I stumbled upon your site today and I absolutely love it! I just want to sit out with a glass of wine and admire our leaves…It’s 9:23am, so that’s not happening!
Shawn,
Glad you found us, and even more glad glad you like it!! I could have used a glass of wine around 9:23 this morning, but I guess I’ll have to make do for having one right about now instead!
Hope to see you back,
Andy
Val, its awesome when a pic can evoke emotions…I actually didn’t like the pic too much from a photographic standpoint, but the nostalgia and colors felt nice enough for me to post 🙂 Now if I can only recall the days I rolled around in the leaves on the front lawn!
Your photo is definitely evocative, and I hadn’t thought of making “leaf angels” in eons until I read your last comment. Love your photo on Velva’s site too. Hope all is well with you and the Mrs.
Hey Eggy, never heard the term “leaf angels”, but it makes sense! Me and the Mrs. (seems weird saying it), are well, thanks! I thought the pic on Velva’s site (http://tomatoesonthevine-velva.blogspot.com/ for those not in the know), would be fun for Halloween 🙂
As soon as I saw these autumn leaves, I thought this is how autumn should look. I need to send you a photo of my fig tree and you can surmise early autumn in North Florida-Not. Just leaves turning brown and falling off (sigh).
Tommy,
I have a fairly intense set of gear, but to be honest very very good results can be had with an average digital camera that can be set manually. Generally, good technique is better than really pricey gear. My shooting has improved more with practice, and understanding good composition, lighting, etc than any gear investment (other than a tripod).
Specifically for this picture I used a Canon 7D, handheld with a 70-200 2.8 L IS lens (which is a beast of a lens). Personally I am not thrilled with the technical aspects of this, but the colors looked kinda nice to me 🙂
Most of my shots also have a fair amount of post processing to do a little cropping, white balance, etc.
I am more than happy to answer in more detail, and possible will post an article on how I take my pics too — just compared to many other sites I think my pics are just average 🙂
I can appreciate that composition and lighting is very important. But a decent lens doesn’t hurt. 😉
I’m glad you avoid the temptation to blur out 90% of the photo, as so many bloggers tend to do. Depth of field is one thing, but unnatural blurring is annoying.
I just picked up a Canon Rebel T2i with the kit lens. Some of my shots look better than with my old point-and-shoot, but it’s clear to me that I need to figure out how to use it. And probably get another lens or two for specific applications.
The T2i is a nice piece of kit, same sensor as the 7D (and 60D), just a few less bells and whistles, Certainly more than capable of taking monster photos.
The problem with the sensor on our cameras is that the pixels are incredibly dense (due to the megapixel count and its size). This essentially means you need a better lens to really get its potential.
If you want bang for the buck, you can look at the canon “nifty fifty” — its a 50mm f1.8 lens that is really nice especially considering its about a hundred bucks.
Another lens that I really like is the EFS 60mm macro lens. This lets you get in real tight, and is super sharp. I believe it goes for around $300.
Also, you definitely need to shoot in RAW mode, and use good post processing software like Lightroom or Aperature. They will make a big difference…
If you ever want to go shooting, mess around with other lenses or just generally shoot the shit and have a drink, let me know. I usually don’t associate in person with internet types, especially within my stomping grounds — but in your case, I know where you blog (and more importantly where you drink).
Re: Depth of field, I agree, many take it too far but I also also suffer from having too much blur on occasion. See my seaweed or ceviche photos 🙂
I also tend not to take pics in bars or restaurants, so I have the benefit of a very controlled enviroment with plenty of light. I never understood how people can accomplish taking really high quality photos at a restaurant — I need so much light, space and gear to accomplish it at home!
On the subject of sharpness, I am pretty dissastisfied with my ability to consistently take sharp photos. It works well when I manually focus, but autofocus has been hit or miss. I need to determine if it’s the nut behind the wheel, or if the camera needs to go back for adjustments…
I looked at the 50/1.8 because of your rec (and then the rec of some others when I brought it up to them). I ended up with the 50/1.4. I looked at the 50/1.8, and while it seemed to be a great value, I read that it’s a bit fragile, and I figured why have buyers remorse.
The 50/1.4 is incredible. I didn’t know what a lens could do, but my eyes were amazed! I can blur just about every part of my shot out with no post-processing! 😉 Of course I don’t, but believe me, I played around and got a little out of hand with a few shots. I’m learning restraint, which is important.
Hey Tommy, the 1.4 is really really nice. Not as cost as effective as the 1.8, but you and I are in the same camp re remorse…Kind of why I wound up with a 70-200 2.8 🙂
Having the “blur” at your ready is a nice option, as you know its sometimes overdone, but definitely helps many times.
The blur does work well this time of year, I love blurred out Christmas lights in the backgrounds…
13 Comments
I stumbled upon your site today and I absolutely love it! I just want to sit out with a glass of wine and admire our leaves…It’s 9:23am, so that’s not happening!
