originally posted by grasshopper

My interests in photography vary but i am mainly interested in sports or action photography.. Ive done alot of work on Millitary aircraft amongst other things. I really love people photographs as well but i like to try i can to capture them in a moment rather than posed shots..

Grasshopper,

As you said that your interested in photography, I hope you don't mind me opening this special thread where we can admire your work only.

Looking forward to see the pictures you took in the past and the one you will take over the coming months ;)

ooooooo my! thank you for this x-press i hope i dont dissapoint

ok here goes.. heres the first one... this a pic of an F3 tornado.

Nav will hate this. sorry mate. Raf asked for a pic of dartmoor. heres one. just one small part of it

Exquisite... a most fantastical place. Im sure its where dreams are made hoppy. I would love to see it in person one day.

one can't but say sob7an Allah!

marvellous and fabulous :)

Originally posted by grasshopper
Nav will hate this. sorry mate. Raf asked for a pic of dartmoor. heres one. just one small part of it

no worries mate ,,:wink:

WOW!!!!

thankyou everybody..

Floret i had to ask somebody what that meant but now i know.. thankyou very much very kind of you to say so.

Raf.. dartmoor is a beautiful place (shut it nav:D ) its a mix of pretty little places like that and dramatic and imposing hills.. I like to go there to get away from everyone and just let the mind drift.

thanks again..

trying to find more now..

more pics! more planes. ha. sorry its what most of my stuff is..wil Endeavour to dig out some more arty things though.

and again!

The last one looks incredible ... how u've managed to take the picture at take off ...
Dartmoor looks like a heavenly place the way u captured the picture with different light/colour/ and shade densities.

Thankyou Seham. i will try to find more pics of dartmoor. As you and Raf seem to like it

heres another aircraft pic.. bit different this time. This is the Italian National Display Team. The Frecci Tricolori unfortunatly infamous for their horrific crash at Ramstein, Germany. However they are a fantastic team to watch and without doubt one of the best in the world.

First one to spot the deliberate mistake in the pic wins a prize.

2 sevens .. no six! Now what is the prize?!

Lol Seham.. i dunno yet you were too quick.. how about you think of a pic you want and ill see if ive got one or can take one for you.

Wow hop...absolutely amazing pics... you are a natural.
Im jealous I must admit. Ive always wanted to be a good photographer.
Care to give us some brief introductory lessons or tips?

Somone once told me that a certain photographer's creative essence is often refined by a ferocious hangover.

Hopp, may I ask a favour? Will you please take some pictures of where you live, I mean the area in which you live. I think what you choose to photograph there will shed more light on who you are, and we are all so intrigued by you. It would be nice to know you more deeply.
;)

Thanks
Raffee

I'd love to Raf. thats such a nice idea.. ill post them as i get them.. Thankyou for saying such lovely things.

hoppy

It is strange, how come I can view only 2 pictures...the beautiful one of Dartmoor and the one of the Italian Display? I tried several times to download the others but without success :confused:

Grassy, I really like the light and the angle in the one taken in Dartmoor. It even seem that you add some fade purple effect in it, but I might be wrong. We can really sense the coolness and quiteness of the place. As for the plane, great shot too!

Waiting to see more of the place where you come from or live....

x-press.

as ever thanks for your continuing kind words..
Im sorry you cant download the other pics. ive tried them myself and they seem to work fine. raf and others as far as i know seem to have got them fine. maybe your ISP was having a bad hair day.

As for the dartmoor pic. no i very rarely use filters or any other effects. i may have on or two pics that use a polarising filter but thats it....
Ive never been one for the use of artificial enhancements to a photo although i do accept they can really make a photo.
What you see in that picture is literally what you get..
I love that you used the words cool and quiet in your description. Parts of dartmoor are so like that. even on the hottest day. you sit beneath the thick cover of trees and feel the coolness of the fresh river flowing past you. Its a very popular place for both locals and trourists alike but you can always find a place to be alone.

I intended to go and take pictures today of where i live but its rained pretty much all day..

another pic. something a little different this time..

Sorry that I can't see some of the pictues you posted earlier...I still get a white square instead :(.

I was however able to admire this last one and what a nice shot! I guess it is not easy to take an animal at the first place and it must be even harder to take him the way you did (frontal view). What animal is this? Did you use a special zoom for your shot?

