Scott Photographics | Photography & Graphic Design Resources

Shot of the Day #16

Michael — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:01:31 +0000

The Melbourne Cricket Ground the home of Australian Rules Football and the largest Stadium in the whole of Australia, it also holds the world record for tallest light towers at a sporting venue! This photograph is actually multiple photos stitched together to form the panorama.

The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) - Melbourne, Australia

Details:

18 mm x 15
Sony a350
18-75 mm Lens
Hand-Held

The original photograph:

The Original Stitch pre-HDR-processing

I’m open to constructive criticism on my shots so please comment!

If you’d like to use these photographs please Contact Me! .

Please comment below if you have any questions and I’ll answer them ASAP!

Shot of the Day #15

Michael — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 13:01:00 +0000

This is another angle of the Petronas Towers looking up, and the other building next to it which is a little annoying because it makes the twin towers look not so huge, but they’re still massive! To photograph from this angle I had to lie down on the ground and look up at my camera sitting on the tripod and guess the composition, fortunately with digital you can just fire away not worry about wasting film.

Petronas Towers - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Details:

ISO 100
F 7.1
1.6 secs
20 mm
Sony a350
18-75 mm Lens
Tripod

The original photograph: As you can see it gets very over exposed towards the top, that’s where HDR comes in handy.

The Orignal

I’m open to constructive criticism on my shots so please comment!

If you’d like to use these photographs please Contact Me! .

Please comment below if you have any questions and I’ll answer them ASAP!

Zoom Blur Effect in GIMP – GIMP Tutorial

Michael — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 13:01:24 +0000

If you don’t have a zoom lens or you’d like to manipulate a certain image in this style then this tutorial for GIMP should help you achieve a similar effect!

The final result!

The Original JPEG

Firstly open up GIMP with your image:

Duplicate that Layer (call it ‘BLUR‘)
On layer Blur -> GO, Filters -> Blur -> Motion Blur:

Select Zoom Blur:
The Length varies depending on the amount of detail in the photo or what you’d like, but 75 works nicely:
This process of blurring might take a while for your computer to finish it!

On Blur, right click -> add Alpha Channel:

On Blur, right click -> add Layer Mask (White (full opacity)):

Grab the Gradient Tool: Only FG (Black), Radial:
Now, select from the centre and move out, as shown below:

As you can see, the Layer Mask has revealed the in-focus text from the layer underneath:

Remember to Apply Layer Mask:
And that is all!

For the photography tutorial on this effect please check it out here: www.scottphotographics.com/lens-zoom-blur-effect-photography

And if you’d like some more inspiration check it out here: www.scottphotographics.com/zoom-lens-blur-effect-inspiration

If you’d like to use these photographs please Contact Me! .

Please comment below if you have any questions and I’ll answer them ASAP!

Shot of the Day #14

Michael — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:01:33 +0000

Last September, while I was walking around Paris, France admiring their historical churches and buildings, I came across this really nice church unfortunately it was covered with scaffolding as usual with all these really old European buildings, under reconstruction. I noticed the long sun-rays coming in through the windows and thought it was an interesting shot. So, I attempted to get them in full, but cameras are not as advanced as our eyes so it didn’t appear the same, however with the use of HDR software I’ve been able to get a better picture .

Light Rays flooding through the windows - Church in Paris, France

Details:

ISO 400
F 4.5
1/10 secs
24 mm
Sony a350
18-75 mm Lens
Hand-Held

The original photograph:

The Original JPEG

I’m open to constructive criticism on my shots so please comment!

If you’d like to use these photographs please Contact Me! .

Please comment below if you have any questions and I’ll answer them ASAP!

Zoom Lens Blur Effect – Inspiration

Michael — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 07:42:49 +0000

Here is a small selection of inspiration for the Lens Zoom Blur Effect:

Daniel – (Brechin Cathedral) by MÎ±cIomhÎ±ir

Camera:	DSLR-A350
Exposure:	0.6
Aperture:	f/4.0
Focal Length:	22 mm
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
ISO Speed:	100
Flash:	Off

Zooming fleur-de-lis by Æ?ernando

Camera:	NIKON D80
Aperture:	f/22
Focal Length:	18 mm
Exposure Bias:	0/6 EV
ISO Speed:	100

City of Fuct by Vermin Inc

Camera:	PENTAX K10D
Exposure:	20
Aperture:	f/8.0
Focal Length:	80 mm
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
ISO Speed:	200
Flash:	Off

