Nikon D50 Images

Panser_bjorn · 11 May 2007 at 10:35

I have just purchased a Nikon D50, and these are some of my first pictures with a DSLR. (I have an F55 and an F-401 that I have been playing with for a few months and it's just great to not have to wait for developing).

1.

2.

3.

1 + 2 were taken with the Kit lens, whilst number three was a long exposure shot taken with a manual 200mm lens mounted on extension tubes.

Please can I have some C+C on these images?

Thanks

Irish_Tom · 11 May 2007 at 12:05

Popular name

It's quite hard to tell because they are so small (you can enlarge them up to 800x600px on the forums).

1. I like the perspective, seems sharp.

2. Hard to tell where where the main focus point is and it looks quite soft but this may be down to the compression

3. I like how you have picked out a section to be in focus but the rest looks very badly gaussian blured. Again this may be due to the small size and compression. The large section of black on the left had side also makes the boarder unbalanced, especially as the board is so thin and the top and bottom are different widths to left and right.

Seems like you're getting to grips with the D50 though

good camera too.

I'd just like to see them a bit bigger.

Panzer

Panser_bjorn · 11 May 2007 at 12:21

Thanks for your comments, i'll bear the size thing in mind for the next time I post, the full size images are on my deviant gallery if you fancy a look.

I like the D50, but as I can now see my images as soon as I have taken them I can also see that I still have a lot to learn and needs lots more practice.

When shooting film I had to wait for my images to be developed, and I was normally quite disappointed with the outcome. In one set I shot 3 rolls of film and only came out with about 5 or 6 decent images, at least this way I can see if my images are any good when I shoot.

And yes, it does seem to be a popular name doesn't it. 'His Dark Materials' by any chance?

Irish_Tom · 11 May 2007 at 13:18

I've just checked the bigger versions

The Dog is looking good, very sharp around the nose. However, I would rather make the focal point the eyes to bring out the subjects personality. This could possibly be improved with the same thing I've writen below about the flower.

The flower looks better than the small version, although I would try and get more of the foreground in focus. It's a lot clearer in the bigger image that only the stamen are really in focus. You can achive a better Depth of Field by using a smaller aperature (bigger F. number). However, if you do this you will need to increase either your ISO (could make the picture grainy or noisey) or you need to icrease your shutter speed (will make the image more prone to camera shake). Your best bet for this type of image is to use a tripod to get the better DOF while maintaing a sharp image with a fairly high shutter speed.

IMO the bottle looks worse bigger. It's very noisey, nothing is really in focus and it's very soft. Was this taken handheld at 200mm? I'm at uni atm and so I don't have an EXIF reader but I would be interested in what settings were used to capture this one. I don't want to knock you down but this is my least favourite of the three. Some other people might light the abstract nature of it...

Yeah I got it from Dark Materials. I've been on these boards for over 5 years (I joined before the October 2002 nuke when everyone's accounts were reset) and it was my favourite series of books at the time. (still is really I'm looking forward to the film!)

Panzer

Panser_bjorn · 11 May 2007 at 13:35

The 'bottle' is actually a newspaper article, my attempt at something different in macro. The lens is a 70-200mm AI non-AF lens, so there is no EXIF. All settings were manual.

I agree with your opinion though; it's not quite the effect that I was after. I'm not too great with the post-processing as yet. Again, I am finding that I need to persevere and practice some more.

Speaking of EXIF, i'm unsure on how to embed these. When I process from RAW to JPEG are these included automatically? (I'm just using picture project that came with the camera then going into PS).

I have been using panser_bjorn as my hotmail name since around the same time, I read the first two books consecutively and then had to wait a while for 'The Amber Spyglass'. 'His Dark Materials' and 'The Dark Tower' are my favourite books, along with quite a few Douglas Coupland novels.

Anyway, back to the subject in hand...

I really appreciate your comments and I will be posting some more on these forums. I also hope to get involved in the monthly competition. Though I'm struggling for ideas with this months topic.

Irish_Tom · 11 May 2007 at 16:22

I see about the Newspaper article now. Sorry I thought it was a bottle of wine

Interesting that it was done with an old AI lens. Perseverance and practice is what it's all about

as for EXIF the image should keep all of the information embedded as long as you File/Save As

The Sticky Thread said:
photoshop:

to save exif data with jpegs use files save as or to keep file sizes smaller use file save for web (removes exif)

also remember to save using 16bit colour as PS defaults to 8bit. 16bit is also much better to print with if thats what yo will be doing

I've not read The Dark Tower or heard of Douglas Coupland so I shall have to expand my reading a bit

As for the Photo comp get your entry in there! This is a really interesting theme and I'm so busy with uni atm I'm struggling to do anything for it

but I might get something done for the deadline.

Panzer

Panser_bjorn · 11 May 2007 at 16:34

Make sure you set aside a good block of time if you intend to read The Dark Tower, it's a seven book series by Stephen King.

I may look to one of my favourite bands for inspiration for the competition. The Alkaline Trio have the majority of their artwork based on Horror/Macabre and their Photographer/Artist, Heather Hannoura, is fantastic.