Divebombing Gulls (6 photos)
308 posts
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Posted 24/07/2010 - 09:18
All the shots are quite good, but they need to be max. 800 wide for this forum. The forum software's reducing them again and losing detail.
There seems to be a purple/blue cast on them all? It's more noticeable on the last shots. The lead and stonework to the left of the bird should be grey. Try the colour picker in photoshop it will show you the RGB make up of the colour. Reduce the blue content until the stone reads something like 50R 50G 50B
The 55-300mm should be OK set to AWB (preferable) or Daylight WB and shouldn't have a purple cast.
Half Man... Half Pentax ... Half Cucumber
Pentax K-1 + K-5 and some other stuff
Algi
There seems to be a purple/blue cast on them all? It's more noticeable on the last shots. The lead and stonework to the left of the bird should be grey. Try the colour picker in photoshop it will show you the RGB make up of the colour. Reduce the blue content until the stone reads something like 50R 50G 50B
The 55-300mm should be OK set to AWB (preferable) or Daylight WB and shouldn't have a purple cast.
Half Man... Half Pentax ... Half Cucumber
Pentax K-1 + K-5 and some other stuff
Algi
Link
Posted 24/07/2010 - 10:28
I agree with Algernon - you have managed well to get frame-filling shots with good focus, which is not easy in my experience
. Gulls are good to practice on I find because they are plentiful and pretty big, and there's not normally any problem finding a bunch of them
I rather like the first shot because of the way the Gull is staring at something out of the frame. If you are thinking of having a play with the colour cast Algernon mentions, there is a colour cast fixer within photoshop; or there is one in Photoshop elements at least so I assume the same exists in Photoshop
. You find it under the 'adjust colour' menu item and once selected you click on a pixel (best to zoom in) which is either white, black or mid-grey and the colour cast will be adjusted. Might be worth a bit of a play (you can always undo it if it doesn't work properly)
Cheers
Mat W
My Flickr: link
. Gulls are good to practice on I find because they are plentiful and pretty big, and there's not normally any problem finding a bunch of them I rather like the first shot because of the way the Gull is staring at something out of the frame. If you are thinking of having a play with the colour cast Algernon mentions, there is a colour cast fixer within photoshop; or there is one in Photoshop elements at least so I assume the same exists in Photoshop. You find it under the 'adjust colour' menu item and once selected you click on a pixel (best to zoom in) which is either white, black or mid-grey and the colour cast will be adjusted. Might be worth a bit of a play (you can always undo it if it doesn't work properly)Cheers
Mat W
My Flickr: link
Link
Posted 24/07/2010 - 12:57
"Ditching" is my favourite: it's fun looking down on the gull and the black back looks good against the waterfall.
Best wishes,
Andrew
"These places mean something and it's the job of a photographer to figure-out what the hell it is."
Robert Adams
"The camera doesn't make a bit of difference. All of them can record what you are seeing. But, you have to SEE."
Ernst Hass
My website: http://www.ephotozine.com/user/bwlchmawr-199050 http://s927.photobucket.com/home/ADC3440/index
https://www.flickr.com/photos/78898196@N05
Best wishes,
Andrew
"These places mean something and it's the job of a photographer to figure-out what the hell it is."
Robert Adams
"The camera doesn't make a bit of difference. All of them can record what you are seeing. But, you have to SEE."
Ernst Hass
My website: http://www.ephotozine.com/user/bwlchmawr-199050 http://s927.photobucket.com/home/ADC3440/index
https://www.flickr.com/photos/78898196@N05
Link
Posted 24/07/2010 - 13:32
Good captures, and good titles as well.
Best regards
Terry
K20D, Optio I10, DA 18-55 1:3.5-5.6 AL II, A 1:1.7/50, D FA 1:2.8/100 Macro, Sigma 70-300 1:4-5.6 APO DG Macro, Pentax AF 360FGZ
Best regards
Terry
K20D, Optio I10, DA 18-55 1:3.5-5.6 AL II, A 1:1.7/50, D FA 1:2.8/100 Macro, Sigma 70-300 1:4-5.6 APO DG Macro, Pentax AF 360FGZ
Link
Posted 24/07/2010 - 13:45
Last one really made me laugh - it was the title that did it .
