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C.C.P.I.C.S. - Class 03 - Low-light Photography


pierces

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Okay...embarrassed here, as I raise my hand....

 

I've read through this whole thread and lesson #3, and I am really, really lost. I feel as if I am reading a different language. I've gone through my camera's manual settings (Panasonic DMZ-FZ7) and tried to change the aperture and exposure settings but cannot for the life of me, figure this thing out. I took about 3 pictures that all came out black and then my battery died trying!

 

Any direction in this is GREATLY appreciated. If I'm a lost cause, I want to thank you for taking the time to teach us these things! You all (students) have been taking awesome pictures! I really enjoy seeing them.

 

Maybe somethings just can't be taught to certain people. That's okay too!

 

Chris

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Okay...embarrassed here, as I raise my hand....

 

I've read through this whole thread and lesson #3, and I am really, really lost. I feel as if I am reading a different language. I've gone through my camera's manual settings (Panasonic DMZ-FZ7) and tried to change the aperture and exposure settings but cannot for the life of me, figure this thing out. I took about 3 pictures that all came out black and then my battery died trying!

 

Any direction in this is GREATLY appreciated. If I'm a lost cause, I want to thank you for taking the time to teach us these things! You all (students) have been taking awesome pictures! I really enjoy seeing them.

 

Maybe somethings just can't be taught to certain people. That's okay too!

 

Chris

 

At first, don't obsess over issues while shooting manually. It's a lot like math, you may not get it at first, but at some point you'll have that "a-ha" moment and it will click into place.

 

In the beginning, let your camera be your teacher. First, set the ISO manually to ISO100 (keeps the noise down). In your regular metering mode, your FZ7 will take an exposure as long as 8 seconds. In "Starry Sky" mode, it can take 15s, 30s or 60s exposures. Try these out and check your results. Look at what shutter speed and aperture your camera chose to get the shots that came out and use those as a starting point with manual exposures.

 

Keep in mind that this class isn't just all about manual exposure. That's just a tool to be used. The goal of this class is to understand how your camera can be adjusted to get a good picture when lighting is not at it's best. Using Program or Auto mode and understanding how to adjust exposure to brighten or darken a badly lit scene will get the photo just like the camera-junkie with a light meter and a $5000 manual Leica. It's just a different set of tools.

 

In these threads, the goal isn't to pass the Photo-SAT, but to know your camera better and learn to see all the pictures that are waiting to be taken. Not to get all poetic, but the biggest gift that photography has given me is to see the world more clearly and to appreciate the things that so many others pass by every day and never see.

 

Don't be afraid to ask specific questions about aperture, ISO, etc.. This board is really helpful and I, or someone else is sure to jump in and help.

 

Dave

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Okay...embarrassed here, as I raise my hand....

 

I've read through this whole thread and lesson #3, and I am really, really lost. I feel as if I am reading a different language. I've gone through my camera's manual settings (Panasonic DMZ-FZ7) and tried to change the aperture and exposure settings but cannot for the life of me, figure this thing out. I took about 3 pictures that all came out black and then my battery died trying!

 

Any direction in this is GREATLY appreciated. If I'm a lost cause, I want to thank you for taking the time to teach us these things! You all (students) have been taking awesome pictures! I really enjoy seeing them.

 

Maybe somethings just can't be taught to certain people. That's okay too!

 

Chris

 

Don't worry, I was the same way, I would read over and over, and it would never make sense. It is starting to slowly "click" with me. There are some great people here to help you, so don't give up! You have a great camera that is very capable, when I first got my Canon S3, I used it just on auto, but now that I know how to use it, I am amazed at all that it can do.

 

MAC

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Pierces,

I've been lurking on here for a bit, but not have been able to take the time to try any shots. However I wanted to say THANK YOU for the wonderful site that you have created, I read some of your articles and for the FIRST time I actually understand about compression (lossless/lossy etc.) and image size. Thank you so much for taking the timeto create such clear explanations. :):)

 

My normal camera is a Canon A620, which I've been fine with, but I recently had the opportunity to borrow a Nikon D50 to take on my vacation. I had never used a digital SLR before (have 2 film SLRs but never use them anymore) so I was learing as I went. I did play around with the different settings a bit, and thought I would post the results. I regret not having read this thread prior to my trip as I know I would have gotten much better shots!!

 

Day6b-Paris_067.jpg

 

ETclose.jpg

 

Day6b-Paris_080.jpg

 

ETwide.jpg

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Pierces,

I've been lurking on here for a bit, but not have been able to take the time to try any shots. However I wanted to say THANK YOU for the wonderful site that you have created, I read some of your articles and for the FIRST time I actually understand about compression (lossless/lossy etc.) and image size. Thank you so much for taking the timeto create such clear explanations. :):)

 

My normal camera is a Canon A620, which I've been fine with, but I recently had the opportunity to borrow a Nikon D50 to take on my vacation. I had never used a digital SLR before (have 2 film SLRs but never use them anymore) so I was learing as I went. I did play around with the different settings a bit, and thought I would post the results. I regret not having read this thread prior to my trip as I know I would have gotten much better shots!!

 

 

I'm glad you enjoyed the articles and found them helpful.

