The Photo Journey » Scott

Stobes in Landscape Photography

Scott — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 02:22:02 +0000

Using small portable strobes when capturing a landscape can dramatically transform a scene. Sometimes the use of a small light to illuminate for instance a leaf in a rainforest can focus a viewers eye. They are also great for lighting the shadow side of very large subjects like this weeks subject the HMQS Gayundah ship wreck. I have put together a short video where I walk you around the wreck and explain my lights setup.

Not only is this my weekly landscape 52 shot it is also my entry for the Strobist boot camp III, Assignment 3 competition. HMQS Gayundah was a flat-iron gunboat operated by the Queensland Maritime Defence Force and later the Royal Australian Navy (as HMAS Gayundah). She entered service in 1884 and was decommissioned and sold in 1921 where it was used as a sand and gravel barge and was later run aground at Woody Point, Redcliffe to serve as a break-wall in 1958.

I had arrived at 4:45am so I had plenty of time to setup the gear and try a few compositions. I ended up using 2 Cactus KF36 stobes set at full power and positioned down the side on the ship. These were fired with Cactus V2 remotes. It took a little time to position the lights so that there was an even distribution of light. I started with capturing the correct flash exposure for the wreck and I then dialed in a longer shutter speed to bring in the ambient sunrise.

To really appreciate the size of the wreck and get an understanding of the light setup I have put together a small video. I would love to hear your comments and critique on both the shot and the video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Lower that ISO

Scott — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 10:50:43 +0000

Whilst I have shot the Brisbane city skyline at night many times before, this week I wanted to test the performance of my Canon 40D in regards to ISO settings. This post will be about how to test the ISO on your camera. These types of test are a great way to learn the limits your camera has so that when you are out in the field you can select the best settings for your gear.

The ISO performance of cameras is being dramatically improved with each new camera release. At the high end of the Canon range a 5D Mark 2 can perform very well around ISO of 3200. On my 40D I try not to push it past 800.

For the test I had the camera in Manual mode and set an aperture of f/16. I then compensated for the change in ISO with the shutter speed. I have decided to only test the ISO’s performance for full stops of light steps. The lowest ISO for my 40D is 200 and this is where I usually try to shoot. I then moved to 400 and then 800. The below image compares the 3 shots. There is certainly a noticeable difference between the 200 and 800 shots in the sky. The water is also much more silky smooth the the ISO 200 shot. This is due to the fact that the exposure was 4 times longer then the ISO 800 image.

ISO Test. Click to view extra large and scroll across the image to compare. Press ESC to close the image.

There are some great software packages available on the market for reducing the noise. Some of these tools have plugins to most the mainstream graphic processing programs. I personally use Noise Ninja.

Work your location

Scott — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 05:24:09 +0000

When arriving on the location of a great landscape waiting to be captured, it is important to work out the key features and start to work out different possible angles and compositions. This means it really does pay to arrive early and leave late.

This weeks image was captured on our trip through regional NSW. I have driven past these cattle ramps hundreds of times, but until now I had not thought of stopping and creating something different in comparison to my usual landscape image. The location had the setting sun bathing the hills, trees and farm fences with an amazing orange light.

I tried a bunch of different angles before being rather happy with my initial image (located below). I love the natural lines in the image and the effect of the setting sun, but before hitting the road again I wanted to try something completely different. That’s when this weeks image was born.

The setting sun was dropping rapidly and I had about 10 minutes to capture the last intense rays of light for the day. I positioned my camera to face directly at the sun, but to create the effect I was after I placed the centre of the sun behind the ramp of the cattle dips side planks. There was no way I would be able to capture the image in just 1 shot so I set-up the camera to bracket 5 shots of +2, +1, 0, -1, -2. This was then processed into a HDR image with Photomatix. One of the issues with shooting directly into the sun is that it shows each and every dust or mark on your lens or filters. Hence I need to spend a good 15 minutes in Photoshop removing the marks with the healing brush and clone tools.

So next time your out shooting why not capture your safety image and then experiment. Sure you wont get a winner every time but in the digital world you’ve lost nothing giving it a go.

Shoot the finer details

Scott — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 06:38:12 +0000

So how often do you swap your wide angel lens for a prime or macro lens when you are out on location? Capturing the small details that make up the larger picture can be a great way to tell the entire story of an amazing landscape.

Canon 40D @ 10mm, f8, 1/30sec, ISO 200 with Tiffen HD polarizer

Once again I have used the jetty pillars to block the sun directly entering my lens, but still get a very warm feeling to the shot. To capture the details in the shadows in the underside of the jetty I have exposed the image for a little longer than usual at 1/30sec. At this slow shutter speed it is imperative to use a tripod. A Tiffen HD circular polarising filter has also been used in this shot to reduce the glare of the ocean.