...for sure this one can go to National Geography!

grosshopper I really love ur work & u really have the photographer sence that make u take the pic from the best side 2 get a perfect view:color: . Do u have pics 4 beautiful places like mountains or any thing?? cauz I love this kind of pics.

X-Press.

Thanks again for your compliments.. Not sure whats going on with the pictures i wonder if anyone else is having problems nobody has said anything. which ones can you not see and ill try and sort something out..

The Animal is a Marmeset. Beautiful little creatures and incredibly inquisitive. When they get used to you being there they will spend hours moving into different positions and figuring you out. I had them climbing all over me and my camera. You go to take a shot and you suddenly get a little paw or head appear in the frame..
It wasnt a particulaly special lens for that shot. I have 3 different lenses that i use. a 28-70mm a 70 - 300mm and a 400mm this just about covers most things... I think that shot was probably taken with the 300end of the 70-300mm.
I wish this could go to national georgraphic but it needs to be much better than that im afraid but thanks anyway.

el7ilwa

Thank you for being so generous in your praise el7ilwa.. I dont do much in the way of landscape photography as in mountains etc. Ive a few pictures of this nature but not much.. Ill see what i can find though and get them scanned for you.. Its not something i do alot i generally prefer to photograph things moving.. Landscape photography is a different skill altogether really. .If you have not heard of him already. Check out a guy called Ansel Adams.. WIthout doubt the most famous landscape photographer and for good reason his work is breathtaking.

Thanks again and hope you like the Adams work if you can find some. should be plenty on the WWW.

Never mind grosshopper, just let us see more of ur work man:wink: .

Ive always wanted to be a good photographer.
Care to give us some brief introductory lessons or tips?

Raf im sure you could make a great photographer.. Photography is a combination of 2 things really. Knowing the technical aspects of photography and having a good eye for a picture. Ive heard people say yeh but you have to the eye in the first place. Yeh i guess some people have a fantastic talent for seeing that picture and i envy them. But as with anything there are rules that apply and guidlines to follow which will help in the making of a good picture.

I dont know where to start on lessons really Raf. It depends how much you want to learn. Id recommend starting with a camera where you can manually adjust its settings. You will not learn anything on a fully auto camera..

What you have to work on then is understanding that with a camera no matter how modern or full of gadgets that you fundamentally have 2 ways of controlling how much light falls on the film and that the way you use these controls depends on the outcome of the shot.

Your two controls are aperture and shutter speed..

The aperture will control the depth of field of a shot (amount in focus either side of the focal point) and the shutter speed which will control the level to which things are frozen in time.. You have to then balance these options around what the correct exposure is for the current light available and the speed setting of a film.

sounds a pickle doesnt it but its not to complicated really...
Id be happy to give anyone any advice if i can about photography. So if anyones got any questions ill do my best to answer them.

Mean time a few top tips

If you are taking a picture of a landscape. try to have a foreground interest or detail. this will give a sense of scale to the picture..
Also. avoid the commen mistake of half sky half land pictures. Decide whats most interesting. if its the sky. make it 2 3rds sky 1 3rd land, if its the land thats interesting then do the opposite.
you will see an instant improvment in landscape shots if you follow these guidlines.

If you are taking a picture of a person a common mistake is to put the eyes in the center of the shot. Move the camera down so the eyes fall on the line of the top 3rd of the shot. .
Pay attention to detail. look for background clutter. If you are photographing a persons face the aim is to have as little distraction in the background as possible. There are techniques and lenses which help this by throwing the background totally out of focus like in the Marmeset shot on this thread. As a rule of thumb use the longest lens or highest end of your zoom that you can as the greater the focal length of the lens the smaller the depth of field and the more out of focus background clutter will be.

Not sure if any of this helps anyone. didnt know where to start really as dont know what knowledge you already have. Sorry if ive confused the hell out of anyone. .

Hoppy

Of course they help hoppy, although it makes me realise how little i know abt photography:duh:

More lessons pls! explain more abt light and the various effects that may be achieved in the different treatment of light.

More lessons huh? Im not totally sure what you want to know with your question.Are you talking about the basic control of light with a camera or special effects?

The use of light in photography is endless really Raf.. from the simple case of under or overeposure to tricks with flash and long exposure photopgraphy or creating artificial lighting effects with filters etc..

