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1 week! this is tight! particulary as I have just missed 2 good sunsets as I was busy with the kids. As I live in the UK it is likely to wet/ snowing/ rain/ hail/ total eclipse of the sun when I next get a chance to shoot this one! Besides I work late most days..............Friday or Sunday next week has to have a good sunset or I am scuppered on time scale.
I suspect that this is a useful exercise to shoot come what may even if the timescale is not do-able
Posted 27 months ago.
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This is a really a challenge.
1 week, 1 model, 1 sunset!!!
Let's see how I jump through this hoop!!!
Good luck to me!
:)
Posted 27 months ago.
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Mother's Day? Isn't that in May? Or am I about to get in deep s**t with my mom?
Posted 27 months ago.
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I hope you all have a f/2.8 lens or better for this assignment. It sounds like you will need it! If not, I am guessing that you can apply the same steps but starting at a higher aperture than f/5.6, maybe bumping the ISO to compensate.
Posted 27 months ago.
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@organic
March in UK, May in N America
Posted 27 months ago.
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@jovo - and there was me thinking it was just an 8h time difference, explains some of my support experiances anyway :)
Posted 27 months ago.
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twilight, with sunset too. here in the Pacific NW, sunshine in March as about as reliable as a politicians promises
Posted 27 months ago.
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I've already experienced my full allotment of three sunny days for the month - Germany in the winter can be a BEAST!
Between that and a trip to Bavaria this weekend, I'll probably end up posting late.
Posted 27 months ago.
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I've just checked UK sunset times for the next week - on average the sun will be down 10 minutes before I get home (and thats before feeding kids, reading stories, etc....)
I'm just going to have to hope for good weather on saturday.
Posted 27 months ago.
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I also live in UK so am already thinking that I may have to shoot it even if it is cloudy/raining/hail/snow - the fact that we each may not have a picturesque sunset is not the point of the exercixe (at least I hope not ??), it is the act of balancing the ambient light and doing the changes to speed/app/ISO to compensate for the rapidly deteriorating light at sunset time and seeing exactly how we can manipulate the light/flash. (that doesnt help those who work late and will therefore only have the weekend to attempt it I know)
Having seen some of the previous entries of this exercise www.flickr.com/search/?q=strobist+lighting102+balance+twi... I will certainly be using this method over the coming months once mastered.
Good luck everyone.
Originally posted 27 months ago.
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SteveGillPhotos edited this topic 27 months ago.
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jovo37: Whew. I was getting scared there. Hell hath no fury like the wrath of a mother scorned.
Posted 27 months ago.
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glad I could be of help, I wouldn't want to see you grounded at your age lol
Posted 27 months ago.
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cant believe I sat at work looking out of window and there was a marvelous sunset..............but I was at work
Posted 27 months ago.
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I looked out the window at sunset and saw..... more rain and clouds. Jeez. From the sounds of it we will see many dark moody photos coming in - and some photogs missing the exercise until the darkness lifts.
Posted 27 months ago.
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I've been scouting around the sunset time in my part of the planet, and I've been having good sun during noon, but after 15:00 there always seems to be a cloud overcast that just makes the ambient drop about 2 stops than normal (to be honest, the 2 stop thing is just a shot in the "dark", I've no idea how much it really drops, it just feels like 2 stops).