Shawn,
Glad you found us, and even more glad glad you like it!! I could have used a glass of wine around 9:23 this morning, but I guess I’ll have to make do for having one right about now instead!
Hope to see you back,
Andy
You have taken me back to my brownie days collecting leaves in the fall. Beautiful.
🙂
valerie
Val, its awesome when a pic can evoke emotions…I actually didn’t like the pic too much from a photographic standpoint, but the nostalgia and colors felt nice enough for me to post 🙂 Now if I can only recall the days I rolled around in the leaves on the front lawn!
Your photo is definitely evocative, and I hadn’t thought of making “leaf angels” in eons until I read your last comment. Love your photo on Velva’s site too. Hope all is well with you and the Mrs.
Hey Eggy, never heard the term “leaf angels”, but it makes sense! Me and the Mrs. (seems weird saying it), are well, thanks! I thought the pic on Velva’s site (http://tomatoesonthevine-velva.blogspot.com/ for those not in the know), would be fun for Halloween 🙂
As soon as I saw these autumn leaves, I thought this is how autumn should look. I need to send you a photo of my fig tree and you can surmise early autumn in North Florida-Not. Just leaves turning brown and falling off (sigh).
What kind of equipment do you use? Great pics!
Tommy,
I have a fairly intense set of gear, but to be honest very very good results can be had with an average digital camera that can be set manually. Generally, good technique is better than really pricey gear. My shooting has improved more with practice, and understanding good composition, lighting, etc than any gear investment (other than a tripod).
Specifically for this picture I used a Canon 7D, handheld with a 70-200 2.8 L IS lens (which is a beast of a lens). Personally I am not thrilled with the technical aspects of this, but the colors looked kinda nice to me 🙂
Most of my shots also have a fair amount of post processing to do a little cropping, white balance, etc.
I am more than happy to answer in more detail, and possible will post an article on how I take my pics too — just compared to many other sites I think my pics are just average 🙂
–Andy
I can appreciate that composition and lighting is very important. But a decent lens doesn’t hurt. 😉
I’m glad you avoid the temptation to blur out 90% of the photo, as so many bloggers tend to do. Depth of field is one thing, but unnatural blurring is annoying.
I just picked up a Canon Rebel T2i with the kit lens. Some of my shots look better than with my old point-and-shoot, but it’s clear to me that I need to figure out how to use it. And probably get another lens or two for specific applications.
The T2i is a nice piece of kit, same sensor as the 7D (and 60D), just a few less bells and whistles, Certainly more than capable of taking monster photos.
The problem with the sensor on our cameras is that the pixels are incredibly dense (due to the megapixel count and its size). This essentially means you need a better lens to really get its potential.
If you want bang for the buck, you can look at the canon “nifty fifty” — its a 50mm f1.8 lens that is really nice especially considering its about a hundred bucks.
Another lens that I really like is the EFS 60mm macro lens. This lets you get in real tight, and is super sharp. I believe it goes for around $300.
Also, you definitely need to shoot in RAW mode, and use good post processing software like Lightroom or Aperature. They will make a big difference…
If you ever want to go shooting, mess around with other lenses or just generally shoot the shit and have a drink, let me know. I usually don’t associate in person with internet types, especially within my stomping grounds — but in your case, I know where you blog (and more importantly where you drink).
Re: Depth of field, I agree, many take it too far but I also also suffer from having too much blur on occasion. See my seaweed or ceviche photos 🙂
I also tend not to take pics in bars or restaurants, so I have the benefit of a very controlled enviroment with plenty of light. I never understood how people can accomplish taking really high quality photos at a restaurant — I need so much light, space and gear to accomplish it at home!
On the subject of sharpness, I am pretty dissastisfied with my ability to consistently take sharp photos. It works well when I manually focus, but autofocus has been hit or miss. I need to determine if it’s the nut behind the wheel, or if the camera needs to go back for adjustments…
Cheers,
Andy
Hey Andy,
I looked at the 50/1.8 because of your rec (and then the rec of some others when I brought it up to them). I ended up with the 50/1.4. I looked at the 50/1.8, and while it seemed to be a great value, I read that it’s a bit fragile, and I figured why have buyers remorse.
The 50/1.4 is incredible. I didn’t know what a lens could do, but my eyes were amazed! I can blur just about every part of my shot out with no post-processing! 😉 Of course I don’t, but believe me, I played around and got a little out of hand with a few shots. I’m learning restraint, which is important.
Happy holidays!
Hey Tommy, the 1.4 is really really nice. Not as cost as effective as the 1.8, but you and I are in the same camp re remorse…Kind of why I wound up with a 70-200 2.8 🙂
Having the “blur” at your ready is a nice option, as you know its sometimes overdone, but definitely helps many times.
The blur does work well this time of year, I love blurred out Christmas lights in the backgrounds…
Looking forward to some of your shots,
–A