Spring

2 Photos from last spring.

Weed

Nikon D-70s
Nikon 18-200mm VR II

Yellow Sun

Nikon D-70s
Nikon 18-200mm VR II

And The Winner Is...

The striking winner of the last post was...
A mix between the B&W and the color photos.
Many people (ok... it was about 4 people, but who's counting?!?!) suggested that I will try to combine the 2 photos.
So, here is the result...

Comments are more than welcome. :)

Beyond Clear Sight

Nikon D-70s
Nikon 105mm f/2.8 VR
Kenko extension tubes

Beyond Clear Sight

It took me a long time to choose the right way to present this photo. I changed my mind over and over again - Should I do it in B&W or keep it with Colors?
I couldn't decide.

So here are the options. It would be great if you could use the poll on the right to help me decide which one is the prettiest.

The photo was taken in Turkey. This is my girlfriend's beautiful eye, gazing at the Rabbits Island in Turkey.

The reflection is real and was not made by Photoshop...

Beyond Clear Sight

Nikon D-70s
Nikon 105mm f/2.8 VR
Kenko extension tubes

Beyond Clear Sight

Nikon D-70s
Nikon 105mm f/2.8 VR
Kenko extension tubes

It's A Matter Of Perspective

When shooting a photo, one of the things that one should remember, is that our world has 3 dimensions, while photos has only 2.
Our world actually has many more dimensions - the last I heard is that 11 dimensions sounds like a sensible theorem (or 26 in the bosonic string theory), but I'm trying to make a point...

So, if we lose so much information when taking a picture, what can we do to overcome this?
We can use the light and shadow to create depth and maybe create very interesting shots, but this is not always enough. People with camera usually forget they have feet and a moving body. They use their camera's zoom and take a picture of exactly what they see, not thinking for a sec how the photo will look like.
Well, one of the most important things in photography (as I see it) is perspective. This code name holds a lot of tips and best practices like shooting at object's eye level and getting closer to the subject instead of zooming-in. As you can see below although applying to the "diagonals" rule and the "thirds"/"Not in the middle" rule, the photo with the better perspective looks better and it also creates a depth of field, instead of a flat photo.

When you take a picture of something, try to think what is the best way to pass the situation/subject to someone who wasn't there when you took the picture.

Bad Perspective


Perspective

Grandpa Flower

Grandpa Flower

Nikon D-70s
Nikon 105mm VR f/2.8
Nikon SB-800

A Hungry Fly

Do you know those sunny humid days, when you just want to sit back and relax. Try to take short breathes so you wouldn't warm your body too much. Drinking cold beer (ok... diet coke with ice and lemon...), just to try to get cooler. Sweat starts to trickle from the side of your forehead. You think to yourself "why the hell did I leave the good air-condition just to meet some friends?!?!"
And then, just as you thought it couldn't get any worse... a fly... on the leg... it tickles...
You try to make him go away with your hand, but he keeps coming back. Then, he finds something better - your face and eyes. It makes you crazy. You wave like an old lady who doesn't know how to swim. You're getting crazy. Your blood pressure goes up. All the "short breathing" stuff and cold drinks won't help now. You just get warmer as you wave fearlessly, thinking you will soon win this maniac who fell in love in your face...

Well this time we switched sides. I didn't stop from running after this fly who seems to be very fond of flower's stamens. It was me who couldn't leave his ugly face before taking the wanted shot...

Hungry Fly


Nikon D-70s
Sigma 150mm f/2.8
Nikon SB-800

Now, let's take a closer look...
Look at the million-monitors eyes...
The Cockpit

And irrelevant photo:
Eaten Lupine Leaf

Nikon D-70s
Sigma 150mm f/2.8
Nikon SB-800

Slim Photo(s)

Recently I've discovered the "slim photos" cropping. It's an old fashion of making pictures in a non standard ratio (e.g. not 2:3 or 3:2 hight:width).
I don't advise to crop in any ratio as I believe there are 3 eligible types of cropping:

1. 2:3 - The standard.
2. 1:1 (Square) - I didn't fully uncovered this type of cropping - when should it be used and what are the composition "rules" for it. So as for now I don't use it much.
3. 3:1 - When you have a picture which the main subject is almost in the middle and nothing is interesting enough in the sides, you should consider to crop your picture some other way.

(I hate the 3:4 of most P&S cameras. It looks like a TV/computer screenshot)

Note that most of the composition rules (which I intend to start yapping about them in this blog) are still valid in this kind of cropping (like the rule of thirds).

Drop Of Water

Nikon D-70s
Sigma 150mm f/2.8
Nikon SB-800