yOOrek's Rants'n Raves » Uncategorized

G.K.

yOOrek — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:08:54 +0000

This shot somehow reminds me of Grace Kelly. Perhaps it is just a hairdo.

G.K. Originally uploaded by yOOrek

Original comments by yOOrek:

Stadel, Switzerland, October 2009

is alive and well.

• NIKON D700 • 1/60 sec at f/4.5 (0 EV) • ISO 220 • Spot metering • Aperture priority • flash fired • 105 mm f/2.8 @ 105 mm •

• NIKON D700 • shooting mode:Single-Frame, Auto ISO • AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED • VR:On • focus mode:AF-C • AF area:Single Area • primary AF point:C6 (Center) • AF points used:C6 • focus distance:1.50 m • DOF:0.05 m (1.47 – 1.52) • FOV:18.1 deg (0.48 m) • hyperfocal distance:81.54 m • light source:Flash • flash:On, Return detected • flash mode:Fired, External • flash setting:Normal • flash type:1.03 (SB-800) • flash flags:[0], [1], [2] • group A mode:iTTL-BL • group A compensation:0 • group B mode:Off • group B compensation:0 • group C mode:Off • group C compensation:0 • file type:NEF • bit depth:12 •

2009-10-23-2216-1174

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™)

Heads Up for all those interested in fashion photography

yOOrek — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 19:02:27 +0000

As a result of me posting photos of Maya (see my previous post) some people from Flickr™ fraternity added me as their contact. While checking their profiles I came across Fashion Photography Blog.

This is a recommended reading for anyone interested in fashion photography, lighting and techniques. It is a fairly new blog (two months or so) but it seems like it is off to a good start.

Personally I am not aspiring to be a fashion photographer myself but there is a wealth of information there that any budding photographer could use in their endeavors. Once again – highly recommended.

Bealyn Beauty Originally uploaded by FashionPhotographyBlog.com

Original comments by FashionPhotographyBlog.com:

(C) 2008 Melissa Rodwell Photography LLC.

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Without wax,
yOOrek (posting from Flickr™)

What a difference a well done preset makes

yOOrek — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 00:36:11 +0000

I came across a site, www.presetsheaven.com, that hosts quite a number of Lightroom presets. One of them, PH Naturally BW has been used to post process this photo. I also used Adobe Camera Portrait Beta 2 profile. Rather nice end result, wouldn’t you say?

On a slightly different note, all is coming nicely together for me on the photography front. LR2.1 has been released recently. I do not experience any problems with it whatsoever. LR export plugins are doing their job of uploading the photos to Flickr™ or Zenfolio very nicely. All my uploaded photos have proper title, complex, automatically generated caption, plus a discrete watermark is applied (and I am not talking about the copyright text in the right bottom corner). I have to admit that my photographic work flow has evolved into something I’m very happy and content with.

To make things even better, after the move, when unpacking some boxes I didn’t even realized still existed, I came across an old set of Cokin filters I used in my film camera days. And guess what? The filter adapter is 72mm (perfect for my Sigma 10-20), the stash includes couple of soft edge ND grad filters (recently I was thinking of getting them). A polarizer (although it is not circular polarizer so this is of limited, if any use on digital camera). And I thought they were all lost when we moved from the land of OZ to Switzerland.

Life is full of surprises.

Maya (B&W) Originally uploaded by yOOrek

Original comments by yOOrek:

Winterthur, Switzerland, October 2008

Maya before going to a coctail party in Zürich.

Post processing in Lightroom 2.1. Preset used – PH Naturally BW from www.presetsheaven.com/

• NIKON D50 • 1/400 sec at f/4.5 (0 EV) • ISO 400 • Spot metering • Shutter priority • flash fired • 18-70 mm f/3.5-4.5 @ 70 mm •

2008-10-24-1949-23

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

Copyright © 2008 by yOOrek, all rights reserved.

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Without wax,
yOOrek (posting from Flickr™)

Close Encounters of the Rubbery Kind

yOOrek — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 23:11:10 +0000

Another example of using Lightroom’s post-crop vignette to frame photos (see my other post for another example). This time the settings are -

Amount to +100
Midpoint to 0
Roundness to -100
Feather to 0

Close Encounters of the Rubbery Kind Originally uploaded by yOOrek

Original comments by yOOrek:

Wallhausen, Germany, September 2008

Examples of using Lightroom’s post-crop vignette to frame photos

• NIKON D50 • 1/1000 sec at f/2.8 (0 EV) • ISO200 • Pattern metering • Manual • no flash • 50 mm f/1.4 @ 50 mm •

2008-09-20-1552-46-2

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission. Copyright © 2008 by yOOrek, all rights reserved.

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Without wax,
yOOrek (posting from Flickr™)

Close Encounters of the Rubbery Kind

yOOrek — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 22:52:05 +0000

Frames might not be to everyone’s taste. I like them as I think they can add a lot to a photograph. While playing with Lightroom 2.1RC1 I have found a way to put a simple frame around a photo using Lightroom’s Post-Crop Vignette. There are four sliders you can play with. To achieve the effect you see in this photograph just set them as follows -

Amount to -100
Midpoint to 0
Roundness to -100
Feather to 50

I realize this is an abuse of the original intent behind Post_Crop Vignette but if this functionality lets me create quick frames before exporting photos to Flickr™ or Zenfolio I’d rather call it re-purposing instead of misuse.

