Sunay Photos - Pelicans n stuff

[darb]

first sunday in a long time with nothing on so went for a wander and snapped a few off (quite bored and didnt know what to do with myself.

I had to keep kicking the pole so the pelican would wake up and look at me. (for about 3 seconds before bending his head back over and going back to sleep.)

[dooda]

I quite like these. the second pelican is the best, as it seems your pole kicking got the pelican's attention. I'd like to watch that process happen (man kicking the pole, then pointing camera, Pelican looking down thinking "what the hell?")

I also like the moment you caught the people trying to drag that sail out of the tree. How on earth did it get up there? Is it a kiteboard sail? (Squamish is a hotspot for Kiteboarding and windsurfing.) It is a tad dark.

The two pelicans in the water isn't bad, but the pelicans don't stand out well. They need to be bigger in the frame I think, or a CPL would have helped with the distracting reflections.

[darb]

that was polarised ... yeh i had a quiet laugh to myself about the kicking thing.

he kept going to sleep and at first id like whistle quietly, then got evil thoughts and kicked the pole a few times

the sail was a kyte surfing sail yeh ... not a happy jan!

pelicans in the water, yeh ill give it a crop in a sec and see if you like it better

[darb]

[dooda]

yes I like the crop. There was one particular highlight that was distracting in the upper right.

It is polarized then, sounds like you did what you could.

Seems like the pelicans were replaced by an attractive young lady who fancies a computer as a friend.

[PlatinumWeaver]

Nice 403 page!

[darb]

hmmm youre getting a 403 ? what does it say? can you screen shot? exactly what URl do you have for the forum? ... i have allowed this site to hotlink to my galleries, so it shouldnt be denying like that

[Onyx]

Gorgeous pelicans - any harm to the pole or your feet are well worth it.

Jacaranda in bloom holds fond memories for me - Sydney uni has one in the main quad, and at end of year exams it would be in full purple bloom, just like the one you've captured.

[xerubus]

nice shots darb...

my favourite is number 2... i take it you were using a cpl?

[darb]

yah yah ... CPL is almost permanently attached with me (well, on bright days.)

[kipper]

Very nice photos darb of the pelicans. Out of interest what lense?

[darb]

tamrom 28 - 300, CPL, then noise ninja NR (which happens to sharpen.) ... nothing else was needed.

[MHD]

you running noise ninja through wine?

Or have you got a linux port (or has the dark side got you?)

[gstark]

you running noise ninja through wine?

Or have you got a linux port (or has the dark side got you?)

wine ...

port ...

I'm getting thirsty.

[darb]

MHD : XP workstation mate. I dont bother with linux as a workstation because most of the work I do for clients, client platforms etc, and the "house" that i work for is windows & mac based for workstations.

My private back end servers are linux, yeah. ( http://www.darb.net/ ) ... but otherwise, meh! It works. We also run a plethara of gear. Windows based servers of varying flavours, linux of different distro's, SCO, smart cisco's hp's open's, citrix farms, TS farms, etcetera etcetera ... for a very wide variety of purposes. (client farms co-located here among them.)

My two biggest pet hates. "sports team rival vitriol" in 1) Operating systems. 2) canon vs nikon arguments.

Everything has its place

[MHD]

yeah... I'm just cheaparse

[darb]

pfft like i paid for it !!

[goodrich62]

Darb,
I like number 2 myself seems to be saying "You Again".

How do you like the 28-300. I have that and the kit lens but usually when out and about the 300 stays on I love the range it gives I only use the kit when I know I going some place where the exta wide degrees will be helpful or I need a little sharper glass
Where they hand held or did you use a stabilization device
And newbe question "CPL"

Thanks,
Goodrich

[goodrich62]

Darb,
I like number 2 myself seems to be saying "You Again".

How do you like the 28-300. I have that and the kit lens but usually when out and about the 300 stays on I love the range it gives I only use the kit when I know I going some place where the exta wide degrees will be helpful or I need a little sharper glass
Where they hand held or did you use a stabilization device
And newbe question "CPL"

Thanks,
Goodrich

[darb]

yeah i love it ... i use it a lot more often than my kit lens coz as you say , its versatile, light, compact and not bad !

CPL is a circular polarizer ... an absolutely essential filter for anyone who shoots outdoors, rich colours, reduces glare and bright sky generally ... makes skies a nice dark blue (if youre at the correct angle for polarized light to be cut.)

and nah it was handheld ... nice and bright day so no issues there, no need to increase gain (ISO)

read up on what polarizers do.

some examples ;

top frame is with, bottom frame is without.



top frame is without, bottom is with ;

[bago100]

Darb
Just seen this thread for the first time
Congratulations on your pics - the pelican pictures especially.
Very nice indeed
Cheers
Graham

[kipper]

What brand of CPL you using darb. I haven't shot a lot of outdoor pics yet with and without CPL. However when I did I didn't notice a significant change in colors. Also what sort of WB do you use (eg. Auto, Predefined or Custom?).

[darb]

in msot caases, i use "shade" ... even in direct sunlight. i love it, but its possibly not accurate to the real white ... not that i care, photography for me is an exxagerated "showing" to others of what you see / want to say / show.

(unless itsa wedding maybe

[kipper]

And the brand of CPL? I've got a Hoya and it seems to work fine on water, and is visible when adjusting the ring. However I never really seem to notice the sky colors changing when adjusting the ring. Might test it again this weekend. Saturday will be a stinker in Melbourne.

[darb]

sorry, yeh hoya

try spinning 360 dregrees slowly whilst also spinning the polariser, it only works on certain angles ...
the other thing i do, is that if i really want dark sky ill get at my best angle, then turn the PL to half, lock exposure, then swivel to full polariser position so it slightly underexposes allowing darker sky. (or you cuold just under expose with EV -- but tahts up to you.)

[kipper]

k, understand that the CPL works at certain angles but I swear I did try adjusting direction by 90-180 degrees. Although I don't think I tried adjusting the CPL ring from what it was set at.

[dooda]

I once got a sky almost completely black through stacking a cpl and a red filter. I loved the results. Now that I'm shooting Cokin I can stack and not worry about vignetting. Yeehaw.

[Onyx]

In the typical D70users forum tradition of topics going off on tangents... I too recently got a CPL filter (courtesy of Birddog, who else?!). I'm very impresse! I can't believe I haven't bought this essential piece sooner. I can see how it would have helped my images tremendously, especially at Grand Canyon (strong afternoon sun).

The maximum colour-shift of the sky occurs when you're facing perpendicular to the sun. ie. have the sun in line with your left or right shoulder casting a shadow across your body. I personally don't like the deep purple colour it renders skies - I think it's unrealistic, however the brightness that it removes from the sky is very useful. Without a CPL, I find skies are consistently 1 to 1.5 stops brighter than anything in direct sunlight on the ground. With a CPL on, it removes that brightness to compress that histogram a little - effectively extending your dynamic range and allowing you a better scene exposure overall.

[darb]

I once got a sky almost completely black through stacking a cpl and a red filter. I loved the results. Now that I'm shooting Cokin I can stack and not worry about vignetting. Yeehaw.

i just bought into cokin too ... just a Gray ND and a tabacco coloured grad ND thus far

as for black sky ... nearly ! ;

[kipper]

Hasn't really gone OT that much. It's still talking about how darbs got the rich blues in his shot of the pelican.