Lets start with available light and basic camera settings. master these principles and you have it in the bag.

a camera has an aperture ring with can be changed in whats called f stops.

an average 50mm lens may have an aperture rating of f2.8 to f32
2.8 being its widest 32 its smallest. The wider aperture setting a lens has the faster it is. Which basically means you can allow more light in so therefor photograph in less light but at the expense of reduced depth of field. at the opposite end of the spectrum setting the aperture to f32 will give you huge depth of field but requires more available light in order to take the picture.

So to sort of answer your question. available light has the effect of dictating your depth of field.

As said before the camera's other setting is shutter speed. Depending on your camera this can be set between 30seconds and 1/8000th of a second. this is basically how long the shutter is open and letting light fall on to the film. Shutter speed effects how you freeze moving things. if its to slow a setting you will blur the subject and suffer camera shake. if its to fast you may freeze things that should not be frozen. A helicopters rotor blades for example. a helicopter looks a tad unsafe floating in the air with rotor blades that appear not to move.

Shutter speed is again dictated by available light.

So given the quality of available light the photographer has to decide what is more important. the aperture (depth of field) or the shutter speed(level of freezing the subject and your own movement).

Combining the 2 is like this.

say its a bright day and you can use whatever shutter or aperture setting you like. ignore film speed for a minutue

you set the aperture to 5.6 (a mid range setting)
the light meter in your camera tells you you the need to set the shutter speed to 1/250th (mid range again)

this will give you perfect exposure for the conditions. will freeze most things and give you an average depth of field.

if you want a little more depth of field you change the aperture to the next stop down which is f8.. because you are now letting less light through the lens you have to compensate by opening the shutter a little longer. so you change that now by a stop down to 1/125th. this will again give you correct exposure but with increased depth of field but a little less control over moving objects. You dont have to know all the figures straight off but just to understand that by adjusting one you compensate with the other and that both have different effects on the final shot.

In most cases a balance has to be struck between the two depending on the picture. It will vary with each picture you take and as you will find there are many times when the light available to you just does not allow for the best possible shot so its then a case of making the best of it.

Its kind of hard to explain unless you have a camera there in front of you or without using some sort of visual representation. maybe ill knock up a word doc with some diagrams to expain it better. Hope some of this made sense.

wow! more pls:rolleyes:

(more pics too!!!!...im sure you have loads more to share)

Waiting to see more pictures taken by you hoppy!!!

Wow, hoppy, great pics I should say! You're really talented!
yeah how about posting more, your tips on photography are very helpfull too, so keep them coming..;)

Dr N

Thankyou for saying that. glad you liked them.. Good to see you back around again..

Raf and X-Press

Sorry about the delay in pics.. I need to dig out some of my work and get them scanned. as soon as i do i will post them.. dont want to bore you with constant Aircraft pics. although i fear most of my photography is that..

Hoppy

Ok.. ive still not managed to get to my folders with most of my work in but heres a few a couple i found lurking around the house..

Dr N.. you said in your interview you liked taking pictures of children.. im sure yours are much better than mine. This is one taken as part of an art project years ago.. I had a whole series of shots from Trafalger Square in London this is the only i can find at the moment..

This one is something different again. I spent a day at the races once and thought id have a go at some shots there.. I only took a few in the end and this one i kinda like..

I liked them so much grassy, once I saw the 1st pic it gaves me a warm feelings & made me think about the relation between the Childhood & the Birds...mmmm so sweet:color:

More please !!!!

I agree with el7ilwa. That first pic stirs up wonderful childhood memories. It reminds me of the innocence of childhood, that innocence which gives rise to unequivical happiness.

Dr N
el7ilwa
Raffee

Thank you all for saying such nice things about my pics..

If you are taking a picture of a person a common mistake is to put the eyes in the center of the shot. Move the camera down so the eyes fall on the line of the top 3rd of the shot. .

Is this one of the reasons that the eyes come out red in photos?? I always have this problem with people with light coloured eyes (light brown, green..ect).

That last one was great Grass. You know I always see something where I think, that would make a great pic, but I am afraid to take out my camera. Especially here in Oman where people get so offended if you try to take their pic. :duh:

Runnin

Thanks. glad you like the pic. Having a longer lens is good for getting shots like that. Mainly because you are not invading the persons space so much and they may not even notice you taking the photo..

The red eye effect you are talking about has nothing to do with the composition runnin. It is caused by the flash reflection on the eyes of the person. Like you said light colour eyes are the where you notice it most and blue eyes are the worst of all.

