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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
01-13-2021, 10:26 AM
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Red-Tailed Hawk at the Canadian Raptor Conservancy in Ontario Canada
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
03-09-2020, 01:03 PM
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I would like to nominate this photo
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
02-24-2020, 06:27 PM
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Thanks for all the feedback everyone! Forgot to mention that they were both 1:1 100% crops. Not as noticeable without pixel peeping but I do like to make print occasionally if its an amazing shot so it is slightly important. I havent gotten around to checking front/back focus, but I definitely should I just need to make myself a makeshift setup to do so still. I appreciate the reminder to do so though. lol
Ill answer a few individually.
@biz-engineer
I'd say that accurately describes what happens... If I am sitting in one spot and shooting a still-ish bird or something from afar, I find constantly refocusing gives mixed results (i can hear/see the focus change despite not really moving). unfortunately probably not in the market for a lens any time soon, especially since my dumb mistake of scratching my own lens kinda ruins its trade-in/sell value.
@pschlute
I'd say I usually get more shots than I miss, but I'm a perfectionist and occasionally I the one I "missed" is the one where the animal is looking at me. lol But that's wildlife photography! Just looking for tips to see if I'm missing anything. I almost always use AF-S unless its a raptor or small bird im trying to catch in flight. I may try experimenting with 9 point AF, but with birds especially, that gets tricky when its a bird surrounded by branches and AF doesnt know what to settle on.
@Apet-Sure
I could try experimenting with SR off in extra high shutter speeds, thanks for the idea! Ive done a bit of Catch in focus stuff, but it's a bit tough if you're shooting birds or wildlife and there's foliage in the way... I've grown up in the digital age so unfortunately my manual focusing abilities/speed are not reasonable enough to feel comfortable with leaving it on all the time. Worth a try practicing to get better at it though!
@normhead
Thanks for the feedback, and beautiful Grey Jay! Im actually headed to Algonquin tomorrow, hoping to see some of those guys and Pine martens. :)
I'd say in ideal light situations I have less of a problem, its more of a backlit/heavy overcast issue, so that definitely makes sense. Unfortunately you cant always change the angle much due to obstacles and the animals don't always cooperate(the other picture was actually of an arctic fox in captivity, so I was limited as far as where I could stand), was just wondering if there is a secret to shooting in sub-optimal lighting, but I suppose that's reaching a bit of the gear's limitation without flash. I almost always shoot in either high speed continuous shots or 3-6 bracketed exposure images if lighting is changing often or I can't be bothered to check on my settings often. I appreciate the tips though, Ill have to double check and see if Im on focus priority, I know I fiddled with that setting a while back and cant recall if I changed it back.
Thanks!
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
02-24-2020, 10:59 AM
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Greetings Pentaxians... like most people I occasionally miss focus. I'm assuming most of the time it's due to movement/camera shake, but I just wanted to clear things up and/or get tips on preventing this from happening, as I, like most, love tack sharp images.
I have two examples, both shot within seconds of each other (same lighting, essentially the same settings) but one was in focus, and the other was not. Obviously I've had countless other similar cases but these were just two I picked out that were somewhat slow moving subjects shot with fast shutter speed.
Both were taken on my K3II camera, with my 300DA* lens, but the owl had a 1.4x TC as well.
(SOOC so try and overlook the slight under exposure)
You can note the settings at the top, but both had what I think were pretty fast shutter speeds, but both were taken handheld. I always use back button spot focus on the center focus point, T/av mode, with exposure bracketing (3 shots) and neither subjects were moving exceptionally fast. Any theory as to why one is sharp and the other is not?
Is it simply not a fast enough shutter speed for camera shake? Any tips on trying to prevent this from happening, or advice on how you are able to get tack sharp wildlife shots? Obviously I've gotten nice sharp pictures as well, it just seems kinda random sometimes what turns out to be sharp and what doesn't.
I should note that my lens unfortunately suffered a small scratch just a small distace from center of the lens. I didnt think it affected the lens in any way, but could this be why I'm sometimes missing focus? I am assuming this isnt something that can be easily repaired, but would moving my focusing point away from center help a bit?
