Camera Labs

Today was the first proper outing of my new Panasonic GX1. Following several days of endless internet photography tutorial watching, book reading and practicing around the home and garden, it was time to put into practice what I think I've learnt...
The lens I used was the kit lens: LUMIX G VARIO 14-42mm/F3.5-5.6 ASPH/MEGA O.I.S.

I headed down to our local beach and experimented a little with different aperture settings (camera set at A the whole time). It was a very grey day so I struggled with the brightness a little, but here are a few of my experimentals. Critique is very welcome. Would increasing shutter speed and/or ISO have helped with brightness in these?


Pebbles 1: 14mm, f/3.5, ISO 160, 1/200


Pebbles 2: Edited
This is an edited version of Pebbles 1. I had a go at trying to brighten up the pebbles and the big rock in the foreground and added a little sharpness too using Snapseed.

As well as seeing what the different aperture readings would produce, my aim was for the dreamy look of the flowing water so I experimented with shutter speed a little too. I think some sunshine would helps lots!

Stream 1: 14mm, f/4, ISO 160, 1/30

(pretend those legs are not there in this one!!!)

Stream 2: 14mm, f/13, ISO 160, 1/4


Stream 3: 14mm, f/18, ISO 160, 1/2

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Camera: Panasonic Lumix GX1
Lenses: Lumix G Vario 14-42mm f3.5-5.6
with adapter: Nikon 50mm f1.8 and Tamron 24mm f2.5

its a good start ! learning to use your camera and to see the difference the settings can make is essential. keep up the good work !

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Canon 550D, Canon EFS 17-85 IS USM, Canon EF 75-300 IS USM, Canon EFS 10-22mm USM, Canon EF35mm F2.

Got some of the gear but really still no idea...

Hi Saviet,
I'm new here and am learning too, so take my comments with a grain of salt. (I've posted pictures here with just about every amateur mistake you can make, but I'm getting better!) I think maybe the brightness is ok (bright sunshine is going to bring its own set of problems). In the first two pictures, the focus is more of a problem - the front rocks are in focus but the others aren't. in the photography tips here there's a tutorial on how to keep the whole scene in focus. I know my camera has a setting where you can switch where the camera will focus (left side of screen, center focus, etc...) Maybe your camera does too? I think you did a pretty good job getting that dreamy look you wanted on your second shots. We have different cameras but the general rule seems to be that the more pictures you take - the better they'll be.
X

Thank you robbon44 for your encouragement and XNavy for your feedback. I should have explained really with my pebbles picture that I was aiming for the cliff and beach in the background to be out of focus. The first few photos I took with the aperture set at infinity just looked too busy as the beach is full of pebbles. I was hoping that the two pebbles on the rock would just provide a hint at what was in the background, but maybe I need to rethink the composition

Thank you, XNavy for offering your feedback because it really is useful to read how someone else sees my photo. I'm too busy thinking about how I wanted it to look thinking that it could do with some more brightness, while not thinking that the out of focus part of the picture may not look intentional to someone else. Definitely tons more practice required! I had another good afternoon at the beach yesterday with the camera, so I may post some more photos once I've gone through them properly.

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Camera: Panasonic Lumix GX1
Lenses: Lumix G Vario 14-42mm f3.5-5.6
with adapter: Nikon 50mm f1.8 and Tamron 24mm f2.5

Personally, I think you did a good job capturing the coldness of the scene--rocks on a heavily overcast day--and a brighter pic would detract from that.

Having said that, if you shoot RAW, you can adjust exposure in post - Mark

Aww, thank you for the ego boost

I don't yet have any software for dealing with RAW files - I'm currenlty using Snapseed for the JPEGs on my iPad Mini, but editing software for RAW files is a future target.

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Camera: Panasonic Lumix GX1
Lenses: Lumix G Vario 14-42mm f3.5-5.6
with adapter: Nikon 50mm f1.8 and Tamron 24mm f2.5

Processing RAW files on an iPad isn't particularly user friendly, and I would imagine it'd be even more tedious on the smaller and lower resolution mini. But I have used Filterstorm for some quick-and-dirty edits in the past. At a similar relatively affordable price point, there's Photogene. Moving up in price, there's PhotoRAW, and with the highest price, Photosmith.

And apologies for drifting into Image Editing Software in the Landscapes section - Mark

Well don't I feel the proper plank! I was 'Googling' your suggestions and then came across Pixelmator. We've got that on our Mac. Guess I better learn how to use it. I'll switch the camera to RAW this weekend. I really do have much to learn...!

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Camera: Panasonic Lumix GX1
Lenses: Lumix G Vario 14-42mm f3.5-5.6
with adapter: Nikon 50mm f1.8 and Tamron 24mm f2.5

When switching to raw one of the biggest gains i found was being able to manage the exposure of the shots much better.

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Canon 550D, Canon EFS 17-85 IS USM, Canon EF 75-300 IS USM, Canon EFS 10-22mm USM, Canon EF35mm F2.

Got some of the gear but really still no idea...

And white balance. My cameras are piss-poor at WB indoors.

Great shots! I think that the first shot does look amazing, and like Maestro pointed out, even if it is a bit dark, it helps with the idea of an overcast day. I really liked it, good job

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Gear: Canon SX20 IS, Canon Rebel T3i, Canon EF-S 18-55mm
Wishlist: Canon 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II
Visit me and leave me a comment in My Flickr

Than you, pierovera for your encouragement

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Camera: Panasonic Lumix GX1
Lenses: Lumix G Vario 14-42mm f3.5-5.6
with adapter: Nikon 50mm f1.8 and Tamron 24mm f2.5