Camera Labs

Just back from a relaxing week on a rustic island in The Maldives

Here are the first couple of shots:

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2.




3.




4.




5.




6.

i wish i was there right now very nice pics!

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Sigma 18-200mm f3.5-6.3
Minolta AF 50mm f1.7
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alan_parker/

*shudder* those looks like screenshots from the new Zombie-killer game "Dead Island"...but that's another story..

Lovely, juicy shots there!!

Cheers

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Nikon stuff and other stuff, but not nearly as much stuff as I really want!

Thanks Alan and LahLahSr - I really should post the straightened versions! Slightly wonky horizons while editing on the aircraft home!

straightened - you're got to love the colour straight out of the 14-24!














and a few 24-70 shots

Wot no haze? :p

As always great photos. Did you manage to complete your tick list?

What was the set up for the last one? Was there much processing? The coulds don't seem to have moved

Ian

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Canon EOS 550D (with Magic Lantern)
18mm - 135mm Kit Lens, 50mm f1.8, Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM
430EX II Flash with Phottix Strato Wireless Tigger Set
Manfrotto 190CXPRO3 with 496 Ball Head. Gorilla Pod SLR
Canon Powershot A720IS with CHDK and intervalometer script. Pentax Optio W90

My Blog - http://www.ianganderton.wordpress.com

Thanks Ian - didn't quite manage all of the tick list!

For the last shot I was on a pier with wooden decking. Whenever a waiter walked past there was vibration so I had to set a longer shutter to reduce the effect of this. I had a remote timer with me so the camera was set up at ISO250, F5.6 and manual focus on bulb mode and then the timer was set up to take 20 shots at a 4 minute shutter speed at 1 second intervals.

The 4 minute shutter speed minimised the vibrations and ensured that the moonlight had snought time to light the beach.

Then when home I stacked the shots together using a free program called startrails.exe. In a few shots there was a couple walking along the beach with a torch so I used a shot with no people in it and blended in photoshop.

Unfortunately the clouds occasionally blocked the stars which broke the trails, and due to the vibrations I couldn't go to a 30 second shutter speed to get a decent time lapse out of it. So a total exposure of 80 minutes

As always, breathtaking shots. Straightening a photo can really make a huge difference, eh?

Just out of curiosity, why weren't you shooting wide open for the star trail shot? I understand that closing off a bit gives you sharper final results, but you'd want to get the most light in for astrophotos. Did you close off a bit to reduce the shutter speed because of the vibrations?

Anyways, great photos, I can't wait to see more. I'll also have to take a look into startrails.exe.

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-Evan

Gear: 7 Nikon Nikkor AI-S and AF-S lenses, SB-700 flash, Nikon D7000, Nikon FM, variety of accessories

"There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs."
- Ansel Adams

Thanks EvanK

I wanted a balance between number of individual shots and exposure to vibration. I could have shot wide open at f2.8 and ISO 100 but that would have left me with a very long 'dark exposure' at the end of the run to act as the shot to reduce noise in the software.

The 85 f1.4D got an occasional workout as well

@ f1.4 with a 3 stop ND filter





and @ f5.6



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and the 35mm Distagon saw the light of day as well - gotto love the pop from the Carl Zeiss

@ f2 with 2 stop ND filter

Beautiful images Phil. Fabulous location.
I guess you're used to the strong light, reflections etc, but did you find any differences in conditions that you weren't expecting, or had to re think?
I guess air `quality` was far better & less humidity.

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Nikon D700 & D7100 bodies + Nikkor 300mm F2.8 VR11, 1.7TC, 50mm F1.4G, 16-35mm f/4G VR, 105 F2.8 VR macro, 70-300mm lenses. A couple of filters, Giotto tripod & ballhead. Lowepro Slingshot 302 AW

http://www.flickr.com/photos/oldcarlos/

Thanks oldCarlos

It was less humid, which helps if you've got a backpack and of course the visilibity was greater. The biggest difference you notice is the quality of the light. In the Middle East it's very flat - i.e. once you've taken a shot and you then review your histogram you notice one big peak with little else going on. You therefore learn early to post process to add contrast and saturation if required.

Going abroad it's as if you have had a cataract operation - full histograms and richer colours straight off the bat. Slap a great lens like the 14-24, 24-70 or the Carl Zeiss on and it blows your mind - sure, it's now possible to buy filters for the 14-24 at great expense but the colour and clarity straight out of the camera are as if it has a built in polariser.

The biggest difference is having to use exposure compensation - in the Middle East it's rarely used, but you have to check your histograms when shooting in other parts of the world until you become acclimatised - the great dynamic range of the D700 means it's not too great an issue and you can recover things in post but I prefer to get it right in camera if possible.

I think you nailed it when it comes to the signature beach shots - nice blue sky, turquoise water, etc. Would love to see more star trails/astrophotography!

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Flickr

Thanks eVolutioN

Only one star trail shot taken, but I'm working on a Milky Way shot. I don't know how to accentuate the colours of the star and gas clusters so it's a work in progress.