Random Photos

[sbrothy]

And a cameo from Jeffrey Dahmer:

I'll stop now.

 

[jtbell]

Felix now will become immortal in the racing world.

Yes, it was a very dramatic finish. In horse-racing terms, he "won by a nose." I suppose you've seen the "photo finish".

 

[DennisN]

I suppose you've seen the "photo finish".

Yes. It was a very tight finish.

 

[Andy Resnick]

Some (manual focus) bird photos @ 400mm, f/5.6, 1/640s:

Grackles:

Like @collinsmark, I tried to show the iridescent feathers... tough to do, these guys don't stand still for more than a second or so..

juvenile cardinal:

blue jay:

Even @ f/5.6, because I am working a close focus distance, the depth of focus is at most a cm or so, but I can't stop down too much more or my shutter speed will have to increase (or else the ISO goes up to 2000 or more)... there's always a trade-off to negotiate.

I like jelly! (sparrow)

What you want from me? I just woke up! (juvenile downy woodpecker)

a very dignified catbird:

Psst! Over here! I'm a rodent, but cute- not like rats!

 

[sbrothy]

Cutest dancing spider I've ever seen (1-2mm).

EDIT: Oh, not my photo. just FYI.

 

[sbrothy]

Some (manual focus) bird photos @ 400mm, f/5.6, 1/640s:

Grackles:
View attachment 372015

View attachment 372016

Like @collinsmark, I tried to show the iridescent feathers... tough to do, these guys don't stand still for more than a second or so..

juvenile cardinal:
View attachment 372017

blue jay:
View attachment 372018

Even @ f/5.6, because I am working a close focus distance, the depth of focus is at most a cm or so, but I can't stop down too much more or my shutter speed will have to increase (or else the ISO goes up to 2000 or more)... there's always a trade-off to negotiate.

I like jelly! (sparrow)
View attachment 372019

What you want from me? I just woke up! (juvenile downy woodpecker)
View attachment 372020

a very dignified catbird:
View attachment 372021

Psst! Over here! I'm a rodent, but cute- not like rats!
View attachment 372022

Although you're probably as full of parasites and rodent diseases as any "other" rat.

 

[DennisN]

My cat taking a nap behind the curtains :

(shot with Vivitar 100mm f/2.8)

 

[DennisN]

Psst! Over here! I'm a rodent, but cute- not like rats!

A very cool shot!

 

[collinsmark]

Non-bird/critter related Nebraska pics, part 1.

I'll start with a series of photos I took from the passenger seat of a car while diving from place to place (I wasn't driving). These picture were all taken at full speed (roughly 55 mph [90 km/h]) through the window glass. All photos in this series were taken with the 50mm Summilux-M ASPH, at around f/8, 1/4000 sec.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

Figure 4.

Figure 5.

Figure 6.

Figure 7.

Figure 8.

Figure 9.

Note that all these pics so far were taken with the car moving at highway speeds with the window rolled up. None of this, "Oh, stop the car, let me take a picture." Nope. Nothing like that. I wasn't even looking through the viewfinder. It was just me and my sister driving from place to place with the radio on, having a conversation while I just held the camera up to the window, and started snapping photos when something possibly interesting went by.

The image below (see Fig. 10) shows how to set up a camera for that.

Figure 10. Camera settings setup for these "from-inside-moving-car" pics. Note how the focus ring is rotated such that the $\infty$ symbol is lined up with number corresponding to the selected f-stop (8 in this case). That's hyperfocal distance focusing. -- Also, this image of my Leica was taken with my other Leica *snort*. 'Looks like my M11-P's top plate is already showing some patina (that's expected). This rangefinder camera is getting a lot of use.

