yOOrek's Rants'n Raves » Techniques http://blog.yoorek.com The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make heaven of Hell, and a hell of Heaven. Mon, 06 Sep 2010 22:16:37 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 First Outing of the Spring 2010 http://blog.yoorek.com/2010/05/16/first-outing-of-the-spring-2010/ http://blog.yoorek.com/2010/05/16/first-outing-of-the-spring-2010/#comments Sun, 16 May 2010 19:28:27 +0000 yOOrek http://blog.yoorek.com/2010/05/16/first-outing-of-the-spring-2010/ It was not only the first jumping training of my daughter but also the first outing I had with my new Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8 AF-S ED VRII. I am rather pleasantly surprised at the results. In retrospective I might have made one mistake. I had VR on and the shutter speed was 1/1000s. According to Thom Hogan this is a definite no, no (See rule #2 in this article). Ah well, better luck next time. Not that there is anything wrong with these photos.

Untitled

Untitled Originally uploaded by yOOrek

Original comments by yOOrek:

Wallhausen, Germany, April 2010

The first jumping training of the Spring 2010

View On Black | White

• NIKON D700 • 1/1000 sec at f/2.8 (0 EV) • ISO 800 • Pattern metering • Shutter priority • no flash • 70-200 mm f/2.8 @ 112 mm •

• NIKON D700 • Shooting Mode=Continuous • AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II • VR?On • Focus Mode=AF-C • AF Area Mode=Dynamic Area (9 points) • Primary AF Point=B7 • AF Points Used=B7 • Focus Distance=14.96 m • DOF=3.01 m (13.61 – 16.62) • FOV=18.1 deg (4.77 m) • Hyperfocal Distance=149.10 m • Light Source=Unknown • Flash=No Flash • Flash Mode=Did Not Fire • Flash Control Mode=Off • Flash Setting=Normal • Flash Type= • Flash Flags=(none) • Group A (Mode, Compensation, Output)=(Off, 0, -) • Group B (Mode, Compensation, Output)=(Off, 0, -) • Group C (Mode, Compensation, Output)=(0, 0, -) • File Type=NEF • Bit Depth=14 •

2010-04-28-1938-5106

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission.

Copyright © 2010 yOOrek

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Without wax,
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]]> http://blog.yoorek.com/2010/05/16/first-outing-of-the-spring-2010/feed/ 0 bric-a-brac http://blog.yoorek.com/2010/04/11/bric-a-brac/ http://blog.yoorek.com/2010/04/11/bric-a-brac/#comments Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:35:13 +0000 yOOrek http://blog.yoorek.com/2010/04/11/bric-a-brac/ The motorized focusing rail from Cognisys-Inc makes macro shots a breeze. Just set-up the starting position, focus, ending position and step size. Then press the button and several photos later you have enough source material to feed to Helicon Focus. The software, as ever obliging, spits out nice, sharp photos using all the frames you captured. Nice.

bric-a-brac

bric-a-brac Originally uploaded by yOOrek

Original comments by yOOrek:

Winterthur, Switzerland, April 2010

Result of focus stacking. Used 44 frames to produce this image in Helicon Focus.

View On Black | White

• NIKON D700 • 1/3 sec at f/11 (0 EV) • ISO 200 • Pattern metering • Manual • no flash • 105mm f/2.8 @ 105 mm •

• NIKON D700 • Shooting Mode?Continuous • AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED • VR?Off • Focus Mode?Manual • AF Area Mode ?Single Area • Primary AF Point ?(none) • AF Points Used ?(none) • Focus Distance ?0.35 m • DOF ?0.01 m (0.35 – 0.36) • FOV ?13.8 deg (0.09 m) • Hyperfocal Distance ?33.36 m • Light Source ?Tungsten • Flash ?No Flash • Flash Mode ?Did Not Fire • Flash Control Mode ?Off • Flash Setting ?Normal • Flash Type ? • Flash Flags ?(none) • Group A (Mode, Compensation, Output) ?(Off, 0, -) • Group B (Mode, Compensation, Output) ?(Off, 0, -) • Group C (Mode, Compensation, Output) ?(0, 0, -) • File Type ?NEF • Bit Depth ?14 •

2010-04-08-0129-45

Please do not use this photo without my explicit permission in writing.