For this weeks additional images I used a 50mm f1.4 prime lens. The shallow DOF that this lens gives you is amazing. You can turn a simple rusted bolt into something captivating to the viewer. Whilst these bolts are visible in the wide angle landscape image the finer details are not visible.

A macro lens is also a great 2nd lens to have with you. If you cant afford a new macro lens don’t forget that many point and shoot cameras have great built in macro modes that (with the use of a tripod for an extra steady shot) can yield some great stock shots.

Shots like these can look great when used as page backgrounds for coffee table books that document things like holidays or your portfolio. Just drop the opacity and slightly de-saturate them. Textures like concrete or grass can also look great as backgrounds.

So next time your on location and you’ve captured the sunrise stick around for another 30 minutes and snap the finer details to help tell the story. The warm morning light can really lift some subjects. Who knows you may prefer one of these shots to your sunrise image.

Always have a camera with you

Scott — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 11:31:18 +0000

Ever been somewhere and thought “Gee that would make a great photo. Pity I don’t have my camera with me”, and then dismissed the opportunity. In today’s world this is something we shouldn’t need to say…

Canon 40D @14mm, f16, 1sec with a Tiffen 0.6 soft grad plate filter.

Whilst this weeks official image was taken on my DSLR it was the 2 photos I had taken 1 hour before on my iPhone that prompted this post.

Anna and I were talking a nice relaxing walk on Woolgoolga’s main beach when we arrived at the resting place of the 118 year old Canadian timber barquentine wreck “Buster”. After large tides or storms the shipwreck becomes somewhat exposed. I had not seen it like this for many years. At the time I was disappointed to not have my DSLR camera with me considering I was contemplating bringing it along for the walk but decided against it at the last minute so as to just relax. Then it hit me I had a perfectly good camera in my pocket, the iPhone 4. Yes its only a 5mp camera and I know its not going to be able to print at A3 size, but it still documents the moment, which is what photography is all about anyway. After playing with a few compositions I decided to return with my DSLR once we had finished our walk.

What a difference 2 hours can make. Yes I had arrived for the sunset but the storm clouds had also arrived. Using the Tiffen 0.6 Soft Grad filter plate I was able to darken the clouds at the top of the frame and make sure I had details in the foreground. I really wanted to capture the length of the ship and the amazing green algae growth of the wreck. Whilst I’m happy with the eventual image there is just something about the iPhone images below that I really like.

I used the stock standard camera app in the iPhone and then made the edits using Instagram one of the most popular camera Apps on the market. I’m totally digging the Early Bird filter and the ability to add a software tilt shirt to the image. So I guess the real lesson for this week is… that even if all you have with you is a camera phone, the moment is still worth capturing.

5 Minute Challenge + Baby News

Scott — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 05:14:35 +0000

You don’t always have to drive for hours to capture an interesting photo. Sometimes a great shot is on your doorstep. Most of the photos from this year have required at least a 20 minute drive, with many a good hours drive away from home. This weeks image however was taken within 5 minutes walk of my house.

Canon 40D @22mm, f11, ISO800, 3 image exposure fusion stack.

For years now each time I drive down a particular street near our house I think about capturing an image of a suburban view of Brisbane City’s high-rises. The elevated view and symmetry with the road and trees really appeals to me. I really like the bike symbols half way down the road.

I setup the camera to take a bracket of images 2 stops apart. Later I fused these together in Photomatix. My ISO was set to 800 as it was getting rather dark and I wanted to reduce the length of the longest exposure to avoid being run over while standing in the middle of the road. I took a few test shots from the side of the road and once I was happy with the results I ran out to the centre of the road and took my 3 exposures of +2, 0 and -2.

Why not this week challenge yourself to head out with your camera and tripod on foot and see what landscapes you can snap within 5 minutes of your place. It would be great if you uploaded your results to the Facebook fanpage.

Ethan James Bourke - September 7th, 2011

In other news I have to apologise for the lack of blog posts for the Landscape 52 Project of late. I’m happy to announce the earlier than expected birth of our son Ethan. He was born 6 weeks early weighing in at just 5.2lbs or 2.4kg but otherwise a very health newborn. He had to spend 2 weeks in the Special Care Nursery because of the early arrival, but we have had him home for 5 weeks now so things have been a little hectic of late. I have a back log of images to process and blog about and you can expect 3 blog posts a week until I catch up.

Hugin Panorama Software

Scott — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 02:26:23 +0000

This week I came across a great bit of software called Hugin, for panorama stitching. Other than being a very powerful stitching program its 100% free. It is avaliable for Windows, Mac and Linux in both 32 and 64 bit OS.