 

It looks like your experimentation paid off, not to mention a heck of a subject to practice on! From that angle, you cant even see the casino!

 

(You can tell how close I'v gotten to the real Eiffel tower...;) )

 

 

Dave

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pierces: My test shots this weekend have confirmed what you already know about .jpg. I took a series of photos recoding in RAW and high quality .jpg. I viewed them in Lightroom so I could easily have the RAW and .jpg pictures side by side. At a 1:1 zoom I could only notice a difference in specific scenarios. It was not until 2:1 or 3:1 that I could reliably tell which photo was RAW or .jpg. Now what am I going to do with all the extra memory I have?

 

I have mixed feelings about the auto settings on my Canon. They do quite well outside in the daylight and reasonably well inside or with reduced lighting. It is worst, as you would expect, with a subject up close which gets properly exposed but anything in the background disappeares into the blackness. I find it interesing to notice that the camera will not go higher than ISO 400 in auto.

 

Thanks again for opening my eyes. :eek:

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... I find it interesing to notice that the camera will not go higher than ISO 400 in auto.

 

 

I was hoping that your XTi was like my Sony and you could adjust the minimum and maximum values for auto ISO, but I checked the manual and didn't see any option for it.

 

Have fun with the program modes, I used some of mine for a while and they produced some excellent results. In the end, I ended up memorizing what the effect modes did to the settings and went back to shooting on aperture priority most of the time. Old habits...

 

Dave

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This is just stunning.

 

Thank you very much!

 

What was your settings for this photo? It's beautiful.........:D

 

Thank you,I guess Dave beat me to the setttings.:) I used a tripod on our verandah.

 

4s - f/10 - ISO200

 

 

And yes it is beautiful!

 

 

 

Dave

 

Dave,you naughty boy!:) Thanks,it was a beautiful evening.

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Thank you very much!

 

 

 

Thank you,I guess Dave beat me to the setttings.:) I used a tripod on our verandah.

 

 

 

Dave,you naughty boy!:) Thanks,it was a beautiful evening.

 

Thanks gang........

And Dave, how did you find out his settings? I tried right clicking on properties but it just gave me the link he set here? lol

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Thanks gang........

 

And Dave, how did you find out his settings? I tried right clicking on properties but it just gave me the link he set here? lol

 

I looked at the link properties and went to the hosting site. The photos there have an "info" button.

 

Just nosy, I guess...:D

 

Dave

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I looked at the link properties and went to the hosting site. The photos there have an "info" button.

 

Just nosy, I guess...:D

 

Dave

 

Me too actually....lol....... I like to see what someone had their settings on when I see a photo I like......

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I looked at the link properties and went to the hosting site. The photos there have an "info" button.

 

Just nosy, I guess...:D

 

Dave

 

Me too actually....lol....... I like to see what someone had their settings on when I see a photo I like......

 

My ears were burning. I thought someone was talking about me!:cool:

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If you have photo editing software like Photoshop (many cameras ship with a free photo program) you can view the photo information (metadata). You can even view the information for photos online or photo sites that do not have an "info" button. Save the picture to your computer. With Internet Explorer you click on the photo and go to the "files" tab and select "save as" and then tell it where you want to save the photo (the "pictures" file on your computer is a good place). Then open the picture with your photo editing software. Some will show the information right on the screen as a default while others you may have to look in properties or some other place.

---

Metadata is a rather cool feature. For the past several months I have been puting a lot of extra info in my pictures metadata like my contact information (name, address, e-mail...). It is rather fun when you get an e-mail from a stranger in Bangkok asking about your photograph.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I finally have my low-light pics! The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta (all last week) gave me a lot to work with on many of my assignments - so here goes:

ry%3D400

 

These balloons are called the 'Dawn Patrol' yes they actually inflate on the field - before the sun come up - they are the first to come up in the morning.

Ok, now Dave - they are all moving and I didn't have my tri-pod!

ry%3D400

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Here are 2 more from a different morning:

ry%3D400

 

And I have tried to do the shots where the lights move and make a great design - but they didn't turn out so good - I didn't try to do it on this one and there it is! Remember, the whole thing is moving and the streak at the bottom is the lights hanging below - like the picture above:

ry%3D400

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Some nice new stuff here. I have serious balloon envy from the NM festival! The Juneau and Calgary shots were a great study in blue.

 

Here's a couple shots of the pool at a local hotel using the "balcony-pod".

Both were at 13s - f/5 - ISO200. I angled the camera downward before the exposure was done in the second one to get the light streaks.

Mercury lighting gave the greenery a lot of green.

large.jpg

 

large.jpg

 

Keep them coming!

 

Dave

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Nikon Coolpix P50 - available light.

 

Camera set on Auto, standard green symbol AUTO.

Focal length "28mm." Holding it up in front my face,

composing with the screen(can't believe I even admitted that in public..:o)

no special nuthin....just these results.

 

T_Lord-0662.jpg

 

 

T_Lord-0671A.jpg

 

The Thomas Lord pub, in Hampshire,England.

 

 

____________________________________

Turns out the little Nikon P50

has amazing low-light-gathering ability

considerably beyond that of my old Canon Powershot A630

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