Copyright © 2010 yOOrek

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Without wax,
yOOrek (posting from Flickr™)

]]> http://blog.yoorek.com/2010/04/11/bric-a-brac/feed/ 0 Looking at my desk through a pinhole http://blog.yoorek.com/2009/12/30/looking-at-my-desk-through-a-pinhole/ http://blog.yoorek.com/2009/12/30/looking-at-my-desk-through-a-pinhole/#comments Wed, 30 Dec 2009 22:38:52 +0000 yOOrek http://blog.yoorek.com/2009/12/30/looking-at-my-desk-through-a-pinhole/ Tried pinhole photography for the first time. Mounted the Skink Pinhole Pancake lens on my trusty D50 (it has been promoted to be the experimenter’s camera since I got my D700). Here is the result. No tripod was used. I just placed the camera on the desk and used IR remote to trigger the shutter.

Looking at my desk through a pinhole

Looking at my desk through a pinhole Originally uploaded by yOOrek

Original comments by yOOrek:

Winterthur, Switzerland, November 2009

Decided to try pinhole photography. Mounted the skink pinhole pancake on my D50 first. Turned up the ISO to the max to get some reasonable time. Still, ended up being 15 seconds.

• NIKON D50 • 15.0 sec (0 EV) • ISO 1600 • Center-weighted average metering • Manual • no flash • @ •

• NIKON D50 • Shooting Mode?IR Control • Manual Lens No CPU • VR?n/a • Focus Mode?Manual • AF Area Mode?Single Area • Primary AF Point?- • AF Points Used?- • Focus Distance?0.01 m • DOF?- • FOV?- • Hyperfocal Distance?- • Light Source?Natural • Flash?No Flash • Flash Mode?Did Not Fire • Flash Setting?Normal • Flash Type?n/a • Flash Flags?(none) • Group A (Mode, Compensation, Output)?(Off, 0, -) • Group B (Mode, Compensation, Output)?(Off, 0, -) • Group C (Mode, Compensation, Output)?(-, -, -) • File Type?NEF • Bit Depth?12 •

2009-11-06-0311-4900

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission.

Copyright © 2009 yOOrek

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Without wax,
yOOrek (posting from Flickr™)

]]> http://blog.yoorek.com/2009/12/30/looking-at-my-desk-through-a-pinhole/feed/ 0 What is she dreaming of? http://blog.yoorek.com/2009/12/12/what-is-she-dreaming-of/ http://blog.yoorek.com/2009/12/12/what-is-she-dreaming-of/#comments Sat, 12 Dec 2009 20:51:14 +0000 yOOrek http://blog.yoorek.com/2009/12/12/what-is-she-dreaming-of/ Will anyone ever know? I was trying a new setup consisting of 2 SB-900 mounted on Manfrotto 5001B light stands, shooting through Westcott umbrellas. SB-900s were set to manual firing at 1/16th of the full power. I have to admit that I like the quality of light one gets when using brollies. It is much softer, more pleasant to look at.

What is she dreaming of?

What is she dreaming of? Originally uploaded by yOOrek

Original comments by yOOrek:

Winterthur, Switzerland, December 2009

Our Whippet, feeling sleepy (as always). I was trying out a new setup – 2 SB-900 shooting through Westcott brollies. I like the quality of light. Much better than direct flash.

View On Black | White

• NIKON D700 • 1/250 sec at f/8.0 (0 EV) • ISO 400 • Spot metering • Manual • flash fired • 105 mm f/2.8 @ 105 mm •

• NIKON D700 • Shooting Mode↔Single-Frame • AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED • VR↔On • Focus Mode↔AF-C • AF Area Mode↔Dynamic Area (9 points) • Primary AF Point↔C3 • AF Points Used↔C3 • Focus Distance↔1.12 m • DOF↔0.05 m (1.10 – 1.15) • FOV↔17.7 deg (0.35 m) • Hyperfocal Distance↔45.87 m • Light Source↔Flash • Flash↔On, Return not detected • Flash Mode↔Fired, External • Flash Setting↔Normal • Flash Type↔3.01 (SU-800 Remote Commander) • Flash Flags↔[0] • Group A (Mode, Compensation, Output)↔(Manual, -, 6%) • Group B (Mode, Compensation, Output)↔(Manual, -, 6%) • Group C (Mode, Compensation, Output)↔(Off, 0, -) • File Type↔NEF • Bit Depth↔14 •

2009-12-12-1847-2697

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission.