There are several ways you can avoid this.

1) Get the subject to look away from the camera slightly this will reduce the effect as you are not pointing the flash directly at the eyes.

2)If possible make the surroundings as light as possible before hand or shine a torch or bright light at the eyes. this will make the pupils less dilated and reduce the effect.

3)Many modern cameras or flash guns have a red eye reduction feature. this works in exactly the same way as number 2 but it is automatic. You will either get a beam of light for a few seconds or a short burst of quick flashes before the main picture is taken.

4)If all else fails avoid people with blue eyes lol.

It is a tricky problem but i hope some of these suggestions help a bit.

We are all waiting for more pics hop. Perhaps you can offer some explanations of them also.

Do you have anymore pictures of people? Most amateur photographers mostly photograph their family and friends so its good to get more lessons on that aspect of photography.

Ill see what i can do raf..

Most of my people shots are snapshots more than anything else but if it helps ill post some of the better ones and analyse the goods and bads about them..

Why dont you post a few of your photos and then i can tell you whats good and whats bad.. Constuctive Cricticism if you like.

That applies to anybody else as well if they are interested.

Grassy any pic is gonna be great from u, So we r waitting 4 ur works:wink: .

Hey Thanks el7ilwa.. looks like my number one photography fan is back. Can i tempt you into buying my entire collection at a discounted rate... LOL just kidding..

Thanks again el7ilwa

Oh come on Grassy this is not a complement & u know that, the matter is U have the skill to take a great photos from the correct side, & I have the sence of the wounderful view, but I don't have the skill like u... This is Y I like learning new things from u man:wink: :color: .

Well with our combined talents what a team we would make el7ilwa...
You find the view. ill take the shot. hows that? we got a deal?
:D

Here is a description of photography written by one of the greats.

The Decisive Moment

Photography is an instantaneous operation, both sensory and intellectual-an expression of the world in visual terms, and also a perpetual quest and interrogation.
It is at one and the same time the recognition of a fact in a fraction of a second and the rigorous arrangement of the forms visually perceived which give to that fact expression and significance.

An event is so rich in possibilities that you hover around while it develops. you hunt for the solution. Sometimes it takes hours or even days, sometimes it is found in a fraction of a second.

The camera is to some extent a sort of notebook for recording sketches of fragments in time and space, but it is also an admirable instrument for seizing upon life as it presents itself.

Henri Cartier Bresson..

ok finally.. here is another pic..

This is just a fun shot from a fairground, Raf you asked a while back the different effects possible from light. Here is one example of using a long exposure to blur light.

ok here is another people shot. taken in paris

Another landscape one

Nice pictures Grassy and I like very much the two black and white ones and this I suppose because they are not in color and it is so rare nowadays to see them. The focus on the little girl in the background while the front jungler is blurred is a nice one.

However, out of all, I prefer the horse racing, mainly because of the zooming on the interesting position of the child...I think seeing such small kids was unexpected and we can really feel how much they are into the race.

The last picture of the sunrise is more commun.

Thanks X-Press

Glad you liked them.. the sunset one is for el7ilwa really. she likes those ones..

However im confused.. what small children in the horse race one.

If you are referring to the riders.. they are adults lol. Jockeys just happen to be small.

Amazing hop...truly amazing. Did you take that last pic?? I think I love that one almost as much as the Dartmoor shot. I love that effect, like Xpress pointed out, of the blurred foreground and focused background. I think it gives the picture a unique appeal.

Well, I will try to take some new pics and post them here for analysis by your discerning professional eye, but only if you promise to do the same (I mean take new pics and post them... I wont be analysing anything!)

How about some usually ordinary shots, like perhaps your house, or views from outside your window, or maybe even the royal doulton in your kitchen.

as requested..

here is a shot from my house across the street.

And heres a recent shot. taken this week actually during the storms we had. Decided that staying on that sea wall much longer was not a good idea but got a few shots of the waves coming in.

What a beautiful place. It almost speaks a comforting peaceful ambience.

You are so lucky to live in such a magical place. I live in the hustle and bustle of suburbia. Its miles and miles away from anything that even comes close to such magnificence.

by the way raf. mostly pots and pans in my kitchen..

Thanks for the comments on the shots. Glad you like them.

