Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Winter shots

I was out and about looking for some interesting shots. What I really wanted was a red tailed hawk. Usually they are a dime a dozen when I don't have my camera but now that I had my camera and my new 70 -300 mm lens not a one to be seen. Not a pheasant, not a Canadian goose, not a red fox, nada nothing. So.... something we do have plenty of. Old corn fields and old fences, snow and more snow.




It is so hard not to get reflection from the snow. I forgot my polarized filter so the corn is bleached out. With each new lens is a new learning experience.

The water always looks blue when it is frozen, kind of a blue green. I liked the colors. Makes it look later in the day then it was when I took this.


I was looking for something Ruby for the ruby Tuesday photo shoot. Wasn't sure if these would be red enough.



The barn below was just way to bleached out in the shot. So I played with it. I like the way it turned out. Looks like I painted it....

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

It looks like you have a very artistic eye and mind. Have fun with your new lens in the New Year.

Mojo said...

Every photo is a learning experience. The camera is often a humbling taskmistress. But some of the best advice I ever got on photography was "just tell 'em you did it on purpose". And having the "bleached out" effect makes the photo reflect just how cold it really was so it still works.

However, if you're trying for something other than what you got, a few tips for snowscapes:

First off, if you're not already there drop your ISO setting to 100 (or as low as your camera will go). This does a couple of things, and both of them are good. The lowest ISO setting you can use will give you the least "noise" (grain) for one, and it also has the effect of "stopping down" your exposure, even though you haven't changed settings.

If you want to get a warmer color tone, try using a different white balance setting like "Cloudy" or "Shade". Those will warm things up by trying to counteract the excess blue in the scene -- especially in the shadows.

For the exposure settings them selves, in these conditions you could probably use ISO 100, f/16 and ... maybe 1/200 second to start with.

And yes, a polarizer is always a good idea in snow like this!

Jeanie said...

As soon as I saw the fence post I shivvered as the light and colour reflected the winter sun well.
The blue colour of the frozen water gave this impression too.
I want to be like you and take good pictures but first I need to save up for a new camera.
I enjoyed my visit Julie.
Hugs
Jeanie xxx

kbear said...

Love the fence post. great capture of lighting. also liked the barn too...kbear

Unknown said...

Animals or no (often they don't cooperate with me either) that looks like a beautiful day! Fun times!

Happy New Year!


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