Copyright © 2009 yOOrek

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Without wax,
yOOrek (posting from Flickr™)

]]> http://blog.yoorek.com/2009/12/12/what-is-she-dreaming-of/feed/ 0 Fisheye in action http://blog.yoorek.com/2009/12/05/fisheye-in-action/ http://blog.yoorek.com/2009/12/05/fisheye-in-action/#comments Sat, 05 Dec 2009 16:18:08 +0000 yOOrek http://blog.yoorek.com/2009/12/05/fisheye-in-action/ Some people maintain that a fisheye lens cannot be used to photograph people. I find this not entirely true. By careful framing one can achieve quite satisfactory results.

Fisheye in action

Fisheye in action Originally uploaded by yOOrek

Original comments by yOOrek:

Winterthur, Switzerland, December 2009

Who said fisheye cannot be used to photograph people.

View On Black | White

• NIKON D700 • 1/60 sec at f/8.0 (0 EV) • ISO 400 • Spot metering • Aperture priority • flash fired • 16 mm f/2.8 @ 16 mm •

• NIKON D700 • shooting mode:Single-Frame • AF Fisheye Nikkor 16mm f/2.8D • VR:Off • focus mode:AF-C • AF area:Single Area • primary AF point:C6 (Center) • AF points used: • focus distance:0.35 m • DOF:0.25 m (0.27 – 0.52) • FOV:94.1 deg (0.76 m) • hyperfocal distance:1.07 m • light source:Flash • flash:On, Return not detected • flash mode:Fired, External • flash setting:Normal • flash type:3.01 (SU-800 Remote Commander) • flash flags:[0], [1] • Group A (mode, compensation, output):iTTL-BL, 0, – • Group B (mode, compensation, output):Off, 0, – • Group C (mode, compensation, output):Off, 0, – • File Type:NEF • bit depth:14 •

2009-12-04-2352-2708

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission.

Copyright © 2009 yOOrek

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Without wax,
yOOrek (posting from Flickr™)

]]> http://blog.yoorek.com/2009/12/05/fisheye-in-action/feed/ 0 Silver Efex Pro http://blog.yoorek.com/2009/07/26/silver-efex-pro/ http://blog.yoorek.com/2009/07/26/silver-efex-pro/#comments Sat, 25 Jul 2009 22:29:03 +0000 yOOrek http://blog.yoorek.com/2009/07/26/silver-efex-pro/ Downloaded a trial version of SilverEfex Pro from NikSoftware. This Lightroom plugin (there is also a version for Apple Aperture and Adobe Photoshop). It allows you to do B&W conversion and simulate various film stock from the days gone by. It also has control points like Nikon’s Capture NX. After all it’s been done by the same people.
Here is a photo I took the other day. Used remote flash, camera left, triggered by CLS. After importing it to Lightroom, I converted it to B&W using SilverEfex Pro. Here is the result. I have a feeling that this software will become my friend for a long time.

Ms. F.

Ms. F. Originally uploaded by yOOrek

Original comments by yOOrek:

Wallhausen, Germany, July 2009

…

• NIKON D50 • 1/60 sec at f/2.5 (0 EV) • ISO 200 • Pattern metering • Aperture priority • Remote flash • Nikkor AF 50mm f1.4D @ 50 mm •

2009-07-22-2119-2040-Edit-1

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Copyright © 2009 yOOrek

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Without wax,
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]]> http://blog.yoorek.com/2009/07/26/silver-efex-pro/feed/ 0 An Alien Look http://blog.yoorek.com/2009/07/19/an-alien-look/ http://blog.yoorek.com/2009/07/19/an-alien-look/#comments Sun, 19 Jul 2009 13:20:55 +0000 yOOrek http://blog.yoorek.com/2009/07/19/an-alien-look/ If a look could kill, then it probably will. Decided to change the watermarking. Tried to re-create the Hasselblad look. The cross-hairs pattern has been inspired by the moon landing photos.

