicycle with a chainguard and rear rack, leaning against a dense hedge of green leaves and yellow dandelions on a cobbled street.

DennisN · May 2, 2022

Something experimental this time...

I was out taking some photos a couple of days ago and discovered something really fun when I was editing later.

The lens I used was the Russian Helios 44M7¹ which gives a bit vintage, "oily" colors.
I discovered by accident that if I also shoot certain scenes in backlight and then do some editing in Photoshop (autolevels + some saturation) I can get a really vintage look on photos.

Here is one photo taken in the city, 2022 a couple of days ago:
(I also removed some things like some signs and reflectors on bikes, and there are some weird looking edits in the photo if it is examined closely)

Sun Street (vintage style, Helios 44M7)

Backlit cobblestone street at sunset lined with brick buildings, with silhouetted cyclists riding toward the camera and a domed building at the far end.

Tower on house (vintage style, Helios 44M7)

Low-angle view of a red brick building with a corner turret topped by a pointed spire, against a pale blue sky with scattered clouds.

And two more flower photos taken yesterday...

Daffodils in evening sun (back, Helios 44M7)

Backlit photo of yellow daffodils with orange centres in low evening sun, with blurred daffodils and green foliage in the background.

Daffodils in evening sun (front, Helios 44M7)

Close-up of a yellow daffodil with a red-orange trumpet in evening sunlight, with more daffodils and dark green foliage blurred in the background.

¹ I was already quite impressed with the charming quirks of the Helios 44 lens (i.e. the vintage colors and the swirly bokeh it can sometimes produce). But after I also discovered the possibility of doing quite old-looking photos, I am really, really loving this lens. It is a gem, well worth the money (it's also quite cheap).

I discovered the lens by watching good youtube channels about photography and the people who recommended the lens certainly knew what they were talking about!

DennisN · May 2, 2022

epenguin said:

And I'll give you some Copenhagen too.

The visitor is supposed to start here

I'm actually thinking of going back to Copenhagen soon, and bring a bike with me on the train and then bike around in the city to places I haven't been to.

I'm thinking of maybe going to the Little Mermaid (which truly is small

, I've been there) and try to take some kind of unusual photo of her if possible (probably in the late evening and with some lighting, or something, I haven't decided yet

).

Point Conception · May 2, 2022

@DennisN Could you post the original , un edited photo of Sun Street in post #588 for comparison so as to see the after effects.

DennisN · May 2, 2022

morrobay said:

@DennisN Could you post the original , un edited photo of Sun Street in post #588 for comparison so as to see the after effects.

I looked for the original but regretfully I had already deleted it. I should have kept it.

But I took another photo of (almost) the same scene (from a slightly different angle), and I post a comparison photo below where you can (sort of) see the change.

But please note that:

(1) the two photos in the comparison ARE different:
the left has no "backlight washout" like the right one has, and

(2) I have only managed to get the old vintage style on some of the photos I tried it on.
It seems to me the "backlight washout" is an important key to getting it right.)

Side-by-side comparison of two photos of a cobbled city street in low sunlight, with cyclists, parked bikes and a domed building at the far end; the right version is more washed out by backlight.

Andy Resnick · May 3, 2022

I had some time to disassemble an ancient flip phone and successfully recovered some weird chips- previously I have only scavenged pieces, this time I was able to maintain the structural integrity. These circuits are thin gold foil printed on (I think) a Germanium substrate- Silicon withstands nitric acid but these substrates don't.

Two gold-colored integrated circuit dies photographed under a microscope against a black background, each with fine wire bonds attached to small gold pads and a row of pins at the bottom.

Microscope photo of a small gold-coloured integrated circuit die on a dark background, with fine gold bond wires attached to its corners and edges.

Images taken with an Ultraphot III microscope, 63mm Zeiss Luminar lens, off-axis illumination via light pipes. Nikon D810 camera, 1/25s ISO 100.

BillTre · May 7, 2022

Finally done annoying me for this year, these big leaf maple flowers have stopped producing their pollen and are now making seeds:

Photo of a drooping cluster of small pale green maple flowers and developing winged seeds hanging from a thin green stem against a blurred leaf background.

Point Conception · May 8, 2022

Low tide cloudy Sunday afternoon with local visitors.

