Month: December 2014

How I did it : The Pup Story

Hi all,

A few days back, I had put up a request on the community pool for some feedback on my photos and posts. I want to thank you all who fed me back with the valuable comments and appreciations, Thank you! One of the suggestions I decided to follow immediately, from Teresa of ScienceAlcove  was, being a bit more descriptive of my photos.
Check out her amazing site here:   http://sciencealcove.com/
I started this blog with the intention that whoever would read through, they ll be able to take something from every photo, in terms of inspiration, technique or maybe plain insight. But, with the previous couple of posts, I realize, I have shifted to the showing off side, and I am sorry about that.
So, in this post, I ll tell about the settings that I used for shooting the cute pups that you all loved. Revisit them here
http://wp.me/p4EGyN-5A

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Zoomed in to single out

First, the lens. I used a Nikon 55-200 mm F/4-5.6G VR lens.
Why I used this, instead of my 50 mm prime lens, or the 18-55mm kit lens? The reason is, this lens is super versatile. It ranges from the effective range of 77.5 mm to 300 mm , incorporating the 1.5x crop factor for my camera, this range was good enough for me to capture the pups roaming about happily. The longer end allowed me to zoom in pretty much too and hence single out any pup if needed.

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Zoomed out completely to get more of them

Also, this lens is an auto focus one, so, tracking the little energy balls was pretty easy. My prime is a D version, i.e it doesn’t auto focus on my body, but the G versions do. This one is a G. Auto focusing is, still for me at least, faster and safer while shooting a constantly darting target.

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Froze this hero on his tracks!

Camera settings…the ISO was 100 and shutter speed varied mostly withing 1/200s to 1/800s, but that was totally dependent on how fast my dear subjects were darting across the scene. And the F stop was set to minimum, so based on my zooming in or out, it too varied from 4 to 5.6. I shot these in Manual mode, but if you want minimum hassles, shoot in the Shutter Priority mode, with a fast enough shutter to freeze their motion, and let the camera handle the rest.  But, then…sometimes, subject movement and panning, both mix up unpredictably, and you get something like this.

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He moved, I panned!

I hope you, my dear readers, would like this insight post and please be kind enough to let me know if you have any questions and suggestions, I ll be very happy and eager to answer them.

Till the next post…
Cheers!!

 

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Multi face smoke demon

Smokes II (Psychedelic)

Heyy all,

Part 2 of the smoke photos, these here are the psychedelic ones. Wont talk much, lets just enjoy the mood 🙂

Check the cheap lighting processes here :
https://senkaustav.wordpress.com/iinnovate/

Smoke Mask 2

Psychedelic 5

Smoke Mask

Smoke Pattern 1

Smoke Demon 2

 

Psychedelic 4

Smoke Face

Psychedelic 2

Smoke heart

psychedelic 1

Hope I got you trippin!

Cheers!!

 

by Categories: Photo EffecctsTags: , , , , , , , 2 Comments
Smoke Spirals

Smokes I

Hi there!!
Often we come across varied photos of smoke and are simply awestruck at their beauty and randomness. They have weird shapes, but are very fluidic in nature and have a sense of tranquility in them. And sometimes, some appear to be simply supernatural. Here are some of my spoils.
In this post am putting up the solo smoke photos. These have been achieved from incense sticks, mainly!
The black background and a light to the smoke makes the whole thing stand out better.
Check the cheap way on the DIY page here:
https://senkaustav.wordpress.com/iinnovate

Experiment is the key, and go on and shoot!

Blue Smoke

Blue smoke

Smoke fall

 

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Pink Smoke

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I know, some of you, my dear readers, might be pondering, as to what and why is there so much of noise and why has something not been done about them. The thing is, the noise creeps in when you try balancing a moderate ISO, around 800 and 1600 here along with the absence of the traditional way to light the smoke up. Check out the link in the beginning of the page to find out the simpler and cheaper way to the lighting. The noise is the trade off.
Let me know about your views!

Cheers!

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Winter Delights!

Hi there..

For someone who stays in a mostly tropical country, winter is a fun season! I personally enjoy the chilly weather, the breath coming out as smoke, the smokes lingering near you, hot tea, dried leaves, color riot all around…and puppies!! I find winter to be kinda romantic too!! :p

Check the pics, lemme know if you liked them!

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Cheers!!

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The Pup Story

Hi there!

I ll begin with stating a more than less true statement…”we all love young ones”. Some like young human babies, some like young kittens, baby goats and cows are very cute too..and some, like me, puppies!
They come in various shapes, sizes, colour and temperament too, but one thing that they all are, very very cute.
In India, stray dogs are mostly considered as menace and moms can be heard sternly repeating and reiterating a million times to their kids, not to play with them. Not because they hate dogs or such, but more so because the puppies may not be very healthy and the risk of being bitten by the mother dog, is always there. But that doesnt put the kids off. And as for me, I have already been bitten once, have taken an anti-rabies course too, so… I dont have much issues at all, and mom also knows, no point telling me not to play with em :p

So, here are a few I found playing nearby. Maybe I ll get some more tomorrow too.

