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2018 Project - Focused picture a week (WoodButcher)

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Week 5.

Interesting week. I had planned on shooting the supermoon/eclipse/blood moon, but I was unable to because it was cloudy. However, I did plan and practice for it. I even shot the night of the 30th to get exposure correct. It was 99.5% full at that time and for the eclipse, it was only going to be 99.7% full so I thought about just using that shot since it fulfilled my goals of being a planned shoot and I did get the supermoon. However on Sunday I got downtown in Austin with my drone and did a shot I've been wanting to do all year. Basically this has been my Plan B shot since Week 1.

It is using the auto panorama shooting mode of the DJI Mavic Pro. I tried all the types of panos, and really wanted to have a 360 degree one, but DJI doesn't have a way to export it or share it in a useful way. So this is a 21 shot panorama, stitched together in Photoshop. The drone hovers in place an rotates and moves the camera on the gimbal all by itself to take all 21 images. I pull all the shots into Lightroom, edit them to even out the exposure and other values, then send them to PS for stitching. Then back into LR to do a final edit.

If you click on the image it will take you to Smugmug and once there, if you click on the icon in the lower right with the 3 stacked boxes, you can select Original size. It is big, so don't try it on you phone cell data. :-) The image is 13409 x 6507 pixels and 36MB in size.

PanoHorizontal-X2.jpg
 
Changing things up a bit, I'll talk about the plan I have for my picture this week. Right now, the whooping cranes are still in Texas, along the coast. I'm going to head down to Corpus Christi to see my sister and spend some time at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and Port Aransas just shooting pictures of birds. My goal will be one good whooping crane shot, but will be happy with a good shot of any wildlife. I've done research on access, sunrise and sunset, locations, and habits. So hopefully I'll get something.

This has been my mode of planning for each week so far all year, but the planning part has been scrapped due to weather too many times. This time the forecast looks good for Saturday. Worst case, I'll stop in Goliad on the way home and do some landscapes, but it's unlikely I'll need to so that.
 
I'm hoping to head out after work Friday. Back on Sunday sometime. Dropping off a helmet in Victoria on the way back.
 
Dang, this Sunday work thing gets in the way. Have fun. Shoot well!
 
Week 6. And nature plays with me again. Drove down to Corpus Christi on Friday evening. Had gear all ready to jump in the car and may the two hour trek over to Aransas wildlife refuge early in the morning. Forecast was for 70's by the peak of the day, but clouds early. When early rolled in, I looked out the window and decided there was no rush to get out there for sunrise since there was no sun. I arrived at 9:15am though and started to wander some of the trails. Left around 1pm. In the middle of the some fog rolled in off the ocean and it went from overcast to sucky. However, I did get lots of pictures of critters, feathered, furred, and reptile. No whooping cranes though. I think I saw a pair they had told me to watch for, as they flew out of the low cloud and into the fog, but I couldn't get the camera on them fast enough. They were bigger than the sandhill cranes I'd photographed in Bosque del Apache, so I was confident, but not positive they were whoopers. Anyway, this was my favorite of the day:

IMD_4421-XL.jpg


Gallery link if you want to see more. https://woodbutcher.smugmug.com/Port-Aransas-Birding-2018

Day two of the trip will go up this evening. Same clouds and mist, but 30 degrees colder...
 
Week 7.

Getting the bird photos along the coast got me thinking animals all week. Friday night I invited Scott over for a beer, he declined due to a family event, but complained that his shot for the week was less than stellar. I suggested a trip to the zoo in Waco and he agreed. I love going when it is cold because fewer people are there and the animals are more active. So we headed in and straight for the tiger exhibit...and as we walked I realized I didn't have my truck keys. So I parked Scott at the tiger exhibit and told him all the tricks for shooting through the bars and went back to deal with the truck. At this point you are probably wondering why I'm bothering with that side story. Well, it is why I don't have a tiger shot and I suspect Scott does. Also it is a chance to mention how wonderful my wife is for driving up with my spare set. Yes, a pop a lock guy could have solved it, if I was sure the keys were in it, but I couldn't see them. Further from home and I'd have taken that option.

Anyway, Scott and I wandered the zoo getting lots of pictures and Scott got to play with his new camera body. I decided I liked this one best. There were three moms and 5 young girls. We talked with them some and that is part of why I liked it. To me there is more than just a picture. But the two girls in the shot were eye to eye with the lion and I had to slide way back to get that shot since I had a very long lens on. You can see some flare and reflection, but I managed to clean up the snot (or bird ****) that was on the glass in Photoshop. So, not an awesome picture, but an entertaining one.

IMD_5201-Edit-X2.jpg


Oh, and the keys were under my jacket in the back seat. :headbang:
 
I'm still processing my batch..... I'm sure there will be one in there.

I think this is an awesome shot. You're right - much more to this than just the kitty cat.
 
Week 8

Wonderful weather again. Plus I spent much of my free time during the week doing car research and chasing pricing. And then spent Saturday buying a car and playing with it.

So Sunday rolled around and I looked at my inside project list and found one. And I had just watched a Youtube video about shooting close ups/macro using the glass/plastic shade from a pendant lamp as a light diffuser. So I pulled the frosted glass shade off a small light and tried it out. First picture is my setup, second is the penny I was trying it out on. A larger shade would be better, I think. The penny image is uncropped.

IM5_1245-X2.jpg


CAMERA Canon EOS 7D Mark II
LENS Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro
ISO 100
FOCAL LENGTH 105.0 mm (168.5 mm in 35mm)
APERTURE f/11
EXPOSURE TIME 0.01667s (1/60)

IMD_5893-X2.jpg
 
Interesting idea. I would imagine the glass gives you a nice soft light . Will have to try that.
 
