2010 - Week 12, Fill Flash

Behind the House
March 26, 2010 7:44 pm
Nikon D90, 28-75mm 2.8 - shot in RAW
Manual, Direct Flash, ISO 400, SS 1/100, f/4.5

This week  I have made my head ache trying to learn how to use fill flash effectively outside during the day & evening.  Thank goodness there were finally some "ah-ha" moments yesterday and today technically, but I still have to try and see if I can use them in real life situations once the girls agree to let me try again.

We only had one really beautiful sunset this week, unfortunately I hadn't had any of my ah-ha moments yet and so in those shots the sunset is pretty and the girls are like white ghosts.  On Friday, I finally got some of the components to align (not perfectly yet though) and got this keeper in front of a less than stellar sunset.



post-processing
brightened their faces just a touch using a levels adjustment

2010 - Week 11, Point & Shoot

Johnson Space Center - Theater Gallery Area
March 16, 2010 4:54 pm
Canon Powershot SD630, shot in JPG
Full Auto

While this photo has no technical merit due to its point & shoot nature, however I loved being able to capture the joy the girls experienced while holding this boa constrictor - and that is the most crucial part of Project 52 - always having a camera on hand.



post-processing

<--SOOC photo *Photo was cropped *Background was masked and removed to eliminate all the distractions of the location *Level adjustments were made for the snake and the girls skin *Photo was run through the community version of Noiseware

2010 - Week 10, Twilight

Outdoors under Summer Kitchen
March 13, 2010 7:03 & 7:05 pm
Nikon D90, 35mm 1.8 - shot in RAW
Aperture Priority, Flash bounced off Ceiling, Exposure Bias -1.0, ISO 200, SS 1/60, f/4

I wanted to try using flash outdoors at sunset, but we actually didn't make it outdoors until after the official sunset time, so this week is a total improvisation. The only natural light available was the remaining twilight so the entire photo was lit using the flash bounced off the ceiling. I used aperture priority mode and used spot metering, flash (exposure) lock and single shot. Focus was mainly luck with the f/4 because they were bouncing (and I couldn't see a thing). Alena was so much harder because she wouldn't just bounce up & down there was lots of twisting and well, not just jumping - which is why hers is more OOF I think - it was actually good there was no natural light to continue the exposure.

So...not the photos I had planned to take, but interesting still the same and maybe week 11 will be my outdoors at sunset with fill flash photos.





post-processing
Masked and adjusted midtones for the twilight section of the sky just to show it off a bit more and equal the light between the two photos - alot of the twilight disappeared in the 2 minutes between kids.

2010 - Week 9, Silhouette

Master Bedroom South Facing Window
March 6, 2010 4:10 pm
Nikon D90, 35mm 1.8 - shot in RAW
Manual, No Flash, ISO 200, SS 1/1250, f/3.2, spot metering

In photography class this week, we talking about light a bit and how to use flash photography in certain situations. I am still quite unsure about the whole process and need to spend a lot more time with a lot more willing models. One other assignment was to put a subject in a window and make sure we properly exposed for their skin. I've been wanting to try a silhouette for a long time so I did the opposite. I actually need stronger backlighting to get a perfect silhouette so expect to see this little exercise repeated when we can get out in the evening with the setting sun. Ideally they would be completely blacked out, but in some respects I like being able to see just a hint of their faces.



post processing
warmed WB in Camera Raw