The bird is certainly looking very quizically at something , and then you notice the spikes - intended to put the birds off landing , and here's this cheeky one
OK yes it is a bit blue - but I'll forgive that simply because it's a a good pic [ and title
]
let the education continue
proud owner of a couple of cameras and a few bits and bobs
The bird is certainly looking very quizically at something , and then you notice the spikes - intended to put the birds off landing , and here's this cheeky one
OK yes it is a bit blue - but I'll forgive that simply because it's a a good pic [ and title
] let the education continue
proud owner of a couple of cameras and a few bits and bobs
Link
Posted 24/07/2010 - 14:21
Excellent set of action shots with good humour as well.
David
PPG: http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/artists/davidtrout
David
PPG: http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/artists/davidtrout
Link
Posted 24/07/2010 - 19:03
I can also see a slight blue cast, but nevertheless you've got some great shots Neil, I especially enjoyed Bomber and Ditching. Ditching probably pips it for me for the unusual top-down viewpoint. (I also took a few gull shots this week, but won't be posting any now that I've seen yours )
Tim
AF - Pentax K5, Sigma 10-20/4-5.6, Tamron 17-50/2.8, Sigma 30/1.4, Sigma 70-200/2.8, Tamron 70-300/4-5.6
MF - Vivitar CF 28/2.8, Tamron AD2 90/2.5, MTO 1000/11
Stuff - Metz 58 AF1, Cactus v4, Nikon SB24, Raynox 150, Sigma 1.4x TC, Sigma 2x TC, Kenko 2x macro TC, Redsnapper 283 tripod, iMac 27, Macbook Pro 17, iPad, iPhone 3G
Flickr Fluidr PPG Street Portfolio site
Feel free to edit any of my posted photos! If I post a photo for critique, I want brutal honesty. If you don't like it, please say so and tell me why!
) Tim
AF - Pentax K5, Sigma 10-20/4-5.6, Tamron 17-50/2.8, Sigma 30/1.4, Sigma 70-200/2.8, Tamron 70-300/4-5.6
MF - Vivitar CF 28/2.8, Tamron AD2 90/2.5, MTO 1000/11
Stuff - Metz 58 AF1, Cactus v4, Nikon SB24, Raynox 150, Sigma 1.4x TC, Sigma 2x TC, Kenko 2x macro TC, Redsnapper 283 tripod, iMac 27, Macbook Pro 17, iPad, iPhone 3G
Flickr Fluidr PPG Street Portfolio site
Feel free to edit any of my posted photos! If I post a photo for critique, I want brutal honesty. If you don't like it, please say so and tell me why!
Last Edited by thoughton on 24/07/2010 - 19:05
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Posted 25/07/2010 - 01:14
Thanks everyone for the kind comments. I really appreciate them! I must confess I'd been on tenterhooks, shopping in town today, wondering whether I'd get a royal pasting when I logged back in to the forum this evening! Happy to see that it wasn't!
My especial thanks to Algernon for two things in particular:
The info about the forum resizing the images - I hadn't realised that. Well, I lie... I did realise the Flickr site 'wants' 1024, and this site maxes out at 800 - but I didn't stop to consider the implications of that on-the-fly resizing. I should've. Browsers are not good at that kind of thing, and I really should know better.
Is this why so many more people seem to use Photobucket instead? Or do folks have a 'Flickr' trick that still gets a big image there, but not here? (Thinks... maybe I could just post the link to the next sized image on Flickr, instead? Hmmm...?)
And yes, there is definitely a blue cast in the last image, though I had not spotted it before. Thanks for pointing it out... it's EXACTLY the kind of thing I wanted to hear. I'm smacking myself for not having checked for colour-cast and the like before uploading. My eyes are not sufficiently trained to do this sort of thing routinely yet, and (now that I see it) I can't believe I missed it!
Moreover, I'm not fully sure why it's even there! The original shot (from which this is cropped) clearly shows that the gull and roof is in considerable shadow, so maybe that didn't help matters.
The other shots, though, have less (and in some cases, no) blue cast at all, but it's still here and there, it seems. I can't account for it. The camera was in 'Bright' mode (of the Custom Image settings) and that's the mode I practically live in. Maybe this has a bearing? The White Balance was in AWB mode, so that *ought* to be ok, but I will run some more tests at the same spot at the same time of day, using the Daylight mode, and see if that makes a difference. I'll also try some shots onto some graduated grey paper, and see whether there's a colour cast there, because it would mean all my shots are affected.