Some key takeaways are:

• Fast shutter speed. I took all the photos above in the series at 1/4000 sec, but that might have been overkill; but try and make it fast, like 1/1000 sec or faster. Avoid electronic shutter since rolling shutter can be an issue here.
• Moderate aperture. You want to get all of your scene in focus (no time to change focus) so you'll want a decent depth of field. But not so much that you introduce a lot of noise (recall the fast shutter speed). For 50mm or less focal length, it's tough to go wrong with f/8.
• Use auto-ISO if you have it. If your camera doesn't have auto-ISO, use the Sunny 16 rule, I guess. You can figure that part out.
• Pre-focus your camera/lens on its hyperfocal distance and leave it. Fig. 10 shows an example of how to set that up on a manual focus lens. Line up the $\infty$ symbol with your selected f-stop indicator line in the right side of the DoF markings. If you're using an autofocus system, turn autofocus off. Focus manually. Autofocus is not your friend for these types of shots.

So what if your lens doesn't have DoF indicators on it?? How to know what the hyperfocal distance is? There are online calculators to help. The app PhotoPills (for iPhone or Andriod) has a built in hyperfocal distance calculator.

Note that this advice is to keep the largest depth of field possible while removing motion blur. That's only one way to take photos from a moving vehicle, or of a moving vehicle. Maybe you want some motion blur? That can be okay too. Stay tuned for a future post, where I'm back in San Diego, and take the opposite approach and shoot with intentional blur. I have more Nebraska pics first though.

To be continued. ...

 

[sbrothy]

Non-bird/critter related Nebraska pics, part 1.

I'll start with a series of photos I took from the passenger seat of a car while diving from place to place (I wasn't driving). These picture were all taken at full speed (roughly 55 mph [90 km/h]) through the window glass. All photos in this series were taken with the 50mm Summilux-M ASPH, at around f/8, 1/4000 sec.

View attachment 372041
Figure 1.

View attachment 372042
Figure 2.

View attachment 372043
Figure 3.

View attachment 372044
Figure 4.

View attachment 372045
Figure 5.

View attachment 372046
Figure 6.

View attachment 372047
Figure 7.

View attachment 372048
Figure 8.

View attachment 372049
Figure 9.

Note that all these pics so far were taken with the car moving at highway speeds with the window rolled up. None of this, "Oh, stop the car, let me take a picture." Nope. Nothing like that. I wasn't even looking through the viewfinder. It was just me and my sister driving from place to place with the radio on, having a conversation while I just held the camera up to the window, and started snapping photos when something possibly interesting went by.

The image below (see Fig. 10) shows how to set up a camera for that.

View attachment 372039
Figure 10. Camera settings setup for these "from-inside-moving-car" pics. Note how the focus ring is rotated such that the $\infty$ symbol is lined up with number corresponding to the selected f-stop (8 in this case). That's hyperfocal distance focusing. -- Also, this image of my Leica was taken with my other Leica *snort*. 'Looks like my M11-P's top plate is already showing some patina (that's expected). This rangefinder camera is getting a lot of use.

Some key takeaways are:

• Fast shutter speed. I took all the photos above in the series at 1/4000 sec, but that might have been overkill; but try and make it fast, like 1/1000 sec or faster. Avoid electronic shutter since rolling shutter can be an issue here.
• Moderate aperture. You want to get all of your scene in focus (no time to change focus) so you'll want a decent depth of field. But not so much that you introduce a lot of noise (recall the fast shutter speed). For 50mm or less focal length, it's tough to go wrong with f/8.
• Use auto-ISO if you have it. If your camera doesn't have auto-ISO, use the Sunny 16 rule, I guess. You can figure that part out.
• Pre-focus your camera/lens on its hyperfocal distance and leave it. Fig. 10 shows an example of how to set that up on a manual focus lens. Line up the $\infty$ symbol with your selected f-stop indicator line in the right side of the DoF markings. If you're using an autofocus system, turn autofocus off. Focus manually. Autofocus is not your friend for these types of shots.

So what if your lens doesn't have DoF indicators on it?? How to know what the hyperfocal distance is? There are online calculators to help. The app PhotoPills (for iPhone or Andriod) has a built in hyperfocal distance calculator.

