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Posts in category Elyria
New Toy: Neutral Density Filter
As I stumble along, discovering new things to do with my camera, there’s so many different accessories that can be bought that will create different effects on your photos. Colored filters (blue? orange??), filters that will keep out UV rays, polarizers let you acheive vibrant color saturation, reduce or eliminate glare from non-metallic objects, fluorescent light correction filters gives true-to-life color rendition and dramatically increase color saturation.
Then there are neutral density filters. ND filters come in varying degrees of dark. They reduce and/or modify all the wavelengths of light equally, without changing the colors or hues. The purpose is to allow flexibility with aperture, exposure time and/or motion blur. I’ll show you some things you can do with an ND 8 filter.
I was able to stop briefly by Cascade Falls (East) the other day to try this out. (I’ll mention and show in later posts what I’ve been able to do with this filter.)
This shot was the first one I took, dialed the shutter to 1/250, f/4, ISO 500. Didn’t try to set anything up, I just wanted to get a base shot.
This was adjusted to f/8, 1/10 seconds on the shutter, ISO 100. Note the smoothness of the water, still a bit washed out though.
ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/40 second on the shutter. Good color in this, not washed out, quick enough to show detail in the water.
ISO 125, f/22, 1/3 second on shutter. Still good color, good light, smooth flow in the water.
ISO 125, f/22, 1 second. A little bright from the white, but still good color in the green of the leaves.
ISO 100, f/22, 1 second. Basically, the same settings as the previous photo, but this is what you get without the filter. Big difference.
I will end up at Mile Long Pier sooner than later, to see what kind of effect this has on the lake water when shooting the Lighthouse. I’ll get those up, too. Before I left, I thought I’d try shooting the sun, and was pleasantly surprised with what I got.
I loved the ring around the sun in the first shot, and then the “rays” in the second shot. Also note the detail in the clouds with the sun in the same shot. Definitely looking forward to playing with this filter in the future.
Update: So this is about 2 weeks and change later. I was in Elyria, and had the opportunity to play with the fountain.
First shot: Shutter at 1/400 and the ISO at 200
Adjusted: Shutter at 1/8, and the ISO at 100.
1/8 of a second, and ISO 100.
1/5 of a second, and ISO 100.
1/4 of a second, ISO 100.
Cascade HDRs
I was out and about in Elyria the other day, and had to pay a visit to the Falls. The sun was out and things looked good for shooting for HDRs.
Summer’s Last Hurrah: Cascade Flora II
Something about this ivy? and its color and the way it looked on the stone caught my eye, and kept my attention.
Summer’s Last Hurrah: Cascade’s Flora
When I go out to shoot, I’m looking all around me – up, down, around, and close to the ground. Colors, shapes, shadows, I take it all in. I’ll shoot hundreds of pics at a time, and pick what I think are the best, though I’ve found that my opinion is sometimes not that of others. So, as I continue the “Hurrah” series, these were the most eye-catchting, in MY opinion.
Summer’s Last Hurrah: Cascade Falls
The weekend weather was beautiful. As much as we may all hope and pray, I don’t think we’ll see that kind of sun and warmth again this year. I went grocery shopping and as soon as everything was put away, I had to get out of the house. So I spent a few hours driving around, and getting this deep funk I was in out of my system. It just happens every now and again, and the best remedy is to go off by myself and just shoot. So the next few posts will be the ‘last hurrah’ and the places and the things I found.
Cascade
I recently was in Elyria at their Home Depot, and since I was close, I stopped by the East Falls. Hoping to see the “picturesque falls”, I forgot about all the rain we’d got then (the beginning of May). So, when I got out of the truck, I heard the roar and knew there would be no pretty pictures. In fact, the falls were beyond angry, they were pretty pissed.
Having a few tricks up my sleeve, not to mention the tripod under the backseat, I thought I’d try to work some magic.
PhotoPhun Challenge: Free-For-All and “Ice” Results
Sorry for the late post, but it’s been a busy week, even the days that I had off. Catching up, we have the results of the voting for last week’s “Ice” challenge. Lisa, Ree and I posted one photo apiece from the LCMP Winter Days Festival, and asked you to vote on them. After the votes were tallied, the results showed that you really liked the icicle photo, which was mine. Thanks so much! Lisa took the ice harvesting shot with the saw, and Ree shot the ice carver.
Due to my realizing on Wednesday (OOPS!!) that I had yet to select a subject for today’s challenge, I called a “Free-For-All”, whatever tickles your fancy, whatever you may have, whatever you’ve got a chance to shoot. Lisa and Ree already (told you I was late!) have some GREAT shots up. Make sure you check’em out, especially Lisa’s lake shot and Ree’s heat-seeking kitten!
I’d been saving this for a photography lesson, so I ‘spose I’ll use it now. Kristen and I stopped by Cascade Falls on New Year’s Eve, we had just left Loomis Camera in Elyria. I started looking for that “perfect” shot, tweaking the shutter, getting used to using it in sports/action and low-light situations. Before I knew it, I had 13 pictures that were fairly similar (I promise I’ll use the tripod next time), and the only difference was the time the shutter was open. I threw’em all into MovieMaker and published it. As the video plays, you’ll see the difference between a 1/60 second exposure, which is the first one, to a one second exposure, the very last. Each successive shot, the shutter is left open just a little bit longer, and you can see that in the property of the water when it hits the rocks at the base of the falls.
The first photo shows some good detail of the water splashing, and as the video plays on, the “white water” seems to get smoother, less bubbly, and more “streaky”. Somewhere in the middle is what I was looking for, with smooth water. Taken in the summer, with green in the trees and surrounding flora, the photo will really jump. As the last few pics fade in and out, the rest of the scene starts to get too bright, and that’s not what you’re looking for. Too washed out.
I know it’s not much, but your exposure time can make that much of a difference. Play with it, learn what’s good in certain situations and remember it. It’ll save you from missing “that” shot that you really wanted, but missed because it was too dark or too blurred. When a bunch of us did Circlefest back in December, I shot a few as soon as we got there, to see how the light was. 1/25 of a second was perfect for inside the musuems, 1/125 to 1/200 was good for outside.
So, practice using that shutter and improve your skills and photos. Take that camera off of Program mode and go out and make some mistakes and learn from them!!