Final thing might simply be the amount of water nearby, and the sunlight refracting and reflecting around all over the place - but this doesn't really wash with me (pardon the pun).
Thanks again for the insights and encouragement, peeps. Really appreciate it. I can show the missus and not be too embarrassed, I think!
Neil
≡≡≡≡
Pentax K-x ♥ Pentax DA L 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 AL ♣ Pentax DA L 55-300mm f4-5.8 ED ♦ Pentax A 50mm f2.0 ♠ Pentax AF360FGZ flash ♥ Rikenon P 50mm f1.7 ♣ Vivitar CF 28mm f2.8 (K02 Komine) ♦ Tokina 80-200mm f4 ♠ Vivitar MC 2x22 Tele Converter
"Rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men" - Douglas 'Tin-Legs' Bader
My especial thanks to Algernon for two things in particular:
The info about the forum resizing the images - I hadn't realised that. Well, I lie... I did realise the Flickr site 'wants' 1024, and this site maxes out at 800 - but I didn't stop to consider the implications of that on-the-fly resizing. I should've. Browsers are not good at that kind of thing, and I really should know better.
Is this why so many more people seem to use Photobucket instead? Or do folks have a 'Flickr' trick that still gets a big image there, but not here? (Thinks... maybe I could just post the link to the next sized image on Flickr, instead? Hmmm...?)
And yes, there is definitely a blue cast in the last image, though I had not spotted it before. Thanks for pointing it out... it's EXACTLY the kind of thing I wanted to hear. I'm smacking myself for not having checked for colour-cast and the like before uploading. My eyes are not sufficiently trained to do this sort of thing routinely yet, and (now that I see it) I can't believe I missed it!
Moreover, I'm not fully sure why it's even there! The original shot (from which this is cropped) clearly shows that the gull and roof is in considerable shadow, so maybe that didn't help matters.
The other shots, though, have less (and in some cases, no) blue cast at all, but it's still here and there, it seems. I can't account for it. The camera was in 'Bright' mode (of the Custom Image settings) and that's the mode I practically live in. Maybe this has a bearing? The White Balance was in AWB mode, so that *ought* to be ok, but I will run some more tests at the same spot at the same time of day, using the Daylight mode, and see if that makes a difference. I'll also try some shots onto some graduated grey paper, and see whether there's a colour cast there, because it would mean all my shots are affected.
Final thing might simply be the amount of water nearby, and the sunlight refracting and reflecting around all over the place - but this doesn't really wash with me (pardon the pun).
Thanks again for the insights and encouragement, peeps. Really appreciate it. I can show the missus and not be too embarrassed, I think!
Neil
≡≡≡≡
Pentax K-x ♥ Pentax DA L 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 AL ♣ Pentax DA L 55-300mm f4-5.8 ED ♦ Pentax A 50mm f2.0 ♠ Pentax AF360FGZ flash ♥ Rikenon P 50mm f1.7 ♣ Vivitar CF 28mm f2.8 (K02 Komine) ♦ Tokina 80-200mm f4 ♠ Vivitar MC 2x22 Tele Converter
"Rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men" - Douglas 'Tin-Legs' Bader
Last Edited by BigJacko on 25/07/2010 - 01:16
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Posted 25/07/2010 - 09:52
I'm surprised that you've got a blue cast using AWB with the 55-300mm that lens is quite good for getting the colours right. You will get a blue/purple from some old lenses such as Ricoh using AWB. Using the Daylight setting often corrects it, but it's not as accurate as AWB.
I wouldn't think 'Bright' mode would effect the WB.
I sometimes take a photo of a grey remote control off a TV or Radio to set the WB. The one I use is the one for the Pure Evoke 3..... See DAB Radio is useful to have after all
Colour casts also show up quite well on galvanized steel such as bright scaffold tubing.
Half Man... Half Pentax ... Half Cucumber
Pentax K-1 + K-5 and some other stuff
Algi
I wouldn't think 'Bright' mode would effect the WB.