Mid City Zoom by .robbie

Camera:	Canon EOS 350D DIGITAL
Aperture:	f/36
Focal Length:	135 mm
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
ISO Speed:	100

Swirly zoom blur! by fling93

Camera:	Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
Aperture:	f/4.5
Focal Length:	22 mm
Exposure Bias:	0/3 EV
ISO Speed:	100

Viaje al centro de la diana by solofotones

Camera:	Canon PowerShot A540
Aperture:	f/5
Focal Length:	11.8 mm
Exposure Bias:	0/3 EV
Flash:	Flash fired, red-eye reduction

Current deviation by pave_m

No EXIF information available.

christmas lights explosion by zen

Camera:	DSC-F828
Aperture:	f/2.5
Focal Length:	44.8 mm
Exposure Bias:	0/10 EV
ISO Speed:	64
Flash:	Flash did not fire

carrots, blurred by thespeak

Camera:	NIKON D50
Aperture:	f/5.6
Focal Length:	42 mm
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
ISO Speed:	800

a concrete block by Ozyman

Camera:	NIKON D70
Aperture:	f/22
Focal Length:	22 mm
Exposure Bias:	0/6 EV

Slightly Dizzy, Mostly Dark by einaros

Camera:	Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Exposure:	1/50
Aperture:	f/16.0
Focal Length:	200 mm
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
ISO Speed:	100
Flash:	Off

Staring At The Void by Auzigog

Camera:	NIKON D40
Aperture:	f/11
Focal Length:	50 mm
Exposure Bias:	0/6 EV
ISO Speed:	400

Traffic And Lights Zoom by In-7hi5-7wi1igh7

Camera:	NIKON D60
Exposure:	8
Aperture:	f/5.6
Focal Length:	55 mm
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
ISO Speed:	100
Flash:	No Flash

Harbour Fuct by Vermin Inc

Camera:	PENTAX K10D
Exposure:	6
Aperture:	f/8.0
Focal Length:	80 mm
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
ISO Speed:	200
Flash:	Off

December 12, 2008 – Puppies by TheRogue

Camera:	Canon EOS 40D
Aperture:	f/14
Focal Length:	135 mm
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
ISO Speed:	100
Flash:	Flash did not fire

zoomy – 2 second exposure – background or texture for layer by â? David Gunter

Camera:	NIKON D40
Aperture:	f/22
Focal Length:	70 mm
Exposure Bias:	0/6 EV
ISO Speed:	200

The Coolidge Theater by donayer

Camera:	Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XTi
Aperture:	f/4
Focal Length:	17 mm
Exposure Bias:	1 EV
ISO Speed:	100
Flash:	Flash did not fire

All of these photographs are protected by Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike.

Shot of the Day #13

Michael — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 08:40:47 +0000

Here is more long exposure night photography, I really like these long shutter speeds and the streaming car lights

Urban lights - Melbourne

Details:

ISO 100
F 13
20 secs
18 mm
Sony a350
18-75 mm Lens
Tripod

The original photograph:

The Original Shot

I’m open to constructive criticism on my shots so please comment!

If you’d like to use these photographs please Contact Me! .

Please comment below if you have any questions and I’ll answer them ASAP!

Shot of the Day #12

Michael — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 04:19:37 +0000

I was in Kuala Lumpur in January this year for a short time, less than a week, but I was lucky enough to stay in the KLCC and able to admire the tallest twin towers in the world.

The Petronas Twin Towers (Malay: Menara Berkembar Petronas) (also known as the Petronas Towers or just Twin Towers), in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia are twin towers and were the world’s tallest buildings before being surpassed by Taipei 101. However, the towers are still the tallest twin buildings in the world. They were the world’s tallest buildings from 1998 to 2004 if measured from the level of the main entrance to the structural top, the original height reference used by the international organization Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat from 1969 (three additional height categories were introduced as the tower neared completion in 1996). [continue reading on Wikipedia]

Looking up at the Petronas Towers (HDR-Tonemapped)

Details:

ISO 100
F 8
1.6 secs
18 mm
Sony a350
18-75 mm Lens
Tripod

The original photograph:

Orignal JPG from Raw (.ARW)

I’m open to constructive criticism on my shots so please comment!

If you’d like to use these photographs please Contact Me! .