Note that this advice is to keep the largest depth of field possible while removing motion blur. That's only one way to take photos from a moving vehicle, or of a moving vehicle. Maybe you want some motion blur? That can be okay too. Stay tuned for a future post, where I'm back in San Diego, and take the opposite approach and shoot with intentional blur. I have more Nebraska pics first though.

To be continued. ...

Leica is a classic.

As an aside the road is closed, but what road? I don't see any!

 

[Andy Resnick]

@ more interesting (to me) bird photos:

1) This grackle was oriented 'just so' to both sun and camera to enable a decent in-focus shot of the feather iridescence. Remember, most of the time grackles appear jet-black, not metallic blue and bronze:

2) catbird. For whatever reason, the feather pattern and sensor geometry aligned to generate colorful Moiré patterns (in the center):

It's worth noting that this (jpg) image was generated in-camera. I don't have the original RAW file to compare with, so it's possible that the in-camera RAW-tiff conversion algorithm had a role as well.

 

[Andy Resnick]

Note how the focus ring is rotated such that the $\infty$ symbol is lined up with number corresponding to the selected f-stop (8 in this case). That's hyperfocal distance focusing.

That's a great tip! I didnt know this 'trick'- so easy, thx!

 

[collinsmark]

Nebraska bird pics, part 4.

Figure 26. Mourning dove (Zenaida macroura).

Figure 27. House Sparrow (Passer domesticus). There weren't very many sparrows around for this trip (or finches for that matter). This is the only one I got.

Figure 28. Common grackle (Quiscalus quiscula).

Figure 29. Blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata). I like how the feather pattern is a continuation of the twig. It makes me wonder if the blue jay's twig-looking neck pattern has any evolutionary significance.

Figure 30. Common grackle in flight (Quiscalus quiscula). Lots of colors came through in this shot (not typical).

Figure 31. America robin (Turdus migratorius).

Figure 32. Blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata).

Figure 33. Blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata).

To be continued. ...

 

[DennisN]

Some bird photos from me too...
Today I revisited one of the cemeteries in the city where there are some various bird species, and I managed to find one redstart (I'll post this later).

But at first I was approached by a hooded crow (corvus corone cornix).
It turned out to be a cool dude (or dudette perhaps?); I had some bird food with me and I fed the crow some, and then the bird started following me around .

The crow carrying some food I gave it.


It followed me for at least 50 meters/yards (165 feet), and it did so by foot.
It was very fun to experience .

The crow sitting by a grave, looking straight at me, probably
waiting for some more of my food.

Another shot of this cool bird.

A shot of another hooded crow in the cemetery.


(Gear: Sony A6500, Sony 55-210mm)

 

[gmax137]

Eastern Shore Maryland
Cell Phone Shot

 

[jtbell]

One more stop from my trip to Atlanta last month. On the way home I visited the Elberton Granite Museum for the first time. I've passed it many times, but it's open only from 2pm to 5pm which means I'm normally too early or too late.

Lots of artifacts inside.

Outside is what they claim is the world's tallest single piece granite spire.

An old granite-cutting machine.

 

[BillTre]

One more stop from my trip to Atlanta last month. On the way home I visited the Elberton Granite Museum for the first time. I've passed it many times, but it's open only from 2pm to 5pm which means I'm normally too early or too late.

View attachment 372107

Lots of artifacts inside.

View attachment 372108

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Outside is what they claim is the world's tallest single piece granite spire.

View attachment 372104

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An old granite-cutting machine.

View attachment 372106

Things you can't take for granite.