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
02-06-2020, 10:00 AM
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Mountain scene taken in June on the Snaefellsnes Peninsula in Iceland
1 sec exposure at f/10 and ISO 100
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
12-10-2019, 09:57 PM
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My three favourite Squirrel pictures, The last one I have a 16x20 print of on canvas. :)
All taken with my K3II and 300mm DA*
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
12-10-2019, 09:43 PM
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Thank you! I will do that now, Thanks for the suggestion, I have a few decent Squirrel pictures in my repertoire... My favourite subject when I can't find any other wildlife! :lol:
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Forum: Pentax Forums Giveaways
12-10-2019, 09:38 PM
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I'm in! Hope I can get to the Grad Prize Raffle as well before the deadline. :)
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
12-10-2019, 09:36 PM
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Isn't it wonderful when you don't have to do anything to a photo? I love editing, but the colours just naturally came out beautiful on this one. I admit I'm a bit surprised how sharp and noiseless this is at ISO 1600! I feel like it's a crap shoot if I get super crisp or ultra grainy at 1600. :lol: First time using the 1.4 TC with the 300mm DA* and I have to say I'm loving it! Managed to get great shots even on a overcast day.
Taken outside of Ottawa, ON at Mud Lake.
Shot on T/AV mode (auto ISO), with ISO capped at 1600.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
12-10-2019, 09:11 PM
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Beautifully rich colours and gorgeous light! I love how simple and pleasing it is to the eye. :)
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
12-10-2019, 09:07 PM
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Incredible shot! Iceland is so awesome in every sense of the word...
Is the pink glow in the center natural or part of post process? If artificial, I think broadening/feathering it a bit more through the rest of the photo would be more pleasing, right now it feels a bit too localized. I adore the subtle "punch" the brown/orange foliage brings to the very cool landscape though. Nice job!
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
12-10-2019, 09:03 PM
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Beautiful tones and colors! I think it would be slightly more impactful if you cropped/composed it so that there was a single berry cluster in the shot. Just cropping in on the one in focus would improve it's visual appeal in my opinion. Great work though! It's uncommon to get such light fluffy snow stacked up on subjects like that!
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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
12-10-2019, 08:45 PM
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Thank you all for the suggestions! I will definitely look up the two people you guys suggested and the products mentioned.
I suppose it would have been wise to include an example of what I'm working with already, by providing examples.
Here's a couple that I have done with a tripod, bracketed exposure/ manual HDR merging, and a bit of heavy editing. (The first has a prominent vignette for stylistic purposes)
I'm finding ceilings getting a bit dark, or windowless rooms a bit dull and drab with just a longer exposure. I do not intend to use flash for outdoor settings, just interiors, especially smaller spaces like bathrooms where the light temperature is unfavorable and it seems easier to just shoot with the lights off. The last photo being IMO a "bad" example of trying to shoot in a darker room (basement) with little light and just longer exposure. If the room is well lit like the first two it doesn't seem to be as challenging. Definitely going to take the advice of trying to focus stack though, I think I could benefit more from a all in focus foreground and background.
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Forum: Photo Critique
12-10-2019, 08:23 PM
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What time of day was this taken? Pitch dark or dusk? It's an amazing effect, well executed! I catch think of anything I'd change aside from maybe moving the rock cluster focal point to one of the thirds instead of the center, but that's a bit of personal preference.
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Forum: Photo Critique
12-10-2019, 08:17 PM
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Beautiful capture! Personally in a case like this, it looks like the coyote is in a beautiful environment and it might be more impactful to see more of it. Otherwise, I'd try and use a more open aperture like f/4, f/2.8 etc so the background is less in focus or distracting. Those are both things that have to be done prior to taking it of course... As far as editing goes, you could introduce a vingette to isolate the coyote more, and brighten up the shadows on its face and body a bit. Darkening the greens and possibly even the background would improve it as well I believe.
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Forum: Photo Critique
12-10-2019, 08:08 PM
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It seems like the focus is slightly off. If the subject was moving I might suggest a higher shutter speed or smaller aperture. Love the colors though, I think it'd look even more amazing with a black background swap (done with simple masking) instead of the green. You could find tutorials on youtube if you're interested.
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
12-10-2019, 01:39 PM
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Taken in Sept 2018 at the Wolf Conservation Center in NY, of their ambassador wolf Alawa resting peacefully in his den.
Edits made in Lightroon and Adobe PS.
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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
12-10-2019, 01:30 PM
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Greetings, I have a Pentax K3II and have recently found myself doing a few real estate/architectural photos through a friend's architectural design business. Currently I am just using HDR process to get a decent enough result, but I feel like if this is something I want to do more of, I will need to buy a flash system of some kind. Can someone recommend something to me? I have zero experience using any kind of flash, so something relatively easy to use, and preferably less than 200-300$... cheaper the better, as this is not my main occupation or creative pursuit, just something I'd like to do on the side. I dont really know if an on-body flash or a off camera system will be better suited, or what all I need to make it work.
If anyone can provide some information I would be very grateful!
Thank you!
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
04-07-2019, 02:44 PM
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Butchart Gardens in Victoria, BC in Mid- April 2018
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