Close Encounters of the Rubbery Kind Originally uploaded by yOOrek

Original comments by yOOrek:

Wallhausen, Germany, September 2008

Study of the rubber belt fence. Playing with depth of field, bokeh and angles.

• NIKON D50 • 1/1000 sec at f/2.8 (0 EV) • ISO200 • Pattern metering • Manual • no flash • 50 mm f/1.4 @ 50 mm •

2008-09-20-1552-46

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission. Copyright © 2008 by yOOrek, all rights reserved.

—
Without wax,
yOOrek (posting from Flickr™)

Off-camera flash (B&W)

yOOrek — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 20:32:21 +0000

Same subject as in my last post. PP’d in Lightroom 2.1RC1 and converted to B&W.

Robert (B&W) Originally uploaded by yOOrek

Original comments by yOOrek:

Winterthur, Switzerland, October 2008

Playing with off-camera flash.

• NIKON D50 • 1/125 sec at f/8.0 (0 EV) • ISO400 • Pattern metering • Manual • no flash • 105 mm f/2.8 @ 105 mm •

2008-10-11-2222-39-2

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission. Copyright © 2008 by yOOrek, all rights reserved.

—
Without wax,
yOOrek (posting from Flickr™)

Almost like an electron microscope, isn’t it?

yOOrek — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 00:00:52 +0000

I wonder if anyone can guess what this photo shows? I hope this time the tags will not give the game away.

Almost like an electron microscope, isn’t it? Originally uploaded by yOOrek

Original comments by yOOrek:

Wallhausen, Germany, September 2008

Can you guess what this is and how I achieved it?

• NIKON D50 • 1/4000 sec at f/2.8 (0 EV) • ISO200 • Pattern metering • Manual • no flash • 50 mm f/1.4 @ 50 mm •

2008-09-20-1536-26

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission. Copyright © 2008 by yOOrek, all rights reserved.

—
Without wax,
yOOrek (posting from Flickr™)

Post-industrial grunge bookmark.

yOOrek — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 14:39:03 +0000

I just post processed an otherwise plain photo in Lightroom2.1 RC1 and came up with, what I think could be, a bookmark.

Post-industrial grunge bookmark. Originally uploaded by yOOrek

Original comments by yOOrek:

Wallhausen, Germany, September 2008

Inspired by recent troubles at CERN with Large Hadron Collider cooling system.

• NIKON D50 • 1/250 sec at f/2.8 (0 EV) • ISO200 • Pattern metering • Manual • no flash • 50 mm f/1.4 @ 50 mm •

2008-09-20-1553-10

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission. Copyright © 2008 by yOOrek, all rights reserved.

—
Without wax,
yOOrek (posting from Flickr™)

Vertigo

yOOrek — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 22:30:16 +0000

Finally I decided to take a plunge and upgrade to Lightroom 2.0. So far it works for me. I do not experience the symptoms other users are describing. Perhaps LR gremlins will rise their ugly heads and bite me – who knows. The real icing on the cake as far as I am concerned, are the new export plugins by Jeffrey Friedl. If you are using LR and on-line photo galleries like Flickr, Zenfolio, SmugMug, Picassa or Facebook, these plugins are a must. In addition to simplifying the process of uploading photos to the hosting service, they enable you to construct complex titles and captions for your uploaded photos containing any combination of the EXIF or LR metadata. Just see below.

Vertigo Originally uploaded by yOOrek

Original comments by yOOrek:

Wallhausen, Germany, June 2008

Vertigo is the sensation of spinning or swaying while the body is actually stationary with respect to the surroundings.

There are two types of vertigo: subjective and objective. There is a subjective vertigo when a person has a false sensation of movement. In the case of objective vertigo, the surroundings appear to move past a person’s field of vision.

The effects of vertigo may be slight. It can cause nausea and vomiting and, in severe cases, it may give rise to difficulties with standing and walking.

• NIKON D50
• 1/320 sec at f/9.0 (0 EV)
• ISO200
• Pattern metering
• Manual
• no flash
• 10-20 mm f/4-5.6 @ 10 mm

2008-06-14-1556-30

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or other media, electronic or printed, without my explicit permission. Copyright © 2008 by yOOrek, all rights reserved.

—
Without wax,
yOOrek (posting from Flickr™)

Road home or why you should always be prepared…

yOOrek — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:53:33 +0000

and have a proper camera with you. I was driving home one sunny afternoon. The light was just perfect to show off the contrast between the sun-lit road and the stormy clouds. As I did not have my Nikon with me, I took this photo with my iPhone. Believe me – it is not easy to drive and take photos at the same time. No, I have not caused any accidents due to my activity, next time however, I will try to pull over at the side of the road and milk this beautiful light for all I can with a proper camera and lens.

Road home Originally uploaded by yOOrek

Original comments by yOOrek:

Took this photo while driving home on a sunny afternoon. The light was just perfect to show off the contrast between the sun-lit road and stormy clouds. I’ll have to make sure that I have a proper camera with me next time.
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Without wax,
yOOrek (emailing from his iPhone 3G)

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Without wax,
yOOrek (posting from Flickr™)