 

[jtbell]

In a separate room inside is an important artifact of Elberton's granite history: the first statue carved from Elberton granite, as opposed to cemetery memorials and other monuments. It was intended as a memorial to the town's Confederate soldiers in the Civil War. When it was unveiled in the town square in 1898, the townspeople took an intense dislike to it, feeling that it looked like a Pennsylvania German, and dubbed it "Dutchy." A couple of years later, a mob pulled it down and buried it where it fell. Eventually a more acceptable statue was placed on the monument.

In 1982, Dutchy was exhumed, and he now lays in peace / pieces in the granite museum.

 

[collinsmark]

Nebraska bird pics, round 5. The final round for this trip.

Figure 34. Common grackle (Quiscalus quiscula).

Figure 35. Common grackle jumping/dropping from one branch to another (Quiscalus quiscula). This pic captures their normal black look. You can see how easily they can be confused with blackbirds, crows and the like.

Figure 36. Common grackle (Quiscalus quiscula). Oh, look. Here's a grackle picture that doesn't look too terribly terrifying. 'Don't see that everyday.

Figure 37. Common grackle (Quiscalus quiscula).

Figure 38. Common grackle in flight (Quiscalus quiscula).

Figure 39. American robin in the birdbath (Turdus migratorius).

Figure 40. Blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata).

Figure 41. American robin (Turdus migratorius). Nom, nom nom.

Figure 42. Northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis).

And that wraps it up for the birds, this Nebraska trip. (I still have a few more non-bird related Nebraska photos though.)

 

[sbrothy]

One more stop from my trip to Atlanta last month. On the way home I visited the Elberton Granite Museum for the first time. I've passed it many times, but it's open only from 2pm to 5pm which means I'm normally too early or too late.

View attachment 372107

Lots of artifacts inside.

View attachment 372108

View attachment 372102

View attachment 372103

View attachment 372109

Outside is what they claim is the world's tallest single piece granite spire.

View attachment 372104

View attachment 372105

An old granite-cutting machine.

View attachment 372106

That's some heavy stuff!

 

[Zaciekawiony]

Branicki Palace in Białystok

Photo from smartphone

 

[collinsmark]

Nebraska pics, part 2 (non-bird/critter related).

Figures 11-16 were taken from a moving vehicle, with the technique discussed in part 1 of this series. After that, photos were taken on foot.

Figure 11.

Figure 12. Don't worry, everybody's OK. Those cars are used by the local fire department for training and practice drills.

Figure 13.

Figure 14. Same location as Fig. 13, but a different day. Also some geese or ducks got into the scene on this one.

Figure 15. "Nature and Everything in it." I don't really like this photo that much. It lacks a clear subject and direction. I mean sure, it has some elements of a pleasing photo: trees, a field, a stream, some reflections; but what's the point? It doesn't seem to even have a point. Like, why am I even looking at this. For these reasons I am displeased with "Nature and Everything in it."

Figure 16. "J. L. Braindeis And Sons building, Omaha, Nebraska."

After this, the car was parked. The rest of the pictures are taken on foot in Omaha's "Old Market."

Figure 17.

Figure 18. "Sister walking in Old Market."

Figure 19.

Figure 20.

To be continued. ...

 

[gmax137]

@collinsmark I quite like your Figure 15. Tho I would crop out some of the left hand side. Then the subject is "what's around the bend in the brook?"

 

[collinsmark]

Nebraska pics, part 3 (non-bird/critter related).

These are all from Omaha's Old Market area.

Figure 21. Omaha Passageway in Old Market.

Figure 22. Omaha central park (a.k.a. Gene Leahy Mall).

Figure 23. "Ah, yes. Memories of my teenage years."

Figure 24.

Figure 25.

Figure 26.

Figure 27.

Figure 28. "Cousin Eric looking at people looking at an image of a bird."

Figure 29. "Restroom composition study."

Figure 30.

To be continued. ...

 

[gmax137]

@collinsmark I like your Figure 24.

I traveled to Omaha on business quite a few times over the years (working with the power company there, OPPD). A nice city with very nice people. Lots of good places to eat. Gorat's Steak House was one favorite.