I sometimes take a photo of a grey remote control off a TV or Radio to set the WB. The one I use is the one for the Pure Evoke 3..... See DAB Radio is useful to have after all
Colour casts also show up quite well on galvanized steel such as bright scaffold tubing.
Half Man... Half Pentax ... Half Cucumber
Pentax K-1 + K-5 and some other stuff
Algi
Link
Posted 25/07/2010 - 12:15
I would think the Daylight setting in Colour temperature was more accurate (at least more consistent) than AWB.
As for image size, I resize to 800 pixels in Photoshop, sharpen, and then upload to Photobucket.
Your Gull series is good and humorous. I like it a lot.
Best regards
Terry
K20D, Optio I10, DA 18-55 1:3.5-5.6 AL II, A 1:1.7/50, D FA 1:2.8/100 Macro, Sigma 70-300 1:4-5.6 APO DG Macro, Pentax AF 360FGZ
As for image size, I resize to 800 pixels in Photoshop, sharpen, and then upload to Photobucket.
Your Gull series is good and humorous. I like it a lot.
Best regards
Terry
K20D, Optio I10, DA 18-55 1:3.5-5.6 AL II, A 1:1.7/50, D FA 1:2.8/100 Macro, Sigma 70-300 1:4-5.6 APO DG Macro, Pentax AF 360FGZ
Link
Posted 25/07/2010 - 12:43
terje-l wrote:
I would think the Daylight setting in Colour temperature was more accurate (at least more consistent) than AWB.
I would think the Daylight setting in Colour temperature was more accurate (at least more consistent) than AWB.
It wasn't on these tests, although it was the 50mm f/1.7 A Lens used not a DA. link
Half Man... Half Pentax ... Half Cucumber
Pentax K-1 + K-5 and some other stuff
Algi
Link
Posted 25/07/2010 - 12:55
I just post to Flickr at 800 wide that way it works here and no one can use my photos (at a reasonable quality that is) without getting the bigger file from me. If I need 800 version and a full sized version I post to flickr twice...
K.
Kris Lockyear
It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera they are made with the eye, heart and head. Henri Cartier-Bresson
Lots of film bodies, a couple of digital ones, too many lenses (mainly older glass) and a Horseman LE 5x4.
My website
K.
Kris Lockyear
It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera they are made with the eye, heart and head. Henri Cartier-Bresson
Lots of film bodies, a couple of digital ones, too many lenses (mainly older glass) and a Horseman LE 5x4.
My website
Link
Posted 27/07/2010 - 13:20
I haven't finished testing yet, but I'm grateful for all the input above.
I'm reaching the conclusion that this is probably a one-off, due to several factors:
- evening sun;
- proximity to large amounts of water, some of which would be airborne due to the weir;
- shadows (on the worst-affect shot, at least);
- lots of bright blue sky overhead.
I don't think I'm seeing blue casts across the board with all shots from this lens, but I'm still judging and testing.
I have learned a lot about removing colour-casts however, and that has been immensely useful and interesting (so thanks for setting in motion that chain of events!) I now have at least three different methods for detecting and removing colour casts - not all of which I'm 100% happy with, but given a bit of 'manual overriding', I think I'm probably getting the hang of it!
Here's the last image, altered to remove the blue cast using a mostly-manual 'Curves' alteration to lower the blue channel at two points in the midtones and highlights:
I've also taken on board Kris's ideas and posted this to Flickr at 800px width, to avoid the forum-resizing. Thanks, Kris - I didn't realise it was that easy! I thought Flikr only took the sizes offered as downloads, and hadn't had time to experiment with it yet (I only joined Flickr to get these photos up!)
I may yet try out Photobucket, Terry, but I read up on comparisons between the two before joining, and got the general impression that Flikr was more 'pro' (or at least 'photo-hobbyist') and less 'social-networky', 'repository-for-holidy-snaps' than Photobucket, but of course, this could be nonsense, and may not make a blind bit of difference to their usefulness merely as hosting sites. TBH, I don't really like *either* of those sites much. Can't stand Yahoo (Flickr's owner) either, which doesn't help!
Anyway - is the above shot better, or have I blown it too far the other way? Thanks again for all the advice and kind comments.