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I love rusk!

 

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Puppy face…redefined!

 

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No one goes past me!!

 

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The awesomeness…3 times!!

 

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The pack!

 

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Curious!

 

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On the lookout

 

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Looks timid!

 

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On the watch!

 

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Going Veg!

 

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Play Fights!

 

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Everything deserves a bite!

 

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Ah..interesting!

 

Despite the fact that these pups are absolute balls of happiness and fur, maybe only a lucky one or two will survive due to the diseases they contract or lack of food. Feeding the puppies is frowned upon by a lot of people for reasons best known to them. I feed them as and when I find them nearby, cz by me, these pups are still very innocent, and they wont go bite or do you any harm unless you do anything untoward to them. I hope, someday, these stray pups get some place where they can grow and be healthy.

Cheers!!

by Categories: PhotographyTags: , , , , , 9 Comments

Lazy Afternoon

Hi there..
Having a lazy afternoon with nothing much to do? Not keen on going out for any activities too? Head out to your balcony or the garden. Have a look at the different flowers and small shrubs you may have around, find an interesting angle, and …. sprinkle some water on them. Voila!! You ll have yourself some photoworthy conditions. Fire away!

These are my noon spoils.

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Cheers!!

 

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Be-aware!

Hi there all,
My today’s post, is more of an advice to my dear readers. It is not of photography but very closely related to it. I am talking about the .RAW/.NEF files from the photos taken. Now, if you are one of those who take a photo either in .JPG or delete the raw file the moment they are done with converting to .JPG, then you are at a safer side. But for people like me, ones who keep the raw files for at least a year before deleting them, we face issues of space and repetitions. Often we go by the “spray and pray” method and thus have multiple repeats and more often than not, we choose to put off deleting the repeats to a later date, and this, clutters up the hard disks. It always pays in the long run to keep the raw files organized.
Also, be careful as to where you are keeping your valuable raw files. Do not keep data in hard disks which have shown signs of fault in the past. I learnt it in a very hard way today. I lost raw files worth some 20gb, about 40gb of movies and close to a 1500 photos, old ones, which I wont ever get back. Often, before dying, the hard disk will give you one last chance to take the data out before it croaks up all together, watch out for these signs and act before irreparable damage is done.
So, I realized that I ll need to reduce the number of extra photos I take, they ll keep things sorted, and will use less space up too, and hence, are easier and faster to transfer away, when needed.
I hope that this kind of disaster doesnt befall the unaware ones…better safe than sorry.

Cheers!!

by Categories: TechnicalTags: , , , , 2 Comments

10. Filters – ND

Hey there all, its been quite sometime for me since I posted in something new, so here goes!

A filter, in definition is something, some device or contraption, which will restrict or modify transmission. In terms of a camera, optical filters, are used to selectively transmit light depending on the need. There are various types of
filters in use, special effects, close up, Neutral Density(ND), gradient, etc.
I ll talk about some of them here.
The most commonly used one is a UV filter. Expected to cut down the incident UV rays, but at times, is responsible for unwanted reflections and lens flares. I use it mainly as a lens cap.
The special effects ones, provide a variety of different effects to the photos. They can shapes, words, starbursts etc
that are the results of the special effects one. Few examples

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and a DIY here…http://wp.me/P4EGyN-1l

The close up filters are basically magnifying glass. Check the post here…http://wp.me/p4EGyN-2y

The other type, the ND filter is a particularly useful too if and when used during the day time where you want to both depict or soothe out motion. I know it sounded confusing, how do i depict motion and also soothe it out. Well, we dont do both in a single photo. Suppose you take a photo of a fountain and there are people moving in front of it. Use the filter, decrease the shutter speed and there you have it, the moving people are hardly visible. On the flipside, as the people are soothed out, the water too, will become smooth and flowy. You wont get the sharp droplets anymore, it ll become more of a dreamy smooth and flowy substance.

So, what the ND filter basically does is, it cuts out the incoming light without changing the color balance of the scene, a sunglass to your lens.
Gradient filter is a type of ND filter where half of the glass is darkened, this is commonly used while shooting
landscapes to darken out the sky, helps in proper exposure of the complete scene. Another costlier filter variation of the ND filter is the circular polariser filter. Here the strength can be varied by rotating the polarised glass discs.

In the following photos, observe the difference in shutter speed before and after using the filter.

  IMG_20141110_113600   IMG_20141110_113734

 

These photos should explain how the end result is. In the first one, the outline of the car is visible.

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In the second set, water ripples are visibly reduced  in the second shot.

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I hope you, my dear reader will take amazing shots using this type of filter. Do share.

The ND filters are not cheap things to come by…but you can always make one for yourself! How?? Check it out on the DIY page, Innovation Corner (https://senkaustav.wordpress.com/iinnovate/)
Cheers!!

 

by Categories: TechnicalTags: , , , , , , 2 Comments