I found another light that has a much bigger shade. I'll try that soon.
 
WoodButcher said:
Week 7.

Getting the bird photos along the coast got me thinking animals all week. Friday night I invited Scott over for a beer, he declined due to a family event, but complained that his shot for the week was less than stellar. I suggested a trip to the zoo in Waco and he agreed. I love going when it is cold because fewer people are there and the animals are more active. So we headed in and straight for the tiger exhibit...and as we walked I realized I didn't have my truck keys. So I parked Scott at the tiger exhibit and told him all the tricks for shooting through the bars and went back to deal with the truck. At this point you are probably wondering why I'm bothering with that side story. Well, it is why I don't have a tiger shot and I suspect Scott does. Also it is a chance to mention how wonderful my wife is for driving up with my spare set. Yes, a pop a lock guy could have solved it, if I was sure the keys were in it, but I couldn't see them. Further from home and I'd have taken that option.

Anyway, Scott and I wandered the zoo getting lots of pictures and Scott got to play with his new camera body. I decided I liked this one best. There were three moms and 5 young girls. We talked with them some and that is part of why I liked it. To me there is more than just a picture. But the two girls in the shot were eye to eye with the lion and I had to slide way back to get that shot since I had a very long lens on. You can see some flare and reflection, but I managed to clean up the snot (or bird ****) that was on the glass in Photoshop. So, not an awesome picture, but an entertaining one.

IMD_5201-Edit-X2.jpg


Oh, and the keys were under my jacket in the back seat. :headbang:
Click to expand...

Wonder what the King of the Jungle is thinking as he stares at the little girl? I like this photo
 
Here's the video about using a shade for diffusion. You can see he went all out and used soft boxes too. I just used two flashes. I suspect I could have gotten by with one flash and a couple of pieces of white posterboard as reflectors.

[ame="https://youtu.be/AiihXExf5Ss"]Using IKEA's Melodi for Quick Product Photos | Colour Variants - YouTube[/ame]

Oh, and I used a penny because it was fairly flat and easy to get parallel to the sensor. That way I didn't need to focus stack and at f11 it is pretty sharp. A more 3d object would have meant taking multiple images that were focused at different distances and then stacking.

And, clicking on the image will take you to smugmuq where you can select a full size image and see the dust and lint on the penny. (hint, top edge)
 
Week 9. Theme this year seems to be making due. Or maybe just being flexible. I headed to Palmetto State Park this morning to go on their bird walk...only to find I can read a calendar. It was yesterday. :doh: So I asked questions and took off on my own. Gray and overcast, like many of my outings have been this year. Saw some birds, got a few pictures of them. None particularly good, but enough for me to get a good id on them at home. However, flowers were starting to bloom and there were butterflies starting to fly around. So I couldn't resist that. Here's one when I have some brief sunshine in the morning.

Camera info:
CAMERA Canon EOS 7D Mark II
LENS Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM
ISO 1000
FOCAL LENGTH 400.0 mm (773.6 mm in 35mm)
APERTURE f/6.3
EXPOSURE TIME 0.0008s (1/1250

IMD_5973-XL.jpg
 
Cat photo. Any pic that can stir human emotion is a good one. Its primal ain't it.
 
Nice 'Insects and Flowers category' picture.
 
Week 10. Back to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. This was driven by a couple of things. My wife saw my picture with the alligator in it and said she would have come if she had known there would be alligators. Then I sold my truck and got a Subaru Outback and wanted to take a road trip anyway. So off to the coast...the same weekend as Spring Break starts. Great planning, eh?

And we saw some birds, but a bunch of alligators. One bunch of babies still being guarded by mom. Others about two feet long, max, that were on their own. Here's on of the latter.

IMD_6288-XL.jpg


I was up close and personal. Slight crop on this. 400mm zoomed in.

CAMERA Canon EOS 7D Mark II
LENS Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM
ISO 640
FOCAL LENGTH 400.0 mm (848.3 mm in 35mm)
APERTURE f/5.6
EXPOSURE TIME 0.00156s (1/640)
 
Great shot! You have a knack for critter shots.
 
Thanks. I like doing it and keep working on getting better (and closer). I hope to work more on landscapes this year though. We'll see. So far the weekends I have free have had weather issues.
 
That's an amazing shot, Rusty.... How long was this speciman? Two feet?
 
Week 11. Something on a whim this week. Earlier in the week I saw a Facebook post on the Texas Parks and Wildlife page about a pink bluebonnet at Lockhart State Park. Weather was cloudy, but dry on Saturday morning and I was itching for a ride. Loaded up the camera, a flash and tripod and took off.

Turns out it was right by the headquarters building. I got a dozen or so shots and then toured the park. Here's the result:

IM5_1361-XL.jpg


CAMERA Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
LENS Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM
ISO 100
FOCAL LENGTH 67.0 mm (72.4 mm in 35mm)
APERTURE f/4.5
EXPOSURE TIME 0.00625s (1/160)
 

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Week 12

Sorry, I'm a bit late this week. We celebrated my daughter's 25th birthday over the weekend. I was out in the morning with a tripod and a macro lens getting flower pictures, but also shot some family pictures. I decided to go with a flower shot since that was actually planned whereas the others were snapshots.

Cape honeysuckle.

IMD_6854-X2.jpg


CAMERA Canon EOS 7D Mark II
LENS Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro
ISO 400
FOCAL LENGTH 105.0 mm (168.5 mm in 35mm)
APERTURE f/8
EXPOSURE TIME 0.00156s (1/640)
 
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