An Alien Look

An Alien Look Originally uploaded by yOOrek

Original comments by yOOrek:

Rapperswil, Switzerland, July 2009

If a look could only kill …

• NIKON D50 • 1/100 sec at f/3.3 (0 EV) • ISO 200 • Pattern metering • Aperture priority • no flash • 105 mm f/2.8 @ 105 mm •

2009-07-12-1605-3420

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission.

Copyright © 2009 yOOrek

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Without wax,
yOOrek (posting from Flickr™)

]]> http://blog.yoorek.com/2009/07/19/an-alien-look/feed/ 0 FERN http://blog.yoorek.com/2009/07/16/fern/ http://blog.yoorek.com/2009/07/16/fern/#comments Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:33:26 +0000 yOOrek http://blog.yoorek.com/2009/07/16/fern/ My first attempt at multiplicity shots. I admit that you can hardly see the person behind letters but I think it is not too bad for a first attempt. After taking four exposures, with model hiding behind each letter, I adjusted the exposure and other vital parameters in Lightroom before opening the four images as layers in Photoshop CS4. Then it was a matter of creative masking, cutting and pasting to arrive at this result. I have to admit that I have not used the tripod for this shot even though I should have had.

FERN

FERN Originally uploaded by yOOrek

Original comments by yOOrek:

Rapperswil, Switzerland, July 2009

Multiplicity shot

• NIKON D50 • 1/2000 sec at f/2.8 (0 EV) • ISO 200 • Pattern metering • Aperture priority • no flash • @ 50 mm •

2009-07-12-1643-4950-Edit-1

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission.

Copyright © 2009 yOOrek

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Without wax,
yOOrek (posting from Flickr™)

]]> http://blog.yoorek.com/2009/07/16/fern/feed/ 0 Games with Photoshop http://blog.yoorek.com/2009/05/29/games-with-photoshop/ http://blog.yoorek.com/2009/05/29/games-with-photoshop/#comments Fri, 29 May 2009 01:03:24 +0000 yOOrek http://blog.yoorek.com/2009/05/29/games-with-photoshop/ How do you like this effect? You can see the other two photos that make this one up  here and here.

Pencil on wood

Pencil on wood Originally uploaded by yOOrek

Original comments by yOOrek: 

Winterthur, Switzerland, May 2009 

Created by opening original version and conté crayon version as layers in Photoshop CS4 and adjusting opacity of the conté crayon layer.

• NIKON D50 • 1/40 sec at f/11 (-1/3 EV) • ISO 200 • Pattern metering • Aperture priority • no flash • 105 mm f/2.8 @ 105 mm •

2009-05-24-1640-3930-Edit-2

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission.

Copyright © 2009 yOOrek

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Without wax,
yOOrek (posting from Flickr™)

]]> http://blog.yoorek.com/2009/05/29/games-with-photoshop/feed/ 0 Another photo à la Daido Moriyama http://blog.yoorek.com/2009/04/09/another-photo-a-la-daido-moriyama/ http://blog.yoorek.com/2009/04/09/another-photo-a-la-daido-moriyama/#comments Wed, 08 Apr 2009 23:11:42 +0000 yOOrek http://blog.yoorek.com/2009/04/09/another-photo-a-la-daido-moriyama/ Here is another photo post-processed in Lightroom using ‘Moriyama’ preset.

Northern Star

Northern Star Originally uploaded by yOOrek

Original comments by yOOrek:

Winterthur, Switzerland, April 2009 

…

• NIKON D50 • 1/30 sec at f/1.4 (0 EV) • ISO 1600 • Pattern metering • Manual • no flash • 50 mm f/1.4 @ 50 mm •

2009-04-08-2326-5120

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission.

Copyright © 2009 yOOrek

Image uploaded with Jeffrey Friedl’s “Export to Flickr” Lightroom Plugin

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Without wax,
yOOrek (posting from Flickr™)

]]> http://blog.yoorek.com/2009/04/09/another-photo-a-la-daido-moriyama/feed/ 3