Look forward to seeing some of yours

Wow. Simply wow. :)

Raf im confused... which one do you love most.. the last one is the sunset not the foreground out of focus one..

Sorry mate, I like the paris one. Got a bit confused about the sequence of them. Anyhow, with respect to my post about your street, I posted before I had seen the big waves one, thats why I hadnt commented on it yet.:)


The 'wow, simply wow' is about the waves pic.;)

More please!

patients dear.. you will get them as they come.

heres a fun pic. not very good as far as a photograph goes.. in fact its a bit ****e. but thought it might bring a smile.. way back in my college days we had to do a self portrait... heres mine

apologies for the poor quality.. this was a spare print that i did some messing around on.. cant find the proper one..

Grandma, what big eyes you have!!!!!!

I was totally wrong about you hop. I had an image of a blue-eyed, darkish blonde eccentrically handsome English fellow!

Oh well. At least I was right about the cigarette. But where is the pint?

I was a student!!!!! what pint????

Nevermind. I was just being silly.

Let's get back to the pics.
(But those really arent your eyes are they???:eyes: :p )

YEs raf they are.. i took them out and put them in my boots for the photo. You have to make these sacrifices for art you know.

A true artist indeed...! Anything for the art eh?;)

something like that:rolleyes:

Originally posted by grasshopper
If you are referring to the riders.. they are adults lol. Jockeys just happen to be small.

lOoL Grassy :D and sorry for that but when I downloaded the racing picture yesterday on my laptop, the jockeys seemed small and I really thought they were children....now on my desktop, I have a closer look and (based on their under garments) they are indeed adults!:D Still a good picture :)

Now, quite interesting and creative the self portrait!

hey grassy, good that you told me about the new pics... just loved that first pic of the child and the birds, reminds me of my childhood, we used to go there all the time, still do whenever we go to London to take the little ones, maybe I can find some old pics and post them..
And I loved the storm one too, not forgetting of course your art project, he he, liked the eyes hoppy!lol:D

loooooooooool:color: :color: Thanx Grassy alot 4 the sunset pic it is a very wounderful pic.... I really love it & it took a place in my memory:cool: ..... & the pic of the sea & the mountins it is fabilous I loved it soooooo much, so u could get ur work now from the buttom of ur papers:wink: Just keep on searching man:D .

well,,, grassy ,,,very nice pics,,
u r really a good photogrpher,,,keep it up ,,,
waiting for more ,,, more about childhood ,,i like them :wink:

El7ilwa. Thanks.. thought you might like that sunset.. Still searching for more stuff. My photos have been scattered about over the years.

Doc

Love to see some of your pics.. and yeh my eyes were not looking their best that day lol


Navy

Cheers mate. ill keep them coming as i find them lol.

Grassy I have a Q 4 u..... How do u use the lights in ur pic usually??( eg. Do u like normal lights or what... Do u like the lights to be behind u while u r taking the photo or in the side or it depends on the view & this is not related to ur style in photography??)

el7ilwa

This is quite a complicated question that has no short answer.

It really depends on the subject.. what light you can get, what you are trying to achieve etc

For example when photographing the aircraft. For the majority of the time you are obviously pointing at the sky.. It is a nightmare when the subject then is backlit. It becomes much harder to get any real definition of the subject unless you correct your exposure to do so. However doing this then over exposes the sky and washes out any sky detail or colour. In an ideal world when you are photogaphing aircraft you want the sun behind you, or at least to either side.

This may change totally for other shots. Like the stonehenge pic for example to get the stones in shadow like that they are back lit by the sun.

Photographing people.. on the whole a neutral light is good. so an overcast day presents no problems atall. but you may want to look for certain effects. Id generally avoid backlighting as you would lose detail on the persons face. Direct sunlight in someones face can be to harsh and force them to squint other angles may cause unflattering shadows. if you have the time its best to move yourself and your subject around until you find the most flattering light for them.

Im not sure if this helps atall el7ilwa. Like i said its a huge subject and one which has no set answers just a few guidelines really.

Hoppy

Yah u r right Grassy, cauz this all depends on the photographer & how does he wants his pic to looks like...... but thanx any way 4 the info u gave:) .

I liked the 'self.jpg':D
Have you done any Silhoutes, Hopper?

Seham.

Sorry for being so slow to respond.
No i dont really do silhouettes.. The occasional picture like that one of stonehenge but otherwise not much. Ill have a dig around and see if i have any more.