I'll have to be on the lookout for the weather forecast and hope serendipity happens!!
Good luck everyone
Posted 27 months ago.
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I'll be late for this one too: I generally finish work at 10pm, work Saturdays and have no time on Sundays. I can probably do this on Monday if the weather is good.
Funny thing is I actually did this exact exercise two months ago - in a really picturesque place with a beautiful sunset. Unfortunately, I did something really stupid and deleted all the photos.
Maybe I'll try skiping ahead to next week's assignment for now and come back to this one around the weekend.
Originally posted 27 months ago.
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Duncan K Moore edited this topic 27 months ago.
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Looking at the 2009 photos, I call NO FAIR! They were shot in May and June, glorious months (in the northern hemisphere) for lush greenery, warm water and scantily clad models. My temps at twilight for the next week will be low 40s (F). At least the winds will be calm for the next couple of days--probably won't knock over an umbrella. I'll see if I can coax my daughter ("Hey Honey! Need another Facebook profile pic yet?") onto a nearby playground that has decent western exposure. She'll be wearing layers.
Posted 27 months ago.
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yannisman said "I've no idea how much it really drops, it just feels like 2 stops"
Don't knock yourself too hard. You've probably got a better handle on what a "stop" feels like than you give yourself credit. I used to be intimidated by all the f-stops and shutter speed and flash powers. Now I find I'm generally within a "tick" of correct most of the time (by "tick" I mean changing one of those three parameters one notch on my camera/flash). And besides, no one is going to know if you are blowing smoke if you were to say "The model was f/2.8 but the background was totally blown at f/22." :)
Originally posted 27 months ago.
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rick020200 edited this topic 27 months ago.
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LOL
I was reading your reply while smoking!!! I nearly chocked from the giggle!
Touche!!
Posted 27 months ago.
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I started scouting some sites close to home to shoot this one. Not too easy where I live to find a nice low horizon. The closest I found so far was to go with the urban look and set up on top of a 4 level parking garage!
Posted 27 months ago.
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Oh yeah, I did a few test shots last night. I am new to shooting with the umbrella and brought it with me. Quickly realized that I needed to weight the light stand, even in a mild wind. Don't forget or you will be sorry!
Posted 27 months ago.
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I love this particular exercise. It's really good practice for learning the camera and flashes. You have to change the aperture/shutter/flash power constantly as the light fades. Lots of fun.
Note that DH always talks about sunset because it's difficult to set up shots for sunrise and because most subjects don't want to meet that early. But, if you're shooting at your own house, sunrise would work just as well as sunset. You're just going the other way: starting with a wide aperture and low flash power and then stopping things down as it gets brighter.
Having done this particular exercise at least once before, I'll say that the sky was best about 10 - 20 minutes after the sun actually set.
Here's one I did last fall:
I'll see whether I can come up with something at least as good this week.
Originally posted 27 months ago.
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primeparry edited this topic 27 months ago.
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@prime - nice shot, its kinda spooky (in another setting I'd probably think it photoshopped because of the lack of anything else being illuminated to link the subject into the background)
Posted 27 months ago.
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I've submitted two compositions. The first one:

I like the colors in this one, but I wanted a bit more separation between her hair and the background. So while she ran back home to get a sweater, I set up a second light. Resulting in the second:

I like the added dimension and separation contributed by the second light, but the color of the sky isn't quite as good. I need to play with the balance of aperture and flash power. Alas, she had more waffles and bacon waiting for her at home (Breakfast For Dinner(TM) night!) and her patience was wearing out.
My son provided me some more opportunities to experiment.

The light really wraps him nicely, but leaves a really bizarre shadow on his cheek. Though he was willing to have me shoot more, he wanted to try crazier stuff, but quickly realized that hanging upside down while I adjusted the light stands was getting tiring.
So for me, it is a toss up between the pictures of my daughter. I'm interested in the group members' feedback. I've not tagged either with "Final" yet.
Posted 27 months ago.
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@tkw100 - Agreed. Maybe not spooky, but definitely sinister or intimidating.
Really, I was just working on the sunset thing as a technical exercise with some other photographers. I didn't have my second stand, so the kicker on camera left was on the ground and created the spooky uplighting effect.
That's an interesting comment about the background. I guess I'll need to think more about placing the subject in the environment instead of just a portrait in front of a background (in this case, the sky).
Posted 27 months ago.
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@rick020200 - Well, I grabbed the first one and threw it into Photoshop. It looks like the subject herself is underexposed by almost a full stop. I suspect the second is underexposed by almost as much.
I really like the colors in that one, but if you have a chance to reshoot, definitely keep an eye on that histogram and try to get more light on your subject (more flash power, wider aperture, or higher ISO). When you zoom in with a Nikon, doesn't it show you the histogram of just the zoomed in portion? That would be useful for checking the subject exposure.
Of course, at twilight, as soon as you get the right exposure, it changes. Thus, the fun of this exercise. It keeps you on your toes. :-)
Posted 27 months ago.
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@primeparry: I don't have photoshop (I use GIMP) and I've only had vague familiarity with the histogram. In camera, I've only used it to be sure I haven't clipped highlights or seriously underexposed a whole scene. In this scenario, I just assume that since much of the scene is intentionally dark that the histogram will lean heavily on the left.
Intrigued by your comment about histogram and zoom, I checked--on my D60 the Histogram can only be viewed for the whole pic. Once zoomed in, you cannot view the histogram (the same button moves the zoom location around, unfortunately).
So I checked in GIMP's histogram, and it adapts to the area I've selected. When I tightly focus my selection on her face in both photos, GIMP histo shows a significant bump in the middle stop. Isn't that where I'd want it?
No, not relying so much on the technical aspects, I agree that she looks a bit dark, but I was trying to "balance" the light and not make it quite so obvious that _POP_ there was flash.
Thanks for your comments and feed back, and any additional clarification you can give. Getting that lighting just right is challenging, especially in the dark when my human aperture is wide open--the LCD looks brighter and makes me think shots are overexposed.
Posted 27 months ago.
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This is one I took about a month back, not towards the west (east actually)
My potential models don't sound so keen on the next exercise, and I am not so keen on a selfie. :-)
Originally posted 27 months ago.
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Sean Kelly Aus edited this topic 27 months ago.
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@rick020200 - I understand about not wanting the flash to call attention to itself. The image I posted above is a good example of what not to do there. But I think that you still want the exposure on the subject to look well-exposed. Compare your photos to some of the ones on the strobist blog: strobist.blogspot.com/search?q=sunset or strobist.blogspot.com/2006/06/free-custom-backdrops-deliv....
In those photos, DH has a well-lit subject against the sunset. The subject isn't dark just because its dark outside. When he wants to avoid calling attention to the light, he appears to vary the quality (modifiers) and/or color of the light so that the light from the flash mimics the ambient light in some way.
Bummer about the in camera histogram. It must have been a different Nikon model where a friend showed me that feature. In that case, I would normally zoom in or walk closer to the subject or just stick my hand in the position where the subject is going to be like this example shows strobist.blogspot.com/2006/07/on-assignment-pool-portrait.... Then I an check the histogram that's dominated by the light coming from the skin tones.
I still use GIMP, too, and the Photoshop and GIMP tools for this are similar. In photoshop, if I make a selection, the histogram shows me the histogram for just the selection. Grab one of the photos from strobist.com to compare with yours. First look at the whole image histogram. You should see that your image is lumped way to the left. That means that your image is mostly dark, which is fine, but also notice how your histogram practically dies off about halfway across. Compare that to something like this image from DH:

You'll see that there's a lot of black in that image, too, but that the histogram shows plenty of pixels at the lighter values.
The more important thing (and harder to see when you're at the shoot) is what the histogram looks like just for your subject's face, for example. In Photoshop, I can see that just by making a rough elliptical selection that basically covers the face and some of the hair. What you should see is that DH's photo has a histogram that's spread pretty evenly across the histogram. It's peak is at the center in this case, and it's weighted toward the darks, but the pixels are spread across the whole range. In your image, the histogram is lumped only on the left half. There's a peak in the middle of the range, but there's nothing on the right half.
What makes me say that it looks underexposed is just that it looks dark, like the photographer accidentally used the wrong settings. If there were some artistic purpose for keeping the subject that dark, then that might just be a choice. But then I would expect a more moody and brooding image. Here, it just looks like a portrait, so I would expect more light on the subject. It just looks like the aperture should have been set to f/11 and the shutter changed to 1/250 to compensate (or something like that).
And the reason that I bother to say this is that I also started with flash by underexposing practically everything by almost a full stop. It would look very bright on the LCD, but when I brought the image into Photoshop or the GIMP, I found that I could bump up the light levels a lot before the image looked like the photos I was used to seeing from professional photographers. I started grabbing a couple of sample images online and doing this kind of comparison until I started to understand how histogram corresponded to what I was seeing in the image.
Posted 27 months ago.
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FYI, I also grabbed a copy of one of your images, adjusted the light levels in Photoshop, and added it to the group so that you could see what I was talking about. That's more how I expected the photo to look. Note that I plan to remove the image from my stream this weekend since it's really your image, so grab a copy if you want to look at it after that.
(edited for clarity)
Originally posted 27 months ago.
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primeparry edited this topic 27 months ago.
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@primeparry: Thank you for the detailed response, along with links to examples--all very helpful. As I was going to sleep last night, I came up with two of your suggestions: fill the frame with her face to check exposure on the histo (then back up for composition), and gels. I'm guessing a double CTO would have done well here.
You are correct that she isn't dark because of some artistic statement--she's underexposed due to my inexperience.
As intended, this has been a great learning experience. I'll try to get the kids (or maybe even my wife!) out again some evening soon.
Posted 27 months ago.
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& thanks for a fascinating conversation.
It made me wonder about the histogram and I'll be trying out 's exercises
Thanks
Posted 27 months ago.
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First attempt. Wow this exercise is certainly interesting, pity it is not summer and there might be better twilight ops than there is at the moment.

Sky was rapidly disappearing behind clouds so I took the decision to get some shots whilst some light left. Also my wife was getting pretty cold and just as rapidly losing all enjoyment of the wonderful opportunity that had been presented to her to sit on top of a cold windy hill on slighltly damp grass whilst I nipped back and forth setting the self-timer. Oh what joy!
Examining the shot, I might have been better putting a gel on the flash camera right to warm up the skin tones a little. Will try a different location next with a little more sky showing and perhaps a slower shutter speed.
Originally posted 27 months ago.
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SteveGillPhotos edited this topic 27 months ago.
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@SteveGphotos nice one!
Posted 27 months ago.
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I was just delighted to grab the camera bag and nip down and shoot the picture with my daughter after she got home from school. March in the UK.........and she puts on a light summer dress because she likes it!
Thus we have not only falling light .........we have falling temperatures (and some whinging!..mainly from my son holding the light stand to stop the wind blowing it away. Great fun trying to keep up with the light changing as it dropped....Even managed to try a few flash blur shots with a high fstop............well worth a go when it gets darker.........95% of the pictures using flash blur are utter rubbish, but I got a couple of ok (ish) ones. I was suprised at how simple this was to do, but equally I could have taken better pics. They looked ok as I chimped, but I am not mad on them. Most importantly I found it was something I could do and have confidence in, and will use a lot in future picture taking. I am sure I will get better at it next time and in future goes.
Posted 27 months ago.
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really enjoyed this excercise,
FINAL
Originally posted 27 months ago.
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stuart.gray edited this topic 27 months ago.
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Had a decent sunset today (after weeks and weeks of rain, fog and no sun) so had to go out and take advantage of it! Not sure this will be my final submission but here is my first attempt:

Edited to include attempt #2:

Unfortunately, it looks like this will be my last effort at this as we are having clouds and snow (!!) move in for the weekend. Blah.
Originally posted 27 months ago.
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Lola Takes Pictures {Lily} edited this topic 27 months ago.
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Based on the feedback from my previous efforts, I convinced my subject to help me again.
Posted 27 months ago.
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way better rick, and its interesting to see the differences that shutter speed makes
Posted 27 months ago.
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I had a load of fun with this one. Took some inspiration from DH's Trip Jennings shoot, and adapted it for one of my mountain biking buddies.
Originally posted 27 months ago.
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Christopher Bersbach edited this topic 27 months ago.
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guys - you have some great shots
I decided to work from home today (the one day this week I could justify it), every other day has been either clear of with nice cloud effect.... so today....
...naturally its overcast flat clouds with horrible tone. Sunset is due in 25 minutes and I've just taken a series of shots out of my window with different appature/shutter speeds to see if I could get *any* texture from these clouds and I might as well be shooting grey card...
*sigh*
I'll have to hope tommorow is better.
alternatively sunrise is due 6:04am tommorow, perhaps I could get up at 5:30 and be ready for it.... then I could be back in the house cold and tired just in time to get mugged by the kids for breakfast.
hmmmm.... maybe not.
Originally posted 27 months ago.
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tkw100 edited this topic 27 months ago.
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"mugged by the kids for breakfast."
LOL. I remember those days, and I'm glad mine are old enough to fend for themselves.
Posted 27 months ago.
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OK, here's the last one I'm trying.

Thanks to everyone for their input on the other shots I've submitted.
Posted 27 months ago.
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Some great shots have been submitted this week, its been a pleasure looking at them.
Hope I get the chance to submit another one before the end of the exercise but the weather in Manchester is lousy at the mo, hope tomorrow is better!
Posted 27 months ago.
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Ditto down in the south west.
I've been itching to get out for the last 2 days and shoot, but it's been raining during sunset. Aargh!
Posted 27 months ago.
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well I didn't get up for 5:30am this morning and felt rather glad about it as its still very cloudy here in Yorkshire
weather forcast for me is clear skys from around 10pm tonight and all of tommorow so its possible I'll take some in the morning as my wife is threatening to kick me out of bed for sunrise as I mentioned it and she thinks it would be funny... failing that I'll take some in the evening.
Posted 27 months ago.
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Well, if she's going to kick you out of bed - then you better drag her out to be your subject .....
Should be sunny down here for tomorrow sunset - nothing like leaving it to the last minute!
Posted 27 months ago.
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Give me a call when you get up then as tomorrow is the last day for me too, hope the weather holds up in Manchester then. If its dull in hte morning pls dont ring....... lol :)
Originally posted 27 months ago.
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SteveGillPhotos edited this topic 27 months ago.
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@starabo - I like the thinking... but in her own words
"feck off I want the bed to myself"
thats love for you :)
Posted 27 months ago.
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so anyone else get a loving alarm call?
I'll find a better shot later for the pool but this was just to prove I made it out.
Posted 27 months ago.
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I've had no time (during sunset or sunrise) to shoot this week, so I'm submitting two photos I took earlier this year (and in December).
I promise to come back and comment on everyones photos later today (I hope I'll get off work earlier today).
So here they are:

I'll appreciate any comments to help me when I try again next week.
Hope I make it in time for next exercise
Thank you everyone
Posted 27 months ago.
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I didn't get out there this morning, so I guess I'm hoping for a good sunset this evening. :-)
Posted 27 months ago.
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Had to wake myself up this morning. Still when the alarm went off at 05:50 I got my gear together, looked outside and saw.... not much more than fog. Anyway I had already found a spot with a clear view of the sky not too far from home, and had the sunrise been spectacular you would have seen it. So this spot will have to do again, hopefully I can try tonight although family commitments are already making that possibility pretty slim.
Originally posted 27 months ago.
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SteveGillPhotos edited this topic 27 months ago.
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Steve G - Using my imagination to add the sunrise. Nice job!!!! The lighting on you is very good.
Originally posted 27 months ago.
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lucyb0625 edited this topic 27 months ago.
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[http://www.flickr.com/photos/15478831@N06/4451172780/]
There's no sunshine, there's not much sky, but it was "educational"
Note to self, get a model, find a good location, do it when the weather is suitable
Click through for more info
Originally posted 27 months ago.
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HarryJayphotos edited this topic 27 months ago.
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I'm afraid I have to cry off but in the best traditions of Blue Peter. Here's one I did earlier:

Promise I'll come back and comment on your subs later this week.
Originally posted 27 months ago.
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Jay PH edited this topic 27 months ago.
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In by the skin of my teeth.
The sky was clear.... all day until sunset, when a bank of cloud came in from the west. Determined, I decided to point east (!?) so at least I had some colour in the sky!
Blimey - you have to work quickly on this one. I had a fair few ideas that I wanted to try out, but just didn't have the time - before you know it there's not enough light to focus any more.
I enjoyed it though - definitely one to try again in optimum conditions.
Posted 27 months ago.
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Well, I guess I should have gotten out at sunset today. By mid-afternoon, the sky was solid clouds. I'm going to postpone shooting this one until later this week. Hopefully I can do both the twilight and cross lighting exercises in one week.
Work is kind of crazy, so I apologize in advance for a reduction in my level of C&C.
Posted 27 months ago.
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I second that.
Really sorry guys.
I'm crossing fingers I'll get a day off soon....
Posted 27 months ago.
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guys don't sweat it - you both produce great shots and its not exactly as if we are ultra strict with the rules on timescales here.
Posted 27 months ago.
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@prime & yannis: Unbelievable, you're just not committed to this group are you?!? Get your priorities straight!
Only joking - dont worry fellas - this is supposed to be fun after all. If it becomes a chore then there's not much point to it really! I'm just looking forward to seeing your entries, no matter when they're submitted.
Posted 27 months ago.
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Hi All, apologies from me as well on submission of (last week's) exercise and C&C. Booked in for early morning towards the east for the shot and will comment ASAP.
Posted 27 months ago.
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Finally submitted mine... Better late then never, right? :-)
Better get cracking on this week's, though we have a larger time window for the correct lighting conditions.
Posted 27 months ago.
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The clouds broke this evening for just long enough for us to get our dogs out to a park at sunset. I didn't really have an unobstructed view of the western sky, but I think that I got something interesting out of the clouds. The exposure that the camera would have chosen by default made the sky look boring and washed out.
I don't want to fall behind, so this is probably my last attempt at this exercise for a while.
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/primeparry/4455716861/]
Originally posted 27 months ago.
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primeparry edited this topic 27 months ago.
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primeparry: your photo is listed as private :-(
Posted 27 months ago.
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@organic.matter: sorry. Now that it's in the pool, you should be able to see it. (If you add a private photo to a group's pool on Flickr, everyone in that group can see/comment on the photo.)
Posted 27 months ago.
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Better late than never:
Posted 27 months ago.
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Decided to try and improve my pic in post. Only recently learnt what that meant :-)
Posted 26 months ago.
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Sean - +1. Good crop and better lighting of your model.
Posted 26 months ago.
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OK, today I got to make use of this technique IRL (In real life).

My son's street hockey team's formal portrait (not done by me) included less than half the kids and none of the coaches. So after the end-of-season potluck, I gathered them for another portrait. We were in middle-class suburbia with middle-class homes, churches and parking lots at every turn. Fortunately I had a setting sun and some bright red shirts to pop against the blue sky.
The kids were really hopped up on sugary drinks and desserts, so I really had about 3.0 minutes before complete pandemonium would break loose. I very loosely posed them, handed my flashes to parent volunteers and made a few shots.
Weeks ago, I think I'd have been ecstatic with this shot. Today, I'm pleased, but know it could have been better. For example, the right hand flash was pointed a little too directly at the group (front row girl on right is a bit nuked) and should have been feathered more toward the left. With more time, I would have liked to have gotten the sky a bit more dramatic with a faster shutter. Or maybe lowered the ISO, closer flashes, faster shutter.
Alas, it was fun to practice using my knowledge under pressure. Thanks for looking.
Originally posted 26 months ago.
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rick020200 edited this topic 26 months ago.
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well done rick. doing this under "the gun" must have been both exhilarating and frightening at the same time. I am sure that it's WAAAAY better than the formal portrait
Posted 26 months ago.
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My re-shot week 9 homework:

Good job doing this in real life, Rick!
Posted 26 months ago.
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