* Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #853 / Revived #073 on 2024 08 21 *

I am aware of distractions leading to accidents etc and try to keep an eye on things. Hard to keep it at 100%...

Thx. I tried to lift shadows a fair bit but by the time I was seeing a result there was already some haloing evident. I don't have a tool that can properly select an object within the image to apply selectively.
I often tried to take backlit shots with reflections on their wings last summer with my FZ300. It just didn't really work because I could never get a fast enough ss. On the day above it just happened that I had more opportunities from the backlit angle. I kinda wanted the light reflecting off the wings more than anything - but if someone can do it...

Haha, I suspect the answer will not, but I will try...
For the record, when I first started trying to capture these critters, for a week or two I had zero keepers. Until I noticed that one particular species did spend a bit of time hovering in between darting about. Only then did I start to get some. But there was still plenty of practice needed. Having moved to m43 has helped a lot.
The other day my camera was on burst the whole shoot. Not long bursts, maybe 5 to 10 shots each press. I took ~400 [Edit 800 files Raw+Jpg] shots perhaps half birds of which none were much. There were not many other dragonfly shots that I could have included. So most went into the bit bucket. Most days with stationary subjects it is single shot and 200 for an outing is a lot. I read people say 1,000's of shots per outing - I just don't have the time / patience to go through so many...

There was plenty of light that day that gave me a good fast ss. At the distance I was shooting I didn't need to stop down from the usual f/7.1 to get any more dof - to be honest I wasn't even thinking about it as it was the first opportunity for many months. I'll say again, I don't try and track them. I wait till I see one hovering.

Too true.

To keep dragonflies coming - some of mine latest

Thanks Bryan.
What you describe was exactly what I was trying to do.
Bikes were just there.
I was just waiting for people to appear in the better-lit part of the photo.
After a while, these cyclists came.
What caught my interest were the different layers in this photo and the architecture.
And, the shadows were meant to lead the eye to the better-lit part of the photo.
Apparently I failed there.

Imo, yes.

A tighter crop, as described earlier would have worked much better in guiding the eyes to the better lit parts you referred to.

Another option is to describe the boundaries of a suggested crop as I did earlier.

The pathway and the perspective effect of the two walls are then much stronger leading lines to the cyclists.

It's up to Kumsal whether he then tries it or not.

I'll try to explain. For me, the architecture wasn't that engaging. I've seen fine architectural photos here that showcased interesting structures - especially from Roel, Chris, Pete, and from you. This one is not one of them, but it IS an engaging photo. The architecture in this one is a frame, a box, a square shape that contains the scene, with a multitude of leading lines taking us into the square well lit box at the end of the street. The scene is somewhat distant and frames a few bikers with more bikes in excellent light. So the shape, the lines, the box, and the lighting tell me the image is about the players on that distant stage. What are they doing? They are biking. The building behind them is too far away and too truncated by the frame/box to be thought the subject. The many bikes that line the walls inform me further: lots of bikes forming yet another pair of leading lines, taking my eye to the brightly lit stage where our distant main actors can be found. The bikes are the dominant motif.

If the subject is the architecture, perhaps a strong crop to whichever part of it you're trying to draw attention to might help. Or, a different angle that revealed more of what you liked about the building or buildings, being cautious to avoid getting too many of the bikes/bikers in the scene to confuse viewers about your purpose. The lighting might still work against you though. A different time of day might help.

There are often multiple images inside the frames we capture. I jokingly call my photography pixel-gathering, because I know that I, or someone I share with, may find another more interesting photo amongst the pixels. Once, some years ago, I found one of those on my SD card and almost deleted it. It was a careless snap I took through the car window in hopes of identifying a bird some distance from me. After looking again I kept it. It led to a two year project, a generous cash endowment, and multiple gallery shows. Always be open to finding treasures you didn't have in mind when you pressed the shutter button.

thanks Chris. In the Maritimes, like in some northern European countries, bright colors were the style in coastal villages of the early 20th century. This old fishery compound has been abandoned for years but it was a treasure trove of rugged buildings, nets, bouys, chains, ropes, and tumbledown piers. I could have stayed in the fishery the whole week. And I may pull together a few more, I likely have hundreds to pick from.

Agree. The drizzly overcast day made the colors pop and made it lots easier to get good captures.

Lots of fun shots in this compound set right onto the coast. It's been closed for decades but it looks like they left yesterday. There is a resident caretaker who keeps things up a bit and makes sure prowlers like me are not up to mischief.

thanks, I agree it is better served and understood with supporting images of other buildings and objects. As a single image it has to stand entirely on detail and color, and closeups are not my strength.

Thank you. Colors shot in overcast conditions usually work out well for me. It is somewhat abstract (about as abstract as I get, not my strong suit). There's treasure behind the door. (traps, boys, colorful ropes, rusted chains)

Thanks Mike, the conditions available (gray drizzle) are my favorite for shooting bright colors. I had not thought of matching it up with other similar shots of different colors/shapes, that's a good option. Grand Manan is a wonderful place for photographers or artists, and it has not been thoroughly discovered. As for my roulette process, I just load up the catalog, put it in library mode with the smallest thumbnails, roll the side bar, close my eyes and click somewhere. Very unscientific.

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