I captured the below 10 image stitch taken with my 50mm prime lens at Sanctuary Cove Resorts Marina. I really wanted to test the stitching program by having subjects that would be slightly moving and offer a great range in highlights and shadows. Once again I have made sure that I have at least a 25% overlap between images to allow for the best chance of stitching the final image. Click on the image to view it at 50% of the final image size. I was amazed with the resolution and seamless stitch with great exposure blending.

10 Image stitch with Hugin. Click image to view at 50% of actual size to fully appreciate.

When it comes to stitching complex panoramas where you have multiple rows to give you a larger image or you capture more than 5 images to make up a panorama, I have been somewhat disappointed by Photoshop. I have already given up on one 30 image (5×6 grid) cityscape stitch thanks to Photoshop having a hard time merging the images let alone handling the changes in exposure. I ran that same 30 image batch through Hugin and after about 10 minutes or defining a few extra control points I have a very good base image to work with. Something I didn’t achieve in over 2 hours in Photoshop.

The screen capture above shows you the control points that the software automatically plotted so that the stitch could take place. Hugin allows for you to add in manual control points and to fine tune the control points. It is a very easy to use interface and if for some reason it can’t find a match between 2 images you can manually plot points and then Hugin will try and expand the possible points after using your original point as a reference.

There are so many great functions inside Hugin that I’m yet to explore but here is a short list of some of the amazing tools it offers.

High Dynamic Range output
Perspective Correction
Blending Masks
360° enfused panoramas
Focus stacking
Stitching photos from different lens
Stitching photos from differing angles.

I can highly recommend you download Hugin and run it through its paces. At first it looks like information overload with the processing but once you find your feet you will feel comfortable knowing that your panorama will have the best treatment possible once you get to the processing of it.

Shooting Car Light Trails

Scott — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 01:42:17 +0000

Week 26′s image was captured above Brisbane’s Riverside Expressway from an overpass. Adding the interest of car light trails into your landscapes may seem like a hard task but with the correct equipment and planning you will be hooked on it. The idea behind this post is to explain the process and give you a few pointers as to what locations work best.

Canon 40D @17mm, f22, ISO200, 30 seconds.

Equipment - For light trail photography you will need a camera that allows you to control the shutter speed for periods of 10 seconds and more. Some point and shoot cameras have built in light trail functions.

Because the exposures are taken over a long period of time it is important to make sure the camera doesn’t move during the shot. By using a tripod or sitting the camera on a seat or ledge will yieled the best results. To also help reduce movement you should use a cable release or set a 2 second timer.

Camera Settings – You will want to set your ISO to relativity low like 200. This will help keep the noise down in your shot. Set your camera to manual and dial in an aperture of about f11 to f22. Then set the shutter speed to say 20 ‘seconds. After that it is really a matter of trial and error. Increase your shutter speed if you aren’t capturing enough lines of light. If your images are overexposed decrease your aperture (E.g. Go from f11 to f16), however if your image is too dark increase your aperture. (E.g. 16-11 ). Remember that changing your aperture will affect your depth of field.

Tips to Success – When looking for locations try bridges or lookouts that overlook major roads. The best time to shoot is when you know that a particular road will be at its busiest. No good shooting at midnight and having no traffic. As for compositions try to get a mix of headlights and brakes lights in your image. Symmetrically composed shots also look great.

Canon 40D @17mm, f22, ISO400, 30 seconds.

Strobist Boot Camp – XXXX Beer Video Tutorial

Scott — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 00:27:56 +0000

Strobist.com run by David Hobby is one of my favourite websites. Every few years David runs a project called Strobist Boot Camp to basically get strobist photographers out into their community and push their lighting limits. For assignment 2 in this years Boot Camp David, wanted us to go out and photograph a local object or something of significance in our community.

After the year of disasters Queensland has had this year, with the massive floods and cyclones, I wanted to shoot something that stood for the great work done by Queenslanders to clean up and move forward.

XXXX Gold is brewed about 10km from where I live. It is the most iconic beer of Qld here in Australia. They put some great advertisements out congratulating Queenslanders on their great fighting spirit after the disasters. What’s more Australian than a good Aussie Beer?

And as usual here is my set up image. The white paper behind the bottles made a massive difference to the colour of the bottles. Such a simple addition but so key to the final image.

I have also put together a short behind the scenes (BTS) video of the shoot explaining my lighting and set up. You can expect many more of this in the next few months as product photography is really appealing to me. So keep your eyes out and feel free to submit ideas of things you would like to learn how to light and shoot.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Add Character to your Landscapes

Scott — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 06:31:36 +0000

This weeks photo was the last thing I expected to capture when arriving on location at Beachmere on the Queensland Sunshine Coast.