Wide beach at low tide under a pale evening sky, with people walking on wet sand, small boats resting on the sand, and a line of high-rise hotels along the waterfront.

Point Conception · May 8, 2022

The mainland Thai coast is unremarkable. Unlike the islands. Similans.

Turquoise sea in a sheltered bay with a pale sandy beach, large granite boulders in the water at right, green plants on rocks at left, and forested hills behind.

Photo of a small dome-shaped tent pitched under green trees on sandy ground, with light dappling through the leaves and a wooden frame or pole visible in the foreground.

Turquoise sea under a hazy sky, with a forested island on the horizon and smooth tan granite boulders in the foreground at the water's edge.

BillTre · May 10, 2022

Here's a great shot of a Bridal Veil Stinkhorn.

Photo of a bridal veil stinkhorn fungus with a white, honeycomb-patterned veil hanging below a cap, standing on dark forest floor litter against a black background.

It's from a article in Science about how mushrooms/fungi keep ecosystems good for plants.

This reminds me of something I read a while ago: the great coal deposits of the carboniferous (ancient carbon sequestration event) were a result of not having the fungi to breakdown the plants when they died.

DennisN · May 13, 2022

Something really experimental this time...

I've been thinking about testing the pinhole camera technique for quite some time, and I finally got around to do it. I made a "pinhole lens" (well, it's not actually a lens) from a camera body cap by drilling a hole in the cap, covering the hole with black tape and then punching a small hole in the tape with a needle:

Black camera body cap with a small pinhole punched through black tape at its centre, with a yellow label reading Pinhole pointing to the hole.

My first test object was my cat.

Cat (with pinhole cap, exposure: 2 seconds):

Soft, blurred photo of a fluffy orange and white cat lying on a white surface against a dark background, taken with a pinhole camera.

Cat (with pinhole cap, exposure: 4 seconds):

Blurry, soft-focus photo of a ginger and white cat lying on a white surface, with its head resting to the right and ears visible.

Cat (with pinhole cap, exposure: 5 seconds):

Very blurred photo of a cat with cream and orange fur lying on a white surface, taken with a pinhole camera cap and a long exposure.

As you can see the photos get very, very soft and "dreamy".

It's pretty fun that photos can be taken with just a small hole in front of the camera sensor.

I'm going to try experimenting with it outside in nature, to see if I can get "dreamy" atmospheres.

collinsmark · May 13, 2022

DennisN said:

Something really experimental this time...

I've been thinking about testing the pinhole camera technique for quite some time, and I finally got around to do it. I made a "pinhole lens" (well, it's not actually a lens) from a camera body cap by drilling a hole in the cap, covering the hole with black tape and then punching a small hole in the tape with a needle:

View attachment 301427

My first test object was my cat.

Cat (with pinhole cap, exposure: 2 seconds):
View attachment 301428

Cat (with pinhole cap, exposure: 4 seconds):
View attachment 301429

Cat (with pinhole cap, exposure: 5 seconds):
View attachment 301430

As you can see the photos get very, very soft and "dreamy".

It's pretty fun that photos can be taken with just a small hole in front of the camera sensor.
I'm going to try experimenting with it outside in nature, to see if I can get "dreamy" atmospheres.

Yes, this is a neat thing to do, you haven't done it before.

Years ago, I did the same experimentation with a film camera. But a digital camera sounds a lot easier.

Aside from experimenting with just the aperture of the hole, you also might try using a tube or somesuch to experiment with focal length. For example, if you want to emulate a standard 50 mm lens, ensure the pinhole is 50 mm from the sensor plane. For a 100 mm "lens," ensure the pinhole is 100 mm away.

And of course, bring a tripod.

Point Conception · May 14, 2022

Sure some "connected " people go into this no name place. Naklua, Thailand

Photo of a metal gate with vertical bars and a central panel, set into a wall of dark stone tiles with rectangular recessed windows, beside a street curb.

Point Conception · May 14, 2022

My day/night Thai massage friend.

Woman with shoulder-length dark hair wearing a light blue surgical face mask, red lace crop top and dark denim skirt, seated on a green-trimmed ledge by a window with a metal grille.

Dim, low-lit photo of a woman with dark hair in a dark dress sitting on a chair by a window, looking at a phone, with a city skyline lit up at night beyond the glass and a small pink handbag on a ledge.

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