lulitd

In full bloom

SONY SLT-A55V

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Aperture 18/10 ISO 100 Shutter 1/500 Focal Length 500/10

upload_date

Jul, 2016

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Behind The Lens

Location

I took this photo during a walk in my neighbourhood in northern Toronto. A few months before this photo was taken I had just purchased my first camera, the Sony A55. As a beginner photographer, photographing people can be quite intimidating. Thankfully flowers make great models for those just starting out.

Time

This photo was taken during mid-day in June 2013. Not the best time of day to take photos, with the sun glaring at you, over exposing everything. But you never know what opportunities you might come across.

Lighting

With a photo taken during in summer mid-day, exposing can be a tricky thing, especially since I was shooting wide open. The tree overhead provided excellent shade from the glaring sun.

Equipment

This was shot with a Sony A55 handheld with a good old nifty fifty( 50mm 1.8 DT SAM).

Inspiration

I had just gotten the camera I shot this with a few months before. And so I was reading and watching all these tutorials on how to become a good photographer. I was digesting all this information but not really putting it into practise. I remember hearing that famous Chase Jarvis quote, " the best camera is the one you have with you", and so I started taking my camera everywhere,it didn't matter what or where I was going, I brought my camera with me.

Editing

For this image I challenged myself to keep the post-processing to a minimum. I have a strong background in graphic design. I had a handful of years of experience in photoshop before I started getting interested in photography,so keeping the post-processing simple was a bit out of my comfort zone. For this image I did the post-processing in Lightroom 5. In the original image I found the colours to be a bit flat so I boosted the saturation and clarity of the entire image. I really wanted the flowers to pop off the background so I added more blues into the shadows using split toning. Through HSL I did some minor tweaking by increasing the reds and blues saturation. As a result, I started losing some details on the petals so I decreased the Luminance red channel to gain back some detail and increased the aqua and blue channel as well.

In my camera bag

I like to shoot with minimal gear, one or two lens,a camera, and sometimes my phone. I tend to carry my camera everywhere and I like to shoot spontaneously, and carrying a lot of gear doesn't help with that. As I just finished my undergrad, I'm not exactly rolling in new fancy gear. In my bag i shoot with a sony A77. I fell in love with digital photography because of sony's A55 slt. I just love the colours that the sony sensors produce and it's light weight in comparison to Canon and Nikon cameras. I just wished Sony didn't drop the ball on their A-mounts. I love the 50mm 1.8f, it goes with me where ever I go. Its has a small profile and fast, so great for street photography. And its an inexpensive lens, great for photographers on a budget. I would love to put a ND filter on this lens though, for when I am walking the streets in mid-day, but alas the filters cost more than the lens. The next lens I use is the 18-55mm kit lens. Yes, I know the kit lens. As I've said before I like to shoot light and low profile. It might not be the greatest lens in the world, but it is a versatile lens. The jack-of-all trades but master of none lens. It's a great lens for learning. I have shot some of my most favourite photos with this lens. The last lens I have in my bag, but one that I rarely use, is my Sigma 28-300mm F3.5-6.3 DL . I rarely use this lens, as it is a lot bigger in profile than my other two lens. The last thing I have in my bag is my phone. Yes my phone. There are quite a number of times where I have run out of battery or space on my memory cards, but the lighting was just right, so I pull out my phone and take the shot. I'll go back to that quote, " The best camera is the one you have with you".

Feedback

It less important about what camera you have, or what lens you have, its all about the photographer behind the camera, You. The best way to become a better photographer is to do. You don't have to go to far exotic places to take great photographs. I think a big part of photography is about appreciating and capturing moments. So take you time, take in and embrace your surroundings. Take your camera with you every where, you'll never know what you'll find. Life and your surrounding constantly changes, so be prepared to adjust.

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In full bloom

Behind The Lens

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