My intention was to shoot a small concrete jetty I had heard about in the area. Without the exact details on its location I had to park the car and walk along the waters edge to start exploring. After about 400m I noticed the sun was rising and I didn’t have an interesting foreground object, nor was I close to finding the the jetty I was in search of. I noticed these 2 seats on poles and my first reaction was what the hell! That’s going to totally screw up my shot. My shot being the fruit of a Pandanus Palm shot up close, with the rising sun on the horizon. It wasn’t looking all that spectacular when it hit me. Those darn seats on poles were my shot.

These seats are so bizarrely positioned and seem out of place that they make the viewer question them. I really liked the texture in the sand and the way the early morning sunlight’s angle provided some great contrast.

Something I have only just started doing is capturing behind the scenes (BTS) stills of the weeks image. It’s a way for me to give you guys a sneak peak of how I captured the weeks image. You can get the sneak peaks and extra tips on the Facebook page and my Twitter feed.

Nights Landscape Photography Tips + NEWS

Scott — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 15:12:15 +0000

This week I want to share with you my tips to successful Night Landscape Photography. This weeks shot was taken along the Brisbane City River Loop. It’s a great walk with plenty of locations for a great cityscape capture.

Canon 40D @10mm, f19, ISO400, 62sec exposure

For week 23′s photo I arrived early to scope out my location and tried a few different compositions before the day light had disappeared. Bellow are my tips to getting the best results after sun down.

Use a Tripod - I really shouldn’t have to say this. If you have been following the Landscape 52 project for long enough you will know that I’m a big believer in a sturdy tripod no matter what the time of day or subject when it comes to landscapes. Night photography requires very long exposures so hand held is impossible.

Bring a Torch - A torch can come in very handy as it not only saves tripping over something in the dark it can help with setting up your gear and making sure you take all your gear home with you once your done. Nothing worse then getting home and finding you left your wide angle lens in the park. The torch may also come in handy for setting focus. Depending on how dark it is you may be able to shine the torch on a foreground object to achieve focus.

Use a Cable Release or Timer - To remove any shake whilst taking your photo use a cable release or a 2 sec timer. A cable release that has the ability to lock the shutter for longer periods than 30sec can be a great asset with long night time exposures as some times you may need to keep the shutter open for a few minutes.

Use a low ISO - Because you want long exposures you need to set your ISO to the lowest setting. Something like ISO 100, 200 or 400 depending on your camera. The low ISO will also help reduce noise which can become more apparent in long exposures.

M is for Manual - Do not fear the M on your camera. It opens up some really creative options. Set your aperture to something between f8 and f22 and put the shutter speed onto bulb. Bulb allows you to decide how long the shutter is open for. It is usually the options after 30sec. This is where a cable release with the ability to lock the shutter open comes in handy.

Experiment - The next trick is to experiment with different exposure lengths. I usually try 30sec, 1 minute 1:30 and then 2 minutes. Depending on your results you can try some exposure lengths in-between these or try for something longer. There is no need to be exact with your times. I usually just count it out in my head.

Depending on your subject you may also like to try painting with light by using a torch or strobe. This can give some really interesting effects.

In other news, I’m very excited to announce that come October my wife Anna and I will be having our first child. We have already received some wonderful toys and clothing so I thought it would be fitting to set up my strobes for a photo to announce the news.

So expect a few baby photography related blog posts come the end of the year and in 2012. Any tips you guys can give me would be more than welcome.

Coffs Harbour Jetty Dawn (Time Lapse)

Scott — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 16:44:36 +0000

A very cold winters morning welcomed me for this weeks image. I wanted to capture in one frame multiple iconic tourist hot spots for Coffs Harbour. Those being the Jetty, the Marina and Mutton Bird Island.

The Coffs Harbour Jetty was originally built in 1892 . It was used for Commercial shipping until 1974 when trade ceased to run from the Coffs Harbour port. The Jetty slowly fell apart which led to its eventual closer due to public safety concerns in 1990. But 6 years on it was restored to all of its glory using the same construction methods and materials used 100 years ago.

This week I decided to try my first ever DSLR time lapse. And to make it a little more interesting I decided to make it a HDR time lapse. I setup the tripod with the composition I liked and set my intervalometer to take 3 bracketed exposures (+2, 0, -2) every 12 seconds. You can see that early on the sky certainly wasn’t anything spectacular and that the vibrant colours did not arrive till almost 20 minutes after sunrise. It realy proves that you should stick around and see what happens on bleak looking mornings.

I batch processed the HDR files with Photomatix and then using Adobe Lightroom 2 I made a few changes and then exported the images as jpegs so that I could open them in Windows Live Movie Maker. I set the individual images display time to 0.1 of a second.

I hope you enjoy my first ever DSLR time lapse and I would love to hear your feedback on it.

Click here to view the embedded video.

So what do you think?