Gone To Seed . . .

[Chadeaux]

Don't remember what these two plants were, but they're pretty interesting in appearance to me ... and one of the garden's spiders.



Still fighting with the manual focus on this Canon Rebel ... but the ability to work with RAW is what I want ... so much more information in the image, and no aspecting.



It's starting to look better. Took the lens off and found where the last person who worked on the lens left their signature on the rear element which may have been affecting the focus. I'll have to see tomorrow.

 

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[DizzyDigger]

Chadeaux,

Several years back I was active on a photography forum where we
shared our finished images, and readily accepted critique and
comments from the other photographers on the forum; never rude,
but honest suggestions that could improve the image. From those
comments on my pics I learned more in a year than I could have
in a dozen years on my own. Everyone has a different approach,
so nobody took anything personally. The goal was to make us all
better photographers, so we all learned from one another. It was
amazing to see the progress people made just over the course
of a few months.

All that said, I'd like to respectfully offer a couple thoughts on your pics.

You mentioned using manual focus..wondering what lens you were using?

In looking closely at the pics (I checked the FxIF data), I could see
you shot them both at f/10. When taking close-ups like that
where you want the background blurred (we call that "bokeh"), it's
best to shoot at the lowest f setting, which will limit the depth
of focus, making the object sharp and the background blurred.

Also noticed the sensor sensitivity (aka: ISO) was set at ISO 800..was
the light bad? For that type of outdoor shot you might do better at
ISO 400, or less even. Play with it for a few shots and see how the
image changes.

I agree that working with RAW format can yield a far better image,
but the trick is getting it perfected in whatever image software you're
using. I shoot in RAW+JPEG, so I get two versions of each pic, as that
way I don't spend forever processing just average shots, but have
a RAW version if the pic has promise.

 

[scruggs]

Im surprised the birds haven’t gotten those dried seeds. Pretty picture!

 

[Chadeaux]

Chadeaux,

Several years back I was active on a photography forum where we
shared our finished images, and readily accepted critique and
comments from the other photographers on the forum; never rude,
but honest suggestions that could improve the image. From those
comments on my pics I learned more in a year than I could have
in a dozen years on my own. Everyone has a different approach,
so nobody took anything personally. The goal was to make us all
better photographers, so we all learned from one another. It was
amazing to see the progress people made just over the course
of a few months.

All that said, I'd like to respectfully offer a couple thoughts on your pics.

You mentioned using manual focus..wondering what lens you were using?

In looking closely at the pics (I checked the FxIF data), I could see
you shot them both at f/10. When taking close-ups like that
where you want the background blurred (we call that "bokeh"), it's
best to shoot at the lowest f setting, which will limit the depth
of focus, making the object sharp and the background blurred.

Also noticed the sensor sensitivity (aka: ISO) was set at ISO 800..was
the light bad? For that type of outdoor shot you might do better at
ISO 400, or less even. Play with it for a few shots and see how the
image changes.

I agree that working with RAW format can yield a far better image,
but the trick is getting it perfected in whatever image software you're
using. I shoot in RAW+JPEG, so I get two versions of each pic, as that
way I don't spend forever processing just average shots, but have
a RAW version if the pic has promise.

View attachment 1500994

Thanks for taking time to give some advice. Yep, shot at ISO 800 because the light was getting low ... and F10 because I'm having such trouble getting this camera to focus, and hoping that giving it an assist (smaller aperture sometimes helps a small amount with focus by having a larger area that will be "in focus").

It's an early Canon EOS Rebel and the auto-focus no longer works because the back mirror used for auto-focus is broken (likely why I was given the camera as a gift) and does not flip up when the shutter is pressed resulting in 1/2 of the image being black. Therefore, the rear mirror has been forced into the "cleaning" position where it is locked at all times. However, now turning on the AF cripples the camera until it is turned off.

I would personally prefer to never have auto-focus. Started in 35mm photography back in the 1970's and never had any assists other than the little helpers in the viewfinder. Whether a split image that lined up to show focus or other ways (don't remember now, getting quite old) to confirm that the image was focused. This digital camera has none of this and is almost a brick without auto-focus.

I'll keep fighting with it though, hopefully I'll figure it out. Not enough "dexterity" left in my hands to do a complete tear down to repair the mirror's function so that is no longer an option.

Right now I can't afford a true DSLR, and the cameras I can afford only save in jpg (and not high quality jpg either) so takes a bit to clean up some of the aspecting in the images even for my old eyes to like them.

Be well, and thanks again.

 

[Davers]

Looks Good to me.
but
I know nothing about photography.

Also look's like the Spider made an egg sack, ??

 

[DizzyDigger]

Right now I can't afford a true DSLR, and the cameras I can afford only save in jpg (and not high quality jpg either) so takes a bit to clean up some of the aspecting in the images even for my old eyes to like them. Be well, and thanks again.

With all of the new models that have come out over the past couple years
there are many used DSLR's available at very low prices. For instance, I
shoot a Nikon D90, which compared to the newer hyper-megapixel camera
bodies is "old school", at 12.3 megapixel..but, it ain't all about how many
megapixels a camera has, but how large and how good the sensor is that
is capturing the images.

A D90 is a fine DSLR, and can do anything and everything you'd want a
DSLR to do. Although I'd love to have one of the new D850's, my D90
can do just as good a job but lacks a few of the more modern bells and
whistles.

Here's one at a great price..low shutter count, too!

Nikon D90, 18-105mm lens, pristine condition, low shutter count

 

[Chadeaux]

Right now, way way way outside of my price range. Thanks for the link though.

Did play a bit with the Canon after doing a bit more cleaning.

 

[WannaDig3687]

Very interesting, photography lessons. I like your last photo best.

 

[Chadeaux]

Very interesting, photography lessons. I like your last photo best.

Thank you ... it's one of my favorite critters to look at in the garden. This one built a web that was about 10 feet tall, 15 feet wide and triangular shaped. Web stayed up last evening, and I took this pic after lunch, but this afternoon when I got home, he had taken it down and moved on. Lots of work for something smaller than a dime.

 

[Chadeaux]

Back at work early this morning rebuilding the web he took down yesterday afternoon ... greetings from my little jewel spider