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Forum: Sold Items
03-07-2019, 08:26 AM
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
05-22-2016, 08:41 AM
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First real shoot with the K1 and the 15 -30. I'm impressed thus far!
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
07-13-2016, 04:34 AM
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If focus peaking is on turn that off also. It really amplifies noise in low light situations. The first time I used the camera at night with this feature on it surprised me.
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
06-29-2016, 08:28 PM
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If you are like me and would prefer to stay in Manual mode there is another way to do this.
Go to "Button Customization" then "E-Dial Programming" under the settings and scroll over to the M option. Set it to TV Shift from here whenever you use the bracketing mode it will leave the aperture where you set it and only change the shutter speed.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 Photo Contest
07-05-2014, 02:44 PM
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I wanted to first say I greatly appreciate all of the support for my photograph in round 1 and for being voted into the second round.
Secondly I wanted to apologize in that during this last month I kind of had to put my hobby on hold. I graduated pharmacy school, had to study for boards, was looking for a job, and getting settled into moving away after school. Unfortunately it is a busy time for me and I couldn't find the time to get any legitimate shoot together and will not have a submission for this round.
Best of luck to everyone, there are some fantastic photos!
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I will leave what I had originally posted, but I just noticed the mod message that the deadline extended by a few days! This is perfect timing as I managed to get this shot yesterday and will be submitting something after all!
Our motion spotlight went off which illuminated this Barred Owl eating something off of the ground in our backyard. By the time I grabbed my camera, flash, and flashlight he had moved to a very low branch. He was not bothered by me one bit and allowed me to approach him within 10 feet. My 70-200mm Tammy gave me perfect reach to get a very close up of his face. I have been hearing this owl for the past month and have occasionally seen it in the upper branches but he finally gave me a perfect opportunity.
The keywords I am choosing for this are: Dark Emotions. I find this fitting because barred owls, unlike many other owl species, have nearly entirely black eyes. Although they are not a large species they certainly have a menacing appearance when those dark eyes catch your gaze.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 Photo Contest
04-30-2014, 03:52 PM
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I first spotted this location on the way home from a vacation. I made a mental note to return when I had the time. Several months passed before I finally remembered the place. Upon arriving, the lake was eerily devoid of life. The only sounds were those of cars passing on the freeway in the distance and there was no movement, save for some cormorants in the distant trees.
I made quick work setting up the shot by wading into the mucky water with my camera and tripod. Fortunately the deepest spot on framing the tree was about chest high. I jammed by tripod into the muck to ensure it would remain in position and then returned to shore to wait for the sun to set.
This is when everything changed. A place that looked dead and left the senses rather uninterested suddenly jolted to life! Spiders began showing off their artfully designed webs and several even decided to set up shop on my camera bag. Bugs filled the sky, more than I have ever seen. Shining the flashlight produced a sort of haze because of their numbers. Bats owned the sky, feasting on the insects, and fish were surfacing everywhere, snatching up any bugs that landed on the water. Even larger fish would jump periodically and one very large brave gar decided to hang out between the legs of my tripod. I could only make out his figure with my flashlight, but he was large enough to make me a little cautious upon retrieving my tripod.
The shots themselves consisted of one about 20 minutes after sunset to get the glow on the horizon. I then waited another 45 minutes before beginning to shoot the star trails which consisted of multiple 30 second exposures blended in Photoshop using the “lighten” blend mode. The sunset show was blended in and then the image was converted into black and white. I originally could not decide between the color version and black and white version but in the end I could not argue against the black and white as the contrasts were entirely consistent with the extreme difference between night and day at this location.
The entire shoot offered many surprises but this is exactly why photography is my hobby. Predictability breeds boredom. This is currently my favorite photograph that I have taken and one of my favorite shoots.
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Forum: Photographic Technique
05-21-2013, 05:13 PM
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I am a fanatic of shooting during storms. They offer dramatic scenes and lightning is a very exciting subject. Unfortunately with the storms comes a lot of rain. Rain covers protect the camera, but not the front element. Rain on the front element can be bad for the lens and ruin the shot. Here is my solution on my blog page: TaylorFrantaPhotography
I wanted to see if anyone else here does things differently or has any tips/tricks on shooting in the rain?
Here is an example of a composite shot I took with my makeshift "visor." It was raining fairly steadily during this shoot. I have tested this in much stronger rain/wind conditions and it has worked flawlessly and kept the camera and front element 100% dry.
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Forum: Photographic Technique
04-03-2012, 07:38 PM
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Basically, I love the night sky. The attached pic is a shot I got of the milky way last summer in Rocky Mountain National Park. Of course I messed around with the shot in Lightroom, hence the colors.
But...I want to do better than that. Since that shot I have upgraded from the kx to the k5 and have purchased a faster lens. The last piece of the puzzle is finding the darkest skies. As you can see, there was some glow in the picture from a nearby city. I have been doing research and trying to find places in the United States with the darkest skies. I have not found any definitive answers on places but have found a few tips. Currently I am looking at:
1. Samuel Mckelvie Park in Nebraska
2. Natural Bridge Monument in Utah
3. Somewhere in arizona. I don't know of any specific place but I have seen some cool shots from arizona.
4. Around Fort Davis in Texas.
I live in Kansas City so i tried finding places within 20 hours of me because I don't want more than a few day camping trip.
Does anyone have any recommendations or has anyone been to either of these places? Any help on this would be appreciated! I have been planning on improving that kind of shot for a while and really want the best location possible!
Also, if you have any pics of the stars/milky way, please share!
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