Please comment below if you have any questions and I’ll answer them ASAP!

Lens Zoom-Blur Effect – Photography

Michael — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 10:55:12 +0000

Most of the time blur is really frustrating for photographers, but blurring can be used to create very interesting effects like in long exposures. The ‘Zoom-Blur Effect’ as it’s sometimes called can be used to draw the viewer’s eyes into the photograph and onto the subject with the edges blurred, our eyes tend to disregard the blurred parts and look for the sharp in-focus areas.

In this short simple tutorial I’ll show you how to achieve this effect. Unfortunately if you have a compact digital camera or do not have a manual zoom lens it won’t be possible to achieve the same effect, however I’ll show you how to replicate this effect in GIMP .

Drawing attention inwards on the sign

Details:

1/3 secs
F 32
ISO 400

1. For the best results its best to have a zoom lens with a reasonable variability in focal length, this will help increase the blur and be easier to control.

2. The hardest part of the overall effect is fine tuning the shutter speed, and it varies for each scene as there might a good light source which could over exposure your photo or the opposite, leading to an under exposure photo. So it is difficult to define one specific shutter speed, however it is not a huge problem with digital photography, because you can receive instant feedback of what the photograph is like on your LCD screen.

When shooting use the Shutter Priority mode for quick adjustments without the concern of the aperture and focus on the shutter speed. To help give an idea of what shutter speeds are ideal I’ve listed some of the details on of the photographs below:

3. The main concept of this technique is to expose for enough time so that the sensor or film can capture the blurred lines, and this is created by twisting the zoom out or in!

French Flag

Details:

1/13 secs
F 32
ISO 100

4. For these longer exposures preferably use a tripod to avoid wobbling the camera. This shot below was taken using a tripod and the CALTEX Logo is very sharp as a result of a steady camera.

CALTEX

Details:

2.5 secs
F 14
ISO 100

Beck's

Details:

2.5 secs
F 9
ISO 100

Gargoyle Notre Dame - Paris, France

Details:

1/8 secs
F 5.6
ISO 400

Stair Well

Details:

1/3 secs
F 36
ISO 100

5. Try switching to manual focus and blurring the lights and then zooming while out of focus. You’ll get these softer streaks:

Blurred Traffic Lights

Details:

2.5 secs
F 10
ISO 100

6. Experiment with this technique and be creative with the long exposures. Try moving the camera ahile exposing and zooming in, and firing a flash to freeze a subject, use a slow sync flash for better results.

If you’d like to use these photographs please Contact Me! .

Please comment below if you have any questions and I’ll answer them ASAP!

Shot of the Day #11

Michael — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:16:01 +0000

This photo of the Eastern Freeway – outbound from the Melbourne CBD was taken tonight around 2 hours ago. I love the streaming car-lights of freeways and whenever there’s an opportunity to get a shot of moving car-lights I’ll take it For beginners I think this type of long exposure is an awesome start to building enthusiasm for urban night photography.

Streaming Car-Lights - Eastern Freeway, Melbourne

Details:

ISO 100
F 20
30 secs
18 mm
Sony a350
18-75 mm Lens
Used the concrete ledge, because my tripod wasn’t high enough

Processing:

HDR:

HDR Tonemapped Version

I’m open to constructive criticism on my shots so please comment!

If you’d like to use these photographs please Contact Me! .

Please comment below if you have any questions and I’ll answer them ASAP!

Shot of the Day #10

Michael — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 09:53:47 +0000

This photo isn’t anything too fancy, however I really like this photograph because I managed to get a clear sharp focus on the insect and managed to capture the water droplets as well in the tiny depth of field ! I used my kit lens, 18mm-75mm, so it wasn’t a special macro lens. The other factor in this photograph is the clarity achieved from such a large original ( however, reduced the quality for the web), which wouldn’t have been possibly with a low pixel count, whereas 14.2 mega-pixels does help a lot when cropping down!

Insect among the water droplets

Details:

ISO 100
F 7.1
1/125 secs
70 mm
Sony a350
18-75 mm Lens
Hand-Held

Processing:

Experimenting with HDR:

HDR-Tonemapped Version

Checkout my Layer-Masking Tutorial, showing how to retouch this particular photograph!

I’m open to constructive criticism on my shots so please comment!

If you’d like to use these photographs please Contact Me! .

Please comment below if you have any questions and I’ll answer them ASAP!