Neil
≡≡≡≡
Pentax K-x ♥ Pentax DA L 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 AL ♣ Pentax DA L 55-300mm f4-5.8 ED ♦ Pentax A 50mm f2.0 ♠ Pentax AF360FGZ flash ♥ Rikenon P 50mm f1.7 ♣ Vivitar CF 28mm f2.8 (K02 Komine) ♦ Tokina 80-200mm f4 ♠ Vivitar MC 2x22 Tele Converter
"Rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men" - Douglas 'Tin-Legs' Bader
I'm reaching the conclusion that this is probably a one-off, due to several factors:
- evening sun;
- proximity to large amounts of water, some of which would be airborne due to the weir;
- shadows (on the worst-affect shot, at least);
- lots of bright blue sky overhead.
I don't think I'm seeing blue casts across the board with all shots from this lens, but I'm still judging and testing.
I have learned a lot about removing colour-casts however, and that has been immensely useful and interesting (so thanks for setting in motion that chain of events!) I now have at least three different methods for detecting and removing colour casts - not all of which I'm 100% happy with, but given a bit of 'manual overriding', I think I'm probably getting the hang of it!
Here's the last image, altered to remove the blue cast using a mostly-manual 'Curves' alteration to lower the blue channel at two points in the midtones and highlights:
I've also taken on board Kris's ideas and posted this to Flickr at 800px width, to avoid the forum-resizing. Thanks, Kris - I didn't realise it was that easy! I thought Flikr only took the sizes offered as downloads, and hadn't had time to experiment with it yet (I only joined Flickr to get these photos up!
)I may yet try out Photobucket, Terry, but I read up on comparisons between the two before joining, and got the general impression that Flikr was more 'pro' (or at least 'photo-hobbyist') and less 'social-networky', 'repository-for-holidy-snaps' than Photobucket, but of course, this could be nonsense, and may not make a blind bit of difference to their usefulness merely as hosting sites. TBH, I don't really like *either* of those sites much. Can't stand Yahoo (Flickr's owner) either, which doesn't help!
Anyway - is the above shot better, or have I blown it too far the other way? Thanks again for all the advice and kind comments.
Neil
≡≡≡≡
Pentax K-x ♥ Pentax DA L 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 AL ♣ Pentax DA L 55-300mm f4-5.8 ED ♦ Pentax A 50mm f2.0 ♠ Pentax AF360FGZ flash ♥ Rikenon P 50mm f1.7 ♣ Vivitar CF 28mm f2.8 (K02 Komine) ♦ Tokina 80-200mm f4 ♠ Vivitar MC 2x22 Tele Converter
"Rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men" - Douglas 'Tin-Legs' Bader
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BigJacko
Member
Bath
This is my first 'submission sequence' for review/ripping-apart since joining, so be gentle with me, please!
Undercarriage
Ditching! Runway is wet, wet, wet!
Bomber Flypast
Up, up and away!
Touchdown!
I see your point...
I took these this afternoon, and have done very little to them before uploading them here. I used Photoshop CS4 to crop some of them a bit, keeping the same frame proportions. In one case, I rotated the frame 90 degrees. In two others, I used an adjustment layer to lighten-up one f-stop. One of them (Bomber Flypast) is neither cropped nor adjusted, it's just resized to Flikr's maximum 1024 longest-side - apart from that, it's 'straight from the camera'.
With my trusty K-x, I was using the long end of my 55-300mm DAL ED lens, autofocus (single mode - and now that I think of it, that was a mistake - it should've been continuous), and shutter-priority mode in the 1/500 & 1/1000 settings, I think. The files should have their EXIFs intact, for those that want to get to the nitty-gritty (and please feel free).
I'm looking for pointers from the folks here who know better than me about these things - this is my first attempt at relatively high-speed panning, or 'action wildlife' genereally - so I'm especially looking for pointers about that - but anything else you can teach me is good too, frankly!
Let 'er rip...
Neil
≡≡≡≡
Pentax K-x ♥ Pentax DA L 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 AL ♣ Pentax DA L 55-300mm f4-5.8 ED ♦ Pentax A 50mm f2.0 ♠ Pentax AF360FGZ flash ♥ Rikenon P 50mm f1.7 ♣ Vivitar CF 28mm f2.8 (K02 Komine) ♦ Tokina 80-200mm f4 ♠ Vivitar MC 2x22 Tele Converter
"Rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men" - Douglas 'Tin-Legs' Bader